Contemporary Interior Design

• Posted on 25th May 2010 by Nicola Holden

There seems to have been a bit of a flower theme to my thoughts of late.  A few weeks ago I visited the Columbia Road Flower Market to pick up some flowers for the photo shoot of my clients bathroom.  Then, last weekend I did a one day Jane Packer flower arranging course.  And, today I was supposed to go to the Chelsea Flower Show, one of my favourite dates in the diary every year, but sadly those plans fell through.

Anyway, here are the flower arrangements I put together on my course.  It’s the first time I’ve created a hand-tied bouquet, so I was very pleased with that one!

And, I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite stores along the Columbia Road.  First is the Lesley Davy Gallery, which I discovered on my latest visit.  She has a wonderful collection of original and limited edition art at very reasonable prices.  Next is Little Book of Furniture, who produces wonderful sofas and armchairs in London.  Some of their products have a distinctly retro feel to them, and it was from here that I sourced the sofa and dining chairs for the Primrose Hill Flat. 

Across the road is Nom, selling beautiful Vietnamese lacquered products and more.  And, last but not least, for delicious cakes, coffees and teas go to Vintage Heaven and Cakehole.  These are only a very small selection of the wonderful variety of shops here.  There are loads more selling clothes, jewellery, cards and gifts, plus a great selection of eateries.  It is well worth a visit (although only open at weekends)!

• Posted in Art, Flowers, Interior Design, Travel | 2 Comments

• Posted on 11th May 2010 by Nicola Holden

Well, I was planning on sharing my highlights of Grand Designs Live with you, but yesterday I photographed the bathroom I have recently finished at Chalk Farm, so I thought that I would blog on that instead.

So, as it was in the beginning.

Then, if you remember from an earlier blog, the client asked me to transform this into a neutral, spa-like bathroom, evoking luxury through the use of natural materials. To show the client how I intended to achieve this, I put together the following sample board:

Now, the job is finished, and the client is delighted with the final result. The use of natural stone and wood features in the main bathroom add a sense of a tranquil spa. The mood of the room further can be controlled by the different lighting options. Mixing the different elements in this room adds interest to the scheme – the glitzy mosaics in the nooks, the travertine stone tiles with the sleek chrome taps, and the Zebrano cabinet with the contemporary styled basin.

There are more photographs of this phase of the project, plus the entire flat, on my website.

Please do share this blog with your friends, and feel free to add your comments too!

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• Posted on 03rd May 2010 by Nicola Holden

A little while ago I received a lovely surprise in the post – a free La La Luna sample!

La La Luna is a fabulous range of the finest white porcelain pieces designed in South Africa by Lynne Lange, who has been a ceramic designer for 20 years. Lynne’s original inspiration for the La La Luna range came when she discovered huge sea urchin shells washed up on the beach on Zanzibar. She took one home and put it over a lit candle and the urchin just glowed beautifully. Since then the range has expanded to include not only rare sea shells but also corals, simple garden leaves and African wildlife.

The porcelain pieces are manufactured in the town of Dehua, high up in the mountains of Fujian, in the southeast countryside of China by two brothers, Lee and Larry Jiazhan. Each piece has an amazing translucency, making them ideal for T-light holders, lamps and candles in beautifully delicate shells with 100% organic wax and fragrances. La La Luna’s range also includes stunning table ware and vases in unique designs.

If anyone is interested in owning a piece of La La Luna then do let me know.

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