Contemporary Interior Design

• Posted on 31st May 2012 by Nicola Holden

May has been quite a busy month with a lot of shows and events peppered throughout the month. The last of these that I thought I’d do a quick blog post about is the Grand Designs Live London show at the Excel Exhibition Centre.

I have to confess to being somewhat disappointed with this year’s Grand Designs exhibition. It seemed to me to lack something this year. But, as with all these shows, there were still some great new finds to share with you.

The company that probably made most of an impression on me is alfresh.co, who produce bespoke graffiti. Now you probably all think that I’ve gone stark raving mad, but here is an image I pinned on Pinterest the other day, so hopefully you’ll agree with me that this type of ‘art’ can make a wonderfully bold statement in your home. Not for everyone perhaps, but fun anyway!
Invisible City were exhibiting this gorgeous contemporary furniture range designed by Simon Moorhouse. Invisible City boast that all their furniture is handmade in Britain by local skilled craftsmen, using sustainably resourced materials. I love the way he has combined the beauty of walnut with the gorgeous colours on the drawer and door fronts, which can be painted bespoke to work with your room scheme.
I loved the range of quilts available from the Sleep Natural Company, who have added a contemporary twist to the 280 year old tradition of Indian quilt making. They also have a fabulous website which explains in detail the origins and the art of quilt making – well worth a virtual visit.
This fabulous prototype chair by Tortie Hoare caught my eye, not least because it is upholstered in fabric designed by Josef Frank, which I love for its bold, bright colours, but also because of its fun, environmentally conscious and intelligent design. The back of the chair is covered in leather which has been formed using the medieval process of boiling the leather. Fascinating stuff!
Hello Geronimo produces wonderfully colourful handmade embellished art work combining texture, colour and embroidery. Typographical elements for your home are all the trend at the moment, and I love this framed alphabet art!
And, to get you into the Jubilee spirit for this weekend I thought I would highlight this beautifully simple linen ‘Stamp Cushion’ by Acacia Design Ltd.

Did you visit Grand Designs Live this year? What took your fancy there?

“The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.”
Victor Papanek

Image 1 source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Nicola on Pinterest. All other image credits from respective companies.

• Posted in Grand Designs Live, Interior Design | 8 Comments

• Posted on 28th May 2012 by Nicola Holden

This year I was again invited to attend The French Design Forum, hosted by the Trade Commission of the French Embassy, UBIFRANCE. Even though this is a small event, I always look forward to this exhibition due to the exceptional quality of the craftsmen that present themselves, and this year was no exception.

With skills covering everything from master weavers to stone sculptors, here are some of the artisans that delighted me this year.

Firstly, the Benoît Toscan workshop which specialise in the unique cylinder embossing and raised copper-plate printing of Amiens velvet. The results of these two processes are simply stunning. The company doesn’t have a website so I can’t find images to do this product justice, but this is just one example of what they can produce.

Next up is Atelier Muquet, who specialise in producing decorative panels with wood, metal and polymer to recreate the effect that time and place have on materials, using techniques including patina, fading and corrosion. They had some truly beautiful finishes on display.

Jallu produce beautiful bespoke furniture using techniques that were popular during the Art-Deco period, including straw marquetry, horn veneers and parchment. These elements combine to product the most wonderful finishes on the furniture. I am coveting this coffee table which is made using parchment and straw marquetry.

Beautiful parquet floors are the speciality of Etablissements Romoli, who use marquetry traditions to create these wonderfully intricate patterns maximising the variety of natural colours in their woods.

La Forge de Style produce beautiful ornamental metal-work using traditional French techniques married with modern technology. The company specialises in the fabrication of stairs and railings in bronze, copper and titanium.

And finally, whilst we’re on the subject of architectural features, I thought I’d mention stone mason Nicolas Bonnet whose stone transformations include fireplaces, fountains, stone stairways and old-style stone flooring.

I am already looking forward to next year’s French Design Forum!

“The design process, at its best, integrates the aspirations of art, science, and culture.”
Jeff Smith

Image credits from respective companies.

• Posted in French Design Forum, Interior Design | 5 Comments

• Posted on 14th May 2012 by Nicola Holden

Last week I was treated to a belated birthday present – a visit to the Damien Hirst exhibition on currently at the Tate Modern, London.

Since Damien Hirst first came to public attention in 1988 there have been many opinions on his work, and whether or not it can be considered to be ‘art’. So, I was keen to explore my feelings on this question, and what better way than seeing some of his most iconic works close up and first hand!

In the early days Hirst was quoted saying, with regards to his art, “I wanted to be stopped and no one stopped me. I wanted to find out where the boundaries were. So I’ve found that there aren’t any.” Which, I guess, explains a lot about his work.

The exhibition starts with Hirst’s early work, including several of his most recognisable series of Spot Paintings. The comment I often hear about these paintings is ‘I could do that myself’. Well, the fact is that Hirst did, and with incredible attention to detail – every spot is a different colour, of a uniform size and arranged within a precise grid structure on the white canvas!

Next came the Medicine Cabinets, a series of cabinets filled with neatly arranged pharmaceutical packaging. Each cabinet contains medicines corresponding to different conditions and ailments, and thereby to particular parts of the body. A clever concept, but ‘art’ …? His facsimile pills, however, laid out on shelves in cabinets, are very clever indeed.

I did like his works Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding 1991 – fish specimens preserved in their own individual cases and arranged on shelves so that they appeared to be floating within the cabinet and swimming in formation. But, A Thousand Years 1990, with a severed cows head in a large Perspex box being fed on by flies – no thank you!

I was impressed with his infamous shark, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living 1991, for the sheer mechanics and scale of this work. The piece is almost 5.5m long and just over 2m tall!! Oh, and I am a keen scuba diver with a morbid fascination of sharks!

Then came a lot of works with cigarette butts and ashtrays, which had me hurrying past, except for the In and Out of Love 1991 installation, which is where I found some of Hirst’s work that I loved! Ignoring the ashtrays full of cigarette butts, his brightly coloured monochrome canvases with dead butterflies adhered to their surfaces were beautiful! As was the next room which was filled with live butterflies fluttering around.

Whether or not you like Hirst’s Spin Paintings, it’s the mechanical process of creating these works that really impressed me. Hirst’s work here doesn’t just involve an easel, a canvas and a paint brush, but getting 3.5m circular canvases mounted on a turntable and spinning in order for him to create these pieces.

My absolute favourite room in the exhibition, and where I did totally get blown away by Hirst’s pieces, was with his Butterfly Paintings. Here Hirst uses the wings of thousands of butterflies to create his works which are described in the Guardian as ‘…distressing but weirdly uplifting’. A sentiment I have to agree with. The two works here that took my breath away were I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds 2006, which is a kaleidoscopic mandala-like piece, and Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven 2007, where the butterflies are arranged into complex patterns reminiscent of medieval stained glass church windows. Wow!!

The exhibition ended with the work The Incomplete Truth 2006, a dove suspended in formaldehyde, as if in mid-flight. Looking closely, small bubbles had accumulated on the doves wings, adding a wonderful, lacy, ethereal feel to this piece.

So, having seen some of Hirst’s work, I can’t say that I like it all, but the bits that I do like, I absolutely love. However, all of Hirst’s work reflects some sort of ‘scientific’ element in its creation, and that I do admire. And so I would encourage everyone, whatever you think of Hirst and his works, to take a look at this exhibition as it is well worth it, and you may even be surprised!!

Oh, and by the way, he has created wallpapers of some of this works too, including Hope butterfly wallpaper, which I absolutely love too!

What do you think of Hirst’s works?

“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”
Michelangelo

All images © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd

• Posted in Art, Damien Hirst Exhibition | 14 Comments

• Posted on 09th May 2012 by Nicola Holden

The Decorative Fair is held three times a year in Battersea Park, and showcases antiques, mid-century modern, textiles and works of art. This show describes itself as ‘London’s most popular event for decorators seeking unusual antiques and statement pieces for interior design’. As my favourite style is a modern base, but layered with a mix of eclectic objects from different eras and cultures to add depth and interest to a scheme, this sounded like the perfect show for me, and I wasn’t disappointed!

Despite its comparatively small size, the fair held a real mix of items. Furniture ranged from small occasional tables to vintage fridges! There was lighting to suit any style, vintage rugs and textiles, and accessories and art to boot.

Here are just some of my picks from day:

1. Lacquered coffee table on stainless steel legs attributed to Willy Rizzo, Italian, circa 1970s – Dickson & Rendall Antiques
2. 1960s armchair and stool by British designer Peter Hoyte (re-upholstered) – C20C
3. An Egyptian cedar ibis stool with ivory inlay probably by the Madras School of Craft in the 1920s with original seat cover – Drennan
4. Ottoman occasional table, with inlaid mother of pearl, circa 1900 – Blanchard Collective
5. 2 door “Frigidaire” from France – The Vintage Fridge Company
6. A pair of rare and unusual hand stitched applique textiles, Spanish, C19th – Kiki Design
7. Golf bag standard lamp from reclaimed items and old materials – Antiques By Design
8. 18th century French block printed floral quilt – Katharine Pole
9. Fabulous French 1950s wall light by Rene Mathieu, pierced red metal shade on hinged brass arm and mount – C20C
10. Yellow overlay scent perfume spray atomiser, circa 1920s – Richard Hoppé
11. Untitled, 1991 by Victor Pasmore (1908 – 1998) – Jenna Burlingham Fine Art
12. A pair of WWII era 15 x 80 Japanese naval binoculars, by Nikko, circa 1940 – Hatchwell Antiques
13. Beautiful 1920s black glass table lamp with 1950s fabric covered shade – Trusha Lakhani

So, if you’re after an unusual piece to add to your interior then I would highly recommend The Decorative Fair. The next one is in the autumn from 2 – 7 October 2012.

“Variety is not the spice of life; it is the very stuff of it.”
Christopher Burney, Solitary Confinement, 1952.

Image 1 – Christopher Jones Antiques. All other image credits from respective companies.

• Posted in Interior Design, The Decorative Fair | 4 Comments