First Sense

Paint + patience = fabulous transformation

Meera @ firstsense — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:59:12 +0000

Can you imagine the creative vision, diligence and immeasurable patience shown by Patty who transformed this boring old chest of drawers…

into this!

via Design*Sponge

I’m so very impressed! Just blown away.

Is this sort of thing within your realms of patience??

Swoon Worthy Homewares {featured shop}

Meera @ firstsense — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:25:55 +0000

I’m very excited for my bloggie friend Kimberly (aka Redlilocks) who has recently launched Swoon Worthy Homewares, selling cushions in fun, fresh, peppy geometrics, and just in time for spring too!

Aren’t they cheerful?!

To celebrate the launch of her shop, Kimberly is giving away a chance to win not one, but TWO cushions of your choice! The giveaway is being hosted by Florence Finds and is running until the end of the weekend, so head on over there to enter for your chance to win! (UK residents only)

And pssst… if you head on over to the Swoon Worthy blog, you’ll find an introductory 20% off discount voucher!

Happy weekend, darlings!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Meera @ firstsense — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:59:09 +0000

One of my favourite quotes!

Every day is a love day for Colin and I (too corny? That’s what being in love does to you!) so we don’t worry ourselves with the commercialism of this day. Like many other days in the year, we’ll dine in romantic candlelight (Colin’s food tastes better than 5-star restaurants, so I am looking forward to what he cooks up!) and enjoy delicious freshly-baked chocolatey dessert (as if I even need a reason to bake!).

If you wanted to craft up a sweet little gift (there’s still time!), have a look at the ideas on my Pinterest.

Whatever your Valentine’s day looks like, I hope it’s a happy love-filled one!

Image mine

A peek into my home

Meera @ firstsense — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:16:29 +0000

sneak peek!

This is exciting! I am over at the swoonilicious Swoon Worthy blog today, showing a peek into my home for the first time ever and talking about my favourite room, creatively achieved on an itsy bitsy budget.

If you’ve ever wondered how I go about designing my own humble little home… well, there are no designer names to be found, nor any sort of design process or rules that are followed, but there is plenty of heart.

I know you’re just dying of curiosity so I shan’t keep you any longer, hop on over to Swoon Worthy now!

Headboards with nailhead (stud) patterns

Meera @ firstsense — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:21:03 +0000

via Lonny

I am always on the lookout for creative design inspiration (in other words, ways to rival designer looks for comparatively very little money) and when I came across this bedroom image from Lonny, I had one of those “Hey, I could make that” moments about the headboard.

It looks very achievable for us creative DIY enthusiasts, yes? (Next week you will get a peek of just how much DIY goes on in my home!)

Here is a simpler pattern that looks lovely too –

via The Glass Factory

Look, the same design for a lovely girly-pink headboard!

via Simplified Bee

Would you attempt to make your own headboard?

Patchwork upholstery

Meera @ firstsense — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:53:08 +0000

My upholsterer just told me he found a live bullet in one of the antique settees that he is repairing and reupholstering for a client. It has been safely taken away by the police, he added. Definitely the most unusual work update I’ve had so far!

Anyway, now that we’re on the subject of upholstery, what do you think of patchwork?

Patchwork chairs by Kelly Swallow

Bright patchwork... not for me

I have been seeing a lot of patchwork pieces recently and sometimes I love them, sometimes not so much.

The trick is in the colours and patterns that are brought together in one piece. Too many patches of bright colours and patterns contrasting sharply definitely draw attention but would be too much of a statement piece for me, like this one on the right. If you like it, please feel free to shoot me down!

Done artfully, patchwork upholstery can look absolutely darling…

Very glamorous in soft-coloured satins via Squint

I’ve had this patchwork headboard in my inspiration folder for years and I still love it. Via Livingetc

Folding chair in romantic country fabrics: cute and practical. Via All About You

Patchwork chesterfield in crushed velvets at my local auction house… not the best picture so you’ll just have to take my word that it looked sweet. Hammer went down on £360. I would’ve bid if I was designing a funky snug to put it in.

What are your thoughts on patchwork?

Artist love: Lucky Jackson of 365 Lucky Days

Meera @ firstsense — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:12:22 +0000

I am smitten with Lucky Jackson and her wonderful fabric embroidery art that I came across on her blog, 365 Lucky Days, which is her project of creating a new piece every day for 365 days.

With most pieces, she gives a witty story about what inspired her creation, thus letting us get to know her. She is just as lovely as her art! Here are some pieces that I felt quite connected to:

“5 more minutes”… exactly how I felt on this frosty Monday morning.

Longing for warm sunshine and a chance to lie on a hammock with a book.

Don’t we all wish we could do chores glamorously?

If you know me, you’ll know I love to bake.

Joan from Mad Men. It’s not just men who are a little bit in love with her, admit it! Best TV show ever made? I definitely think so.

Tina Fey… one of the funniest women on TV I love to watch.

My best job ever (next to my current one, of course) was when I worked in a law library. (A little titbit about myself.)

Did you fantasize about being a superhero when you were a kid? I still do!

Can’t resist a pretty settee.

A perfect gift for upcoming Valentine’s day!

Smitten yet? Be sure to visit her blog to browse through many many more of her amazing creations, with one more added every day! And you can even get your hands on one of them through her bigcartel shop. If you have your eye on a piece, you’ll have to hurry, as they are selling fast (unsurprisingly)!

Wallpapered cloakrooms (powder rooms)

Meera @ firstsense — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:45:50 +0000

Cloakrooms are the kind of rooms where you can really have fun with decorating and let your quirkiness shine. I’ve just finished designing one for a very lovely client who wanted a cloakroom with a lot of interest that would make people want to keep revisiting it! Being a beautiful period property, the designs in her home also have to be traditional. So in short, traditional but interesting, fun and quirky.

When I first saw the cloakroom, it looked like this –

And now it looks like this –

with the blind up

with the blind down

Thrilled with how it turned out! This is the kind of period home where you don’t box in pipes, it’s all part of the charm (and makes fitting a blind a rather complicated affair, sometimes involving a bit of cursing). The mellow gold wallpaper designed from old family photos makes the space feel so much bigger, and infinitely more interesting. Visitors are sure to stay in there a while, looking at the little photos. The roman blind was a fun challenge: she wanted to carry the quirkiness into the blind and wanted it look like a picture, but not one large image as that would become boring (not to mention get lost in the folds when the blind is up). The answer came, after many iterations of ideas, from an amusing cartoon-type image titled “Notes on Pheasant Shooting” from a magazine dated 1905. An image of a traditional frame was digitally superimposed onto it, and it was printed to size onto fabric and made into a roman blind. She loves how it turned out, so I love it too. I adore this lady, she’s delightfully unique and makes my creative brain work harder than usual, which is good!

I digress. Back to wallpapered cloakrooms.

On the other end of the spectrum, here is a monochromatic flamboyant cloakroom for an equally flamboyant modernist client which went from this…

to this…

Such is the transformative power of wallpaper in a cloakroom. I love to see the reactions on people’s faces when they first open the door to an exciting room!

Now for your viewing pleasure, here are some more wallpapered cloakrooms in different styles:

Period charm: loving the wallpaper and Victorian loo! via House to Home

Toile bathroom via Lonny

Classically pretty, source unknown

Swimming with the fishes, via The Lennox

Dramatic black and white stripes, Nacho Polo via Desire to Inspire

Geometric, source unknown

Turquoise, lilac and brown: a pretty colour scheme I don’t see often, Tami Risinger via House of Turquoise

Very cute bird wallpaper, via Home Bunch

Is it just me or does the mirror frame look like frosting?? via House of Turquoise

How would you decorate a cloakroom?

Old world charm

Meera @ firstsense — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:31:23 +0000

End of the week at last! I hope you’ve all had a good one. I find the first week back to work rather difficult: early rises and long work hours are a sudden change from the lazy mornings, fun and games, eating, drinking and merry-making of the holidays. Still, back to routine is necessary and one mustn’t grumble, yes?

After finishing work for the week, I was having a tidy on my macbook (it gets so cluttered) and happened upon photos of a wonderful gem of a hotel where Colin and I had spent a weekend last summer – Langar Hall. I’ll just drop in here that it is Paul Smith’s choice of accommodation when he is in this part of the island.

This was the homely, charming room we stayed in: all mix and match, lovingly decorated with an unmistakable love of antiques (no shabby chic or deliberate distressing). (Sorry about the photo quality, I didn’t have my good camera with me.)
While the room had an old world feel, there was nothing dated about it, but rather a nice feeling as if visiting dear old gran who has an excellent eye for timeless, cosy style and she has prepared her best guestroom for you!

I’ve stayed in hotels ranging from grubby to posh, rural farmhouse to city skyscraper. As I remembered my time at Langar Hall, I realised how much I loved staying there over the sleek and contemporary Columbus Hotel in Monte Carlo some years ago (poshest hotel I’ve had the fortune of enjoying – and not paying for!). Does that sound weird? Yes, I know it does. I’ve turned into a soppy old romantic. That’s not to say I’m going to fill my home with old furniture, but I do like working some antique pieces with newer items.

Anyway, here are some places (from books I treasure) that I would love to step into for a while, to soak in the charm and character, and to rejoice in seeing antiques thriving.

Farrow & Ball: Art of Colour, Brian D Coleman

William Yeoward at Home: Elegant Living and Entertaining in Town and Country

Perfect English, Ros Byam Shaw

Perfect English Cottage, Ros Byam Shaw

So… are you feeling the olde worlde charm or has this made you feel stuffy? Do you have an urge to get these books so you too can pretend to step into these places, or do you think I am beginning to sound old?? Do tell!

Happy ‘Tangerine Tango’ New Year!

Meera @ firstsense — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:12:08 +0000

A very happy new year to you, my lovelies!
May it be better and brighter than ever!

I hope you have had a wonderful, joyous time over the holidays and are feeling recharged and excited about the possibilities and opportunities in the year ahead!

When the clear up of the holidays is done, I like to add little invigorating touches around the house to get me energised for the year ahead. So I am feeling quite happy with Pantone’s colour of 2012: ‘Tangerine Tango’, a deep radiant red-orange that is vivacious yet friendly; quite a feel-good cheery colour. Even if you’re not one for bright colours, a tiny amount of this colour in the form of flowers, art or even a bowl of tangerines will energise your surroundings.

If you want to use this colour in your decor, here are a couple of examples I adore that may inspire you:

I love this room for its bright breezy feel, casual atmosphere, *gorgeous* rug and vibrant tangerine pops… a perfect room to beat the January blues!

Window treatments like this excite me. I love how this dramaticises the high ceiling, and being a sheer curtain, it doesn’t block any light thus keeps the space feeling breezy.

Will you be tangoing with tangerine orange? Whether you love this colour or not, I hope you’re having a peppy start to 2012!

Images 1 Serenity in Design | 2 unknown