Wishing all my readers and their families a very Merry Christmas from London….
Merry Christmas to all…….
Month: December 2012
What’s been keeping me busy……
This is one of the reasons I have been so bad about posting…the Level Shoe District at Dubai Mall – a dedicated area within Dubai Mall dedicated to the glory of designer shoes….these shoes are not just something you wear but are works of art….they deserve an entire area devoted just to them!!
My team and I have been painting the fins which are installed above the shop fronts..you can see them in the image above . We painted about 2300 individual fins and about 2700 pieces of MDF which were installed in between each fin to make a neat finish. They were all colour washed in very soft tones of grey which looks amazing with the overall colour scheme of oyster grey, gold and soft shell pink.
This is a view of the fins and the in-fills close up.
A view down one side of the Shoe District with Loius Vuitton on the left and Gucci, Chanel and Dior on the right…these stores are now all open of course..this image was taken while we were still on site.
This is the other big project which has been dominating my time…a hand painted wallpaper installed onto vaulted domes at a 5 Star hotel here in Dubai.
This wallpaper has been gold leafed with a hand painted design stenciled on top of the leaf….the cornice was also gold leafed and then sealed with a tinted varnish to knock back the colour and tone it down a little.
It has been a really challenging project with a lot of work done off site and then installed on site once the air conditioning had been commissioned. While I am pleased that we have finally completed the job, I am not very happy with the result as I feel the lighting does not enhance the gold leaf as I had hoped it would…..in fact, as you can see from the above image, there are dark patches which are very obvious in situ and the gold leaf appears almost dull. I think it may have been an oversight by the designer, but I guess it’s not up to me to sort out!
Work in progress ….the 7m high scaffold which I climbed up a few times with very sweaty hands!!
These two projects are now complete, aside from a few snags here and there, and I am very pleased to be starting a new year with a clean slate as one would say!
Christmas in London….
Exciting times….this is where my sister and I will be this Christmas….
We will be catching a lot of these I am sure….
And eating lunch at a few of these….
And really hoping for some of this…..
After a really busy year I am so looking forward to taking some time off and relaxing with family and friends….a change of location is always relaxing for me and I find it refreshes my brain and my creativity, which is always good for a New Year ahead.
It will also be a lot of fun (can I call it fun?) to be celebrating Christmas in a (REALLY) cold environment for a change….the last time I celebrated Christmas in England was in the late 80’s so who knows how I will cope with the cold! My sister is convinced I will be curling up in a ball and not moving for 10days, but I plan to bravely soldier on!
Our main reason for going is to spend time with our Mum, who lives just outside Cambridge, but we are planning a couple of day trips to London which I am really looking forward to…I will be visiting the National Gallery and hopefully the Tate to absorb some culture and we will definitely be taking advantage of the Sales!!
After the mad rush to finish work in time for my departure, I will be most looking forward to getting on the aircraft and switching off my phone and computer, and catching up on some movies for the next 6 1/2 hours!
Thought Provoking…
I recently saw this movie a docu-drama about Joyce Vincent, a young woman who died alone in her apartment in 2003 and whose body was only discovered 3 years later.I was initially horrified at the thought that someone could be so forgotten by family and friends and when I watched the film, I became very sad as I realised that it can actually happen….the saddest thing of all ,was that she was found surrounded by Christmas gifts which she had been wrapping ….I thought that was very poignant. She must have had people she cared enough about to buy gifts for, and yet no one knew that she was alone and had died. It makes me truly thankful for the people in my life, both my friends and my family and also the fact that I know (or at least I hope) that I would be missed if I did not show up at work an a particular day….
During this Festive Season, let us spare a thought for those people who are alone, with no one to care about them or check up on them.
Gorgeous Online Magazines…..
The new issues of Lonny magazine and Matchbook are fabulous…..I still cannot believe how stylish and trendy these two magazines are and that they are available to anyone who wishes to read them….and by doing so, we’re being kinder to the planet! Win win for all….
Take a look at both issues…..
Lonny:
Each page is better than the next, with Festive colour….
Is it just me or does there seem to be a lot of turquoise around this Christmas? Gorgeous and so refreshing….that wall colour is sublime!
Then there is the MOST exquisite apartment in Denmark in my favourite hues of white, grey and black!!!
Seriously? What is it with those Nordic people and their incredible style??? I am in awe….
And then I found this:
I live in a seriously “space challenged “apartment and when I saw this eclectic and fabulous studio apartment, I just about fell off my chair…
I know I always say this, but there are some seriously talented people out there…..this apartment belongs to Matthew Knowles, the General Manager of Charlotte Moss Interiors, so he has surely absorbed some of her exquisite taste, but I love the layers and the way he makes no apology for one-room living, but embraces it wholeheartedly….that gallery wall takes my breath away!!!!
And please note the over sized oil painting ……
As for that animal print scatter….
All in all, this edition of Lonny is packed full of style and substance so check it out…
This issue of Matchbook is filled with glorious page after page of Holiday gift guides, Holiday clothing and Festive cooking and baking….
This wonderful apartment in Brooklyn…..
And a feature on an artist whose work I have come to really enjoy….Lulie Wallace…I find her work simple and refreshing and her use of colour is inspiring.
I hope you take the time to have a look at these lovely publications….I can only imagine the amount of effort which has to go into publishing something monthly!
A Decorator's Notebook 