I have recently discovered the most incredibly moving blog…”Humans of New York” is a blog which features photos and stories in the form of snippets or questions about the residents of one of the most highly populated cities in the world. It is mesmerizing and heartwarming and sad and happy and touching…..check it out! Its brilliant!
I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of super sleek kitchens. While I love the idea of a sleek modern kitchen, the ones which really speak to me are kitchens like this one: quirky, filled with mismatching bits of furniture and colours and as a result, huge amounts of character!
These images of this great kitchen via the gorgeous Spanish blog Desde my Ventana look like someone really interesting lives in this home! I could move in tomorrow.
I have not blogged for weeks now…mostly due to this:
I have been putting together Valentines Day and Mothers Day windows for a jewelry store in Dubai…actually, not one store…27 of them!! I have been to all of the Emirates except Al Ain and Ras Al Khaima so I have also clocked up a few kilometers in my car over the past few weeks.It was a lot of fun but also very challenging and completely exhausting…and today, I did a mock-up window for Mothers Day!! No rest for the wicked!!
I purchased and wrapped 260 boxes of different sizes and then tied bows on every single one!! The perspex /acrylic heart is from Ikea and has soft pink tissue paper sandwiched between the two halves. The flowers I made up using double sided tape and faux rose petals from Ikea and then I scattered foil confetti to add some texture. The heart garlands were made up by my long suffering curtain -maker ( he sewed together over 50 m of garland) but I did give him all the cut paper hearts which I cut using a Sizzex cutter! Amazing machine…I then attached the garlands to the top of the window displays. I was really happy with how everything turned out, it must be said…not really my forte as all my previous work as a visual merchandiser had been for an interior decor store! A very interesting challenge to do small scale window decoration!
I am also developing samples for a luxury penthouse on the Palm Jumeirah…this is a project I have been involved with for over 18 months and it seems to be finally going ahead! Sampling can sometimes be a long and tedious affair…designers will ask for several samples and once they select one, they will generally tweak that sample until theyre happy. I often limit the number of samples I do because I have had so many situations where I supply samples for a potential project, don’t hear back from the designers and then a few months later I get a call from the designer who asks me to copy the sample they have and it turns out to be the same sample I submitted months before! A lot of designers take a good sample and shop around for lower prices and they will ask the decorative paint specialists to match the approved sample. Its very annoying but a part of doing business.
There are a few designers and architects whom I trust with my samples and I will make up as many as they need to get the right finish ,because I know they will not shop my samples around. Most of these companies I have worked with for about 14 years, so we have a good relationship, which in my humble opinion, is what business is all about.
I will be taking photos of this project as we progress with the work ,so I hope to be able to show you how we work ….. I am looking forward to starting next week!
A Decorator's Notebook 