Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

Window Dressing

I’ve come to a personal conclusion this year, something that I’ve always known about me, but now I’m honing. 

I’ve always loved to see what fall and subsequently people’s interior lighting showcase inside their homes when you walk past on the street. 

But I’ve come to realize that it’s not the home that sparks interest, but what people chose to showcase on their windowsills / ledges. This fascinates me. 

Sometimes it’s simply a beautiful orchid in a gorgeous vessel, other times there is a theme that is repeated on each floor. In New York in the summer, I walked past a Brownstone – they do have the best window placement for this kind of thing – that had vintage wooden deities placed on the main, second and third floor double hung windowsills. 

The deities (I’m using this as a general term for sculptures with a mystical allure) were all facing into the house and so from the street all you could see were their age worn backs with faded paint. They were placed on clear Perspex blocks and the largest was on the main floor with the smallest on the top floor. In this midst of bustling and steamy hot August day this made me stop in my tracks and pause. It looked intentional and yet not staged and as you can see, I am still thinking about them and the people who thought to place them there.

Sometimes you see things on people’s windowsills that you would rather not, they can be used for simply for storage but I love it when all is curated, and it provides insight into the homes interior personality as well as providing a little bit of privacy. In Amsterdam this year, the row houses that border the canals all have low windows and here people really had fun with beautiful things. Many homes had shutters, and I loved these ones that had a border painted peacock blue and were inlaid with gold leaf.

Honestly, I am so hooked I feel an Instagram account is pending showcasing great window styling.

If your windows now seem a little naked after all this insight and you want to add something lovely firstly take inspiration from your home – is there a piece of pottery, glass or sculpture that would look good in your front window.  If your sills are too narrow, space and height can be found by adding a plinth or pedestal. 

I have to be honest, styling a windowsill is not something I often consider in a design project. That is going to change as this summer’s travels have really opened my eyes to what I am drawn to and what can set a home apart from others on a street – especially a home that is close to the sidewalk as homes in many old, established neighbourhoods are. 

It all comes down to scale – minimizing clutter and curating what talks to you. Having the perfect pinhead lighting above will complete the look. 

Teen Bedroom Transformation

Towards the end of summer, we completed a makeover in my client’s son’s bedroom. The youngest child of three, we had completed his two older sibling’s rooms a few years ago and now it was his turn.

When designing a teen’s bedroom, I am always conscious that the room is going to have to stand the test of time, they will leave, go away to school, come back, leave and possibly come back again!  

I stay away from fads (we always do) and aim for a look that will transition easily from teens to adulthood. This is what we started with.

This space has great ceiling height and lots of natural light. We removed the bunkbeds and updated the colour palette with tones of sand, bark and slate. 

The headboard was stretched to fill the entire wall width and onto this we added reading lights and receptacles within easy reach. The bedside tables comprise of a large dresser on one side and a smaller side table on the other that doesn’t block access to the closet on the side wall. 

Out of sight from the photos is a desk with a gaming chair. The ceiling has a lovely mud cloth inspired wallpaper, and the walls are wrapped in a vanilla grasscloth to add texture and depth. 

The result is an immersive space for a lovely human and the family cat who stole the show when we were shooting the video. All three bedrooms can be seen here on our website. The video can be seen below. 

October Travels

October brought a design trip to London and Edinburgh which truly was a winning combination both professionally and personally. 

Regular readers will know that I am an active member of the Design Leadership Network and every year I attend their annual summit.

Each year it’s in a different city / country and we get to immerse ourselves in that cities design culture – from food to interiors, fashion to architecture and design we cover as much as possible in three packed days. 

This year the summit proper was held in my home city of Edinburgh, and we had a pre-summit in London. Many of the DLN‘s partners have studios and showrooms in London and so we were given the opportunity to visit them – from designer’s studios, to their homes to behind the scenes tours at Liberty we got visit so many incredible places and meet with some wonderful minds.

I love these trips, the days are long and sleep is limited, but I always return refocused and very inspired by not only what I saw and heard but by my fellow attendees. 

Holiday Ready!

Our next issue of Shelter will drop on November 28th and will be filled with lots of gift giving inspiration for the whole family as well as events to keep you busy in the run up and during the holidays.

We are also having a Studio Collection Pop-Up on December 5th. It will start with an intimate group talk by me and I’ll focus on how I harnesses wellness and living with ease in my client projects.

We’ll have snacks and delicious tea for an informal get together. I’ll discuss some project photography, show before and after’s and also let you glimpse into projects that are currently underway.

Following the talk there will be time to shop our curated Studio Collection for holiday gifts.

You are also welcome to simply pop in and shop. Details to follow, sign up required for the talk, seating and numbers are limited. 

Wishing you all a wonderful November!

Warmest,