Real homes: my gloomy hallway

The dingy hallway has never reached its potential.

First the shiny lime green highlights, bequeathed by the previous owners got whitewashed – but with such limited light in the area, it just looked grubby, particularly one side of the space – and so efforts have since been focused on that one wall.






The new front door, with glass panels was meant to help. But still the troublesome hall wall

Spotlight on... Lubna Chowdhary, ceramic tile genius

If you love colour and don't know Lubna Chowdhary's geometric ceramic work, you should...

The artist's gloriously hued tiles have been on my interiors horizon for ages, and when I saw her work up close a couple of years ago at London Design Festival I was even more dazzled.






Above: Chowdhary in her studio at work, left, and some of her colourful geometric designs

Chowdhary describes her

A bit of a Christmas gift guide

This year I've once again put together the Christmas interiors gift guide for the Independent. 

In case you missed it, and are looking for some inspiration...





You can see more of the wondrous Oxfam blankets here, and read more about Louise Wilkinson and StoryTiles here. To find the online version of the guide, with click-through shopping links, here it is on the Independent's website (and

Spotlight on... Kinska ceramics at the Crafty Fox Christmas markets

Kinska was a fashion designer, until she found clay...



And I discovered this ceramicist's witty and wonderfully odd work while co-curating the Crafty Fox Christmas markets, along with Emy Gray, preposterously stylish owner of Brixi in Brixton Market, and online retail legend, Supermarket Sarah (see some of of the gems we picked out at the Crafty Fox blog).

 



Last week, I was interviewed

From the archives: Introducing... artist Stephen Wright

This story was originally posted in the summer of 2013. For those of you who missed it, enjoy...

I met the most unusual artist I've met in a long time last week. I love Stephen Wright's work – gorgeous, and often off-beat mosaics and bright, odd prints with a big Mexican vibe.



I'd seen the latter for sale in a shop near me (Brixi in south London's Brixton Market in case you're in this part of

Real Homes: Finally facing my Waterloo

When I was 19, out of work and still living at home, a friend of my mum's said she'd heard about some summer jobs going at Wimbledon, driving tennis players around during the tournament. 

She knew someone involved with the hiring and suggested to my mum that I apply.






Above: the downstairs loo got painted black

Incredibly, none of us considered that this prestigious job would definitely

Object of the day: self-loathing ceramics

Had enough of schmaltzy, smug personalised homewares? So has Keaton Henson, whose refreshingly honest debut range of ceramics you can see here.



Above: in case you can't read the text, it says: "This cup is on the theme of self-loathing"

Henson, however, is the kind of 26-year-old over-achiever it'd be easy to hate, imagining him to harbour some of his own smugness. The youthful musician and

Same house, different house

About five years ago, there was a brilliant photography exhibition at the Geffrye Museum in London, which depicted different flats in the same, south London tower block. Structurally, they were identical, but decoratively unique.

And a couple of years ago, I wrote about a similar project in the States, focusing on the interiors of the apartments in a housing complex designed by Ludwig Mies van

Moodboarding taste

So I've just been asked to create a few moodboards, own photography only, to illustrate my taste. I can't reveal why just yet (but will shortly) and thought I'd share them.

It was harder than I thought – mainly, I have realised, because I'm in denial about what my taste is. Who'd have thought?









I guess it's like trying to pick your 25 all-time most 'you' Instagram images. Each time I

Object of the day: Brighton Beach goes technicolour

Please do bear with the recent break in my usually regular posts. Things will be back to normal within a few weeks – but meanwhile, a quick find I'd like to share.

I've seen this print – or, at least, very similar – in numerous interiors shoots, and I have coveted it HARD.



Tonight, while researching for the Independent Christmas Gift Guide that I'm in the middle of compiling, I stumbled

Object of the day: Jacqueline Talbot tiles

Unusual tiles are a find. And these, by artist Jacqueline Talbot, are just that.

In 2009, Jacqueline experimented with photographing her paintings, intending to use them to create digitally printed wallpaper. But then discovered she could digitally reproduce her work onto tiles... one kiln later, and a business was born.









I think they're beautiful, and beautifully different. They aren't

Where's my Pantone Colour of the Year? It's behind you!

A short post today (boy life has been busy, so apologies for gap in the usual, regular service). But brief as I am, I come bearing cheery and Friday-ish news to lift your spirits for the weekend: The Interior Designers' Pantomime is imminent.



Following on from the success of 2010's Snow White and the Seven Designers – below – comes Peter Pan and the Designers of the Caribbean. Har har.

Etsy UK is having a – real-life – exhibition

I've found some pretty special art over the years on Etsy – these affordable portraits are particularly memorable, as is the work of this Israeli artist (I've since bought two of her mini canvases and love them very much). I've also admired some rather unusual portraits on the site, too.

And now Etsy UK is hosting its very own art exhibition – a real one, not a virtual one. And here's my

How to be tidy (and some storage porn)

I'm still on a high from the massive garage clear-out; a few scary cupboards inside got a healthy de-clutter. 



But, while it's all good for the weeks following a big blitz like this, if you’re anything like me (untidy at heart) you’ll soon be wading through mood-dampening mess in no time. I’m in awe of tidy people: what are their
secrets? 





Above: Future & Found's bright and cheerful

Another retro trend renaissance: hello pink bathrooms

Pink bathrooms are a trend a-brewing, I'm telling you, and I've been eyeing them longingly for a while. 

I thought it might just be me, but then these much maligned blasts from the past started popping up all over Pinterest. (Though not especially looking like this one, below, even though it's incredible.)



Then I visited the beautifully designed Bill Granger restaurant in Clerkenwell (read

Wednesday Question: gold taps – well, would you?

Gold taps were to 80s interiors what a Lamborghini is to inner city driving. A bit showy-offy for the sake of it.

So who'd have thought they'd be reincarnated all these years later in such pleasing way? It's a quick post from me this week as there's lots going on, but here's a run down of the new way to do gold taps. The trick is to mix them with a utiltarian back-drop and play down the flash.

Object of the day: Dutch tiles with tales

The best thing I saw at the London Design Festival last week measured 10 centimetres square and was based on a 16th century Dutch design classic. 







Yes, yes, there was so much to love at LDF 2014. The sprawling event, now in its 11th year, is the non-trade way through the back doors of the design world and, with six big fairs in different venues, various landmark displays of creativity, and

Throwback Friday – and a request to people make nice stuff

Today I'm plucking some of my favourite craft from the archives. Why? 

To inspire any readers of this blog who make, paint or draw lovely stuff, to apply to be part of the illustrious Crafty Fox Markets this Christmas. The deadline for submissions is next week (23 September) and – ta-da! – I am one of three guest curators selecting which stalls get a pitch (details below).



I touched on this

The best design giveaway? Elle Deco's ace anniversary competition

Have you heard about the rather enticing Elle Deco 25th anniversary competition – where six winners will bag the contents of one of six rooms created by the magazine? 

Here are three of them (my favourites).


It's all tied into the mag's October issue, which marks its quarter of a century of existence.

Each room set is worth around £16,500, and winning a competition is the only way I'd ever

Object of the day: New Eley Kishimoto wallpapers

Weeeeeell, if I can't write about eye-popping budget-stretching wallpaper during the London Design Festival, when else? (The event started this weekend and goes on until next Sunday.)

I'm a big fan of Eley Kishimoto clothes, and the print mad design duo's expanding homewares range excites me greatly. And it's not for the faint-hearted...



This is my favourite of the wallpaper designs that the