From pink to green...

You'll have seen the second picture in this post quite recently (if not I shared it in the second part of my 2017 in photos) but it was only this last weekend that It dawned on me that it looked quite different.  This is what it looks like now.

Scroll down and you'll see not only is it smaller, but it's now also much greener, but there are also babies. I promise you it's the same plant.  

I never realised this was a thing. But apparently it is. I know that now, thanks to reassurance from the internet. Succulents can change colour, as mine has, when there's less sunlight about, so that makes sense doesn't it?

Even though it's in our conservatory, there has definitely been less sunlight. But you know what, now I'm curious to find out if it'll change back to pink when the sun is around. Do you know?  Have you experienced this?  I'm curious. And quite impatient to find out...

The Houzz of 2018

Last Thursday I went along to the launch party for the Houzz of 2018, a pop-up in the heart of Soho showcasing the interiors trends that are expected to be big this year. The five storey townhouse in Greek Street had been completely refurbished and fitted out in a number of days, not weeks, days. 

And it was amazing. It was more than decorating and interior trends though the house also showed how clever design can help us get the most of our spaces and shows how we can get the most out of multi-functional rooms.

To get an overview of the whole house, take a look at the preview below.

Houzz Tour: Houzz Transforms a London Terrace into a Family Home

My 5 standout items were

1. The mirrors on the dark smokey walls were just stunning, and it isn't the first ones of this style that I've seen.  Even MOH was quite taken with them, but at one point I did think he might try and give them a good clean!   The wall colour, in case you're interested is Dulux's Cobalt Night.

2. The bedside tables in the main bedroom also caught my eye, both for their contemporary design but also because I like stuff around me, and having the chance of an additional shelf really does appeal.  My challenge would be to keep mine looking quite so stylish...

3. The almost crittall-like shower enclosure with simple lines, marble-tiled walls and black shower accessories. It seems that many of us are moving away from all-white, clinical bathroom spaces - and after seeing this one, it's easy to see why.

4. What really stood out in the child's room was the design worked on all levels, from the embellishments above the skirting board to the low hanging log-lights over a child height table.  The galapagos table lamps (on the floor in the photo below) aren't bad either, are they?

5. This fox print also appealed, I think it's the amount of white space, the black and white line drawing and the collage effect with the print. Either way I think it worked well in this space and is versatile enough to work in plenty of others too.

What do you think?  Have you seen anything that appeals to you, or you'd have in your home?   If you'd like to visit the Houzz of 2018 is open for visitors and completely free to visit every day until 31 January, 11am - 9pm. 

* Thanks to Houzz for the invite to the event and view the Houzz of 2018.  I was under no obligation to write this post, but I wanted to share this gorgeousness with you.

Interior trends for 2018, and chairs to match

I read an article on the Ideal Home website recently where they predicted the key looks for interiors for this year.  I read it and all the while comparing it to my own style. I nodded along to the idea of rich pigments, as I think we can all be bolder with colour in our homes.  This weekend I've also read in The Times that these bolder colours could be overtaking our love of grey. 

I'm also on board with botanical and tropical prints, with a preference for the former if pushed, which I'm sure doesn't surprise you. And so it makes sense that pineapples continue to be popular, there's still everywhere in the shops. It's a trend I've contemplated, picking them up in the shops to admire, but so far I've not succumbed.  

The other trend that makes a lot of sense for me is what has been termed "global goodness" which is how our decor has been influenced by our travels, and we can the article predicts expect to see more of this in the shops. But there were a few I was less sure about, I've still not managed to get on board with the copper trend, and to read that brass is likely to feature this year alongside these got me wondering.

For me brass evokes strong memories of my childhood, and more specifically cleaning the brass in our church on Saturday mornings armed with Duraglit and also polishing the brass step of our front door, and so it seemed odd to me that a childhood chore could return. I think even as I'm writing this I can smell the distinctive aroma of the metal polish.

And so, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to unscientifically test if I could find armchairs, and statement pieces at that, that corraborated these trends. To narrow my unscientific test I set some criteria, and looked at the armchair range on Utility Design site.

Let's start with brass, the trend that evoked the strongest personal reaction. It's not that I don't like brass, it's just that I see it as a little bit old fashioned, and I'm much more of a brushed chrome kind of girl. Or so I thought.  This Gubi Beetle chair, named because it looks like an upturned insect, with its brass legs might have changed my mind though. Isn't it gorgeous?

BRASS: GUBI BEETLE LOUNGE CHAIR
All images courtesy of Utility Design

I think the Beetle chair would be a great match for the drinks trolley that I'm now also lusting after.  I didn't think I'd want one of those either, but after entertaining at Christmas I can see their value, I'm just not sure where I'll store it the rest of the year...

I thought this Cappellini knotted chair would be a great match for the botanicals trend, and I suspect it's way more comfortable than it looks. But add a botanical print cushion, or two, and this would give any room a stylish update.  For me, this chair would be great in the conservatory, but especially the very posh sort you see in the big country houses.  Although I'd happily take this chair while I'm waiting - and saving - for the big posh conservatory!

BOTANICALS: CAPPELLINI KNOTTED CHAIR

The Glam Dark Woods was another prediction I struggled with. But I think the key word here is glam. Mention dark woods and my brain immediately goes towards the reproduction mahogany furniture, which while I have nothing against this - heck, it's not long since we sold our table, and before we moved here I sold my own reproduction mahogany dining table too.  I think I was struggling with how this furniture could be predicted to be an interior trend for this year. 

But then I saw the classic Vitra Eames Lounge chair, and I got it.  I'd need a snug, or a library, or a study for one of these chairs and I'm sure MOH would be happy with one of these in his dream music room, and I can see how these continue to be so popular - the true stamp of a classic!

GLAM DARK WOOD:  VITRA EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR

The artisan trend was another that I could identify with, we have a wealth of talent in the UK and we should be celebrating this. The Artek Armchair shown below is a good representation of that trend, I think, and a similar style of furniture was very much evident in the Houzz of 2018, but more on that another day.

ARTISAN: ARTEK ARMCHAIR 406

I could go on, and find further chairs to support these trends - but I won't - as I think I've evidenced enough to support the predictions I read about. I've realised that each of these trends is broad enough to find something for each of our tastes, even if our first thoughts are "no, never going to happen" which is where I was with the brass!

But what do you think?  Are there trends that you've struggled with, or those you loved but quickly fell out of love with? Leave a comment and let me know.

* This is a collaborative post but as usual all views and opinions are my own.