Coronavirus Lockdown: Day Ten

It’s Thursday isn’t it. Day ten of Coronavirus lockdown. If you read my previous post- thank you. It’s difficult to know whether or not to publish those posts that I wrote pre-lockdown. I will always love fashion and its associated trends, but clearly, it’s not at the forefront of our minds right now.

It seems like an awful lot of us have turned our thoughts to home decorating and home improvements though. Most online paint and DIY companies are experiencing unprecedented demand and there’s a longer than usual delivery time. I’ve mentioned before that I live in a new-build, that while being devoid of character, has an excellent location. Therefore, I have no plans to move. Rather, I want to inject some personality and “make it my own,”  (to be read in an Irish accent à la Louis Walsh).

Towards the end of last year, I decorated the utility room and the little loo next to it. I love it. It’s vibrant, it’s fun and it’s me. When Ian and I were in Amsterdam, we saw some amazing wallpaper called Menagerie of Extinct Animals. (You can see it in my blog post: Four Days in Amsterdam). I couldn’t get it out of my mind- I still can’t actually- but at £130 per metre, I couldn’t justify it. Anyway, the wallpaper in the utility is in a similar vein. It’s difficult to photograph either room because they are so small and have no natural light, but these photos give some idea of what I mean. I did three walls with the animal paper and one in leopard print. I love the combination of teal and copper so have copper switches, storage boxes and accessories.

The lobster wallpaper in the little loo is a bit more subtle, but makes just as much impact. I bought the crab and lobster prints in 2015, when I took Poppy and Harry to Woolacombe for the week. These were my inspiration. I think the large scale print makes the room seem bigger too.

The living room and kitchen/dining area both need some finishing off, but I know what I want to do with both. So, the next big thing will be the hallway. At the moment, we have white walls with a light oak Amtico floor and grey striped stair carpet. (There are two sets of stairs because the house is an unusual layout. You enter the front door on ground level, but there is a lower ground floor as well as a first floor because the house is built on a hill). If I do the hallway, I’ll need to do the corresponding walls and bannisters on both stairways. We’ve been here over five years and the stair carpets are looking a little tired; I’m ready for a change. It will be therefore, quite a big decorating project because it spans three floors.

I’d like some continuity throughout the house, and because I love teal so much, I think I’ll have that as an accent colour. It looks beautiful with blush pink, with navy and with gold, so as it stands at the moment, that will be the colour scheme. So, although I’ll have to wait until lockdown is over to look at carpets, I will make the most of having the extra time to browse in books, magazines and online to get inspiration and put a mood board together. At the moment, I’m looking for velvet tasseled lampshades, something that makes a statement and that will make me smile. Etsy has a lot as do high-end designers, but any other recommendations gratefully received.

Stay safe x

Notes

Utility:
Belgravia menagerie wallpaper: World of Wallpaper, current
Burnished copper switch plates and sockets: Sockets and Switches, current
Black and copper storage boxes: TKMaxx, (the TKMaxx website is currently closed due to Covid-19)
Dark grey picture ledge: Ikea, current
Senzo Spot leopard wallpaper: John Lewis: current

Loo:
Sanderson Cromer lobster wallpaper: Jane Clayton, current
Black and gold round mirror: TKMaxx