Buying Art

Affordable Art Fair - Battersea, London 2014

Art plays an important role in interiors and I must admit that personally I have a bit of an obsession and passion towards it. I love going to galleries, art fairs and exhibitions and I am always in the look out for cool new stuff and emerging artists.

One of my favourite shows to source art from is the Affordable Art Fair which takes place twice a year in London. I have been going to this for years now for work and personal pleasure and I really look forward to it every time.

I took couple of clients along on Wednesday nights Charity Preview and here are some of the pieces purchased on the night.

Image by Katja

'Random 21' by by Ruth Waller and Lee Hewett

http://www.byardart.co.uk/

Image from My Life In Art

'Sunlight ' by Brigitte Williams

http://mylifeinart.com/

These amazing pieces compliment each other, hung on a vast white wall space in client's contemporary style house. Needless to say, new owners are extremely pleased.

Image by Katja

'The White Queen' by Kirsty Mitchell

http://www.markjasongallery.com/

This powerful photograph was chosen for client's guest bedroom to add drama and create a theatrical and dreamlike feel.

Image by Katja

'Archie' by Adrian Franklin

http://www.framesgallery.co.uk/

I fell in love with Archie on Wednesday night as sculpture has become my new "guilty pleasure". Archie arrived home last night and has already received a range of artistic opinions. I love him, how about you?

As I see it, people buy art for a few reasons; you have a love of art and feel passionate about certain artists/pieces or you are looking for a potential investment.

Decide what you like; photography or painting, still life or sculpture or you might prefer landscape to a figurative.  Hopefully you will end up with what you love and enjoy your chosen pieces for a long time to come.

If buying art as an investment, there are a few things to keep in mind. Do your research and try and buy early in an artist's career. Look out for artist's that are starting to get mentioned by the 'art crowd' and are getting shown in public spaces. A great place to spot up and coming talent are graduate shows.

Have fun and enjoy!

Kx

Spring Inspirations

-Catwalk to Couch-

From fashion to interiors, here are a few trends to inspire you.

Powerful pastels

Already an established trend in 2013, candy colours had a strong presence on the London catwalks too.
Pretty pinks, mellow yellows and soft blues in sheer, light fabrics and laces were all on show.

Image by Katja
London Fashion Weekend 2014

Image pinned via VtWonen.nl-pintrest

Pink is a dreamy colour for the home. Combine pastels with metallics and grey nude tones to prevent the look to become too girly and sweet.

Bold Prints 

Image by Katja

London Fashion Weekend 2014

Strong patterns on the catwalk.

Image pinned via pinterest

This ocean blue wall decorated by hanging colourful prints works well to create a focal point to a room without dominating the deco.

Image by Katja

  Statement chair accessorised with 'on trend' Missoni cushions. 

Precious Metals

Image by Katja

London Fashion Weekend 2014

High shine from gold to glitter.
Metallics look great themed with blues and greens.

Image by Katja

The Bell side table adds distinctive touch to domestic interiors and follows this seasons metallic craze.

Image via pinterest

Polished metals and mirrored finishes look amazing if you contrast the look with plenty of texture.

Exposed brick, natural woods and concrete will ensure you will achieve the right balance.

Keep looking forward to spring!

Kx

Nicky Heard

-Bespoke Handmade Furnishings-
http://nickyheard.com/

Late last year I posted about an exciting day working as a stylist on a photo shoot for an up and coming luxury home accessories designer Nicky Heard. 

I am very pleased to report that Nicky is now fully in business, her website looking amazing and her product range and orders steadily increasing.

Over lunch today, I managed to catch up with Nicky to hear all about her news, and to share with you, my lovely readers, the inspiration behind Nicky's amazing collections.

Sukarara collection

"Be daring, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of ordinary"

Cecil Beaton

As having always been passionate about fabric, texture and with an immaculate eye for colour, Nicky embarked on an interior design qualification at KLC, School Of Design, London.

Whilst studying interior design and gaining valuable knowledge, Nicky realised that her interest and creative capabilities lay in a more specialised design field.

Inspiration behind Nicky's collections became to take shape on a visit to Indonesia. A trip to catch up with her daughter Izzy, who at the time was working there. As getting to know Nicky better, I can clearly see that this visit also had an alternative and more  creative purpose.

Loaded with research of the local crafts, Nicky visited the weavers of Ikat fabric in person, gaining more insight into the culture of the island of Lombok and it's villages. Learning first hand the process of hand weaving, from start to finish and understanding the 'motifs', which each bear a specific story. 

Returning back to the UK with bundles of these unique, high quality woven fabrics, Nicky began her journey in developing her first collection. First item being a sumptuous throw as a gift to a friend.

Sukarara Collection

Nicky's creative process, as she likes to describe it, always starts from colour. Nicky seems to have just that incredible eye on combining patterns and colour and mixing different textures together. Cushions made out of Ikat fabrics, backed with beautiful silks and linens. Throws carefully lined and interlined to create bespoke, vivid and striking home accessories.

Oxford Road Linen& Cotton Collection

Oxford Road Linen and Cotton collection Nicky created to complement the hand woven Sukarara Ikat collection. With a more simple and relaxed design, these pieces will sit beautifully alongside others. Great items to brighten up your garden and Nicky's fun and colourful floor cushions work wonders making any playroom deco that little bit more interesting.

Ashdown Knitted Collection

Ashdown Knitted collection evolved from Nicky's love of knitting. Luxurious yarns used in creating unique and plush pieces include alpaca, mohair and aran wool to name a few.

All lined in high quality fabrics and finished with stylish buttons and trims. They look fabulous in any grown up space, creating warmth and adding that little element of surprise into any interior style.

Amongst busying herself with adding more designs to her original collections, especially pieces for her spring/summer line, Nicky will be exhibiting her home accessories at Decorfest http://thedecorcafe.com/decorfest/. A Creative Home and Garden Festival on Sunday 23rd March 2014 at King's College School, Wimbledon, organised by The Decorcafe http://thedecorcafe.com/ in partnership with KCS Enterprises.

The day promises to inspire and help all those interested in making their homes and gardens just that little more personal.

Come along to meet Nicky and indulge yourself in great design.

I will also be involved in styling nh stand and looking forward to the day.

More information on Nicky Heard's collections visit

http://nickyheard.com/

or contact her

nicky@nickyheard.com

If in need of any Interior Design advice or styling, don't hesitate to contact me

 katja@thedoortodesign.co.uk

www.thedoortodesign.co.uk

All photography by Luke White http://www.lukewhite.com/

Styling by Katja, The Door To Design Ltd

Kx

  

Store Your Jewels

As styling is a big part of my job, I try and make everyday accessories part of the bigger picture.

Here are some images and ideas on how to display and store your jewellery and feature them in your interiors.

Image by Katja

Draping your necklaces on a mannequin is a great way to showcase them and makes them easily accessible when in a hurry. Great way to jazz up your decor too.

Image by Katja

Add a touch of glamour to your dressing table by creating a focal point with mirrored accessories. 

Beautiful trinket boxes look great and work well in treasuring those delicate rings and earrings.

Image by Katja

Here I decided to style the image by filling a timeless Maribowl by Iittala with some of my pearls.

Interesting vases work well too in showing off your gorgeous pieces.

Image by Katja

My antelope head sits right above my dressing table and I find it a great way to store and display some of my favourite everyday pieces.

Image by Katja

I got hold of this beautiful jewellery tree from West Elm.

www.westelm.co.uk

Happy styling!

Kx

Evening at the Imitate Gallery

Retrospective by Russell Marshall

Celebrating Kate Moss's birthday, beauty and career at Imitate Modern.

Let's not forget the man behind this exhibition.

Russell Marshall, extensive career behind him in journalism, yet an amazing photo/print maker with connections and such cool life choices.

Check him out http://www.artrepublic.com/biographies/300-russell-marshall.html

On to the pics...

Image by Katja

Image by Katja

Image by Katja

Kx

Masculine Interiors

As The London Mens Collections drew to an end last week, I thought it would be great to share some images and words of wisdom on masculine interiors.

Richard James - London Mens Collection 2014

Masculine spaces are usually dark, dramatic with a touch of industrial feel to them. Battered Chesterfields and wingback chairs, subtle lightning and exposed brick are all key elements to creating that edge to a manly space.

I love mixing different textures in all concepts that I work on, but with dark, dramatic interiors I find it a must as dark colours can look lifeless and dreary without a layering of materials and fixtures.

Mix of leather, wool and velvet work in harmony and it's always nice to add some interest with cool patterns either in accessories, art or wallpaper.

Source unusual objects to display and add vintage pieces to complete the look.

Image pinned from tumblr.com

Image pinned from Olivialehti.fi

Image pinned from 79ideas.org

Image pinned fromlivelyupyours.com

Image by Katja

Image by Katja

Here are a few colour and texture palette's that work well together.

Kx

Office Cool

The New Year is now well under way and most of us are settling back to our weekly routines.

Wether you might be thinking of re-furbing your work space or just after some inspiration, check out  these cool images to help you keep focused.

Image via sageatelier.com

Minimal and contemporary monochromatic palette works wonders for this small work station.

Get creative and think "out of the box" when it comes to arranging and storing your office essentials.

Loving the use of hangers for magazines, practical yet eye catching.

Image via pinterest.com

Manly and moody feel created in this space by mixing contemporary clean lines with vintage style seating and desk accessories. Oversized, low hanging black pendants create drama and mystery to this corner.

Image by Katja

This contemporary office space was cleverly designed using available "dead space"underneath a staircase. The space is filled with natural light by surrounding double heightened glass gallery and,  keeping the deco white and contemporary with carefully chosen essential pieces, it makes this a great airy studio.

Image via greigedesign.blogspot.com

Cool grey hues mixed with gold give this period style library a calming and luxurious feel.

Image by Coveteur

It only takes one beautiful desk to make the room feel romantic and totally gorgeous.

Dreamy.

Kx