Back to school & Time to dream

The dream lounge. Close your eyes & tell me what you see?! Yes. This was my assignment. Am I in heaven? Well, hmmm, not quite.

Let’s rewind for a quick moment. Learning a new skill is easy right? I remember the time I took jewellery classes, after a few copper & silver rings and a bangle that spelling funk (yes), I quickly realised Tiffany wasn’t going to be knocking on my door anytime soon. Or the time I took up tennis and after six months, I was no Serena Williams. Next. Chocolate Bon Bons, simple right, nope harder than it looks. Next. Pottery, a lumpy clumsy mess.

Perhaps I don’t have the best track record, it hasn’t stopped me. I’m still diving head first into my studies, but perhaps this time a tad slower. I thought I could *BAM* complete one class a month. Well, let’s just say reality has set in and the new skill I’m learning is patience (sigh).

The inspiration.

So back to what I thought was the dreamiest of assignments. My inspiration was all about contrasts — this Christian LaCroix Bagatelle wallpaper where the colourful, uncontrollable wild jungle meets the structured, angular, clean lines of Art Deco city buildings. Plus a monochrome image from Elle Decor of soft deep shades of blue that reminded me of an ocean & sky. The final was an advert from B&B Italia Maxalto with a head turning bold black & white striped screen set among very ornate period features. Like I said, it was all about beauty found in contrasts. My head was spinning with colour schemes, coordinating jungalow wallpaper, drool worthy sofas, bling bling and industrial lighting, and gallery walls galore.

The reality: A site survey.

Any excuse to provide more inspo, this midcentury vibe with its sexy lines and colour pops was the style I wanted to bring into my dream interior. Thank you Oliver Thomas Esq (image source).

This all came to an abrupt halt as I had to complete a detailed site survey (more sighs). So far I’ve learned that I can’t draw a straight line. nope. can’t do it. I’m much better suited to doodling, squirrelly random designs. This helps me, hmmm 0% in my current assignment where I have to measure every socket, switch, radiator, decorative panel, trim, cornice, and wall. Then attempt to draw it all free hand.

Yikes, why does my lounge have so many corners, angles, nooks, panelling, and ornate details. As an older wiser student, it has dawned on me that I need to practice practice practice. yawn. Who wants to practice drawing a straight line, surely not me. I will awkwardly admit that this “site survey” is actually quite helpful & makes you take an honest assessment of the space. So here I am with my favourite new word “not to scale”.

Scroll down for “the glory”.

The struggle: My battle with scale drawings.

I’ve graduated from free hand sketching and the maths battle begins. Now, I’m taking on scale drawings BY HAND – the type that CAD software creates. Yikes, was I naive. Let me say again, why on earth does my lounge have so many corners, angles, nooks, panelling, and ornate details? As a first go at scale drawing, let me tell you, this is painful. It’s probably the only time that I wished I had a simple square box for a room.

After what felt like many many many many attempts, I’m just starting to feel good about using my drawing board, all those rulers, right angles. I’d rate myself as basic. Bring on the software I say but once again, I learned that scale drawings are helpful to know if my dreamy furniture will actually fit in the space.

Here it is finally …

The glory:  Did I go overboard, yup. My husband was scared.

Here we are, the fun creative bit. Pulling together all the bits & pieces to create a dreamy interior. Sofas, chairs, rugs, benches, stools, side tables, coffee tables, chandeliers, lighting, wallpaper, textiles for custom made chairs, cushions, pouffes, and curtains, art art art!

Yes. Yes. Yes. x3 that is. Three of everything. Now we are talking. I am loving every single minute of sourcing and discovering new brands. Drumroll … here it is … some of the bits of my ‘dream interior’ mood board ‘Eclectic Jungalow’. There is much more to it but this gives you a good feel for what I’m looking to create.

And here are some of the lush fabric samples that I’d use for cushions, on stools, pouffes, and perhaps even to cover a bench or chair. I hit up Romo, Fermoie, Designers Guild, Mimi Pickard, Osborne & Little, Kitty McCall, Nina Campbell, Matthew Williamson, Lorca  and bought samples samples samples.

Source: liznylon

A mash up of prints, patterns, and abstracts in soft blush & deep blues.

So that’s a wrap on my latest instalment of ‘design school antics’. It was an eye opening two month long class. Lots of broken pencils, crumpled up paper, crooked lines, pens thrown, and proud moments of gaining new skills. Thanks for having a read & let me know your thoughts on my ‘Eclectic Jungalow’ mood board.

Till my next class, keep designing & have a fab weekend all.

Liz xx

Mood board Sources: Wallpaper: Christian LaCroix Bagatelle , Sofa: Hay Hackney , Stool: Pols Potten Tam Tam , Rug: The Rug Company Regalia by Vivienne Westwood, Unit: Jimmy’s Retro Vintage Austinsuite sideboard , Chair:  Woud Nakki chair , Floor lamp: Gubi grasshopper floor lamp, Vase: Jonathan Adler Muse , Art: Soo-uk ‘Nothing to See Here‘ , Art: Joel Penkman ‘Ice Cream’ print, Plant: Adairs Fiddle Leaf plant.