Last day of April..OH MY!!! :)

Hi Everybody
Hope you had a great weekend.
I just thought I would update you on an award ceremony that took place in the UK last week.
It was the BIRA National Conference and Gala Awards 2012.
It was hosted in the Birmingham Town Hall  and  awards were presented for the BIRA direct Supplier Award, the UK Young Retailer of the Year Awards for each division of BIRA – BAGMA, BHF, CHA, FAB and PPRA. They also present two community awards for a Charitable Champion and a Local Hero, which celebrated the invaluable social and charitable contributions made by independent retailers.

The Winners of the catagories are as follow:
BIRA direct Most Promising Newcomer- Hardware, Garden, DIY & Pet
Winner: Durston Garden Products

BIRA direct Most Promising Newcomer- Cookshop, Housewares, Tabletop & Gift
Winner: Anniversary House

BIRA direct Best Marketing- Hardware, Garden, DIY & Pet
Winner: Draper Tools

BIRA direct Best Marketing- Cookshop, Housewares, Tabletop & Gift
Winner: Anniversary House

BIRA direct Best Turnover Growth- Hardware, Garden, DIY & Pet
Winner: Bulk Hardware

BIRA direct Best Turnover Growth- Cookshop, Housewares, Tabletop & Gift
Winner: Rayware

BIRA direct Supplier of the Year 2011 as voted for by bira members – Hardware, Garden, DIY & Pet
Winner: Jegs

BIRA direct Supplier of the Year 2011 as voted for by bira members – Cookshop, Housewares, Tabletop & Gift
Winner: Eddingtons

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners and those on the nominated list.

Unti We Speak Again...

-Z

Nearly the end of the week....AAAAahhhhhhh :)

Hi Guys

Just a quick post today.

I have found this excellent website:

www.fiftyonepercent.co.uk/main/

Fifty One Percent have a keen eye for exciting and functional design. The company appears to focus on creating products that will give everyday life an extra spark of joy with humorous twists and a mixture of stunning colours. Combining a factory style and raw appearance with shabby chic accents, the brand knows that it’s often the contrasts in colour and texture that make things stand out and creates a new and exciting look. They often use recycled and surplus material to give an individual flair. So please have a look at them and you may get some tips.

Until we speak again....stay creative...
-Z

Are we in a SHABBY mood :)????

Hey everybody
How are you today?
The Shabby Chic looks appears to be apparant and looks far better in the bedroom, although I'm not saying you couldn't put certain pieces in other rooms such as storage cupboars in the bathrooms or a side table in the living room/lounge, but for that softer feel it would be more suited in the bedroom.
Here are some examples to which I refer:

Its really about keeping the colours soft and very neutral, that way it will be the perfect place to relax and get a good nights sleep after a hard days work.
Stay Creative...
-Z

Time to be a bit SHABBY I think..

Hi All
Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

I thought I would take a look at the shabby chic element this week.

Shabby Chic... The name seems to resonate quite a bit nowadays but what exactly is it.

Shabby chic is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, opulent, yet cottage-style decor, often with a feminine feel is emphasised to differentiate it from genuine period decor

The early forms of shabby chic were rather grand but the style has evolved taking inspiration from many forms of design. These range from the French Chateau to the American Shakers where simplicity and plainness was essential.

Shabby chic items are often heavily painted through the years, with many layers showing through obviously time-worn areas. The style is imitated in faux painting using glaze or by painting then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats. Fabrics tend to be cottons and linens, with linen being particularly popular, inspired by old French linens. Whites, worn or bleached out pastels are favorite colours. Fabric is often stained with tea to give it the look of old fabric. It is not meant for old chipped furniture.

The essence of today's shabby chic style is vintage, antique furniture with the original aged paint, or painted white (or another soft pastel color) and distressed at the corners by sanding.

The style started in Great Britain and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old chintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming 'good' taste. The end result of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect.Recycling old furniture and fabrics is an important aspect of the look.

 

Shabby chic can be a great style to imitate in home décor for those on a limited budget, or for families who have small children or animals that might not be too kind to furniture. Pieces don’t have to match, and flea market items or estate sale items are just as chic, perhaps even more so, than brand new distressed furniture. Further, any damages to furniture by exuberant kids or animals may actually augment your shabby chic design scheme instead of marring it.

So overall you can unsderstand why shabby chic is so popular in todays home.

Until next time..... stay creative. :)

-Z

Bathe in the glory of your finished design.

Hi Everybody
Its that time of the day for me to report back to you wonderful people and today I have some great storage unit ideas.
If you have a smaller bath room then why not think about an over the toilet storage cupboard. That way towels, flannels and your toiletries can all be kept within easy access and it can be all organised.
I absolutly love the bath at the bottom with the sepearate hinged door. Once opened this gives to handy places to put sponges, bottles of shampoo or even your favourite rubber duck.

Until next time...stay stylish and creative
-Z

Tidy up the bathroom in Premier style...

Hope all is well today.

As I said in my last post I would be looking at some ways in which you can tidy the bathroom and make more space just by being more organised.

There is a company on AMAZON.CO.UK called Premier Housewares that I occasionally keep coming across and I didn't relise the range they had for the home. The prices for their items are very good as well. In fact I would go as far to say to can kit out an entire house with their products. I think I think I will be coming back to their products at some point.

Below is various pieces from their bathroom colection of storage units. I have seen and even used some chrome undersink products and I was not happy with them. They tended to wobble a bit and the chrome in one instance started to come off, so seeing the wooden beach look effect units was a joy to see. They look more solid and sturdy, although not the most outragously designed pieces, to be honest they dont have to be. The fact they are white you can either paint them to suit your colour scheme or leave them white and they will reflect any light and brighten up the room.

Until next time...stay creative
-Z

Honest guys I dont bite..:) :)

Hi Everybody
Hope you are all well.
I was thinking that as my blog has been going for a few weeks now please feel free to contact me at any time or you can follow my blog.
We can share ideas or even give me tips on topics you would like me to look at or investigate.
So C'MON GUYS...... together we can take over the world :) :) :)
I thought this week I would look at storage in the bathroom.
Till next time...stay creative
-Z

FRIDAY THE 13TH ....OH NO!!!

How are we today. All Good I hope. Well today is Friday 13th which for some is a very superstitios day. For me it is just another Friday, but a very careful Friday where I look that I am not going to fall over or anything will fall on me...:) :)

I thought I might show you some strange and weird furniture pieces, and belive me there is some very strange, yet wonderfully unbelievable pieces out there....

FISH N FLUSH: This has been designed by AquaOne Technologies Inc

OOPS! CABINET: Designed by Judson Beaumont of Straight Line Designs, this is a one off piece as part of a collection of wacky cartoon style furniture.

LOVE ME: This was designed by Domeau & Peres which give the illusion its melting.

There are so many different ideas and imaginations are vast and unlimited.

Most of the furniture can be seen on the blog:

www.demilked.com

 

Enjoy the rest of your Friday the 13th and stay safe.

Speak to you all soon

-Z

To Boldly Go Where No Designer Has Gone Before...

Happy Wednesday everybody. How are we all at the midweek point.

I saw this today and just had to let you guys see this kitchen. It really is wonderfully crazy and simply stunning. Enjoy

STAR TREK FANS BEHOLD....

Yes you are right this is quite a working kitchen. The only thing that looks out of place is the kettle and even them somehow it seems to fit beautifly. This sums up what I have been speaking about in ealier posts, with the use of lighting, a theme in mind, using your imagination and still making it work anything can be achieved.

Stunning...simply stunning :)

Until next time on my continuing mission to seek out new ideas and new rooms..TO BOLDY GO WHERE NO INTERIOR DESIGNER HAS GONE BEFORE....

-Z

Strange Facinating...

Hi Everybody. Hope you had a wonderful Easter.
I thought I would go a bit crazy and strange this week and show you some wild and wacky ideas I have found. They do say love is in the eye of the beholdered but you can tell me what you think on some of these.....



Puts a whole new spin on a child leaving the nest...:)

Any minute now you will be expecting Fred to get up to his old tricks :)

It just goes to show that there are no bondaries to your design or theme for your room and you are really only limited my your imagination......
I will look for more of these and see what I can find for you.
Until then keep the imagination running wild.
-Z

Go on have a seat

How are you today?

If you are a little tight on space in your garden then rather that having table and chairs and lots of different types of furniture, why not just have a bench. They are great for an empty wall or a corner of your garden or just you small place to sit and enjoy the sun. They come in so many different shapes and sizes and you can add a personal touch with them as well.

With so many designs available this Wroght Iron has an excellent design and you can even add a colourful cushion for that splash of colour. 

This is a more simple affair yet the comfier, relaxed option. You can snuggle and cuddle up and on a warm summers evening.

SEE BELOW: These two are a different option, especially the butterfly Wrought Iron bench.

With its Road to the Mountains Motorbike scene, it can be a nice idea for the motorbike enthusiast in the home

Speak to you all very soon
-Z

And the news today is......

Hope you all had a fantastic week.
A quick update on some news today.....
THE DESIGN WEEK AWARDS 2012 will be on the 13/06/2012 at the:
Artillery Gardens
HAC (Honourable Artillery Company)
London
The Design Week Awards has always been the one of the biggest parties in the design calendar. It is a fantastic way on networking with other designers and it also will give you the chance to see whats hot in design and to spot out any competition.
If you need anymore information then click the link below and it will give you everything you need:
http://awards.designweek.co.uk/dw/2012/index.html

Until next time...
-Z