Orderline 0116 2986393
If your hearts desire is a black living room then we have just the thing with our tour of Lara Bezzina’s dramatic black living room transformation. From a tired and soulless space, to a vibrant and welcoming room. Lara and her husband achieved all this with their own hard work and creativity. It’s often the case, that a need to keep hold of the purse strings leads to an imaginative, and ultimately, a more unique home.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m Lara and have a huge passion / obsession for design, especially in relation to interiors. I live in a village close to Northampton with my husband and Cocker Spaniel Coco. I’ve been interested in art and design from a young age but didn’t find an outlet for it until we purchased our first house. It needed a lot of work, we could barely pay the mortgage and bills so had to be very creative, re-using, upcycling, visiting reclamation yards, searching for ebay bargains all became the norm and I absolutely loved it.
19 Dec 2019
Party time is here again as we draw near to Christmas, but my kids don’t need that excuse. Any time can be party time for them, all it needs is one of them to crack open the prosecco and off it goes. It always seems to start with the prosecco, who knows why but it works.
Suffice to say it moves on from there to an array of alcoholic beverages, all requiring their very own cool barware. So, what constitutes cool barware for the ultimate party, and what is the ultimate party anyway? My idea of the ultimate party involves my 4 year old grandson and his 2 year old twin siblings, plus milk and biscuits, of course. Possibly not what you had in mind! But for the true party goers out there, here’s a selection of the coolest barware, plus a few tips to get that party going.
6 Dec 2019
We all need a revamp now and again to put some fresh new zing into our interiors, and what easier way to do it than with affordable art? So, glam up your walls and brighten up your day with a fun selection of colourful prints that won’t break the bank, but will bring a smile to your face. Think about the space and whether you want a gallery wall with a selection of prints, or keep it simple and showcase one or two prints. Decide on your preferred look and go all out to create a cool vibe that injects that bit of extra chutzpah to light up your walls. From quirky, to mellow, to glam, the choice is yours.
23 Nov 2019
We Audenza ladies do love a tropical vibe, so Amelia has put together 3 tropical colour schemes, to give you some interior colour palette inspiration, and to see how the different colour palettes affect the look of a room. Green is the mainstay of each design, but with subtle twists that create astonishingly vibrant, but opposed, vibes. From overtly feminine, to full on masculine, to give you the idea of how colour choices change an interior project.
8 Nov 2019
I love flowers and foliage everywhere; growing in the garden, on fabrics, on walls, on rugs, and most of all in vases dotted around my home. Looking back on photos of my flower arrangements there are a few I’m not happy with and I’m sure a florist would have something to say about them, but the main thing for me is to enjoy the colours and textures without worrying too much about perfection. So, here are my 4 tips for flower arranging the novice way.
25 Oct 2019
Celebrate the changing season and bring the colours of the outdoors in with our autumnal colour inspiration mood boards and pics. Ochres, greens and russets create a warmth and vibrancy, with a textural scrumptiousness in velvet, wool and fur, for that essential tactile experience. Rejoice as we settle into the delights of autumn and hunker down for the end of the year in a blaze of colour. So, here is our roundup, showcasing the beauty of an autumnal colour palette for your home.
Today’s house tour is an Art Deco beauty, with amazing aqua coloured Crittall style windows, and the icing on the cake – it’s by the seaside! It’s a fabulous and fearless light filled family home, filled with vibrant colour and attention to detail. Natalie lives in Poole, Dorset in an original 1930’s Art Deco home with her husband Mark and their 2 children, Sienna age 8 and Rudy age 7. Although the house is Art Deco, Natalie has chosen to decorate in her own style. A glamorous and decadent style, reminiscent of the Hollywood era, but with an eclectic vibe.
How do you rock leopard print in your home? Any which way that suits you has to be my answer to that! And probably the same way you would in your clothing. My friend has the most amazing oversized fake fur leopard print coat, and she really rocks it, whereas I am more sedate and have a fab pair of leopard print boots. I would like to be more dramatic with it, but I’m still waiting for a piece to call to me! So, as with most interior decisions it’s all about you and your personal preferences. But to get a more balanced view on the subject we asked 4 interior experts their thoughts on leopard print in the home, all with differing views. Let’s start with the more sedate, as I would call it. For those of you who believe a little goes a long way.
Leopard Print as an Accent
Leopard print as an accent pattern works well because of its contrast value. You’re not asking it to tone in, you’re asking it to be bold and vibrant. It’s a pattern, but a ritzy pattern that will also be that bit different and stand out, so even used minimally it will always have impact.
30 Aug 2019
The gold ginkgo leaf side table is a beautifully curvaceous table that can be styled in so many ways depending on your vibe. The distinctive fan shaped leaves of the ancient ginkgo tree twirl round the base in gold, for a glamorous art nouveau inspired design. Also, a symbol of longevity used widely in Japanese decorative arts. With its open work base and mirrored glass top, the ginkgo side table gives a feeling of space and lightness to a room. And is quite rightly one of our best sellers. To see how fabulous it looks in different settings we thought we would share with you some stunning images of the gold ginkgo leaf side table styled 5 ways.
Anyone who knows me personally will know that I’m hugely passionate about nutrition. If you catch me after a few wines (the irony is not lost!), then it’s all too easy to get caught in one of my rants about childhood obesity, misleading packaging and poor education about nutrition. So our latest ‘Fabulous and Fearless Women’ interview is a brand I’m really excited to share with you.
Founded by Alicia Porter and Lucy Sinclair in 2014, Fruity Beauties has evolved from festival trading to becoming stocked in the UK’s largest online retailer Ocado, amongst other smaller independent retailers with their Five Fruit, Organic and Fairtrade bars. As well as being delicious, they are a wholly socially conscious brand aiming to tackle issues they feel passionately about, including the growing problem of childhood obesity in the UK. I’m lucky enough to call both Alicia and Lucy very good friends of mine, and I’m so happy to be able to share their incredible journey with you all.
