House Tour: Marie & Ben

Today I want to link to a new house tour that I have just posted on Apartment Therapy.

Marie and Ben live in a converted shoe factory in Hackney, East London. Danish-born Marie is the founder of Silk & Burg, a design company which sells beautiful screen printed cushions, tea towels and art work.

It was really fun to photograph Marie's apartment and the simple architectural details of the flat provide the perfect backdrop for her scandinavian-inspired aesthetic. I love the huge windows, open plan living space and subtle, feminine colour palette. To view the full tour, please click here to see the feature on Apartment Therapy.

www.cargocollective.com/silkandburg www.newtonmediadesign.com

Interiors Inspiration: John Derian

John Derian is one of my favourite shops in New York so I was intrigued to see his home featured recently in T Magazine by the New York Times. A former garment factory which was recently used as a sculptor's studio, the vast 1850's space in the East Village came with a wealth of history and aged patina perfectly suited to Derian's aesthetic. He attempted a makeunder rather than a makeover - keeping the building as raw as possible and filling it with a mix of his own and antique furniture. The result is an eclectic space which elegantly communicates the owners discerning taste.

www.johnderian.com

Interiors Inspiration: Tin House

This former hen house in the south of France has been converted into a nest for guests by Spanish interior designer Isabel Lopez-Quesada. Most of the materials used in the project are recycled - from doors, windows and radiators to the corrugated tin used in the original construction.

Corrugated tin/iron is such an underrated material and it is great to see it being used in a modern and celebratory way. I would happily live under a roof of tin - it would be extremely noisy when it rained but I imagine that would be half the fun! I also like the irregular panelling in the corridor - such a good way to improve the space.

As the designer says, “a house, like a person, should blend traditions and modernity. Why do a house in just one style? Being narrow-minded is not the message you want to pass on to your children.”

www.isabellopezquesada.com

My Book: Recycled Home

Exciting news! My new book Recycled Home comes out next Monday! The book, published by Laurence King, features instructions for 50 craft projects that anyone can create from recycled materials.  Above is a sneak preview of some of the projects and as you can see, some of them are easy - like the Recycled Storage Tins, which could be completed in half an hour and some are a little more complicated - like the Tribal Teepee. Either way, I hope there is lots of inspiration and practical advice in there for readers!

I am really pleased with how the book has come out, particularly as I wrote most of it when my daughter was a tiny newborn. She was a good little assistant and I have fond memories of carrying her around in a sling, writing, making and photographing the book. Fun times indeed!

If you would like to pre-order a copy you can do so from Amazon. Otherwise, it should be available in all good bookshops from Monday August 13th!

www.laurenceking.com

Interiors Inspiration: A Perfectly Ordinary Bungalow

The stripped back simplicity of stylist Sue Skeen's Suffolk bungalow is both beautiful and awe-inspiring. It was first featured in the March 2012 issue of World of Interiors and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

A perfectly ordinary 1970's bungalow, described in the accompanying article as "architecturally, as unlovely as a tub of margarine." It has been transformed into one of the most inspiring interiors I have seen.

What I particularly love is that Sue's imprint on the house has been minimal. There is no fake cladding or panelling, no tasteful windows and no fancy lighting. Instead she just painted the space white and allowed it to act as a simple backdrop for her collection of reclaimed and antique furniture.

Her lifestyle is equally as intriguing. With no central heating, no television and very few trappings of a modern lifestyle, she is clearly a women after my own heart. "What I really, really like about living in the country," she says, "is the inconvenience. You have to work for things in the country - work to get warm, work to find food. You turn in on yourself and face up to what and who you are." Indeed.