Here at Kevin Kelly Interiors we are delighted to be able to invite you to our showroom where we stock a wide range of Zoffany collections, including the new Arden collection of fabrics and wallpapers. This collection which was designed with Melissa White is the most comprehensive collection to date which is inspired by the Elizabethan style of the late 16th century.  We, at Kevin Kelly Interiors, love how the talented Zoffany team can combine the present and the past while still creating unique and stylish designs.

Dining rooms are not as common as they once were, but if you have one they can be a fantastic resource when entertaining or organising that special family event. If you’re lucky enough to have a dining room make sure you make the most of it, don’t let it be a storage zone for the family, design it as a unique entertaining space. For traditional style entertaining here are some tips on how to decorate your dining room and also some ideas for dressing your table when hosting a party.

Dining rooms can really set the mood for an evening. Rich, deep colours are great for night time entertainment. The curtains are an ideal place to start, voluptuous curtains really set a luxurious tone for your dining room and can make a huge impact. Go for glossy textures such as silks or velvets. They look fantastic in candlelight due to their ability to reflect light.

The focal point for the room will be the table. The bigger the better, it depends on the size of your room. As long as people can squeeze in and out of their seats your table is not too big. Table styles range from traditional to very modern, go with what you like best and use it as a starting point for your design ideas. The layout of a dining room is usually the easiest in your house. The table takes centre space surrounded by the chairs. Any other furniture is optional. A great way to add colour to your room is by upholstering your chairs in a fabric; it brings more soft furnishings into the room giving a cosy and warm feel.

It’s not uncommon to find wooden floors or other hard floors in dining rooms. If you have a hard flooring surface, a rug in the centre of the room will accentuate your table. If you do choose to use a rug, make sure that when the chairs are pulled back by your guests that all four legs remain on the rug. Also, make sure it’s a rug that won’t show up every speck of food that is dropped on it.

Above your dining table a beautiful chandelier or other lighting can again highlight your table. If you’re not a fan of chandeliers or they don’t suit your room due to a low ceiling, you can also go for a table centre piece or some candles. Flickering candlelight creates a great atmosphere and mood for dining rooms. Floral arrangements can also work well as centre pieces. However, if you place a floral arrangement in the center of the table, make sure it is not so tall that it requires guests to go around the flowers in order to see and converse with each other. That said, it could be handy for positioning guests that don’t get on well with each other!

Chandelier available from Hicken Lighting Dublin

When setting a table choose tablecloths, place mats and napkins that match your furnishings. Go for similar colours or design. If the tablecloth has flowers then use a solid colour on the place mats and use a solid colour from the tablecloth for your napkins. Alternatively, if you use a white tablecloth then bring in a little bit of colour on your place mat and napkins. There are quirky napkin holders available now that can add a bit of design flair to your place settings. You can pick up fun place card holders in the shapes of shoes and animals, or whatever theme you decide for your evening. Using place cards can take away from any awkwardness at dinner parties when guests are uncertain of where to sit down.

Set the table elegantly and according to dining etiquette.  Make sure your plates, silverware and glasses shine. Your silverware placement will be in the order of the course served. Remember start from the outside in. Salad forks on the left and soup spoons on the right are the farthest from the plate, since those are usually the first courses. The dessert fork will be closest to the plate as dessert is the last course served. Just above the knife you should position the water glasses. A little tip is to fill all the water glasses just before everyone sits down. Then leave out a jug full of water on the table so guests can refill as needed. Finally lay a set of butter dishes and salt and pepper shakers for every four people.

If you have a dining room, make sure you allow yourself some some interior design fun by finding an excuse to throw a party at least once a year!

Chelsea Design centre was flooded with designers from all over Europe who were eager to peruse the new collections from the top design houses at London Design Week 2012. This season is a continuation from last with strong patterns and vibrant colours to the fore. Fun fabrics with textured wallpapers were also used to add a certain carefree element to any room scheme.

Colour
Neutrals will always be popular. Every collection always brings out some new neutrals, usually freshened up by using new textures or patterns and this year is no different. One company that always has some beautiful neutrals is Larsen. Their new collection offers unusual pocket weaves, printed velvets and silks in soft beiges, greys, creams and whites. Neutrals are also a great choice for sofa fabric as they are an ideal background for bright cushions and curtains.

On the other end of the scale is the rising popularity of brights. People are becoming more adventurous and are not shying away from strong colours and the chance to be a little bit different and braver when it comes to design. Designers Guild was still running strong with blue which was very popular last season. It’s often used with white which helps to keep it fresh, bright and fun. Sanderson have every shade of colour from bright pinks to vibrant oranges and through to emerald greens. One of my favourite colours of the season though has to be lilac grey. Zoffany, Manuel Canovas and Designers Guild all had this beautiful colour in their collections. It’s a soft relaxing shade that is visually very elegant.

Pattern
Pattern is back in fashion, and not one type is left out. Mixing different patterns in one scheme seems to be a major trend this season. Be careful how you do this though, the patterns need to be of different scale and you need to also have one big block colour to ground the whole scheme. This one colour could be the carpet, the walls, sofa or the window dressing. Osborne and Little have used some of their most popular patterns and updated them. Small patterns were abundant throughout the show and are great for re-upholstering occasional chairs, headboards and footstools.

Prints on wallpaper were wacky and fun. Christina Lacroix had some stunning Parisian scenes and antique maps. Artist Melissa White collaborated with Zoffany to produce some stunning designs inspired by the Elizabethan era of the 16th century.

Texture
Natural fabrics are popular all around – linens and wools can work in all schemes. Linens can be simple, cool and crisp in plain neutral colours or they can be used in richer schemes with beautiful embroidery such as Zoffany’s Poesy Embroidery. Ottoman weaves are popular in many collections. This is a medium to heavy weight fabric with wide horizontal ribs. It is great for upholstery. Glazed cotton is back in fashion too and great for those who want an alternative to silk. Again use these in fabulous bright shades.

Once again London design week did not disappoint.To sum it all up would be to use the expression joie de vivre. Fabrics seemed to be a mix of cheerfulness and elegance whilst wallpaper had a funky twist.

Both of the above images by Nobilis

Above 3 images by Designers Guild

Jane Chuchill

]]> http://www.kevinkellyinteriors.ie/blog/2012/03/spring-time-prints/feed/ 0 http://www.kevinkellyinteriors.ie/blog/2012/03/cole-sons-albemarle-collection/ http://www.kevinkellyinteriors.ie/blog/2012/03/cole-sons-albemarle-collection/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:03:12 +0000 Sarah http://www.kevinkellyinteriors.ie/blog/?p=1922 A great new book from Cole & Sons featuring bold big damasks, Faux Mirror panels and beautiful elegant peacock in antiqued colours.

credit: ³© Ideal Home Magazine

www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk.

Decorative artist William Morris (1834-1896) lived a fantastically energetic life, he was a distinguished scholar, poet, linguist and a committed socialist. However his most long-standing influence was on the decoration of homes worldwide with his wallpaper designs and invention of the interior design shop.

William Morris’s early years influence interior design worldwide greatly. He is described as leading a spoiled childhood living near the woods in Walthamstow, northern London. He spent hours walking through the forests on his own enchanted by nature. As was fashionable at the time he also became obsessed with medieval times, reading books and playing with toys from that period. His father was a wealthy stockbroker, so on completion of his degree and reaching 21 years old he inherited an annual income of £900, making him a wealthy man.

William marries his college sweetheart and commissions an architect friend to design a house south of London in the medieval style, Red House. Once built he then sets about decorating it with his friends. Like a true decorative artist, he wants a hand in all designs, so William and his friends decorate the house themselves, staying as true as possible to medieval style. They build all the furnishings, design the stained glass windows, paint murals, weave tapestries and design textiles. Once finished, they realise that they enjoyed themselves greatly, and begin to hatch a plan that was to influence interior design well into the future.

William’s first wallpaper design was Trellis in 1862, a pattern suggested by the rose-trellis in the garden of his house. It wasn’t printed though until 1864 due to difficulty with printing the colours on the paper with the tools of the time. The first pattern to be printed was Daisy, a simple design of ‘naively drawn’ meadow flowers. These two designs, and the next pattern Fruit (also known as Pomegranate), share a medieval character inspired by William’s interest in that age, and they are also clearly influenced by his love of nature as ornament.

William’s designs, like all true visionaries, were ahead of their time. Sales figures for the wallpapers upon release were weak, and in fact Oscar Wilde was apparently not fond of them. In 1868 a book called ‘Hints on Household Taste’ by Eastlake is published, this serves to stimulate interest in interior design overall and William’s work is then noticed. An extensive redecoration of No.1 Holland Park, for the Greek merchant A.A. Ionides, including several wallpapers as well as tapestries, serves as a showcase for Morris & Co. designs, and leads to further commissions. William’s business takes off, and his influence on interior design through wallpaper allows him to branch out into carpets, furniture and tapestries. Morris & Co. becomes fabulously successful and extremely sought after. This allows the company to open the very first interior design shop in London (eventually on Oxford Street from 1877) allowing homeowners to furnish in a co-ordinated fashion. Ironically, as a wealthy man in those times there was a certain snobbery attached to wall decoration, and William himself preferred woven textile hangings over wallpaper for his own home.

However, times change and in 1940 Morris & Co. goes into voluntary liquidation. Sanderson comes to the rescue of the firm, buying the the wallpaper business together with the rights to use the company name for the sum of £400. William’s influence lives on in the collections that Sanderson produce, and the brand still exists today. Some of his wallpaper designs have been in continuous production for over 150 years.

William Morris’s chief contribution to the arts was as a designer of repeating patterns for wallpapers and textiles, many based on a close observation of nature from his childhood. As we are all inspired by his decorative designs, we should also remember his advice that still rings true today: “have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”!