Joanne Richards Interior Design Blog

Walton Street in South Kensington is another area full of wonderful designer
shops – Andrew Martin, Nina Campbell, Chelsea Textiles, Dragons of Walton
Street, Serene Linley, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery to name a few.

I particularly loved the two Chelsea Textiles showrooms – one was full of
their wonderful tapestry cushions and the other of their fabrics and
furniture.

Taking in all the culture in London – one never has enough time to see everything on a short visit.  But I did pack in my old favourites – Victoria & Albert Museum, Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts.

I couldn’t miss the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at The National Gallery – as all the tickets had been pre-sold the only option was to queue.  A dear friend started queuing for me at 6.30am, I took over at 9am and finally got a ticket at 11.30am!  But the wait was worth it.  It was a once in a life exhibition and I feel so very lucky to have been.  You really don’t realise how extraordinary Leonardo’s work is until you are inches away from it – I cant really express in words how it felt to be there and experience it.  I was overwhelmed, humbled and felt very privileged to have been one of about 300,000 people to view his works in three very small and dark rooms.

I purchased a wonderful book from the National Gallery and would be delighted it you would like to come in and view it in the showroom.

And then on the other end of the spectrum I went to the David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.  It was equally spectacular as the Leonardo exhibition, but obviously in a very different way.   The paintings were inspired by the East Yorkshire landscape and have been created especially to fit the big  walls at the Academy.  The colour combinations were incredible – I felt like a child in a candy store while going around this exhibition.  The exhibition also includes drawings done on his ipad, and a series of films produced using 18 cameras.

I had a fabulous day at the Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour in London – the design mega
for design professionals.

There are two towers, three storeys high full of high end showrooms -
heaven!

I went into every showroom, and there were plenty of them! Jean Munro, Henry Bertrand,
Clive Christian Bespoke Joinery, Porta Romana, Vaughan Lighting,  Fox
Linton, Pierre Frey, Mulberry Home – the list goes on.

There is everything here from joinery, lighting and bathroom fitting to fabrics,
paint, tiles, wallpaper – and I found the most fascinating RIBA bookshop
with I could have spent another whole day in!

Visiting William Yeoward’s showroom in London’s iconic Kings Road was a real treat.
I was inspired here by the contemporary classic style with a bit of quirkiness
thrown in.  Beautiful textures, rich colours – timeless and fun for everyday
living.

The other style William Yeoward does extremely well is the more casual
seaside look – stunning navy, blues, reds in an array of delicious stripes
and patchwork.  I have samples in the showroom for you to view – I’m sure you will find them as
inspiring as I do!

Visit the William Yeoward website.

I recently visited the Halcyon Gallery in London’s New Bond Street where they had an incredible exhibition of glass sculpture by  American artist
Dale Chihuly.  So organic, interesting, detailed and incredibly made. The Halcyon Gallery  has an interview with Chihuly on its website.

Chihuly has also done some big chandelier installations, one hangs in the Victoria &
Albert Museum. Have a look at more of his work on his website here.

I had lots of highlights on my trip to London but one of them was visiting
the iconic showroom of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler at 39 Brook Street,
London W1.
The famous ‘Yellow Room’ originally designed in 1959 by Nancy Lancaster and
John Fowler is absolutely breathtaking.  I was in total awe of this room,
the strength of the yellow was sunshine at its brightest, filled with
beautiful antiques, fabrics, paintings and accessories.  It’s an inspirational
room, cleverly decorated and even after 50 years it is still extraordinary.
The Yellow Room caught my imagination the most, but the rest of the rooms at
Brook Street were just as beautiful – the paint effects on the walls and
woodwork and the bouquets of beautiful flowers helped create the atmosphere
Colefax & Fowler are so world famous for.  And then on the top floor is the
working showroom where you can view all the stunning fabrics and
wallpapers.
There is a wonderful article in ‘The World of Interiors’ Magazine, December
2010 edition.  I have a copy of this which you are more than welcome to come in and view at my showroom. And course I have a good range of Colefax and Fowler’s wonderful fabrics and wallpaper samples here so you can see what I am talking about!

I found this talk by British Architect Thomas Heatherwick very inspiring – he designed the astonishing “Seed Cathedral” for the UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010.

 ”A future more beautiful? Architect Thomas Heatherwick shows five recent projects featuring ingenious bio-inspired designs. Some are remakes of the ordinary: a bus, a bridge, a power station … And one is an extraordinary pavilion, the Seed Cathedral, a celebration of growth and light.”

I’m back home and getting things cranked up for another busy year, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the cool design ideas I saw in the UK on this blog. In the meantime, I’m going to be at Mitre 10 as  Dulux Colour Ambassador in March – see dates and times below.  I’ll be available on those days to talk about paint colour choices, plus the new fandeck showcasing the favourite colours  in the Colours of New Zealand range.  Dulux have an improved hard wearing Wash and Wear 101 Barrier paint available so come and have a talk about some new colours for your life. See you there!  Check out Dulux’s website: www.dulux.co.nz for all the latest information.

Dulux Colour Ambassador at Mitre 10, Nelson

10-11 March 10am to 2pm

24-25 March  10am to 2pm

31 March-01 April 10am to 2pm

Also there’s a Dulux Promotion – For every 2 x 4 litre cans or 1 x 10 litre pail of any Dulux premium paint you purchase you will receive a can of jellybeans and a Dulux dog (the cuddly soft toy type!).  The promotion runs while stock lasts.

After the pre Christmas madness and sale, I’m now enjoying a bit of down time in Europe, and taking the opportunity to see what’s going in here in the interior design world. I visited the Andrew Martin London showroom the other day – an amazing collection of modern glamour and classic pieces. The showroom was a comfortable space that you could mooch around in for hours, gloating over all the interesting objet de art, rugs, fabrics and furniture. I especially loved the wallpaper which looks like wooden wall paneling. Check out  www.andrewmartin.co.uk for a glimpse of their range. Wow!

Joanne Richards Design is having its first-ever-not-to-be-missed showroom sale. So save some of your pennies, come along and see what we’ve got for you. The sale starts 27^th December and runs for just four days, till the 30^th December. It’s a chance to pick up some of Joanne’s trademark hidden gems at unexpected prices.

Sale times: Tuesday 27^th December to Friday 30^th December, 10am to 4pm daily.

Up to 50% off floor stock, and 15% off fabric orders for this sale period.

N.b. Cash sales only – sorry no eftpos.