This newsletter is particularly aimed at bringing you the latest interior design trends (Superior Lighting & Colours that Go) coupled with some useful tips on how to prepare for Christmas (Declutter with the Kids!).
We’ve complimented this with an insight into the pitch we made to
leading property developer Dandara (KD Tower).
We’d also like to make a
special tribute to Gwendoline’s mother who died most recently (Who Are We?). We thank you all of your kind sentiments.
Many thanks for your continued support,
Gwendoline
Creative Interior Designer
WHO ARE WE?
In 2009 you’ve kept us focused on interior design with everything from clinics and consultations to help you pull an individual room scheme together, right through to whole house renovations to maximize the potential of your property, whether residential or commercial.
We’ve also established some new relationships with fantastic trades, suppliers, estate agents, developers and Oaklands College. This helps us to bring you a more personal and complete service from the initial design right through to the magazine look and feel.
Over the next few months we’ll be preparing for 2010 - yes already! - with an increase in our informal networking to you through:
- LinkedIn (
www.linkedin.com/in/gainteriors)
- Facebook (GA Interiors Fan page)
- Twitter(
http://twitter.com/ga_interiors)
- this Blog (
http://www.ga-interiors.blogspot.com/)
If you’re already connected to any of these then why not hook up with us.
Our aim is to keep you inspired in a more frequent and informal way with articles on latest interior trends, links to aspirational items in the marketplace, notices of interesting exhibitions and design talks as well insights into our own achievements.
For example,
September 09 Psychologies magazine focuses on Mothers & Daughters, ie: How our mothers make us who we are (
http://www.psychologies.co.uk/).
At GA Interiors, we’re very fortunate to have had very supportive mothers and families who’ve cried with us, laughed with us and cooed in all the right places when our work appears in national magazines.
This is a personal thank you to all of our mothers and families, but especially to Gwendoline’s mother who most recently died of Cancer.
Although she is no longer with us, we will remember her humour, pride and passion for all that we do.
Gwendoline sends her warmest thanks for all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers over the past few months.
SUPERIOR LIGHTING
Lighting plays an important role in creating drama and atmosphere within a room, as well as being necessary for undertaking tasks and moving about safely.
This season there’s a continued trend towards ‘feature’ lighting with showy chandeliers and inspirational lamps. Structure and form are the primary features with glass and crystal taking centre stage alongside organic shapes and materials.
Here are just a few of the amazing lights on the marketplace today:
1) SHOWY CHANDELIER
Chez Moi (
http://www.chezmoisf.com/) have gorgeous Murano glass blown hanging lights that look fantastic in any modern or eastern style room setting.
2)
INSPIRATIONAL LAMPS
Hive lighting (
http://www.hivemodern.com/) looks at modern, ‘state-of-the-art’ iconic lighting designs. This lighting exudes minimal chic and elegance in any contemporary home.
3) SAVE THE PLANET
TP24 (
http://www.tp24.com/) offers the Kyoto range of dedicated low energy light fittings. These not only meet the requirements of part L of the building regulations, are the same size as standard light fittings, but are also super stylish and modern for those all important show homes or eco-friendly properties.
4)
RECYCLING GLAMOUR
For somethig a little bit diffferent, why not make a dramatic statement with this modern 40-wine bottle chandelier. A talking point at any dinner table, whether in your own home or your favourite restaurant!
These are just a small selection of the most beautiful lighting, available in the marketplace today, to add the finishing touch to your property.
COLOURS THAT GO
Have you noticed how the zingy, zesty colours of summer have been replaced with jewel-like, earthy colours?
Plum is all over the high street at the moment but my personal favourite is Turquoise:
Like these sensational Antique Ebonized and Turquoise Silk chairs (
http://www.casasugar.com/1951322, Crave Worthy) from Paris Hotel Boutique.
From the Louis XV chairs you can see how fabulous turquoise looks with black in this glamorous and traditional setting, but this colour combination could easily be applied to a very contemporary and striking room scheme.
For a relaxing and more neutral colour scheme, you could mix turquoise with Chocolate or create an opulent mix with Snow White - just in time for Christmas.
Why not try ‘popping’ turquoise with accents of Citrine (yellow) for the more adventurous of interiors.
However you choose to use the fabulous new season colours in your property, have fun and just give us a call if you need a little help (
Gwendoline 07841 519802).
DANDARA (KD TOWER) - CITY BOY
CITY BOY is our design concept that we created for property developer Dandara’s high profile development at KD Tower, in the centre of Hemel Hempstead (
http://www.livetheimage.com/.) - a quality build with stunning architectural features.
Our design concept centered on a strong, stylish and contemporary image for a target market of young professionals and investors.
Inspiration for our design was taken from The City pinstripe suit. It focused on clean lines and sharp finishing with regularity and strong forms being key elements; minimal fuss with fantastic impact.
Attention to detail was paramount for each of the three show flats. Every element was carefully selected not only for its function but also its beauty.
Our aim was to create a totally inspirational lifestyle, achievable for the youth and desirable for the investor.
The three show flats were designed with edgy, clean line and slight variations that focused on different market segments:
Flat 1 =
Purist (Feminine buyers)
Flat 2 =
Graphic (Youthful buyers)
Flat 3 =
Dramatic (Masculine buyers)
A vibrant colour scheme of black and white popped with varying tones of yellow flowed throughout the design. Each individual colour scheme maximised the light and architecture of each flat.
Overall, a very solid design that Dandara were highly impressed with. Contact us today to find out more about this or our other commercial designs.
DECLUTTER WITH THE KIDS
You may think we’ve gone completely bonkers to even suggest decluttering with the kids, but it is achievable and can actually be enjoyable!
As with any decluttering task there are some simple steps to follow:
1)
START SMALL.
Focus on one room or one area to begin with.
Maybe you’d like to see the children’s bedroom carpet after a long stint or being hidden under a mass of ‘stuff’ and debris, or you may decide to tackle the children’s playroom now that they’re that bit older and no longer play with some of their toys.
2)
RESPECT THEIR WISHESAppreciate that it can take time for all of us to ‘let go’ of things and just because you are ready to give something up doesn’t mean that the children are ready to move on and give it up.
This is particularly important to remember if this is the first time you’ve tackled decluttering with the children.
Often, when a child sees a toy that they haven’t played with for a while they have a renewed joy to connect with it again and rekindle memories of how much fun it was to play with it the first time around. Once they’ve had a play they then remember why they’ve not played with it in such a long time and are then ready to let go.
3)
TAKE YOUR TIME
Children like to play as they tidy up, because this is the fun part for them, so it’s best to allow a good half-day or even a full day to decluttering with children.
The first hour will be fun for them, being together and having a good old rummage, but after that they’ll probably get bored or distracted. At this point you either need to stop and come back to it another day or, have a break and then continue.
Set them a reward for each hour they complete, eg: 1 hour = snack of their choice, 2 hours = a comic, 3 hours = an afternoon at their favourite place.
The first few times of decluttering with children are the hardest as it can be very slow going. Once the children have been through a few iterations they learn the process and become much quicker at recognizing which items they want to keep and which toys and books they’ve now had enough of.
4)
CLEARING UP IS EASY
Once the children have decided on the items to keep, you need to ensure that their storage solutions are easy for them to maintain.
Children love open topped ‘dump’ boxes where they can throw their toys into when clearing up and then rummage about in after. It’s great if they can label the boxes either with pictures, for those that can’t read, or words for older children, eg: Dolls & Dolls Clothes, Soft Toys, Lego. This is also a great way to teach younger children to read.
As your children mature you should review their storage needs as their toys change. Maybe you start with soft toys in an underbed storage solution and Lego models on a shelf. This then progresses to Lego being stored under the bed and books on the shelf.
5)
GET HELP
If you don’t have the time or this is all a little too difficult and you need some additional support, then just call us
(Gwendoline 07841 519802) and we’ll pop over to get you started.
FIND OUT MORE
For further advice or assistance on anything to do with your property, whether residential or commercial, just contact our interior design specialist using any of the following details:
GWENDOLINE ALDERTON
CREATIVE INTERIOR DESIGNER
Tel: 07841 519802
E-Mail: gwendoline@ga-interiors.co.uk
Website: http://www.ga-interiors.co.uk/
Blog: http://www.ga-interiors.blogspot.com/
Facebook: GA Interiors Fan page
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GA_Interiors
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gainteriors
