All the leaves are brown...

The leaves may not yet be turning shades of golden brown - and we don’t want to wish away a summer that hasn’t arrived yet - but the seasons do change and the gorgeous hues of nature will soon announce the advent of autumn.  A dip in temperature, early morning frosts and that chilly feeling when you first get up in the morning are all signs that autumn is on its way. What better way to overcome any sense of impending gloom than to take a look around your home and celebrate this season rather than let the early dusks and diminished sunlight hours depress you.

The autumn season fills us with a bounty of decorating ideas for your home and these seasonal decors can give your home a charismatic charm. Bright colours and patterned textiles, geometric prints and vibrant accent walls leave us for more muted and understated palettes.  If you love the warm and golden tones of orange, brown, beige and green you could re-decorate your whole home; alternatively you could choose to change just one room. 

An effective way of producing a transformation in the home is to embellish your furniture, a statement piece such as a sofa or chair add impact or cushions and throws in sumptuous fabrics and contrasting colours to the overall décor will always look effective. New curtains or blinds, a change of lighting, a new rug or cosy blankets and throws, here are some ideas to get you started…

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Coombe Lane

An arts and crafts gem dating to 1910, this beautiful house had not been worked on from the day it was built until the new owners called in Orla Collins, a specialist in dynamic and luxurious interiors. The owners wanted a house that “shocks and rocks”, whilst keeping an air of sexy sophistication; as the refurbishment went on they became increasingly adventurous, allowing the flamboyant redhead Orla free rein to unleash her style and imagination. “This house is all about detail”, she explained, “everything was about creating height and drama – dropping floors and expanding windows”. Each room is exotic, dramatic, opulent, and features a variety of strong, bold colours, textures, luxurious materials and details. The main living room with its decorative ceiling is finished in an extraordinarily luscious, deep red glow with in a golden bronze and old silver frottage, the intimate library has a snakeskin floor and craquelure gesso wall along with a dramatic handmade bronze chandelier, the kitchen is state of the art with ebony units and aubergine walls... view feature.

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The Greatest B&B in Britain

Sumptuously decorated and embellished with eccentric touches, 40 Winks is designer David Carter’s East End homage to fin-de-siecle frivolity. The result is a glamorous hotel that belies its bijou size. The property, 40 Winks, is claimed to be “the smallest hotel in the world”. Whether this is true or not, the three-bedroom Queen Anne confection (two guest rooms, plus Carter’s “private boudoir”) must surely be one of the most seductive. The house is a fantastical melange of the terribly grand sprinkled with a soupcon of the voguishly shabby; it’s like a piece of living theatre, exuding wit, charm and glamour... view feature.

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Adding a Personal Touch

Having bought this Georgian house in good condition some years back, the client now wanted to put her own stamp on it. The brief was to redesign the master bathroom, and redecorate and dress the master bedroom to create a room with plenty of texture, warmth and atmosphere. The children’s rooms were to be redecorated to see them through the next few years, and a family bathroom created for the children and guests. In addition, the client wanted a vow factor guest cloakroom. The double reception rooms on the ground floor were to be re-decorated and dressed to create a sophisticated formal area for receiving guests. Downstairs in the conservatory, the TV room needed changes to maximise its potential and to make it into a cosy family room... view feature.

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High Flyers

When you buy an apartment in the Barbican, who better to help you restore it to its former glory than one of the original architects? The fortunes of the Barbican Estate, a huge, brutalist tangle of concrete high rises and walkways on the western fringe of the City of London, have gone up and down more than would seem decent in its brief 43-year history. But its recent refurbishment and a renewed appreciation of its Le Corbusier-inspired design ethos have driven its 2,014 apartments back to the very top of the property hot list. When Kathryn Williams and Craig Allen came to look for an apartment in the 35-acre estate in 1999, it was during one of the Barbican’s unfashionable lows, and there were plenty of places to choose from. These days they rarely come onto the market; when they do, they are fought over fiercely by architects, designers and artists. Williams is head of retail for the furniture company Knoll Studio, while Allen’s career has spanned the Conran Shop, Gucci, Linley and, most recently, Molton Brown, where he was creative director, so they are well aware of the Barbican’s design heritage... view feature.

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Thread of History

By interweaving new features with old, designer Michael D’Souza has breathed new life into a 17th-century tapestry works on the banks of the Thames. There are those who say a real home is a place with a past, where memories are made and cherished. If this is so, Michael D’Souza’s South London flat qualifies easily, for it is steeped in history, some of it of D’Souza’s own making, the rest stretching back through the centuries. Once a tapestry works patronised by Charles I. The 17th-century bones of the building are visible in its dark wood, rib-like beams. D’Souza renovated and restored the place, realigning and refurbishing the wooden window frames and shutters and adding a contemporary Alno kitchen. When he asked about replacing the bowing beams in his bedroom, an architect advised, “Leave them be. They’ve been there for over 400 years and won’t be going anywhere fast.” view feature.

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Home Art

Bellenden Road in Peckham, south-east London, is fast becoming artists' central. You can't pop out for a pint of milk without bumping into the Royal Academician Tom Phillips, Turner Prize-winner Antony Gormley, YBA Ian Davenport, sculptors John Latham and Sokari Douglas Camp or fine artist Jacqueline Poncelet, all of whom have studio space along the road. To describe Claire’s style of work is as difficult as trying to define the ocean. Her art has a spontaneity that comes straight from the heart and yet is equally concerned with the minutiae of intricate detail. Claire has an unmistakable style and visual language that is completely her own... view feature.

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Clayworks Cornwall

Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce are based on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall. Their company Clayworks specialises in clay plasters for clients that seek the minimal embodied energy associated with unfired clay, its moisture-absorbing properties, its health credentials...or simply because clay plaster is about as beautiful as a wall can be. Adam, born and raised in the U.S and Katy have worked in the UK. Their inspirations for building with earth comes from living and gardening in Japan, designing and building water gardens and constructing neighbourhood skateboard ramps in his back garden! Katy says building with earth comes from a lifelong love of gardening and getting her hands dirty, and from the fact that cob is at once solid and enduring, yet also outstandingly flexible and forgiving. Having cut her teeth with a decade's experience in cob restoration and new build, they now sell their expertise well beyond Cornwall... view feature.

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Beside the seaside, beside the sea...

When living near or right on the beach it is always tempting to bring the beauty of the coastline into your home décor. Beach decorating styles recapture that wonderful feeling of open air, carefree living, sunshine and crashing waves, the mysteries of the sea shore. Reminding you of happy, carefree afternoons spent combing the sea shore and soaking up the sun on a quiet beach…

However, it can be really difficult to implement a coastal theme throughout a room or your entire house, without crossing the line from stylish to tacky. Your use of colour is a really important basis for this style: the choice of colours will set the whole tone, atmosphere and feel for your room. So decide whether you want to go for a jolly, fun beach look or a relaxed, natural, romantic feel.

There are many other ideas to choose from, including rustic, nautical, or seaside pier, it all depends on the emotions that you want your new décor to evoke. Then, even when you come inside, your interior design will allow you to still experience the same feeling that you enjoy out on the beach or the water.

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Casa Frattini, Italy

Looking out onto the delightful Tuscan coast of the Argentario peninsula between Florence and Rome is this splendidly elegant seaside villa designed by the renowned architect Michele Bonan. Its style is based on the colonial villa designs of with a colonnaded façade, louvred shuttered doors, bright colours and decorated wrought iron balconies, and it also benefits from a luxurious garden sloping down to the sea, with eucalyptus, olive, cypress, lemon and palm trees. Gloria and Marcello, the Florentine owners of this impressive house, wanted to keep to a traditional island style, and the interior decoration very much follows what is established by the exterior, and all the art objects, prints, furnishings and furniture and every last small detail are all of maritime or naval subjects. In the entrance hallway there is a wrought iron framework on which to hang coats, hats and to store the collection of English-style walking canes, along with a small model of a sailing boat. Once beyond this hallway which leads into the two lounges on the ground floor, one is immediately astonished by the radiant style and refined elegance of the harmonious interiors, which are always in a colonial style and maritime themes. The two lounges are decorated with large wickerwork chests with leather clasps and handles – as used for storing tea or spices on 18th century clippers, as well as maritime prints, books and boat models. The dining room has a strikingly lavish and refined appearance. The pale blue colour of the walls recall the sea of the Antilles, the mahogany floor is also the preferred material of luxurious boats, and the large silver conch shells on the table and the silver candelabra above based on the forms of pineapples and tropical foliage all hint at ocean themes, as do the white porcelain urns, and the pale prints in white frames and the mirrors on either side of the staircase. Upstairs is the private area of the house, with three elegant bedrooms and a further lounge with a spacious terrace which offers a spectacular views of the bay and the sea. view feature...

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Wild Living - The Stowaways

Jane and Peter Smith’s holiday haven not only reflects its seaside surroundings, but it also has the flexibility they need to accommodate five children, relatives and friends. "Peter’s view was that it should be as comfortable as our home in London," says Jane. To help her fulfil this aim, and to create a house that could cope with varying numbers of visitors, Jane turned to neighbour and interior designer Clare Teed, who is also mother of Robert and Joseph’s surfboarding mates, Sam and Toby... view feature

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The Beachcomber

With her bright and airy home on the Kent coast, Maxine Sutton is perfectly placed to source the pebbles and shells that sit alongside her own textile creations dotted around every room. Three years ago the family moved from South London to Kent in the hope of finding more space not only for the family and a much longed for dog, but also to accommodate Maxine’s work. She uses hand and appliqué to create wall hangings and other fabric-based craftworks. The couple’s hands-on and creative abilities were well used around their house... view feature

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The Historical Patchwork

Only a hundred meters to the right of the dock, where you arrive by ferry, there is a proud building, without shame, ready to show off its history and seduce its guests, albeit on borrowed time... In the white-painted Villa Wille, which was once moved in its entirety by Bernt O. Wille from Ålesund, and rebuilt as the first house of its kind in Sandvika in the year 1909, his descendants spend all their vacation time during the summer months. His daughter in law, Anna Wille, spent 30 years alone in the house until 2006, when the younger generation came back and took over the maintenance and storytelling. So the story begins here. Mr Wille was involved in the restoration of Ålesund after the great city- fire. The log buildings were left standing, and the young gentleman took the house to Sandvika in order to raise a family and run a small furniture factory... view feature Pin It Now!

Fish are jumping - well, not necessarily where you’re living, nor where I am for that matter, but we can all look forward to summer when the living certainly seems to be a lot easier once the sun comes out… alfresco dining, summer drinks with family and friends or an escape to a holiday home, coastal retreat or an idyllic country cottage. Here’s a few our favorite summertime inspired features – no sunglasses required... Pin It Now!

Solstrand

If it were not for the Spanish flu, there wouldn’t have been a summerhouse here. In the years 1917-1920, thousands died in Norway as a result of this epidemic. As a special note of thank you for having cared for and saved a nearby landowner’s family, - Dr. Ringvold was allowed to pick whichever piece of land he wanted by the sea on the family’s property. He ended up with Solstrand, meaning sunny beach… This was the early part of the twentieth century in Norway, and having a vacation home surrounded by wild nature was just becoming fashionable. Forty years ago, the property changed hands, but the family who moved in, continued the tradition of mixing furniture and styles in imaginative ways. Covering the walls is a mix of fishing tackle and hardware, bathrobes and old sailor-paintings, and through the window he has an unobstructed view of the sea... view feature Pin It Now!

Solstrand

If it were not for the Spanish flu, there wouldn’t have been a summerhouse here. In the years 1917-1920, thousands died in Norway as a result of this epidemic. As a special note of thank you for having cared for and saved a nearby landowner’s family, - Dr. Ringvold was allowed to pick whichever piece of land he wanted by the sea on the family’s property. He ended up with Solstrand, meaning sunny beach… This was the early part of the twentieth century in Norway, and having a vacation home surrounded by wild nature was just becoming fashionable. Forty years ago, the property changed hands, but the family who moved in, continued the tradition of mixing furniture and styles in imaginative ways... view feature Pin It Now!

Wild Living - The Stowaways

Jane and Peter Smith’s holiday haven not only reflects its seaside surroundings, but it also has the flexibility they need to accommodate five children, relatives and friends. "Peter’s view was that it should be as comfortable as our home in London," says Jane. To help her fulfil this aim, and to create a house that could cope with varying numbers of visitors, Jane turned to neighbour and interior designer Clare Teed, who is also mother of Robert and Joseph’s surfboarding mates, Sam and Toby. view interior feature Pin It Now!

Room At The Top

A converted army barracks on the Kent coast offers a unique perspective on the pretty town of Deal, thanks to its amazing observatory. The home of Sue Prichard, curator of textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum, occupies what was once the gymnasium of the late 18th-century cavalry barracks. The four-storey house is one of ten created within the Grade II listed building, and includes the impressive original glass cupola that gives a 360-degree view over the sea, local rugby pitch and town. “The light is wonderful for sewing, but the views, changing weather and stargazing are fabulous,” says Prichard. view interior feature Pin It Now!

The Beachcomber

With her bright and airy home on the Kent coast, Maxine Sutton is perfectly placed to source the pebbles and shells that sit alongside her own textile creations dotted around every room. Three years ago the family moved from South London to Kent in the hope of finding more space not only for the family and a much longed for dog, but also to accommodate Maxine’s work. She uses hand and appliqué to create wall hangings and other fabric-based craftworks. The couple’s hands-on and creative abilities were well used around their house. view interior feature Pin It Now!

We all hope you have a great holiday wherever you are going this year! view images Pin It Now!