Details, details.
Interior styling is all about the little things.
Sure couches, paint colours and surface finishes are critically important. But what makes a space inviting are the small elements of hospitality you can add that welcomes people into the space. Whether they actually avail themselves of said gratuity doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts.
It’s also a great styling opportunity! My new favourite thing to include in my projects are glass and carafe sets…and none caught my eye more the Maison Balzac’s brightly coloured glass offerings. Nestled on a decorator tray and placed on a bedside table or study desk, they look amay-zing as a decorator piece but also evoke that little touch of luxurious yesteryear hospitality that doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
But of course I wouldn’t be me if I stopped there. I always add a bowl of irresistibly exotic sweets, stylish decanters filled with amber coloured whiskey and scented candles all with the intention to engage all the sense and create a space that’s just daring you not to fall in love with it.
And yes, I do this in my own house and I haven’t had a single complaint…
#i_hate_scandi
I have a secret confession….Scandi. Not a fan.
It is a trend that appeals to many and for that I tip my hat. Millions of people worldwide can’t be wrong? Perhaps it’s the soft, jovial DNA within scandi that has the ability to soothe and calm that has made it so darn ubiquitous. Or perhaps it was the never ending push from retailers that took something kinda nice, homogenised it and then gave it an irresistible price point that made it the go-to trend for what seems like an eternity. Who knows, and even though it dramatically improved the look of the average home (for which we can all be grateful), it’s not enough good will to make me embrace it.
Thankfully, in the midst of a multicoloured, natural wood frenzy the taste makers of the world have been in the lab quietly plotting a darker, moodier alternative.
Enter “Cassis”.
An aphotic twist on the ever cheerful “dusty pink” and “blush”, the corner stones of the scandi palate (along with pale grey *insert eye roll here*), Cassis is a refreshingly moodier hue that sits somewhere between a dirty pink and purple. Its also flagged by the fortune-taste-tellers to be a big trend over the next few years.
Hoo - RAH!
Cassis, along with “rubber plant” (basically forrest green to us mere mortals) could very well be the new “it” girls. And boy, do they look good together. Teamed up with linished or distressed brass and scorched wood accents it’s a winning combo that can be either luxe’d up by incorporating black marble and tactile velvet or toned down to a more grounded look by using more humble materials such as wool or linen.
Dark, brooding and super sexy, this is an androgynous scheme that has impact and is literally the goth antithesis to the ditsy blonde scandi look. And it couldn’t have come sooner!
Time to embrace the darkness people!