Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

Be a wallflower

Years ago, we designed an advert for The Stencil Library.  The ad featured a model in a stencilled dress standing against a wall stencilled with the same pattern.  It read 'Fashion for your walls'.  This was before a major paint company in the UK used the slogan and rather overshadowed us.  The talented and self-taught body artist Emma Hack has taken the art of the wall flower one step further.  She spends up to nineteen hours painting wallpaper designs onto a nude model before placing them in front of the matching paper.  The result is one seamless pattern.  One has to look hard to see the model emerge from the wall covering.  Quirky but fab.  If you fancy trying this at home, try using one of our Chinoiserie Chintz repeat pattern stencils - we have 5 different ones.  Helen

Photo credit Barcroftmedia.  Printed on a newspaper that I found discarded in Paris last week.

Licking The Windows

One of the cheap and simple pleasures that I enjoy in Paris is to flâner.  It means to stroll pleasantly around the city doing nothing more serious than enjoying the ambiance.  Whilst flâneur'ing, I stumbled upon the gardens of the Palais Royal.  I don't know how I have missed these on previous visits.  The sun was shining and whilst I had nowhere to be, this was as good a place as any.  

Another of my holiday pastimes is 'leche-vitrine'.  The literal translation means to lick the windows.  I know it as window shopping.  I combine this with being a flâneur.

 

This window was in the Upper Marais close to the apartment I stayed in.  The dress is from Isabel Marant's spring 2008 collection and is suspended over a landscape of the same fabric. The material seems feather light.   It has been knotted, quilted and sewn to make a pastural sculpture including cypress trees, fields and vineyards. The scene is billowing above several oscillating fans that keep the silken country side floating and shimmering on a cushion of air.

I loved the minimal combination of stacked cars and crate of blow fish in this clothing shop for children. I returned many times in the hopes that it would be open and I could photograph sans window grille.

My Parisian friend Patsy and I strolled to Mariage Freres in the Lower Marais to buy Russian tea for Rachel.   There were many on offer and they allow you to sniff the tea cannisters ( I'm sure the French have a word for that too).  Tea sniffing is a delightful way to spend time and we chose one and had it wrapped for her.   When time allows, we will return to experience their cafe as reputedly they serve the best cakes in Paris. I apologise for the fuzzy photo but the tea jars matched by outfit perfectly so I had to include it. You can just see my cardi in the mirror!

Co-ordinating my outfit with shop display was exhausting work, another form of licking was  needed.  Gelati from Amorino on the Rue Vielle du Temple was the perfect solution.  They build up shavings of gelati onto a cone until it resembles the petals of a flower.  Mine was Ecuador chocolate, raspberry and strawberry.

My friend Michael is a professional Leche-Vitriner and Flaneur.  His photography exhibition of reflections in shop windows is currently on show in Copenhagen, but will be hosted in Paris pretty soon.  When I get more info on it I will post.  They are fabulous and one gets lost in the dividing lines between the inner and outer reflections of the windows.  I can spend ages looking at them just as I did with the windows of the Marais.  Helen.

American "Vogue Living" Magazine

I am in love with a new interiors magazine!  I have always been inspired by US Vogue, but now they have come up with special edition issues dedicated to interior decorating.

At the moment, they seem to be publishing Vogue Living twice a year.  If you haven't seen this gem of a magazine, I highly recommend you pick up a copy.  Editor-in-Chief, Hamish Bowles says in the current Spring/Summer 2008 edition, "In this, Vogue Living's first Spring issue, we looked no further than the season's fashion runways for the perfect inspiration.  From New York to London, Paris to Milan, the collections were abloom with wallpaper florals, vibrant colour blocking and deft layering of exotic print and pattern - proof positive of the charmed symbiosis between trends in fashion and those in the home."  Well said, Hamish!

His statement and the magazine perfectly echoes my own thoughts and preferred style of decorating.  One only has to flick quickly through the magazine to see the wealth of colour and pattern leaping from the pages.

I love that even the index/news pages have snippets of patterns around the edges and behind the featured products.  I found the whole magazine to be a candy store of inspiration (there's that word again) and my head is just buzzing with ideas for projects.  I just want to dive right into the pages!  To whet your appetite, here are a couple of my favourite images:

                                                                                    Rachel.                           

Stencilling with Blacklight Paints

If the thought of blacklight conjurs up images of dodgy nightclubs in the 80's, think again.  Jeff Raum of Muracles (who we have featured in a previous post) sent us photos work he had just finished in a bowling alley using blacklight paint with our stencils.

Jeff chose to use MD79 Starburst, MD72 Time Tunnel, MD71 Nebula, MD74 Black Hole and MD75 Galaxy in different sizes and all from the motif section of our Modern Design range.

It is a very cool effect we had first seen used by Gary Lord of Prismatic Painting Studio on his booth for last year's SALI convention (also using some of our stencils).  He had tented his entire booth in stencilled black fabric so that you got the full effect when you entered.  He sells the blacklight paints, stating that they are excellent for use in children's rooms, bowling alleys, night clubs, media rooms and restaurants.  The beauty of them is that they will show up under any light, but really flouresce when under true ultraviolet black light.

As an added dimension, Prismatic Painting have also created special 3D glasses so when viewed wearing them, the stencilling will float at different depths.  Mind blowing!

These would only work well in certain commercial spaces or children's rooms, but in those places, what a fantastic and fun variation on straight stencilling. Rachel.

A Hundred Stencil Helens

This was me in 1980.  I'm with my friend Paul and we are suitably styled for the New Romantic era.   Years later Chips designed a collection of stencils based on film stars' faces and included one of me adapted from this photo.  It was an office joke because I've had bit parts in several TV shows and a movie.  The office catchphrase has been 'Do you know who she was'  when they are bringing me down to size.

The Helen stencil sold very well probably because it was not as recognisable as the others in the range.  Now imagine my suprise at the weekend when I discovered my face gracing a plethora of tableaux on Polyvore.com.  It was spooky.  My face was having a load of adventures without me.  Outfits were created around it.  Stories had been built around it. I'm having a bit of a 'hair thing' in this tableaux by Haki and am liking the outfit put together for me by Americasnextopfashiondesigner here.  As it happens, I like wearing orange.  It clashes well with my red hair.  I have to feature this one by ChemicalPanic because it is uncannily like me: the office tiara, the scarlet lippy and, of course, I would want twenty minutes of fame rather than fifteen! Wouldn't you? Helen.

An Easter Rooster

I was determined not to post chickens, eggs or bunnies this Easter, but I failed.  I found this picture and was excited to tell you all how very easy it is to create something similar.  This splashback was stencilled for one of our favourite clients.  My colleague Sabina applied our rooster stencil onto some heavy, slightly textured tiles.  She did this using Glossies china and glass paint from Liquitex and some similar paints from Pebeo. After stencilling every layer of colour one bakes the tiles in a domestic oven for around 45 minutes on a medium heat.  Each layer of colours gets another baking.  These tiles had all their colours applied in three seperate overlays.   All the colours were applied with a dense foam sponge that we form into a ball shape.  The colour is rocked gently through the stencil.  It is a finish that is well suited to china and glass.  Click on the pictures to see greater detail.  We pieced the tiles together like a jigsaw and left them over night before a tiler fixed and grouted them into place.  Later today I will photograph a tutorial on tile stencilling for you.  Look out for it in a few days.  The rooster stencil can be found at On Line Exclusives.  The paints are not on our site but they are in our shop.  Happy Easter, Helen

Throw some paint around - It's Spring (allegedly)

Spring is supposed to herald new beginnings.  I think I might have read somewhere that DIY stores sell more paint over the Easter weekend than at any other time of the year.  With this in mind, I am showing you a photo of a roomset we did with our MD41 Splatter stencil (in the large size).  It literally looks like you've chucked paint on the walls, albeit in a much more decorative, orderly and less messy fashion than if you had actually thrown paint on your walls.

According to the calender, it is officially spring today.  Well, not in the northeast of England it isn't.  We are forecast snow (!) and it is unseasonably cold for this time of year.  Spring is also the period (supposedly) to indulge in that time-honoured pastime: spring cleaning (yuck!).  I was pondering the concept of spring cleaning (which is probably as far as I am going to get with my own) and wondering how it came about.  I can only think that it might have something to do with the advent of lighter, longer days.  Here in England, during winter, it is pitch black by 5pm.  The upside is that in the summer, it can still be light at 11pm.  I reckon that as Spring came around the corner, all of a sudden the lighter days meant that that we could see more than just surface dirt and dust and therefore a frenzy of scrubbing would ensue.  Ever since, Spring has seemed to always be the time to have a good clean, move the furniture around and plan and execute new decorating schemes.  For all my joking that I do the minimal amount of cleaning possible (preferring instead to use the lowest watt lighting - my theory is that if you can't see the dust, you don't need to dust), I must admit that there is something in me that switches "on" come Spring.  My thing is washing....all the things that only need washing once in a while like the slipcovers and duvets.  And if I am thinking of redecorating, I usually start planning at this time of year.  There is nothing so satisfying as fresh coats of paint - a canvas ready to add to.  I would love to hear what your favourite spring cleaning tasks are (my tip for making cleaning much more pleasurable: listen to books on tape/CD whilst you do it).  And if you have any new decorating schemes on the cards, we'd love to hear about it. Rachel 

Worldwide Book Day

Today is Worldwide Book Day!  Rachel and I thought we would share a couple of titles with you that we have enjoyed and we hope that you may do the same for us.  Rachel says "I've just bought the book New Decor: Colour, Pattern and Ornament in the 21st Century by Elizabeth Wilhide and it is an absolute delight.  'New decor: less is no longer more' the book proclaims.  I love it because the book features fearless interiors."

"Why shouldn't our homes make us smile?" the author asks.  Rachel agrees.  There are great ideas on how to use, mix and match style and patterns on all surfaces.

Wilhide adds "Colour sings, colour is sexy, colour lifts the soul and feeds the spirit...We're naturally attracted to pattern - it's there in the living world and it's at the heart of creative endeavour". 

The photographs feature people's interiors (not room sets) and you get the feeling that each room is a reflection of the inhabitant's personal taste. I like that.    

Rachel advises that "Many similar effects in this book can be created with stencils.  If you are a fan of pattern and want to see some ace ideas on how to use it, then this is a gem.  Buy it." (Photos from New Decor).

Now it's my turn, I would like to nominate my book The Stencilled Home by Helen Morris...But of course I won't!  Heee heee.

For many years my favourite interiors book has been Roomscapes: The Decorative Architecture of Renzo Mongiardino.  He was grand master of paint effects and trompe l'oeil.  Rooms featured in this book are theatrical, extravagant and an inspiration for many of us in the decorative arts world. I looked on www.amazon.co.uk to give my fellow Brits a chance to buy it, only second hand copies are available and are selling for a fortune! It's rather funny, sometimes I see second hand copies of The Stencilled Home: 13 Themed Room Styles on Amazon selling for way above the original price and other times they are cheaper than I could ever buy them with author discount!  Because Roomscapes is not an easy book to find I will share another: Wall to Wall: 100 Great Treatments for Vertical Surfaces by Linda Barker.

I asked Chips for his favourite interiors book and he insists that he does not have a favourite one but I know that he returned many times to his original 1880's copy of WG Audsley's "Polychromatic Decoration as Applied to Buildings".  Not very helpful as this is extremely rare and not available on Amazon.

Rachel's other favourite interiors books are: Baroque, Baroque: The Culture of Excess by Stephen Calloway (now there is a surprise); Boudoir: Creating the Bedroom of your Dreams by Hilary Robertson; Contemporary Glamour: Opulent Interiors from Grand to Exotic by Ali Hanan, Kate Dwyer and Deidi von Schaewen (but then she might be partial about this last one because her bathroom is featured in it)

So please let us know what your favourite interiors books are. H.

The Property Question: House or Home?

OK, gentle readers, here is an idea for debate.  I would really like your comments on this.  For those of you new to blog land, you can leave comments on any post and we welcome anything you have to say.  Just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of a post.  You do not have to have a typepad account to do so and it is free.  This post is a bit of a departure from previous posts, but I have something to say and want to throw it "out there".  This will be a wordy one...you have been warned, but I promise that these types of posts will be rare and that we will go back to our usual pictoral posts.

Recently, I ran one of our regular house tours and yet again, people were remarking on the array of styles of our rooms and how each one seemed to be decorated in a personal manner.  This remark crops up quite often and I am always mystified that people would not think the same about their own homes.  To me, a house is a home.  It is a personal space and every time we enter our own front door we should be glad to be "home".  We should be surrounded by people and things we love.  Our homes should reflect our tastes and personalities.  We should feel safe and cossetted and comfortable in our interiors.  After a long, hard day's work, we should view our homes as a haven and a sanctuary.  With this in mind, should our homes not be decorated to our own personal tastes?

Recently in the UK, there has been a real property boom.  Prices of houses have increased by huge amounts over a very short space of time.  Simple economics shows that demand has been high as people have bought low priced housing for second holiday homes or to rent out as an investment.  This demand has driven prices sky high and many houses are now overvalued and over priced.  Several years ago, you could not switch channels on TV without stumbling across some decorating program.  Love them or hate them, they were a great source of inspiration and really promoted decorating.  Then it became all about buying property for some kind of investment.  Almost overnight, the decorating programs disappeared to be replaced by property programs: how to buy a house, do it up and resell it at vast profit, how to sell your home, buying to let etc.  Interiors were featured but it was all about beige and bland to appeal the mass market.  Now, if you are going to sell your home, I completely agree: you have the best chance of a sale if you remove all clutter and personal items and paint walls beige.  You essentially want to present a blank canvas for any potential buyers to be able to imagine themselves in.  But something went wrong here.....

All of a sudden, it seemed that everybody was thinking about beige for their homes regardless of whether they were selling it or not.  Of course, at some point down the road, you may sell your house, but until you put it on the market, why have beige?  When did houses all of a sudden have to become soul-less full time.  Fair enough if the interior you love best is beige, but if it isn't then decorate it to suit your own style.  If you decide to sell it, then you can paint it all beige again.  I would be depressed living in home that didn't have my stamp all over it, that wasn't a reflection of what I like and love, that meant I wasn't surrounded by things that were "me".  Even when I go to a hotel, subconsciously I will put out a few bits and pieces that make it feel more home-like and personal: a stack of magazines by the bed, a scented candle, a vintage dress hung up on view.  Why should our homes look like a hotel room?  Interestingly enough, the boutique hotels which are cropping up all over the place are full of fabulous decorating, colour and patterns.  Unless it is a low budget hotel chain, many hotels these days have more personality than some houses!

It seems as though all is about the change in the property market.  With house prices sky high in the UK, it is not affordable to move.  All indications show that things are going to slow down in the property market.  As all things are cyclical, if house selling is going to slow down and more people are having to stay in their homes longer, then maybe decorating with some kind of style will come to the fore again.  That is my hope, just because nothing pleases me more than when I view an interior that looks like its owner has put their own stamp on it (even if I don't like that particular style myself).

Recently, I saw an ad on TV for Ikea about just this trend.  It showed a living room full of Ikea furniture and fabrics and accessories.  Needless to say it is bright and colourful.  The family of the house are standing there along with a real estate agent.  The real estate agent is horrified at the decor and the family are repeatedly saying "But we are not selling our house!".  A bit more of this and they eventually chase the agent from the house, pull up the "For Sale" sign from the front lawn, beating him about the head with it, still yelling, "But we are not selling the house!".  I laughed my socks off when I saw this for the first time and couldn't agree more.  Beige is fine if a) it is your favourite type of decor or b) you are in the process of selling your home.  But otherwise, it should be decorated for yourself.  It should be a place that gives you joy everytime you are in it.  It should be a place that visitors like because it is a reflection of you and your taste.  It should be a home, not just a house.  What do you think? R.

Fabulous concrete

I saw Concrete Blond at the recent Design Interiors exhibition in Birmingham, England and was impressed by their 'Walled Paper' range of fine cast concrete. Walled Paper captures the graphics, texture and colours of wallpaper with all the benefits of concrete.  There were damasks, geometric patterns and florals. 

The finishes were quite stencillish apart from Amorphic which looked like ripples of water in moonlight. I had to stroke it.  A lot.   

Concrete Blond offer design options to incorporate your own photography, artwork, logos etcetera into the concrete surface.

Another company that do wonderful things with concrete is Modello Concrete in California, US.  Creative director Melanie Royals writes a blog called Design Amour  and many of her stencil and Modello projects are featured there.   Some of their floors are amazing and like Concrete Blond they can incorporate your artwork and logo into the finished piece. I asked Melanie to send a picture of her favourite floor project.   It is her kimono inspired floor which she created years ago and still loves.   Melanie says that the swirls were carved into the concrete by hand using two girls and a grinder!  Here is another of her faves.  This floor combines graphic simplicity with yummy ice cream colours. Melanie and I both teach at the annual SALI convention. This year it will be held in Charleston, South Carolina, US.  To see more about the convention and SALI, visit their site.  Click on the links to see more of Modello Concrete or Melanie's blog. H.