RW blog:Layout 1
12/1/10
11:18
Page 1
2 1
Interior design blogs are a wonderful way to discover the latest design trends, share decorating tips, see new ways of updating furniture, view other people’s houses, learn about new products and find out how to solve a particular design dilemma. Architect Angela Carr started her Living Room blog as a way to answer the most common questions people have about extending their homes. Via her blog, she provides advice on matters such as planning permission, design tips, commentary on house design, and how to make better use of the living space available. Readers can also contact her with queries. The middle rooms of houses with extensions are often lacking in natural light and tend to be used as corridors rather than having functions and personalities of their own. Angela advises homeowners on to how re-organise the internal space as well as deciding which walls to remove to maximise light. The Meet Mabel and Violet blog is connected to a wonderful online boutique but blogger Paula Asple doesn’t just blog about new arrivals to the store. The blog provides readers with an insight into the online shop and the people behind it. Paula says her most visited post is how to make your own headboard, where she transformed an old peach floral headboard into a stylish grey velvet headboard complete with instructions, costings and timing. Morgan Sattersfield lives in a mid-terrace brick house in California. Morgan and her partner Jeremy have plenty of time but a tight budget and, as they have set themselves the task of ensuring that every item for their house costs less than $100, her blog The Brick House contains details of sourcing items at thrift stores and how to give them a new lease of life. A recent project posted on her blog involved restoring six Eames side shell chairs for their dining room. They were rescued from a local college, decades of chewing gum was removed and the fibreglass restored. Affixed to reproduction Eiffel bases sourced from Ebay,
3 5
1. A sketch proposal by Angela Carr for an extension redesign 2. Angela Carr who writes the Living room blog 3. Angela Carr’s kitchen post refurbishment 4. Paula Asple who writes the Meet Mabel & Violet blog 5. Meet Mabel & Violet blog
4
Seeking a solution to an interior design dilemma? Tap into the community of interior design bloggers for inspiration. Words By Lorna Sixsmith
blog watch 6 7 6. Morgan Satttersfield, who blogs at The Brick House 7. Restored Eames dining chairs featured on The Brick House blog 8. The Brick House blog
8
RW blog:Layout 1
12/1/10
11:19
Page 2
Blog Watch
11
9 10 13
they comprise a stylish set of six dining chairs that cost just $500. Gillian Nolan and her sister Sheena are interior designers based in Dundalk. Gillian’s blog Maggy Moon Interiors provides a delightful ramble through beautiful pictures of gardens and pets, gorgeous recipes, lovely interiors, fabulous furniture finds as well as tips on how to renovate old pieces of 9. Maggy Moon blog 10. Gillian Nolan who writes Maggy Moon blog furniture and decorate rooms on a budget. and her sister Sheena 11. Hallway featured on the Maggy Moon blog Katja and Minna‘s Nestled In blog includes posts 12. Finnish bloggers Katja and Minna who write the Nestled In blog 13. Nestled In blog on the renovations of their Finnish home, their decorating decisions and finding items they love. They update readers on their favourite fabrics, Interior design blogs offer a rich resource endeavours with sewing and purchases of ideas as well as problem solving tips. in thrift stores. They also provide instructions and photographs for more difficult projects. It is interesting to view the style of decorating at play in another European country. B LO G S T O WATC H I post interior design solutions on my blog at Garrendenny Lane Interiors on Fridays. Readers http://livingroomblog.ie email their queries and I construct a post using Living Room blog by Angela Carr. Whether you are at the planning photographs to demonstrate particular points. The stages, in the process of building or wondering how to re-organise solutions range from offering ideas for storage and rooms, the Living Room blog is an invaluable resource. suggesting how to decorate dark hallways, to recommending colours for particular rooms, tips for http://maggymoon.wordpress.com decorating a little girl’s bedroom, and advice on how Maggy Moon Interiors blog by Gillian Nolan. Gillian’s blog covers a to modify curtains. varied and lovely mixture of topics, many providing expert advice on Interior design blogs offer a rich resource of ideas how to update your décor on a tight budget as well as problem solving tips. The joy of reading blogs means that not only can you find complete and http://www.mabelandviolet.com/blog illustrated instructions for completing a task, you can Meet Violet and Mabel by Paula Asple. Read Paula’s blog for her also email the blogger for advice if you have any lovely musings on interior design, modern design, all things vintage, queries and there’s continual DIY projects and new arrivals to the Mabel & Violet shop. inspiration at hand. http://www.nestledin.net Nestled In by Minna and Katja. Read about Minna and Katja’s design choices and decisions as they renovate their home and learn from their experiences.
12
“
Lorna Sixsmith’s blog at www.garrendennylane.ie/blog includes posts on the hottest trends and latest designer collections, interior design solutions, new arrivals to the online shop and fabulous wallpaper choices.
”
http://trickmybrick.blogspot.com The Brick House by Morgan Satterfield. Visit Morgan’s blog to view her progress with renovating her house and gain tips on renovating furniture.