An interior brand I love: Artfinder

I'm on a mission to introduce you to some of the UK's cutest interior stockists. Whether you're an interior stylist, budding interior assistant or just love finding home decoration sites to spruce up your home, keep an eye on this feature.

I'm working hard to collect a little black book with a list of favourite shops, so that for ANY interior look you want to achieve, all that's needed is a glance through my little black book to know where you'll find the goods to create your dream rooms. 

Last time I shared with you a brand with a lovely "sharing is caring" ethos.

This week let me introduce a brand I'm turning to, to populate my home with (fairly) affordable art from independent artists - authentic art.

 Since moving into my own place, I've noticed that one of the trickiest parts of decoration, making  a house a home, is finding affordable art that speaks to you.  I despise art work that's mass-produced. Not in a poncey "art expert" kinda way. Not at all! It's  more the thought of canvases sold in Primark that seem to people, to be the only affordable option for them - and everyone has the same! I hate that. 

You'll see  in my "How to create a gallery wall" post that I try to source art work that has deeper meaning other than just suiting a room.  We have a very sweet quote I love, taken from Lord of the rings. Mine and Neil's fave film. 

Whatever you choose to hang on your walls should be sentimental  + meaningful to you. Whether it's a quote that inspires you, an illustration you love, or fond photographs and family memories. 

That's why I wanted to share Artfinder with you.

It's like an Etsy for art work. It's a place that champions the talents of  local artists from  97 different countries across the world, so you are sure to find something unique, affordable and meaningful to the places you've been to , lived in and love. 

My family are all from the Emerald Isle and I've been wanting to bring in concepts of my celtic heritage to my home. I've been spending a lot of time on the Artfinder website to discover new and emerging Irish artists, and scenes from Sligo + Mayo, where we spent many a family holiday, and have found some stunning paintings in different colour schemes available for me to get hold of. The above is a painting by Lesley Birch and I've pulled in colours and fabrics to fit how I'd scheme the room around it. I'd use Sligo Oatmeal fabric from Ulster Weavers (I love the herringbone, tartan, celtic feel) to complement the look. 

Artfinder also have  a whole array of Brighton artists (this city has a huge art scene I was surprised at a simple search flagging up over 10 pages, whereas Ireland had much fewer!) . Tania Rutland is one to watch for moody and atmospheric works, but there are lots of sketchy  illustrative styles for a more modern look too. 

I urge you to have a look around the Artfinder website for places that mean a lot to you. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the art work you'll find from even the most remote places. 

What sort of  art do you love inside  your home? Are you on the market for things to hang on your walls?

Fi xoxo

www.artfinder.com

Why a calm interior is the most inspiring to style

I've been doing some client work on a really colourful office space these past few weeks. It's the most fun project I've ever been involved with, but also pretty draining in terms of the focus on vibrant colours - like I'm actually all coloured out. Planning for a really 'out there' atmosphere has meant that every time I work on it, I'm so in the 'vibrant' zone, that I end up knackering myself out. How is this possible? Ha.

It got me thinking. Calming interiors are really inspiring to style. It's like they aren't as needy as coloured spaces. You can throw any amount of soothing colours at a white wall, and it's so versatile that it just works, giving you the added freedom to change things when you want something different. 

It's Graham & Brown's very first National Wallpaper week this week (5th - 11th October) and throughout these 7 days they've been focusing on the 7 feelings of wallpaper. You know, the feelings great decoration evokes when you walk in to a room. Wallpapers have spellbinding power to rooms and transform not only the look, but the whole atmosphere too.

Yesterday looked at romantic rooms. Today, it's all about calm, relaxing looks. 

I thought I'd take this as an opportunity to do something different, away from the colour blocking needs of the office I'm helping design, and pull together a mood board reflecting calmness and serenity. 

*breathes a relaxing sigh*

Whites, greys, herringbone flooring, mixed with the odd geometric print and a splash of nature - I love you.

Graham + Brown have some swoon worthy calming wallpapers too, my fave of which is the Verdant Grey pattern that subtly brings the outdoors in. 

There are lots of fun events happening all across the country for National Wallpaper Week, including a quick masterclass in wallpapering at various B&Q branches. If there's one in Brighton, I'm signing up to learn some tips and tricks.

What do you think of calm interiors? Are you more of a vibrant, colour person?

Fiona xoxo

My 'Minimalist Boho' bedroom mood board + John Lewis £50 giveaway!

I can't tell you how effective it is to have a mood board on the go when you're decorating a room. If you're decorating without one, you risk losing direction and throwing a paddy. I speak of experience :) 
In the beginning, I used my pinterest boards to reflect what I wanted to achieve in my bedroom, but really, all it helped with was defining the overall style I want - minimalist boho - it didn't help with fine tuning the exact things that would pull the look together in real life. 
I have a free downloadable interior class that helps people define their style, and pinterest plays a big part in it. But for the later stages, developing a product board like the one above is the next step to seeing the look come to life before you commit to buy.
Once I've got an idea of the look I'm going for, I always play around with these sort of product boards to see how things I want inside the room, furniture and accessories, look together on paper. The board above is a sneak peek of what I created for our bedroom makeover a short while ago - what do you think?

Let me talk you through all the elements. 

I'd already decided on a grey/white colour scheme for the minimalist vibe, so I began by considering the furniture I already have that I wanted to keep along that theme (the Hemnes ikea bedside table I knew was staying), and slotted in the bigger things I want to replace - like the bed (I want to eventually have an upholstered headboard as opposed to my metal frame you can see in this interior blog post, to bring warmth). One that's particularly caught my eye is the Capri Wolf Grey from Made, but I doubt it will have the storage space underneath for me to sign it off with the other half! I'll find something perfect soon, and plan to buy it when money is not as stretched.
I then looked around for accessories from my favourite interior brands to bring in that boho feel. Take this caged pendant light for the ceiling for example, I love the copper tones and the intricate detailing that looks fab paired with the subtle colours and boho pattern on the Bohzaar New Paisley linen cushion. We since bought and installed a very similar light fitting along this theme, and my bed is adorned with gorgeous Bohzaar boho bedding. So progress is being made on that front.
For the floors, I know I want more rugs and texture. We have wooden floors throughout our flat which I adore, but I've also felt like bedrooms should have carpets. I don't know why. Maybe it's a cosy thing. Rather than paying for new flooring, rugs make complete sense and this grey geometric rug from urban outfitters would be perfect, layered with my sheepskin rug for added texture. 
I saw this absolutely stunning blanket on Toast's website. In fact, it's pretty hard to not find a stunning blanket on there. The whole collection I'm amazed with. It's a Chirali Bedspread that costs the best part of £200 but it is PERFECT for bringing a boho vibe with its reversible patterns. If money was no object, it would be mine. Perhaps I can find a knock off somewhere? My new challenge. 
Finishing touches would see some copper ornamental things on my bedside table and this sweet little bedside lamp. I actually smashed my Next lamp you can see in my bedroom makeover post as I was rushing to work the other morning which I'm gutted about, so a new lamp is needed asap. 
There we have it. What do you think of the mood board? Do you think I should add anything else to our room for a more boho vibe? 

Oh before I go, I have a special giveaway for you c/o the wonderful bunch at Foundry. Foundry design and sell contemporary lighting for the home. If you're after a minimalist feel and similar lights to the ones I've mentioned above, you should definitely check them out.
Enter the Rafflecopter below to potentially win a £50 John Lewis voucher from them and get styling your room minimalist-boho too! All you have to do is follow my blog on bloglovin' for a chance to win. There's lots more bonus entries to be had too, so get stuck in.  The winner will be announced on   Monday 18th October, you'll get an email from me if you've been picked. Please note this is open to UK residents only. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway