Beg, Borrow and Steal is my brand new blog feature and also happens to be my tried and trusted decorating formula.
As you know (and if you didn’t you should) a mix of designer, second hand and high street purchases makes for a rich and inspiring interior style. So each week I will be looking at a current trend and deciding what I will need to beg, borrow and steal to work that look at home.
Sound a bit like a 90s game show? Cool, because it sort of is and the star prize is a house full of totally on trend House Candy.
So let’s get started. This week’s chosen subject is:
GEOMETRY
It’s not just me, right? Geometric designs are on everyone’s style radar at the moment. In the fashion world the name to be dropping is obviously Roskanda, whose bold graphic colour blocking is totally worthy of its celebrity status.
If bags are your thing, this Maison Valentino beauty is probably on your AW15 wish list. Whichever angle you are coming from, this piece points to high end fashion.
So how do I work this super luxe, super stylish geometric look at my place?
1. Beg
Each season there is usually one item I’m prepared to beg for. This season it’s a luxurious hand tufted pure New Zealand wool rug by Queen of cool floors Sonya Winner (which means I don’t mind kneeling, one little bit).
The brand new Rothko-esque Deep rug is where catwalk meets carpet. To get on the FROW, head to design trade show Tent London from 24-27 September, where Sonya’s latest collection of rugs and cushions will be officially launched.
Just like the designer handbag, one carefully selected statement piece is all you need to update a whole look. Inspired by the work of abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko, this range layers rich planes of intense colour to create vibrant sculptural masterpieces. And it must be blooming good because it has just been nominated for a SBID 15 International Design Excellence award. How’s that for a statement?
Great news for colour cowards is that you can do Rothko-esque too. Keep the cool lines but tone the scheme down with this classy grey version.
So many times I have searched for the perfect rug only to find it doesn’t work within the space intended. Joyously, all Sonya’s rugs are available in a wide range size options. This one starts from £1,195 (for a medium 1.4m x 1.7 m size) and can even be custom made to your requirements.
Different pile heights within the rugs give the Rothko-esque range a three dimensional quality - an artistic trait which is testimony to Sonya Winner’s design credentials. Nominated for an Elle Decoration award following the launch of her pioneering Kalaidoscope range, Sonya is now a firm favourite with designers and buyers in the know. Her iconic After Matisse rug (below) is already a design classic and if you’re really going out there with this geometric trend at home, this is the investment piece to get saving for.
2. Borrow
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| https://www.pinterest.com/velierik/for-my-home/ |
This part of the feature is about borrowing pieces from a bygone era. It’s rare that a trend comes around that hasn’t been done before, which means there is always a way to work the look with second hand or vintage pieces.
All these lovely geometric angles and sharp shapes have got me into modernist furniture shopping frenzy. I’ve long been a fan of 50s furniture brand Parker Knoll and distinctly remember a good friend of mine scoffing at a pair of teak arm chairs I bought for £10 and had reupholstered five years ago. Whose laughing now seat snobbo?
I’m now on the hunt for one like this, for which I was recently cruelly outbid on Ebay.
By the way, if you were the winner, please can it be reupholstered in retro turquoise and re-listed with a very generous Buy It Now Price pre-Xmas? Cheers.
3. Steal
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| Geometric print cushion, £7 Asda |
Sometimes I find it in the supermarket and want the world to know about it (see my last post for that trendy trolley dash). Sometimes it’s one of those budget store finds that I slyly sneak to the cash desk in fear that somebody put on the wrong price tag. Know the feeling? I’m talking about bargains - and bang-on-trend bargains at that. Having already written about my pocket slapping Asda exploits (which featured geometric designs a plenty), I wanted to share with you another stylish steal that should really have been a lot more expensive.
This huge zig zag velvet floor cushion has given my boring green sofa a bit of geo-magic too. Lovingly handmade by gorgeous haberdashery and workshop
Violet Lux in my favourite seaside spot of Scarborough, this whopper would have had a hefty price tag if it were sold in a swanky department store. Instead it cost just £30, which just goes to show that it is always worth checking out your local independent shops and craft markets for a design savvy steal.
And that’s this week’s geometric inspired Beg, Borrow, Steal shopping list. How does it measure up?
Let me know your thoughts below.
xx
P.S DO NOT
VOTE FOR ME YET!
Well of course you can if you really want to (God knows I could use the help) but if you wait until next week I’ll give you a brand new blog design that will most definitely be worthy of your precious clicks.
