Forgive Me Blogger, I Have Sinned...

Any of you out there that haven't totally given up on my blog might be forgiven for wondering whether I have...The truth is, I've been unfaithful to the old Blogger platform, for a few months ago I discovered a new love.

That love is tumblr - for those of you not familiar with tumblr, it's a blogging platform that in a lot of ways bears a lot of similarity to posterous in that it is used mainly for images. At the risk of making this an advert for tumblr, its main beauty, as far as I can see, is that you can easily "re-blog" other people's images to make your own amalgamation. So, for those of you who are interested, I'm over at http://fantasydecorator.tumblr.com, reposting stuff that catches my eye for one reason or another.

The good news is that I've found some cracking Retro Decorator posts that I also want to share on here, so look out for those shortly!

Calling all REAL decorators...

It's no secret that the inspiration for this blog is that most (if not all) of the decorating I do is in my head, somehow managing to spend vast amounts of imaginary money in the process. Much as I'd love to transform our home into something worthy of all the interiors magazines I devour, it's something that our somewhat hectic lives never quite let us get around to.

I recently got an email from the folks at Endemol TV, who are looking for participants in a new show on UK's Channel 4 called "Super Scrimpers" looking for people with "expensive taste when it comes to interior design". Sadly, whilst I probably do have expensive taste in my head, I'm not sure my home applies quite yet...

However, maybe yours does, and you'd like to participate in a show that will show you how to get the same look for less? After all, there is a credit crunch on... If you fancy learning to decorate on a budget, send your name and contact details to family@endemol.co.uk or call 0333 577 7773. 

Oh, and let me know if they pick you - I'm sure I could learn a few things...

The Retro Decorator - 50s Living Room

The rich backlog of catalogues handed down to me by my mother that normally make up my retro decorator posts sadly only go back to the mid-80s. I'm therefore always pleased when I find something older on my travels through the internet, and this case is a real beauty.

Source

No doubt the height of sophistication in its time, and very fashionable thanks to the enduring appeal of "mid-century modern" and the Mad Men revival, this living room is just missing the perfect 1950s family...

Random Hotel Room of the Week; The Hoxton Hotel, London

These pics actually from a while ago, but as I've been having a few problems with my phone not recognising my SD card recently, I haven't got round to posting them.

This is the Hoxton Hotel London - an achingly trendy part of London, slightly off the normal touristy traps of the West End. The room was comfortable and well equipped - no different to most higher end hotel rooms. I did, however, love the quirky little details, such as the "Boring Signs" dotted around the room. They just added a little humour and individuality to the space.

Divaani Magazine Finland - June 2011

This is the second of the magazines that my parents kindly brought back from their travels for me recently. The June edition of Divaani has a much more relaxed vibe about it than perhaps some of the homes in the previous issue I posted about.

I love the airy feel of this Stockholm apartment that also makes the cover:

Also included is the home of the founder of the Swedish soft furnishing company Lexington - a real cross between New England and Scandinavia:

The Retro Decorator - 90s bedroom(s)

We're in the late 90s for the Retro Decorator today. The November 1998 edition of German Homes & Gardens, to be precise. These pictures are in fact taken from the 1997 book "Making the most of bedrooms" by Karen Howes (only available second-hand by the look of it).

Two four-poster beds, but with quite different styles - the first being more modern, lots of wood, bathtub in the room (can hear my father's comments about condensation...!). It's quite difficult to make out on the scanned photo, but I love the look of the brick floor:

 The second being in a much more traditional setting, but still with quite a minimalist feel about it:

Divaani Magazine - March 2011

When I started this blog almost exactly a year ago, it was my holiday in Finland that sparked the idea. Sadly this year we are holidaying elsewhere - new inspiration no doubt - but my parents have recently returned from Finland and brought back a little fix for me in the way of a couple of editions of Divaani magazine. These pictures are from the March edition, and once again I love the contrast between the typically white, Scandinavian feel of the first apartment, and the way it is juxtaposed against a very different style of the second, which has a very Oriental inspiration.