Wednesday 6 July 2011

e decorating

Beautiful bedside space.  I love the use of the chair as a simple bedside table, the striped linen, and the calm tones.

I have just read a very inspirational post on one of my favourite blogs, The Happy Home, written by Belinda Graham in Sydney Australia.  It introduces the concept of e-decorating, which I had never heard of before. 


A very natural mood board, again I love the tones, and that candelabra is incredible!

The idea is that an interior designer can produce the base for a design, just through communication over the Internet.  After some consultation with the client, where they provide information on the space to decorate, what they use the space for and who uses the space.  The designer then provides sketch design/layouts, and mood boards which include suggestions for colours, wallpapers, furniture etc and where you can buy these items.  I think this is a really interesting concept. 


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Again I love the striped linen, although this time the chair has been replaced with a weathered small table, I think I prefer it with the chair.


I have never employed an interior designer to decorate any rooms in my house, but I agree with Belinda and can imagine this process would be quite scary and intimidating.  I could see myself just saying yes to any design produced just so I didn't hurt their feelings, and would hate having to explain why we didn't go with one of their ideas when they made a site visit.  I know I know I am a wimp, and maybe I would be able to do the above, but I would feel very uncomfortable doing it!  E-decorating would take all these issues out of the equation. 


The pops of pink are really fun in this mood board, and I love the lamp.



The other real benefit I can see from this way of designing is that it easily allows you to take as much as you want from the suggested design.  If you feel like you need a lot of help and guidance you can follow the suggestions to the letter.  However if you feel like you have some design skills and knowledge and just need a bit of help and guidance in the right direction, it allows you to really just take the elements you really love and then use this as a base to add your own ideas.  The mood board created would provide and excellent tool to take with you shopping to see if discoveries you make would work within the space or not. 



A beautiful little collection on a bedside table, I really like the idea of using a couple of small vases with just a single stem in each.

Belinda introduced Emma Blomfield who has set up a business doing just this with her company Nest Designs.  (Unfortunately in Sydney as well!- I would seriously love to go back to Australia, we lived over there for 6 months, maybe one day ......)  All the images on this post are from Emma, they are really stunning, and just show exactly what a talented interior designer can produce.  Beautiful mood boards that really capture the essence of a scheme, to completed spaces that look both relaxed but harmonious.  Take a look at her website for more of her work, you won't be disappointed!


A fantastic mood board that works together, but is not all matching - if you know what I mean!  A fantastic solid dining table!


I love interior design, I studied architecture, and I just love playing about with rooms.  As I think I have said before, we are currently in a rented property so I don't get much opportunity to decorate, which I miss dearly.  So I am going to have a bit of a practice and a play on here.  When I get the time (not sure I am up to committing to a weekly decorating post but we will see) I will write a decorating post with a scheme for a imaginary space.  An imaginary space allows me to have no constraints and by doing this virtually I have no budget either! ;-)   


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I really enjoy the warm colours in this scheme, tied together with the fabulous stripy rug, but i think my favourite item is definitely the orange pouffe -if that is what you call them!

I'm excited to see what I come up with!  I get to have a play and it allows me to collate, save and show you all the things I find and love in one place.

5 comments:

Helen said...

Hi Ruth and thank you for my lovely comment you left on my blog, so pleased to meet you, Love Helen xx

Lisa - RoomDesignOnline.com said...

Hi,
In the United States, e-decorating is really catching on. I have an e-decorating site, RoomDesignOnline.com, but don't currently accept international orders. I know there are many sites in the UK as well. Try it! It's a fantastic, extremely affordable way to work with an interior designer. Use these search terms: online interior design service, online room design, virtual interior design, virtual interior decorating, e-decorating.

Sasha said...

Hi Ruth,
Thanks for this article and for spreading the word about e-decorating. I too have an online Interior Decorating Service (www.decorateITonline.com) and after offering Traditional Interior Decorating services for the past 15 years I have to say that with e-Decorating I am able to provide a far more comprehensive service at a lower price to my cleints than was ever possible with traditional home visits. I think online decorating is the perfect solution for homeowners looking for Interior Decorating help, but don't want to blow their budget on design fees!
Plus, we do offer our portfolios to clients worldwide, and we provide a Free Room Review Service to consumers interested in giving e-Decorating a try, risk-free!
Keep up the fantastic writing Ruth, I'm going to bookmark your blog!
Sasha
decorate IT online

ruth said...

You are welcome Helen, I enjoy looking at your work!

nice to meet you too :-)

x

ruth said...

Lisa and Sasha,

Thank you for your kind comments!

I have just looked at your great websites, I can't believe I wasn't really aware of edecorating, but in such an on line world it really makes sense. There seems to be so many advantages to this kind of interior design.

Keep up your good work!

x