katy – Page 69 – Apartment Apothecary

katy 15th April 2015

London roof terrace

Oh, hi summer weather! Where on earth did you come from?

We are so lucky, living in central London, to have a big communal roof terrace. It is the full foot print of our building, minus the lift shaft, so there is tons of space and 360 degree views of London and the River Thames. It’s definitely not the prettiest terrace in the world as the developers chose orangey stained fencing to divide it into sections and red brick for the raised beds and in an ideal word I would love to do a total overhaul of the whole space but that’s really tricky when you don’t own the freehold and you share it with lots of other people. It is an amazing space though and great for parties, BBQ’s and sunbathing and PERFECT for this weather.

However, over the winter the terrace gets absolutely battered by the winds, especially because it is so high up, so when we eventually get back up here in the Spring, everything looks very sorry for itself and the furniture is knackered. So, I have decided to spruce up a little corner of the terrace now the weather is better, with a bit of help from Homebase garden furniture (and a less than helpful Otto who just enjoys climbing all over the furniture). I have tried to soften the edges of this urban space, which lacks lush grass and greens…

I chose the Peru bench and have given it a couple of coats of paint for added protection because it is so exposed up on our roof. I also really like white garden furniture, especially mixed with blues and enamel planters. I also chose the Kilo table, which isn’t supposed to be used outside but it is perfect for this spot so I treated the legs with teak oil, which will hopefully protect it against the weather and the top is metal so that should survive.

I really want my garden furniture to be as comfortable as my indoor furniture so I always heap it with cushions. I made the cushion cover on the right from an old grain sack.

I bought some lovely plants from Homebase to give my planters a new lease of life, as well as strawberries as we try to grow as much food up here as possible.

We now need to give the decking a good clean after the winter months as well as getting to work on sprucing up other corners around the terrace. What I really want to do is start growing climbers up around the perimeter wall so we are surrounded by green instead of rendered concrete.

We’re all set for long evenings, drinks and sun and Otto is looking forward to all of our neighbours giving him their BBQ leftovers.

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Homebase but the views and opinions are my own.

katy 13th April 2015

Habitat styling

The first piece of furniture that I bought myself was a teal blue velvet Habitat armchair when I moved into my first flat quite a few years ago now. Therefore, I am very excited to be receiving a new one and it was such fun deciding which one to go for! I have finally settled on the Wilmot armchair as I really like the Scandinavian design and the legs have a mid-centuy vibe that I love. The grey wool fabric is the perfect neutral that will work well with our Kilim rug and existing armchair.

I went to Habitat the other day and it felt like a brand new store with the arrival of a new season’s worth of collections – you know when you start looking around and you just want everything? So it wasn’t hard to put together how I will style up my new armchair with other Habitat bits…

1. Pole – natural oak floor lamp base 2. Wilmot – grey fabric armchair 3. Vince – oak side table 4. Wilmot – grey fabric footstool 5. Barington – green linen cushion 6. Coby – set of three rectangular water hyacinth baskets

I love the oak feet of the armchair so the lamp and side table blend perfectly, a blast of colour from the linen cushion, some texture from those gorgeous baskets (very handy too) and a good dose of pattern from my kilim rug. I’ve also added this beautiful House of Rym throw that reflects the Scandinavian design of the chair as well as the Bloomingville hanging planters as plants are a must.

Which Habitat armchair would you pick?

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Habitat.

katy 11th April 2015

Styling spring flowers

There isn’t long to go until this month’s special Styling the Seasons competition ends. Have you entered yet? If not, here are beautiful examples of using Spring blooms in the home to give you a bit of inspiration. Don’t forget, all you need to do is style a surface in your home to reflect what April means to you, blog about it or post a picture on social media using the hashtag #StylingSpringAtMine to be in with a chance of winning a place at our floral workshop on April 29th in London (see more details here). We would LOVE to see you there so get styling! Entries close on April 15th.

Image: Femina

Image: Bo Bedre

Image: Design Sponge

Image: Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily

Image: A Quiet Style

Image: Mariaemb

Image: Madelief

Image: Woohome

Happy Spring styling!

Katy x

katy 9th April 2015

Upholstery fabric wish list

I’ve been talking about doing an upholstery course for a while now and one of the main reasons for doing so would be to learn how to create my ideal piece of furniture, covered in my favourite fabrics. All too often I see the most beautiful chairs, sofas or footstools that cost nothing because the upholstery is ruined and I wish that I had the skills to recover it and bring it back to life. Imagine the possibilities!

I am so pleased that Clarke & Clarke is sponsoring my blog this month as it’s inspired me to dream up upholstery projects I can do without having done a course yet (one day, one day!). Many of the Clarke & Clarke SS15 fabric collections are ideal for upholstery projects so I have pored over the classical and more contemporary designs and found some of my favourites for a few projects I have had in mind for a while…

Clarke & Clarke upholstery fabrics | Apartment Apothecary

Ercol armchair in Eden Flax.

I have been obsessed with the idea of having an Ercol armchair for ages; it would be ideal in my sitting room. The subtle herringbone of this Eden fabric in Flax would work perfectly with this Ercol design classic and the colour is perfection.

Ercol daybed in Chico Aqua.

Another Ercol piece that I just can not get out of my mind is this daybed. If it were up to me I would have got rid of our sofa years ago and replaced it with this. However, Jules is not convinced that the daybed is comfy enough to be our main sofa (he doesn’t like hard arms) so I will have to wait until we have more space for this beauty. In the meantime I have chosen the Chico design in Aqua from the SS15 Zanzibar collection as the perfect fabric cover – I think the colour blends so well with the soft honey tones of the daybed frame.

Victorian blanket box in Squall Blush.

I have had my eye on an old Victorian blanket box for our bedroom as we need a bit more storage and this could happily sit at the end of our bed. I thought it would be nice to add a foam top covered in fabric to make it into a seat. The Squall fabric in this beautiful Blush colour from the new SS15 Monsoon collection would work really well with the other pinks in the room and it has a lovely texture ideal for a seat.

Finally, one tip from me, just in case you are new to choosing fabric, always make sure you request fabric swatch samples to help you choose the right design. So many of us are used to buying everything online but it is so, so difficult to do that with fabric as the colours, size of prints, texture do not translate well online. I think you need to be able to hold the fabric in your room or on the piece of furniture you want to cover to be able to judge how well it will work. Also, check it in natural daylight and at night with your lights turned on to really judge whether it works in your space. Luckily, Clarke & Clarke fabrics are available in stockists all over the country and internationally (find out where here) so I would definitely recommend going and choosing the fabric in store, if possible.

Katy x

katy 7th April 2015

Bedroom inspiration

When we ripped up the carpets in our living room and home office last year, we left the bedroom as it was for practical reasons i.e. we needed one surface that we could walk on whilst we painted the rest. However, I always knew I wanted to get rid of it because it drags the whole room down, especially in contrast to the rest of the flat. I love having a white backdrop on both the floor and walls and then warm it up with linen, throws, rugs, curtains, furniture and books, especially considering I do not have any period features, living in a new build flat.

Now that the painting has been done, I am putting a few finishing touches to the room and I wanted to show you my inspiration…

Bedroom inspiration | Apartment Apothecary

I love the simple touches of wood that tie this room together. Image: Roger Davies

A shared style - Mur Lifestyle | A Quiet Style

I was really inspired by the simplicity of this all white bedroom that was featured on Emma’s regular feature A Shared Style. Just a few select pieces on the bedside table and a few plants on the window sill – I can’t stand clutter in my bedroom these days. Image: A Quiet Style

I know this is not a bedroom but inspiration comes from all sorts of places. This picture gave me the idea to place large plants on top of my wardrobe, which adds a contrast in colour and an injection of life to the room (although very annoying to water!). Image: Tumblr

My linen dreams have come true! I have some beautiful linen for my bed that adds wonderful texture to the room. Image: Apartment Therapy

This shot on Instagram caught my eye. It made me realise that my dressing table is covered with bottles, lotions, potions and a hair dryer and is definitely not a thing of beauty. I have decided to try to add more things of beauty to the surfaces in my bedroom. Image: @witanddelight_

The freshness of this bedroom is exactly what I hope to achieve. Image: Pure Style

I like the softness that textiles and pictures can bring to an all white canvas. Image: Remodelista

For tons more bedroom inspiration and design ideas, you should check out this article on LuxPad, in which I share my favourite bedroom. I hope to be able to get the room finished by next week so keep your eyes peeled!

Katy x