April 26, 2016
Creative, calm and cool: At Home with Elaine
Like walking into an issue of Domino – this house is beautifully and thoughtfully put together, Elaine works in PR and has a fantastic eye for interiors and has created a colourful, fun and sophisticated home for her, her boyfriend Simon and dog Daisy.
Elaine bought her house ten years ago with her sister and since then has re-jigged the interiors about 3 times – the latest re-vamp involved introducing a soothing darker palette, with lots of metallic copper highlights and fun personal details throughout. A lot of thought and love has gone into this sweet abode, so let's have a peek.
A&TB: What's your design mantra? What style of interiors are you obsessed with?
Elaine: Lots and lots of colour. I like to create colour palettes for each room and then build features around that. I think its good to have a balance of the old and contemporary when it comes to styling rooms with beautiful objects and furniture. However, I’m not snobby when it comes to interiors, or where I find treasures for each room. And obviously anything that’s pink or copper works!
A&TB: Where is your favourite spot in the house and why?
Elaine: Our bedroom, I’m a terrible sleeper / relaxer so when designing it I wanted to create a haven. I like that its dark and cosy, I could spend hours here. I chose Stiffkey Blue by F&B for the walls, lots of greys in the linens and headboard and my obvious favourite; copper. The room gets a lot of light so it feels bright and airy during the day and then at night it’s dark and moody. Perfect for snoozing.
A&TB: Who currently has your dream home (it could be your own)?
Elaine: This one is hard. I actually can’t think of a specific home as I like loads of houses, places, rooms etc and would most likely want a mish mash of a few. The interiors of The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably my dream, the colours and textures are unreal. Absolute perfection. I could very easily live in the Gallery in sketch London. Oh and the house (not the interiors) from Home Alone. Obsessed.
A&TB: Favourite Designer/Shop?
Elaine: Anything by the Ban.do girls, especially their creative director Jen Gotch, I’ve a total girl crush for her. I love the colours and textures of Kate Spade, super girly and fun. I think if I lived alone I would most likely have glitter pink walls and neon pink lights everywhere!
Elaine up-cycled the drawers with a couple of coats of soothing Plummet Grey from Farrow & Ball and some gorgeous copper knobs from Anthropolgie.
Like myself, Elaine has a penchant for collecting graphic postcards. She displays them on this simple white board which hangs above her desk. And yes, those are GOLDEN legs. Elaine injects so much personality into her home with small details like this - here she simply sprayed the legs of this Ikea-bought table. Add a divine Ghost chair and BOOM = Instant Luxe Office Decor.
A&TB: What's your favourite piece in the house and why?
Elaine: Probably a chair belonged to my grandmother Cecilia, she had quite a collection of stylish furniture and my mother gifted me a piece when I bought my house. Its super comfy despite needing some restoration and upholstery however I’m too protective to let it out of my sight.
A&TB: What blogs/Pinterest boards do you LOVE?
Elaine: I follow lots of randomers who just like nice things and then some hardcore bloggers. I love 47 Park Avenue blog, SF Girl by Bay, Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, The Glitter Guide and the Every Girl. I follow Bri Emery of DesignLoveFest.com, and interior designer Emily Henderson, they have very similar style and taste to me.
A&TB: Could you tell me the story about the art print in the hall?
Elaine: Our friends sometimes refer to us as ‘The Verdigan’s’, a mash up of our surnames. My friend / colleague Ross is an amazing illustrator (www.im-ross.com/), and so as a gift for Simon, I asked him to illustrate our little family for us as we had no pic of the three of us. He’s captured Daisy’s disdain for being hugged / picked up perfectly!
A&TB: What's your favourite art print in the house and why?
Elaine: Oh I have many. I can’t pick one! Most of the prints / photographs are gifts or by our friends or pics we have taken ourselves. The grannies drinking tea in the sitting room by photographer Steve Ryan makes me happy just looking at them, I love the tones in Maser’s prints, and then the simplicity of a very special gift from our friend Liam (http://www.crichton-ross.com/) which is his visualization of sound square waves.
A&TB: Where does the Polka Dot Door lead to? What inspired you to do it?
Elaine: Ha. I’d love to say it leads to a party or the rabbit hole at Glastonbury, however it leads to a bathroom. In the downstairs hallway there are six doors, I wanted to break up the monotony of the white woodwork so added the dots on that door. They’re vinyl dots from Ferm Living and lots of fun to apply. It’s a touch of monochrome, plus its opposite our mini bar so is actually a bit of a destination.
A&TB: What inspired you to paint the stairs black?
Elaine: I’d had duck egg blue walls, grey carpet and white banisters previously. The carpet was impossible to keep clean, especially with a dog the size of a mini horse. I wanted to freshen up the walls and chose to paint them All White by F&B and decided to remove the carpet altogether. I chose Little Green Jack Black on the stairs as its quite dramatic against the white but also the black helps to anchor the space. The cool monochrome of the walls and stairs is balanced by the warmth of the dark oak wood floor. The whole space has opened up and the staircase feels much bigger.
A&TB Loves:
-Elaine's ability to take something fairly ordinary like a cabinet and turn it into something covetable and full of personality.
-Those BLACK stairs.
-Those BLACK POLKA DOTS.
-The deliciously dark hues on the walls - especially the Down Pipe in the kitchen!
-Her insanely delicious colour palettes - that soft pink & dusty grey combo?!
-Daisy, Elaine's gorgeous dog.
-Elaine. She might be the loveliest lady ever.
We'd like to say a HUGE thanks to Elaine & Simon for letting us poke around their amazing gaff. For more on these deadly people see their social media details below, including Daisy the pooch who has her very own Instagram page. Like obvs.
For more deadly House Tours — click here.
Simon Resoul (DJ Stuff): https://play.spotify.com/artist/4zc69nnpCmBnTFIFO4X3r5 & http://djkormac.com/