Since all events are cancelled at the moment due to the world wide Pandemic, I thought it could be fun to look back at some past events and experiences. When I was the Editor-in-Chief of House & Home magazine, I had the opportunity to step inside some amazing spaces and see things that I had only dreamt of. I truly miss the amazing press trips and events of that time. One of the most memorable trips was to London Design Week with the eponymous fabric house Kravet.


We saw so many inspiring things on this trip – too many to mention. But for me, the highlight was visiting Jewelry designer, Jessica McCormack’s unbelievably stunning showroom. I was quite honestly a bit overwhelmed by the staggering beauty and details. Everything from the jewelry-inspired custom fixture overhead to the paneled wood main staircase was spectacular.

The second floor opened onto this view to a vintage modern organ set on a chevron wood floor – a vista to take your breath away.


At one end of the room was this wonderfully eclectic sitting room. Everything about the room felt meaningful and intimate. Rich and layered but cosy and welcoming and just so entirely unique. I believe that this room was the inspiration for my blue hallway at Carlton.


The folded wooden shelf that twisted and turned up the deep blue walls. The sweet pink bouquet juxtaposed with the African sculpture and griffin inlay on the fireplace mantle (weirdly my family crest includes a griffin too).


And then there was the downstairs washroom, with its welcoming pineapple wallpaper, antique brass fixtures and marble half walls. This just might have been the inspiration for the wallpaper in our dining room at Carlton. All of these wonderful things stored somewhere back in my consciousness.

So much detail and personality in one place. I left with an arsenal of fresh inspiration