P A S T I C H E
Interior Design

DIARY

DIARY

 
Kitchen Couture

Sculptural Marble Kitchens

Marble is a material of lasting quality that ages with grace. It’s a natural material and no two slabs are the same, so your counter top will be a one-of-a-kind. Marble is extremely durable with a timeless universal appeal. 

The myth that it’s not suited for kitchens is of the past, as new technology and research has found techniques and formulas to seal the marble. Your marble counter top must be sealed, regardless of which finish you go for! The choice between a honed and polished finish is a personal one but from experience, the honed finished, (created by sanding the surface so that it has a soft, matte finish), won’t show the scratches as much and it’s a little less bright.

Once your marble top has been sealed it’s easy to maintain using warm water and dish soap, as you would any counter top in the kitchen.

The selection of marble is wide, and comes in various colours and veining, with a big variation in price as some stones are easily available with some being rarer.

Marble is truly a piece of art and transforms your room to Kitchen Couture…

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Alexander McQueen

A Fashion Collaboration

Alexander McQueen & The Rug Company

When Fashion designers collaborate outside of their familiar catwalk, something magical happens. They come with fresh ideas in an area they know no boundaries. Their work is without restriction and consists only of the freedom to create.This collaboration also happened to be some of the last designs of Alexander McQueen himself. Three years in the making, Alexander McQueen’s rug collection took craftsmanship to couture levels; with the collaboration winning the award for Fashions contributing to design. McQueen added fantasy and rebellion to his creation that was all about craft and quality. High drama and a gothic sense of beauty were constants in his work. His hand-knotted series of four large rugs and two coordinating throw pillows is The Rug Company’s most ambitious project of date.

The four-piece series included a cashmere ‘Feathers’ rug that drapes like a fabric and features a pattern based on a hawk’s feather. The wool and silk ‘Skull’ rug, by contrasts, comes with McQueen’s most famous motif in a suitably haunting grey design. The most lyrical is the ‘Hummingbird’design depicting birds in flight across an inky black background weaved with over 300 000 knots per square meter. This design was originally used in McQueen’s Spring / Summer 2009 collection. The collections final piece is the giant two-tone ‘Military Brocade’ design featuring a golden oak leaves border and a central skull from which an oriental serpent emerges. The design in hand-knotted wool with raised silk was taken from an embroidered coat from his Fall 2001 runway show. The rug designs are one of a small number of items McQueen put his name to outside of fashion and beauty. These rugs are truly a piece of art and I love them all but my personal favorite is the silk Feather rug.

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Marion Reynolds
Home Office

Integrating an office into your home requires careful styling consideration.

When positioning my working space I look for a calm area with as much natural light as possible. Plain white walls are essential as an “empty canvas” to build my collages onto. A generous working area allows me to lay out drawings, clippings and other creative tools with ease. The decoration of my home office has been carefully selected to inspire me on a daily basis but not so intrusive as to disturb my visual thought process. I look to include, coffee table books, plants, stylized stationary and office equipment.

If you need to fit your home office into a smaller space or merge into your living area, there are many creative ways of integrating without disturbing your natural style balance. Choose a desk that is not dominant but compliments your other furniture. Find a chair that is comfortable without being a typical office item. For desk, lamp and chair, look at local auction houses, flee markets or perhaps invest in a modern design classic. Minimize your wiring and leave only decorative pieces visible at the end of the day.

Be good to yourself with this space, you will spent more time here then any other part of you home. Style it properly and you won’t have to hide it!

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