Savvy shopping Inspired ideas for laid-back living Instant updates Soften your space with the new sheers The arts hot list Your fast track to the year’s hottest events Focus on storage Smart buys and...
I once took part in a ‘life coaching’ exercise that at first sounded rather macabre. It was this: write your own eulogy. Shocked? Don’t be. The point is to articulate how you would like to be remembe...
WE DID IT! Equal Rights for Design, achieved! The government has officially changed the law concerning copyright, from 25 years for registered designs to 70 years after the death of the originator, a...
A lot has been written recently about the state of our high streets and what needs to be done to get people shopping on them again. The Portas Review, published last December, is probably the most co...
Everything you wanted to know about our Equal Rights for Design campaign, based on the queries I’ve found myself repeatedly answering… It’s all very well, but I’m not a designer, what’s this got to d...
Fight the fakes! Great design for every budget Focus on dining The new indoor/outdoor furniture, plus best buy chairs, tables and stools Easy updates How to transform your home with flowers Smart sho...
Why as a nation do we seem to worship at the altar of cheap? The wear-it-today, chuck-it-tomorrow Primark mentality? Why buy three fashion-fix sets of sandals when you could invest in one great pair?...
Following is an exact transcript of a feature, in The Saturday Times, 31 March 2012, about the ELLE Decoration UK Equal Rights for Design campaign, based on an interview with myself and campaign supp...
Easy updates Five steps to a natural home Smart shopping The best British ceramics Focus on bedrooms How to create a dream boudoir in the new pretty pastels Outdoor living Enjoy spring in the city, f...
Let’s get something straight, in case I haven’t been clear enough already on this page previously or on my blog: I do not like phonies, fakes, facsimiles, replicas or anything that pretends to be oth...
In a recession the good have to be better whatever line of business they happen to be in. When times are tight, consumers vote with their feet and employers have a veritable buffet of talent to pick ...
In November 2010, David Cameron charged Professor Ian Hargreaves, Professor of Digital Economy at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, with the task of leading an independent...
Am I a snob if I prefer things of quality? Or elitist if I encourage the appreciation of authenticity? Is ELLE Decoration undemocratic if it argues for integrity? I don’t think so, but the fake...
Style For Less Six affordable design classics Simple Pleasures Rediscover the ritual of tea Love Your Lounge How to make the most of any living space Spring/Summer Pattern Book The best new-se...
April: Outside interests Children and pets make you happier, says a ton of research. Apparently, owning an animal helps to lower your blood pressure, reduce stress and encourage social connectivity. ...
So Meg Matthews has a wallpaper and scarf range on sale at Liberty. I have nothing against Meg per se, but her getting a showcase at one of London’s finest department stores irks me on several levels...
One of my two New Year’s resolutions for 2012 was to “take control” of my email. As I receive about 150 a day, emails had been an unmitigated point of stress throughout the previous year. The hours w...
How thrilled was I to hear that Vince Cable, Business Secretary of the government’s Department of Business Innovation and Skills, has launched a campaign entitled “Make it in Great Britain” wit...
March: Divine Inspiration I was reminded recently of a mantra made famous by Mother Teresa that could be read as a blueprint for living a fulfilling life. It goes thus… ‘People are often unreasonable...
My parents have been doing a spot of “decorating” and so keen to see the result, off to visit I went. Apparently, the fabulously swirly whirly 1980s Axminster carpet (endlessly justified ...
Smart Shopping Best buys from the high street Style Steal Why it’s time to fall in love with blue Bathroom Focus Tranquillity reigns: the latest looks, plus beautiful baths, taps and tiles Our Fashio...
I believe the purpose of a blog is to incite/inspire a little discourse and debate, so I was delighted to receive the following email after my exceptionally unrewarding Feng Shui experience, as previ...
How do you know if putting a fountain in your front garden will increase your prosperity? You don’t, unless you do it. But like, I suspect, a great many people, if requested to do such a thing, I req...
Following is the wording of the ELLE Decoration e-petition to change the UK copyright laws with respect to design… “ELLE Decoration UK petitions the government to afford the discipline of...
Three things occurred in quick succession that have caused me to radically re-evaluate my thoughts on juvenile crime. Firstly I was burgled a few months ago by what turned out to be a 16-year old lad...
It’s time to have some fun… Party time How our favourite fashion designers celebrate Easy updates Scent and sound: the new home frontiers Savvy shopping What to invest in now, from design...
January: Time to indulge Oh lordy, it’s been a tough year hasn’t it? As the winter months beckon and the papers continue to preach sermons of doom and gloom, suicide figures on the underground are up...
Anyone who follows me regularly on Twitter will be aware of my recent painful travails involving near madness induced by leaking taps, and the subsequent frustration at the costs incurred for what ap...
I had a new sofa delivered recently. I’d ordered it about four months previously. It was not from one of the great Italian maestros, it was from Habitat: Robin Day’s brilliant four-seater ‘Forum’ sof...
And so I attempt to offer some conclusions on the SamCam Arco-gate chapter… I hit a nerve judging by the tremendous response provoked and the number of calls received, so how do I suggest this sorry ...
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