French Hall And Stairs.

Halls and stairs have been always a very important space for me. The hall is the first space we encounter when the door is opened and the stairs that transition from one to another level.

Here some of my favourite spaces from Coco Chanel's movie, the house of Balsan. Great source of inspiration and dream, if they have different meanings.

We rarely seat or stay in a hall, but like this one, a chair is missing. Seating in front of this amazing French doors, reading a book or even just staring at the view, is just perfect for a Sunday afternoon isn't it?

Mix and match with patterns is the right choice, and always very often found in stair halls.

Maybe because I've been totally inspired by monograms lately, the blazon catches my eye.

Images from the movie Coco Before Chanel.

More inspiration.
More Halls
More Stairs

Sonia Rykiel Maison

As I've booked a seminar for tomorrow at the V&A about Paris, I thought it's a good opportunity to post about one of my favourite designers. I love Sonia's bright side of fashion, her frizzy hair and severe fringe - well, over all, I love her style.

When it comes to interior déco, I love the combination of bold, deep colours, always perfect to dress any bed or bathroom. Whether a minimalistic or more classic space, her accessories wrap up the energy.

La diva de la mode rive gauche

Naive yet bohemian pattern

2011 Maison Collection.

- En déco, vous aimez...
- L'argenterie. Les belles salles de bains. Les bouteilles de vin avec de jolies étiquettes. Le linge de maison et les draps raffinés. Les seaux à champagne. Les timbales en argent et les chandeliers sans bougies." | Interview by Marie Claire Maison (February / March 2007), one of my favourite interior decoration magazines.

Rykielles, Le Blog

Photo credits - 1 & 2 scanned from Marie Claire Maison. 3 google image

T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T @ The Barbican.

Last Saturday I went to The Barbican to see an amazing performance. Called T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna and performed by TR Warszawa Polish Company, it is inspired by Pier Paolo Pasolini's cult film Teorema.

In T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. the stage transited such aesthetic sensibility achieved by spatial layout and light I could almost fell part of me in each centre of the action. Everything was there, exposed to all of us and all of them, yet everything was individual where boundaries were not physical.





Mobile photos.

Time Out review

Light & Shadow.

London Sun is very charming this morning. Didn't resist to shoot my Japanese Screen where light and shadows created a beautiful pattern.

Get inspired.

Once Upon A Time.

There's always a tale in Hermès' windows design.

This one is precious. The imaginary princess and prince, somewhere in an Autumn day... Beautiful.

For more Hermès tales, please click here.

Ralph Lauren Home.

Interiors are a beautiful world. A world I couldn't live without. A world where we get to indulge spaces and lives with beautiful Ralph Lauren Home.

Classic is leather. Classic is button down. Classic is comfort.

Showroom at Harrods, London.

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Keep Stylish.

In the Spring of 1939, with the war against Germany, the British Government's Ministry of Information commissioned a series of propaganda posters to be distributed throughout the country. The posters were intended to offer the public reassurance in the dark days which lay ahead.

Three designs went to production. The first two were distributed, but the "Keep Calm" posters were held in reserve. It was never officially issued and so remained virtually unseen by the public - unseen, that is, until a rare copy turned up more than fifty years later in a box of old books bought in auction by Barter Books in Alnwick.

Shop owners Stuart and Mary Manley liked the poster so much that they had it framed and placed near the till in Barter Books. It quickly proved so popular that they decided to print and sell a facsimile edition of their original poster which has since become a best-seller.

When I'm in an arty mood I like to change a word to make my own statement. And this one is indeed important as styling (interiors) is one of my (favourite) projects as a designer.

What's yours?


The other two messages were:
"Your Courage. Your Cheerfulness. Your Resolution will Bring us Victory".
"Freedom is in Peril".

Paris, Je T'Aime.

Official. I'm going to Paris early November. Can't wait.
I'll go only for a day, though it's going to be pleasant enough to catch up with this amazing European City.

Musée du Louvre.

Over a year ago I did a short course in Baroque Interiors and Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Since then I've been planning to go to Versailles, which is the greatest example of such style. Maybe it'll be a good opportunity to revive what I've learned and share with you all.

With my Eurostar ticket in hand, I haven't decided if I go to indulge myself with what Le Roi Soleil had once created, or if I'll hang around the Capital, window shopping, drinking coffee (and flicking through Marie Claire Maison), speaking French (or at least trying to) and photographing whatever my eye catchs. Oh, and who know's Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs? So much to see, so little time.

Les rues de Paris.

I guess when I get there, I'll decide what I'm up to.

Goldsmith's Space.

Last Sunday I went to the Goldsmith's Fair, the most luxurious exhibition in London I believe. In total you get to indulge yourself with 180 designers, goldsmiths and silversmiths work. My God, beautiful jewellery, stunning silverware and other objects of pure luxury I wish I have.
For copyright reasons, I couldn't photograph (except a few rings my friend Luiza allowed me to) but I couldn't resist to sneak a few snapshots of this amazing ceiling.

As I mentioned before, Golden Age is back and this space's ceiling is something to look at and get inspired by, no matter what you're looking for, designing or styling. Hope you like it.

Monograms will be back soon, and ceilings are indeed a great plan to design them on.

Love the depth on these two photos.

I like the concept of mimicking the ceiling details on the mirror frames (or vice-versa). Makes an interesting statement, reinforcing the detail.

Cliché to have velvet and gold, but why not? It's just a perfect marriage, isn't it?

It's exhibitions like this one I'm going to miss once I go back to Portugal. The good thing is London is a step away from Lisbon and I hope I'll come as often as I wish.

Inspired By Zebra Prints.

For the last couple of days I've been completely inspired by animal prints. Love them all. I like to give a touch to my styling (whether interiors or fashion) with a natural pattern.

Any animal print is so rich that it can be tricky to make the space breath without overwhelming the energy. The key point is to play with two, maybe three colours and than very gracefully add the animal instinct to it.

What I truly love about the Zebra print is the elegant monochromatic striped colours. Truly beautiful isn't it?

Here we have Marc Newson's London flat. Great combination of materials and forms.

Quite masculine yet elegant apartment form Sex And The City where the red colour and the wood panels embrace pretty well the pattern.

Impossible not to love this living room. A splash of sunshine brings the sharp forms together very well, doesn't it?

First and fourth picture form google images. Second picture from NYTimes. Third picture from Sex And The City Season 5

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