Belgravia on a Budget

I’ve just finished reading this week’s Grazia magazine and was rather taken with the house featured in the ‘Grazia Living’ section.  Did any of you read the article?  It was on Alison Cook’s  Belgravia home, a six storey Georgian townhouse.  As the interior dated back to the sixties, there was a lot of work that needed doing to it to get it up-to-date.

Above: the dog cocktail cabinet was painted by a friend.  Make the most out of any outdoor space

We’re all well aware of the extortionate house prices in London and although Alison bagged this fabulous house for half of the asking price (the current recession isn’t always a bad thing!), she still had little money left over to renovate.  Like myself, Alison loves the luxury look and was determined to achieve her goal despite having low funds.  Luxury means expensive- there’s just no way around it, right?  Well I’d have thought so too, but here Alison proves that imagination and a lick of paint are all that’s needed!

Alison says the plan was to ‘indulge my love of colour, preserve all the drama of the original features, smarten-up old furniture and shop strategically online’. 

I think she’s succeeded, don’t you?   The finished look is quirky and stylish.

One thing that the recession does make us do is inspires us to use our imagination and get creative!

posted by Emily

Will Luella live on?

I was so sad (and shocked!) to hear that one of my most favourite designers, the fabulous Luella Bartley, became a victim of the recession earlier this month.

Her label wasforced out of business after one of its main suppliers, Carla Carini, closed.  The closure meant that orders for the spring/summer 2010 collection could not be fulfilled and so the Singapore-based company in charge of distributing Bartley’s clothing and accessories, VSQ, then withdrew its backing.  The fact that it had been ‘business as usual’ right up to the last minute just shows how quickly a company can be affected.  Scary, isn’t it?

I used to love browsing in her flagship store on Mayfair’s Brook Street; her designs are so fun and girly!  The perfect fusion of traditional British influences with quirky modern details. 

Bartley was crowned designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2008 and has had great success since the launch of the label in 1999. 

Here’s hoping that investors will see the label’s commercial potential and that Luella shall live on….

posted by Emily