Q&A with: Upstyl & Son

I recently came across this wonderful interiors brand at a local shop, Ruby & Norm, on Lee High Road in London. Blending antique inspired furniture with modern upstyling techniques, Alexandra Stylianidis Mathie the founder has a great eye for colour and design.  

We asked Alexandra about wedding styling and how you can incorporate her beautiful pieces into your big day…

On Wedding Decorations…

No wedding should ever follow someone elses blueprint, so to make your special day totally individual, treat your guests to the same treatment you will yourself. The Simple Candy Cane chairs will brighten up your special venue and personalise your guests experience with simple individuality. Choose a palette that suits your theme and if you are feeling super generous, give them to your guests as the most amazing favours they have ever had! 

On Gifting...

For the classic and retrospective couple, the half moon tables will give their new home a sense of everlasting class, bringing with it a grounding history and plenty of good karma!

And of course, for the ultimate in bespoke and alternative wedding gifts, why not gift a consultation with UpStyl&Son to truly personalise their matrimonial haven, all using their existing wares and upstyling their family heirlooms; a true unity of two individual and dynamic lives.

Thank you Alexandra!

www.upstylandson.com

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Cabbages & Roses - new flagship store

On Wednesday evening, I attended the launch party for Cabbages & Roses' new flagship store at 121-123 Sydney Street in Chelsea, SW3.

If French country chic with a touch of British eccentricity is your style then you will love the new Cabbages & Roses shop.

The home and fashion shop is joined by an interconnecting door and the shops back onto The Chelsea Gardener and Bumpkin, with a gorgeous garden at the back. 

As well as homewares, Cabbages & Roses has a gorgeous range of fabrics in soft paisleys, florals, stripes and diagonals.

The bath salts and candles are my favourite, all in beautiful white French chemist style packaging. 

The fashion shop has a range of gorgeous Breton tees, slouchy knitwear, smart tailoring and tweeds for the colder months - all in a perfect palette of pretty pastels, rich navy, crisp white and stormy greys.

Also on offer in the fashion store are products from gorgeous handmade Swedish bath and beauty brand L:a Bruket and shoe polish from British leather shoe brand Grenson.

The shop opening coincides with the launch of Christina Strutt's new book, Living Life Beautifully, available to buy on Amazon. I thoroughly recommend it. 

Follow Cabbages and Roses on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!

5 of the Best: candy coloured fridges

Decorating a new room Scandi-style

IKEA


Earthy Stripes Place Mat, £4.99, Anthropologie

Melin Tregwynt Whitby Waffle Cushion, John Lewis

SANELA Cushion, IKEA

AINA Cushion, IKEA

EMMIE Roll Up Blind, IKEA

ANTONIUS Shelf, IKEA

GURLI Throw, IKEA

VILMIE RUND Throw, IKEA

Athena Table Lamp, John Lewis

Interiors: White

In not too long I'm moving. It's an exciting prospect despite it being an extreme downsize in terms of the size of my bedroom, but the space in the overall flat is good. 

I generally favour white and neutrals for bedrooms to ease relaxation and peacefulness. I'm not talking clinical, hospital kind of white but a clean palette punctuated with metallics, colour and the occasional bit of wood. With my new room being poky [you can pretty much fit a bed and a dressing table in it], white seems a good option to make the space feel larger, especially with shiny wooden floors

I think Emily Shulman of Cupcakes and Cashmere does this effectively [see below] and the neutrality of the grey effectively balances out the starkness of the white bedspread and curtains, while the black serves to add a bit of edge to the otherwise very feminine sleeping space. 

There is something very Scandi about a white bedroom - minimalist and clinical. I would go for a little more colour gained from vibrant photographs and postcards, flowers or the black and white definition you get from a Diptique candle. I like how the black table legs and the long black wire offer a geometric quality to this otherwise blank canvas

Though it's hard to deny, the pleasure of sleeping in white sheets is pretty unbeatable. Crumpled or neatly pressed, they just give off a feeling of freshness. 

I will be sure to post images of my new room when I move in later this summer. My approach will be to declutter, using the white walls and wooden floor as a neutral base, but retaining items with a strong personality to define and shape the space. 

Home in on: Graphic Prints

Graphic prints aren't just for the catwalk. I have selected some summery pieces in geometric prints from online stores and my favourite home brand, John Lewis.



Habitat Amphi Multi-Colour Throw, www.habitat.co.uk, £45



Concentric Cushion Cover, £60, Niki Jones



Washita cushion by Marianne Diemer, www.theo-theo.com, £55

Ptolemy Mann Limited Edition for John Lewis, Basket Ikat Cushion, www.johnlewis.com, £65



John Lewis pixels rug, www.johnlewis.com, price on request

Yastik by Rifat Ozbek Ikat Cushions, from £162, Couture Lab

John Lewis geometric cushion, www.johnlewis.com, £25

Inspiration: London

1. Kate Moss, 2. Sums up the way I feel, 3. Beautiful interior, 4. Flowers at Chelsea Flower Show from Sarah-Leigh's Style Files 5. Chelsea Flower Show inside from Sarah-Leigh's Style Files