Photography by Emily Nicholson, Dursk

Last week I had my final visit to Berwick (before becoming a fulltime 9-5er as of today) and other than getting my last lot of Ted cuddles, I tried my hand at styling with some family heirlooms. I had a field-day sifting through hand embroidered table cloths and vintage liberty prints, but in the end settled on a cloth with an original Next 80s print, trimmed with 50s lace; a perfect match for my Grandfathers Danish style coffee table (which I've totally got first dibs on).

I aimed for a tan and crochet theme so when I also found this vintage cushion case I thought it would sit perfectly on one of the Y style kitchen chairs. Complete with a cheese plant and a Habitat vessel/vase the look promotes mixing old with the new, overall making these timeless family pieces a part of everyday life again.

And the finishing touch - Ted; chief sniffer and the best of all the tan accessories!

Indigo Inspo

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A massive trend last A/W was the rich allure of the colour indigo. As it's one of my winter favourites, I wanted to share some of the best patterns, colour combinations and textures that have evolved over the past year. Ranging from faded blues to vibrant aubergines, indigo has a range of tones that have even inspired the use of new textures such as denim within interior textiles, as well as a worn and washed reclaimed aesthetic, picking up on the remnants of bold indigo.

One of the key elements of the indigo trend is the handcrafted charm that is created through the look of ink splattered, dipped and dyed products. A style that (in my opinion) is at it's best upon ceramics, this provides a 'freshly painted' appeal and is fast becoming a recognised trend. New at Anthropologie are the delightful tie-dye effect notebooks. These irregular styles of lined patterns have created a leaked and seeped look with a unique appeal and again have evolved into experimentation with innovative interior dying techniques, such as the inclusion of shibori.

Woven textures contrasted with grey tones create a rustic colour palette, ideal for the cold coming months. Again, lines are created through this naturally textured pattern, and a similarity is obvious when looking at the painted abstract patterns upon tablewares by Lauren Bamford. Indigo becomes even cooler when combined with concrete but something I'm going to keep my eye on is the contrast of indigo accessorised with copper, for those who prefer a warmer but still moody interior.

Tent & Superbrands: highlights

Arart from Emily Nicholson on Vimeo.

Here's a quick round up of my favourite stands seen at Tent London which I attended earlier this week; altogether a compilation of Nordic style furniture, graphic prints and innovative concepts.

This installation in particular blew my mind by Japanese visual communication experts, Amana. This suspended cube, Arart is decorated with floral and graphic designs so that when a phone with an assisting app is hovered over the artworks, each is instantly animated, overall highlighting the correlation between life and technology.

V&A: LDF highlights

Photography by Emily Nicholson, Dursk 

Earlier this week I visited London for the day, and with the hype of London Design Festival I felt it was a must to visit the V&A to see the currently exhibited LDF pieces and the jaw dropping Double Space installation for BMW.

On arrival I was welcomed by Carousel, a kaleidoscopic wall of tiles leading the way from the tunnel entrance to the museum. The adaptation of the 2011 Carousel collection by London-based print and design studio David David and British manufacturer Johnson Tiles, is a bright and decorative continuation of the already tiled underground passage and takes inspiration from traditional Islamic pattern.  

Rainy Day Ted

All photography by Emily Nicholson, (Dursk) 

I thought it was about time to formally introduce my little dog, Ted. Myself and Nik have been staying in Berwick upon Tweed with my parents for the past week, so what better time . . .

Since moving up north 2 years ago, coming to visit my mum and dad consists of Bamburgh beach days, coffee dates and my favourite - slobbing out with Ted. As I have decided to remain in Manchester, the decision for Ted to live in Berwick was a no-brainer, he has the countryside on his doorstep, he's never shut up alone and he's got the run of a big house.

Today has been one of my favourite kind of Ted days. The weather has been typical of Northumberland; grey, drizzly and ladened with white mist. So as I've been full of a cold, being snugged up indoors with a sleepy Ted, a roaring fire and a frothy coffee has been my perfect rainy day.

Ted is a five year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but to look at him you would think he was a puppy, and a female one at that. His dwarfed features, and pretty puppy like face make Ted that extra bit special, and my very own Mini-Cav.

Sometimes I catch him sat on the landing window sill, just watching his garden, and most probably on the look out for any trespassing rabbits. It's the only time he'll bark or get territorial, but there's no stopping him once he's seen one. But on a day like today Ted won't even flinch, he'd much rather be curled up on the couch, cosy and dry, so I think I can speak on behalf of Ted when I say, rainy days are his favourite too.

Dreamweaver: Maryanne Moodie

All imagery sourced from the Maryanne Moodie site & Instagram account

I am absolutely OBSESSED with this woven wall hanging trend right now, and one designer that has stood out to me is Maryanne Moodie, an Aussie weaver now based in Brooklyn, USA. I've even been inspired to have a go myself, I've bought my very own loom and let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks. I think I've mastered the technical bits, but it's going to be a long way off until I have my very own dream weave to proudly hang on the wall. Whether it's baskets, furniture or decorative accessories, weaving is being used within all areas of design at the moment, but there's something about the boho bushy textures of these wall tapestries that make them so lovely. I can't wait to get more confident, experiment a bit and find my own creative approach to eventually share. Stay tuned. 

Trend: Marble Mood

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Over the past few years marble has become increasingly more popular across decorative accessories, tabletop and surprisingly, lighting design but this appealing natural element has now evolved into the world of print & pattern.

Marbled stone and ink swirled formations cover stationery, textiles and are even integrated into the surface design of decorations such as balloons. I love the monochrome and dusted pink notebooks by Selma Lamai, her stationery, art prints and textiles combine different marbling techniques with other patterns, transforming marble into a graphic element. Julia Kostreva uses a similar approach with her notebook range, and the result is a minimalistic and sleek design. As part of its AW14 collection, H&M Home launched marble printed cushions, bedding and shower curtains and Ikea recently released marble contact paper, perfect for wallpapering or decoupaging onto furniture.

With the current popularity of pastels, it's no surprise that this trend has combined with marble, creating a dreamy almost retro vibe. Contemporary art & branding studio The Six & Five, has created SOMA, a 3D art project that integrates holographic textures and marble patterns, all with a conceptual style. Designed for Catalogue Magazine, this look fits into the iridescent/pastel trend, and highlights the exploration of natural materials with vibrant colour. Handcrafted soaps by Birch & Goldberry show off the natural process of soap making with an organic, marbleised finish, revealing natural patterns at their best!

This new exploration of marble means areas of the home are updated using nature's design, expanding into unique pattern possibilities but softened onto new textures. Just like the reaction of two liquids mixing, such as a drop of milk into coffee, marble patterns are almost like a captured movement, but harnessed into 2-dimensional design.