MEASURING UP
This is our little corner of the world to share with you what we have been working on and our current musings.
HOW TO AVOID TROUBLE BY GOING DOUBLE—ONE BLIND, FIVE FUNCTIONS
What do you want to achieve? This is usually the first question I have when I meet a client for the first time. Your answers range from; ‘I want privacy during the day’. ‘I want to filter light intensity’. ‘I want to shut the world out during the evening to give me a sense of security’. ‘I want to be able to open the blind completely and get maximum light in on sunny days’. ‘I want a balance between function and aesthetic’. You may think, ‘that’s a lot of things for a single window dressing to do’, Question, can it be done?’ Answer, ‘YES!’ How? Decorquip’s Double roller blind! Here at Brighton Blinds, I think it’s a fantastic [...]
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
For the past four months, I have been working for a lovely lady. She asked me to help her downsize from her beautiful regency townhouse on the seafront and into a bungalow. So, as we stood in the floor to ceiling bay window admiring the view of Brighton Marina to our left and the Palace Pier on our right, we discussed her motivations with regards to interior design. We looked at the walls adorned with Strawberry Thief wallpaper and complimented with curtains in a gold brocade fabric. She explained how her nature was to always compliment her environment based upon the style and period of the property but how the new house had no discernible features or identity [...]
DELIA’S RECIPE FOR THE PERFECT ROMAN BLIND
When my partner, his twin sister and their older brother left home for the first time, as they walked out of the door, their mother gave each of them a copy of Delia Smith’s How to Cook. Now, with both in our 50s, that book, worn and faded though it may be, still takes pride of place on the shelf in the kitchen (next to my Nigella collection). It is referenced regularly and continues to be our go-to book if we want to get it right. Cooking up a tasty Roman Blind The recipe for a great roman blind is simple but needs the touch of a star chef. Ingredients include: Fabric appropriate for the task, make sure [...]
DIGITAL DREAMING. BESPOKE PRINTING FOR BRIGHTON’S HOMES
I spend my life going into people’s homes, helping them imprint their own personality on their environment in terms of design and décor. Every property is different, so my work is in a state of constant creativity, exciting and never dull and I, therefore, think I have one of the best jobs going. Lucky me! My work is never more stimulating than when a client asks me to produce something totally bespoke, i.e. not part of an existing range of fabrics or wallpapers but utterly unique. Classic Tintin images for a roller blind Recently I was asked to truly indulge a client’s little nipper with a blackout roller blind depicting his hero—in this case, Tintin. We found an [...]
BOLD AND COURAGEOUS DESIGN FIT FOR A BRIGHTON HOME
As a curtain maker and interior designer, I work for many clients, so, unlike a person who moves into a new house and creates their interior only once, I get to do it time after time after time. Can you imagine how much fun that can be? I-LIV for the love of Canovas Every job is different. Every job is an opportunity to create and re-create. And nothing makes it more exciting than when you have a client who is both bold and courageous. "All my life, I have liked big motifs. They feel more elegant, more generous". Manuel Canovas I’m lucky enough to work on occasion with fabrics from the house of Manuel Canovas, the French [...]
I’VE BEEN FARROW AND BALLED! ECO-FRIENDLY PAINTS FOR OUR INTERIOR DESIGN PROJECTS
My word, have I just been through a roller-coaster of a learning curve this week? I feel like I have met my ‘Nemesis’ whilst ‘Corkscrewing’ close to ‘Oblivion’ but ending up on a ‘Smiler’. * I’ve been completely Farrow and Balled! I have moved a few times in my lifetime and have always made do with Crown or Dulux paints for my four walls. That’s a process that has become the past for me because I have been converted, touched by the divine spirit of Farrow and Ball, one might say. That’s why, at Brighton Blinds, we prefer Farrow and Ball for all our interior design projects, not just because we’re reducing our impact on the environment but [...]
BEAUTIFUL ROLLER BLINDS FEATURING DIGITAL FINE ART DESIGNS
I’m so happy to offer you one of the most exciting digitally printed roller blind fabrics collections around. It's designed by award-winning fine art graduate Louise Body. https://youtu.be/_yph8vOJdnk Having studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, she spent a few years travelling in India and Mexico, soaking up cultural influences before winging her way back to good ole Blighty and setting originally in Brighton. Her direction into digitally printing her designs came after her first successful foray in screen printing wallpaper with a whimsically named pattern “More Tea Vicar”. The design helped her get a loan from the Prince’s Trust, and she has not looked back since. In the past, she has designed fabric and wallpaper [...]
DECORQUIP’S CHARITY DAY: PINK PRETTY AND PROUD
I like my job for many reasons, least of all because I work for some lovely clients who make my sweat and toil less of a labour. But it also helps when you have faith in your suppliers. Decorquip is a young, dynamic and proactive company that I am proud to represent in the community. Their commitment and dedication to supplying fantastic blinds with unswerving customer support during and after point of sale, in my opinion, sets an industry standard others struggle to offer. This is an organisation of outstanding people who although work as keenly as mustard do so with a sense of humour and a generosity of spirit for issues that matter to all of [...]