Maggie Thatcher home from hospital 30 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: 1980, chair, cushion, denim, eighties, lavender bags, neon, news, prime minister
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Poor Maggie Thatcher. The one-time Iron Maiden is more Doddering Cronie after her recent fall which resulted in a nasty broken arm two weeks ago. But you’ve got to hand it to her, at 83 and with dementia decreasing her awareness and memory, she still attends ceremonial functions and even had the grace to wave and smile at the press when she returned to her home from hospital yesterday – a very rare display for any politician to perform.
Maggie was the first woman to lead a political party in the UK and the first female Prime Minister, with her tenure lasting for an unprecedented three terms, from 1979 until she resigned in 1990. Certainly more impressive than ol’ Gordon Brown, agreed? So let’s pay tribute to her heyday with a few comeback classics from the ’80’s:
A set of three lavender bags (£17.60), available in neon aqua, pink and chocolate from Clarissa Hulse.
This Kartell Pop armchair (£851.91) from Nest is upholstered in faded denim and features transparent plastic sides – very eighties fashion!
As is this Denim Jeans cushion (£29) from Eco Emporia.
The UK’s best pub design 29 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: bar, Beer, beer machine, cocktail glass, design, pub
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Fancy a pint but don’t fancy the tobacco stained ceilings or sticky carpet? Look no further! Your local may be one of the three winning pubs recognised as Britain’s best furnished watering hole. The Campaign for Real Ale judged the latest Pub Design Awards and the winners have just been announced: The Princess Louise on High Holborn, London, and the Castle Inn in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, were awarded with the top prize in the Refurbished category and Zero Degrees in Reading, Berkshire, won the New Build category.
Lolita Shopaholic cocktail glass from Cocomale
Lolita get’s my first prize for designing their cute and quirky range of hand-painted cocktail glasses. The collection includes the Lipstick and Shopaholic cocktail glass (£16 each), at Cocomale, as well as a Glamourtini martini glass (£15.50) from John Lewis, complete with a recipe written on the stem base and warpped up in a hat box!
Michael Drain Architects refurbished The Princess Louise with an original multi-bar layout and the judging panel also praised Zen Degrees for creating a ’strikingly modern’ glass-fronted design and for turning its in-house brewing system into a visual phenomenon! Lavish praise on your own in-house brewing equipment with a beer machine (£99.99) from IWantOneOfThose.com and create your favourite tipple whenever you need to unwind!
A beer machine from I Want One Of Those - yes I do!
Cheers!
Michael Jackson: Pop Legend 1958 – 2009 26 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: celebrity, dead, memorabilia, michael jackson, music, tribute
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Who could have predicted it? Just like the rest of the nation, the mydeco office is in shock and disbelief about the sudden death of pop legend Michael Jackson last night. Understandably, it’s all over the news today and reports say that he died from a cardiac arrest at his house in Los Angeles late last night. Apparently, the eccentric and controversial star was on a cocktail of prescription drugs such as painkillers and anti-depressants – so I guess it was a bit naive of me to think he was going to live ‘forever’…
Pay tribute to a musical icon. Image - Easy Art
You can’t deny that his private life was hectic – I know, understatement of the century! – but he was a such an icon and his music was – is – brilliant. As I write this, the Jackson 5’s anthemic ABC is playing on Heart radio in the mydeco office and tributes to the troubled star will no doubt abound on radio, TV, newspapers etc for a long time to come.
The news this morning showed fans crying and some even pledged suicide in their blubbering grief – a bit extreme! We pay tribute to the star with our top ten rundown of Michael Jackson memorabilia.
Monkey urinates on Zambian President 25 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: funny, monkey, President, toilet, urine
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You have to agree that the President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, is an unlikely toilet seat, right? Well a cheeky monkey didn’t think so as he urinated on the President’s jacket pocket mid-speech during a press conference on Wednesday! The monkey was in a tree outside the State Office when he decided to relieve himself, urinating onto the unsuspecting President who was sat directly below him. Luckily he saw the funny side!
For more info read the full article here.
A monkey went to the toilet on the President of Zambia!
I’m sure his pocket was a tailored and expensive piece of fabric but I can think of much nicer materials – not to mention places – to relieve myself!
Take a look at mydeco’s Top ten…funky loo seats if you fancy something different when nature calls.
Banksy in Notting Hill 23 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: art, banksy, graffiti, print
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Last night I went wandering around the Bayswater and Notting Hill area and stumbled across an original Banksy! No doubt native Londoners know all about where his famous graffiti art but I was so excited to find one. It was an image of a rat, spray painted into the wall by The Cock and Bottle pub and it was so thrilling to see an authentic Banksy, especially when I wasn’t looking for one!
Banksy's famous Pulp Fiction with Bananas
And there was more excitement in the pub as my friend’s father spotted the directer of blockbuster movie The Queen in there (so he says). After a little bit of research today I found out that the old man’s pub is also rumoured to be a haunt of the renowned enigmatic street artist – a talented local if ever there was one! (although Sienna Miller has also been spotted in there apparently…)
Girl with Balloon There is Always Hope, by Banksy
I’m definitely going to buy a Banksy print from mydeco in memory of my exciting find! I just can’t decide between his captivating Girl with Balloon There is Always Hope mini graffti poster for a mere £3.99 or do I go all out and buy my favourite, his famous Pulp Fiction with Bananas stencil which is £39.99, both from Amazon? Please help me decide!
A trip to the Tate Modern 23 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: art, chair, hoover, installation, leopard print, safari, tate, Union Jack
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Being a relative London virgin I thought I’d don my Union Jack flip flops, gather a billion tube maps and tourist guides, grab my camera and trek all over London last weekend! I didn’t do everything (it’s a big place!) but I did manage to squeeze in the Tate Modern in between Greenwich Market and Covent Garden. With my recently acquired mydeco-eye on alert, I spotted an uber modern installation by Jeff Hoons called New Hoover Convertibles, Green, Red, Brown, New Shelton Wet/Dry 10 Gallon Displaced Doubledecker. It’s a mouthful but the three vacuum cleaners within a plexiglass box looked retro, harking back to Hoovers when they were new-borns. I very nearly walked past an installation by Richard Artschwager, called Table and Chair, and only noticed it when I shot an evil glare across to an American woman who was chatting loudly on her mobile next to it! Hardly the best accolade Artschwager has had, but the beige table and chair really was, well, beige.
Embrace the huge Union Jack trend this summer with this chair from Jimmie Martin
Stand out more with a creative and highly fashionable gold and black Union Jack chair (£1,400) or a leopard print armchair (£1,800), both from Jimmie Martin.
Jimmie Martin's leopard print chair is creative and unique
The British flag and animal print design are all over the place in both retail and interior fashion this year. Look at our top ten list of animal inspired designs and our top ten Union Jack trend to check out what all the fuss is about!
Celebrity wedding Vs credit crunch wedding 22 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: celebrity, credit crunch, hotel, wedding, wedding planner, wedding ring
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Not another WAG wedding? Yes, we’ve had to put up with yet another footballer and his WAG flaunting indulgence and extravagance in our faces. Chelsea’s Joe Cole and fitness trainer Carly Zucker followed the cliché brilliantly, having spent millions on their big day, shrouded their nuptials in so-called ‘secrecy’ and then selling the picture rights to a glossy magazine on 20 June.
Now if you don’t have £2 million pounds to throw around on your wedding day you could always go to The Holiday Inn. But please don’t! At £999 the budget hotel chain’s wedding package is a bargain but also tackier than a tangoed WAG with a diamantéd labradoodle. The credit crunch package includes a civil ceremony, DJ, bucks fizz, wedding suite and they even throw in a wedding planner.
Why spend trillions when you can plan your own wedding for free with mydeco?! Our innovative 3D Complete Room Planner will let you design and furnish your reception, disco room and wedding suite exactly how you want it.
Our 3D Room Planner helped mydeco's Steve Reid create his wedding reception
The Holiday Inn may sound cheap and cheerful but even as a girl who’s a complete marriage cynic the thought of fish skewers and sausage rolls for a reception ‘dinner’ really fills me with horror for those that long for their ‘big day’. Credit crunch or no credit crunch, every wedding belle deserves just a little more class, right?
mydeco's Buy the Look wedding bedroom suite
Work a DIY wedding by visiting our Buy the Look section to look at pre-planned rooms and John Lewis also have a brilliant Wedding Companion (£14.99) to help plan your perfect day whatever your budget.
Andy Murray buys £5million pad without tennis court 22 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: celebrity, house, London, property, sale, surrey, tennis
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With today’s start of Wimbledon, we’ve gone Murray mad in the mydeco office. While the rest of the country is debating his forehand, his tennis whites and his gruff chat, the mydeco office is excited about the new multi-million pound home he bought last week in Surrey.
The Scottish tennis ace moved house just before Wimbledon
Last week removal vans were spotted outside his London river-side penthouse apartment in Wandsworth, moving his Team GB things. Maybe there wasn’t enough room on the beautiful roof garden to practice the powerful defensive back-hands he’s renowned for?
The mock-regency country mansion, which he bought for an estimated £5 million, doesn’t have a tennis court but he is close to Wimbledon: “I love the atmosphere of Wimbledon village but I don’t stay here,” says the 22-year-old. “I’m in a place about 20 minutes away. In fact, I moved from an apartment to a house in Surrey last week. It sounds like a crazy thing to do on the eve of Wimbledon.”
Murray may be crazy to move at such a busy time, but the British number one is obviously getting a taste for luxury relaxation and fitness. When relaxing off court he can now enjoy an indoor swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, cinema, games room or the library. Obviously a fan of cyber-sport too, the removal vans were seen being loaded up with a Space Invaders games machine and play stations. Nowhere near as macho were the huge cuddly toys of Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger but maybe they belong to girlfriend Kim Sears, who is also moving in to the six-bedroom mansion…
“I’ll be honest — I didn’t do any of the heavy lifting, save for one bed and a sofa,” said Murray. “I was focused on practicing, and then I took a little break at the end of last week to play golf and do a little go-kart racing.”
If you’re as nosy as us, take a sneaky peak round Sienna Miller’s quirky London pad which has recently been put up for sale…
Prince Charles annoys architect 19 June, 2009
Posted by Doug in Editors' blog.Tags: architecture, Bath, building, Prince Charles, property
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Following in his father’s infamous footsteps, comments made by Prince Charles concerning the modernist design style of renowned architect Lord Roger has caused controversy in recent months. Real estate company Qatari Diar commissioned Rogers to transform West London’s Chelsea Barracks after a company they own bought the site from the Ministry of Defence in January 2008 for a staggering £959 million. All right if you have that kind of money floating around! Initially, the developers liked the Pritzker prize-winner’s modern glass and steel designs but they seemed to alter their opinions after the Prince condemned them.
Lord Rogers' design plans have been scrapped after Prince Charles' protested against them
At a prestigious event that marked the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) 175th anniversary, he said that “modernist experiment” produced “mechanical, or even genetically-modified” architecture. To be honest, I’m inclined to agree with him. When I’ve walked through Bath, the most striking thing about the city is the gorgeous, Georgian architecture which looms overhead and surrounds you from many directions. Think of Pulteney Street with its the long Georgian terrace, or the Theatre Royal, elegant Queen Square, John Wood’s 18th century stunning architectural masterpiece the Circus and his son’s Royal Crescent. My point being that the beauty if these buildings come from their consistency within the city and their classical period design that is elegant and historical which instantly provokes respect and awe. So if I had the power to prevent Lord Roger from constructing a £1 billion tower of 552 flats and 17 blocks out of stark grey steel and potentially characterless glass, which may not possess a long lasting beauty as well as period buildings can, then I would. After all, there’s no point in having principles, opinions and passion if you’re not prepared to defend them, right?
The BBC reveals that Rogers’ designs were withdrawn after Prince Charles had written a letter to the development company’s chairman citing his concerns about Rogers’ “flawed” modernist plans. He had also informed Qatar’s royal family of his displeasure regarding the “unsuitable” design and said that he prefers classical and traditional architecture instead. Attacking the Prince’s ‘interference’, Lord Rogers said: “I think that anyone who uses his power due to birth breaks a constitutional understanding – it’s not a law, it’s a constitutional understanding – and a trust we have within our society about the role of people who have received power in that manner.”
Peter Hunt, the BBC’s Royal Correspondent, has said: “In architecture, as in health and education, Prince Charles is a controversial figure. A champion of traditional buildings constructed with local people in mind, he stands accused by his critics of using his influence to the detriment of the democratic process.” Exactly – Prince Charles does have the local people in mind. Especially as Lord Roger himself lives in a beautiful classical home. I bet you’d never catch him moving into a giant tower of glass and steel…
