Emilie Jacob, interior stylist and blogger at Stella + the Stars (www.stellaandthestars.net), talks us through the inspiration behind the fabulous bedroom she shares with her husband.
PH: Where exactly is this room located?
EJ: It’s on the top – second – floor of a modern townhouse in East London.
PH: What did you want the room to look and feel like?
EJ: Quirky, dramatic, bold and – most importantly – cosy.
PH: What were the practical considerations?
EJ: The only issue was that, like most of the rooms in our house, it has no period features so originally looked like a big boring white box. It’s not the biggest room, but it's the one with the nicest view overlooking a park, and south-facing with plenty of lovely natural light. We already had a spacious fitted wardrobe so the job was to 'dress' the room and make it look fabulous.
After a bottle of wine that lamp looks completely straight/Photo: Jonathan Lappin Photography
PH: What was the starting point for the room’s design?
EJ: I wanted the walls to be grey. That was definitely the starting point. Everything else just fell into place over time. I bought the accessories over a few months; it's a bit of a mix-and-match but, in the end, it just worked.
PH: Was this room’s design inspired by anything or anyone else?
EJ: I used to work with a stylist who worked with Abigail Ahern (one of my favourite designers and biggest girl crush of all time) – she was the one who helped me muster the courage to move to the dark side, Abigail-style (the entire house was WHITE when we bought it). This was six years ago and I’ve never looked back.
PH: How did you know these colours would work together?
EJ: To be honest, I initially worried it would be too dark with too many colours. I have since realised you can never go too bold or too colourful!
PH: What do you love most about the room?
EJ: The headboard and the grey walls.
Her Majesty approves of the decor/Photo: Jonathan Lappin Photography
PH: How does your husband feel about the bedroom? I find the Pink House Husband can be a little, er, resistant to my bolder interior plans…
EJ: I am really lucky my hubby usually loves my ideas and is pretty happy to go with whatever crazy designs I impose upon, ahem, I mean present to him.
PH: Was there anything you would do differently with hindsight?
EJ: I should have gone bolder and darker with the grey paint...
PH: Which of the furnishings did you buy especially for this room?
EJ: We replaced our cheap bed with a quality frame and mattress to help me sleep better when I was pregnant with my daughter. Best decision ever. We also swapped a ceiling light for the yellow pendant lights, which makes the room much cosier at night.
Get The Look
- Walls: Painted in Dulux Night Jewels 4
- Bed: Stuart Jones Vivaldi bedframe - I chose the aquamarine fabric.
- Bed linen: Debenhams
- Queen picture: I bought it years ago in a pop up gallery in East London after spotting it in the window. Ten minutes later the gallery closed its doors forever. Annoyingly, I can't remember the name of the artist.
- Neon picture: It's a print of a quote from the movie Inception by one of my favourite art print shops The Loft and Us. I apply this motto to everything in my life!
- Gnome tables: Phillippe Starck for Kartell. They're actually stools but they work well as side tables if you're not bothered with having storage.
- Yellow pendant lights: They're E27 pendant lights by Muuto.
- The blue chest, lamp and mirror: Ikea
- The bag and shoes: Haha, old Celine bag and very old Zara shoes....
