The Importance of Layers
Having recently completed the gut renovation of my bathroom, I have been thinking a lot about layers lately. With construction and installation finally put to rest the space looks just...
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Save the Tiles
It’s going on 4 months since wildfires devastated parts of Southern California and we wanted to call attention to an organization that has been working tirelessly to salvage as many...
Design Notes Archive
A Love Letter of Sorts
We've been obsessing over this photo of author Bella Pollen’s Oxfordshire bathroom for months on end and now seems as good a time as any to bring it forth. There is something so...
Design Blogging in the UK
Whenever we have a bit of down time we like to curl up on the sofa with a laptop and a latte (or cabernet, depending on the time) and troll through...
Stencils
With Decorex just a few weeks away, we’ve been thinking a lot about stencils lately. That’s because we’re lucky enough to have a custom-created wallpaper by Tony Roche decorating our booth! A fourth-generation decorator-stenciller from...
Where design is concerned, I am a notorious hunter-gatherer, falling whole-heartedly into both camps in my quest for inspiring images. Over the years I’ve compiled a digital dossier in a...
Renovating Tips and Tricks
I’m in the midst of renovating the master bathroom in my new (old) house and given my career path, this should be a seamless affair but when it comes to...
Lanterns
Trends have their place in design but when it comes to decorating your own home, the rule of thumb is to follow your gut. Where fads come and go, your...
All the Best
In the classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote of the power of having a sincere interest in people. “You can make more friends in two...
Jean-Louis Deniot
“Greige” is a term often used in the design community to describe the popular combination of grey and beige favoured by a slew of notable designers. It’s subtle and sophisticated...
Reinvention
We can’t say for sure but looking at this photograph we’d be darned if that vanity didn’t enter this world as a sideboard. The idea of breathing new life into...
Panel Discussion
One of our favorite things about old English houses is the abundance of wall paneling. Whether at chair-rail height, plate-rail or all the way up to the ceiling, millwork not only...
Thinking Creatively
Creativity can be a fickle thing that ebbs and flows. I have a degree in fine arts yet I’ve barely put brush to canvas since graduating university more than a...
Deck the Halls
When decorating for the holidays, bathrooms often get the short end of the stick. It’s not uncommon to walk into a guest bath and be knocked down by the heady...
Tim Walker
To open the pages of fashion photographer Tim Walker’s latest book, Story Teller, is to step inside his eccentric world and be transported on a magical journey. Known for crafting bewitching sets for...
Mood Boards
Starting a project can be a daunting task, not least of which is figuring out where to begin. Whether you’re going for a full-fledged renovation or making smaller adjustments to...
London Design Festival
If you are a fan of Balineum’s monthly Design Notes then it’s probably safe to assume that you have a healthy interest in design. That being the case, we urge...