Coco Male

I can’t wait to have children, just so that I have an excuse to decorate a child’s bedroom! There’s so much that can be done with a little imagination… I remember I used to love my first bedroom - one wall was covered in Peter Pan wallpaper - and not just a picture of him, but a whole beautiful scene - with Tinkerbell, Wendy, the boys! And I also had bedding and curtains to match… I wonder if there any companies out there that still do this kind of thing? Anyway, here are some really cool bedrooms, enjoy…

Isn’t this such a beautiful, cute little room? It’s girly but without going over the top with pink and flowers… And the house construction is a brilliant idea; not only does it give the beds a warm, cosy feeling, but I think it will also make the child really feel as if this is her own space…

Although these bedrooms have massively high ceilings, the rooms don’t feel cold at all and that’s because the owners have really put the height to good use, with the helicopter pendant in one room and the moon designs in the other!

Boys will always be boys. You can never go wrong with your son’s bedroom if you choose a car- shaped bed, and most definitely not, when it’s a Ferrari car!

This is the nursery of Chistina Aguilera’s son, Max. I love the wallpaper and the moon - must have cost a fortune, but why did they make it so sinister-looking though? I also think that it’s a fantastic idea to create a showcase of the crib and put it right in the middle of the room… we’re always tempted to squash things up against walls and corners, but this looks so much better! Have to say that the armchairs and carpet look a little grubby though…

This is a great room for any age really, but especially for a young teenager. Simple and cool… and who knows, if it’s looking so good, then they might even be inspired to keep it tidy!

Did anyone see the Indie’s 10 best cushions list a few weeks ago? I must say I’m quite disappointed with their selection, not the least because they didn’t choose any of our fab cushions! Besides this though, the only ones I thought worth mentioning are Oli’s cow hide cushions (really love the colour and the material) and the funky, sparkly disco cushions from Rockett St. George…

Otherwise, what were they thinking? The bunny design cushion??? and the gold over the top cushion from Zara home??? Anyway, that’s just my opinion… Have a look here for the full article.

And here is my top ten of cushions:

Passionflower and lurex patchwork oblong cushion £75.00 (Clarissa Hulse)

Genenieve cushion $64.95 (Crate&Barrel)

Harlequin Embrace Promise cushion £45.00 (John Lewis)

Ariana raspberry cushion £80.00 (Designers Guild)

Tatton cushion £40.00 (Laura Ashley)

Arno Origami £35 (White Company)

Disco cushions £49.00 (RockettSt.George)

Taffeta horn cushion £25 (Lombok)

Summer circles silk cushion £65.00 (Coco Målé)

Metallic sequin cushion £19.50 (M&S)

Although I’m sure this house won’t be to everyone’s liking, I just couldn’t resist posting about it and no one can deny that the owners are super creative and obviously well- travelled… I must admit I actually love it!

Pictures from Idaniko Spiti (Ideal Home Greece)

It’s not very often that customers send us feedback and in the rare occasion that they do, it’s usually to complain about something or other that had nothing to do with us… So whenever we do receive a good one, we savour the moment and treasure it forever - so keep them coming please - they really do make our day!

Here are three lovely e-mails we received recently:

Subject: Absolutely delighted!

I just thought I’d email you to thank you for the fabulous black bamboo bowl I ordered from you. It arrived promptly and in perfect condition.

I had been looking for quite a while for that perfect item to set off my new black-granite-topped kitchen island unit but without any luck until I found Cocomale. The bowl is it! I have filled it with some huge pine cones I picked off a forest floor in the south west of France and it looks wonderful.

Your website is in my ‘favourites’ and I visit it often and no doubt will be ordering another treasure soon.

With thanks and best wishes
S.Z.

Subject: Polka dot planter

Just to let you know that the cup and saucer plant pots arrived safely and were much admired at our recent Ruby Wedding party.  Many thanks for your help with my order.

Best regards
R.R.

Subject: Chinese tea set ordered

Dear sir/madam,

Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate the alacrity with which you dealt with this matter, especially in executing the refund.

I should like to add that the gentleman with whom I dealt this morning on the telephone was gracious and courteous - which is much appreciated in the age in which we live.

Again, thank you for your time and assistance.

Yours faithfully,
J.D.

I loved this article on “Matching flowers to vases” in November’s Easy Living magazine (out now).  All too often, we spend a fortune on flowers and vases, only to find out we’ve got the wrong type of flowers for the vase and vice versa… These tricks/ tips by leading florist Jane Packer truly are a god-send!!!

1. Cube Vases

Cube vases are the simplest of all vases to use and are great for presenting a bunch of short stems in a clean, modern way - think anemones, tulips or peonies. All flowers can be used in a cube vase, but what’s important is having enough blooms to fill the vase. If you don’t have many flowers, or the stems are very long, try tying them together just below the flower heads to create a massed effect. If your flowers need a little help to stay upright, use a grid of sticky tape across the top (this will work on larger vases too), making sure the spacing is regular. Insert stems through the holes in the grid; but put the water in first, as wet sticky tape does not stick.

2. Very Large Vases

If the flower stems are shorter than the depth of the vase, scrunch up some cellophane and push it into the base of the vase to support the stems. Then use florists’ tape to make a grid across the top of the vase for support.  Finally, add the flowers in the vase in colour groups. as they would grow in the garden.

3. Flared Vases

The flared vase is probably the most common vase available, yet it can be the most problematic vase in terms of shape. Use too few flowers and your stems will fall to the side, leaving the centre of the vase empty. Start by placing stems around the edge of the vase, working in a clockwise direction. Continue in this manner, using large blooms towards the centre and smaller flowers or foliage around the edge of the vase. The rule is that stems should be no longer than the height and a half of the vase. You can go shorter than that, but not taller.

4. Bud Vases

How often do you break a flower head off when arranging flowers, yet can’t bring yourself to throw it away? This is when the bud vase come into its own. Bud vases have a narrow neck that’s designed to hold and showcase one perfect bloom. I have been known to use test tubes, tea cups, milk bottles and pretty vintage scent bottles as bud vases - experiment with different vases and see how a single flower can bring them to life. Increase the impact by lining a series of bud vases along a mantelpiece or choose vases of different heights and pop a single bloom in each one before grouping them together in the centre of a table.

Grouping vases

Instead of using just one vase, divide your flowers into groups according to variety, height or colour, then arrange them in separate vases of different shapes and heights - it will make more of the flowers you have. Or, if you’ve been given a bouquet with an odd mix of flowers, this idea will make them work together much better.

This month’s edition of Easy Living also features our bestelling Safi bowls in pink! See p.216 on the mirrored dresser next to the Fishtail lamp and small glass vase.

Images & text from Easy Living Magazine November 2008.

I’m just about to repaint my house so have spent quite a few hours on the Dulux website this morning and quite frankly I’m totally confused… they have more than a thousand colours!!! Each card has 6 colours, times 7 cards in each colour group, times 8 colour groups, times 4 mood groups, equals a grand total of 1344!!! That is a lot of colour…

I wonder if they have a whole team who research and choose the names because some of them are really inspiring and I really do think they influence people’s choices… Like Mystic Mauve, or Grecian Spa, or Sicilian Summer!

So my idea for today’s quiz is to guess which name corresponds to each of Dulux’s colours. It’s not as easy as it seems!

Read the rest of this entry »

It seems fashion designers have just caught up with us here at Coco Målé, with the African theme omnipresent in Summer 2009 collections!!!

Dior: Taming the big game

African drums rolled on the soundtrack. Heads were held high with conical plaited hair. The colours were out of Africa - orange, yellow and sheltering sky blue. Even the feet were perched on shoes with a Masai fertility carving for the heel.

‘Tribal chic!’ declared John Galliano backstage about his Dior show Monday. But where once the designer might have filled the runway with wild elements of his febrile imagination, this time he had tamed the big game. And that meant a youthful interpretation of Africa and a lowering of the runway madness that he had already cooled down for several ready-to-wear seasons.

Extract from the Herald Tribune 29th September 2008. Click here to read the full article.

Out of Africa, the power of green

Call it a love of ethnicity and urge for authenticity, or a way of expressing the power of green. For all those elements are penetrating the shows of this summer 2009 season.

Africa - its nobility, beauty and tribal exuberance, rather than its conflict zones - is often the subtext. And out of Africa, Junya Watanabe’s graceful show took the native practice of carrying items on the head and turned it into a festival of nature. Bunches of dried flowers were held in turbans made from checked gingham, snowy broderie anglaise or the bright prints that dominated the show’s opening.

Extract from the Herald Tribune 30th September 2008. Click here to read the full article.

Apparently, his favourite colour is blue, but he loves to decorate in all colours of the rainbow. He is said to have said “Even if it is dark and gloomy outside, my rooms glow with light.” I mean it helps to have such huge windows in the house, but I really think the brightly coloured walls also help to light up the place…

In fact, Chromotherapy (an alternative medicine method) suggests that colour and light can be used to balance energy, heal the body & mind and lift one’s spirit. And judging from these photos, I understand why.

Another benefit of vibrant walls is that there’s no need for art as the entire wall is a glowing canvas of colour! In this room, a gold mirror strikes a fantastic contrast against the fuchsia pink wall.

Stefanidis’ interiors are always full of bespoke elements and architectural features and this house is no exception. The floor in the living room is actually wood, which has been juxtaposed upon to give a tiled, marble effect! How original.

I just love the muslin fabric with glass bead trimmings that hangs over this four- poster bed. It makes the bed look so elegant…

What a pleasure it is to see such a feature of a bathroom - a huge difference to the tiny, dark bathrooms we’re so used to seeing around here… Big, light and airy, it oozes sophistication and the chair and ottoman are a perfect, unexpected touch.

Photos and extracts from the book ‘John Stefanidis Designs’.

Try and guess which Hollywood celebrity owns which house? Choose from: John Travolta, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, George Clooney, Michael J. Fox and Diane Keaton. Some are a dead giveaway, but others are quite surprising!!!

The view from Clooney’s house must be amazing, but decoratively, my favourites are J Lo’s and Madonna’s.

We’ve been thinking about bringing in a new style collection to our website and one idea that was mentioned was a South American theme… It sounds like a great idea, but as I don’t know much about south-american decor, I’ve been doing some research and just bought a great book called Living in Bahia. I don’t know if it represents traditional Brazilian decor but some of the houses are really beautiful…

This dining room has a museum-like quality to it; it would make me feel honoured to eat there and at the same time scared of spilling anything on that stunning wooden table! Also, I think it’s quite impressive that despite the ultra high ceilings and lack of any decorative items or soft furnishings, the room still looks very interesting and appealing…

Lots of wood, natural features and light flooring seem to be the common theme in all these houses. Again, the dining table is big enough to seat an army! I’m not too keen on the fact that the chairs are a lighter colour wood than the table, but I really like the combination of the yellow and blue tableware.

I love this room! It breaks all the interior design rules, doesn’t have any defined area and everything is mismatched… yet it oozes character and space appeal!

I’m not sure what to say about this bedroom! I think that although it looks good in the photo, I feel that it would be too cold and a bit gypsy-like (?) in real life. The duvet cover reminds me of my granny’s tablecloth and I just can’t bare the thought of a bed without any cushions…

All in all, I’m not sure what to take from this book - there doesn’t seem to be a typical south-american style…