The swirly furniture of the Rococo style

One of my favourite interior and furniture styles is the Rococo, which is also referred to as late Baroque – good to know for those of us who get our eras mixed up. This is a style of the 18^th century that was developed in Paris, which you will understand if you go visit the Palace of Versailles.

While the Baroque style is more symmetrical, the Rococo style is more playful, graceful and more focused on floral patterns. You will often see Rococo furniture that are of asymmetrical designs with curvy details of gold, while the base of the furniture are of either creamy colours or pastel hues.

This is a style and design associated with Louis XV's reign and the beginning of that of Louis XVI. Just look at the modern homes below decorated with this particular style - it's all so inspirational.

I love the fact that the Rococo style can look so different. Above is a more casual style with simple carved wooden furniture of creamy colours, and below you can see an amazing bureau with fancy gold details.

It wasn't just the furniture of the Rococo era that was carved out with swirly patterns, but every ornament in the house was adapted to this style - just look at the swirly mirror and the cake stand below!

Rococo furniture and the furniture of Louis XV has such an amazing style, and although I love the "clutter" of the rooms above I would love to decorate my future dining room like this more simple Rococo style below. I think the simpler white style with the swirly details and that gorgeous chandellier is such a lovely combination.

My personal home decorations

Adding some life to your home can be as simle as putting up some small decorations - it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. These are some of the decorations I've added to my house lately...

In the small guest bathroom I've gone for a bit of a nautical theme, inspired by the round window in that room. This glass ball was bought at the Range, and the blue bottles are from Next's home collection.

In my two upstairs bathrooms I've gone for a very simple style. We redecorated these two bathrooms from scratch earlier this year, and I think the tiles and mosaics are nice enough, so you don't really need any other decorations. I've simply gone for a pretty white orchid in one of the windows, and three wavy style bottles from a local Leeds store.

These scented purple and stripy block candles add a nice little touch to our bedroom. These, and the ceramic tray they stand on, are both from IKEA.

 Best home buy of the year! When I came across this lamp in Leeds Corn Exchange (Yellow Sunrise) it was love at first sight! I love the combination of metal, wrapped fabric and grass like details. Super pretty, and it goes perfectly in our purple, black and white bedroom. (on my side of the bed, of course)

On my dear boyfriend's side of the bed you'll find this high vase of black and silver, full of plastic flowers of different types. This is all from the Range - a shop I could walk around in for hours. They've got so many nice home decorations, and it all comes quite cheap.

Keep coming back for more updates of my house :)  

The 1950's diner style

Recently, there was a new restaurant that opened up in Leeds, and they’ve gone for the typical 1950’s diner style when it comes to both food and interior. Well… they’ve tried to make the restaurant look this way, but they didn’t do a very good job with it! It looks a bit tacky to be honest…

The real 50’s diner style should look like it does in “Grease”, with lots of pink, turquoise and red. And the black and white chess-like floor of course!

Booths with colourful leather sofas, plastic or leather barstools, and lots of shiny chrome. Just like the cars at the time looked like as well.

Have a look at the amazing diners below, and get inspired!

This image is actually of an original diner of the 1950's. It's called Peggy Sue's Diner and is located in the States. Notice how the checked floor is of the typical 50's muscle car colours light pink and turquoise rather than black and white.

This last image is of someone's private kitchen. I think it's amazing how they achieved to create a 1950's diner look in their own home. This style can actually be quite simple to create if you’re a handy person who’s up for fixing stuff yourself. As you can see the kitchen cupboards are just black, so you don’t really have to think about them – they’re only basic. All you actually need to do is add a lick of paint to your wall, and in this case also the kitchen worktop. What really makes the 50’s diner style is the little details such as the red lamps and the barstools. Lamps like that can be found in most lamp shops, and you can purchase barstools of this style in shops such as Lakeland Furniture.

H&M's Autumn home range

Although I’m a Swede and you’ll find the Swedish fashion store H&M in every town back home, I’ve never actually come across a single one of their shops that store their home range. It was only recently that I discovered their home range on their UK website, and it was love at first sight!

For their latest collection they’ve mainly focused on two different styles; the bohemian look with lots of patterns and bold colours, as well as the French countryside look with linen fabrics and pale creamy hues.

Just have a look at these stunning photos below, taken from their website;

I really like the colour explosion in this pretty kitchen, and below you can see all the different products you’ll need to create this look yourself. That table runner has got a really lovely pattern with hues of purple, orange and pink.

This is what I meant by French countryside style. Old fashioned prints and pale creamy colours creates such a homey feeling – it kind of reminds me of a picturesque summer cottage.

H&M also stores more classic decorations, such as bedroom accents like duvet covers and throws. What style do you prefer?