Tuesday 19 April 2016

AMARA LIVING: Luxury gifts and designer homeware

Spring has certainly sprung and with new seasons bringing some much-needed inspirational trends with them, interioristas (yes I think I just made up a word) around the globe are already looking to the Autumn/Winter '16 trends for even more interiors inspiration.

Keeping up to date with the latest trends and hunting out the latest styles making their way through the industry is extremely hard work. Inspiration is something I find mostly in my surroundings, be that by people watching, observing how others are styling themselves and their homes, and looking to nature for some serious colour and texture inspiration. Nowadays, home interior trends are almost as influential and important as the latest fashion houses portfolio's, however, it wasn't until I came across Amara Living online, that I could ever have imagined becoming a style influencer in my family home.

Obsessed with all things black, white and grey, with a minimalist outlook regarding my own bedroom in my family home, I jumped at the chance of getting involved in redecorating our living room, pulling together a mood board to help guide my mum and I on our interior decorating journey. A woman who loves neutral colours and red, I was convinced she wouldn't buy into my black and white with a possible hint of silver outlook, however after stumbling across the huge monochrome trend online and showing her some serious #interiorsinspo, she was much easier to convince. With a hint of jungle chic and matte paints on our minds, we were sure we were on to a winner.

After discovering Amara Living a few months ago I have continued to fall in love with the incredible pieces the online luxury gifts and designer homeware website has to offer. When Jessica, an Amara Living community manager contacted me to collaborate I was extremely excited to tell her about our decorating plans and immediately took her up on her offer.

Desperate to incorporate some sort of jungle chic into the living room I went straight to the website in search for a Polis Potten pineapple, which, to my delight, was available in a number of different colours. Opting for the matte black option (another big trend in 2016), you can see from the pictures below exactly how we've decorated the room and styled the Polis Potten pineapple to sit handsomely on our feature fireplace, which we also happened to revamp throughout the decorating process.
Throughout my research into trends online, I found that funky feature walls are also going to be a top trend this year, even papering the ceiling seems to be extremely popular (not something I would be keen to try and execute myself), and with this in mind, we decided to paper our main feature wall bringing some much-needed character into the room whilst making it appear much larger too. My advice when papering a feature wall is to ensure you are 100% certain on it. Good quality wallpaper isn't cheap and can be challenging to place onto a wall so make sure it's definitely what you want before committing. Wallpaper is for life, not just for Christmas. Ok it's really not, but you get the jist...

I think if I had my way I would look into replacing the brown wooden floor we have with a grey hardwood floor. Placing a luxurious faux fur rug in the middle of the floor would also help bring the room together a little more, providing a centre to it and balancing it out.

This Amara acid burnt cow hide in white/silver and the Natures Collection Argentinian cow hide in grey rugs would look fabulous under a nice modern coffee table in the centre of the room.

I also love the Helen Moore throw that is available in a number of different colours which would go  excellently with the monochrome theme (Charcoal, Ermine, Ebony, Opal and Jet), as you could sit perfectly on the back of a black sofa, brining an element of serenity into the room and making it feel a little more homely.
Throughout the refurbishment we also decided to paint our off-cream fireplace grey (Paris grey to be precise) with Annie Sloan chalk paint. This high quality paint is amazing and works wonders if you're ever looking to revamp any old furniture or in our case, paint a fireplace.

Accents of silver can be found throughout the accessories and lighting in the room, sprucing up the living space and adding a little more jazz into the modern room. Our TV is a silver-grey colour so we decided to ensure the other accessories would compliment it seen as it one of, if not the main appliance in the living room.
This week we are anticipating the arrival of a new black suit for the room which, alongside one or two more accessories, will complete the refurbishment project, bringing the whole look together - to say my mum is ecstatic about this is a complete understatement.

I adore this Lord Lou luigi croco sofa available on Amara Living and could picture myself sipping a fine cup of peppermint tea out of this cute Rory Dobner cat in the hat mug on a warm Spring morning far too easily. These stunning Helen Moore faux fur cushions would also look right at home on our new sofa too, and would again add a homely feel to the room.
New blinds and curtains were also invested in, further pulling in the monochrome theme and bringing new patterns and shapes into the  room too.  It's important when decorating a room, not to go too over the top with trends and whilst its fun trying to fit them all in, you are best sticking to one or two themes to ensure the room isn't left looking like a disaster zone.
I think now the only thing I would look to change in the room is our clock. Our present clock is quite modern, however, I would quite like to replace it with something a little more traditional like the Newgate gallery clock in the future. The Vogue hardcover book would be a great addition to any coffee table, and I have always wanted to buy an ice bucket and feel this Kenneth Turner stag ice bucket would be the perfect addition to any home providing it played host to more than one bottle of champagne in its life!

With a monochrome theme featuring a smidgen of jungle chic, I think my mum has done a fantastic job in featuring one of 2016's top trends in our family home. Other top trends for 2016 include; natural kitchens, sophisticated up-cycling, folk infusion - especially in the kitchen and dining areas, matte glazes and chalk finishes - chalk paint is perfect for this, and the best news for me... minimalism is in.

So if you're looking for interiors inspiration this year, then look no further because Amara Living is here for all your interior needs. Not only will the website keep you up-to-date on all the latest trends, it also has some beautiful gifts available online, perfect for special occasions, birthdays, and engagement/weddings gifts. A one-stop-shop for all your interior and gifting needs and wants. Trust me, I've already started my own Amara Living wish list, kitting out and designing the interior themes for my very own future home.

For Now...

Just Julia
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© Just Julia

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