My Best of Britannia

I wish I could have popped into the Best of Britannia exhibition last weekend, even though I live a mere 15,148 kms away. I lived in London for a while in the 90s, and the energy and creativity still inspires me. A perfect day for me was to browse at Portobello Road or Camden Town markets, sit in the deck chairs in Regents Park, take in an art gallery or foreign film, eat something decadently sinful from Maison Bertaux (oh those were the days when I could still eat wheat, when a thick slab of fresh raspberry mousse and cream between layers of homemade puff pastry would not have been a death sentence), a visit to the bookstores on Charing Cross Rd (with a diversion to Denmark St to look at guitars) and finally to get yelled at by the rude waiters at Wong Kei restaurant (I make my version of their eggs in chilli tomato sauce on rice to this day).

Who sums up these experiences for me – the history, the handmadedness, the quirkiness? Squint.

Squint on Mydeco

Naturally the mydecorati know how to work their exuberant furniture into rooms of true uniqueness.  Here’s what they did with my favourite Squint piece, the Oswald sofa. Golly I just like even saying that word “ozzzzz-wolllld”.

In general I think there are two ways of dealing with such a distinctive piece – make it the star attraction in the room by keeping the surroundings relatively simple and neutral OR amplify it by repeating its colours, shape or style to the nth degree.

3rd floor and Bohemia illustrate the first principle perfectly with their rooms.

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by 3rdFloor

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Bohemia

Milyca8 adds subtle tones from the sofa to the walls to create a gorgeous living/dining area.

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Milyca8

Amping up the colours all the way works beautifully too.

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Kathryn15

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Laurika

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by PennyDreadful

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Nadiege

My personal favourite is (as usual) a room by Naki1.  She manages to walk the line between these two approaches – a relatively neutral backdrop but with loads of colour, pattern and texture. Sublime!

Squint “Oswald” sofa in a room by Naki1

I found so many amazing rooms using this and other Squint products – as well as using the 3D planner, have a look over at Pinterest.  Maybe you’d like to design a room around a Squint product, and I’ll add it to the gallery?