The Albion at the Boundary

The Albion at the Boundary in Shoreditch used to be an old Victorian lighting factory. Now it's my favorite breakfast place in London. Designed by Terence Conran and his team, you expect it to be a looker and it is. If I owned a caff, this is how I would design it: natural light, open kitchen, bevelled tiles, pendulous factory lights, and modern British retro styling everywhere. My Deco site has a brilliant piece about how to recreate the look with key pieces from the high street, click here to see it. The styling is not wholly original with it's modern retro slant [think Canteen], but it's execution is flawless: Golden Syrup cutlery containers and knitted tea cosies on Brown Betty teapots are nostalgic and at the same time knowingly chic. Elements of the interior made me smile - the stools at the bar are made of tractor seats! And once I'd eaten my eggs I really didn't want to leave. The interior is split into shop [as you enter] and 'caff' with open kitchen at the rear. In the shop, the floor to ceiling shelves are piled high with veg, breads, cupcakes, cordials and golden syrup to take home in your Albion jute bag - exactly the cute, traditional welcome I was looking for.

Dwell Studio

Only time for a quick one today, la la la. I wanted to show Dwell Studio's Chinoiserie pillows, they are so cute they need to be shown off, tweet tweet.

Isak

When it comes to interior design, children often get a bad deal. I rarely see inspiring interiors for kids, and schemes are often for the short-term, and not for kids to grow into. Isak have designed some amazing kids products that look super stylish, but I think adults will love them too. The designs have a gentle, retro feel and are characterised by a bold illustration that is a mix of Scandinavean and British. I love their Isak Penguin wallpaper, and the way they style this in a children's room. I have two nephews that would love this design. And their aunty is secretely coverting it too.

Timourous Beasties

Scottish collective Timorous Beasties come up with some crazy, wonderful designs. It's hard to believe that you would want giant insects all over your household fabrics and wallcoverings, but their beautiful animal, bird and insect designs disprove that. Their latest project A Bird in the Hand is Victorian inspired prints shown here on upholstered chairs. The designs are on show in Sheffield.

Kitchen at Design to Inspire

I have just checked out an amazing kitchen design at Design to Inspire. Especially love the distressed cupboards. I'm busy putting together some ideas for our new house next spring and this is top of my inspiration folder.

East Beach Cafe

Hmmmm, I wish all beach-side cafes were as well designed as East Beach Cafe. The tables, half inside and half-outside looking out to sea are just what you want when eating fish and chips. The exterior is layer upon organic layer, fitting neatly with the nature around it. The already weathered exterior with it's slightly rusty shell brings with it a cool new way of expressing faded seaside glamour. And the interior is small but hugs you in with it's rippling ceiling. Thomas Heatherwick is my hero. All cafes should be like this.

Nostalgic styling - M&S cafe at Westfield, London

My cute interior of the week - is the open air cafe at M&S Westfield. You probably would expect such retro-cuteness from a high street giant such as M&S, especially in Europe's largest shopping centre. But there were 50's and 60's touches eveywhere in plastic citrus-bright chairs and the 60's styled round dining tables with super-sweet floral printed 'tablecloths'. The whole area is coccooned by wood panelling just at the right level so you don't feel like your in a food hall, eek. There is no escaping current nostalgic styling - it's everywhere, and we love it.

Baroque at the V&A

The Baroque show at the V&A has been getting lots of hype so I went to have a nose. As a modernist minimalist at heart it's not my favorite interiors style but the show does offer inspiration for a modern day take on things. It's worth going for the examples of design and objects from le Palais Versailles in Paris alone. Plus if you're a fan of interiors bling, Baroque will be your thing as the interiors layer gold upon gold and chandeliers are supersize.

There is a way to achieve a pared-down Baroque style in a way that fits in with the 21st century. John Reeves Louis range at Heal's keeps the powerful, ornate shapes of traditional Baroque furniture but the black and white colourways in gloss materials give a modern, graphic edge. I am coverting the purple Louis console, low white bed and and black wardrobe.

Another key item to acheive the look without the bling is Mooi's paper chandelier in ice white which has classic Baroque curves and ornateness and looks amazing hung against draped curtains.

I also love Graham and Green's metal bookshelves in black. The conceit is they look like Baroque style picture frames but they function as book shelves, just right for 21st century space-saving. The timing of the show feels wrong for our recession-hit days, but what it does show is that today's designers are coming up with cool interiors and furniture inspired by the bling but fit for our times.

New Marylebone bar interior - The Swan & Edgar

I like my Sunday lunch with my mate Knowlesy and a fab, original interior thrown in. And the new Marylebone pub The Swan & Edgar is just that. The bar staff are super chatty [amazing for London] and they told us that the quirky interiors were designed by the owners relative as a labour of love.

The downstairs area is tiny - so small it's like being in someone's front room. Maybe that's why the place feels so intimate. The patchwork banquettes made out of scrap pieces of tweed and wool add to the cosy feel. The centrepiece is the bar which is wittily made out of piles of paperbacks glued together [impossible to pull out, I know, I tried!]. The book theme is continued outside with a row of books presented on a shelf above the pub entrance. My favorite piece of the design was the patchwork wallpaper made out of old Financial Times, and this was carried through on Eames Eiffel chairs with FT papier mache. This is one quirky, cute interior.

Bourne and Hollingsworth interiors*

New fav London spot of the week - this cute piece of 20's interiors 'speakeasy' at Bourne and Hollingsworth. I love the granny retro feel of the rooms. The bold florals, pared back seating and lace tablecloths are the perfect escapist foil for a sneaky afternoon cocktail.

Moooi at the Milan Furniture Fair*

Wouldn't it have been nice to fly out to Milan to the furniture fair last month? Thank god for the internet, that's all I say. Moooi went all Japanese on us with these giant pendant lights.

Pip Wallpaper*

I've discovered a cute shortcut to a keepsake wall. Brian Yates has designed a wallpaper that looks like hundreds of vintage keepsakes pasted to a wall - and will take a few hours to paste rather than a few years to collect.

Sherbet throw*

I have a new throw! It's in this season's colour - yellow, named by Pantone as this year's hot colour trend. It's so cheery for our bedroom and just right for spring. Sherbet cotton throw from Habitat.

Spread the interiors love!*

The sun is shining in London so I am spreading the interiors love! Tile by Ryantown

Taxidermy & Les Trois Garcons*

For our 10-year anniversary I don't think my lovely man expected to be transported to a bistro in the French Baroque style, eating tasty food under cloudburst chandeliers next to draped curtains to the crooning of Edith Piaf. And of course, we had an aviary of stuffed birds and a stuffed tiger for company... I honestly cannot imagine a more magical and theatrical interior in which to eat my din dins. Even the taxidermy had diamentes draped over them. I know that taxidermy isn't everyones thing, but it's making a big interiors comeback. Designers such as Sebastian Errazuriza and Alex Randall are taking an interiors lead from Les Trois Garcons with their mysterious stuffed animal creations. The duck lamp by Sebastian Errazuriza certainly makes a change from an Ikea print in a blond frame! And I love the softness and naturalness of the pidgeon against the industrial light cord on Alex Randall's pigeon light. The feel maybe slightly gothic, even morbid, but they add a touch of beauty and orginality to a room and take the recycling ethos to the extreme! Look at Jericho Hands for inspiration - even if the website is a bit cluncky.

Missoni interiors - new Edinburgh hotel*

Seeing photos of the new Missoni hotel in Edinburgh has reminded me that my lovely boyfriend should treat me to two nights of luxury when we are next in Scotland. It looks like the room interiors have been designed in Missoni's trademark stripes, geometrics, and abstract florals in blacks, whites and silvers, so not in their usual kaleidoscope of colours. Maybe it is to reflect the Scottish weather! Missoni are also known for their inventive use of fabrics such as wool, cotton, linen, rayon and silk, but I won't know if they've pushed the interiors envelope on this unless I pay them a visit.

Future trends alert*

So, according to The Future Laboratory, we are witnessing the end of opulence and the beginning of austerity in interiors. As lovers of design, we are looking for the unique, the hand-crafted and the ethical. And in terms of aesthetic - gloss, bling and sparkle are OUT! and soft muted metallics, simple shapes and grey are IN! Or as Future Laboratory put it ' the look of the late afternoon is in'. Examples of this new trend are Rabih Hage's Kings Cross Rough Luxe boutique and anything and everything by Ilse Crawford, my favorite interior designer at the moment. All hail the pared back look.

Summer seating - Myto*

Ok, I live in London zone 2 which means no garden, which is totally depressing as summer is approaching fast. But I figure I'll move one day and the new 'Myto' plastic chairs by Konstantin Grcic are very cleverly designed for use indoors and outdoors. And they look beautiful stacked too. So if I buy them as guest chairs, stack them when not in use and then keep them for one sunny day when I have a garden I will save a packet. And be super eco-friendly too as they are multi-use and made of recycled plastic. Gold star! They are available from SCP, my favorite East London design shop on Curtain Road, Shoreditch.

Cute spring florals*

Everywhere I look I see cute, vintage rose florals online and in the high street. Far from being chintzy I love their nostalgic feel. My favorite vintage piece online is the Miss Verity teapot by website Katy Potts Tea for Two. On the high street, the stunning silk Gracie cushion by Laura Ashley offers a similar vintage feel.

I heart Polaroid*

After much searching [I love any excuse for trincket hunting], I can't seem to find a cute frame to hold my treasured collection of Polaroid photos. So I took things into my own hands and made them into a pretty heart shape on our far bedroom wall, so I get to look at all my favorite people in the world as I fall asleep - and at zero cost : )