Congratulations to our resident interior designer Mike on completing his fundraising challenge.  Mike Turner and his friend Graham Michelli completed a coastal circuit of mainland Britain to raise over £2,500 pounds for local cancer charities.  Their route took them over 3,000 miles in two weeks.  Mike is now back full time to answer your Interior Design questions.  Well done Mike & Graham.

Eastern Daily Press, Feb 2009: 

Written by Mike Turner

The snow is far preferable to the endless grey don’t you think?  At least the view of the garden is a magical one featuring a snowman instead of mud, man.  Right now you could be thinking of the hours you might spend outside when the weather breaks.  I’m serious.  Over the last few years June has been the best of the summer and that’s not far away.  If you want to set up an oasis of hedonistic sun worshiping then you need more than a barbeque.  The problem is always that our season is short, if you react rather than prepare you will miss the opportunity.  Outdoor furniture has matured into a huge marketplace with masses of choice.  But be careful.  Most of us need to keep the furniture outside and you really must buy the best quality you can afford or you will be wasting your money.  Look for durable woods with high natural oils like Teak or choose woven synthetic materials.  High quality plastics are woven over powder coated aluminium frames to create great shapes and amazing durability.  Hose it down, put the cushions on and lie back.  They may be rare moments but they take some beating.

Fabrics need to be chosen carefully too if they are likely to be outside for any time.  There are several new ranges of high quality outdoor materials that will not rot or fade.  Always ask about the specification before you buy and make sure the textiles are suitable.  Cotton and linen fabrics will perish very quickly under direct sunlight, the modern synthetics will give you thelook and feel you want and can be left out indefinitely. For further flexibility look out for modular seating that can be configured in a variety of shapes to create opposing seating, corner layouts or long runs.  Finally choose a cantilevered umbrella or two to overhang your seating or wall mounted retractable awnings.  If you are looking for inspiration try www.gloster.com or call into my shop for a brochure.  Keep things uncluttered and use plain fabrics for the large pieces with accent scatter cushions to compliment.  Mother nature is, after all, taking care of the decorating. 

Finally I would like to thank everybody for the cards and kindness I received during my recent illness.  I am recovered now and owe many drinks to many people especially at the N&N hospital. A debt I am looking forward to repaying!

Mike

The PH5 design by Poul Henningsen has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. So to mark this occasion, Louis Poulsen have introduced a special version of the classic fixture, PH50. The PH5 was first introduced at the exhibition "Glass light and colours" at the Danish museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen in 1958. At the time, the fixture was introduced as a classic novelty. As time has gone by, PH5 has become one of the best selling PH fixtures in the world and a supreme example of the completely glare-free fixture with its combined three-shade fixture creating both a downlight and diffused room illumination! The new PH50 version comes in five stunning new colours in a high-lustre finish. The new bright colours are Chilli Red, Mint Blue, Wasabi Green, Coconut White and Olive Black. I love the new colours, they lend an even stronger intensity to this world famous design icon! 

As you may all have noticed there are alot of discounts and sales at the moment and it can be quite confusing to find the best deal. Well here at Interior Selection you will be please to know that we do not offer discounts during the sale period as our prices are highly competitive throughout the year, but please keep a look out as we have regular offers off specially select pieces from our site in the new year!

We would just like to inform you of our christmas closing times, yes! even us busy workers are allowed time for festive fun and frolics, so we can start the new year fresh faced and raring to start the new year sales! Our office closing dates are from 23rd December till the 29th, then closed again for New Years day! So from all of us at Interior Selection we would like to wish you all a merry christmas and a very stylish New Year!

Just to let you know that we have an independant shop in Norwich where you can view some of the pieces and browse our 2 floors dedicated to unique interiors. We have at least one piece of furniture from each company on our Interior Selection site, so if your in the area, please do pop in and have a look at our gorgeous displays and get inspiration from our large collection of wallpaper and fabric books including Osborne and Little, Designers Guild, Zoffany, Romo, Colefax and Fowler and many more. We would be more than happy to help out with choosing a scheme for your  home or business, if you require further information about our shop or website then call 01603 633699 and speak to one of our design team who will be more than happy to help.

Yes winter is finally upon us and as you may know interior trends are highly influenced by the seasons (and change as quickly as they do!). If your as keen as i am with keeping up to date with the latest styles then this season is a fantastic chance to update your look. This winters trends are much bolder and brighter, think natural colours mixed with festive reds and bold blocks of colour against stark contrasting whites. If your keen on updating your home then check out our furniture collection by Antonello who have created a stunning colour range of lacquered furniture. Also have a look at our Conran range of white painted furniture including the design classic Russell Pinch 'Wave' sideboard in white lacquer. If you require further information on any of these pieces then do not hesitate to contact us on 01603 633699.

We at Interior Selection are pleased to announce the return of the iconic 'Glove' chair by Content by Conran.

Originally released in 2003 with huge publicity and interest , the Glove chair has claimed its place as a design classic due to its recent come back this year. It's relaunch was requested by the public and by Terence Conran himself who regards the Glove as his biggest achievement!

The new Glove chair stays true to its original design, and now available as a stunning monochromatic white gloss shell and black leather upholstery. My belief is to invest in good design and select one off design pieces  you cannot live without, the Glove chair is of no exception, a true conversation piece and my favourite product so far this year!