Dining spaces can be tricky to decorate! They’re not always a separate room, often part of a ‘cuisine Américain’ as the French say, an ‘American kitchen’ (if you can generalize such a thing!). Or if they are a separate space, dining rooms can feel too formal and uptight, as they’re not often used, or used only for more formal dinners.

So how do you decorate an area where you eat?

You might be surprised to learn that, as an Interior Designer, I do not spend hours trawling through Instagram or Pinterest looking for design inspiration!

So you want to redecorate your Master Bedroom? And you don’t know where to start? Let me help with a few practical tips - des conseils et des astuces (‘advice and know how’ in French).

So I don’t know about you, but when I first started renovating apartments I was, obviously, a complete novice. And I was pretty worried about choosing the right contractor for the job. Plus, in my case, I was doing the whole thing in Paris, in French, so there was also a vocabulary issue!

So what can you do to limit this stress? As my ex-military grandfather always said ‘Time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted!’. So here are some tips that I have found helpful when choosing a contractor.

So the time has come. You’re finally going to redecorate your living room!

At last! You can’t stand those sofas which are so 2000s - you did love them when you bought them, but this many years later, ça suffit ! And the paint color? ‘Je ne peux plus le voir en peinture !’ -> yes, would you believe that that idiomatic expression actually means that you really can’t stand it any more (very convenient for an article about redecorating, by an Interior Designer who lives in Paris, right?!).

So, great, decision made, you’re redecorating.

But where do you start?

It all begins with an idea.