Take inspiration from your surroundings to decorate your home

Inspiration for home decor

London has an array of colourful shops and cafes ranging from bohemian to quintessentially English, all of which can be drawn upon to awaken our creative spirit and prepare ourselves for the autumn period ahead.  From Portobello’s rustic stalls to the French inspired cafes of Westbourne Grove, an abundance of creative atmospheres and spaces render themselves to inspirational ideas  for your home.

There is nothing more alluring than the gentle waft of freshly baked cakes and those found in Portobello’s “Humming Bird” bakery not only provide the most pleasurable treats, but the daintiest cup cakes too and with their varying pastel shades of pink, ciel and peppermint green contrasting with the deep swirls of milk chocolate icing, they are the perfect (and lets not forget edible) decoration for your buffet cake stand.  A mixture of flavours and sizes are available, including boxes of mini cup cakes which are just right for spoiling your friends when hosting a coffee morning at your West London home.

Tom’s Deli on Westbourne Grove is another little world in itself.  If you are searching for ideas for your child’s bedroom this is the place to go.  It is every inch the sweet shop you imagined in one of Enid Blyton’s books, perhaps one of the mysterious lands that appear at the top of the Faraway Tree.  If it were a world it would be “The Land Of Sweet Things”  and offers everything from candy bars and lolly pops to home baked cakes, organic coco bars and wonderful cappuccinos.  An ideal bribe for naughty children, if they behave after school, it is perfectly formed with the little shop at the front and the seating area on a raised floor at the back. Vibrant colours of red, yellow and green create a Santa’s Grotto feel and I almost expected a little elf to pop out from the back and serve me. The mixture of colour and scent with old and new is a magic concoction that sends your imagination flying in childhood fantasy and high in creative spirit.

 And then there is the magical antiques market. Portobello’s infamous market (named after Puerto Bello in the Caribbean after Admiral Vernon captured the town in 1739) selling all you could possibly think of. Pots, lamp shades, candelabras, scarves, diamonds, pans, picture frames, china, gloves, toys, you name it they have got it. Items bought from London and Paris, from Scotland or China this higgledy piggledy, beauteous market is a treasure chest of wonders offering those much needed extras for the home.  Old rustic Egg cupboards can be used as spice cupboards, hundred year old hay baskets converted to magazine racks, a silver cauldron filled with flowers is an ideal centre piece for your fire place or dining room table.

So voila! All the materials you could ever wish for, all the artistic stimulation you could ever ask for.  As a painter has his muse so do you West Londoners have Notting Hill. Enjoy.