AA Awards for Loch Ness Lodge

The elegant five-star Highland retreat, designed by Joanne , has been named one of the UK’s top places to stay at the glittering AA Hospitality Awards ceremony in London this week.

Loch Ness Lodge, on the A82 between Inverness and Drumnadrochit, received the highly coveted AA Inspector’s Choice award, a yearly award which is only handed out to a few of the best hotels, restaurants and guest houses in the UK.

This adds to the growing list of other awards won by the luxurious boutique hotel this year -
2009/2010 Scottish Hotel of the Year Awards: ‘Scottish Intimate Wedding Venue of the Year’ Award and special commendations for the ‘Luxury Hotel of the Year’ and ‘Hotel Bedroom Design’. Also the AA Guest Accommodation of the Year Scotland 2009/2010.

Joanne said “ I am delighted and honoured that our interior has won these awards. My aim was to bring to the lodge a feeling of a warm modern Scottish welcome with a hint of drama. To do this I used colours inspired by the surrounding beautiful countryside, such as berry and lichens and introduced touches of traditionally inspired Scottish textiles – contemporary tweeds and plaids. These I married with rich taffetas, chenilles and silks to lend a modern edge. Warm sophistication in the heart of the Highlands“

Luma Interiors transforms private residences and small boutique hotels, on a complete project basis or on a design-only basis.

For further information and images please visit www.luma-interiors.co.uk

Scottish Hotel Awards 2009

I am delighted to let you know that our lovely Loch Ness Lodge luxury hotel has won 3 awards in the recent Scottish Hotel Awards 2009. It won ‘Scottish Intimate Wedding Venue of the Year’ Award and also received special commendations for the ‘Luxury Hotel of the Year’ and for ‘Hotel Bedroom Design’. After all the hard work that has gone into the project it is lovely to receive this wonderful accolade.

If you are interested in finding out more about this venue please visit their website at www.lodgeatlochness.com

Full information on our services is available at www.luma-interiors.co.uk

A New Year, a New Interior!

Hi,

Spring is just around the corner, and its time to update your interiors. Just a few small changes can make all the difference and give a fresh new feel to a room!

Take a good look at the furnishings you already have and have a look through some interiors magazines or websites to pick up ideas of how these may work in a new setting. For example if your existing scheme is mainly neutral with creams, browns, greys and black you could introduce a new accent colour in cushions and accessories. Or you could pick out an existing colour in one of your patterned furnishings and complement this with coordinating plain accessories, or even take it into the wall colour.

Of course it's time for a declutter too! Too often too much ends up in each room, whether its furniture or finishing touches! Try removing some items that really are surplus to requirements to give your rooms a real sense of calm and order. This may well free up some items that would complement other rooms in your house.

Take a look at the colour and pattern themes in fashion that are available just now, and this will give you some ideas about current trends in interiors too. The main influence should be your own personal taste - because this is never out of style!

If you would prefer a helping hand with your spring mini-makeover, we are always on hand with our Room Therapy service which you can find out about by visiting www.luma-interiors.co.uk/roomtherapy.htm

Joanne

Festive Style Revival!

Its the time of year when we all want our homes to look fabulous - its cold outside and we want our interiors to be lovely and festive. We've got people coming to visit, we've got Christmas day to think about, and we've got some lovely relaxing days off work just to enjoy being at home.

This is when it would be great to have our homes just as we would like them to be. Most of us are not in a position to start from scratch, and lets face it, if we want to be ready for Christmas we wouldn't have time for that anyway. Have you thought of giving your rooms a mini interior design makeover - making the most of the furnishings you have? Here are some of my house doctor tips:

One of the fastest ways to revive a room is to pick a fabulous colour for the walls. Look closely at the colours present in your dominant items and pick one that links everything together - do not be afraid to be bold with this. If you are feeling that you're maybe not quite brave enough to use the colour on all walls, put it on one feature wall only. And remember always to choose a tone that is duller than you think as it will always look brighter when on the wall!

Then pick up this colour in some new cushions and a few new fabulous accessories to pull the whole look together. High Street stores have great choices at really good prices these days.

Also consider your lighting - refer to October's interior design blog for some general tips. Also try to use some spotlighting in addition to this to highlight your pictures. This can make a huge difference to a room.

Furniture layout is something that is vitally important to interior design, but that often is wrong. A room will only work if the furniture is positioned to work with the overall architecture of the room. Work with the room's main focal point and group furniture around that. The main focal point will typically be the fireplace if a sitting room, and the bed-head if a bedroom.

So, what are you waiting for?? Good luck with your festive room revival, and if you feel that you need a little professional interior design advice to help you, we're always on hand with our Room Therapy advice packages. More information on them can be found on our website www.luma-interiors.co.uk/roomtherapy.htm

And here's an example of one we did earlier!!

Autumnal design updates

Hi All,
Now that its getting a little colder and the days are getting shorter, thoughts of creating a lovely warm winter home come to the fore. Most important is lighting - make sure you have several large table and floor lamps that will give out a lovely welcoming glow and a real warmth to your room. To ring the changes add a few really warm textured cushions and perhaps a throw in tones to complement your existing scheme. Group your furniture a little closer together than in the summer for cosy winter chats, and add some scented candles for the final touch!

We are just putting the finishing touches to a beautiful New Town flat that we have just completed - refurbishing, decorating and fully furnishing. We also designed and installed a new lighting scheme in the hall and living room. Just to organise the 'big reveal' with our client now!! Photographs next time (once our client has seen it first!)

Images of some of our projects can be seen at our web-site http://www.luma-interiors.co.uk/

Joanne

London - design inspiration

Hi All,
just back from four days in London at the wonderful interior design exhibitions. Lots of fabulous innovative designs for furnishings and fabrics showcased at various locations across the city.

Predominant in the fabric and wallpaper designs were very large scale damask patterns - overscaled traditional florals mainly - some very subtle and others much less so using metallics and even some 'bling' with crystals worked into the patterns!

Also memorable was the use of glass - a fabulous hanging room divider with large glass leaves and curtain poles made of hollow glass.

All in all a very inspiring visit!

Please visit my website for information on our interior design services - www.luma-interiors.co.uk