Month: April 2013

I would love to get your feedback on our latest catalogue

Here is my latest baby…A small yet beautiful, inspiring catalogue, packed with styling & decorative ideas to show you how to create inspiring, welcoming and beautiful family homes (you can view it on issuu here).While it’s lot of hard work to put something like this together (and it costs an arm!), I thoroughly enjoy the creative process and it’s quite amazing after months of hard work for us to hold a print copy in our hands (no it doesn’t break my heart when you want to be taken off our list…#just a little #ItTotallyBreaksMyHeart #labouroflove #justkidding).We won an Award with our first catalogue but I’m specially proud of this one because this time, I was able to style everything so there isn’t a single spread I don’t like but I have my favourites…OK.. I’m in love with our NATURALS // moodboard on page 4 & 5, it’s a collection that I sourced when I went to Paris at the beginning of the year and that really inspired me.Unfortunately, one of these gorgeous chopping boards is already sold out …

Awesome spicy prawn salad | Healthy eating

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Yesterday Francois & I was styled & photographed a collection of prints for a client in my home so I made sure we had a healthy, filling salad at lunch time.Once recipe I have been doing for a long time (long before embarking on this healthy eating journey) was the Spicy prawn salad by Michele Cranston from her Seasonal Kitchen book. Her book and Donna Hay’s Seasons are by far my two favourite cooking books (the styling in Donna’s book is amazing) and as general rule, I’m much prefer the relaxed approach of Australian Chefs than French Chefs. I’m not much of a cook and for me, cooking is all about entertaining, having friends and enjoying good foods so I like it when it’s all relaxed, easy to make and super yummy.Oh and I almost forgot!! Here is an example of how I use cotton bags to store Mila’s things as mentioned in my post yesterday.{Spicy Prawn Salad recipe}20 cooked prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined1 large red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (this is too hot for me so I …

Mila's bedroom. © Photography: François Köng, Styling: Karine Köng | http://www.karinecandicekong.com| All rights reserved

Create a pretty French kids’ bedroom on a budget

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

I recently updated Mila’s bedroom which you can now see in our catalogue (on issuu here), and made a few changes to show you how to create a French style kids bedroom for very little money I think. Stylish French homes love grays and the ones I mostly use at home, are from Farrow & Ball. When we moved in three years ago, the first thing I did, was to paint all the floorboards and the walls in white (except the one behind her bed which I painted in Down Pipe). To soften the whole look, I then painted her wardrobe in light gray. I can’t remember whether I used Pavilion Gray or Lamp room Gray because I used gray in our bedroom at the same time but it doesn’t really matter as you should always get a a few samples first to try different grays on your walls and see how they look in your room at different times of the day. Then I created little vignettes in each corner of her room. Needless to say that her choice of toys (bright pink and …

Today is the first day of my new life

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

{It was an awful experience but one that opened up things for me} OK this is going to be an emotional post so you are warned…Today for the first time in the past two weeks, I feel myself again…These last two weeks I have been ill, the first week with the flu and as I was trying for my mind to be more powerful than my body to beat this thing, I didn’t go to the doctor…The second week, my immune system was so low that I caught a viral stomach bug that literally sucked the life out of me. I could hardly stand on my two feet and spent the whole week in bed.I’ve never felt so powerless, useless and lonely. It was an awful experience but one that opened up things for me and I never EVER want to feel like this again. {We always take our health for granted until it’s gone} I’m lucky, I have already got a pretty healthy lifestyle. I don’t smoke (I stopped last October when I went to see her)I …

The BODIE and FOU SS/2013 catalogue has landed!

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

I’m proud to say that our latest catalogue has landed on our UK customers’ doorsteps today! If you haven’t received a copy you can request one here before we run out. This means that I can finally show you the inspiring workspace I styled in our new offices and which is one of my favourite ones. Doesn’t this KNOT chair look amazing!? The white table is also new and can double-up as a desk or dining table and I love these Bamboo lamps and this natural basket which is fast-becoming our best-seller! Well I love everything about our new collection… I’m beaming with proud and I wish I could jump with joy but after a week fighting the flu and then a viral stomach bug, I can hardly stand up which is hugely frustrating but I really hope you will enjoy it. Please let me know….It’s always very rewarding to get your feedback xoxo http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/UxVs

Dreaming of a grey sofa for our holidays home in France….

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As much as I love our Ghost sofa by Paola Navone in London, a white sofa would definitively not have been practical for our holidays home in France (you can see more photos here). The house caters for 8 people but has often a tribe of young children running around, entering the house from our side to another, spreading sand from the beach to eventually collapse on our large sofa in front of the TV.As I did not intend to have a nervous breakdown each time we were there, I deliberately kept the interior design of the house simple and low maintenance when I re-decorated the house a few years ago.Failing to find an affordable, contemporary designer sofa in grey which was my first choice (and under pressure from the CFO of the house to stick to our budget), I went for a large, modulable dark brown sofa from the Swedish giant – which is ok and comfortable but looking at these inspiring interiors in hues of greys, whites and wood, I really wish I could change our sofa to a grey one now. Anyone …

BODIE and FOU SS/2013 catalogue D-7

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Next Friday, our new catalogue will land on our UK customers doorsteps and I can’t wait to hear your reactions. I genuinely think it’s our best ever! In the past, I had to let go of things because we didn’t have the time or budget to shoot things the way I had envisioned them and that’s ok. It didn’t stop us from winning an amazing ECMOD Award last year with our first catalogue.But when it comes to BODIE and FOU, I’m a perfectionist and I know it can be better, I knew we could be better and I’m really proud to say that this ONE is our best catalogue ever so a big thanks to my team: Sophie, Doryan, Francois and Nicky who designed it for us this year.There isn’t a single spread I don’t like and I deliberately kept some pages and styling under wrap because I want you to be happily surprised with it.SO… If you live in the UK If you’ve received our catalogue in the past and haven’t moved, then you will …

Latest styling job | B&W workspace

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

First of all, a BIG thank you for all your messages and chats on Twitter and Instagram when I was ill these last few days. Being sick is incredibly boring and it was a lot more entertaining to chat to some of you rather than be alone in bed (there is so much TV one can watch in one day!). I’m still not 100% and woke up last night at 3am, then 5am and 6am so I doubt I’ll be very alert today but I’ll try. The second image is the one I initially styled for the workspace spread of our new SS/2013 catalogue (out next Friday) to show you how you can create a nice, inspiring monochrome home office easily (see get the look below).In the end we didn’t use it. I wanted our new catalogue to be even more beautiful and inspiring than the previous ones and this shot didn’t have enough of a WOW factor for me.I felt it was again a monochrome theme like the one I had styled for the previous catalogue (photo 3) …