{"id":1686,"date":"2017-07-03T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1686"},"modified":"2021-02-21T14:43:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T14:43:58","slug":"illusions-of-grandeur-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/interior-details\/illusions-of-grandeur-part-ii","title":{"rendered":"Illusions of Grandeur Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in May I wrote the unintentional first part<\/a> of this blog series on faking it interior design. I say unintentional because I wasn\u2019t originally going to expand on it. Then I was asked by the lovely people at The Bath Magazine to write a full feature on the topic and part II was born.<\/p>\n

(You can read the article in full in the July issue of The Bath Magazine or you can read it online here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In part one I discussed the merits of fakery, and cover three ways in which you can use quality products to imitate a particular style, trend or feature. This included trompe-l\u2019oeil wallpaper, faux plants and tile stickers. In part two, I just want to expand on those ideas with a couple more examples: wood-effect flooring and fake taxidermy.<\/p>\n

Wood-Effect Flooring<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Wood-effect<\/p>\n

Wood-effect luxury vinyl tile flooring by Amtico<\/a><\/p>\n

Wood flooring is probably one of the most enduring trends in interior design. Has there ever been a time where beautiful timber planks weren\u2019t <\/em>desirable?<\/p>\n

However, real wood flooring isn\u2019t always suitable. There are times, in the kitchen and bathroom or where a shallow depth is required, when a better option is wood-effect flooring made from vinyl, ceramic or porcelain tiles.<\/p>\n

Vinyl is an especially popular choice because it\u2019s durable (with anywhere between a 5 and 20\u00a0year lifetime), hardwearing and low-maintenance. It is also remarkably easy to install as the planks simply click together.<\/p>\n

Like real wood flooring, the price and quality of vinyl varies enormously so it is definitely worth doing a little research before committing to a particular brand. My recommendations include Karndean<\/a>, Amtico<\/a>, Mandarin Stone<\/a> and Fired Earth<\/a>, all of whom offer a range of vinyl and ceramic flooring effects including timber, metal and stone.<\/p>\n

Faux Taxidermy<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Faux<\/p>\n

Paper mache sculpture by Natalie Price on Etsy<\/a><\/p>\n

For my final foray (for now) into faking it, I want to have a bit of fun with faux taxidermy. Taxidermy is very much back in fashion. You can\u2019t walk into an antiques shop without being stared at by a stuffed bird; but whether for ethical reasons or otherwise, real taxidermy isn\u2019t to everyone\u2019s taste.<\/p>\n

If you like the look of taxidermy but would rather not use real animals, there are some very creative alternatives. From ceramic skulls to paper entomology displays and timber antlers; you can indulge in this trend in a myriad different ways.<\/p>\n

I particularly like the breathtakingly realistic art of Shauna Richardson<\/a> who crochets life size animal sculptures. While the more obviously fake but enticingly colourful artificial birds available at Rockett St George<\/a> are equally as charming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in May I wrote the unintentional first part of this blog series on faking it interior design. I say unintentional because I wasn\u2019t originally going to expand on it. Then I was asked by the lovely people at The Bath Magazine to write a full feature on the topic and part II was born.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interior-details"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t