by James Balston | Feb 14, 2015 | Antiques, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Classical, Contemporary, Decoration, Homes, Kitchens
Grey is so over! It has reached saturation point, or should that be desaturation? So ubiquitous is it, that it’s becoming the butt of jokes, as in this amusing sketch which pokes fun at designers and a certain brand of paint. Clearly grey is the new beige. Then... 
by James Balston | Aug 13, 2014 | Architecture, Classical, Decoration, Homes
Nowadays home cinemas, indoor pools and gyms would appear to be among the more popular status symbols among the uber-rich. But in the 18th and 19th centuries, the citrus fruit was so impossibly exotic, that having the means to grow them in our fickle climate was the... 
by James Balston | Apr 8, 2014 | Architecture, Churches, Classical, Heritage, London
I’ve always thought Mount Street in Mayfair to be one of London’s most elegant streets. Part of its beauty lies in the uniformity of so many of the decorated terracotta facades, so it was a surprise to discover while researching this post, that it was... 
by James Balston | Feb 17, 2014 | Antiques, Architecture, Bedrooms, Classical, Homes
I’m not normally a fan of new classical buildings. So often they are poorly detailed and the proportions are all wrong. Besides, I’d much rather see good modern architecture which is of its time rather than something which pointlessly mimics the past. So I...