My Favourite Art Deco House in Bangor Northern Ireland- Plus Tonic Cinema Illustration From Hand Drawn Creative

I shared with you my favourite house in Portstewart last week, so how about my favourite house in Bangor, where I actually live.

Its this pink beauty which resides in the wonderfully named 'Beverley Hills', in the Ballyholme area. Built in the 1930s it nestles amongst a neighbourhood of otherwise regular family homes, and backs onto a golf course.

I know what you're thinking- ​the cladding. I know. Cladding the exterior of a house in fancy stonework was a trend in the 1970s and you would wonder who in their right mind would have altered such an already high concept design building like this, let alone all over cladding, then painting it pink.

The photo below showing the house in its original form is so much better, the corner windows to the left side are totally lost under the heavy brickwork. 

The current owner was not responsible for the cladding, or the pink, ​and they also say the original interiors have been stripped and changed too. So no retro futuristic interiors to observe, sadly.

David Wilson architects did some remodelling work recently extending the kitchen and living area on the ground floor. They appear to have done a good job, in keeping with the traditional design of the building.

Bangor has some beautiful Art Deco public buildings, one of which Neal McCullough from Hand Drawn Creative has featured in a clean crisp illustration, which you can buy on his Etsy Store.

The Bank of Ireland building is another example, right at the midpoint of Main Street. The building to the right which you can't see in the photograph has quite a few modernist qualities. I have an old Ulster Architrcture book somewhere that features it, I must dig it out to share with you on another blog post.

There's another section of Bangor, what I call the new-build sprawl of the East which is like a maze to me, but which has a pocket of home designs I've always loved.

Along the ring road and into never ending suburbia there are a couple of streets of these happy little chalets. They look like designs of the 60s or 70s, family homes with asymmetrical rooves, cute archways and novelty balconies. 

There are several designs dotted along the Pinehill / Silverbirch area.

Incidentally Neal has a print that looks a little bit like these homes- Hand Drawn Creative Hollywood Bungalow A3 for £20. Apart from his Fisher Price retro toy illustrations, I think this is my favourite of Neal's work.

The last home of my favourites in Bangor list, is one I've been telling my parents I wanted to live in since I was a little girl, when we moved to the same road when I was aged two.

"The Sugar Cube", as its lovingly named by the family who live there, is a flat roofed design house on the same road as my parents' home. I always told my parents I would love there so I wasn't too far away from them when I moved out as an adult. Ironically I actually live almost this close now, although it's round the back of the Springhill Road, rather than down and opposite from my parents' house.

So have I got all th unusual homes in Bangor? Or do you know of any that I might like to nosy at too?  Hit me up on Twitter- @rudedoodle

I may feature Holywood next- it would require a lot of time on Google Streeview going up and down the split-level, modernist heaven that is Marino!

One last bonus architectural oddity- the Ballyholme windmill, which peeks out from in between the streets of homes. 

I would LOVE to live somewhere like that. 

Retro Gaming Wallpaper & Other Affordable, Fun Wall Murals

How cool is this  retro gaming design wallpaper?

It comes in a variety of colours to suit many different room colour schemes. It's £25 per sq m which isn't half bad for wallpaper.  

The whole  mural wallpaper site will give you home makeover inspiration, with a dozen categories of high quality, modern prints. There are large scale art murals of famous works, plus maps, photographic images, and a service to custom make huge scale wall art.

I have always wanted a 1960s' style mural wall of a mountain scene, hopefully one day my dream will come true! 

Here are some of the children's room designs I liked- remember there are literally hundreds more on the site. 

An Optical Illusion in Your Home, 15 Walls to Baffle Your Guests

One of my earliest memories is going weekly with my Granny for tea to The Skandia restaurant in Bangor for chicken in a basket. The main memory, which again shaped by love of kitsch I suppose, is of their entire wall photo mural of a green forest scene. I've always wanted a photo realistic wall mural in my home, but they are pricy, so as yet I haven't ever had my dream come true. 

But now there is MuralsWallpaper.co.uk with their decent price per m2 on hundreds of designs and patterns.

Here are some of their designs that act almost as optical illusions, they look like the wall is made from something other than brick covered in paper. 

This is my favourite  

Then there are a selection of just pure kitschy fun walls. When it comes to picking, it'll be a tough one! 

Prince also available  

Retro & Vintage Wallpapers, Get the Real Deal at WallpaperFromThe70s.com

On the 1st February, my son and I move into our new, little house. A blank canvas to make into our home. We are very excited and can't wait to add all our own special touches to the various rooms. At the moment the walls have all been given a fresh, clean splash of cream paint. I have so many vintage art prints, and wonderous pieces of mid-century furniture, that picking a fussy wallpaper or bright wall colour isn't really necessary. That was what I thought anyway, until I stumbled upon Wallpaper From the 70s online store this afternoon.

This store is the real deal. Replica prints of genuine 70s' designs, as well as modern takes on retro wallpaper themes. The store is more like a gorgeous pattern museum than a plain vintage wallpaper shop, lovingly curated by designers who really know their stuff.

Did you know you can buy Versace wallpaper? Well you can! As well as other designer brands such as NLXL and Studio Ditte. The papers are divided into sections for ease of choice, floral, baroque, kids, novelty, glamorous, romantic, geometric and my favourite section We Love the 70s. Lots of homely, warm brown and oranges.

With hundreds of amazing prints to choose from, how do you know which is right for your space? Well, the site has a very handy feature for trying out the patterns in situ at home. You can print an exact replica sized sample right from the website, to get a feel for the size of the pattern and colour in your own room. Of course you can also request a section of paper as a real sample, but the print option is excellent if you quickly want to compare several papers before placing an order.

So you've picked your favourite wallpaper, next you'll need to know how many rolls to purchase. You don't want to run out of your chosen paper with one panel to go. Again Wallpaper From the 70s provides the tools to make this easy as pie. Simply measure your feature wall, or find out the area of the walls you are covering and input that to their site. The clever tool will calculate how many rolls you need to buy, most importantly it takes into consideration the particular pattern of your chosen paper, and how it will line up with itself, so you won't fall short of coverage when you take into account how the paper will sit pattern wise.

So, which wallpaper have I chosen for the feature wall with the fireplace in our new home? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. All will be revealed in my blog posts over the coming month. I'll let you all have a good nosy! In the meantime here is a selection of some of the papers I loved from the Wallpapers From the 70s site, which do you love?

Pretty as a picture: Ten step guide to using artwork effectively in your home

Style is an important feature of the home. The way in which we decorate and furnish our living space can have a considerable impact on how relaxed we feel throughout the day.

While the overall feel of a property is affected by many things, there are few finishing touches more important than artwork.

Here, we take a look at how best to use artwork and home accessories to create a nice home environment.

1. Go with your gut

Simple though it sounds, it's important to choose artwork that you like. It's easy to be tempted to choose artwork that you feel might be popular but this can actually have the opposite to the desired effect.

Whether or not the artwork you choose is effective comes down to one thing – whether or not you are happy with it. You should therefore follow your gut reaction to judge what you buy.

2. Placement

Even a great picture can look wrong if it's not properly placed. Consider first whether you have an appropriate space to hang or place a piece of art. You might be particularly careful, for example, about the themes you choose to place in your kitchen or dining room.

Better Homes and Gardens has a fantastic post on how to arrange art which is well worth a read for more information. Looking at everything from placing items above the sofa to using scales, adding visual balance and keeping things level, they have plenty of great ideas for you to try.

3. Framing

It's often the case that the frame can make or break a picture. Sometimes a picture is better off with no frame at all – just a simple mount. Don't be afraid to try different things when it comes to the frame until you get it just right.

4. Lighting

Pieces that make use of colour can be affected a great deal by the light which shines on them. Spare some thought to the way each piece of art is lit and how that might change throughout the day. If it makes a difference, don't write off the idea of including special lighting in the room just to accommodate a certain picture.

5. Context is everything

It's sometimes the case that a picture or sculpture can look great in one environment and terrible in another. While it can be difficult to predict how an item will look in your home, try to be aware of the surrounding colours, shapes and home accessories and the impact they might have on your choice. Items tailored to a children’s bedroom may look out of place in the living room, for example.

6. Link size to space

The difference between how a piece of art looks in the shop and how it looks in your home can also come down to size. A large picture can easily dominate a small room. Similarly, a small piece of art can get lost if place on a large wall.

Try to get the scale right when choosing pictures in order to maximise the impact of the art that you choose. Select artwork in sets of three is a good option if you’re unsure what you need.

7. How much is too much?

It's always pleasant to house a wide selection of artwork in your home but that's not to say it's impossible to go over the top. If you place too many pieces of art on the wall, it's possible for each piece to become less effective. Finding a happy medium is hard but essential.

8. Group styles

Try to keep similar styles of art together. While it can be nice to display some variety throughout the home, too much variety within a small space can be confusing.

9. Spacing

Not only is it important to have the right amount of art, but also to have it evenly spaced. Clustering pictures can also detract from their impact, while leaving too much space can make a room feel cold and bare.

10. Be bold!

Finally, don't worry to the point of being conservative. Plain artworks undoubtedly have their place but without a little flare, it's difficult to be unique. If you want to create something totally unique then why not have a stab at some DIY styles? This fantastic post shows 100 creative DIY wall art ideas which really stand out. From making art from sequins to using postcards to create a unique feature, there’s plenty of scope for individuality with wall art.