Dashing around London

In the last few weeks I have been manically busy travelling back and forth to Barcelona on family business, so when I returned to the UK last week I decided to spend the night in London and enjoy some of my favourite things. Although it was a brief stay, it was a successful trip with much achieved.

 When residing in the Country I rarely indulge in any Retail Therapy as the shopping centres are either too far away or simply not worth visiting. For this reason, I mainly shop in London where there is an abundance of choice and limitless quality. Most of my favourite luxury goods such as colognes, shoes and hats only have stores in London meaning that I have to stock up when I am in town!

This trip was not all about retail therapy, however. I also took the opportunity to enjoy fine dining, art and theatre. As well as shopping I had one of my favourite Afternoon Tea's at Fortnum and Mason, watched a thrilling performance of Les Misérables and perused the exquisite collection of artworks at the Wallace Collection at Hertford House. Departing for home at Kings Cross I certainly felt a feeling of achievement at all I had managed to cram in. 

On my way to the Hotel, I passed through Savile Row, famous for it's exceptional bespoke tailoring and menswear. The sun was gloriously shining and it was a wonderful sight to see gentleman pacing the street's in their finery; A sign of being back in London.

Savile Row, the go to place for fine Gentleman's Tailoring

My first choice of Hotel, The Lanesborough, is now closed for renovation so I decided this time to stay at The Ritz. There is not much difference in the style or quality of these Hotels I just feel that The Lanesborough is somewhat more exclusive as it lesser known than The Ritz and there are no tourists wandering through the Lobby. The Ritz is always full with people coming to enjoy the famous Afternoon Tea which only adds to the crowded public areas. I suppose this makes one seem rather a snob, in reality I just enjoy peace and quiet..even when I am in London.

My little Shih Tzu, Sophie relaxing in our Suite at The Lanesborough last year before it closed for renovation.

My Suite at The Ritz.

After checking in I decided to take a walk along Piccadilly to Fortnum and Mason for Afternoon Tea. I have to confess that the exquisite food distracted me and I did not take any pictures, however the picture below gives you an idea of a typical Tea at Fortnum and Mason. It was then on to my favourite bookstore just a few steps away, Hatchard's.  For the book lover this traditional store is bliss. There are four floors filled with every book imaginable. I often order my books online so it was a real treat to return here and actually have the chance to look through each book before purchasing. After a lovely hour I left with a bag full of books and a big smile.

A typical Tea at Fortnum's.

My new books sitting pretty in the beautiful Hatchard's bag.

After a rather busy day of travel and indulgence I decided it would be a good idea to spend a few hours sitting and that the perfect place to do this would be the theatre to enjoy a performance of Les Misérables. I had not purchased any tickets but I thought I would chance it and just turn up hoping there would be seats available. Luck was on my side and I managed to get the last seat in the House! They did come at a hefty price but were certainly worth it. I first saw this production many years ago as a teen with my parents so I had really forgotten how spectacular it was. 

Photography was not permitted during the performance but I did manage to capture a picture of the intricate ceiling detailing.

Day two mainly consisted of shopping on Jermyn Street. Situated in St James's, this area has been the pinnacle of gentleman's goods and supplies since the 1700's. Once flooded with the aristocracy most of the stores have survived to present day and offer unrivalled quality and something 'a little different' for the discerning. 

Perhaps my favourite shop on Jermyn Street is Floris, a classic perfumers. I have been using their fragrances for as long as I can remember with my Father and Grandfather being loyal customers. Floris holds a Royal Warrant, with the Queen and Prince Charles being amongst the distinguished clientele . Another famous client was Sir Ian Fleming, who's revered character James Bond was said to wear Floris No.89. Floris is endearing to me as it is very much 'under the radar' with most people choosing designer or celebrity fragrances. I often get compliments about my scent and it is never recognised, which always makes for an interesting conversation piece. 

The Floris boutique on Jermyn Street. This is the origin store opened in the 1700's when the Floris family first started their business.

To end my short yet wondrous stay in the Capital I took an early check out at the Ritz and decided to spend the time before catching the train Home at The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square. Like most of the galleries in London, the Wallace is admission free which I think is really superb. It is so important for these exquisite collections to be accessible to as many people as possible so that they can be truly enjoyed. It also means that one can spend as much or as little time as they please enjoying the collection. Many people quickly 'pop in' for ten minutes or so which otherwise would not be possible if admission was charged.

The Wallace has a collection of over 5,500 objects and is famous for it's 18th Century French paintings, Sèvres porcelain and French Furniture. The pictures I have taken below will give you some idea of the collection at Hertford House. I must however apologise for the rather poor quality of the images. I found it virtually impossible to take a good, clear picture with the strong lighting. In 'real life' the lighting is very adequate and only improves the environment.

The front entrance to the Wallace Collection at Hertford House

The Front State Room with a portrait of Queen Victoria on the left side of the doors.

An exquisite hunting scene hanging handsomely in this State Room

More of the artworks and fine furniture in the Front State Room

In this part of the House, a collection of Canaletto paintings can be seen

An exquisite group of miniatures on display

An original painting of the infamous Madame de Pompadour

Works by Francis Boucher dominate the Oval Room

A fine 18th Century Mantel Clock sits regally against the Silk wall covering 

The fireplace in the Front State Room

An alternative view of the White House

I recently posted a picture on my Instagram account of a room I had created using The Sims 3 and was rather surprised at the positive reaction. I was flying to Barcelona and decided that this was the best way to spend two hours without Internet access. By the end of the flight I had created a rather nice Sitting Room which would have taken much longer to draw by hand. 

I must confess that in my teenage years I was rather obsessed with this game; Looking back it was really my way of expressing a desire to make beautiful rooms and creating my 'dream home.' Whilst many of my friends were using the game to create families and experiment with the different ways to kill Sims, I was only ever interested in building the perfect house. In recent years however, I rarely get the opportunity to indulge in my guilty pleasure, so the flight was the perfect chance for me to be sixteen once again. 

It has to be said, in my humble opinion, I really cannot think of a better tool for virtual house/interior design. The game really is very well designed for this purpose with excellent graphics and realistic, detailed objects such as windows, wall coverings, ornaments, furniture etc. For the amateur especially, it is a great way of seeing how a room will look before spending money and ultimately not being pleased with the end result. 

Today I thought I would share with you a project that I completed back in 2012, the 'White House' created using the The Sims.  I have provided floor plans of the House so that you can see the layout of the House and to show how rooms correspond with each other. 

On the ground floor of the House are the formal State Rooms. These rooms are used for official entertaining and are also open to visitors. On the first floor are the Private Apartments that are used by the First Family. As you will see from the floor plans, the White House is rather a successful house in terms of it's layout. Although it is a large residence, it does not feel empty or 'rambling' and this is because it flows beautifully from room to room.

 It was Jacqueline Kennedy who first sparked my interest in this house. I had always admired her style, beauty and grace and when I learnt that she was responsible for transforming the White House into mostly what we see today, I was further impressed by her enthusiasm and passion for creating a sense of history. Mrs Kennedy not only restored the entire interior of the house, she also created new legislation that protected the contents of the house for future generations; Previous to this Presidents could come and go as they pleased taking furniture, paintings and objects with them when they left. Mrs Kennedy knew the significance of the White House to not only the people of America but also to people all over the World who viewed America as a strong power. Within a year of occupying the residence, the Kennedy's had succeeded in creating a symbol that Americans could be proud of. 

The State Rooms

The ground floor plan showing the easy movement of the layout. The Entrance Hall and Cross Hall are the centre point for the rooms, connecting the East and West wings of the House.  The enfilade of State rooms along the South portico interlink creating an accessible  space for large state events and functions. 

The Entrance Hall and Cross Hall as it is today. 

The Entrance Hall and Cross Hall replicated using The Sims. As you can see the Staircase is not exactly the same as the original, this is due to the limitations of the game. You will also notice that roof is missing! This is to enable me to show the rooms as best as possible.

Another view of the Cross Hall. The door directly ahead leads into the State Dining Room.

The Green Room as it is today, shown here decorated in Festive regalia. This is probably my favourite room of the house, I just love the green and pink combination. 

The Green Room created using The Sims. Again limitations of the game mean that matching colours to the original can be tricky. However I have stuck to the original layout of the room with the focal point being the fireplace. 

The Blue Room. This room is in the centre of the house and has an oval shape. It is famous for it's high Empire Style interior.           

The Blue Room replicated using The Sims

The Red Room is famous for it's collection of Fine Art. This was my main focal point for my reproduction. You can download hundreds of custom content for The Sims and many specialise in classical objects. You may recognise a famous Gainsborough in my version.

The Red Room reproduced. As you can see I have included an abundance of artworks to give a feeling of grandeur.

Another view of the Red Room

The State Dining Room is used to hold large dinners and many important guests have dined here. Usually, the room is filled with round tables instead of the large dinner table shown above. 

The State Dining Room showing the level of detail that The Sims can provide. Each place setting has a wine glass, champagne flute and full Dinner Service.

The East Room is the largest room on this floor and spans the entire depth of the house. Whilst the Kennedy's were in residence this room was used for lavish entertaining on the grandest scale with members of the arts being honoured guests.

The East Room as replicated using The Sims. It does not really quite convey the level of grandeur of the original!

The Private Apartments

The First Family have a beautiful suite of rooms on the first floor of the White House as shown in the plan above. As with the ground floor, the Center Hall runs across the length of the house with the rooms accessible from it. There are not many pictures available of these private rooms as they are today, however there are many showing how the rooms looked during the Kennedy administration.  When replicating these rooms on The Sims I really designed them to look how I would have them if I was in residence!  However some of the rooms are replicas of the originals.

I could not find any pictures of the Center Hall on the first floor so my reproduction will have to suffice. Here you can see the length of the hall and how the rooms run off it in a pleasing manner. Mrs Kennedy is seen here walking to her Bedroom.

The Yellow Oval Room sits directly above the Blue Room on the ground floor and is used as a formal Sitting Room. The image above shows the room as designed by Sister Parish for the Kennedy's. 

My version of the Yellow Oval Room

At each end of the house there are little 'Sitting Halls' serving the East and West Bedrooms. The above Sitting Hall is in the East Wing and serves the Queen's Bedroom. Laura Bush is shown above relaxing in the beautiful, sunny interior.

The East Sitting Hall replicated using The Sims. 

Perhaps my favourite Bedroom in the White House - The Queen's Bedroom. The palette is so pretty with it's hints of ballerina pink, pea green and oranges. Certainly fit for a Queen.

The Bedroom recreated using The Sims. 

This Bedroom was designed by Sister Parish for Mrs Kennedy in the 1960's. It is testament to the superb design that this room still looks chic today. 

Mrs Kennedy's Bedroom recreated using The Sims. Although not an exact replica, I did stick to the colour scheme of cool blue. I had found a Toile du Juoy wall covering and could not resist using it for this room.

I hope that this rather unconventional tour of the White House has been enjoyable and somewhat educational. For me personally, discovering the layout and interior of famous residencies has always been a source of fascination. I suppose that the main point of this post was to show that there are many different ways to put one's creative energy to use and that you don't necessarily have to be a skilled artist to transfer ideas into reality