THOUGHT 1: Having just about come to terms with the fact that Posh and Becks have followed me over here, imagine my horror when I turned on Good Morning America this morning to see Cat Deeley being all bouncy bouncy jolly jolly smiley smiley on my screen.
This clearly is too much. Strangely she appears to have checked in her unpleasant Brummie accent on arriving at LAX and instead has acquired a generic vacuous blonde UK TV presenter Estuary accent (cf. Denise Van Outen, who is also here presenting on primetime, but that’s OK because I quite like her).
THOUGHT 2: American Idol really gets going tonight as we’re down to the last 24 and the live rounds. With the Seattle auditions being roundly panned in all the media here (including this very blog), it appears that 3 of the last 24 are from Seattle itself, by far the biggest representation from any city in the US. From what we’ve seen so far I don’t think any of them are my cup of tea music-wise, but I’m going to have to give them some sneaky support. Am I becoming a Seattleite? I’ll be cheering on the Seahawks and Mariners next.
THOUGHT 3: I’ve been having an interesting discussion with Holly over on Decor8 about Jonathan Adler – who is an incredibly famous interior designer over here and chairman of the judges on my new favourite reality TV show Top Design.
She just assumed that Adler was HUGE in the UK, and I had to tell her that i) not many people had heard of him ii) I thought his stuff was very ‘American’.
Which led me thinking about the differences between American and UK interior design. Having now seen the insides of some 40+ American houses on our househunting search and looked at the details for probably hundreds more, I think there are some definite differences which I will blog about soon. In the meantime I’d be interested to hear what other people think about UK vs. US interiors.
Keep your fingers crossed for us. We’ve just put in an offer for a house we saw at the weekend. We know that there are probably going to be at least three other offers on the table, so it looks like it’s going to go for considerably more than the asking price, which will probably be a bridge too far for us.
It doesn’t have a view and it’s for sale via a property developer, so there’s not much scope for real ‘fixing up’ this time, but it’s in a great location, has been beautifully renovated and has scope to be my ‘SJP house’. But I’m trying not to get excited.
Oh, Paola, good luck on the house. I’m looking forward to your thoughts on American/UK design differences and offer condolences on that blonde that followed you here. When travelling to a foreign country one likes to see the best of home represented on TV, not the things one was hoping to escape. However, if she is making waves in New York it is highly unlikely that she will come to Seattle. Just boycott national shows that might feature her in the next week or so and it will be like she was never here.
Oh goodness. Fingers all kinds of crossed on the house, and I can’t wait to hear about the differences between UK and US homes. No thoughts from me, as the only UK home I’ve been in is my Aunt and Uncle’s place in Scotland, which is older than most US “Historic Sites”.
I assume that by now you’ve heard all the ruckus over the building of Safeco Field? Regardless, you can get some great views from up there…
I have noticed watching the BBCAmerica that in the UK the washer and dryer is in the kitchen rather than in a ‘laundry room’. There also appears to be a fireplace in every den/family room and also a low t.v. shelf next to it. Slim doors too. Backyards with fences on both sides in straight back rectangles.
That’s strange you mention about Jonathan Adler, I’ve seen so much about him on various American blogs but never over here but today I spotted a small piece about him in the Evening Standard home section…maybe he’s making it over!
Huge differences as far as I can tell. In the UK we seem to have a more eclectic approach to interiors but whenever I post any UK or European rooms on my blog the responses from the US are so positive. I will be interested to read your take on it.
Oh and sorry for having sent Posh & Becks but I can’t say I’m sorry to see the back of them.
Oh I positively CANNOT WAIT to hear your take on American vs. UK interiors. But, just remember… Pac Northwest Interiors vs. London, not really American vs. UK because I have friends in London and friends in Stratford and Wendover Bucks, and trust me, it’s like going from the lodge to the perfect English country manor, to the artsy funky urban loft.
I know Pac NW interiors are WAY different than say, some of the urban interiors in other US cities, and homes there are worlds different (architecture and interiors) than over here in New Hampshire/Boston.
When I was in southern CA, I was amazed at the differences between socal and San Fran abodes.
Just wanted to mention this, as I think that due to the size of this country, there are some decorating differences that need to be noted. 🙂
xo
hb