Curiouser and curiouser

The Alice in Wonderland obsession is reaching boiling point. Marilyn Manson is filming an arty, Alice-based horror flick, starring Lily Cole as Alice and himself as Lewis Carroll. And, in the world of interiors, the April Milan furniture fair was like being in Wonderland, with Marcel Wanders’s enormous lamp, Bisazza’s huge mosaic Pinocchio and Studio Job’s XL teapots and terrines (below). Su Blackwell, the paper-artist du jour, has also picked up on the theme. She has fashioned old copies of the Alice books into 3-D scenes (above).

In a less ethereal fashion, I decided to plunder Carroll’s absurdist take on polite Victorian society for a revamp of my husband’s bar (At Proud, in Camden). What better summertime setting for bands and booze than a surreal rooftop wonderland of topiary and Alice-themed graffiti art? It did not even occur to me that working with my other half, Alex, could end up being an experience akin to stags locking antlers – he gave me an earful at every turn.

So, how do you equate boring male minimalism with female decorative style? The bar redesign was an extreme case, but differing taste is something all cohabiting couples come up against and a subject that Alex and I explore in In the Best Possible Taste (BBC2, June 21, 8pm). It’s full of the design arguments we all encounter: men losing hair over the position of the flat-screen TV, while women focus on the soft furnishings. And it’s full of “that’s you, that is” moments that anybody watching will be able to relate to.

Wall of the wild

Why do people with dreary garden walls wonder that their patios look rubbish? Painting a mural is the easy solution. Whitewash your wall for a good base, then choose some Marabu spray paints (01908 378899; www.marabu.co.uk) – street artists swear by the superbright colours. If you’re arty, you could project an image and paint it yourself. If not, call in a pro, such as the award-winning Tizer (tizerone@mail.com, or www.myspace/tizerone), who is known for adding flashes of cheer in even the most miserable settings (see above).

FLY BUYS: MAKE YOUR OWN WONDERLAND

1 Invest in one of Donna Wilson’s tongue-in-cheek hand-knitted cake tea cosies. £63, from Beyond the Valley; www.beyondthevalley.com.

2 This leaping-hare mat, by Droog, is based on a 1920s pictogram by the German modernist artist Gerd Arntz. It’s not cheap, but it’s the first impression visitors have of your home, and who wants that to be a boring square? £72, from Twentytwentyone; www.twentytwentyone.com.

3 Have your own Mad Hatter’s tea party with this curious jelly-tin lampshade by RE, which also makes stacked-glass cake stands – perfect for showing off statement baking. £45; www.re-foundobjects.com.

4 Stitch Designworks has traditional check bedding and table linen with cutelace trims – very hip homestead. Napkins, £5.75 each; www.stitchdesignworks.co.uk.

5 Samantha Gannaway-Jones’s handcrafted pendants of Alice, the March Hare and Dodo would look fabulous as a light-pull for the downstairs loo. From £14; www.hoolala.co.uk.

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