New In | #DesignerSkyBox

New flat decorating has all but been completed (we’ll be sharing pics with you soon!) and today we got the final piece of the puzzle – a new tv. We spent a good hour or so in one very busy John Lewis store looking all the different tvs, by which I mean Callum looked and I got bored and drifted off to browse the rest of the store. Of course he was adamant on getting a 46″ screen, so now the ginormous thing has pride of place in our living room. We took these pictures this morning, so that’s why we had to draw in an imaginary tv, but it’s pretty much that big. Callum is beside himself with glee. While we don’t actually watch a lot of tv, the big screen will be great for our film nights and marathon runs at the weekend of old shows like The OC, and we’ve got it all set up with our new Sky+HD Box so we can record our favourite programmes and use the wifi for watching BBC iPlayer.

If you’re wondering why our Sky Box is looking so beautiful, it’s because a few of them have been treated to a little makeover. Sky have teamed up with fashion designers Roland Mouret and Giles Deacon, style icon Sophie Dahl and men’s fashion rising star Kit Neale to create a limited edition collection for the new Sky+HD 2TB box, which have just gone on sale. These boxes have all the oomph of the originals (built-in wifi, tonnes of storage, pause and rewind for live tv etc) but now look amazing too.

I love this collaboration. It’s such a treat to have a beautiful piece of tech that you feel proud to display, rather than hide away in a cabinet. I also love that each design has a meaning behind it, as each box was inspired by its creators’ favourite tv /film genre. Sophie’s inspiration for her design (the one we’ve got here with the floral pattern) is really sweet. She explains, “I started modeling as a teenager during a time where fashion was irreverent and full of magic. I love the theatre of fashion, a theatre that can belie the work that goes behind it. I’m a big fan of old fashion illustrations and textile design from the twenties and thirties, Cecil Beaton and Chanel in particular. It was their fashion illustrations that were the inspiration for my Sky box: the rose, something sweet and playful that conjures romance.”

How lovely is that! The girly sketched style of Sophie’s design really does add a touch of colour and whimsy to our living room – much needed, since we now have the world’s biggest tv hogging up most of the space. Callum’s already got a huge desk area with all his tech stuff on the other side of our open-plan living room/kitchen (he’s christened it Man Central Station), so I think it’s only fair I get to inject a feminine feel with this pretty box. Sophie’s is my favourite of the four designs, along with Giles Deacons’ animation-inspired print. Take a look at the other designs here and find out more about these limited edition boxes. Which is your favourite? x