Carrie's found room for home improvement

Because it's not just the ladies' latest fashions which are on parade in the new film, SATC 2, but their interiors style as, with the exception of Samantha, they shake off their singleton status' and put more time into home-making.

"I've been cheating on fashion with furniture," quips clothes--aholic Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in one of the opening scenes of the movie.

Certainly, the New York apartment she and her new husband 'Big' (Chris Noth) share on uber-trendy Fifth Avenue, Manhattan plays a key role in the action, and the secrets of its style and

decor are revealed in a new book, Sex And The City 2.

"I think we spent more time on this space than on anything else in the film," admits the film's director, Michael Patrick King.

Carrie, who used to live in a girly flat, has managed to incorporate her trademark quirky touches - lights, antiques sourced from flea markets, rugs and collections of books and treasures - into a space which also has many masculine elements, such as retro furnishings and dark woods.

"My thought... was that Carrie decorated this with a decorator who had a very keen eye as to what would make Big comfortable," explains King.

"The fun for me and the design team was to figure out how Carrie would interpret her and Big as a couple. It's not Carrie Bradshaw - her redecorated apartment at the end of the last movie was all colour and feminine, like a little girl's bedroom. And it's not Big's bachelor apartment, either which was sort of modern and shark-like."

Some things haven't changed. The girl who sparked a trend for walk-in wardrobes and famously said in the TV series, "I like my money where I can see it, hanging in my closet" has a king-sized space for designer dresses in the new home.

But it's not simply urban-chic that's on show when East meets West and Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Carrie, go on a luxurious vacation to Abu Dhabi (filmed in Morocco).

So kick off those heels, pour yourself a cocktail and swot up on getting the SATC look for your home.

We've done all the homework and sourced homeware used in the film to make it easy!