Redesigning our Living room starting with the Sofa

As some of you may already know we bought our current property as a bit of a project that needed some work done, before intending to sell, hopefully later this year. We have slowly been working through each room getting ready to put it on the market. Things have gone much slower than expected, mainly because having two small kids at home is not overly conducive for renovations. The picture above is our partially finished living room space, at this point, we had taken away the badly built-in shelves and terrible wooden surrounds and replaced them with more useful storage but otherwise, we have pretty much been making do as the living room didn't have too many issues to start with but now we are ready to get the paint out and get what we need to be done to finish this room. Firstly we will be painting the walls white instead of this slight off white shade, we are going to paint all the skirting boards, fix the fireplace surround, box in wires properly, get a carpenter in to bui......

Read more »

Hello Moon Prints & Giveaway

Kids rooms should be all about colour and creativity, a place to celebrate the magic of childhood and to help nurture your child's unique personality. Its also the chance to inject some fun into your household and it's such a enjoyable interior space to style as it's unlike any other room in the house. As you know we love art, design, photography and prints displayed on our walls so why should it be any different for kids bedrooms? Well Hello Moon have some of the cutest and quirkiest prints that I am sure your kids will fall in love with, especially as you can customise them for your child. With iconic prints such as the London bus or all time favourite characters such as Pirates and Dinosaurs there really is going to be a print to suit your little one's personalities. Hello Moon was started by four like minded parents in search of something original and fun for their own kids and they are constantly adding to the current designs. They also offer free shi......

Read more »

Styling a guest bedroom

When we move we are hoping to have a small study space or extra guest bedroom where our friends can come and stay for a few days and explore the Welsh Capital. Being an expat means that I have lots of friends and family who I would love to visit and the prospect of being able to style a space like this is very exciting.  Of course space would be limited, a spare room would most likely be the small space such as a box bedroom so keeping things simple but stylish is key to making the most of the room. I have put together a little moodboard of a few key bedroom accessories I think would make the room feel welcoming, comfortable and cosy but still on trend.  1. In a small room the main furniture would consist of the bed, side table and small wardrobe so space for a large lamp may be limited so this Copper Desk lamp would be a great space-saving choice. 2. I love notebooks and when I travel it's often the time I feel most inspired to write something down, so ha......

Read more »

Beautiful home, beautiful floors

You may have noticed over the past few years that I have a thing for floors, beautiful floors, I mean why wouldn't I, they make up so much of ones home and just as we decorate our walls with Art, family photos and prints we equally need to invest in something that feels good under foot. You really cannot underestimate the impact flooring has on a room and really does add a true dimension of style to any space. This years trends is all about that fresh and minimal Scandi look, out is dreary carpet and over the top out-dated patterns and in is stylish painted floorboards, large slate tiles or smooth vinyl finishes that can be dressed up with a rustic handwoven rug. You aim should be to make your rooms feel as light, airy and spacious as possible and as I always say less is more so try and keep clutter to a minimal and bring in either earthy tones or whitewashed hues. Personally I love wooden flooring as there is something truly beautiful about the imperfections of wood ......

Read more »

Instafood and interiors

So I thought it was time to do a little instagram roundup as life lately has seemed to be filled with food, family and interiors and wanted to share this with you. 1. Reading Petter Rabbit, a classic - we love collecting books, they are everywhere in our house 2. Having a lazy sunday and enjoying my new Made.com bedding 3. Beautiful simple flowers in my mothers house 4. Enjoyed some delicious food at Wyndham Tea in Cardiff 5. Have been shopping for some prints for the home 6. The little man growing 7. Our rarely clean kitchen as we get the house ready to sell 8. Made some homemade swiss muesli 9. Excited to start using my new Le Creuset casserole dish - slow cooking here we come...

Read more »

Kids interior chic

We are currently finishing up redecorating Mr A's bedroom, walls are painted, shelves are up, toy box up cycled and now we are on a search for a new bed as it's been long overdue for him to move from his toddler bed to a full sized one. He wants a small cabin bunk bed or something at least fun and unusual, now we don't particularly like novelty interiors and furniture but Cuckooland and Made.com have such unique and inspiring pieces that capture childhood and chic perfectly, such as these fun teepee beds and bunks with dens below. At the end of last year we bough some bedding and a print for our living room from Made and have been really impressed with the quality and design and would love to pick up one or two things for Mr A's room as finishing touches such as the bunny cushion and these cool mini chairs in various bright colours to add a bit of pop. Hopefull we will find a bed soon that suits him, is comfortable, practical and fits into......

Read more »

Prints for the home

The other day I stumbled across some beautiful prints from the Etsy shop The Motivated Type and looking at my bare walls I had to buy some and to be honest it's felt like it's been ages since I have made a purchase for the house and I literally cannot wait for the three prints to arrive. All his work is mainly typography, using inspiring or homely words to set a happy tone for the day. There are a few other prints I have my eyes on as well, last year I picked up a cute record inspired print from Made.com and now I really want this camera one - it's such a happy little print and would be perfect for our living room or hallway. I also want more art on Mr A's and the babies rooms and bring some much needed colour onto those walls. I love all the quirky kids interiors and decor from Olli & Ella and they have a great little selection of simple and stylish prints perfect for a child's bedroom. ...

Read more »

Prints for the home

Can't wait for this record print to arrive As we have been working on the house in preparation for the new arrival and for putting it back on the market next year, the smaller details have been left to last, normally by this point our walls would have a lot more prints and work of art on it but as we don't want to make our livings spaces over personal, we have taken more time to be selective and just place a few prints in key areas to bring in some colour and art into our home. We recently ordered this cool print above from MADE.com  which we will of course hang in our little record nook. They have a great selection of framed art and photographic prints which would bring pop of creativity into any home. We also recently came across a really great website that promotes up and coming artists in a totally wallet friendly way that allows you to have an original piece of art all under £100 and is appropriately named Original Art under £100 . We are totally loving this Fo......

Read more »

Nursery Prints

I love this simple and nature inspired wallpaper print ( image ) So I cannot believe I am already 32 weeks and we haven't even really started on the nursery, so that is our first port of call for the New Year and what a fun project it will be (hopefully). We recently picked up some lovely printed wallpaper from Laura Ashley which I cannot wait to share with you all. I have to admit I have never really bought into the "statement wall" trend unless done very well, although I have to say that I do think it works best in a nursery or kids room as that is the type of place you can really have some fun and it's the type of room that you need to inject a bit of colour and texture. I love this simple, subtle and stylish nursery and how cute is the cloud pillow ( image ) The great thing is now there is so much choice, you can still keep the room fairly simple and clean  but bring in some light and subtle prints, which is what we are going to go with when w......

Read more »

Christmas Wreaths with Laura Ashley

So last week the little man and I went on a mini adventure across the Severn to Bristol, our favourite city and which we frequently visit, to spend the morning with some lovely bloggers in a beautiful Clifton Cafe - Mockingbird to make some lovely Christmas wreaths thanks to Laura Ashely who provided us with some kits to get creative with. Firstly I want to say how stunning this simple and stylish little Cafe is and was the perfect venue for a relaxed and creative morning. They provided us with Artisan coffee and divine homemade treats including wholesome granola bars, flapjacks and muffins along with some southern style breakfast muffins with eggs. The kiddos were also made to feel welcome and Lori was great at keeping them entertained. One of the things I also love about blogging is the friendships I have made along the way which are really special and it's always enjoyable meeting up with these creative ladies - Fritha , Jessica , Adele , Laura , Lori and Lot......

Read more »

Bedroom snippets and dreamy inspiration

A little interior inspiration reading is always on hand in our bedroom  I have to admit that our bedroom is the most uninspiring room in our house at the moment, mainly because we have been working on our living room, kitchen and Mr A's room and only now are finally looking at making our personal space well more personal basically. I really want to add more colour, invest in some beautiful bedding, wall art and well designed pieces such as a free standing mirror. For now however we have been dealing with the essential changes first such as getting the awful artex on the ceiling removed and re-plastered, re-carpeting as well as repainting the whole room and recently upcycyling our bedside tables, but now those things are finally done we can look at personalising the space more. Slowly books, makeup and little bits and bobs are finding a home in our room. We have recently got a new king sized bed which is a really welcome sight after squeezing into a double as Mr A......

Read more »

Living Wild and Free

Summer florals, outdoor picnics and indoor inspiration ( image ) Do you ever wake up and wish that you lived in a home that was truly inspiring for the soul, a place that merged the outdoors, the freedom and wildness of it all with all the homely comforts. Since I was very young I always envisaged that my forever home would be somewhere slightly offbeat, a little quirky, perhaps not to everyones taste but a place I found inspiring and a little bit wild. I like to remind myself of this dream, especially on a Monday when the week feels so long. I thought I would share some images from my favourite Pinterest board - Inspired Living so keep the creative juices flowing throughout the week. Would love my bedroom to look like this ( image ) How beautiful is this blanket teepee ( image ) Says it all ( image ) ...

Read more »

Divine black bean choc pot & kitchen loves

Okay so stick with me on this one when I say the main ingredient here is black beans but oh do these chocolate pots taste so good and was huge hit with everyone in the house. I had seen a lot of people using black beans in desserts over the past year, especially with vegan baking but have always kept my distance until I came across a recipe in "Super healthy snacks and treats" and thought I would give it a go and I am so glad I did. I changed a few things to suit our tastes but Mr A loved making these with me and they are pretty low in added sugar are also gluten free and with low fat creme fraiche this is a light but decadent dessert with loads of depth. I would serve this up at a dinner party they are that tasty. Makes around 5-6 ramekins Around 200g Black Beans (half a can) 20g gluten-free flour - we used Rice flour 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 45ml maple syrup or argave 1 tablespoon sugar 25ml coconut oil 1 teaspoon vani......

Read more »

Living Room Tour

Okay so when we bought our house last year it was a bit of a mini project - the downstairs had been done (well sort off) while upstairs has need quite a bit more work but saying that our living spaces have had some bad DIY going which has needed to be ripped out, for example the alcoves in the lounge had shelves held up with no more nails and very badly done wooden boarders. After lots of painting, filling and redecorating we are almost there. The only thing I really dislike is the former owners idea to knock down a 200 year wall and replace it with glass bricks - I will never really understand this but as we are selling the property next year its not worth changing. If this was a longterm house we would probably personalise it even more but we are trying to create a middle ground of it feeling like a warm and loving home while still knowing we are going to be moving on and thats why I love things like our Cable and Cotton lights - quick and easy to put up and ......

Read more »