Eclectic living

picture from Living etc magazine

With half of our house being gutted and put back in we have decided to give our little house a face lift which has meant that we are pretty much starting from scratch in our lounge/dining room. So what are we going to do? Working as an interior designer everyone thinks that my home looks like something out of Elle decoration or House and Gardens magazine. Well all I can say is I wish! the hardest thing about working in the interior design business is trying to decide what look you want for your home there is so many great styles and colours how can I possibly pick a look without wanting to change it every few months?

The Eclectic style drawing room above is a look I like a lot the mixing of styles and textures is stylish but with a warmth it is neither contemporary or traditional so you have the best of both worlds.

The mood board I created below has a similar look all items can be purchased from the high street



Silver velvet chesterfield sofa from John Lewis  £1,400.00

Zebra print cow hide rug from John Lewis £350.00

Two tier antique brass glass droplet chandelier from John Lewis £110.00

Nickel floor lamp with pattern shade from Graham and Green £298.00

Art deco mirrored round side table from Graham and Green £195.00

Round gold ball mirror from Graham and Green £130.00

Mercury silvered candlesticks from Cox and Cox £33.00 for set of 3

Brass Kyoto table lamp from Oka £195.00

Black high gloss round side table from Oka £199.00

Metal glass top coffee table from Oka £435.00

Eiffel tower canvas print 139cm x 91cm from 55max £165.00

Dali armchair from Andrew Martin price on application

Christmas is coming

I am getting into Christmas this year which is very unusual for me as over the past few years I have lost my Christmas spirit. I used to love buying presents and wrapping them up taking hours to wrap them in tissue paper then wrapping paper, with fancy ribbons and tags etc they looked like a work of art. Decorating the tree was always a pleasure I would spend time deciding on the colour scheme and theme for that year and the Christmas table centerpiece was the highlight of the Christmas dinner. As time went on I started to hate doing it, it became a chore doing the Christmas shopping turned into hell and trying to keep up with the high standard of the wrapping was an endurance rather than fun.

So you would think with us living in rented accommodation with our home looking like a bomb site that the thought of Christmas would send me over the edge but it has had the opposite effect. I am turning into Mrs Christmas I have already started to make my Christmas cards (as per previous post) and I can't wait to put a Christmas tree up. I am looking at Christmas paper and thinking of ways to make my Christmas tags. I have been searching the Internet for inspiration and I can't wait for my husband to make mulled wine and roast some chestnuts.

So here is a few of my favourite things I have found to inspire you to decorate your home

How pretty is this? This would work well as a table centerpiece for your Christmas table

you can use either a tray or round mirror for the tall vase to sit on fill the vase with crushed decorative glass which you can find in most department stores or garden centers then stick a tea light or candle in the top. Stack Christmas baubles around the base of the vase and add tumbler glasses filled with decorative crushed glass with tea lights in the top.

Want to decorate your mantlepiece? I love how pretty this looks and how simple it is to create
trail a set of christmas lights across the shelf then add a selection of snowglobes in front of them. Scatter and drape strings of silver Christmas beads inbetween the snowglobes you can even add glass tea light holders with tea lights to give an extra pretty glow.

If you love a country craft look to your decorations then this look above is ideal. Take some willow branches you can keep them a natural colour or spray them put them into a milk jug and make your own card star and snowflake decorations to tie onto the willow. You can create your own colour scheme using different coloured cards.

This Centerpiece is so simple but really effective. You can use any Christmas baubles to create the look in fact the more varied the better and who doesn't have a glass vase? if you want to get really creative you can put small Christmas battery operated lights in the vase with the baubles as well.

 

 

 

 

This old house - the flood

If you have been following me on twitter you will know that we had a little (well quite large actually) flood in our house which pretty much wiped out half of our house. It happened six weeks before our wedding and to say it was a bit stressful is an under statement.

The kitchen was completely flooded and began to grow mold and smell damp whilst we waited for our insurance company to do something. Our house is a little Victorian terrace we have a lounge/dining room no hall and a very small kitchen that leads off of the lounge so you can imagine that when it flooded and began to smell it wasn't very pleasant. In the run up to the wedding we put aside our worry and stress over the kitchen and concentrated on that, we went on honeymoon forgetting all about it.

Which is why when we came back all in the glow of being newly weds we were greeted with a nightmare of a house to live in which brought us crashing back down to earth with a bump. To cut a long story short the kitchen is still not sorted (although finally things are about to start happening) we are living in rented accommodation which wasn't easy to find with our two little pups living with us.

It looks like we will be able to move back home in February which I am so happy about as I thought we would still be waiting this time next year! So with this good news we can finally get onto the fun part redecorating our house. We had planned to do a little redecorating before the flood but now we have the excuse to go the whole hog. Over the next few weeks I am going to keep you updated on our progress with pictures of design ideas and our photographs of our little house's make over

Stylish Maids

Trying to find bridesmaid dresses can be very difficult and often stressful if you can't afford to have bespoke dresses made and don't want to buy high street in fear that you guests may end up in the same dress as your maids why not try ASOS black collection. ASOS BLACK offers a capsule collection of premium occasion wear with a luxe, contemporary twist. Crafted in their in-house design studio, The Focus is on texture, with sculptured leather jackets, pleat-work embellished dresses, silk cut-work pieces and statement footwear and accessories. All of these dresses you would be mistaken in thinking they were designer but none of them are over £200!

Dress number 1 is made from chiffon featuring sheer panelling to the top and sleeves with an all over layered ruffle design this pretty colour is mink which is a very popular colour for bridesmaids at the moment  £85.00

Dress number 2 Maxi dresses has been all the range this year very easy to wear and look very elegant this one Features a dipped neckline, twin adjustable straps with a laser cut tiered petal frill design to the skirt,isn't this an amazing colour £120.00

Dress number 3 Are you having a contemporary look to your big day how about this little number Organza tape in deep cove. Featuring an asymmetric one shoulder design, a tie waist and an all-over layered organza design. Very stylish £85.00

Dress number 4 having your bridesmaids in white or cream is very in at the moment and can look stunning. Embellished dress in a sheer mesh with long sleeves and a boat neckline, featuring pearl and gold bead embellishment, a scoop to the back, and a stretch cotton slip £150.00

Sunday Centerpiece Love - colourful carnations

picture from Martha Stewart

Carnations have in the past had a bad name often seen as the cheap flower sold by the side of the road but all that has changed now. This pretty little flower with its ruffled little petals comes in such bright colours and because it is an inexpensive flower can be used in abundance. These carnations above work beautifully in these orange and yellow sunshine colours displayed in the white ceramic contemporary vases. Go on give this little beauty a go and let it have it's crowning glory again

DIY - Sparkle christmas cards

I have been getting very organized and creative with making my Christmas cards this year

it's actually been great fun which I would recommend to anyone. Here's my little guide to how I made them

Step one

Step two

Step Three



Step one:  I purchased the blank white cards with envelopes from hobby craft
Step two:  I purchased from hobby craft three different types of self adhesive letters black and silver glitter letters and gem stone letters.
Step three: Then I put a list of some fun Christmas phrases and songs together and then stuck them to the center of the cards making sure I spaced the letters out. It is so simple but very effective. You could even make your own Christmas present tags using this design.

Pack of 50 white blank cards with envelopes £4.99
One sheet of black glitter self adhesive letters £1.29
One sheet of silver glitter self adhesive letters £1.29
One sheet of gem stone 3mm self adhesive letters £4.99
All available from Hobby Craft

Have fun making yours and let me know if you have any other tips and ideas for Christmas cards

Stacey xx



my lulu wish list

pictures from Lulu Guinness

I have a big girl crush on Lulu Guinness she is one of my favourite designers her kitch glamours style is everything I love. Her fall collection doesn't disappoint in fact I've found it very difficult to whittle it down to just 6 of my favourites!

For a girl who loves her shopping then the sexy black poodle city tote £50

For a hand bag that you can stroke as well as look ultra glam is this black cherry devore lips small bow wanda  £275

Who doesn't love the iconic Lips this fuscia pink snakeskin clutch is girlie perfection £225

The new city pouch is a brilliant idea you can use to store any glam goodies for the girl about town put on your pearls girls city pouch £30

I couldn't resist I have to have the I heart dogs purse the glam girls best friend £55

Kiss and make up girls with this lip blot laminate cylinder make up bag £25.00

What no room for a Christmas Tree?

If like me you yearn for a Christmas tree each year but despite trying to rearrange your furniture around your room it just wont fit, then have no fear you can the next best thing!

Get yourself a large vase fill it with dried oasis (this will secure the twigs in the vase) then arrange dried willow branches into the oasis (oasis and twigs available from most florists) If you want an extra bit of sparkle you can spray the twigs with glitter spray or spray them silver like in the picture above. If you have a clear vase you can hide the oasis with glass beads. You can even scrunch up some wrapping paper or tin foil inside the vase around the edge and then place the oasis inside it. It just leaves you to be creative with your decorations you can also add lights. It looks very pretty and doesn't take up a lot of room.

mini baubles set from not on the high street

These mini baubles are so sweet and the mercurised vintage glass look is so in this year this set of five is £10.95

Noel Heart from Cox and Cox

Want something scented for your twigs then how about this vintage linen lavender scented heart with embroidered noel? This would work really well with a craft inspired look available from cox and cox for £10. Or if you are handy with a needle how about making something similar yourself?

Sunday Centerpiece Love - Velvet Ribbon

Picture from Martha Stewart

If you are looking for a bit of a DIY project for your wedding then this will be right up your street! Collect various sized round glass vases you can get them very cheap from places like Ikea or if you like a bit of a rummage try charity shops and car boot sales. Then purchase some velvet ribbon you can get this from most haberdashery shops or Hobby Craft is good. Wrap the ribbon around the vase and glue into place using a glue gun if you want to add the numbers to give a table number then again Hobby craft is a great place to find these or you can make your own and glue onto the ribbon. Keep the flowers simple you can use romantic roses, peonies, or why not some wild home grown flowers?