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I’m busy on an exciting project – decorating my daughters bedroom on a budget so this guest post about creating a magical room for your daughter is just perfect timing. I think you will agree there are some great tips here!
When it comes to making your little girl’s dream of becoming a princess come true, where better to start than with her bedroom? We’ve put together a guide to turning a plain old room into something enchanting:
Choose girly shades, but in an innovative way
You may be tempted to plaster the walls with baby pink paint or magenta wallpaper, but why not give the room a more stylish edge that will let the extra special accessories you fill it with stand out even more? Consider going for a neutral colour like beige for the walls, with a grown-up edge courtesy of one feature wall in chocolate brown as HGTV suggests? Now have fun with bold curtains, bedding, lamps and rugs to give it that playful streak.
Get arty
If it’s not practical to paint the walls, perhaps because you rent your home, why not hang a brightly-coloured piece of art in the centre of the largest wall? Even better, spend an afternoon creating a masterpiece with your little girl – she’ll love having her own work in pride of place!
Think long term
Choosing a simple but comfy white bed like one from the range here will allow you to go as wild or as subtle as you like with the rest of the décor, without it clashing with the central feature. It’ll also allow you to change the room’s style in the future, without having to change the bed.
Let her feel all grown up
Every girl loves a dressing table, so make sure it’s a feature of her newly-styled room. Match it to the bed for a neat and stylish finish.
Bring in the fairies
Fairy lights in the bedroom look fantastic for the festive season, but they needn’t just be for Christmas! Pink fairy lights around a bed, curtain rail or mirror will create a magical atmosphere that’s for a fairytale princess!
Image source: weheartit.com
If she’s not into pretty pink…
Not all little girls want a typically girly room: create something that is young and fun with a pop-art-inspired room. Think graphic patterned rugs, citrus-bright walls and a rainbow of cushions on the bed. White furniture and a white ceiling will ensure the look doesn’t become overpowering, and opt for curtains or blinds in light colours, to ensure the room still gets maximum daylight to keep it feeling fresh and inviting.
Image source: myhomerocks.com
Last week I was invited by Ekornes, makers of the famous stressless furniture, to visit the Grand Designs Live exhibition. Having watched Grand Designs faithfully for years I was excited to see what and who would be there. With over 500 exhibitors across all areas of interiors, gardens, home improvement, self-build, renovations and technology, I knew it would be a busy day! The show was absolutely buzzing, packed with people from all walks of life, young and old, from shoppers in search of the latest foodie gadget to couples actually building their own houses (with blue prints and all – jealous!).
I started off in the interiors section as this is after all, my biggest love. I adored walking the aisles and admiring the beautiful products and rooms sets. It definitely appealed to my expensive taste (I have a distinct knack of choosing the most expensive thing in a shop although strangely I’m actually hardly materialistic at all!). Saying this I could easily have spent a million pounds here and it was very enjoyable to do an imaginary shop with my partner and dream up our beautiful ideal home, down to which hot tub we would choose!
From the interiors section we moved onto the eco home area which was fascinating and inspirational and then onto self build where we let our imaginations run wild. Moving onto the gardens area which showcased a gorgeous array of luxury hot tubs, modern gazebos and small outhouses for guest lodgings. The food section was all about feeding yourself, trying new flavours and gadgets and was packed! We squeezed our way through to the kitchen and bathroom section which was all about the latest technology and luxury must haves.
As it was very much a visual feast, here is my photographic report featuring my absolute favourites from the show! Enjoy :)
This ship come bench appealed to my love of the coast and mermaids soul ;)
I have a cupboard very much like this in my house and I adore it. But now I want this one too!
Stressless office chair. You have NO idea how comfy the stressless furniture is until you have tried it. I swear it is made of dreams and bouncy clouds…
Love this way of storing firewood!
I’ve always liked storing books like this. Price tag was rather large on this bookshelf though :/
Amazingly fun kid’s bedroom. I’ve taken some inspiration from this and am planning on redoing Littlelish’s bedroom soon. Watch this space.
I am still a lot in love with geometric patterns
This would be amazing for Littlelish. Such clever, thoughtful design.
This is our new hot tub ;)
I thought this was a really interesting way of personalising glass. You could have anything set inside it!
Some really fab kitchens. This one is by Miele and featured some pretty impressive technology. Made me realise how old school my kitchen is, but I love it just the same :)
Immense hanging tent!
I really adored the originality of this buckle table by Halo
I love the movement and elegance of this design.
Fascinating zero bills house. Food for thought indeed.
Fab way of displaying record covers by Art Vinal
Reborn paint. Totally natural paint.
I would love this office. Very, very me.
Not sure about the decor but I love the idea of a covered round table for dining al fresco with friends.
This room was designed with originality as the theme. I just love mixing and matching old and new and finding interesting peoples that appeal to your personality.
What about you? See anything that you fancy for your dream home?
About Ekornes
Ekornes ASA is the largest furniture manufacturer in the Nordic region, owning such brand names as Ekornes, Stressless and Svane. The company’s vision is to be one of the world’s most attractive ergonomically designed suppliers of furniture for the home. Through their brand Stressless, they have one of the most famous furniture brands on the planet, while Ekornes and Svane are household names on the Norwegian market. The business concept of the organisation is to provide products that appeal to a broad audience in terms of both price and design; as well as manufacturing furniture that offers both excellence when it comes to comfort and functionality.
Stressless
The Stressless recliner was introduced by Ekornes in 1971, developed to provide the body with the ultimate in comfort and support while sitting upright or reclined. This philosophy of offering comfort has been a commitment for decades and is a vital part of the pursuit of perfecting the ultimate seating comfort in the current range of recliners and sofas.
A home is so important. It’s the place you spend most of your time, where you create memories. As an extremely visual/aesthetic person it’s only natural that when I am surrounded by beauty I feel happier (I guess this is the same for most of us). For me living in a beautiful home, in beautiful surroundings is one of the key things in life that makes me happy. As a creative, I also need it to be an inspiring place. The house we live in now is small and perfectly formed, just right for me and Littlelish. We have a country cottage kitchen and a lovely garden, both of which we spend most of our time in.
Although it is perfect for where we are right now, I dream about the future (because you’ve always got to dream haven’t you?), about where we will be living a few years down the line. I just love property and interior design and one of my favourite things to do is check out lush properties I may consider living in if I were a millionaire ;) It can’t just be me that does this right?
I have an absolute obsession with Georgian houses, they are by far my favourite. It’s something about the elegance and symmetry, they always seem so gracious and light.
So my dream house today is this little beauty on the market with Savills based up in East Lothian (Innerwick). I know I know I’m not really going to be up-footing it all the way to Scotland but this is a dream right?
Mansewood is a stunning, secluded, B Listed Georgian property which dates from 1726 with later additions in 1830. The magnificent Palladian front elevation has a central Doric portico and classic fanlight over the front door.
I’m sold! How about you?
The house looks like a lovely family property with 5 bedroom, 3 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms & shower room, plenty big enough for us! As would be expected in any period house it has a host of gorgeous period features like flagstone flooring, log burning stoves, open fires, a free standing roll top bath and a double Belfast sink (I have a Belfast sink in my house at the moment and I LOVE it!) An absolutely stunning sweeping stone staircase takes you upstairs. Oh my goodness just imagine the photographs I could take in this house, swoon!
Most importantly for me the house is light. I love houses flooded with light! It has high ceilings, amazingly large windows and I just love how the walls have been left very neutral and light, a perfect backdrop for gorgeous furniture and art. It also lets the beauty of the building really speak for itself i think :)
The modern and new have also been merged well in the house as it has a lovely contemporary kitchen, again with those luscious windows and a cool zinc roofed extension which I think works well.
The house also comes with an annexe, Dad that could be for you? And did I mention it has a walled garden (Oh I just love the magic of a walled garden), a productive kitchen garden AND fruit trees including plum and apple?
Yes this is most certainly my dream home! Anyone got a spare £620,000 for me?
A couple of weeks ago I declared my love for stationery and a certain online stationery boutique, inkThistle. The owner Debbie was so thrilled with the post that she sent me some gifts to giveaway to one lucky reader!!
I’ve a beautiful set of Orla Kiely stationery including a pocket sized A6 lined notebook, a beautiful set of 6 pencils and a handy expander file (as shown on the images).
Orla Kiely is an Irish fashion designer based in London. Her designs are iconic the world over after the creative world of Orla Kiely was founded in 1995. Created to express visually her love of pattern, colour, texture and rhythm, which as components of her designs all play and work together. Her instinctive graphic discipline to simplify and stylise everyday motifs and forms adds another dimension. With clean orderly repeat patterns and a boldness of scale, her work achieves a modern quality, blended with her nostalgia for all things mid-20th century. 
To enter the competition simply follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below! Good luck (and I’m slightly jealous of you, I want them!) x
Image: www.winster.org
Littlelish and I moved into our new house just over a month ago. It’s lovely. I knew the first time I viewed it that this was going to be a place I would be happy in, which was important to me. Sure it might not be the most practical of places, it’s a 200 year old stone cottage, it’s cold, has oil central heating and tiled floors. But hey it’s nothing the woodburner and a pair of slippers can’t fix :)
I was right, it is definitely a happy place, I knew the charm of stone walls, beams, woodburner and a country kitchen would do it for me…. and they most certainly do. Even when my Littlelish goes off to see her daddy I don’t feel alone, this house is my company. It lives and breathes and has a sweet soul about it. It’s tiny but that makes me feel safe. Its pretty much 2 up, 2 down and I call it my hobbit house, even I bang my head on the door frames and I’m only 5’7!
Space is definitely something we struggle with though so I’m on a mission to find practical storage solutions for every room. Despite being a Capricorn I don’t really do massively practical at home, or maybe I do and I’m doing myself a disservice?… I do try!
The main issue at the moment is toy storage! Why are toys so bloody messy? And why are they either tiny and fiddly (I find little moshi monsters or Sylvanian family bottles in every corner of my house) or large and weirdly shapen = impossible to put away? I need some serious help with toy storage!!
In search of some affordable, sturdy options for toy storage I visited Littlewoods who have some fantastic options available and guess what they have a sale on! Hallelujah. These are my favourite options for tidying up those messy toys.
While I was online I also had a little nosy around the other things available at Littlewoods. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of cool stuff for the house. Did you know they stock Graham and Brown, Julien MacDonald and designs by Laurence LB? There is some seriously lush bits to be found…
I had a little play with a moodboard for restyling Littlelish’s room. What do you think? I’ve always like to keep children’s rooms beautiful and stylish as well as child friendly. I just love this butterfly wallpaper and the white/multicoloured theme, food for thought indeed :)
Anyone who knows me well will know of my love of stationary is endless. Paperchase is literally my idea of heaven. But where do you go when you want something a bit different, a bit unique and a lot beautiful? I’ve discovered a new online stationary boutique on my travels and I have fallen in love! inkThistle is a British website created by a lady called Debbie who also has a self confessed lifelong passion for stationary, notebooks and all things officey. She realised her dream to have her own stationary boutique and inkThistle was born!
Debbie sells a range of notebooks, journals, accessories and home office filing solutions many of which are made using traditional paper, printing, book binding and leather making methods! Stocking classic Moleskine, Paperblanks and LEUCHTTURM1917 products as well as the more quirky, original Paperways, Katy & June and Bomo art, there is most definitely something to suit every personality and function.
I love everything on the site and would quite probably want to own it all ;) but I’ve style spotted my absolute favourite item, this amazing iPad cover from magpie! (Now I just need to purchase an iPad haha!)
This was my favourite but why not pop over and check out inkThistle for yourself?
A selection of colourful, fun, springlike gifts for your lovely mum. All sourced from UK Etsy shops.
Treasury tool supported by the dog house
I don’t know about you, but I love having guests to visit, whether it’s a grand affair celebrating a special occasion, or just a cosy night in with friends. There’s one thing I’ve noticed in recent years, though, and that’s that some interiors are far better suited to entertaining than others.
However, I’ve also discovered there are some simple pieces of furniture and other accessories you can invest in that’ll transform virtually any space into a lovely place for entertaining. It’s all about little tricks with lighting, how you lay out your furniture and how relaxed you make your guests feel.
Image source: notonthehighstreet.com
1) Fairy lights
I thought I’d start with something small and simple. Now, fairy lights may be typically associated with Christmas, but they can actually be very effective for use in the evening at any time of year. For example, if you are having a few friends over for wine and a catch-up, a few fairy lights can help create a lovely cosy atmosphere. They can also be great for adding a little extra sparkle to birthdays and anniversaries.
Image source: moroccanbazaar.co.uk
2) Moroccan lamps
If you have something more sophisticated in mind, though, I recommend buying a Moroccan-style floor lamp. I think these are absolutely perfect for creating a really sociable ambience; I often find ultra-modern looking lights seem to lack atmosphere, so something more decorative is perfect for me.
Moroccan lamps usually come in iron, brass or copper and are really ornate, so they’re fantastic if you’re looking for something a little unusual. If you’re planning quite a casual gathering, the lamps that sit directly on the floor are perfect. You can also get more traditional-style lamps on stands, however, which could be better when you have a lot of people visiting, since they are less likely to be knocked over.
Image source: Jonathan Adler
3) Throws
As you have probably noticed, I consider creating a relaxed atmosphere to be one of the most important parts of making your home party-friendly. I think throws are fantastic accessories for this – especially if you pick out something ultra-soft in bold colours.
Not only do these make your furniture even more comfortable than normal, but they can also help to protect it in the event of little spills – there always seem to be some at a party! If you can, invest in several that coordinate with one other. This will to make sure the overall look is coherent rather than chaotic.
Image source: The nomadic sun
4) Folding screens
Another fantastic accessory, a folding screen can be used in all sorts of ways. Firstly, if you are planning to entertain just a few people in quite a large room, a pretty partition like this is a wonderfully simple way to make the space more compact and cosy.
Secondly, it can also be a good means of organising your party. For instance, if you want to lay out a table of nibbles in advance, but would rather unveil them later in the evening, you can tuck them behind a screen like this, folding it away when it is time to eat.
Image source: sunset.com
5) Unusual plants
My final tip is using flowers and other plants to create different looks. If you’re entertaining in the summer, for instance, you can fill the room with all kinds of fresh flowers.
This might not seem so appropriate – or easy! – when winter arrives, but I think this gives you an excellent opportunity to be more creative. Twisted willow looks particularly striking, and you can easily decorate it with all sorts of things, from little lights to miniature paper lanterns or jewelled baubles.
What’s the old adage? Trends come and go but style remains forever. Whatever your taste is; classic, glam, country chic, I believe the most important thing when it comes to style is that it reflects who you are. Your style, what ever it may be, is unique to you, a reflection of your personality more »
What’s the old adage? Trends come and go but style remains forever. Whatever your taste is; classic, glam, country chic, I believe the most important thing when it comes to style is that it reflects who you are. Your style, what ever it may be, is unique to you, a reflection of your personality and your soul. That’s why I think it is so important to surrounded yourself in your home by things you love and things that inspire you…
After recently being interviewed for a magazine about my interior style I’ve been thinking about just how to sum up my taste, it’s difficult really as just like a personality it has many facets. I’d probably use the following adjectives; natural, unusual, charming, rustic, antique, design, solid. I particularly like wood, a feeling of warmth, soft knitted fabrics, a real variety of textures and soft, light colour palette with the occasional zing of colour – I love colour! Everything that appears in my home has a meaning to me, a sentiment, a memory of a far off place visited or a personal connection.
I love finding ways to personalise your own interior space and recently I stumbled across ohpopsi.com a great website where you can create your own unique feature wallpaper by uploading your own image. I love it. The possibilities are endless, you could use a gorgeous photograph of a special place or if like me you are creative you could create an original artwork, scan it in, give it a little work on illustrator and turn it into your own wallpaper. If you aren’t feeling so inspired then let ohpopsi inspire you with 1000′s of images to suit every taste and style. They can even source or create an image especially for you if you put in a request. So clever! Here are some fab examples I found…
I’d love this shabby brick wallpaper. I always love these rough looking type of walls but can imagine living with a real one would not be ideal – perfect solution!
This night sky wallpaper could make an amazing, atmospheric backdrop to a children’s bedroom
What an amazing, eye catching feature wall this would make! I love it!
I’m a freelancer in creative marketing with a background in design and styling but when I'm not working I'm doing the most important job in the world, being mummy to my beautiful little girl! I love to create and craft and have a passion for colour and beautiful detail. This blog is all about my life, my amazing daughter, my inspirations and creations!
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