Home Office Inspiration

My bedroom is also doubles up as my home office at the moment, cramped is an understatement but it was supposed to be a temporary thing.   The room was originally a guest bedroom containing my desk and filing cabinets on one side of the room and a pullout couch-bed on the other, but with the revamping of the house the couch-bed was put into storage and our double bed squeezed in!

When the bedroom upstairs is finished I will be reinstating my guest bedroom/home office and have been looking at how to make some much needed changes.  As I work from home it needs to be functional and comfortable but I'd like to inject a bit more style into what is, at present, a very plain room.

These are some aspirational work spaces that I will be looking at for inspiration to simplify and tidy my work desk and address some much needed storage solutions.

via Likealady

Style Motivation

via Pinterest

Houzz

Beautiful Homes & Designs

and for the little girl in my life, how sweet is this desk set up.

Fatinhaestrela


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Silent Sunday

Sea-side Colour Inspiration

In the new bedroom I am hankering after pale colours that will bounce light around the room but realise that even with darker colours my south facing bedroom will get an amazing amount of light due to the uninterrupted skyline!

I love pastel colours, I find them restful and calming, blues and aqua's are reminiscent of a summer's day, blue skies and an aqua sea. I was going to go for a shade white and still may well do and accent with colour, but with the decorator starting in early February, it is time to get my decorating skates on and pop over to B&Q to collect colour charts and take a long overdue visit to Farrow and Ball to check out their collection too.

This mood board is my dream colour inspiration, colours to wake up happy to see every morning no matter the weather outside!





Linking up with Chic on a Shoestring 

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Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Welcome to 2014

Now the festivities are over again for another year and it's time to take a look at my very long to-do list. I haven't made resolutions as such, I've made myself promises and a schedule of what I am trying to achieve personally and within the home.  

It's.a.big.list!

I've printed out a calendar for January and filled it with appointments, projects, plans and aspirations. A lot of it will be done within the 3 afternoons Miss CCL attends nursery and after she's asleep at night as I only have 9 more months before she starts school and although I may have more time to deal with life then, I will have a lot less time with her and we know how precious that time is and how fast it goes.

And with a view to simplifying things at our house I leave you with this thought for the New Year.

image courtesy of Pinterest

Silent Sunday

 

 

5 Christmas Inspired Candles

I adore candles at any time of year  but at Christmas they always have a special place.  My usual vanilla and lavender make way for the earthy, spicy aromas that are just deliciously wafting around the house!

Clockwise from Left:  Christmas Spice Lily Flame  -  Diptyque Tuberose  -  Autumn Scented Candle  -  Kenneth Turner Winter Berries  -  Red Apple Wreath Yankee Candle 

Silent Sunday

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Silent Sunday

 

 

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Secret Santas - 6 Gifts under £5!

Every year I get asked to join in with several Secret Santa's so always on the lookout for inexpensive but quality products at this time of year. The usual limit is £5.00 which as you can imagine gets more challenging each year!

Here is a selection of £5.00 and under buys that would make lovely inexpensive gifts.

Links removed, items no longer available.

Front Door Renovation

Our poor old front door was always getting pushed back to the end of the queue in the house renovation stakes, but when the elements bashed it so much the inside porch area became flooded each time it rained it was time to take serious action before the winter set in.

The front door used to be set back into the porch area but we decided to have the front door at the front and remove the old storm doors.  This meant that there was large step up into the house so this new front door now opens outwards and some adjustments will be made to the inside "porch" area.

I'd seen a couple of modern, solid wood front doors around the area and decided to knock on a couple of them to ask where they had purchased theirs, then went straight to the source at North Road Timber & Joinery to have a look at their extensive range of doors.

These doors are custom-made for your house so can take a few weeks to prepare but well worth the wait.  Our door has had several coats of yacht varnish applied too to ward off the sea salt laden air.

The result is a fabulous new solid wood front door expertly fitted.  No more gale force draughts, no more paddling pool in the porch area!

Next stop, filling, finishing and house painting.

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Christmas Garland Inspiration

Christmas Garlands or wreaths are a festive way to bring the season's cheer to a front door, building or  indoors over a fireplace.  This is just a very small selection out there.

 1|   2|   3|   4|   5|

and for something a little different, how about this Sprout themed Garland.

from {not on the high street}

and finally this amazing Christmas Garland spied on a house in the town.  It is up high on a first floor balcony, stunning!

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Silent Sunday

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Advent Calendars - Links I Love

As a child my mum would hand make my Advent calendars.  She was very inventive and I remember them all with fondness.  My favourite was 24 small boxes, handpainted and numbered then stuck to a Christmas tree shape with red ribbons.  Not unlike this one but with ribbons!  In each box was a chocolate or small gift, I remember being so excited each day to open a new box!  

{source:  Wooden Nordic Advent Tree Calendar}

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A few more favourites:

A grown-up version!

{image source: LOFT Kids}

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Love that this ladder Advent Calendar can be part of the decor

(minus the candles here though!)

{image from livingathome.de}

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We love this hand-made felt stocking garland,

 ideal for younger children

{source:  Laura Windebank }

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and not forgetting the doggie in your life, each day snip off a doggie bone,

then on Christmas Day the whole tree can be eaten!  

(by the dog of course)

{source:  Reg & Ruby Rawhide Dog Advent Calendar}

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and finally, how fab is this Angel inspired Advent calendar.

Love it!

{image source: Lisbeth}

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Silent Sunday

Cot Bed to Child Bed

It is way overdue for the little girl to transition from her well-loved cot bed to a child's bed.  I've been teaching her to stay in her bed until morning and she does mostly but with a new bed the temptation to stray may prove too appealing!

1 |  2 |  3 |  4 |

My choice would be No. 1, it's not unlike her current cot bed but with lower/no sides, but I think given the choice she would run to the Peppa Bed!

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I'm off to Mumsnet BlogFest!

I'm off on a very early train back home to London tomorrow, of course there are rail works this weekend but nothing can spoil my excitement at going to my first real blogging event!

The Mumsnet BlogFest programme looks very impressive and I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing from some seasoned bloggers plus a few celebrity guests.

The sponsors that will be there are Coca-Cola, Mark Warner, Red & Yellow Care, Talk Talk and Honda who have some fantastic activities lined-up to keep us entertained. 

I have my train and event tickets, my notebook, pen and most importantly my camera!

Maybe see you there?

Today...

Two things guaranteed to cheer me up and make me smile.

First today was a beautiful day here, look ...

I was lucky enough to spend the whole day out with Miss CCL, capturing every moment, making memories before the time comes when school beckons next September ...

It doesn't matter that tomorrow it will be blowing a gale or raining, this is today ...

and the other ... a simple bunch of flowers, I love flowers, I photograph any I see, I find them utterly beautiful and so intricate.

Hope you had sunny day too.

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Silent Sunday