An interiors post - upcycling a dresser from the kitchen, to the living room...

I thought that it would be nice to share some pictures of a piece of furniture that we have recently up-cycled, taking it from a kitchen unit to a smarter piece for the living room.

This is how it started out its life, about 13 years ago now. It first lived in the kitchen of our last house (it was based on a John Lewis of Hungerford design and copied for us by a local carpenter). It was then used in the playroom  in our current house to store the children's games and my work files. For a while the doors lived in the shed whilst I went for the "open plan" look. But then they came back again - slightly worse for wear! After the recent works on the house, the furniture was returned from storage and the unit was put in the living room whilst it awaited its Cinderella moment.

As part of the re-modelling the downstairs of the house, I took a look to see what could be done with this piece.  It wasn't cheap to have made and I'm not a fan of chucking things out unnecessarily but it really did need a new lease of life.

So a local carpenter took the top and bottom apart, removed the doors then he sanded and painted it in Moles Breath by Farrow & Ball.*

The four wooden panels in the top doors were taken out and replaced by glass,which I had cut to size. Then the hinges and handles were replaced and the inside of top unit was papered in this Shanghai Garden wallpaper in Fuchsia - a Designer's Guild paper from John Lewis which had a lovely metallic background.

It all sounds so easy doesn't it? But it took 5 days for the work to be completed. It was no mean feat for the carpenter to overhaul this big piece of furniture but I really love it now. It has two shelves to go in it and then it will be used to display photographs and glassware. For something similar, try this bookcase from Ikea (£275). It looks great as it is, or it would be easy enough to paper the inside back of the cabinet before assembling it and change the handles, to give it a twist of your own.

*I bought the water based eggshell from Farrow & Ball which was specifically designed for woodwork. However our carpenter used it as an undercoat only on the basis that being water based, it could just be wiped off.  For the top coat, he sent me packing to a Dulux trade paint centre where they mixed an oil based eggshell which is much harder wearing. Apparently only a few places will mix an oil based paint now as it clogs up their paint mixing machines - but the trade centres will do it. So I hope that's helpful and not just a load of useless waffle!

A Quick OOTD and some New Look sandals - my new favourite purchase of the summer

Shirt: John Lewis weekend (last summer); shorts: Gap, Belt: Boden (previous seasons); Shoes: Aldo (previous seasons); Basket: Guernsey Boutique (similar here)

Stars, hearts, neon, flouro, metallics, stripes, sequins, flamingos, palm trees, smiley faces and pom poms - I am a sucker for them all. Stick them on an item of clothing, preferably all at the same time, and I'm there like a shot.

So tapping into merely the stars, hearts, metallics, sequins and the tiniest bit of flouro means that there's a lot left for another day. Note to self: Must try harder.

Before I go, I wanted to share with you these pink leather beaded lace up sandals from New Look (currently available sizes 4 to 8) which I bought today for £11. I've been on the hunt for some "proper" summer sandals for a while. It started with some pom pom ones that I saw at Matches. Unsurprisingly it finished there too. New Look had a less expensive version but they had sold out and having looked a few times I'd decided that it was going to be a project for next year.

But then I spotted these and the deal was done. I've worn them around the house this afternoon and they are really comfortable, plus the ties don't come undone - which is always an added bonus. I painted my toenails especially to take a photo of me wearing them, then trashed my handi-work, tried again, trashed it again and gave up as I had to go and make a lasagna for dinner. To be honest I think that the family appreciated that more anyway.

An Interiors Post - Creating a compact study area

Before we had the work done on our house, I didn't have a space of my own for working or blogging. I would move from the kitchen table to the kitchen island and back again, leaving leads trailing and people flailing as they tripped over them.

So, when the chance came for me to think about what we wanted from our new space, it was important to carve out a work corner. It didn't need to be big but as it's not hidden from view, it needed to be tidy. (The rest of my files and paraphernalia are currently in cardboard boxes but they will be stored in a cupboard that has yet to be built.)

As to the furniture, I looked at lots of desks and finally chose this John Lewis gravity desk in walnut (£250). The design really appealed to me. I didn't want anything too "officey" looking and it was just really different - plus it wasn't extortionate. The shelves are, as you might predict, the high gloss lack shelves from Ikea.

I love listening to the Radio and my husband bought me this Roberts Revival Mini Radio from John Lewis for a recent birthday.

The tall vases are handmade by Susan Nemeth and I've probably had them for ten or so years now. I love ceramics and particularly the colours that Susan uses. The squarer shaped vase is by Jessie Higginson. I carried around a postcard with her work on it for a very long time and then a few years later some of her vases appeared in a local shop and my husband bought this one for me as a present. That was about 16 years ago now and I love it now just as much as I did then. The vases used to be in our living room but the colours seem to work well with the colour of the wall, so they're living here for a while now instead.

And I know that this sounds a bit up my own bum but as everything is on display on the desk, it needed to be pleasing on the eye whilst also functional. I had some John Lewis vouchers saved from Christmas and so I treated myself (and it was a treat, to the point that I had slight palpitations) to this Kate Spade stapler, tape dispenser and letter tray whilst my husband bought me the Kate Spade tumblers so that I had something nice to drink out of when I was working. Bless him! The notebooks are from Home Bargains (the gold striped one) and the turquoise and white one is from Kate Spade at Selfridges, although it's no longer online.

The chair that I am using is one that we already had and it's the Macadam folding chair from Habitat. These chairs cost £10 and come in variety of colours. They are brilliant, really sturdy and comfortable plus fantastic for their price. I must admit to quite fancying the pale pink one too. To soften it up a little, I bought this faux fur cushion in silver stripe from John Lewis (£15). A review that I have just read says that it sheds fur over everything but I haven't noticed that to be the case. Although I could well be walking around with a furry bottom without knowing!

And this is my study area in context. Tucked away at the back of the room it is cosy and all mine (for now - wait until the A-level revision starts. I fear that I will be back on the kitchen table!)

An outfit for a fashion event....

I'm kind of wondering why I'm writing about this outfit, given that most of it no longer seems to be available in the stores, but it may be good as a "What to Wear" or quite possibly a "What not to wear" discussion that anyone may have going on with themselves.

So today was the event at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. To anyone who came along, thank you for doing so and I hope that you enjoyed it and that it gave some you some ideas and talking points. We had an official photographer there so hopefully I will have some shots to share in a few weeks. But for now, this is how it looked backstage when I was preparing everything and before it all started to get just a little bit crazy!

Shoes, shoes and more shoes! 

The nearest that I can find to the Whistles cropped wide trousers (or culottes) that I am wearing are these, also from Whistles. Another good option is Cos, who have similar here. I ordered mine on New Year's Eve and first wore them to the Hush press day. They are my "go to" outfit at the moment as I wore them at an event last week, and again today but I'm good with that as I need to get my money's worth, plus they're just a little different and (most importantly) they are so comfortable.

See that chair in the background? The Bobbi Brown concession from John Lewis brought it along as they did the models' make-up today. Not only that but we had Amy along, who is an International Make-Up Artist, (Bobbi's right hand woman no less) and she does the make-up for the models at LFW and NYFW. How she coped with the glamour of Edgbaston I have no idea. It must have been completely overwhelming for her.

The top that I am wearing is from Jigsaw and it's the winter version of this ivory cropped shell top, which is £89. I picked mine up just after Christmas for £23. It's a really great length for higher waisted pieces like these culottes, or a skirt. For anyone who likes it, I would be tempted to see whether it comes back into stock in the A/W collection - and then wait for the sale.

My shoes are from Karen Millen, again in the sale just after Christmas, reduced from £140 to £40. Lots of people have asked about these shoes so I'm going to have to hunt around to see if I can find similar and do a post on them. They may be in Bicester (I've checked the outlet section on the KM site and they're not there).

My necklace is from Hannah Walker jewellery. I'm hoping to write about Hannah soon as we've worked together before and her jewellery is beautiful. And my bangle is from Livto which is a favourite local brand of mine.

And I thought that I would just share a quick snap of my hair which Craig, the fabulous hairdresser from & Beauty in John Lewis Birmingham, created in about 2 mins by whizzing the straighteners through it and then doing something flicky at the ends. I still think of my hair as really short but obviously it can't be and it was lovely to have a change. I felt very glam and I'm going to go and have a master class with him so that he can show me what else I can do with it - other than relying on it drying whilst I'm eating my breakfast, or on the school run.

Until next time, I hope that you all have a fabulous week. Beth x

Ladies' Seasonal Style Lunchtime Event at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Wednesday 18th May

Ladies, I have another date for your diary!  It would be wonderful if you could join me at lunchtime on Wednesday 18th May at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, together with a host of lovely models and local businesses who will be showcasing their talents. The Gardens make a spectacular setting for the event and it also holds a special place in the hearts of so many of us. 

This is the second year that the event has been run and it promises to be just as much fun as last year. I am styling and presenting the event, with the clothes being provided by John Lewis. We will also have an International Make-Up Artist along from Bobbi Brown to do the models' make -up and to offer those much sought after hints and tips.  

All of the details are below so please do take a look and if you would like to book tickets, they are available via the Botanical Gardens website I really look forward to seeing some of you there. Beth x

Renovations update....

So I know it's been a while but I thought that I would give you all a bit of a renovations update. Sorry for those who aren't remotely interested in these things but if you're anything like me - a fan of Grand Designs, or Ugly House to Lovely House, then you might just like to take a peek.

This is how the house looked before we started...

It's looking rather naked at the moment - but I'm not sure that it suits it!

It's fair to say that the back of the house is pretty much ripped to pieces. Although thinking about it the front isn't much better, what with the portaloo and skip on the drive. The portaloo is a very nice shade of turquoise though.



The gap on the left is the back of the kitchen, the gap on the right was a playroom/study but they have been knocked through.




The steels have gone in and it's also possible to see the perimeter of the new room. The roof will be going on this week. Yippeee.

This is from the back of the right hand gap, looking out.
 

And this is looking through now that the adjoining wall has been knocked down. The floors have also been levelled and the concrete has now been poured, ready for the under floor heating.

A view from above...

And one of the best bits of all? Let me introduce you to the new utility room. Doesn't it look amazing? Well no of course it doesn't but hopefully it will do in a few weeks. The false wall at the end of it is the back of the kitchen where it's been partitioned off. I can't wait for it to come down. At the moment I can't quite imagine how it will be when it's all opened up. 




And this is the wallpaper that I've chosen to go in the utility room behind a glass splash back. I don't know why but I've just fallen in love with it...




Nordic houses wallpaper from John Lewis (£19). I mean, it's not as though there are 101 big decisions to be made so what do I do? Go and choose some wallpaper. Nice one.

Blues to lift the blues...

There's a certain blue that gets me every time. I just love it. Aegean blue conjures up images of beautiful sandy beaches and a crystal clear, deep, sea. Anything that reminds me of this image and I'm there. It's the reason that I watch Home & Away - honestly. The shots of the beach make me feel warm and happy when it's cold and raining outside. Given that the beach doesn't feature in Neighbours however, I'm not quite sure what my excuse is. The swimming pools maybe?

I think that it's fair to say that this particular shade of blue may feature in the colour scheme for our new room in the not too distant future. We are going to need three really big light fittings and I love this Kartell fly ceiling light from John Lewis (£171). I've looked around for a cheaper alternative but I haven't managed to find one so far, although Very had one a few seasons ago. So if you do happen to know of one, please feel free to whizz the details my way.

Price aside, I'm not sure whether this light will actually come off or not - the reviews aren't brilliant in that many of them seem to arrive scratched and we will need to check what kind of glow the lights give off when they're actually on. Blue maybe? I'm slightly concerned that we might look like the local cop shop and apparently they collect dust like a bugger which is a shame because they will be too high to reach to dust. But anyway it's a start - even if it's a slightly inauspicious one!

I've seen this rug many times in our local store and I still love it - although I have slight reservations about the orange dots and how they might fight with other colours in the room. It's the blue Tash rug from Habitat (£375). We've had two Habitat rugs for 17 years now and they have worn fantastically well, weathering everything that family life has to throw at them - so perhaps this would be a good buy if I can make it work.

And finally, there's the Dixie sofa by Loaf (£1395). All of Loaf's sofas and chairs can be made in this fabric (I say "all" but there's bound to be an exception somewhere along the way.) Much as I love this colour though and much as I've always loved it, I would be slightly more nervous about committing to a large piece of furniture in this colour, just in case I changed my mind. Not that I'm fickle or anything.

With a colour scheme of Scandi neutrals such as pale greys and creams, I think that this colour will add some real depth, plus interest, to the room. I've yet to persuade Mr SG as to my accent colour though. He's just not feeling the love for Turmeric. I can't imagine why not!

Dimple footstool from Loaf (£445) in turmeric.

Pineapples for interiors

Interior trends often reflect fashion trends and vice versa, which means that not only can we find pineapples on necklaces, t-shirts and Valentine's Day cards but also in our homes - and not just in our fruit bowls either.

As I've mentioned before, fingers crossed we will shortly be having our house knocked around which should result in a big open space for eating, socialising, working and playing pool or table tennis. Whilst I can't quite envisage the space, and whilst I'm not yet sure which larger pieces of furniture we will need, other than a new dining table, I'm quite excited about the bits and bobs and finishing touches. I guess that this is slightly the wrong way round but I always think that if you love something, you will find the perfect home for it.

For my last birthday and for Christmas, I asked for gift cards which I have been squirrelling away in anticipation of those things which catch my eye - of which there seem to be many. And something "pineappley" is near the top of my list.  

I came across this Laura Ashley pineapple lamp (£96 was £120) today and immediately fell in love with it. I've made huge amounts of progress with Mr SG this weekend and he can now talk about the work on the house for about 10 minutes before needing to go and lie in a darkened room. Or reaching for the bottle, which is followed by a lie down in a darkened room. I actually managed to get him into Laura Ashley with me today and he liked this lamp. So that was a good start. We had actually gone into Laura Ashley for a different interiors gem but I'll save that for another day.

 Graham & Green and has long been a favourite place of mine to browse interiors and this pineapple lamp base (£125) comes a very close second to the Laura Ashley lamp above. The reviews of it are really good and I love the choice of shade, although there are plenty of other options too.

For those who would prefer a glass option, M&S has this pineapple lamp for £49.50. Compared to the other two styles, this one is quite a chubby pineapple!

For anyone who would prefer a pineapple "object" as opposed to a lamp, John Lewis has this gold pineapple vase (£40) and in the picture below, you can see how fab it looks in a room setting. In fact I really like the whole of this look for a living room but I suspect that there are many rooms like this all over the country, given that John Lewis has marketed this look so heavily.

Oliver Bonas is a great shop for bits and bobs and they have these gorgeous pineapple spoons (£18) which could be displayed in a non-kitchen setting.  They also have gold pineapple salt and pepper pots in store but not online.

As with fashion, there's always the issue of how much money to commit to a piece that may only be a trend for a few seasons. On the other hand, if we love something, I don't think that any of us will stop loving it just because it's no longer "the" trend of the season.  So, what are we thinking about the Pineapple trend? Yeah or meh?



A room with a (much nicer) view now that I've been to John Lewis...

Sadly, last week Mr SG was poorly to such an extent that it was only fair that I let him have our room to himself. As an act of great selflessness and sacrifice* I took myself upstairs to the spare room, where I've hardly ever slept before and I have to say, I really loved it. It's really cosy with lovely sloping ceilings and you can hear the owl in the tree outside.

Up until now the room hasn't really had its own identity - varying as it has between the youngest's first bedroom and then a spare room/place to store things. But now? Well since my visit up there, which resulted in the hauling around of furniture followed by trips to the charity shop and today's visit to John Lewis - it is now part loft style, part Scandi spare room. Crikey, those germs caused Mr SG great expense in many ways.

*ie I didn't want his manky germs

The room is painted all white and apart from a striped Cath Kidston blind, that I'm happy to ignore for now, it was pretty much a blank canvas. I already had the table, the vase and the Roberts radio.

As I love to wear navy and grey, I figured that a room in those colours could work too and would be nice for a change. The yellow/citrine accent colour on the bedding was picked up in the lamp, vase, Mr Fox cushion and the picture.

The bedding and cushions...

The bed linen is Skyler Stripe in citrine. It also comes in a grey colour too which may be a good option for when this one is in the wash. The cushions are the Aztec patch cushion and the Scion Mr Fox cushion. On the bed is the plain lambswool throw in grey

Lighting...

The lamp is the Penelope Task Lamp in Quince.

Artwork...

I really fell in love with the Central Park Picture as I wandered through the store. It really reminded me of my trip to New York with Flo in the summer. So into the basket it went.

And now on to storage....

Storage was a bit of an issue too but I wasn't sure how it was going to all work out, so I bought this knitted basket in grey which I will use for towels for the spare room (for now at least). 

We have a couple of these Habitat storage units from about 1999 - as I suspect many others do too. It can be quite hard to find baskets and storage to go in the cubby holes. We have lots of things that the children have brought home from school that I can't bear to part with but which don't really need to be on display, plus photo albums which just needed streamlining.

 .

So this is what I bought to fit... 

A set of three different sized felt storage baskets (below - this is the largest one) and a grey felt storage box (above). The knitted basket also fits though, just in case anyone is interested. 

The fire engine on top of the unit was made by my Grandad and Great Uncle just after the second world war, when toys were scarce. My Dad and his brother played with it as children and although it's a little worn, everything on it still works from the ladder to the bell. It doesn't go with the scheme but it's not going anywhere!

Right, so does anyone want to come and stay? 

Not quite 50 shades of grey...but there are definitely a few!

 "Click." That was the sound of the heating being clicked on to constant as Mr SG left the house for the day for his annual conference. The house is totally toasty now!

Today I took the youngest on her first shopping trip. Generally either I have chosen her clothes for her, or she's worn her sister's hand me downs but now that she has reached the grand old age of 6 (nearly 7) she liked the idea of choosing a few bits of her own.

She was so excited and I know that she loves it when I wear a skirt or dress so I wore this Whistles skirt from last year, with a Topshop jumper, flat Whistles shoes and a Reiss leather jacket that I bought in the sales at the end of the summer. It's the first time that I have worn it and it felt really lovely. I've always loved Reiss leather jackets and as my Oasis one was looking shabby it needed replacing but at about £450 a shot I didn't think that it would ever happen. And then, right at the end of the sale I came across this one for about £180 - not an insignificant amount I realise but I knew that it was now or never, so I took the plunge.

 

We did a one stop trip to M&S which came up trumps with some lovely pieces in the sale. The Autograph range was great and it's definitely worth a look, with some really pretty, age appropriate clothes. I loved this Autograph floral skirt (£16 to £18) - it's very Ted Baker - but I kept quiet and we came home with a skirt with cats on instead.

And this Autograph organza skirt (£12 to £13) is so ethereal...

I have just come across the silver Autograph boots (£40) online. They go up to a size 6, for anyone tempted with some silver Chelsea boots.

Next we went to Clarks for some shoes, where we were told that they didn't actually make any shoes in the size that our daughter had been measured as needing (12D), which kind of threw me, but would we like some wellies or slippers that we didn't actually go in for and which wouldn't have really fitted her anyway but which we might need because it was getting colder. Eh? That would be a no then.

This was one of our other projects for the day. Replacing the covers on the left hand chair with the new sausage dog oil cloth print which is available at John Lewis. You cannot imagine how much fun, and how satisfying it is, using a staple gun. It's much better than trying to build a gingerbread house. I shall be changing my name Linda Barker.

Outfit inspiration - Dusty pinks, blackberry and taupe colours

I really like seeing a casual outfit with colours from a  palette of navy, dark purple, dusty pink and taupe. In theory it shouldn't work but it does, especially if one of the colours is picked up twice in the outfit and also if the colours are pulled together in a scarf. That way the outfit looks intentional and deliberate, rather than a random selection of pieces.

I often find that women are slightly nervous of wearing colours that don't "go" which is a shame as it can make a wardrobe more limiting than it need be. I'm a big fan of mixing things up a little, wearing things with confidence and bringing everything together with a scarf. I also think that people are generally too wrapped up in themselves to really notice what others are wearing and if they had the time to tell someone else that their outfit didn't "go" - well, clearly they have too much time on their hands.

For one of the outfits at last week's event in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, I started with this Jigsaw dusty rose boat neck jumper John Lewis (£89)....

....then I added these Jigsaw bi-stretch jeans, available from John Lewis in navy and from the store in black currant (£110). These are a great jean style trouser and a style which Jigsaw repeats season after season. The bi-stretch makes them really comfortable and they have 5% elastane, for extra stretch.

The Mint Velvet waxed parka in dark blue from John Lewis (£169) added a practical touch to the outfit in terms of warmth and also because of the waxed finish. The draw string also nipped the coat in at the waist to give it some shape.

The size of the Modalu Pippa large handbag in dusk (£225) from John Lewis made it casual enough to wear with this outfit. Any smaller and it would have looked a little too work like. The colour picked up the colour in the Jigsaw jumper.

The Seven Boot Lane Abella in black (£175) worked well with the length of the jean. We left the jeans slightly scrunched up on the top of the boot for a more casual "undone" look, rather than tucking them in too neatly.

The outfit was accessorised using three different length necklaces from Helena Moss Designs. Layering smaller pieces together is a nice way to give smaller pieces more impact. Helena takes inspiration for her work from nature and here she has used fir cones and cardamom pods to create her pieces. Helena can be contacted about her designs at helenamossdesigns.co.uk

Finally I worked in the Whistles camouflage scarf, which again has the taupe colour in it. It seems to have been really popular this season, being sold out at John Lewis and Whistles - but you get the idea.