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!)

Renovations update!

It's a while since I've done an update as to the work that we're having done. The project should be nearing completion but we're a little way off yet. But you know, we're doing well. So far I've bought four light fittings and a coffee table so all is good. Anyway, here are a few shots...

This was the back of the house before the work started...

A couple of days after the work started, the conservatory with its leaky roof and rotting frames had gone...

It's hard to explain how it all fits together but this was the inside of the conservatory before its destruction.

The room behind the windows to the right in the above shot, and the left in the shot below, has been knocked into the new space, with the original space being extended but only about 1.5m.

And this is an idea of the space that we have ended up with. The roof is much higher and pitched, rather than sloping, which gives an amazing feeling of space. This is the main living area but to the right there's also a utility room and behind this shot there's a dining area (see the shot below) and a storage area.

The doors and windows are due to go in this week, which will make a huge difference as to how it feels. The floor tiles have started to go down too but to be fair they're pretty much the same colour as the current concrete floor.

And this is a shot facing away from the garden and back into the house. The plywood wall that you can see is the back of the kitchen. You cannot imagine how desperate/excited I am for that wall to come down as only then we will really be able to see how it fits together. And then I can start on the fun stuff - the paint colours, a new dining table and a few other bits and bobs.

 And this is the coffee table that I mentioned earlier. It's from Habitat and it's the rose gold hammered aluminium coffee table. It should have been £195 but I had a 20% discount with Living Etc, which was handy. There will be a lot of grey and white and clean lines - but lots of texture too - plus a bit of warmth from the rose gold seemed like a good idea

Our electrician has warned me that it takes about 55 weeks to put the lights together that we've chosen. Think that I had better get cracking...

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.

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? 

Good stuff is all well and good but sometimes old favourites are where it's at!

 

Many of you will remember this Boden tunic from years gone by. I've had it for longer than I can remember but I still like it and it comes with me whenever I go anywhere that's vaguely warm.

Although (as you may have gathered) I love being warm, I'm not a sun worshipper so it's nice to have something which keeps me covered up when it's really hot. As it's linen, it has a really nice feel to it, which also helps. Boden have re-released this best seller this year in several colour ways and it costs £69. There are 128 reviews so people obviously have something to say about it but I must admit that I don't know which side of the fence they have come down on!

My £7 ASDA hat from the menswear department has done me well but after a short swim in the pool, it's not quite what it was. There are plenty of similar ones around this year though in the likes of Zara and GAP. Sadly, Cath Kidston has had a year off from flip flops, which is a shame as I really like hers and the ones that I am wearing are on their last legs. As for the Habitat bag, that's really old and also a bit tatty but I get very fond of things and don't like to part with them just because they have seen better days. I would hate to think of anything (or anyone) being traded in just because it/they are a little bit tired around the edges!!!

Having finally (it's only taken 7 years) got Mr SG to the sun, we've realised that with GCSEs approaching for one, followed by AS levels and then A-levels, it will be at least another 4 years before we can get away at May half term, by which time exams will have started for child number 2. I'm tempted to see if I can get someone to "adopt" the eldest for the next few years at this time of year so that the rest of us can go on holiday. Wouldn't it make a great subject for the Jeremy Kyle show?!

The bare necessities of life - a beach dress and new PJs!

 

There are definitely some things in my wardrobe which get updated less frequently than others, which is why when it came to thinking about what I might need for our trip away, a pool/beach dress was up there along with the more obvious items of shorts and t-shirts. With time short, this one from H&M did the job in terms of price (£7.99), plus I liked the print and the fact that it is slightly scooped down at the back.

I'm really sharing this little number with you more because it's cheap and cheerful and it will do a good job of taking you to the beach and back, rather than because it's super stylish. The good thing is that it won't matter if it gets covered in sun-tan lotion and salt water. I love the idea of some of the more expensive beautiful beachwear but I must admit that I really don't see the point. In all probability I would just leave something like that at home for fear of ruining it, which kind of defeats the object.

I decided that my pjs also needed a bit of an update. They are quite often another thing that also get neglected.  More a fan of shorts and a vest, I found the set on the left at M&S. The shorts on the right came from GAP and because I wasn't too fussed about the vests there, I bought the white one from H&M.

I still can't quite get over the terrible book that I read on the flight on the way out. And because it was so terrible I'm going to share it with you all. I had to go back and re-read bits just to check that it was as bad as I thought and to make sure that I hadn't missed something. But no! So here goes...

The book contained the clichéd mothers - one stay at home mum who grew her own veg and made her own clothes from old curtains, one full on career mum who loved her job and her child but felt more competent at work, one mum who worked part time, had a nanny and missed her kids and one single, unhappy mum, who was after a rich husband to support her extravagant lifestyle. Bad in so many ways! Not only that but there was talk of the unfriendly London mums with kids who were scheduled up to the hilt with activities. Anyway the husband of the main couple was being stalked by his children's nanny who was convinced that he would run off with her because he had told her how much he liked her lasagne and wait for it....her ironing! Anyone else had the pleasure of that particular book?!