…my dream home would be furnished with these items.
Vivienne Westwood Squiggles rug
Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck
Super Elliptical table by Fritz Hansen
Eames rocking chair and Liv tulle lamp by Jonas Bohlin;
All pictures from my Pintrest board My Dream Abode
Lately, a number of conversations with my husband have started with the words “when we do the kitchen extension..” Well, I say conversations but after about five minutes I can see his eyes glaze over as he tries to work out how long he has feign interest before returning to whatever he was doing. While we are both in agreement that we need to sort out our impractical kitchen and conservatory dining area (freezing cold in the winter and boiling hot in the summer – the children have been known to wear sunhats while eating breakfast!) we have decided to put the extension plans on hold for another year until our youngest starts school. For me this means that we have a full 14 months to really plan the perfect kitchen. My husband, on the other hand, does not share my enthusiasm for long term planning and has no doubt filed away the kitchen extension in the section of his mind that says “things to be discussed in a year’s time”.
So while I am waiting for September 2014 to come round I thought I’d share some of the inspirational pictures I have found so far. As it’s early days, the details of what we (read I) want are still sketchy but definitely gleaming white units and a large central island where we can all eat breakfast and the kids can sit and do their homework while I prepare dinner. And, of course, in my new white kitchen the surfaces will always be sparkling and free of clutter while I will be the sort of unfrazzled cook who never burns anything or panics when more than two pots are involved…
See more inspirational images on my Pintrest board ‘My Dream Kitchen’
Guess what I’m doing tonight?
It’s only a four letter word but the mere mention of it has been known to cause great divisions and extreme emotions in our household. I am of course talking about Ikea, that blue and yellow temple of Swedish practicality and self-assembly. The thought of going there fills me with excitement and anticipation while my husband approaches the trip to Croydon’s finest industrial estate with nothing but dread.
I love going through the catalogue and marking out the things I want to buy while he breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of battling the crowds and then having to spend several hours assembling all the furniture I’ve bought. I do sometimes try to help out but as I’m not remotely practical the best strategy is usually to stay out of his way unless it’s to offer a G&T or two.
In any case, with both boys away at Scouts camp this weekend and the grandparents kindly offering to look after the girl, a trip to the aforementioned store is planned for this Saturday. I have been busy drawing up a long list of everything I can think of, from a desk for our eldest, a new rug for the sitting room and bedside lamps to wine glasses, baking trays and picture frames. And let’s not forget the napkins and tea lights – no self-respecting Swede would venture into Ikea without stocking up on these.
Going off-list is strictly forbidden as my husband likes to plan the route around the store, pile everything into the trolley and get out as quickly as possible. Much to his chagrin, the children seem to have inherited my love of Ikea even if they’re more enticed by the meatballs and the play area than the actual shopping.
But this weekend it is just the two of us and the other 300 people who have decided that there’s no better way to spend a Saturday than at Ikea. I, for one, can’t wait. Hopefully we will still be on speaking terms come Sunday!
Top row (l-r): Neisha Crosland Pollen wallpaper, Neisha Crosland Merlin wallpaper, Christian Lacroix Air de Paris wallpaper. Middle row: curtains from John Lewis, lamp base and shade from Ikea. Bottom row: Grey cushions from Heal’s and white cushion from Day Home
When we moved into our house just over five years ago we immediately started ripping out carpets, sanding floorboards and painting all the rooms. Funnily enough, deep red carpets paired with lilac or mustard coloured walls weren’t exactly to our taste…
Since then we haven’t done very much to the house apart from adding a laundry room and renovating the bathroom (as we only have one bathroom for five of us it takes quite a beating). The neutral colour palette and stripped wooden floors combo that we have chosen is easy to live with and can easily be updated by changing the curtains, cushions or furnishings. Another reason for not making any major changes is that we are hopefully planning an extension in the not too far future, creating a big open plan kitchen/living area downstairs and converting the loft into a master bedroom with en-suite. However, this is still at least another year down the line and lately I’ve found myself looking at interior magazines and Pintrest boards rather wistfully, wishing that I could incorporate some of the ideas into my own home.
It just so happens that last year we had a leak in our roof which, although it was fixed before Christmas, damaged the ceiling and wall in our bedroom (if you look closely at the picture below you can see the stain on the ceiling in the left hand corner, and the water has also seeped into the wall and marked the wallpaper). Well if you ask me it’s the perfect excuse to redecorate the bedroom and change the look. I still like having a feature wall in there (it’s the only one in the house) as I think it softens the room a bit. The wallpaper we have at the moment is by Neisha Crosland and I really love her designs, including the two in the picture above. I think a grey and white colour scheme would be nice and calm, possibly with a bit of soft pink or lilac thrown in to add a feminine touch. Meanwhile, I’ll carry on surfing the net looking for more inspiration to pin to my boards. The great thing about Pintrest is that you can create your moodboards, chop and change as you like and keep them all in one place. If you want to follow me on Pintrest please click here.
I kicked off the weekend by having three of my girlfriends over for dinner on Friday night (my husband was at home but decided that it was safer to retreat into the living room rather than join in the girly gossip!). We started with some croustades filled with smoked salmon and a chicken and tarragon mixture, followed by Chilli Corn Carne and finished off with my lemon and white chocolate cake. They very kindly brought me some beautiful flowers that have brightened up the house no end. I also got to use my new placemats from Svenskt Tenn which I love but they make me feel a bit nostalgic as the design depicts a map of my hometown of Stockholm .
Feeling rather delicate on Saturday morning, I went for a long overdue haircut and colour and caught up on some celebrity gossip over a cappuccino . On a whim I asked the hairdresser to put some curls in my hair rather than the usual straight blow dry. I really liked it and have now booked in for another blow dry before one of the parties we’re going to next month.
This weekend we finally got some sunny weather so off to the garden centre we went on Sunday to buy some flowers to plant in the pots on the terrace. I’m not green-fingered by any stretch of the imagination, but I actually quite enjoyed it and think they turned out pretty good for a complete novice, even if I do say so myself! Now I just have to make sure they stay alive, and with my track record I know that’s the tricky part.
A light bulb might seem like a strange thing to lust after but Diamond Lights is no ordinary halogen bulb. Scandinavian product designer Eric Therner wanted to create a light bulb that was both functional and looked like a beautiful sculpture. When Diamond Lights is combined with the textile cord by Frama (with a choice of four different sockets) the result is a stylish lamp with an industrial feel that looks good both on its own or in a cluster of several bulbs.
I would love to have this light bulb hanging above one of our living room sofas to create a cosy reading corner but was struggling to think of a way to attach it to the wall until I came across this picture of a similar lamp draped around a simple shelf bracket.
The Diamond Lights is available from Rocket St George.
I can’t seem to find the Frama cord anywhere in the UK but it is available from Swedish website Lanna Mobler which ships internationally.
A Spoonful of Style 