Tuesday 22 October 2013

Not On The High Street

Hands up, I'm guilty! Tonight I've been browsing NOTHS, Christmas shopping!

Although, I didn't get too far because I was drawn to their Autumn Home collection. No surprise there then. After falling head over heals I thought I'd share some of my favourite finds with you, knowing you would love them as much as me and if they happen to make it into my Christmas stocking, so be it.











































Top to bottom, left to right:
Herringbone Pattern Wool Throw, £64.99
Orange Linen Cushion cover with Piping, £24.00
Trook Hooks, set of three, £28.00
Cable Knit Hot Water Bottle Cover, £39.00
Soft Heather Herringbone Tweed Wool Throw, £69.00
Natural Mango Wooden Letter, £15.00
Antiqued Recycled Glass Candlesticks, £9.00
Elephant and Hat Cushion, £80.00

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Farrow and Ball


A little later than I had planned but I've finally found time to share with you the exciting new Farrow and Ball range.

Launched at the Cambridge opening party, we had an evening of canapés, champagne and colour. It was a great evening spent with people equally as excited by the new range and I could have stayed talking colour and design with Stephanie and her team for the remainder of the evening.






































Here are the nine colours in all there glory - what do you think? What's your favourite? I have a soft spot for the Moles Breath and there's something about Yellowcake that pulls me in every time I look at the range.......... And, don't you just love the names.

I did some 'work' on the night too, it wasn't all socialising and champagne, I threw together a few colour combinations for you using the new range of colours, so you can see how versatile they are, and whether you're confident in your colour choices or perhaps a little more hesitant, you can make the colours work for you.

Farrow & Ball - Nailed it!



Tuesday 17 September 2013

An Autumn picnic

The nights are drawing in and the temperature is slowly dropping. Feel that you're not quite ready to say goodbye to the outdoors just yet? Embrace the crisp, sunny days and organise an Autumn picnic, on my do to list for the next month. Be inspired by Autumn and everything good that it brings!

Images: Pinterest

A slower pace of life

Images: Pinterest


Blankets, wool jumpers and socks

Images: Sweet Paul / Pinterest


Hot chocolate and naughty deserts, ooooohh apple crumble.........

Images: Pinterest


New seasonal ingredients, I found a Sweet Paul recipe I'll be trying very soon! All I'm saying 'apples'.

Images: Pinterest


Feel ready for Autumn yet? I do!


Monday 16 September 2013

Lets catch up?

Shall we have a quick catch up before I pick up my paintbrush again? Lets start with the cottage;

 Living room, more finishing touches arrive with flowers, the orange really sets off the Oval Room Blue paint and new door knobs for an old chest of drawers - I love this piece of furniture and mixing old with new, it just gives it something extra doesn't it?

 The office! FINISHED! Last weekend we found 'the' chair, adorned with cosy throws for the winter, completed with a squirrel cushion and Bobby Cat waited no more than five minutes to settle down - not sure I'll ever sit here and read? In fact, he's curled up there this second while I type away and the bookcase, organised with books in order - feeling very satisfied right now.




























Downstairs toilet, one pokey little space which initially felt like a public toilet - finished. This one took a 'teeny tiny' bit of convincing with husband but he soon came to his senses. We've gone bold and made a statement with Farrow and Ball Downpipe, it's classy, it feels bigger (you better believe it) and finished off with walnut mirrors and a Jane Churchill wallpaper! Perhaps I'll share some before and afters soon so you can see the transformation.



Swiftly moving on, husbands been working away since last week so I've busied myself with painting (so much painting), hanging mirrors, baking, pruning the garden, flower arranging - that sort of thing.

All Images: Dream Box Interior Design


And, then there was the small matter of the Farrow and Ball *NEW* colour launch, champagne, canapés and colour - what more could an interior designer want? But, I've got a whole post for you so until then..............

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Spring Cottage

Spring Cottage, where we now call home and since moving three weeks ago we've achieved a fair amount but it is without a doubt still work in progress. How about a look at what we've achieved so far?



Living room is waiting on a piece of furniture and those final finishing touches, pictures, vignettes, candles, it is after all what finishes a room........... And I know exactly what is going on that back wall you can see!



Office, I need an armchair in this space but otherwise I am ready to dress shelves with books and more. Perhaps now would be a good time to tell you that EVERY room was bright yellow and green or both! Including this room.

Bathroom, done! In this room we worked with what we have since a new suite is off the cards and I've impressed myself here. It's become a space I enjoy being in which surprise me.

Amongst all the hard work we've had time to enjoy. We've managed to host dinner for family and friends, enjoy our first BBQ, potter in the garden just as I imagined all those months ago. Pick plums from our tree, chase Bobby Cat around the house with a mouse or more accurately have Bobby Cat chase me around the house with a mouse! Wake up to complete silence and go to bed in darkness. Gardening until dusk, hearing the hoot hoot of owls................. It is safe to say, I am already utterly in love with our new home.



All images are my own




I'll try and keep you up to date as we reach more milestones, there's plenty more to do until it's finished and I've not even mentioned my workshop yet! x

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Blue Hues

We're in the new cottage! Still feels slightly dreamy, like we're on holiday. A never ending holiday - what a wonderful feeling.

This post, inspired by my new living room is focused on blue hues. After living with white for a long time we dared to be different with the cottage and I managed to convince my husband that a darker colour was a good idea. I knew that I wanted blue, not sky blue or deep dark blue but a blue with depth and guts!

Hello Farrow and Ball! Without a doubt in my mind Farrow and Ball would be the ones who could deliver and Oval Room Blue does not disappoint, neither does the change from white I might add. So, dare to change, try something new. Here's some inspiration and remember, it's only paint at the end of the day!

My cottage / Pinterest

Pinterest / Farrow and Ball

Abigail Ahern


I'll be back soon to let you know what else I've been up to recently but for now I'm off to prune my garden.......... x


Wednesday 31 July 2013

Wallpaper Prints

Quick post for an early Wednesday morning but hopefully this will inspire you for the day.

This last week I've been searching for wallpaper, I wanted a wallpaper suitable for country cottage living but with a modern vibe. Something quite simple but can pack a punch, catch the eye!

Here are four of my shortlisted favourites and if you have any ideas, I'd love for you to share them with us.

Cole and Son * John Lewis

Jane Churchill * John Lewis


Monday 22 July 2013

Nordic House

Seeing as we've been talking about garden entertaining this weekend I thought it would be nice to share with you where you can purchase some of the beautiful garden accessories, rather than keep them all to myself!

My all time favourite, I have been buying these lanterns in all sizes for display in my garden!

We're going to start with a favourite of mine, Nordic House, an interiors boutique specialising in gifts and decor............ with a scandi twist! Fancy a little background into the company? Of course you do, I loved learning more abut this super fabulous company so I'll share. Based by the sea in Cornwall (sigh) with a female only warehouse (yes! women power) and run by a husband and wife team who fell in love with scandi styling after working in Sweden. Isn't it nice to now who your buying from?

Here's a round up of my favourites currently being sold and there's a summer sale on! Just click HERE and voila, the sale is at the end of your fingertips, literally. Happy shopping and keep an eye out for more shopping secrets!

All Images; Nordic House

Saturday 20 July 2013

Garden Entertaining

Yes! Hello weekend, time to kick back and relax. With all the great weather I've been feeling inspired and after 'designers block' have had lots of ideas for the interior design of our new house and this includes the garden. So, now seems like a great idea to share some tips on garden entertaining and my ideas for my new garden, even if the sun is currently hiding.

Treat the garden like you would any room of your home, with love, consideration, colour, pattern, texture................


Create a magical environment as dusk falls with different light sources, my favourites are fairy lights, lanterns and jam jars filled with candles and a tip from Abigail Ahern, an old candelabra suspended from a tree or similar but filled with candles rather than bulbs! What a focal point.



Be creative with tables and 'dress' them with as much care as the dining table - it transforms a space in the drop of a hat. Add layers and finishing touches with flowers, candles, whatever takes your fancy.......


I plan on developing not one seating area but two or three, a practical seating area, where friends and family can gather around a table to eat and a squishy, comfy area for resting after you've consumed too much food and drink - we all know that feeling.



Happy sunny weekend. Here's hoping the sun returns here soon.

Thursday 13 June 2013

Moving House

Happy evening all,

So, exciting news....................

WE'RE MOVING HOUSE!

A dream that we didn't expect to happen for a few more years yet! And we've been mad busy the past couple of months with it all! So much paperwork and we were still completing building work when the first viewers came so had to complete this work too but everything is now progressing nicely and hopefully next month will be the big move.

It was a complete accident, we weren't looking to move, we were still working on our current house but it came up, we went to visit and fell in love! It was a whirlwind from there, we thought what's the harm in having our house valued and within ONE WEEK had sold it!

So, do you want to know a little more?

We're moving into a cottage, original features included, out in the sticks. Perfect, a dream come true. The current owners have restored the house beautifully so all we need to do is decorate and settle in.  And there's more................
Dream Box Interior Design will have her very own studio. Yes! A studio! Out in the enchanting garden which after visiting last weekend has sprung into life, filled with colour and offering a new adventure for Bobby Cat. Here are some sneaky pictures..............
Country Life
I have some exciting ideas for the new Studio and Dream Box, I cannot wait to share them with you after the move.

Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend, I'm wishing I was already in the new house, pottering around the garden and BBQ's with friends and family, instead, we should really think about packing!

Thursday 11 April 2013

One Day Projects: Brightening up your Bathroom

Need some bathroom inspiration, look no further as Helen has got some solutions for you....................

So your bathroom’s looking a little tired and you want to freshen it up - but you don’t need a complete refit because the bathroom suite was bought to last and it’s still in good condition. Simply adding some streamlined storage and refreshing your decor is a straightforward way to update a bathroom that’s fading through overuse. And when I say straightforward, I mean it - one day of hard work might be all it takes...

Begin by planning your new look. Spend a bit of time on this: make a mood board if you have loads of ideas, as this will allow you to figure out which of your favourite colours, patterns and textures will work well together. And plan your decorating day, too: knowing in what order to tackle all the tasks you want to complete will make the job much easier.

On ‘the day’, a couple of coats of paint might be all it takes to refresh that dated decor. Get your first coat on as soon as possible so that, even if you end up needing three or four coats, you’ll be able to get the last one done before you put your feet up in the evening. Tile paint and stick on tile ‘tattoos’ will brighten up tired tiles, and don’t forget to refresh your grout lines with a grout pen.


Images: Pinterest

Images: Anthropologie
If you’ve got bathroom furniture, you can give your wooden cabinets an overhaul by sanding them down and re-waxing, re-staining, or painting their surfaces; modern melamine furniture, meanwhile, can be given a new, up-to-date finish in record time with some high gloss spray paint. And the finishing touches are just as important: treat your cabinets to some new (or ‘new to you’ vintage) handles - it takes mere minutes to change a few handles, but the results can be striking.



Images: Pinterest

To add some pattern to your bathroom try wall stickers, stencilling, or adding feature wallpaper - bright, bold designs are great for adding a decorative punch to an alcove or other small area; something a little more muted works well if you plan to paper more of the room.

I loved the pictures Laura recently posted of her bathroom renovation because the touches she highlighted are exactly the things I think can make a huge difference. Storage in particular is vital, especially in a small bathroom where the tendency to clutter is all the more obvious......... and let’s face it, few of us have bathrooms that are as large as we would like!


Images: Pinterest
Built in storage space is ideal if you’re starting from scratch or don’t mind some disruption while work is in progress - but it’s outside the scope of our one day makeover. Adding a simple shelf with some storage baskets or boxes to keep all your grooming products neat and tidy, and within easy reach but out of sight, can make a world of difference to a space that currently feels cluttered and overused.




Images: Etsy

And for that final injection of personality in your new space, try adding some wall art. At  better bathrooms, we’re huge fans of personalising a standard bathroom suite with small ‘non-bathroom’ touches. Either buy ready made prints or have a go at designing your own - something like the ‘life is a beautiful ride’ artwork that Laura highlighted recently would look great in a bathroom - it’s not too overpowering but it’s fun and would go with a range of decor styles.

This article was written by Helen Davies who is a keen blogger, Pinterest addict and freelance writer.