National Design Awards Competition 2011 - The Result

A couple of weeks ago I submitted some work for the National Design Awards Competition 2011.

Today was results day!

Furniture Plans

Unfortunately I was not shortlisted but regardless I am very proud of the work I submitted. I have achieved above and beyond what I thought I could. I have learned to trust my instincts and to have more self belief!

It was a great experience and all the lessons learned were worth all the hard work, even if the end result wasn't what I wanted. Time to dust myself down and on to the next challenge. Onwards and upwards!

If you want to see some more of the work I submitted click here.

Congratulations to the winner and those who were shortlisted!

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Clever Wrapping

Today it is my father-in-laws birthday and this started me thinking about wrapping paper!

I don't know about you but I love the idea of using newspaper, magazine pages etc as wrapping paper and not only does the finished result look great but there are lots of advantages too.

It is cost effective, to be honest new wrapping paper can be highly priced! You can just recycle what you have at home. You are being kind to the environment and you can make it as personal as you wish!

With my husbands wedding present, I wrapped it in all the pages from my saved wedding magazines which I had collected during the 2 years of planning, for me, that was very personal!


Old architect drawings and newspaper wrapping. My personal favourites!



An old sack and sewing patterns make great wrapping paper, I especially love the texture the sack lends!

I hope you like these ideas and they get your creative juices flowing! Remember, your imagination is your limit! Be as creative as you want.

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I Love Crates & Ladders!

Crates and ladders! I am addicted.

I think you can see a theme developing in my style and I am in love with the rustic look of crates and ladders and using them as an alternative to the more traditional furniture, such as coffee tables and shelves.

Here are some of my favourite designs, I hope you can see the potential these otherwise overlooked household items have!

Images: Houzz, Pinterest

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Printed Space

Following on from my blog post earlier this week 'A New Destination Everyday?' I would like to quickly share with you a company called Printed Space who I found when researching for my post.

Printed Space offer a bespoke service to create one off blinds, canvas, wallpaper and flooring designs using your images. Or alternatively you can use one of there many designs from their data bank. Not only this but they print to fit any size space - wow - what an impact these could have on a room!

Still love the idea of a printed map? You will find plenty to choose from on this website!

These are a couple of my favourites but to see more you can visit their website here.

Project: Chest of Drawers

Last month I started a new feature called 'Project' with the intention to find projects around my house that I needed to complete and with the hope to inspire some of you at the same time.

You may recall my first project was 'chest of drawers' and I am pleased to tell you all that I have completed my first project.

Before / After

I sanded down the unit, painted with primer, followed by 2 coats of wood paint! Ideally I wanted to change the handles to pretty crystal knobs but the previous owners had cut a rather large hole to fit the current handles and glued them in place which meant I could not remove them but regardless I am very happy with the final result.

What do you think?

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A New Destination everyday?

 Printed Space  

Everywhere I look recently I stumble across designs which incorporate the world map...... wallpaper, cushions, chairs.......

What do you think of this design; do you like it? I love it, especially when used within a vintage design! In my mind vintage + maps = match made in heaven but that is not to say I am ruling out  a contemporary design. Oh no. They look pretty spectacular too!

Here are some of my favourite finds, be inspired by the world.

You can find some of the inspiring finds from todays blog on: 

NotOnTheHighStreet and PrintedSpace 

Little Blog Awards

So, I was just checking through my e-mails and all of a sudden something catches my eye..........

An e-mail regarding the Little Blog Awards.

Not only have I been nominated but I have votes too! Absolutely fantastic!

Thank you to everyone who supports and follows, if you enjoy reading my blog I would be thrilled if you could vote for me in the little blog awards. And in return I promise to try and bring you images of inspiration!

To vote please follow this link

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National Design Awards Competition 2011

You may recall me saying that I was entering the National Design Awards 2011, after working my socks off I have finally submitted my work and have some time to blog again. Yay!

I thought you may like to see a sneaky peek at some of my work.

The brief was to design a penthouse which was currently an empty shell with a contemporary design.

The winner & 5 runners up are announced on the 28th July.

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