Summer's End...

...And what a summer it has been. It feels like a heartbeat away that we were toasting the end of the summer term with fizz and fun at school, and now September is knocking on the door and beckoning in my favourite months of the year. I'm ready for back to school, for cooler temperatures, for the cosiness of autumn, and the pre-Christmas rush, but am so grateful for our busy, fun summer.

It feels like my summer has had two distinct themes - travel, and home improvements.

Travel has been amazing, whether it's been exploring the fjords and mountains of Norway, getting to know new cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm, revisiting Germany, a country I'll always have a soft spot for, or spending time with friends and family in my homeland, Scotland.

Home has been busy - we have cleared out room after room after room (and the clearout goes on). We've switched several rooms around too (cue much moving of furniture and yelling 'Pivot! Pivot!' at one another). Our team of stoneworkers and brickies and render-destroyers have chipped away at the cracked off-white facade of our house to reveal the loveliest sandy bricks below - one more week of scaffolding and dust and noise and that will be completed. Shona has completed on her new home and started moving her stuff across town. And Smudge cat is all settled in and very much part of the family.

It's been a productive, busy, challenging and fun summer, and I cannot wait to see what fun autumn may hold.  There are many projects afoot, lots to plan, and some potential changes ahead - but hey, life is never dull, right?

I'm off to enjoy the Bank Holiday Monday with brunch, sunshine, cocktails and cats; I hope you have a similarly lovely day planned. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite shots from summer break.

View Post

Home Etc: A Glimpse at Neptune's A/W collection

Last month, in amongst all the Christmas in July fun (posts on all those events to follow once we're heading towards to festive season), I was lucky enough to go to Neptune's preview of their Autumn/Winter collection. As a huge fan of their beautiful products and always up for some home product perusal and styling delights, I was thrilled to be able to head over to check out the range. Here are a few (well, slightly over a dozen!) of my favourite shots from the day. 

I loved the smooth, clean lines of this tablescape. There were terrariums and succulents aplenty on display throughout the three floors of the showroom (a gallery in Bloomsbury had been transformed into a Neptune beladen haven for the day!).

These beautiful art deco style martini glasses caught my eye, perfect for pre- or post-dinner drinks, don't you think.

I really enjoyed the clean lines of this drinks trolley. It felt pretty, but industrial and masculine at the same time.

St Germain is fast becoming a key cocktail ingredient for me when devising cocktails - I love the sweetness and brightness it can bring to proceedings, so I was delighted to spot it while touring the showroom.

Gorgeous, squishy, inviting sofas, in the gorgeous mustard shade and the grey 'Smoke' they've added to their roster for the new season. I adored 'Smoke' - much of our home is kitted out in blues, greys and neutrals, so it was very much in my taste!

This beautiful desk worked with the same chrome and glass of the drinks cart. Perhaps a budding Don Draper could combine both in his study?

A nest of tables repurposed into inventive shelving. Throughout the space furniture was being used in so many different, interesting ways.

So very pretty, no?

I loved these bold, artful mirrors - we are looking for one for our dining room at the moment - as it's the centre room of a dark terrace some more light is needed - and these are firmly on my list as an option. Those painted frames really add a certain something.

These goblets are fabulous, aren't they? Very Game of Thrones!

This cool blue dresser is so charming. I loved this piece, it was so solid and well made. I also loved how the shelves were supported on notches in the wood, rather than with pegs or nails which can go missing, or be tricky to adjust. An idea which manages to be both simple and very clever!

This enormous vase would be so pretty for lilies or branches in a hallway or on a sideboard.

I loved this huge lamp - perfect for a reading spot on chilly evenings (a.k.a. exactly where you'll find me most winter nights!).

Coffee tables repurposed again in the kitchen space! Loved the cabinets here, which were really top-of-the-range and utilised space so well. I'd love to have a custom built kitchen where you can have spaces for all the things you like to have around when cooking and baking.

Stacked tables as an unusual and utilarian island.

And last but not least, some beautiful kitchen accoutrements - I think one of the gigantic mugs will have to be purchased soon for morning coffees.

The space chosen really showcased the brand and the products beautifully. I loved the styling and mood of the whole space; the combination of comfort and ease coupled with clean lines and mixed textures is very much within my aesthetic. I'm excited to return to Neptune soon to pick up a few pieces from the collection for our home.

Linking up with the lovelies at Home Etc:

Thank you very much to Neptune for inviting me to this event.

View Post

The great study project, part 2

I wrote last month about our house project, to change two rooms. making what was my study into a spare room, and the spare room into a new study for me. This project is a definite labour of love, and getting it done around everything else is a challenge! However, progress is being made and I'd say we are well over 50% of the way. Of course, this now means that we are in the 'eek!' phase, where it looks worse before it gets better!

This is the former study, with the piles of stuff ready to be stored away, thrown away or recycled/donated. It's times like this I really wish we had a car!

Probably the most together of my spaces - love this long desk (actually two Ikea dining tables) with plenty of roomfor writing, taking notes, and creating. The skylight is wonderful - loads of light spilling in!

The pile is receding a little more every day, but when you're a stationery fiend like me there's always a lot of sorting through to do.

So. Much. Stuff. I may have to get Kondo on it!

Please excuse my slightly-burned ironing board - the high heat needed for cotton shirts is a little punishing!

Now there's a little shelf space created, there's more room for things, so I can definitely peek at the light at the end of the tunnel. I better get back to it now - looking forward to cracking and a getting it donw, and showing the finished rooms here before too long. Wish me luck, please!

Linking up with the Home Etc. team - such a great linky for tips, tricks, and swoonworthy rooms. And then  posts like mine, haha!

View Post