I started a blog post titled 'Hygge home | Sitting room' quite a while ago. The date on the draft is the 11/05/17. Now, over two years later I'm ready to finish it.
I've always found my boys bedrooms difficult to decorate. Don't get me wrong, I'm a relentless interior design enthusiast, I love solving design dilemmas and I'm definitely not stuck for ideas. The main reason is because I really want their personalities to shine through and this makes things a little trickier. A room of ones own is a special place and I don't want my quiet, calm, neutral style - the style of the rest of our home - to muscle in on their space if that's not right for them.
Over the Summer holidays, when the boys were off school, I decided to tackle a few niggly interior projects. 'Niggly' meaning that they weren't hard and they didn't require a huge amount of time, but they were jobs that had been on my mind for a while and I wanted to get them ticked off the list.
Most of them were tedious and boring (paint touch ups, stain blocking, filling holes, sewing a throw!). However, there was one job that I decided was blog worthy - spray painting brass plate interior door handles with matt black paint.
About a year ago David came home with a packet of Sugru; a mouldable filler/glue/playdough like substance. He had heard about it on 99U and afterwards picked up a pack in Woodies. He knew it was exactly what he needed to fix a couple of things.
When it comes to decorating I'm a big fan of natural finishes - rustic wood, lots of silver, glass, stone, marble, natural fabrics; I tend to avoid veneered surfaces or plastics whenever possible. For that reason I'm a little in love with sisal, seagrass and jute floor coverings. They have a real earthy appeal - simple, natural, a little coastal even.
Ok I'll admit it, I have a treasured collection of Nancy Meyers films. Yep, treasured. Nancy Meyers is one of my all-time favourite writer/directors who's behind films like 'Something's Gotta Give', 'What Women Want', 'The Holiday', 'It's Complicated' and 'The Intern'. Maybe her films aren't in the same league as 'Gone with the Wind' but Meyers is a brilliant oscar nominated writer with box office hits behind her; and I have an insatiable love for romantic comedies with dreamy decor!
Until yesterday there was no doubt in my mind, summer started in May. I would have put money on it. St Bridget's Day, the 1st of February, was Spring, and therefore today - May - was the start of Summer...
Since we moved into our house the en suite's the only room that's had hardly any improvements. We did replace the cream floor tiles a few years ago with a silvery grey wood laminate. After the floor went down I painted a feature wall, put up a corner shelf and a Roman blind with a wood detail above it, but apart from those things that was more or less it.
"Buy less, choose well, make it last" Vivienne Westwood.
As much as I can I always try to shop local and buy Irish especially over the festive season. There will still be the usual toy purchases at bigger shops - Fireman Sam and yet more Lego will make their way into our home! But, along with these, supporting small independent companies is really important to us. So this year on the blog I thought I'd write a little gift giving guide featuring some of those wonderful Irish shops and businesses that we absolutely love. I hope this post is helpful to anyone looking for the perfect gift this Christmas.
When Habitat decided to close its doors on College Green, Dublin in 2008 I have to admit I was a little bit devastated.. To me Habitat wasn't just a retail shop, it was a place where I used to not only browse but dream of filling my first home with its smart, contemporary, well-designed products.
'Weekend Web' is a regular Monday update on the blog with links to a variety of things I've come across from the internet that I've found helpful, interesting or that I've just loved! Here's the round up...
Over the last couple of weekends I got lost in these gorgeous design books.
I don't do a lot of home decor projects in Summer, I'm far too busy doing outdoorsy things and soaking up any Irish sun we get! I did, however, finish updating the Ikea drawers in the babies room. I'm physically unable to leave Ikea furniture alone!
I’ve always thought that starting with a theme when decorating is a good idea, especially in the bedrooms. Our bedroom - ‘French’ what else! The babies room - A few words come to mind... ‘Nautical’… ‘Beachy’… ‘Baby’... And our eldest son’s room, my absolute favourite - Hampton style bedroom.
*This blog post is the second in a series of eight*
Last year, we had a hole in our bath… I have no idea how it got there, but I do know that it happened at a very inconvenient time (as these things do) when we had a newborn and a one year old who, for obvious reasons, needed lots of baths!
*This blog post is the first in a series of eight*
I have to admit I wasn’t sure if this post was very blog-worthy - a post about all of the things we have from Ikea, in each room of our house. But then, a few days ago I changed my mind, and decided I was going to just do it!
About eight years ago I made a gallery wall of family photos at the end of our kitchen. It’s still there, and come to think of it so are the pictures… note to self - must hunt out some new photos!
Do you know something that’s just dawned on me, there hasn’t been an interiors post in a while. So here to make up for it, is a plethora of Christmas interior inspiration from around the web. Plus a few snaps from my own home.
When we first viewed our house over 8 years ago (yikes!) I fell in love from the moment I walked through the door. Of all the houses we had seen this one just felt like home. We put in an offer, it was rejected, and I was devastated. A couple of months later though, we were contacted by the estate agent and told the offer on the house I loved had fallen through, and would we be interested in placing another offer? We were… we did, and two months later we moved in with our first baby due to arrive a few weeks later! What’s meant to be, will be.
