Heavenly hallways...

Can you remember way back when I shared pics of our living room in a post and said ' wait until you see how my style is changing as I'm gaining more confidence?', here is the post to prove it. ( Read the post on the living room reno here - I'm chomping at the bit for winter to come and allow me to paint this room dark now!)

So I really need to get better at taking 'before' pictures, unfortunately this is the best I have of our hallway previous to it's reno. Between it's 'all white' walls, red carpet (which it NOT ideal alongside a heavily molting yellow labrador I can assure you) and broken lighting didn't have much else going on. 

We thought to leave this space to renovate last as we didn't want to destruct it doing the other rooms, yet somehow Craig managed to have this AND the bathroom going at the same time (typical Craig). So for quite some time now we have been juggling the two, flitting from job to job in room to room. 

But now, 4 months later, we have a bathroom, and I can happily say, a beautiful hallway space that is beyond what I ever could have imagined it to be...

Again we used Abigail Ahern paint on the walls and floor, this time in Bedford Brown and Hudson Black. The brown is so gorgeous, it's comforting yet still classy. In some lights it even has a hint of grey.

 This felt VERY dark at first, and we lived with no lighting for a while as I didn't want to rush into buying for the sake of it which I'm sure you can imagine led to lots of disapproving "oohhh its dark in here" comments. BUT last weekend something MAGICAL happened...

We managed to bag some Laura Ashley chandeliers at massively discounted prices as they were getting rid of them; I was like a kid in a sweet shop as the manager was reeling out boxes of discontinued shop from the 'back'. This is a prime example of being in the right place at the right time.

We compromised on keeping the ceilings and woodwork white ( Craig was not having my Abigail Ahern inspired lust to paint it all out in the same colour), so I have brought white through into the scheme with accessories and lighting to keep it cohesive. I have to admit as much as I love her and agree that that 'knock it back' paint technique is visually brilliant, I am keen on how the white woodwork keeps the space looking timeless and crisp, and I'm possibly just not quite cool enough to pull off that dark, hunkered down feel anyway!

Pulling the carpet up in the hallway made the space feel instantly fresher. We decided to paint the floorboards and go with layered rugs to add different textures and pattern. I always thought floorboards required specialist paint, don't get me wrong it's out there, but I was advised by an expert in the field that as long as the boards were sealed with a varnish, plain old emulsion on the floor will do! So we did just that, two coats of emulsion in Hudson Black and two coats of clear, matt varnish on top. Bob's your uncle!

We also swapped out two naff white radiators that provided nowhere near enough heat to this space with one BIG DADDY of a cast iron number. The heat output from this geezer is literally amazing, and the smell you get from the  cast iron tops it right off! Again we got this from architectural salvage  in Tynemouth.

This little table was £15 from IKEA!!! I love the idea of having little occasional tables dotted around.  There is much more to be added to this space yet but we will hopefully collect pieces we love over time.

Rug above was from h and m. The white wall lights are Kartell, they act as a modern contrast between the classy glass chandeliers. The standard lamp below is Laura Ashley, I stole this from the living room to tie in the duck egg from that room scheme.

 This black mirror (which once was gold), was spray painted using plasticote spray paint in black gloss to make it much edgier. I am on with collecting art, pictures and anything else I fancy to create an interesting gallery wall along here, I've made a start with my bargain £10 zebra print and quirky MIHO Stag head from Liberty of London...

GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS!!! The cut glass just shines AMAZINGLY, photos do not do these lights justice! They add a touch of glam to the space - who doesn't need a bit of that!

Mirrors in round or unusual shapes add interest to spaces - look out for something different to your average and you'll have mirror envy from all of your guests I promise. Also think about where you position your mirrors. With the one in the above picture, I wanted it placed low enough so that the chandelier's reflection (below) was in full view. Unfortunately my INSANE husband likes things in lines and when I told him this was in the wrong place he told me that 'it is exactly in the middle of the wall and the beam above'

 WHAT ON EARTH!? Who in their right mind would look at a mirror and think 'That is out of line with that tiny stump of wall at the top' 

NO ONE- that's who! 

So that mirror needs shuffling to the right a little so it looks in the middle of the wall BY EYE, and shuffling down a bit so that when you can't see the actual chandelier, you see its reflection. This trick is good with artwork too, use your mirrors to your advantage, let them bounce your cool things around your space.

Placing mirrors near lights will also bounce the light around your space really cleverly too!

Craig laid Yorkshire stone at the porch end of the hall. This creates a separate zone for the entranceway and also adds another dimension of texture.

I really am in love with this space and I have surprised myself at how a hallway can actually feel like a room in it's own right. I hope this too has inspired you to be a little more creative with your hallway/ entranceway. I certainly never dreamed I'd have one that guests, and us, stop and linger in. If I can do it, anyone can! Please feel free to leave your comments, and if you have any questions I'd love to try and help in anyway I can.

Happy hallway-ing.

XOXO.

Battling with bathrooms...

Good morning world, well actually I think I have missed the morning today I am quite behind the usual Sunday morning schedule - since hand in at uni I have not really stopped and I think it has finally caught up with me.

Anyway I'll quit winging now and get back to the blog, I realise I've lost touch a little in the last few weeks but the truth is I actually have no excuses. I have simply been busy living. Which sounds ridiculous but seriously life is time consuming isn't it? When I was busy with Uni work the little things would go out of the window, like mopping my floors and ironing, and now I have no stressful deadline to work towards, somehow I have upped the anti in completing the day to day jobs stakes, and quite frankly it's neither exciting or rewarding so I'm intent on applying myself to the things that make me happy and feel productive - like blogging. 

So today we have the bathroom guy in finishing off what we started around two months ago. I'm not complaining as he is a friend doing us a favour, which is brilliant for saving up the pennies, but it does require a dose of patience. I'm so excited to share this reno with you guys, although I am a little gutted that we don't have proper before pictures as this room has had a good overhaul. Hopefully it will be done within the week so I'll pop up a 'Voi-la' post then, but in the mean time it has made me do some reflecting on the bathroom journey.

Bathrooms are hard. Period. 

They can be so standard can't they? Like seriously when we started looking I just felt completely uninspired. We shopped around the usual bathroom places, the majority of which actually made me feel quite nauseous and frustrated at the time we were wasting. They were full of the same plastic-y looking fixtures and fittings that sparked no lust whatsoever. Why are bathrooms like this? I mean I get that they have to be functional of course, but would you kit your bedroom out in white clad plastic units? Didn't think so.

Fuelled with strong hatred for standardisation (I've never really been into standard- just you ask Craig) and armed with new insights into design, I made it my mission to design a bathroom that looked like it belonged to us. It's a hard thing to fight is standardisation, because unless you have the audacity to question the norm, it's so easy to be swallowed up by the sea of what seems to be the only possibility.

I'm telling you this, YOU MUST CREATE YOUR OWN POSSIBILITIES.

The bathroom designer from the standard bathroom showroom will tell you that you couldn't possibly  put those extra large taps over a sink, and the bathroom fitter will tell you that you need fitted cupboards for all of your essential bathroom items. 

SOD THEM. 

YOU KNOW HOW BIG YOU'D LIKE YOUR TAPS TO BE AND I'M PRETTY SURE THAT YOU CAN WHITTLE DOWN YOUR BATHROOM CLUTTER IF IT MEANS YOU CAN HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FREE STANDING UNIT TO HOUSE YOUR SINK.

Your bathroom does not have to look like every single other bathroom in England. It is simply another room in your house. Treat it like you would your bedroom or your living room. Fill it with all of your favorite things, hang pictures on the wall, house it with accessories and furniture. 

MAKE IT A SPACE THAT YOU NEVER WANT TO LEAVE.

Clearly this is a subject I am passionate about (sorry for the rant I told myself this would be a short post), I feel I have a lot a personal experience in this department - our bathroom guy even told me I shouldn't be painting the walls the colour I have! But it has really opened my eyes into bathroom design, I feel it's such a shame when you visit a lovely home with welcoming decor then you visit the bathroom and it looks just like every other bathroom you have been in. 

I'll follow this post up with pics and a write up of exactly what we have done in our bathroom, but in the mean time get shopping for some lovely homely pieces for your own bathroom, dig out some artwork and hang it by your shower, and fall in love with your bathroom.

Happy Sunday

XOXO

P.S if you really are going to shop, H & M have some fab cheap accessories, as do Urban Outfitters and the gorgeous online shop MiaFleur

Our kitchen...

So since I've been sharing our home reno's with you guys I'm not entirely sure how I've missed out the kitchen - although I think it could possibly because its not my favourite room in the house and in 'reno' terms we haven't actually done any really. But anyway, I thought I'd share with you a few snaps, the biggest thing we have changed in here is the flooring. The kitchen is completely solid wood and is really beautifully made however, for me, THERE IS A LOT OF WOOD. You can imagine how it was when the flooring was in the same wood too - wood overkill! 

We have toned it down a little with a stone effect tile and most recently replaced all of the cupboard knobs to add a bit of glam. We have given it a lick of paint but it's way too safe and I don't really feel like there is much very cool about this space at all. There is little wall space to hang art or accessories which makes it difficult to introduce colour that way too. I'm working on bringing in some pattern and texture through rugs but even that's difficult with two mucky pup's - are you feeling my dilemma here?

Lighting will definitely change this space and I'm after a feature over the island but again we just haven't gotten around to it yet. 

I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO PAINT THE WALLS BLACK. 

This sounds drastic I know, but hear me out. Number 1. There is hardly any wall space to paint and Number 2. The space is very well lit with natural light so I think it could handle it. I think it would make it feel lovely and expensive and tone down the warmth of the wood if I picked the right colour. Now all that there is to do is convince Craig...

...that may take a while!

XOXO

P.S I've pinned some black wall spaces to a board if you need convincing too.

It's good to be back!

Phewwww it's been so long! I can't believe that I am sitting here at MIDDAY with the time to write a blog post! After the craziness of the past few weeks at uni it is such a pleasure to have time to enjoy some posting. But do you know what? I'm a little nervous! I feel like I've lost my voice, my mojo - I mean I'm pretty sure it won't take me long to get back into the swing of things but it just feels a little odd and I'm finding myself panicking about what to write! So I thought I would quite simply pick up where we left off. I remember promising to follow up with posts and thinking "Come on Christina, if you make these promises you have to stick to them and is that gonna happen?" Well, it didn't did it, and for that I am very sorry but here I am and this time I won't break the promise. 

Sooo...accessorising your home right? I shared my thoughts on colour and let you in on the magic of discovering plants. So I think what I was going to say next is how to combine these things in your home. So like I have said in the past, I am very much a learner driver in this field, but I have picked up on a few golden rules on accessorising and creating displays that I am excited to share with you. I never used to put much thought into accessorising my home, but now I do I am totally hooked, swapping things up all the time keeps things exciting. 

HERE WE GO:

1. GROUP IN ODD NUMBERS - so this age old trick runs right through design and is not only used within the home. Keep your cushions, candlesticks, vases and anything else you have on display in odd numbers, it's easier on the eye that way. 3 is often a good number but if you fancy making a little a little more impact go for 5 and really follow it through with the next few points!

2. VARY THE HEIGHT - again to keep things exciting and visually stimulating you need to lead the eye to different levels within a room or across a mantle. This could be as simple as grouping a flat book to give width, with a tall thin candle to give height, and something to fill the space in between. This trick should be applied within your rooms too. A standard lamp, a low shelf,artwork and mirrors hung at different heights will all add visual intrigue to your space.

3. UNITE YOUR GROUPS - you can group any accessories together. Anything! Thats all part of the fun. To reign it in though you could try popping them all on a lovely little silver tray or a pile of books. Not only does this make a nice little vignette but it grounds your accessories ensuring they don't end up looking like a pile of random things on your coffee table! (of course if 'lovely little silver' is not your cup of tea, go for chunky wood or distrained painterly - whatever you want.)

4. SPEAKING OF BOOKS - this has been a game changer for me, I used to hideaway my Jamie Oliver cookbooks, well not anymore. Making features of your cool books adds personality to your space. They also stop your decor feeling too uptight and contrived and make it feel magically inviting. 

5. GO UNEXPECTED - I am not as developed in this area as I'd like to be but throwing in the oddball accessory has the potential to up the anti in the cool stakes. This could be a quirky piece of art, something in a bold colour, or something from a completely different time era to the rest of your decor. By all means stick with your candlesticks and vases that you love, but too much of the same thing will make the space feel boring and predictable. Excite your guests and yourself by throwing in the unexpected. Not only will you gain cool status by doing this but it also unlocks the secret of really   loving the space you live in. If you don't try new things someday, you will end up living in the same four walls as you were 5 years ago - and that can't be exciting for anyone.

There are lots of hints and tips out there but I'm learning that these posts need to be realistic and not take over your whole evening. Take these and TRY them, what is the worst that can happen? Once you start, you'll be amazed at the thoughts you can't stop thinking. Head on over to LD pinterest page, I've created a board just for home accessories highlighting these little tricks.

XOXO

P.s I gained my voice back pretty quickly really didn't I - never has been easy to shut me up!

LANDANNN TOWNNN...

So firstly let me apologise for the lack of appearance from LD over the past week, but personally I think (and I think you'll agree) that the excuses are valid and excusable.

Number 1 - my studio deadline is ONE WEEK TODAY. Right up until Friday I was grafting 10 hour days. Saying this outloud has actually, well quite frankly, scared me shitless. (Pardon the language . Used only in extreme circumstances for effect!) 

Number 2 - the reason I stopped grafting at Friday was because we've been in LONDON All weekend! So as much as I'm fretting over the deadline, it's actually been gorgeous giving it a rest and to spend the weekend in the capital.

So do you agree, Valid excuses no?

Like I said it's been a fab weekend but has totally wiped us both out. I'm typing this on the northbound train home trying hard not to let heavy eyelids beat me!!!

Over the next couple of days I'm hoping to pick up the accessories posts we left off on and throw in some bits and pieces from our visit too, but in the meantime here are a few snaps from the weekend. I hope you've had a fab bank holiday too! 

XOXO

I LOVE CAMDEN!!!

Feeling inspired by GRAND DESIGNS LIVE...

We popped Craig's spitalfields cherry!!!

And stopped for coffee and cake off the super cool brick lane, snapping inspiration from the street art...

Soaked up the little sunshine of the weekend in Regent's Park...

Caught up with Olly at the O2!

Drooled over the things we couldn't afford in liberty... And managed to get with the royal spirit with the gun salute in Hyde park!

Busy weekend, but we loved every minute. Now it's time to bust out this final!!! 

XOXO

TGI Friday...

Ahhhhhhhh, TGI Friday right?
Well I hope that's how you're feeling, but to be honest my weekend is going to be very much a weekend of work. I'm not complaining though as the light at the end of the tunnel is (kind of) near and it will be sooooo worth it in the end.

I'm loving using this blog as an escape from uni work and the routines of day to day life so I really hope you guys are enjoying it if even just a little too.

I thought I'd try a little theme for this weekends blogs, continuing from Wednesdays post about the little touches, it's a perfect time to chat home accessories.

This is probably one of the biggest littlest things I have learnt through reading up on decorating and DIY-ing; 

we all stop decorating too soon, FACT. 

We pour that much time and effort into choosing colour schemes and laboriously painting walls and woodwork that by the time it's all done we can't wait to get the sofas back in and slouch on down with a glass (or bottle in my case) of wine. It's time to reassess the stage we class as 'finished'. I am no stranger to this, our house is absolutely at this stage at the minute and it's driving me NUTS. It feels so boring and impersonal.

So basically what I'm saying is...

the more things in a room, the more stuff there is to look at and take in; and subsequently the more exciting the room becomes.

My style crush Abigail Ahern (along with may other interior gurus I am finding) is all about this idea, and I have found it to be completely true. Now when I walk into a room with bare walls and floors (my living room is quite the perfect example) I instantly scan it and think,

 'OK so that's it, fun OVER.'

Lets mix things up a little. Throw in some texture, some art hung in unexpected places (over the door perhaps), some personality and quirk.

Accessories can come however you'd like them to, it's your space after all. You should be longing to fill it with cool stuff that you (and your guests) never get sick of looking at. I'm talking lamps, rugs, cushions, throws, artwork, chairs, tables, flowers, photographs, candles, ornament, more lamps, more rugs. MORE STUFF!

 A biggie and the easiest thing is to fill a room with stuff that reflects you and your stories. That weird vase you picked up on holiday for example, get it back out of the cupboard! Then put it somewhere where you wouldn't expect to see it and watch the magic happen. 

I could ramble about this all night long but, besides a few insider hints and tips of arranging and styling (this post will follow!) , it really is dependent upon you and the style of your home. I'm going to show you a little example of how I'm muddling through this and kind of beginning to feel like I'm finding my way. Firstly we will talk colour with accessories, then posts will follow on arrangements.

So as is evident from the bedroom, hall and bathroom (the latter two are soon to be revealed!), I am well and truly crossing over to the dark side. I am fully embracing using dark colours on walls to create intrigue and cosy, grown up spaces. HOWEVER, despite my love for the lady, I cannot quite convince Craig (and admittedly myself wholly) to follow the wisdom of Abigail Ahern completely by painting the walls, ceilings and woodwork out in one colour - it's still a little scary.

So in order to make sure that the white ceilings and woodwork don't stand STARKERS against the darker colours, I am embracing white in the form of accessories and furnishings. You see, as I am learning, this draws the eye from the ONLY BIG THING in the room you've chosen to leave white, and helps to mellowly blend it in to the rest of the decor - are you following? (This stands true even if your walls are 'beige', the white ceiling will still stand out if it's the only white thing in the room.) So rather than it sticking out like a sore thumb, it is now completely in accordance with your well planned colour palette ;) I also find it gives a crisp edge to the darker colours rather than leaning towards too edgy.

Currently I'm going for mono. White, black, grey and of course a little metallic ( personally I love to mix up metallics. I see no wrong in pairing brass with aluminium or silver and gold) are my go to for accessories right now.

A little bonus here is because I have chosen to GO BOLD on the colour of the walls in my rooms, I can reign it in a little with the accessories. I am now finding myself accessorising rooms with similar palettes - yeah I hear what you're thinking, could be kind of boring, BUT at the same time makes it SO EASY to shop my own house when I get bored of seeing stuff in the same place. When I'm sick of seeing the white occasional table in the hall, I'll move it into the bedroom and use it as a bedside table. Clever no? This also gives a little continuity throughout the house.

Of course there is no right or wrong when it comes to colour, again it's your home, What I'm trying to say is 

ACCESSORISE YOUR HOME. 

I think it's something we so easily forget to do. Maybe if you can't bear the thought of abandoning your white walls ( god forbid - give me a month you will!), then add colour through your accessories. Stick to 2/3 different colours and go wild. Don't be afraid of pattern too. This is highly underestimated in the power to change stakes ( again by the old me ), as long as you don't let your colour palette get too out of control, try mixing up a few different patterns, it's all about creating interest. Although I reiterate, do watch your colours, we want interest not gaud. 

I'll leave you on a few pics of my growing accessory collection, which in the absence of an accessory I used to think only concerned old people, highlight how important they actually are. All will be revealed.

TGI Friday folks.

XOXO.
P.S when arranging your accessories, stick to grouping things in odd numbers. It's a little rule in design - much more appealing to the eye as my uni co star always reminds me.

P.P.S notice how bare the walls look, I NEED STUFF!!!