Playing changing rooms...

Good afternoon snoozers, or is that just us today? The Eastons are feeling pretty sleepy on this warm Sunday afternoon, I have just about managed to pull myself around to share with you a little post for some easy reading. 

I trust you read Monday's blog on brown furniture right? Well look what I've been up to this morning...

We were given (yep you heard me, GIVEN - how lucky are we) this gorgeous sideboard from a member of Craigs family. It's been sat at the bottom of our hall for some time collecting dust, so this morning, with Craig out at work (hence the rug under the sideboard - it was my dragging mechanism!)  I decided it was about time we put it to good use and I started to practice what I preach...

If you're a regular reader you probably know by know that I'm not most keen of our living room ( its way to bland and the paint choice was made before I crossed over to the dark side), but I thought I'd make the best of what I have. 

Below you can see on the left hand wall was a hand painted dresser in off white (snooze), and the rest of the walls look really bland too.

So I switched out the dresser to make room for the sideboard, and popped this in the right hand alcove besides the burner...

Are you ready?

Voi la...

I hung this big piece of cow art above the sideboard, and layered up some metallic finishes (mirrored frame and copper planters) with some greenery and our home bar to add a punch of 21st century quirk to the antique piece. As I mentioned last week, this helps make your brown furniture seem more 'eclectic cool' than ' dingy Grandma'!

What do you think?

   

I feel like the sideboard totally grounds the space making it feel much more complete than before, and by adding some interest at a higher level on the back ( log burner ) wall instantly the whole place seems more interesting. It's by no means perfect yet, but it's much better than before don't you think? And all of this was done using everything I already own - who'd have thought just a little effort can make quite a difference. As silly as it sounds, I feel great for doing this too and now I want to go sit in my living room rather than avoid the place!

I'd love to see how you've styled up your brown furniture, stick them over twitter or instagram and tag in @lilliandaph and use the hashtag #brownfurniture.

Happy Sunday snoozing folks.

P.S I'm working on some monthly features for the blog and some daily stuff too across social media sites (Facebook, instagram and twitter) So if you haven't already, give Lilliandaph a heads up over there, I think you might like what's in store.

XOXO

Bringing the outside in, the unthought of accessory...

Good morning! It looks like it's gonna' be another sunny one - horrah! Lets pick up where we left off, Fridays post was full of promises, so here I am attempting to fulfil those.

I hope my rant about accessories got you thinking. I must stress that these posts are a total combination of the things I am picking up along my journey. Mainly from other bloggers and designers. Of course there is no right or wrong, but I am finding them to be successful in my home, and definitely feel like my own style is evolving from the hints and tips I'm reading. If you have any other ideas or thoughts I'd love you to share them too.

Anyway...

So this mystery accessory, 'TELL ME TELL ME" I hear you cry. Well I must admit, a year ago I'd never have thought I'd have done this but since I have read about plants in the home, yes you heard me, PLANTS, I think I'm becoming addicted.
They are a nifty little trick that lots of stylists (those magic makers who throw together the gorgeoussss images we drool over in the glossies), and designers use within interiors. When I first read about using them, the thought ' I'll kill them' sprung to mind, and Craig just looked at me like he had married a girl born in the wrong era. But seriously, we were in IKEA of all places and I literally thought,
'I'll pick some up while they are cheap and try it, what's to loose?'

I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK.

I went for cacti as I'd read about their texture which again adds intrigue and I remembered from being a kid that they didn't need much looking after. I had also seen some cool pictures of cacti on Abigail Aherns pinterest. I did opt for the real thing, however, many of these stylists and designers I speak so highly of really do champion faux.

They seriously add something to a space that no other plastic, metal, glass, you name it can add. Its marvellous! And not just plants but flowers too! Although this is something I haven't actually gotten round to yet. I'm desperate for some faux flowers though but I want to get the rooms a little more finished before I invest in some good quality ones.

So have a look about, I guarantee once you've tried a few you'll catch on to this. Our go-to girl Abigail Ahern does some AMAZING fauxs, obviously! But I did find IKEA to be pretty good, and cheap too. If you shop about online there are plenty of places selling them, and your trusty home retailers like M & S, John Lewis, and Dunelm all sell them. Steer clear of anything unnatural looking and from what I've found I'd say greenery is a safe place to start.

This is really not my area of expertise so even though I'm happy to share with you my advice on going for it and how it's inspired me, I'm not going to claim I'm an expert flower arranger 'cos I'm not! So I'd say if you try it and think it's for you, have a read of this blog. You could even speak to your florist about how to arrange displays and ask if they can get hold of some good quality fauxs for you. I'm off to see Rebecca at my local as soon as I get around to it - it's another job on the list!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, tonight I'll be sharing my pick of the best accessories for May/ July and a few tips on what to do with them in your home. I've popped up a few pics of the start of my collection, it is only very small at the minute but I'm planning on expanding :) I'm loving using them in bathrooms and you can't tell so much in the snap as it was a little dark this morning when I took it and we haven't finished with the lighting in there, but rather than fitting a blind I want to create a natural screen using lots of varying heights of plants.

XOXO.

Sunday morning bloggin' ; a blogger worth bloggin about...SARAH AKWISOMBE

Good morning you lovely lot, I've woken up nicely fuelled after half a bottle of wine and a good old sofa slouch last night - just what the Doctor ordered!

This morning I want to share with you a blogger who I'm pretty new to, but honestly she is one fiesty lady!

Sarah Akwisombe is an award winning blogger and freelance stylist based in London. It sounds like she has a gutsy 'no messing' approach to life and is hitting me up with loads of big time inspiration at the minute! 

Not just the fact that she had the balls to quit her day job and pursue her dreams in making it big in the interior styling/ design industry, but just simply for the FACT THAT SHE CUTS THE BULL SHIT.

This lady really says it how it is, which is highly admirable to see in the field as I'm quickly learning it can all be a bit pretentious.

My fave post of hers at the minute are

this one - mainly cos it links pretty strongly with where my heads at right now

and

this one - this is exactly the no nonsense approach to interiors that I'm talking about, she really ditches right and wrongs and makes it clear that a home should reflect its owners - which I totally agree with.

CHECK her out, I reckon she's the type of lady we all need to take a leaf from!

Oh and 

Get all over this list she's curated 

You'll thank me for sharing this with you I can guarantee!

Happy Sunday

XOXO.

P.s how cool is her home??!!

ALL IMAGES FROM http://www.sarahakwisombe.com