Interior Design

                   Please note this give-a-way has since been drawn. A while ago I saw a cool coffee cup on Cush & Nooks Facebook Page, I left a comment saying how great these cups were and Hookturn Industries , (based in Australia), who create the cups contacted me and offered me a cup as a give-a-away. Wow! my first give-a-way (I also have a wonderful book give-a-way coming up this month).  The cups are made from silicone which has the unique property of keeping your coffee hot without you burning your hands. The BYO coffee cup comes in lots of trendy colour combinations from original beige and white to brights, pastel pinks, blues and greens. The cups look just like the paper disposable ones, only so much better and "of course" re-usable. With this great idea the Hookturn BYO coffee cup is helping save our environment from masses of paper waste. I've embedded a short vimeo video about Hookturn's reusable coffee cups whe...

Yesterday I saw some gorgeous hyacinths growing in an oblong vase, but one look at the price tag made me realise I could easily make something similar at a much lesser cost.  My mother came to live with me last month as sadly she is struggling with her battle with cancer, I thought a vase of "growing" flowers would brighten her room, so set about to create something similar. I bought an oblong glass vase, then headed off to the garden centre to purchase some bulbs, however, instead of using hyacinths I bought small double daffodils. It was simple to quickly assemble the flowers. and my mother is constantly telling me how much she's enjoying watching the daffodils bloom. Anything that makes mum  happy right now makes me happy too.   If your bulbs are in soil, gently wash the soil from the roots. Alternatively select bulbs with very little root system showing and only just beginning to sprout.  I chose this oblong container as it was ideal for three...

A little while ago I shared a pretty Moroccan interior, today I've found another fabulous Moroccan home that's  sure to delight.  Don't you just love the beams, I first saw beams similar to these when I was living in Doha in Qatar. The old heritage buildings roofs are supported in a similar way.   If you like this style, I have added a link to a previous post about another lovely home in Morocco, you will find this at the end of the post.   Isn't the fireplace fabulous, when you have a fireplace like this it can sometimes make it difficult to arrange your furnishing, however because its central the heat is easily distributed no matter where your sitting.  I love the island bench, the quirky stools are perfect for this eclectic look. The concrete housing surrounding the fridge and oven almost create a "Fred Flintstone" feeling to this unusual kitchen ☺   More "Flintstone" feeling to this children's room with fabulous storage  Free standing baths a...

I'm a romantic at heart with a love of anything floral, I guess that's why I turned to painting flowers. Although I tend to live in a neutral interior myself, my girly personality cries out for more colour and pattern. I've already  introduced a little colour in bedroom by use of some old French Shutters which I'm sure you've already seen and get fed up with me mentioning (so I'll let you check those out on my sidebar without imposing a link again) ☺. I now feel I want to bring a little floral into other areas of my house and while looking for inspiration came across the following gorgeous images. I hope they inspire you as they have me. If your really not floral inclined with regards to your decor, you can't say no to a bunch of gorgeous flowers to brighten up a room. 1 2. A clever idea with old floral wallpaper - pinned from Pinterest but tracked back to Debi Treloar  who is the original photographer of this image. 3 4. A vintage look 5. I adore the inlay...

I love the Mediterranean and dream of a home there one day so with this in mind I've selected some  Mediterranean bedroom style. click through the slide show and let me know which one appeals to you. I love this first bedroom, the triptych is spectacular and looks fabulous against the duck egg blue walls.   One thing I notice about the rooms I chose is the filtering light. For me there is nothing worse than a dark dingy bedroom, if your bedroom is on the dark side of the house, lighten it up with pale walls and light coloured furnishing. Dark wood such as mahogany is dated unless used on the floor and can make a bedroom look drab and uninviting. If you do have dark wooden floors, these can work wonderfully with white washed or white painted walls and crisp white linen as seen below. Images via  Houzz Please click through the images above using the arrows Which one is your favourite?     Lee oxo      &        Poppy  ...

I'm always amazed by peoples ideas and  inspiration, even little favour bags can be small works of art. Simple jars of home made goodies, lovely little bags, made from recycled paper.  Today I'm sharing some lovely favour bags from wedding inspiration I found at style me pretty, I'm quite hooked on this site at the moment as they have such gorgeous images.  I've found my favourite ideas, I hope they inspire you for your next party. Wouldn't they make wonderful hostess gifts too, a sweet gesture when invited to someones home for dinner. I know when I used to host dinner parties I would be so excited when someone took the time to bring a small home made gift instead of a bottle of wine. Yummy little macarons, boxed and tied with a button...If you'd  like an easy   French Macaron recipe  please see my last post or click "here." The little mason jars are really cute. I love the simple wax seals.  You can buy wax seals from Passion for Paper  in New ...

French Macarons, perfectly round almond morsels with a silky cream filling...Yummy! It's said that the Macaron may have been brought to France from Italy around 1533 by Catherine di Medici and her pastry chefs.  Macarons gained their fame in 1792 when two Carmelite nuns seeking asylum  during the French Revolution baked and sold macarons to support themselves, thus known as the macaron sisters.  The original Macarons were made with no filling, just a combination of ground almonds, egg whites and sugar. It wasn't until the 1900's that Pierre Desfontaines of Laduree (a Parisian Pastry shop and cafe) decided to take two of the macaron cookies and fill them with ganache.  Laudree still continues today to be a first stop for Parisians with a special love of this delightfully yummy treasure. I've found some lovely macaroon inspiration via "style me pretty" images and an easy recipe for you to follow below. French Macarons Ingredients: 1 cup slivered blanched almo...

Just a brief post today, I stumbled upon these pretty shelves on House to Home . Albeit a pro stylist has added accessories to help sell the bookcase. Nevertheless, sometimes we can clutter up shelves trying to display too much. These simple pieces evoke a sweet country look that's clean and fresh. Dining or kitchen this look wins for me! I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of my readers have a similar bookshelf in dark wood lurking around your home from years ago. Just imagine how a coat of white paint, or even a "French wash" similar to the wash I used on my antique table  can give you a completely new look.                                                                 Source: housetohome.media.ipcdigital.co.uk via Lee on Pinterest                           ...

Marshmallows... fluffy clouds of melt in the mouth sweetness! No, I'm not talking about those rounded pink and white marshmallows in cellophane bags you buy in the supermarket, these are usually too sweet and either too squishy or too firm. No, I'm talking about hand made designer marshmallows full of natural sweetness and dipped in soft powdered sugar that sticks to your face when you take that first bite...Mmm! These pretty marshmallows below are from Food and Cook , if your not fluent in Spanish, you will have to use the "translator" at the top of their page to switch to English. Their cute lavender marshmallows are coloured by crushing up crystallised violets, what a sweet idea, so much nicer than mixing food colouring. Images and recipe: Food and Cook  (Although this is a Spanish site, there is an English translator)                                               ...

Do you want to make your home sophisticated and elegant with a French touch? Here are some ways on how to add French-inspired interior design styles to your home: Painting – Establish a French theme with the use of paints or finishes. For the rustic farmhouse look and country style, use rustic stone against distressed white. If trying to establish a chic and sophisticated urban element, use an espresso brown or blue based grey and highlight with grey or blue. Use ornately patterned wallpaper with gold-leaf accents to evoke the splendor of Versailles.     Fabrics – Use fine fabrics on sofas, beds, tables, window frames, curtains, and drapes. Choose something silky or velvety, a monogram, or some antique cloth. Cover entire interior elements in French-inspired fabric or just add a subtle accent, such as an ornamental border at the base of your drapes. Don't be afraid to get a little offbeat and quirky in you use of fabrics. Have f...

Matching your table, chairs and dresser is old hat now! You can still keep a theme of country or French style with an eclectic look. Mix and match your furniture and chairs to create an interesting look to your dining area. 1 2 3 4 5 6                                                                                                                     Image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6                           If you missed out on my Mothers Day Inspiration - recipe's/diy bath salts and gifts,  you can catch up  "here" .                        Hope your having a gre...