This Home Sweet Home

Winter Warmer.

2012-02-09T11:20:00.001Z

Photos credit, Roland Persson/IKEA Livet Hemma

Are you feeling the cold where you are? I know am, even though we don't have snow, the temperature is hovering just above freezing and the wind chill is making it feel a little colder, so how about some lovely warming soup to warm as all up. Today's offering comes courtesy of IKEA's Livet Hemma blog, a colourful tomato soup, don't you just love that colour combination, makes me feel warmer just looking at it.

If you intend to make the most of the winter snow this weekend why not take a flask of soup with you to keep out the chill.

Tomato soup with lemon creme fraiche (4 people)

10 medium sized tomatoes

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

olive oil,

about 6 cups water

1 liter chicken stock

fresh thyme,

a little sugar,

black pepper and salt

1 can of creme fraiche

zest and juice of one lemon

honey

salt and pepper

Click here for instructions and Table ware all from Ikea.

Weekend finds and little updates.

2012-02-05T19:38:00.000Z

Well so far the snow that has been falling in the UK has passed us by this weekend, but even so its been a bit chilly outside, so for the most part I have stayed in the warm at home, which has given me some time to do a bit of updating of my desk area, and a little DIY in the form of some spray painting.

I don't know about you but we always seem to have keys laying about the house that we have no idea what they are for, so I thought that I would give a few a little enamel face lift. Not sure how I will display them at the moment but there they are in the photo above.

Some other changes that I made were to update my tins and string container with some new washi tape, (don't you just love washi tape?) and pretty pink spotted paper, which I found online here and printed off on the printer, its amazing how just making a few changes can make all the difference to a space.

Other weekend finds

Jamie at Home Launch party came to town, introduced by Joanne Graham,

so I popped in to take a look. Anybody done or been to a party?

Missed the first issue of 91 magazine but discovered the second , its got

a pretty peachy home tour on page 62.

Discovered a new blog via Pinterest , The Painted Hive and a

great Tutorial and free download its getting a lot of pins!

Wishing I could of made it to the spring/summer

Tine K Home Fair, but loving the

photos by Anna-Malin from Quite Simple blog of the day

Wouldn't want to get a Tattoo, but this Tattoo bowl

from Future & Found caught my eye.

Spring collection from Swedish Home interiors company

Ordmärkt, Pattern with a story.

Getting Organised.

2012-02-03T20:39:00.000Z

Its Friday already, how did that happen? I have to confess to being a bit distracted this week, recently my Hubby bought me a new lap top, yeah!, (no more being crammed into the corner of the living room on my computer with not much space!) and I have been trying to reorganize everything so that I can ~~get rid of~~ move the computer desk out of the living room, and move these units along the wall to sit more centrally, I have a thing about everything being straight and central, which living in the house that we currently do, is not that easy as we don't have a straight wall in the house, it can be very frustrating, just when you think you got it plumb.....

So I'm up for a bit of moving things around and finding ways of storing bits and pieces, like leads for the computer, pens and pencils etc, so the tin cans that I spray painted way back here, a plant pot, and a black tray that actually started out as packing for a pancake set, are being put to good use as storage. And as I haven't done any DIY projects since I painted my dresser, I''m getting a little bit restless and on the hunt for something to transform....

So with the cold weather that is heading our way this weekend, it looks like I might be staying in and seeing what DIY mischief I can get up too. Do you have anything to tackle this weekend?

Postcard from France.

2012-01-30T19:16:00.000Z

Hello all did you have a great weekend, I hope so. Mine started with a last minute trip to France on Friday eventing. My step daughters dog has had pup! so that provided the perfect excuse to hop on the boat for a quick weekend visit.

I love a visit to France, less than an hour on the boat and there's a wealth of culture, food, sights and smells to take in, and if I'm lucky a trip to Ikea in Rennes! Here's a few quick snaps that I took with my mobile phone camera.

A little Calm from IKEA

2012-01-24T14:53:00.001Z

Hello how are you doing? I've been feeling a little washed out of late, what with the winter grey skies and general feeling of being under the weather, plus everything at home is a bit topsy turvy, some times things just seem to happen all at once don't they, towards the end of last year my washing machine packed up, quickly followed by my cooker dying on me, and now there is work going on in the down stairs flat which affects our home up stairs,(our bathroom has been slowly leaking into the kitchen below us) so everything seems to be in a constant mess at the moment, and yesterday work men showed up to put in new telephone connections so I'm feeling less then relaxed this week.

So it was kind of nice to find these lovely relaxing photos in my in box this morning, from the Ikea Livet Hemma blog. Just staring at the photo above has already reduced my stress levels, with its calming colour palette and use of natural textures and materials -so relaxing.
Our environment has a huge effect on our well-being, (which I'm currently discovering firsthand) but the use of light colours give this look a feeling of calm and quite, and I always find that wood and wicker baskets with their unique grains and distinct natural element are always comforting and relaxing.

One of the trends for 2012 is Pure and Simple and taking inspiration from Japan, Ikea Livet Hemma take a look at raw materials such as untreated wood and and natural fibers to help create this calming and natural look for the home. Although I can't quite picture me sitting on these lovely banana rush foot stools drinking Japanese tea anytime soon, (I'll never get off the floor) I can appreciate the uncluttered calm feel of this space, with the mix of the natural textures and the clean lines of the units and tables., and I also love plain white table ware to serve good food on, so simple.

All photos Nina Broberg/IKEA Livet Hemma

UK launch of Cachette

2012-01-16T16:22:00.001Z

This month sees the Launching of Cachette.com, a new Anglo-French lifestyle website that offers a carefully chosen and eclectic mix of beautiful everyday items for the home. Created by Stephen and Delphine, an Anglo-French couple who, after spending 10 years living and working in London, upped sticks and changed everything for a live in the South of France.

Products have come from a variety of young designers and artisans, with the range growing daily, the first collection being ready for viewing sometime this week, and will include items for the Bathroom, Kitchenware, Household, Food, Kids, Stationary and more. Below are a few things that I have picked out. I'm especially loving the hand finished white enamel cutlery , they look so tactile, perfect for long leisurely dinner parties, don't you think?

All images Cachette.com

House Tour.

2012-01-13T16:09:00.000Z

All images Ikea Family Live

Sometimes when doing a bit of snooping into other peoples homes, I'll come across a home that I just keep coming back to, and the home of Caroline, Mikael and their son Elton, is just one of those lovely places. I spotted it a few weeks back over at Ikea Family Live and its been on my radar ever since, so although you may have already spotted it elsewhere, here it is again.

Firstly I love the light fresh and open feel about this space, white walls, high ceilings, then there is the cleaver use of a black wall to help in disguising the TV. I have a pet hate about a TV that takes centre stage in room, and I can't wait to get rid of our old huge hunk of a TV and replace it with a nice flat screen, so this for me is a great decorating tip.

I also love the mix of textures, such as the concrete table with rustic baskets and sheep skins, and to add warmth, the addition of blonde wood against white and greys, and I'm just loving the family photos displayed up the stairs and landing. Yes I think this will be a favourite for a while. What do you think, is it a hit, miss of a maybe for you?

Awaiting spring.....

2012-01-11T18:19:00.000Z

For the first time in what seems like ages, the sky was actually blue and the sun was shinning all day! It felt like spring even though technically spring is a little way off yet, and I found this little plant in a stripy pot at my local Watirose supermarket. Perfect to add a little freshness to my living room.

Tine K Spring/summer collection.

2012-01-11T16:40:00.002Z

Personally I quite like this time of year, what with the old year behind, and the new one stretched out in front of me, then there is the anticipation of spring just around the corner - I love the spring (I spotted daffodils growing this morning as I drove my Daughter to work) and at this time of year there is also the anticipation of the Spring/Summer collections for the home that start to appear, and the fun of picking out new things to add to my mine

The Spring/Summer 'Pure' collection for 2012 by Tine K certainly looks lovely, the colour palette this year looks light and airy, with pale pinks and blues, taupe's and graphite blacks. Sadly I don't have anywhere local (apart form Guernsey) that sells the collection, but I always feel inspired by the styling and photography produced by the team at Tine K.

I love this little collection above, what is it about a tray of bits and bobs... and string, I'm drawn to string - string and note books...

All Images Tine K home Spring/Summer 2012

I finally painted that dresser!

2012-01-04T12:42:00.004Z

Hello folks, how are you all after the Holidays, slowly getting back to normal? yes me too, that feeling of not knowing what day it is or wondering which shops are open to get that emergency pint of milk from, has past and guess what, we are at the starting point of a brand new year again! Has your new year got off to a good start, are you planning anything new?

After a little holiday house sitting for friends I finally got that dresser painted! yeah! and I have to say I'm more than pleased with my pot of Annie Sloan paint and clear wax that I used to paint it with. After much deliberating over should I or should't I paint it, I bit the bullet and went with my gut feeling and painted it. I'm so glad I did, it looks so much better don't you think?

After

Before

The surface of the dresser was a bit of a mess, before it came to us I think it had lived in garage for a while and had some staining on the work top surface, and peeling varnish, so I gave it a good sand down and then painted two coats of Annie Sloan Old white all over, one coat of Graphite on the work top area, and just finished off with a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax.

All that I need now are some new handles to finish it off, I spotted some a while back at my local garden centre but unfortunately they now don't have enough of them, so am now looking at the Bombay Duck site as they have a good selection to choose from, here are the main contenders below which I think might go well, but there are a whole lot more to choose from if you want to take a look here. But from the ones that I have picked out below which ones do you think would look the best, because I can't decide...

Images of handles Bombay Duck

Simple table décor

2011-12-14T21:08:00.001Z

Create a simple table décor tray using a few small pine cones collected on a winters walk, a pack of decorative twine balls and some winter pot-pourri, add some tea lights and candles and you're done. Pretty by day, warming by night.

Styling and Photography Samantha Stansbridge

Rainbows

2011-12-14T20:49:00.002Z

Click to enlarge

This week we have been suffering some pretty stormy weather, high winds and rain have been hitting the Island, but some sunshine this morning helped to create this pretty spectacular rainbow out side my front door. It looks just like it has landed at the front door of the house across the valley, I wonder if there is a pot of gold sitting there.....

Black, white and purple.

2011-12-10T15:48:00.001Z

Generally speaking purple isn't one of my favourite colours, I prefer it to be more on the berry side with more pink in, but when I spotted these pictures recently over one Stylizimo blog, well they stopped me in my tracks, and actually I really like the purple teamed with black and white with the natural warming touches from wood. With just a few purple accessories it really warms the space up, although to be honest its pretty much a fab space anyway.

Images from Fermina.dk

Yes this space is really inspiring me, and I'm already thinking of maybe adding some curtains in purple to my own living room, to help make it feel snugger for the winter.

Weekend Winter walks

2011-12-10T15:30:00.002Z

So I'm looking forward to maybe a country walk this weekend if the weather holds up, to re-fresh and re-charge by batteries now that my Interior design course has finished, all my work has been handed in and checked and now its just a waiting game to see how I have done.
Thank you so much for your comments and emails wishing me well, sample boards and floor plans have slightly taken over recently hence a lack of posting around here of late. And speaking of emails - my account has been hacked into at some time over the last week and someone has run a mock through it all, messing with my settings and sending out a load of spam to my contact's, so apologies if you have received any odd email from thishomesweethome this week, or tried to email me, everything has had to be reset. Very annoying to say the least!

Anyways, happy weekend all!

P.S Yes, I have been tinkering with the look of the blog again!.... Hope you like it.

Work/office space.

2011-12-02T14:56:00.001Z

Well folks my interior design course that I have been taking is drawing to a close, and I have until next Wednesday evening to finish pulling my sample boards and class presentation together, and if this course has taught me anything, it is that a well organised work space is key to a well organised and productive out come.

Not having space to be able to work on my boards has been a real head ache for me, you will not believe how creating a couple of interior design schemes can take over your life, and as I'm not the most organised person in the world, its meant many an evening with the living room floor covered in magazine clippings, catalogues, brochures, and boards, even my tutor pushes two tables together when she see's me heading into class! .

So I have been taking a look around the Blogsphere and on Pinterest to see if I can spot some lovely working spaces to be envious of, and while I'm at it, I have put together a list of tips for the home office and productive working that I wish I had put into action before staring my course...we live and learn folks...

1

1. Try to keep your work space away from other distractions such the TV. family, pets.etc
2. If you can, get a nice long table/desk such as trellis table,
I love the Ikea ones, practical and good looking too.
3. Allow plenty of space for various jobs such as cutting and gluing.
4. Have your tools close to hand so that you
are not continually looking for things.
5. Have adequate storage, for all that you need.
6. Good lighting, natural is best but for the evening use good over head and task lighting.

2

7. Take regular breaks, you will probably function better then
burning the midnight oil and trying to get something done all at once.
8. A tidy space is a tidy mind, therefore more productive.
9. Are you sitting comfortably, get a well supportive seat.
10. Treat your self with something nice,
personally I find burning a scented candle helps keep me calm when up against the dead line!

Well I hope you enjoyed those few tips one being organised, now I'm just off to burn some candles and take a few deep breaths before I head back to my story/sample boards...

Stags

2011-11-30T22:19:00.000Z

Having a stags head adorn the walls of your home has become ever more popular in the last few years, such as the animal friendly plaster Deer head from Nordic Bliss, or a beautiful print from Bodie and Fou, both of which I love. Which of these would be your favourite?

1. Paper weight by Lollipop £12.50

2. Plaster Deer head by Nordic Bliss £73.90

3. The Deer Print by Bodie and Fou £154.00

4. Stag Print Shopper by Graham and Green £20.00

5. Check out that handsome beast, Stag Cushion by Rockett St. George £47.50

6. Deer Head by Cox & Cox £35.00

Cable & cotton Lights.

2011-11-29T17:27:00.001Z

As I mentioned in this post I received a fab set of decorative thread lights named George from the lovely people over at Cable & Cotton and I'm delighted with them! They are currently draped over my set of ladders that I made, bringing a warming glow to the living room, and when all the other room lights are out, they cast a lovely firework effect on the living room walls - though I can't help thinking of chocolate when I look at them, some of the colours remind me of Galaxy milk chocolate.....

Lovely displays to inspire.

2011-11-29T16:59:00.001Z

The Winter Lodge room, Photography, Ransoms Garden centre team

Silver and black room

Elegant , sophisticated and calm dresser

Winter Lodge

Mint greens combine with silver, white and natural

This time of year the shops are busting with decorative ideas, and whether you totally embrace the Holiday festivities and have every inch of your home covered in tinsel and glitter, or would rather be catching a plane to a far away place and relaxing with warm sunshine and a glass of something tropical, one thing is for certain, even if you just like to ring in the changes with some seasonal decoration, you will be sure to find some great inspiration out there for the home.
Ransoms Garden Centre is a favourite place of mine to visit locally, they certainly have a very talented bunch of stylist up there, from the room displays to the painted furniture, the displays all year round never cease to amaze and inspire me. I just love a stroll around at the weekends, taking it all in, then we pop on over to the tea rooms for something scrummy and slightly naughty for the waistline to eat.

Personally I love the Winter Lodge Room display, all those cosy cushions and fur throws, just the perfect place to snuggle down in, and the mint green and silver display could also be inspiration for a wedding table, (we are currently thinking future weddings in our house..or rather my Daughters are, although neither of them are actually engaged) Any of these displays inspire or give you decorating ideas?

All these photos and more can be found on the Ransoms Facebook page here

Mail bag link love and a quick catch up..

2011-11-24T18:02:00.002Z

1| 2,

Well hello there, I have finally come out from under my pile of samples, scale drawings and mood boards that I have been busy creating for my interior design course. I'm in desperate need of a break from it all, if I'm not thinking about colours and paint samples, I'm dreaming it, so for a little break I'm here blogging about...what else...? why interiors of course! What can I say....I'm obsessive. So here are a few photos and links for you to peruse at your leisure, ~~though I can't recall where I found photo no 2..sorry.~~ Found it.

1. Justin and Colin's recently launched soy candles look lovely

2. love the industrial feel of these zinc box drawers from Ebury Home and Garden

3. Stationery treats from Lollipop , I'd like this rubber stamp set please.

4. Fabulous Heather Shaw bracelets from Rustic Disguise, yes please!

5. Thank you to Cable & Cotton, for the string lights now hanging in my living room, they look like lovely orbs of chocolate de-light....milk, white and dark chocolate...

6. nice little down load here print off and pop in a frame.

7. A little luxury from Ralph Lauren

Inspiration Boards.

2011-11-11T12:50:00.001Z

Well hello folks, how has your week been? Mine has been a bit hectic as I have been busy creating mood boards and room schemes for the interior design course that I am currently taking. Our brief is to create a bedroom and bathroom scheme for a single person living in a basic semi detached house, the bedroom is a standard rectangle shape and the bathroom is a small size house bathroom, and our budget is constricted by buying on the high street.

My imaginary person is a lady who has recently moved into a house and wants to update the décor in her bedroom and bathroom.

This inspiration board above is my starting point for the décor and accessories, and I've also been trying to master the art of creating room plans to scale, as I'm totally useless with numbers and can't draw a straight line to save my life, its been a bit of a stressful week, but I think I have finally cracked it, and I'm pretty happy with the way the scheme is coming together. So I'll be on to the next step next week which is drawing all the furniture to scale, and starting the bathroom, oh and this all has to be finished by the beginning of December for my presentation!

So far my shopping list goes like this, but it might change as I have to be able to hand draw these things! :)

Wallpaper - Laura Ashley
Bed - Marks and Spencer
Desk/Dressing table - Ikea
Paint - various from Dulux
Lighting - Bombay duck
Side tables - Conran
candles - Debenhams
Curtains - Ikea just for an idea.
Material - Laura Ashley from the mille fleurs collection.

We have a winner!

2011-11-02T15:23:00.000Z

Congratulations to Leah of Sang the Bird who was picked at random by my daughter, you have won the My Memories give away held recently on This Home Sweet Home. Leah I'll be getting in touch shortly with the info on how you can claim your prize.

Sadly there can only be one winner, but don't worry My Memories are also giving This Home Sweet Home readers the chance to receive a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store that $20 in all! Just use this this code STMMMS7417 in the check out.

One tester pot goes a long way.....

2011-11-01T17:30:00.001Z

Here

for quite a while now I have had a slight obsession with black and white interiors such as these ones pictured here, and I particularly like part, or, a whole wall painted black.

Here

Here

Here

So last night, totally on the spare of the moment I opened the tester pot of Fired Earth charcoal paint that had been sitting on the side for a while now, and did a little test patch on the wall behind my dresser (you know the one, the dresser that is waiting to be painted white) which ended up spreading across the whole wall.... oops... how did that happen......well almost the whole wall, while painting behind the fridge I discovered a damp patch on the bottom of the wall so had to stop there, though I am very impressed with how well this paint covers, nearly an entire wall on a tester pot.

I did think that it might make the kitchen feel darker than it already is, but actually it seems to make it look brighter. Whether or not the colour stays will have to be seen, personally I like it, but the rest of the family are not too keen, though our Kitchen is badly in need of a total revamp, so in my mind anything is an improvement!

My Kitchen

I have also picked a winner for the My Memories Give away so if you entered stay tuned, I will announce the winner in a day or two.

butter bean and vegetable soup

2011-10-30T16:41:00.000Z

Soup is a great winter warmer don't you find, I love making soups when it starts to get a little chilly, and its also made when the family are feeling a little poorly just like this weekend, everyone seems to be going down with coughs and colds, so I made up a batch yesterday. The only thing I find with a vegetable soup is that you can feel hungry shortly after, so to this batch of soup I added a can of butter beans, which I have discovered can help you feel fuller for longer. The beans also make the soup more thicker and creamer when blitzed up a little... just add fresh crusty bread....uumm lovely.

For this soup I made a basic vegetable soup, using carrots, potato, sweet potato, leeks, water and a stock cube of two, coriander, and added a can of butter beans.

P.S the template for this post and this post was created using the My Memories suite which is currently up for grabs here.

Saturday finds

2011-10-29T21:27:00.001+01:00

Do you ever spot something on the internet and think ooh if only that was sold locally or was available to me online, I'm having that feeling about Tine K home just lately, so when I'm out and about shopping I'm on the lookout for things that maybe have the feel and look of what I'm looking for.

Today while at the charity shop I spotted this little black plant pot that did just that, no its not Tine K, but to me it has the feel.

Unless you have a bottomless pit of money, creating a home is about working with what is available to you.

Have you had any great finds lately, or created something you are particularly please with?

P.S did you know I'm holding a give away? and the template for this post was created using it? go here to enter the Give away. Page curl using photo-scape.

Annie Sloan paint discoveries, and a Tine K bowl.

2011-10-27T13:52:00.001+01:00

A few snaps taken on my little camera

Well hello, I'm back from our short trip to Guernsey where I enjoyed discovering little shops and boutiques down cobble stone roads brimming with lovely things for the home. I revisited Indica a shop I found on my last visit, and found a new one called Evie and Me Interiors where I was pleased to discover some Tine K home items, and I couldn't resist buying this little bowl, sadly it didn't have a matching beaker in the grey colour so I had to make do with just the bowl.

I also got me some Annie Sloan chalk paint which I'm more than a little excited about using (a chat online with a reader who recommend it to me) I was happy to discover that it is sold in Guernsey and with the help of the lovely sales assistant we came back with a pot of Old White, a tester of Graphite, a tub of soft wax and a Quick and Easy Paint Transformations book thrown in for good measure and painting ideas! So with My paint pots at the ready it looks like I might actually get around to Painting the dresser that I was given earlier in the year.

Tine K Bowl, Sorella candle