Modern Country Style

Gwyneth Paltrow's Style Evolution

2013-05-24T14:00:00.000+01:00

It's easy to look at images of super-styled images of celebrities {hello, luscious Gwynnie!} and feel intimidated, isn't it? Stop right there! That is sooooo not in the realm of Modern Country Style living. The last thing I want is to make anyone feel less than thrilled with themselves. so I thought we'd have a 'keeping it real' post.

It turns out that Gwyneth is real and human. Who'd have thought?! Beautiful, yes, but she has flaws too.

However, nor is this a point-and-laugh post. You'll never find those on Modern Country Style. Mummies have got a hard enough job as it is without added pressure from that kind of exposure.

Gwyneth Paltrow is a gorgeous yummy mummy, to be sure, but she's learnt to make the very most of her good points and carefully conceals her not-so-good ones and that's something we can all learn from, no?

You can see from these images how Gwyneth Paltrow's style has evolved. Her fashion-sense has been honed over the years.

From student-chic, through minimalist and pregnancies...

...and ending firmly where I love it best....

Modern Country Style!

Casual, cool, relaxed pieces teamed with Modern-luxe and on-trend accessories...it's easy, it's low-maintenance, it's a no-brainer!

Modern Country fashion is here to stay!

Images via Huffington Post, US magazine and Caren Fashion

Gwyneth Paltrow - the most beautiful girl in the world?

2013-05-22T13:27:00.000+01:00

People magazine have decided that Gwyneth Paltrow is the most beautiful woman in the entire, enormous universe. And, though I don't agree (that would be my daughters, natch), I can kinda see where they are coming from.

Remember these posts on Gwyneth Paltrow's Modern Country loves.? We loved her macs, scarves, boots, oh, and her house is utterly stunning too...

Yup, lucky ol' Gwynnie got pretty near the front when the Good Life pills were handed out!

Image via Huffington post

Delicious Dining Room With A Modern Country Colour Scheme

2013-05-20T15:16:00.001+01:00

Hey peeps,

How was your weekend? We had the most marvellous weather on Sunday afternoon, here in the Cotswolds, and I was able to make the very most of it by whiling away a few hours at a friend's beautiful garden. We swapped plants, tips, design ideas and generally had a very lovely time indeed.

How's this for a stunningly put-together Modern Country Dining Room?

I love the wall colour - I suspect Farrow and Ball's Lamp Room Gray, or Benjamin Moore's Gray Horse have been involved somewhere here.

Doesn't the grey look crisp and fresh in contrast with the woodwork and ceiling in pure white? I love the clever mix of brown's...the light, wardrobe, table blinds and that fake bird cage....

Yes, I said 'fake', 'bird' and 'cage'. Together. In a row. Never thought I'd get the chance to say that out loud. ;-)

This is another marvellous example of how a really simple colour palette - grey, white and brown; the classic Modern Country colour scheme - can make a room absolutely sing.

{Have you tried it yet?}

All images via House Beautiful

Pinning It Forward With Pinterest: Modern Country Style

2013-05-16T13:44:00.001+01:00

I was thrilled when Pinterest got in touch to ask me to take part in their #PinItForwardUK campaign to launch Pinterest officially in the UK. It's no secret that I lurrrrve using Pinterest as a super-speedy way of saving inspiring images, which automatically link back to where I found them, so, chomping at the bit, I said I'd be honoured to take part!

In case some of you aren't familiar with Pinterest, it acts as a brilliant tool to organise your most-loved images onto Boards so that you don't have a huge jumble of chaotic gorgeousness on your hard-drive And it's other equally awesome use, is to allow you to 'follow' other people's Boards, like this one from Design Hunter, which feeds any updates onto your Pinterest homepage. If that sounds complicated, then let me assure you it's as easy as pie....although I should warn you it can be thoroughly and deliciously addictive!

Come on over and see what I mean. To take a look at Modern Country Style on Pinterest, just click on the links below to be magically whisked to some of my favourite Pinterest Boards:

Modern Country Interiors

Modern Country Fashion

Modern Country Crafts

Modern Country Gardening

If you haven't yet joined Pinterest, you're in for a treat! For more Modern Country yumminess, follow this link to register. Hope to see you there!

The Holiday: Rosehill Cottage...and Paint Colours!

2013-05-14T13:30:00.000+01:00

Do you recognise this house? It's Rosehill Cottage from The Holiday!

I LOVED sharing the Modern versus Country: The Holiday series {you can see it here...}where we looked at different aspects of Iris' gorgeous Country cottage compared to Amanda's beautiful Modern home. Despite Amanda's being bigger and better in almost every way, Rosehill Cottage's quintessential English charm won the day with nearly all of you.

Now, if your home looks like this, or you'd like it too, then come over to the Relics of Witney blog to chat over the very best exterior paint colours to enhance the Cotswold stone look.

Yummy!

Magazine Round-Up: May

2013-05-07T21:36:00.000+01:00

Welcome, welcome to May's Modern Country Magazine Round-Up.. Pull up a comfy chair and gather round.

{I'm frequently asked which magazines I recommend for Modern Country Lovers like you, and, in response, have started a new monthly feature where you can see where to find the very best articles, the loveliest pictures and the fabbest of fab freebies....}

For May's magazine offerings, you really are spoilt. Let's start off with the very gorgeous Period Ideas.

Period Ideas is jam-packed full of exactly that....ideas. And really fantastic ones; page after page of them.

If you are renovating any kind of older home then may I suggest you start by getting hold of Period Ideas and reading from start to finish.

So many suggestions of where to buy must-have items left my head pleasantly spinning.

A lovely blend of Readers Homes.....

as well as providing realistic advice about what you can do to make your home that bit better...

Period Ideas makes you want to go and pick up a paintbrush right now!

Home Comforts: The Timeless Charm Of A Rustic Kitchen, is my absolute favourite I never can resist the gentle charms of a homely country-style kitchen.

25 Beautiful Homes is next on my Hit List. There are some gorgeous Modern Country interiors featured this month. They'll have you a-drooling!

It really is quite extraordinary the way they manage to find so much gorgeous variation. From teeny terraces to palace-sized pads, there's always something to help you envisage your own home at its best, whatever it may be.

In 25 Beautiful Homes, there's an excellent balance of ideas for both inside and out. This month seems to be gorgeous gardens a-gogo, with nearly every house featured showing some kind of delicious outside space.

Each home comes with its own pointers for wall colours ideas and where specific pieces of furniture are from.

Isn't this dining space lovely? Just what we were talking about last month, with its free-flowing feel.

Probably my favourite home in May's issue is Style With A Smile.

This home is like nothing you've seen before. It's absolutely chockablock with interest and originality. That face on the wall gets me grinning every time!

The English Garden is my favourite gardening magazine.

This magazine isn't just a pretty face.

It has pages of practical advice like this brilliant article on allure the of alliums

and awe-inspiring examples from around England to help you take your garden to the next level...

Offer of the Month Award most certainly goes to The English Garden for this great free Wisteria offer....

This excellent combination of advice and inspiration is thrust delightfully at you on every page making The English Garden a May Must-Have....

And how could I leave out Country Homes And Interiors?

This is a magazine that rarely fails to deliver a thrilling shot of Modern Country Style. From beautiful buildings...

...with heavenly gardens...

to lovely homes...

and buys to tempt at every corner...

{where can I buy that Union Jack throw?}

It also includes thrillingly thrifty crafts if you're feeling the squeeze, like this awesome feature on using old shirts to create perfect prettiness....

Country Homes and Interiors is last but definitely not least in May's Modern Country Magazine Round-Up.

Which of these grabs your eye?

Book Review: Gardenalia by Sally Coulthard

2013-05-02T15:14:00.003+01:00

I promised you a stonker of a book and, not to keep you waiting even one more second, here it is...

Sally Coulthard's book Gardenalia (published by Jacqui Small) is an absolute gem about how to furnish your garden with flea-market finds, country collectables and architectural salvage.

Remember the delicious book Shed-Chic by the same author? Sally, who read archaeology at university and is passionate about salvage, traditional materials and affordable antiques, has, once again, come up trumps. Come with me and see why this book is pure magic...

Divided into two distinct but equally gorgeous, sections, Gardenalia deals first with Structure And Furnishings, which takes a tour through individual aspects of salvage and recycling; how to make the best choices from a limited resource. Guidance about picking the most appropriate second-hand materials is detailed and obviously stems from a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Gardenalia then moves on to the second section: Garden Spaces, which looks in depth at specific gardens, examining design elements of each.

And, oh my, are they gorgeous or are they gorgeous?

Though, it has to be said, some of the gardens featured are both enormous and high-maintenance, there are, nevertheless, gazillions of fantastic ideas to use in your own outdoor spaces.

Gardenalia contains the irresitable combination of images so beautiful that you want to dive in head first (hello heaven...) and hugely readable text. It lures you in page after page after page.

Sally Coulthard's book fits whole-heartedly within the Modern Country ethos. Reusing older yet still-beautiful items (seating, urns, watering cans) but not being afraid to slot in newer objects when budget and availability dictates, Sally helps ensure that everything blends in seamlessly with the whole Vintage Garden look.

Sally Coulthard's aim with Gardenalia
is to help us "create formality, play with perspective, inject warmth or, best of all, add a bit of fun to your flower beds." And, let it be said, that she achieves her purposes magnificently.

My best discovery of the day is that not only has Sally currently writing lovely, lovely books but that, under a different surname, Bevan, she also has a back catalogue too! Yup, I've been getting click-happy with Amazon.

Join Me over there?

Vintage Gardens: Modern Country Style Loves

2013-04-29T14:58:00.000+01:00

Oh, sunshine, how I love you. You make feel all skippity again when you peek through those pesky clouds that have been dominating of late.

This warm weather has had our whole family dashing outside to play, sit and work in our lovely garden. I have my seeds bought and my seedlings at the ready. Are you gearing up for some planting-action too?!

Today, I wanted to share these images of Vintage-style gardens. It's a look that's hard not to fall for: the blend of older, well-loved pieces, especially when mixed with pretty country fabrics is a positively heady combination.

If this look is one that gets your heart beating faster then stay tuned for my review of an utterly fabulicious book coming up next on Modern Country Style!

Ooooh, you're going to LOVE it!!

Now, trowels at the ready....?

Images via: House To Home, The Master Garden Decorations, World Of Vintage Pearl, Flickr, Modern Country Style

The most romantic picture in the world ever?

2013-04-26T13:17:00.000+01:00

Hey pretty poppetts,

Not following on from anything at all, this photo was crying out to be shared. Isn't it super-duper rooooomantic?

Here's to a weekend filled with warm sunshine, country escapes and exciting, happy long-lasting love....

Patrick Grant: The Modern Country Gentleman:

2013-04-24T13:00:00.000+01:00

Patrick Grant has been one of the rather unexpected stars of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Here is a man cut from a different cloth to that of the usual run-of-the-mill males we are dully presented with by the media, and I think those differences are to be celebrated. Smart, well-spoken and eloquent. Here he is in action:

I heard some rather exciting news the other day: Patrick Grant is to launch his own menswear collection for Debenhams in the autumn called Hammond and Co by Patrick Grant. See what you think:

Patrick has been quoted as saying:

"We have worked hard to ensure the synonymous cut [of Saville Row tailoring], subtle flair and the perfect proportion is present through every piece."

The collection will consist of 70 pieces for men who want a classic, yet contemporary look. I'm liking the look very much indeed.

Country fashion but with a Modern twist.

Why You Should Be Watching The Great British Sewing Bee

2013-04-22T16:00:00.000+01:00

I think I am actually in love with The Great British Sewing Bee currently airing on BBC. Here are my top five (of a billion gazillion) reasons why YOU should be watching....

1) The camaraderie of the contestants is heart-warming.

They're all such a mixed bag but somehow all so likable. There's none of the sniping you get with The Apprentice (though plenty of snipping - hoho!). A perfect example of how ambition doesn't need to be undercut with rudeness. Ever.

2) The skills on show will get you whipping out your sewing machine.

The sewers get a very limited time frame to fulfil the tasks so, as viewers, there's no waiting around, twiddling our thumbs. The action is fast-paced and tense....but soooooo inspirational. Yep, I've hauled out my sewing machine more times in the last month than in the last year. My head is positively abuzz with ideas.

3)The set is heavenly.

Oh, the set is just bee-autiful {geddit?!}. The show is shot in a converted house in the City of London and has been styled to perfection along an industrial-country vein. Low-hanging metal lights. The muted colours of the Modern Country Style cupboards. Lots of white. Every angle of the camera picks up new delicious details.

4)The judges are lovely.

May and Patrick absolutely know their crafts. Whether its how thick a French seam should be or how the weight of a fabric will affect the final look of piece, their comments give you a whole new perspective on clothes-design.

5) The final is TOMORROW!!!

Eeeeeeeeek!

Truly, what's not to like?

Image 3 via Tilly And The Buttons, all others via BBC

Introducing Etsy's best kept secret...Free-Motion-Embroidered Home Pictures

2013-04-17T16:06:00.003+01:00

There are so many of you gorgeously talented people out there. It constantly astounds me. Please hear me when I give a big shout-out to you all:

Modern Country Style salutes you!

Let's take a look at one such girlie who, in my opinion, is one of Etsy's best-kept secrets. I'd like to introduce you to Shabby Chic Sarah! Sarah creates free-motion embroideries of homes...THEY ARE INCREDIBLE! {Email Sarah for cost details.}

Sarah is a total whizz at free-motion embroidery and has an amazing eye for transferring the details of an image to collage form. She has - hurrah - agreed to let me interview her about her business.

Sarah, you know how much I adore your work. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?

Hi! I take orders for custom free motion embroideries of houses. These make fabulous gifts for new home owners or just a lasting keepsake of your home.

Your pictures are stunning. How do you even begin to put together such amazingness? What is the starting point?

Thank you! I need a clear photo of the front-on view of your house and if you can see it on Google Street View then the address would be good too, as I can sometimes get a better angle on things.

{Ahem...I went mad and sent about five photos!}

Once I get your photo, I make a sketch, check with you you're happy and then start cutting and sewing, working from your photos and also Google Street View to draw a sketch of your home, picking out all the distinctive details.

How do you choose which fabrics to use?

I ask my customers to let me know any colours they'd like (or dislike) and then I cut fabric pieces to make the basic shape of their home - I use quality fabrics including Cath Kidston; Tilda; Tanya Whelan and vintage.

How do you put these incredible works of art together?

I freehand-embroider the fabric to the background using my machine. The picture is created by using the needle to free hand draw the details on to the fabric. I add smaller details such as the windows, drainpipes and so on and then it is time to add some hand embroidery in the form of flowers, trees and bunting.

What makes your pictures unique to you?

I love to ask customers about any "imaginary touches" they'd like, such as bunting, pretty flowers in planters, etc - it's often these that make a portrait. I can add "fantasy" touches (that are not really there on your real home) - window boxes, wisteria or rambling roses, picket fences and so on - use your imagination!!

How do you finish the pieces?

I carefully pad and frame the work and it is ready to grace your wall. Frame-wise, the ones I use are plain and come in oak, black, white, and pewter (which looks between silver and gold).

Thank you so much, lovely Sarah...I am over the moon with my home picture and it is hugely admired by everyone who sees it.

I hope you enjoyed the interview as much as I did! Sarah interpreted my ideas, as well as our home, in such a super-special way (for the record, I asked for muted colours with a bluey-grey background and my make-believe elements included the roses around the door and the bunting) - hasn't she done an awesome job?!. She makes completely unique and utterly lovely keepsakes. If you'd like your very own embroidered picture then you can email Sarah here or contact her via her blog.

Plant Pots And Garden Treats.

2013-04-08T14:51:00.001+01:00

Are you the kind of person that loves growing their own - flowers or veggies or fruit - then you are going to want to look at this...

Would you like to make your very own plant pots from newspaper? They're quick, they're easy and they're fun - not to mention incredibly environmentally friendly, as your creations can be planted straight into your garden, where they will rot away in the soil. Perfect!

Come on over to the Relics blog where I'll be waiting for you and explaining, step-by-step, how to make them.

Can You Have Gorgeous Bare-Look Windows AND Privacy? YES!!

2013-04-05T14:30:00.000+01:00

I came across the image below the other day and fell instantly and madly in love. I knew I had to share it with you right away, particularly because we've been talking about window treatments. Isn't the room gorgeous? It's hard to know where to begin in highlighting the feature I like best.

Should it be the wispily soft gentle grey-green of the walls, which is dark enough to provide contrast with the white woodwork but not so dark that the warm effect of the timber is lost? {Try Farrow and Ball's Pigeon for a similar effect.} Might it be the rich brown of the curved chest of drawers? The soft light filtering through the wooden Venetian blind? Or the brickwork in the fireplace left raw, providing lovely contrast with the sparkle of the mirror above?

A perfectly Modern Country room in every way, don't you agree? Ooh, simply scrumptious.

Now, in the last post, we were talking about leaving windows untreated. Most of us agreed in the comments section that there is a time and a place for leaving windows bare. The window needs to be particularly gorgeous, the view to-die-for and the room needs a strong industrial feel.

But even if all these heavenly ingredients are in place, there will still be times when a little bit of privacy is called for. Curtains seem wrong, wrong, wrong in some spaces - too fussy, somehow, and too attention-grabbing. We need an option that is eye-candy perfect but subtly and stealthily so. And that is where wooden Venetian blinds step into the limelight. These don't have to be hugely expensive (in fact, after a quick snoop, I've just spotted that Blinds Supermarket currently have 80% off their bespoke range).

Simple, beautiful and low-key when pulled down, and, when raised, wooden Venetian blinds disappear into thin air.

Letting your lovely room sing for itself.

{Cue angelic choirs.}

Industrial Style Dining Room

2013-04-02T16:45:00.001+01:00

This week, we'll be focussing on windows....

Let's start here:

The dining room is absolutely stunning. Feast your eyes on that enormous mirror, the magnificent table and those white chairs which soften the whole scheme.

I love the industrial feel of this space. The bare rick, the steel girders and the double (or is it triple?) height room.....BUT, I'll get to the point, what do you think about the undressed windows?

Yes, NAKED is what they are!

{*blush*}

The question on my mind is this: do all dining rooms needs some kind of window treatment...even if they are not overlooked?

Image via: Nicety

How To Create A Stunning Dining Room Using Candles

2013-03-27T14:02:00.001Z

Today we're going to take a look together at how to make your dining room look absolutely stunning using candle-light.

Using windlights is an easy, and relatively low cost way of adding sparkle and pizazz to any room but works especially well in the dining room where people are seated around a table for social activity.

Just take a look at these images to see how well this look works, even during daylight hours...and then grabs more and more of your attention as the night draws on.

However, plonking a few Ikea tealights round and about just won't cut the mustard. won't do the room any favours. What you need is a showpiece. A focal point. Some real eye-candy to make the statement that this is a thought-out part of your lighting scheme and not just an after-thought add-on.

Here are five rules that will guide you through the process of how to create a real design statement using windlights:

Choose stunning centrepieces.

This is an essential part of dressing up your dining space with candlelight. Choose carefully. You want something that really catches the eye but mustn't overly dominate the table. Look out for gorgeous details, beautiful design and built-to-last workmanship.{The two we use on our dining table are Lombok Seta Rectangular Windlights....and I've just noticed they're on sale!}

Use symmetry

I love the Country-idyll concept of using candles for evening lighting: romantic and soft.....BUT by using choosing windlights that have particularly strong design, and highlighting that design with the help of symmetry, you can create a very Modern take on it to ensure you have the best of both worlds. Yes, my sweets, that's the joy of Modern Country.

Size matters

Keep items on the table low so that you can actually see each other. This is such a common mistake (just check out some of the gorgeous but impractical images in this post). That's where these Lombok windlights are perfect because they're substantial in the right ways - long and heavy (so stable on the table) but, importantly, not too tall. Most windlights in this style are either simply too enormous to sit comfortaly on the table or too tinsy-tiny to encourage the eye-popping, stunner of a look that we're after.

Place your windlights at either end of the table.

Making the most of symmetry has a dual purpose as this allows you to keep the centre of the table free of clutter to leave room for people passing the wine, clearing plates, leaning forwards for intimate chatter and all the other lovely things you want to encourage at your dinner parties....

Use other candles around the room.

Think of using candles as building up layers of visual delight. When you have created a beautifully strong focal point with your choice of windlights for your table, you can use lots of other candles around the room to compliment this first layer.

And there you have it....

Modern Country Dining at its very best:

relaxed, informal and oh-so-stylish.

Enjoy!

All images: mine

Dining By Candle Light

2013-03-25T12:47:00.001Z

Here in the Cotswolds, the nights are still long and the days are still freeeeeeezing. Where's our Spring, I'd like to know? It's the kind of cold where it really gets into your bones, as grandparents around the world are wont to say. With that in mind, let's take a look at candle light....the mainstay of warming any space up, both literally and figuratively.

Candle light is rightly well-known for the warmth of its mellow, golden glow, which casts a flattering flicker over anything it touches. And that, my friends, is why you need candle light in your dining space. Where else do friends and family stare at your face for hours on end, particularly after a long day at work when you might not be at your perky-best? Yes, candles are DEFINITELY the way to go!

The problem is that candles can clutter up the table to the point of ridiculousness. If you look at some of these images, you'll see that they demonstrate my point perfectly.

It's easy to make them look scrummy when there's nothing else on the table but add in food, sauces and a jug and there'll be no room left for relaxed elbows-on-the-table chatting...and that would never do.

I always say that there are a few rules to be guided by when picking your candle lights....

Let's take a look a good look at them on Wednesday.

Images via Casa Tres Chic, Nicety, Bright Bazaar

Magazine Round-Up: April

2013-03-22T14:49:00.002Z

Lying in bed one night, my thoughts turned to a question that I'm often asked: Which magazines do I recommend for Modern Country Style?

Then it struck me. Wouldn't it be great to have a resource that showed, each month, where to find the very best articles, pictures and offers? And that, my lovely Modern Country chums, is what you're going to find here.

I proudly present to you.....

The Modern Country Magazine Round-Up....

Care to join me for a browse...oh, and some Cadbury's chocolate fingers?

First up is Country Homes and Interiors....

April's issue is jam-packed with yummy homes. Just enjoy a little look-see at some of these rooms...

{And don't forget to help yourself to biscuits as we go through...}

There's a fantastic 'The Look We Love...' feature on French Ticking which is styled exquisitely. Reader, let me tell you that I almost wanted to lick the pages.

Anything to do with Kate Forman, designer of beautiful faded floral fabrics, always catches my eye, so a whole interview with Kate had me jumping merrily around the room.

Rather exciting offer-wise, is this 20% off at Garden Trading (remember these baskets?). Niiiiice!

Possibly my favourite article in the magazine is this:

The kitchens are so beautiful that, be warned, you'll find it veeeeeeerrrrrry hard to tear yourself away to look at....

April's edition of Ideal Home.

{L:O:V:E} that study:

Something Ideal Home do really well is their pages showing you current buys inspired from gorgeous rooms. As an example, take a peek at this room, Yummy, no? Want to find out how to do it yourself...?

Now you can! Here's how...

See what I mean? This month's Ideal Home is full of practical information to help you interpret these looks for yourself.

One article that bowled me over was Know Your Greys.

The in-depth look at the different undertones of greys is styled to perfection. Mmmmm....

Plus LOOK!! If you loved the home tour I shared last week then this will make you super-pleased:

Loads of hints and tips to help you get the look!

By the way, have you heard about the new Country Homes Ideas iPad app? It contains a whole bucket-load of decorating, craft and recipe ideas to help you create your dream country home. Definitely worth a peep.

Living etc is simply fab for inspiration on the modern side of Modern Country.

There are tonnes of ideas sprinkled through the pages of how to upcycle industrial items and blend them deliciously into your Modern Country home. Take a peek at that Boulangerie sign....

or this water-container repurposed as a vase...

But it's what I found next that made me 'Ooooh' out loud. Remember this amazing kitchen/dining room that I shared on Modern Country Style in June 2011? April's Living etc has an extensive feature on the whole house...I do hope you're Ooooh-ing in anticipation!

It has LOADS of perfect images that'll have your eyes out on stalks..

You're in for a treat!

And last but not least....Homes and Gardens

The styling in April's edition is just about as good as it gets.

This is my magazine of the month.

Nearly every page has eye-popping details...

...or fantastic offers...

....or beautiful homes...

...or gardens...

...to drool over.

The truth is, there isn't one magazine entirely devoted to the rolling, verdant hills of Modern Country Style, and I rather like it that way. It's much more fun pulling together looks you adore from a variety of sources and we're so lucky in the UK to have a really fantastic range of magazines that cover a variety of styles.

One of my great pleasures is dipping in and out of a range of magazines, armed with a hot mug of tea and a bowl of my favourite biscuits, and drawing ideas and inspiration from their delicious pages.

I do hope you enjoyed this month's Modern Country Magazine Round-Up...ideas and recommendations are very welcome!

What Are The Best Alternatives To Google Reader

2013-03-20T14:34:00.001Z

The big news of the week is that Google Reader is stopping on the 1st July 2013. Gaaaaah!

If you love viewing blogs through a Reader of some sort then this post is for YOU! The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives. The bad news is that it's a lot of new information to take in. So, in the interest of those of us who have a million and one better things to do than to look for a new feeder in detail (errrr, I guess that's all of us), I've done the dull donkey work for you. Pleasure.

This isn't a post about finding the best new feeder; it's about finding the best replacement for Google Reader. If a service shuts down, I like to find the most similar service I can until my flurry of feelings settles and then later, mayyyyyyyybeeeeeeee, if I have the time and inclination, I may or may not change to a better alternative in the future.

If you're as uncomfortable with sudden, forced changes as me (!) then read on...Let's take a look at how to replicate your Google Reader experience as closely as possible.

As I see it, there are three viable options:

Feedly,

The Old Reader

and Bloglovin'.

I'm probably going to stick with Feedly. Why? Because it gives almost exactly the same feel as Google Reader....in fact, with a few minor tweaks, you'd barely notice the difference....on your computer or phone. I wanted my changeover to be quick, easy and straightforward and Feedly came up trumps in all these ways.

Feedly and Blogloving will export all your subscriptions from Google Reader, with your permission. This is a very quick process and as easy as a click of a button. Truly nothing to get your knickers in a twist over.

Then, once you're in, here are the steps you need to take to create a Google Reader vibe over at Feedly.

1) Choose the Full Articles mode by clicking on the cog icon on the top right of the screen.

2) Click on Themes and then pick White to have a lovely clean screen, like this one...just like Google Reader!

3) Click on Preferences (on the left hand sidebar) and, where it says 'Unread Links Colour', type Blue.

Tadddaaaaaaaaaah! Was that easy, or was that easy? These simple steps make my Feedly reader experience pretty darn similar to Google Reader.

My one small gripe is that I'd love to be able to change the font size and style to be a bit more reader-friendly but, overall, I'm happy with Feedly as a Google Reader alternative.

Now it's your turn...what are the best Readers out there for us hate-change types? Have you had good experiences...or, indeed, bad ones! come on, spill the beans for all of us to share...

Using Brown In A Modern Country Scheme

2013-03-18T14:49:00.001Z

Hello, hello, hello!

This weekend has been all about getting snug inside when outside it's snowing. Yes, snowing. It's meant to be Spring, Mr Weather-Man. Why, oh why, are we getting snow?

Luckily, it all melted away sooner than you can say 'Can we get the sledges out, Mummy?' and we seem to be back to dull, grey skies for the moment.

Hmmm....

Never fear. I have a Masterplan. Let's put aside our weather-worries and focus so hard on getting everything else looking lovely that we hardly notice the bleakness, shall we? Shake on it?

Now, we were just in the middle of extolling the colour brown when I left you last Friday, as part of this luscious home tour.

Rather unglamourous-sounding (unless you count chocolate associations, in which case, I'm all ears (or, rather, mouth...hoho!)) but just look at these images I've taken from our kitchen and dining room.

I hope you'll agree that using brown to tie two or more rooms together can evoke a soothing and harmonious flow.

There is such a wide range of shades involved that it needn't feel contrived. We're not talking specific shades here.

Brown stems so magically from nature itself, with all its subtle layers of colour blending beautifully to create a really stunning cohesive whole.

There are so many options for you to take away for use in your home. Let's see.....there's wood, obviously, in all its glorious forms.

And linen. And wicker. And rattan.

And any number of vintage bits and bobs.

And stone. And pottery.

The possibilities are as endless as the results are gorgeous.

Yup, brown is definitely up there in my list of Modern Country Colour Must-Haves.

All images: mine

Going Upstairs...

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First, things first, I've added a Pin It Button to Modern Country Style {Thanks, Miranda for the request!}, so feel free to Pin away to your heart's content! On your marks, get set...PIN!!...

And, now on with this scrummy post.....

Well, here we again. Back inside this beautiful house.

On Wednesday, I showed you around the Flow-Through ground floor....I do hope your appetite has been thoroughly whetted for a trip upstairs to continue our house tour. It has? Marvellous.Then let's go.....

Upstairs has the same understated palette of pure white, brown and touches of black. Perfectly illustrated by one of my favourite images:

The use of brown is so beautiful; ranging from beige to rich chestnut, brown covers a whole range of natural finishes....

wood...

fabric...

door handles...

leather...

and even this handsome giraffe.

Brown offers so much flexibilty and is one of my favourite anchoring colours for any room, particularly if applied across a whole house.

Let me show you what I mean.....

Images via Angie Green

Modern Country House Tour In White, Black And Brown...

2013-03-13T14:26:00.002Z

Welcome to a real cracker of a house. Shall we meet by the front door wearing our best Modern Country Outfits?

Oooh my! You look utterly divine in that dress. Let's step into the hallway where our real journey begins.

How's this for another fantastic Flow-Through set-up?

Yes, it's big - verging on the ginormous - and far bigger than almost every house in England (possibly even if they were all combined, so stupendously big is this home!) but there are a whole tonne of ideas to be gleaned from this mammoth space so bear with me.

They all centre, once again, around choosing a palette and sticking to it.

Here the palette chosen is predominantly white with accents of brown and occasional touches of black. And, ooh-la-laaaaa, it looks the biz.

If you're slightly uncertain about palette-picking then may I be so bold as to recommend that you go down this route too?

Why? Let me give you two good reasons.

1. It's easy-peasy to shop for. Gone are the myriad of confusing choices colour-wise. If it's white, brown, or possibly black then it will fit in, if it's not, then look away, my friend, just look away and move on.

And 2. It's pipsqueak to switcheroo in the future. If you get bored with the layout then you could move any number of items from room to room and it would still look great. In fact, not just great, but FABULICIOUSLY great!

Now, look, sweeties, I know this series is meant to be about dining rooms, and it is, truly it is, but the rest of this house is eye-candy at its finest, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to take this discussion upstairs.

Meet me in the hallway on Friday?

Images via Angie Green

Our Beautiful Over-Sized Jim Lawrence Lampshade

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Speaking of stunning lighting, let me take you up into our very own Master bedroom and share with you, as promised, our gorgeous new shade-y dealings. Jim Lawrence have recently launched a Lampshade Builder, allowing you to create your very own bespoke shade.

There are literally thousands upon thousands of options to choose from but it's all done through a questionnaire process so you never feel overwhelmed by the gazillions of options available (remember those pop-type quizzes in magazines? Filling mine in felt a bit like that.)

On the Jim Lawrence website, it says this:

"Our Lampshade Builder allows you to choose from 20 styles, 100 sizes and over 200 fabrics to create a stunning and unique shade. It takes a few simple steps to build your perfect shade online. Our talented seamstresses will then create it in our Suffolk workshop and it will be delivered beautifully packaged within 2 weeks."

Sounds good, huh? But how does the reality match up?

What we need is someone to undercover and find out....and that someone was me!

So, backtracking to the start. I knew roughly what I had in mind...a stunning, large open shade for our bedroom but I wasn't sure of the details. And this is where the Jim Lawrence team really come into their own. They are stunningly helpful; sending out free samples promptly, answering every question that I could think of to throw at them and generally being very lovely indeed.

Jim Lawrence claimed that I could tweak the smallest of details so, with you in mind, I tried them out...I rather pickily asked for the light fitting to be lowered to 5cm from the top of the shade and, abracadabra, they've been able to make it just so!

When the shade arrived (and, yes, within the promised two weeks...impressive with the run up to Christmas), it was utterly perfect and beautifully put together.

I chose their French Drum style, which, at first glance, appears to be cylindrical but actually has a slightly larger circumference at the bottom than the top, adding further interest.

This shade has a 55cm circumference which is large enough to look stunning but not so large that it dominates that room.

The fabric is Jim Lawrence's Pastorale Toile De Jouy in grey, which complements the Farrow and Ball Light Blue walls in a very pleasing fashion undeed (and that comes from someone who is a complete colour-pedant!).

One of the touches I'm most pleased with is the diffuser. It softens the glare of the bulb and stops me from being able to see the rather ugly inner workings of the light bulb fitting.

Yes, I don't know what magic it is that they weave up there at Jim Lawrence but I'm pretty darn impressed.

And now....back to Dining Rooms!

Colour Echoing

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One of the most essential elements in creating any Flow-Through space is colour. To show you what I mean, let me show you this space.....

Can you see how the colours are repeated in both rooms, even if in tinsy-tiny doses? The soft lime wall in the kitchen is picked out in the dining light shade. The off-black of the window frames is repeated in the small curtain in the kitchen. The cream of the chairs is echoed by the cream of the kitchen cupboards. The wooden worktops are carried through in the dining room table.

For a flow-through dining room space, you need to pick a palette and stick to it.

How do you do that? Follow me on our journey as I share my perfect Modern Country colour picks.

Don't you love that low over-sized pendant light?

And, speaking of lights, before we delve into those deliciously murky palette-picking waters, let me show you our new bedroom light. I simply can't wait another day...

Images via David Duncan Livingston

Modern Country Cottage Tour

2013-03-05T13:02:00.000Z

This cottage is not only a great example of a Modern Country Flow-Through Dining Room but also of a wonderfully unified home.

I've featured the dining area before but...woohoooo....have recently managed to track down the rest of the house for you.

The three-bedroom cottage was a rather run-down fisherman's cottage when it was bought but has been converted into this beautiful Modern Country Home.

It is located in Scotland, near Angus (thanks, Dee!), and there are subtle nods to the Celtic location, including these highly original antler candelabras.

The downstairs is entirely open-plan (bar the shower room, mercifully!) but has been thoughtfully set out to create different zones: living, dining and cooking.

The decor has been designed with the cottage's seaside location in mind.

Soft sandy tones, coupled with faded blues and weathered wood create a sophisticated look which is an eternity away from twee coastal knick-knacks.

It's this carefully limited colour palette which creates the feeling of harmony throughout.

There are no jarring changes but softly flowing inter-related areas which gently draw the eye onwards.

The cottage is a great example of how new additions can add character; namely the wide oak floorboards, limestone tiles and cream Aga.

Although they have all been recently added, there is no question that they add enormously to the cottages quirky charms.

Upstairs, the owner has removed the wall between the master bedroom and the bathroom to create a stunning en-suite.

The bath is the Brunel model from Aston Matthews. Isn't she a stunner!

The cottage is a real winner in my book....the owner has pulled together old and new to create a really stunning home....and it's available to rent...tempted?!

All images: Pat Renson