NEVER CONCISE HOME // LIVING ROOM // Mid-Season Update

MID-SEASON LIVING ROOM UPDATE

As we’re now in September (HOW, seriously, HOW?),  and Eli is back to school, I can finally get round to tidying up the house. I have a rather large wish-list of items I’d love for our home, of which I am continually adding to! Having rented for the 15 years we’ve been together, it sometimes feels like our home isn’t ‘home’ as we can’t ever rip up the carpets, or decorate with paints or paper, or add extensions or knock down walls etc. But by using accessories and furniture, we can certainly make the blank canvas that we currently call home a bit more like our own.

INSTAGRAM RUG - AFAR BERBER RUG - LA REDOUTE
LA REDOUTE // “THE INSTAGRAM RUG” // Afaw Berber Rug
£99.00
LA REDOUTE // WATFORD SHELF (SET OF 2) //
£76.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rugs are a great way to add texture, warmth and of course, personality to a room. I still adore the ‘Instagram Rug‘ from La Redoute.  The Afaw Berber style rug is off white, which is flattering to any colour scheme, but also hides a multitude of sins when you have kids running about – pristine white is a bit of a no-go in our house, that’s for sure!

LA REDOUTE // HIBA MAGAZINE RACK //
£65.00
habitat coralie side table
HABITAT // CORALIE // Side Table //
WAS: £150.00 – NOW: £75.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a few leather and natural wood accents in our home. I made the coffee table we currently use from an older butchers block with black Dansette legs. So this Habitat side table would sit really nicely next to that.

COX & COX // SCANDI LOVE SEAT // Blush Pink Velvet
COX & COX // SCANDI LOVE SEAT // Blush Pink
£1,295.00

Can you ever go wrong with a bit of blush pink? We currently only really have blush pink accents in our main bedroom. But I love this COX & COX Love Seat so much, it would have to be in the living room!

made.com bex round circle mirror in black
MADE.COM // BEX MIRROR // Black
£99.00
made.com essentials clock black morley
MADE.COM // MORLEY CLOCK // Black
£10.00

 

 

How much of a bargain is this Made.com Clock? At just £10, this is a great  timepiece for the wall with a minimalist aesthetic, reminiscent of the beautiful Swiss railway clocks.

 DYLAN BASE habitat walnut lamp standard floor lamp stand
HABITAT // DYLAN LAMP BASE // Walnut //
£95.00
Buy Cowshed Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Double Wick Candle , 400g Online at johnlewis.com
COWSHED // 20TH ANNIVERSARY CANDLE // 400G £65.00
Uyova Amulet-Shaped Metal Mirror - LA REDOUTE
LA REDOUTE // UYOVA AMULET-SHAPED MIRROR // Metal //
£27.00
Cushion cover - Beige/Patterned - Home All | H&M GB 1
H&M HOME // CUSHION // Beige //
£19.99
Buy Umbra Trigg Small Wall Planters, White, Set of 2 Online at johnlewis.com
UMBRA // SMALL WALL PLANTERS // White //
£25.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cement Style Tall Planter next
NEXT // TALL PLANTER // Cement //
£55.00

I’m currently in love with Danish planters and I love the modern twist of Cement with these from NEXT (!!!! I KNOW!).

LA REDOUTE // TREBLA BASKET // Small //
£27.00
COX & COX // BOOT RACK // Black //
£65.00
Luxe Round Bamboo Drinks Trolley
OLIVER BONAS // DRINKS TROLLEY // Bamboo //
£395.00

 

Ahhh the beautiful bar cart of dreams from Oliver Bonas! I have a feeling this will be on my wishlist for a loooooooong time. This bar cart (well, initially the stunning vintage carts and trolleys of Soho House…) inspired me to make my very own bar cart – you can see my blog post on the DIY for this > HERE!

Abstract Framed Print
NEXT // ABSTRACT PRINT // Framed //
£35.00
Jett 6 Light Fitting
NEXT // JETT LIGHT FITTING // Black Metal //
£110.00
Florbella Scalloped Ceramic Vase
OLIVER BONAS // SCALLOPED VASE // Ceramic //
£27.00

 

 

 

 

Marble Ball Incense Holder
OLIVER BONAS // INCENSE HOLDER // Marble //
£19.00

 

BuyJohn Lewis & Partners Chunky Knit Throw, Natural Online at johnlewis.com
JOHN LEWIS & PARTNERS // THROW // Chunky Knit //
£65.00
Hush Linen & Room Spray | hush
HUSH HOMEWEAR // ROOM SPRAY // Linen //
£19.00

 

The Monet foot stool - Att Pynta
ATT PYNTA // FOOT STOOL // Rattan //
£245.00
Handmade Stoneware glazed plant hanger with bead detail
ATT PYNTA // STONEWARE HANGER // Handmade //
£35.00

 

 

IKEA FEJKA artificial potted plant
IKEA // FEJKA // Artificial Bamboo Plant //
£45.00

If you’re not so green-fingered, IKEA stock a brilliant range of artificial plants and flowers. I love this Bamboo, it looks really life-like in, er, real life.

Image result for Medium Fern in Crackle Pot marks
MARKS & SPENCER // FERN // Crackle Pot //
£49.50
Image result for Large Cactus in Crackle Pot marks - MARKS AND SPENCER - M&S
MARKS & SPENCER // CACTUC // IN CRACKLE POT
£49.50

 

OFFERS & PROMOTIONS

25% off everything code at La Redoute

25% off all home at La Redoute!
Code: SAVE25
Ends: 27th September 2018

CLICK TO SHOP

 

I like to move furniture about to give a fresh lease of life to a room – this is a a great way to change your perspective of a room without dipping into the bank. But if you had the cash at hand, what new Living Room items would you go for first? What are you lusting after?

#NeverKnowinglyConciseHOME

C
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NEVER KNOWINGLY CONCISE: DOES D.I.Y // BAR CART OF DREAMS

Since we moved back from Berlin, we’ve lived a more minimalist life. Afterall, our entire worldly belongings were put into a storage shipping container – we had NOTHING in Berlin as we lived in a holiday let – didn’t have our own bedding, cutlery, prints, books,  NOTHING. Which was weird whilst we lived out there… but when we moved back, we soon realised just how much STUFF we had and really didn’t need. We’ve sold a lot on selling sites etc, but we’ve donated just as much to charity too; which always feels good.

One of the item’s we did use was our drink’s cabinet – a Danish, Midcentury thing of beauty. But it just felt like this big old cabinet was too much now we were scaling down – it felt like it was overwhelming the room. (We did also use it for Eli’s Art & Crafts/School gear too, it wasn’t JUST a drinks cabinet! hah). So it was a begrudgingly out with the old… in with the D I Y! DIY you say?! Why? Well, scroll and see…

I’ve always been in love with gold and marble bar carts – you know, the antique 20’s type – cemented with stays at Soho House group (DREAM household interior btw). But these gold and marble carts come with a pretty price tag too. See below the kind of vibe I had as inspiration:

 

// BAMBOO DRINKS TROLLEY – OLIVER BONAS – £395

        
// ROUND DRINKS TROLLEY – GRAHAM & GREEN £315

  
// TERRACE BAR CART – WEST ELM – £349

As you can see, most bar carts are around the £300 mark, ouch! So I thought, why not live by the motto, ‘Fake it, till you make it!’ and make your own! So that’s what I did! See my step-by-step below of how I got my own Bar Cart of Dreams.

WHAT I USED:
IKEA – SUNNERSTA Trolley – £18
x1 D-C-Fix Marble Effect Adhesive – £6.50 per roll
x2 RUST-OLEUM Gold Spray Paint 400ml – Bright Gold – £8.75 per can
x1 Premium ‘Any surface’ tester pot – Black – £1.25 per pot

EQUIPMENT:
Scissors / Stanley knife
Pencil
Ruler
Tea towel

TOTAL COST: £53.25

    

  

    

 

HINTS & TIPS

  • Use spray paint in a well ventilated space. Not only because of the obvious issues with inhalation, but also the dust from the spray paint goes EVERYWHERE. Alternatively, use a traditional paint and paint brush to avoid dust settling.
  • You’ll need to do around 2 coats of paint – so just go at it finely at first, you can always cover up any bare bits!
  • Allow the paint to thoroughly dry – at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
  • Take your time with the adhesive paper, lots of bubbles form as you’re applying – these can be popped with a pin afterward, or just use a towel to roll as you go.

So there you have it – my bar cart of dreams! This would obviously also work well as a cart for bath linen / lotions & potions or even just as a display trolley.

#DIYLikeAMum

Cheers!

Cx

Brands: Summer savings at Kiddicare.com!

 

Ooooh, look what I just spied! Save yourself up to 15% off purchases at www.Kiddicare.com! Perfect timing for other prospective parents-to-be… and it’s the Summer holidays for those already (lucky!) parents!

You just need to enter the below codes, respectively.

• Save an extra 10% off when you spend £75 at www.Kiddicare.com or in store: ‘summer10’

• Save an extra 15% off when you spend £150 at www.Kiddicare.com or in store:  ‘summer15’

Enjoy! And tell me what you purchase!

MM.

 

Terms and conditions: 
10% off is only available on purchases of £75 (excluding delivery) or more online at www.Kiddicare.com. 15% off is only available on purchases of £150 (excluding delivery) online at www.Kiddicare.com or in store (Peterborough, Hampton). The discount codes must be entered to receive the discount. Discounts cannot be applied retrospectively. The voucher is not transferable. Offer ends at 11am on Tuesday 31st July 2012. Kiddicare have the right to amend or withdraw the promotion at any time.

Don’t forget the Kiddicare Big summer Sale is still on and New Lines have been added.

 

Guest Post for Wriggly Rascals: Ligament pain during pregnancy.

 

When the lovely ladies from Wriggly Rascals approached me about doing this guest post I knew that it was something I could definitely discuss at length… I’d had ligament pain since the very early weeks of my pregnancy…

To read my full blog post, head over to www.wrigglyrascals.com and straight to Ligament Pain During Pregnancy ! Please do tell us all about your experiences with Ligament Pain during Pregnancy. What helped you out the most? How was your birth and recovery? Did you encounter the pain in subsequent pregnancies?

And don’t forget to sign up to the website to join the conversation!

MM.

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If you need any #pregnancy reassurance, ask @wrigglyrascals for help. www.wrigglyrascals.com

@wrigglyrascals is a new community to help #newmums, join in. www.wrigglyrascals.com
About Wriggly Rascals
Wriggly Rascals was set up by Shona Motherwell, a frustrated mum of twins Mhairi and Archie to get mums together to share pregnancy, baby and toddler advice via quick surveys to get the facts about what other mums do. Our mums pass on loads of great tips to mums who have asked for help. If you would like some advice, get in touch at www.wrigglyrascals.com

Like father, like son…

I could not resist this tiny gingham shirt from Baby Gap the other day… OH has a very similar one from Ben Sherman. Albeit, OH, is more into his plain oxford shirts these days – but we won’t tell anyone that ;o

OH and I both wear Converse too – so will definitely be getting our little one into them as soon as he needs them! 😀 He’ll be wearing his with some titchy shirts and dungaree’s however; old school.

Did you dress your little ones in similar clothing to you or your partner?

MM.

 

Our Baby Boy’s first bedroom.

We’ ve been super organised during this pregnancy – despite all the scares and the tests and the anxiety. I think the being organised has been therapeutic in a way; and has given us something to keep our minds focussed 🙂

Here are the first picture’s of Baby Boy’s first bedroom – he’s going to be in our bedroom for around the first six months however! I did say I was organised, didn’t I?

We painted the walls first – ‘Willow Tree’ by Dulux. We must have painted the room at around 12 weeks. We needed something to do while awaiting CVS results.

We then went to IKEA at around 18 weeks and bought all the furniture! Check out the little dog-bum hooks!

This is OH putting together the cot. All very exciting!

Then putting the shelves up! He very much enjoyed using his new drill and fancy spirit level 🙂

I’m particularly enjoying my curtains, which I hemmed and put up myself. It’s quite a small room, but feels so cosy and nice. We just need July to hurry up now!

MM.