Friday, 11 December 2015

Making a House a Home: Bedroom

One of the reasons we fell in love with our new (old) house was that it had a spacious master bedroom that felt airy and light. As much as I still love my old flat, living on the lower ground floor did mean that our bedroom wasn't the brightest. So we decided to keep the spacious feeling and make the bedroom very simple - white walls, white furniture and a statement kingsize bed with matching ottoman.

I had always wanted a canopy bed, or at least one with a really high headboard that felt super cosy and enveloping. After weeks of researching a number of styles the most sensible and budget friendly was from MADE, especially with the added storage under the bed.
 

I was pretty set on the Bergerac, but as we were buying various pieces from MADE I was yet to place my full order when I came across a gorgeous fully upholstered customisable winged bed in Barker and Stonehouse.

 
This was not the sensible option both in terms of price and the lack of storage. However, I loved the button detail, their wide selection of fabrics, the matching storage ottoman and the fact it was on sale just sealed the deal! The only negative was the 10 weeks waiting time (though I begged and in the end it was just less than 8 weeks).


 
Having splurged on the bed, and being very aware of our multiple back issues (mine from birth and the hubby's numerous rugby injuries), I was very surprised by the cost of a king size mattress. I had never had to purchase one before and was shocked that some cost more than our bed! When Leesa contacted me to see if I would like to review one of their mattresses I decided to be open minded, though my natural scepticism was still there. Having seen the hundreds of glowing reviews on their website it sounded a little too good to be true that one mattress could be comfortable for everyone. Especially given the hubby and I couldn't decide on one between us as every mattress we tried was a bit like Goldilocks and the three bears' porridge... not quite right.


The Leesa mattress arrived (less than a week after I ordered it) packaged in a narrow cardboard box. This was exceptionally useful as it took up very little space and could be safely stored in our loft while the renovation works were being done. As Leesa has no springs and is made entirely of foam (top layer of cooling avena foam, middle layer of contouring memory foam and base layer of dense core support foam) it is not as heavy as a traditional mattress and therefore much easier to manoeuvre.

It took just seconds to unpack it, as it is coiled in plastic that can be cut away, and after leaving it overnight it had decompressed evenly.


The Leesa mattress is soft enough to feel comfortable, yet supportive enough that you don't feel like you are sinking into it. One of the main things I love about it, especially compared to my old mattress, is the lack of springs making it quiet and also ensuring there is no transfer of movement. So when the hubby is getting into bed (often long after I have fallen asleep) I don't get woken up by squawky springs or bounced out of bed as he sits down.

 The Leesa mattress fit perfectly into our kingsize Wiltshire bed in pewter velvet.
 
I wanted to wait a little while before writing my review and now that it has been a few weeks of sleeping on the Leesa mattress, both on the floor and our luxurious new bed, I think we are ready to join all those excellent testimonials on the Leesa website! Our experience was great - easy to order, quick delivery in a convenient box, simple unpacking and above all else it has given us a great night of sleep! So much so that my bed time has slowly been shifting earlier and earlier!
 
Bed: Barker and Stonehouse, Bedsidetables: Dunelm, Lamps: Wayfair
 
If you are looking for a new mattress I would highly recommend Leesa - and you can now get £50 off using the code SLEEP50. Prices start from £390 for a single and shipping is free. Sweet dreams!






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Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Making a House a Home: Our New (Old) House

Those of you who follow me on Insta and Twitter would have already seen a deluge of posts about my husband and I moving house.
(The day we got our keys)
 
After two and a half years of looking for our future family home and feeling pretty disillusioned we finally had an offer accepted on a house in a completely different area in July. We felt that it was a sign and decided to take the plunge and move south of the river for the first time!

(Our entrance now)
 
The following months were pretty stressful with mortgage brokers, banks, solicitors and contractors being exceptionally difficult and ignoring all deadlines. Unfortunately, blogging had to be put on hold (along with the rest of our social life) while I redesigned the house, packed, chased builders and furniture deliveries.

 
However, I am very happy to say that we finally moved into our new (old) house at the end of November!
 

Now that most of the boxes are unpacked I am really excited to share with you some of my interior design ideas, as well as tips and things I learned from taking on and managing a refurbishment project. Please let me know if you have any particular requests, but as the house slowly comes together I am looking forward to sharing it with you and getting more inspiration on the final touches!

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Thursday, 15 August 2013

Whitney Port Venus & Olay Blogger Challenge!

A few weeks ago I was challenged by Venus and Olay's new ambassador Whitney Port to customise a pair of denim shorts for a chance to feature on Whitney's site, as well as win a pair of shorts designed by the leggy lady herself. I am a huge Whitney fan as I love her style and general attitude so I was excited to try out the new Venus razor and take part in the fashion challenge!
I was sent a pair of denim shorts to play with, along with a bag of embellishments and of course the new Venus and Olay razor that combines Olay Moisture-Boost shave gel bars, which help replenish your skin’s moisture, with Venus’s five-blade technology for an incredibly close shave. The shave gel bars mean there’s no need for an extra shave gel, which is perfect for travel or when you are in a hurry. As well as being super quick and convenient this razor gives a really close, comfortable shave. I also noticed that the bars have a lovely scent, which was a nice surprise!
So after trying out the razor I was all set to show off my legs and began working on the perfect pair of shorts to do so. I decided to keep the colour palette very classic and focus on some gold detailing on the front and back pockets. Since my sewing technique is somewhat lacking there was a lot of fabric glue involved, but I'm pretty happy with the results. I think the extra sparkle gives the shorts a bit of personality, while still being really wearable.
I used lots of gold thread on the back pockets to make them really stand out and give the shorts a little bit more shape. I then tied the design in with the front by accentuating the corners with more gold sequins, to reflect the shape of the curve.

So what do we think ladies? Would Whitney ever wear a pair of shorts like this? Regardless of the competition I had so much fun decorating (and almost gluing my fingers together) and I can't wait to show them off on holiday in a few weeks :). xxx
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