Tranquil, Wayanad.I was going through some old photographs from a few years ago and was hit by a huge wave of nostalgia.We had gone to Wayanad, Kerala for a holiday during the monsoons and stayed at a beautiful home-stay called Tranquil nestled in a private coffee plantation. The lush green surroundings with meticulo…
Natural beautyWhat can be inside these enticing tissue-wrapped packages?I bought these splendiferous candle holders in town the other day. It was the colour (or rather lack of it!) that caught my beady eye at first. They are a perfect washed-out sea-grey.I find it's a very fine line between a beautiful weathered …
A present in the garden...Something that has been really lovely about moving into a house whose previous occupants were keen (and excellent) gardeners is that, even now, 6 years on, I notice new plants that they must have planted shortly before they left and are only now reaching maturity. This year I noticed, for the first…
Book review: Comfortable Country by Enrica StabileComfortable Country: Peaceful Homes Inspired by the Country by Enrica Stabile veers much more towards the Traditional Country side, rather than my favoured Modern Country Style. By that, I mean the rooms presented are more busy, patterned and full of knick-knacks and ornaments than those that I natu…
Another home-made snuggly cushion!After being so pleased with how my snuggly cushion turned out, I turned my attention to the arms of the woollen cardigan. They are ribbed and, therefore, very stretchy. I had dismissed them initially until I realised just how sttrrrrreeeeetchy they were!The look and feel of the lovely cream wool kep…
Beverley Hewitt mug....At the Spring Country Living Fair earlier this year, I spotted this gorgeous mug from British ceramic designer, Beverley Hewitt. It's a biiiiig mug, perfect for large cups of sweet, milky tea, or to take lots of cream squirted on top of a steaming hot chocolate. The shape of the mug, whilst being c…
Back issue inspiration...In a friend's car, the other day, I saw the magazine Living etc from June 2009. I had a flick through and one feature caught my eye to such an extent that I bought that issue on ebay the next day (hooray for ebay!).The article was about a Victorian London semi, renovated by the photographer Paul Mas…
Modern Country Style shops: i gigiI've decided to blog from time to time about my favourite shops. I do masses of my shopping online so locality shouldn't be a problem in most cases (although extortionate p and p abroad can be prohibitive. Come and visit!!).Going into i gigi , in Hove, East Sussex, is like stepping into an alternate…
Modern Country Bedroom: lightingIn the early days of choosing everything for our bedroom, I actually went as far as ordering a chandelier but it looked wrong, wrong, wrong. Far too fussy for the atticky loveliness that I wanted. I hastily sent it back! What was I thinking?! My second choice, much more appropriate for the Modern Co…
Modern Country bedroom ... detailsAs I said in my last post, this was the first room we renovated big-style. The whole process was pretty new to me....and I was pregnant with twins at the time. Not the calmest period of my life!After playing around with lots of ideas, I knew I wanted to go for a Modern Country style bedroom (see in…
