/

Autumn breakfast with LSA | Growing Spaces

I’ve got my head round the fact autumn’s here, and I’m embracing it. I think I actually get more of an urge to clear and organise in autumn than I do in spring, when it’s traditional to tackle the clutter. It’s probably those old ‘back to school’ habits, where the new school year promises a clean slate. Whatever it is, I’ve found myself sorting, rearranging, and tweaking things all around the house. Ben struggles to keep up – everytime he comes home from work something else has been moved or re-jigged. The kitchen hasn’t escaped my antics – it’s amazing how… View Post

/

Working from home | Growing Spaces

Maybe it’s the need to be as close to the kettle as possible or just because it’s at the heart of our home, but even though I’ve got a dedicated home office that I love I can often be found working at the kitchen table instead. I guess that’s one of the best things about working from home – you’re not restricted to one workspace, you can pick your spot for the day, whether it’s at your desk, on the sofa, or even holed up in bed (this ranks pretty highly for me on cold, winter days or if I’m… View Post

/

DIY kitchen banquette | Growing Spaces

Following on from my post last week about family-friendly open-plan living, I realised that I had never actually shared the kitchen banquette seating that my handy husband Ben built for our kitchen diner a couple of years ago. These are pictures that I took of it a while back – a few of the decorative elements in the room have been updated since such as the curtains and lightshades, but the banquette area is largely unchanged. So what the heck is a banquette then? Essentially it’s built-in seating, whether it’s a bench, U-shaped, L-shaped, curved, attached to the back of… View Post

/

DIY shutters from The Shutter Store | Growing Spaces

I’ll let you into a little secret. I loathe and detest the windows and patio doors in our house. If we had the money, I wouldn’t think twice – I’d change them all in a heartbeat. The UPVC white frames with their faux Georgian strips bother me every time I glance out of the window. So when The Shutter Store got in touch to see if I’d like to review a set of shutters, I almost snapped their hand off. My only hesitation was ‘which window?’ I was worried it would look really odd just doing one window in isolation,… View Post

/

Spring flowers for Styling the Seasons | Growing Spaces

: Styling the Seasons, by Apartment Apothecary and Lotts and Lots : “Reflect the change of seasons and show those changes in your own home, by styling any surface (shelf, dining table, mantelpiece) with something you like to reflect the new month and what it means to you” We had a pyjama day yesterday to celebrate the end of half term, and it ended up being one of those wonderful days when everyone is content and relaxed all day long. The kids seemed to relish the opportunity to just play with each other, and they were off creating their own… View Post