/

Aquamarine accents | Growing Spaces

Just as quickly as I decided to paint our living room wall black, I opted to give it an update and repaint it in Aquamarine Light from Little Greene. As it so often is with me, it was a pretty spur-of-the-moment decision. The January days were feeling so long and dark, and the house, with its build-up of clutter and mess, wasn’t helping matters. I needed a total refresh, and in a bid to bring in as much light as possible I decided the black had to go, at least for now. I still love that shade of black and… View Post

/

Fiddle leaf fig | Growing Spaces

As birthday presents go, this was a parcel that was hard to beat – a huge box, with a few tantalising leaves poking out of the box – inside was the most gorgeous fiddle leaf fig tree (ficus lystrata). It was a gift from my lovely mother-in-law (she sourced this beauty from The Palm Centre), and I was over the moon because I have wanted to add a fiddle leaf fig tree to my plant family for absolutely ages. Having got my green-fingered confidence up over the last couple of years tending lots of succulents and other low-maintenance houseplants such… View Post

/

Faking it: cheat's wood burner

We have been yearning after a wood burner (wood burning stove, log burner, whatever you want to call it) for years. One thing we really miss in our 1970s house is that there aren’t any fireplaces whatsoever (a big change coming from period properties) and we’ve always thought that a wood burner would provide our living space with the perfect focal point, as well as being something to cosy up around when it’s cold out. But because we don’t have any chimneys, having a wood burner installed isn’t as straightforward as it might be, and after a couple of super-scary… View Post

/

Living room makeover | Growing Spaces

You might have seen glimpses on my Instagram feed, but I don’t think I’ve shared photos here of our living room makeover and how just a few small changes have made a big difference to how the space feels. I had to keep it under wraps for ages as it was part of a style makeover with West Elm that was featured in the AW16 issue of 91 magazine, but now the mag has been out for a few months, I think it’s time I showed you how we’ve updated the space. My favourite black wall is still here – I’ve definitely not… View Post

/

Christmas decorating with Nectar | Growing Spaces

ADVERTORIAL December is finally here and the Christmas festivities can begin in earnest. I tend to hold off putting up our decorations until mid-December (in my house growing up they didn’t go up until the weekend before Christmas), but I thought I’d share a sneak peak into the simple Christmas decorating style I’ll be embracing this year, along with some savvy shopping tips with Nectar. A double-whammy of inspiration and money-saving ideas!  Nectar challenged me to spend £100 on giving my home a festive feel, with the added incentive of collecting as many Nectar point along the way as I could by making… View Post