A Blogtacular hello

This weekend I’m heading along to the inaugural Blogtacular, where I’m ready to be inspired by all the amazing sessions on offer. And at the end of the day on Saturday, I’ll be joining the Secrets of the Editors keynote panel along with Lara Watson, editor of Mollie Makes, Kate Carter, editor of Life and Style at The Guardian and Caroline Rowland, founder of Patchwork Harmony and 91 Magazine. I’ve never spoken at a conference before, but I’m hoping that as it’s a topic I should know something about (having worked on interiors magazines since leaving university in 2001) I might manage not to shame myself in front of nearly 200 people.

This is me, modelling my spring flower crown back in March this year

For anyone visiting my blog for the first time, I started blogging here at Growing Spaces in 2011, a few months after we’d moved from our Victorian terrace in south London to a 1970s detached house in Berkshire (the first “modern” house I’ve ever lived in). I loved our London home, and working out how to turn a 70s house with zero character into a stylish home that would suit our needs as a young family (our twins were 18 months old when we moved), was challenging. I decided that I’d start Growing Spaces to chart our progress, and to share advice along the way. But above all, I wanted this to be an interiors blog that was accessible to everyone, whether you happen to live in a period townhouse with high ceilings and to-die-for cornicing, or a standard two-up-two-down in the suburbs. Our renovation budget was very modest, and I don’t have the disposable income to be able to buy the products that I might like to fill our home with, so I’ve aimed to share affordable decorating ideas. And what I really, really want is to encourage people to be creative when decorating their homes, and to go about it with a sense of fun.

I don’t post nearly as regularly as I like, Growing Spaces has to jostle for time with my other blog Young & Younger (a blog on family life and parenting that I started soon after the twins were born), as well as my main job as a mum to two young kids, and working part-time as a freelance interiors journalist.

The story of our 1970s house has come to a bit of a standstill – finding the time to decorate and finish all those DIY jobs when we have so much else going on is near-impossible. I’m hopeful that when the twins start school later this year, I won’t know what to do with all the free-time that suddenly opens up to me and the house will be finished to perfection by Christmas. Realistically I suspect I’ll just end up working more, and decorating will still take a back seat.

If you’re a newcomer to Growing Spaces, welcome! Here are some of my favourite posts that should give you a taste what my blog is all about:

: DIY CONCRETE PLANTERS :
A post from a few weeks ago, with a tutorial for how to make your own concrete planter. It features what’s probably my favourite photograph I’ve ever taken for Growing Spaces.

: FINDING INSPIRATION :
As a busy mum, I have to look for decorating inspiration in more unusual places. Moomin books, for example…

: HOW TO CREATE A MAGNETIC BLACKBOARD WALL :
When I first launched Growing Spaces most of my posts were videos. These have fallen by the wayside a bit, but they do have an immediacy that I really love.

: IDEAS FOR USING PLYWOOD IN KIDS’ ROOMS :
I’m a Pinterest addict, and I love to put together posts sharing some of the great ideas for family living that I’ve come across there or on other blogs.

: HALLWAY STORAGE SOLUTIONS :
This is one area of our home that did actually get finished – our hallway with lots of ideas to help conquer clutter.

 

Like what you see? You can follow my RSS feed, or find Growing Spaces on Bloglovin’. And please catch up with me over on Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram. Growing Spaces does have a Facebook page which I’d love you to like, but I should probably admit up front that I rarely use Facebook 😉