Growing Spaces

How we set up our coronavirus lockdown home-learning space

How we set up our coronavirus lockdown home-learning space

I’ve been meaning to write this post about the home learning space we created for the kids (the twins are 10 years old, and are in Year 5) for the last six weeks! When the government announced that schools needed to close, I was completely overwhelmed with panic and anxiety about the Covid-19 situation and the impact it was about to have on our daily life. I often find that focusing on something practical is a good way for me to cope in times of stress, and so I channeled all my energy into rejigging our interior set up to…

View Post

Will a half-painted stairway wall beat dirty hand marks and scuffs for good?

Will a half-painted stairway wall beat dirty hand marks and scuffs for good?

Within a day of repainting our stairway wall white a while back, I could already see new grimy hand marks and scuffs. Instead of obsessing over them I just took a deep breath and put it down to normal house wear. It’s inevitably got dirtier and dirtier, until the other day I had to accept that I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Inspired by a recent shoot we put together at work, I rejected the idea of yet another white re-coat (actually a really full-on job as the stairway is so tall), and decided to take a different approach, which…

View Post

How soft green (or aquamarine) is perfect for a calm bedroom

How soft green (or aquamarine) is perfect for a calm bedroom

While I had all the painting stuff out to paint the living room aquamarine, it seemed rude not to introduce that soft green colour to the bedroom, too, especially when I saw how fresh and calming it felt on the walls. We’ve used it on the wall that used to be a pale, soft grey and it has definitely brightened up the room. I bought an old battered wardrobe a few years ago at a house clearance warehouse with the intention of painting it, but it dropped to the bottom of our to-do list pretty quickly. Riding high on the…

View Post

Why I’ve ditched the black wall and decorated with aquamarine for Spring

Why I’ve ditched the black wall and decorated with aquamarine for Spring

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

Iittala table reset challenge

Iittala table reset challenge

I’ve loved Iittala’s tableware, cookware and accessories since I first started working in interiors, and I’m still just as smitten 15 years later. I think it’s the clean, simple shapes that appeal, as well as the beautiful glass colours – I’ve got a collection of Mariskooli bowls that I’ve collected over the years. So when an email popped into my inbox challenging me to use some of Iittala’s new ranges to come up with a creative table setting, there was no way I was going to turn it down! We believe there are no set rules for setting a table. You make…

View Post