We heart Apartment B. x

In a slight break away from my regular posts, I have to introduce you to Apartment B, the fabulous brainchild of Ohio native Adam Hawkey.
A few years ago, Adam spotted a gap in the interiors market for some interesting blinds for his new apartment (apartment B, just in case you were wondering...!) rather than opt for the plain Ikea ones most of his friends had.  With this in mind, Adam spent his spare time over the last few years with his girlfriend (my sister!) Laura developing a super cute vintage-inspired range of rollers all now available to order via their website and on Etsy.
http://www.apartment-b.com/index.php/

I have no doubt that the venture will be a huge success both in the US and here in the UK so I'm hugely excited to share this with you!



check out some of my favourite:

Our home village even gets a mention in one print!:

and kittens Kevin and Lionel get their model groove on.
Here's Big Kev posing against the Trellis Floral print:

What a proud big sister-in-law I am!  I placed my order straight away and I'm waiting on a NYC map for our glass interior door in light grey.  I can't wait to see it!
I'll share this with you once it's up!


Although the Apartment B website states that they do not ship outside of the US, shipping to the UK and Europe can be arranged so please contact Adam at: customerservice@apartment-b.com

we heart a good book suggestion! x

a few weeks ago the lovely Helena of

A Diary of Lovely

blogged about her latest book purchase

DECORATE by Holly Becker & Joanna Copestick

and I couldn't wait to get it!

it's a great book so I thought I'd share a few of my own favourite images:

tolix chairs- my favourite!

I love the blue hydrangeas against the minimal elegance of this room- so chic and achievable.

I actually have this palm leaf Cole & Son wallpaper in the black and gold version in my cloakroom!

Jonathan Adler's home is one of the spaces featured in the book and although his crazy bright home isn't really my taste (I definitely couldn't live in it!) I do like his pottery very much. It's always interesting to see how other creatives live in their home space. I've been eyeing up Adler's character mugs and vases of a while now- they'd go very well in my sitting room.. hint hint James,... x

and I really liked the above quote inside the book cover!

I found Decorate in Anthropologie and Libertys but it's available on Amazon here. (slightly cheaper)

but... I was a bit naughty and ordered a second book:

if it's even possible, I think I love Creative Walls even more than Decorate!

Just absolutely beautiful photographs...

order from Amazon here.

what I liked about both of these books is that actually the styles in there aren't pretentious or overly contrived, just real homes but incredibly stylish from incredibly stylish people!

please order! x

we heart Baileys! x

this weekend I was back at 'home' home in Gloucestershire with my parents and friends and made my usual pilgrimage to Baileys Home & Garden in Ross-on-Wye.

I'm extremely lucky- it's only 25 minutes from my parents house so it's a regular haunt for housewares, gifts and general curios.

if you don't know about Baileys, let me introduce you...

Mark and Sally Bailey, authors of the above 'recycled home' and 'simple home' books renovated their stunning old barn complex to create a treasure trove of reclaimed, recycled and simple products for the home. over the years, the store has expanded to add furniture unique to Baileys and they even have a gorgeous tearoom on the premises.

Mark and Sally Bailey live with their family in the huge grand farm house which sits behind the shop and even though photos of their family home have been published on numerous occasions, I'd still love a snoop to see what it's like! imagine having all this to decorate your house with:

here are some sneaky shots from this past weekend.

sorry Baileys for the sneaky shots- I had to share your beauty with the world..

if you've ever visited, I'm sure you'll agree that it's impossible to come away not having bought anything at all.

there's some small purchases, like the pegs above for example, which seem incredibly cheap in comparisson to the furniture, but then you spy a basket, and ooh, a chalk board which I really, really need in my life, and ooh... amazing, what about some french soap and brown paper luggage tags... well, you can see how carried away you can get!

James and I once bought an antique gold fish tank, which we did try to put fish into (it leaked), but now holds my pencils. I love that fish tank...

my white Tolix armchair was a Christmas gift to myself. apart from the gold fishtank, I think it's my favourite Baileys purchase to date.

I absolutely love the tabernacle tearoom.

when I finally manage to buy a half decent size house with a garden, I want a guest room in the bottom of the garden just like this!

Or actually, sod the guests, maybe I'll just use it for myself...

about a year and a half ago, the Bailey family extended their business to include the

Curious Chocolate range.

not only is the range made up of some quirky chocolate (bloody tasty too!) with fun names, but the packaging is just beautiful...

if you look out of the window from the lighting barn towards the family house, you might just spy the Curious Chocolate 'studio'.. it's actually a large windowless old shed so doubtful that anyone would spend much time creating the chocolate masterpieces in there, but it's fun to imagine!

I would recommend a day trip to anyone to visit Baileys Home and Garden.

here are directions:

sorry again Baileys for sneaking these shots.

I love your store. x

p.s there's going to be ANOTHER book later this year- I'm already signed up on Amazon for it! x