Category Archives: Home Design

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Last weekend saw the annual Christmas offering from the Ideal Home show team.

After having great fun at The Ideal Home Show in the summer we were really excited to head back for a taste of all things festive ahead of December arriving.

I’m always impressed with the ‘wow factor’ that hits you as you exit Earls Court station for one of the Ideal Home Show events – and being greaterdby Father Christmas, a snow machine and lots of Christmas trees certainly got us all excited for what we would find inside.

The show was packed, to be honest busy to the point of Read More →

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*Not a euphemism

We’ve made a big decision at Essex HQ. We have stopped looking at houses (I have even deleted the Rightmove app off my phone) and we are staying put.

I love my little house. It’s not big, it’s not fancy – but it’s ours, and I’m damn proud that the Essex Husband and I have been able to buy a home of our own.

We have been talking about moving, as our downstairs Read More →

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Owl Cushion £5.99 each

I’m sold!

I was always dubious about Aldi. I don’t really know why, fear of the unknown I guess.

Food wise I still can’t comment – but I’m determined to switch to Aldi for all my November food shops to give it a fair go – however the homeware special buys have got me hooked.

I never knew of the amazing homeware they did. I was treated to a preview last week and it left me seriously impressed.

Did you know they Read More →

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5 years, we have lived at Essex HQ for 5 years. How? How is life going so fast!!??

The house was brand new when we moved in, perfect for a young coupe buying their first home with a newborn in tow.  But it also has made us lazy, there was so much we wanted to do to put our own stamp on our home but as its was all fresh when we moved in it always got put down to the bottom of the list. Read More →

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One of my favourite places to visit when I am in Harwich is a treasure cove of wonder called Quirky Old Stuff.  Partly this is due to the fact that it is owned by my uncle, but mainly it is for the sheer amount of things I find to buy when I am in there.

Quirky Old Stuff – Vintage Suitcases

I have been looking at bedroom storage ideas for a while now, and every time I visit Quirky Old Stuff I see the vintage suitcases on display and promise myself they will be a treat next time I visit.  Well finally that ‘next time’ has arrived and I am now the proud owner of these little beauties. Read More →

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My rug Store

My Rug Store are stockists of some wonderful modern and traditional rugs to suit all homes. I love a rug, it can add depth and warmth to a room, not to mention how good they are at hiding the destruction having two young children can do to your carpet.

Aiming to offer customers the best possible deal on their rugs, My Rug Store not only aim to be lower in price than their competitors but also offer free delivery to all mainland UK destinations (in most cases within 48 hours)

My Rug Store Review – Children’s Rugs

We have been spoilt this morning with a lovely delivery from My Rug Store.  The rug, from Read More →

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O isn’t a baby anymore. I need to face up to that fact.  She doesn’t want to do ‘baby’ things, she wants to play with Lego and read books. I thought Scarlett was in a rush to grow up as a toddler, O has surpassed all of that and more. At 2 she is acting like a 5-year-old, I guess it’s a girl thing.

We knew her bedroom needed updating, it was just hard to find a way to make it suit her wants while being safe for her needs.  I wanted a pink haven of roleplay and reading. A happy place she could head to whenever tension between the girls get too much (sisters, eh!?!) and a place in which she could grow without growing out of. Not too much of  an ask then!

We stated with a bed.  Both my girls went into toddler beds aged 11 months as I believe the earlier it is done the easy the transition (and they both slept 12/13 hours a night once in a bed so it was a winner for me!), so now she is two it felt the right time to get her a proper single bed.

The bed we chose Read More →

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Are you thinking of refreshing your home ready for spring? Looking for spring cleaning tips? Want to have a more organised home?

You have come to the right place my friend. Here are our top 5 spring cleaning tips for you all to enjoy.

Spring Cleaning Tips

  1. Approach this with a plan. Work from top down tackling one room at a time. This way you will feel a sense of accomplishment each time a room is finished, plus you will avoid getting what you just cleaned dirty again.
  2. Multi-task. While the washing machine is running you can mop the kitchen floor and leave it to dry.
  3. Declutter. As you clean each room think carefully about what you are putting back on the shelves, do you really need it?
  4. Make An Inventory. Keeping a record of your possessions can be invaluable in the event of a burglary or home insurance claim. Make sure not to go cheap, I always recommend home insurance from the AA to anyone who will listen! Create a basic home inventory spreadsheet with columns for item description, quantity, model/serial number, year purchased, place purchased, and cost. For valuable items a back up, such as receipts or serial numbers, is a good idea as well as photos of them.
  5. Plan For The Future – Once the house is cleaned and decluttered you will be able to see the bigger picture.  Make a plan or the changes/repairs you would like to make in each room (and plan for when you will do them).

Finally, and most importantly once you have followed all of these wonderful spring cleaning tips, sit back and relax your nice clean home.

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Planning My Family Kitchen

I am working my way through the rooms in this house, mentally ranking them in order of priority to be completed. All three bathrooms are now done. I have laid the floors and added the cabinets all myself. The sense of achievement is immense. My hallway is a work in progress, due to be completed sometime next week. The fireplace and carpet are on order for the front room, all being well that will all be in place by mid March and that’s one more room almost complete.

Planning My Family Kitchen

Now its back to the drawing board for the rooms left to make-over.  Planning my family kitchen is an area that excites me and scares me in equal measure. The room, by far the largest in the house, has the potential to be an awesome family space, the hub of all home-based activity.  It’s the room in which I see myself helping the girls with their homework, cooking many Christmas and birthday dinners, consoling broken hearts and planning world domination. The pressure to get all parts of planning my family kitchen correct is over bearing.  It’s a task not to be underestimated. Read More →

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I have been talking a lot recently about redecorating my house. We are slowly, but finally, turning our blank canvas into the forever home we envisaged it to be when we bought it.

My main issue when it comes to work on the home, aside from the money it costs, is the time it takes to plan and arrange all of the various tradesmen I may need. I’m too impatient for all that, plus, lets face it, it’s boring!

I have no time for talking about what mouldings would work in the lounge or the pro and cons that come with the Grundfos Alpha heating pump in the bathroom. I want action, not words. I want to see the end results about an hour after I have decided what those results will be.

So this week, on a whim, I ripped up the carpet in the downstairs toilet and started to lay some tiles. The Essex Husband thought I had gone mad, Scarlett found it hilarious that I was doing DIY in a dress and as for O, well she didn’t even really notice anything had changed.

I was a little apprehensive as to what the end result would be, but armed with YouTube and an unshakable self-confidence, I got down to business.

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I’m quite proud of the end result.

So much so that I headed off to Homebase yesterday and purchased the flooring I would need to redo the hallway and both upstairs bathrooms…

Maybe there is a new career in the making?

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