The entryway effect

With all this house hunting taking away a huge chunk of my time, and with us kind of closing in on a house, I am now a bit obsessed with certain aspects that i most certainly want in 'the house.' Much of which the husband disapproves, but who's listening.

An attractive entry way is one of those things and i think it absolutely makes a difference. If not overtly presented, I think a minimalistic, evenly toned entry way makes for a lasting first impression. I mean even using a pretty shoe storage cabinet at the entry way can act as a show piece- the options are endless. 

I strangely notice entry ways in houses and I've started collecting bits and pieces to put on a beautiful console table. Below are some of my favourites, and I'm hoping that they will provide me enough inspiration in the future.

I love the Indian touch here. The cushions, although absolutely gorgeous, I'm not sure what purpose they serve in a basket at the entry way. I will have to come up with another idea. The green recycled glass bottle- swoooon!

This is not really my style but I love how the pop of green from the Maidenhair fern breaks the monotony. Note to self- a pretty plant makes everything look fancy.

Call me boring, but i absolutely love this setting. The colours, the candle, the skeleton branch, the minimalism. I can see myself adapting this style at some point.

This my dear friends is a dream entry way and while we are at it, a dream stairway too. This would be my entryway if i win the lottery and buy a summer house in Palm Springs, California. 

You could go all out and do one like this with a place to sit down and put on your boots, hang coats etc. It would need a wider space i feel, for it to not look cramped and in your face.

Another beautiful Indian setting. I love everything about this image.

Images are all courtesy of Pinterest, original sources linked here

Love for Vintage

When you are doing up a house one of the first challenge is to pick a theme, a mood for the house which makes a 'home'. I am going through a similar turmoil at the moment. As if moving into a new place is not enough challenge we have decided to leave all our existing furniture behind and start fresh. Some have been disposed, and some have found a new home in our garage waiting to get a new transformation:). Although, it’s a sheer pressure of getting things done, this is one of the kind of stress you enjoy. The whole process of researching, browsing endlessly for those unique pieces, clicking on the checkout button and finally unwrapping the delivery is ecstatic.

Honestly, it didn't take much time for me to decide on the look of the house. ‘Vintage’ was an outright winner. Although I love shabby chic, it is getting more and more ‘high street’ status off late with mass production of shabby chic look alike furniture. Don’t get me wrong, but the whole point of refurbishing an old rustic piece of furniture is gone out of the window and the authenticity is lost. Having said that, finding an authentic piece can prove to be a really tough and pricey affair. So the secret lies in striking the right balance of high street, authentic vintage and handmade products. Don’t be scared to take up a DIY project and give the place a personal touch. If I am attempting it, anyone can - you can totally trust me on that ! Style them with your finds from some of the stores which have stuff worth dying for like notonthehighstreet, anthropologie, loaf, Butlers. One of such products I was able to lay my hands on was this gorgeous dining table from Made.com. Quiet affordable at £329 and perfect for a humble dining area with a classy rustic finish. I personally like the chipped finish they gave to the base of the table and the embossed flower pattern against a lovely grey background on the legs.

Coming to my choice of colours, I wanted something bright and lively. Playing with colours with your statement furniture pieces is far more easier than trying to use them on the walls.  The whole process of choosing a colour for the walls, sampling, test paints, busying the colours, painting or briefing the shade to the painters is all too much of an effort for me. Keep the walls white or very neutral and add fun accessories which have a pop of colour. My present obsessions is blue - all shades going up to a very light green are catching my eyes these days. My very first buy as an inspiration for colour and design is this bright Jug with a classic blue English pattern. It almost gives you a feeling as if it's taken out from an old Doulton collection:). 

The blue printed mug which is also part of the inspiration purchase is my favourite now and I bought it for like £2 in a garden shop which makes it even more adorable and my morning coffees even more refreshing. That also happened to be the mug when my son made me a coffee for the first time - so it's ever so special:) 

So when my enthusiasm was reaching its high and just when I am making these 'inspiration purchases' left right and centre I received these two gorgeous, absolutely beautiful stools as a gift from a cousin congratulating on our new house, I took it as a sign of approval for my colour choices from my guardian angels of designing and decided on 'Blue'. The styling and design for rest of the furniture was also inspired  by these two pretty things.

I really loved the vibrant blue pattern and that's something I am working at incorporating in some of my soft furnishings too, I shall keep you posted :) Watch the space for more and more pictures, design crushes and inspirations from Damsels in Distress.

XX  G 

Serious about stoneware

My current obsession is stoneware- the rustic-finished, mismatched ones that look so darn pretty on any table.

I was in the market for some basic dinner plates and since i didn't want to spend much on a proper dinner set at the moment, it was proving to be a difficult task. The basic range from Tesco, Sainburys and the like were all either plain or had an overdose of designs on them. Being a fan of minimalistic designs on dinnerware (or anything rather), this was a definite no. 

That's when i came across the stoneware range from Ikea and instantly fell in love with the simple dinner plate. At £2.50 per plate it was a steal and the green border was very similar to the Denby ones. I love the size, the look and feel of it and the slight class it beings forth, by just being stoneware. Its a bit on the heavier side, but hey, you win some, you lose some right!

Denby also has some gorgeous stoneware, but I'm not sure I'd want to spend a fortune on everyday dinnerware. Also, they haven't brought out a new collection in ages, and I'm slightly bored with their azure, monsoon and heritage collections, which are forever on sale, but even then quite expensive.

Nom Living at the Columbia Road Flower Market has some really interesting ceramic stoneware pieces and i can vouch for the quality, but the only problem is, they are open only on Sundays and we all know how the chaos on Sundays :)

And my favourite of the lot Anthropologie...sigh! If only they didnt cost an arm and a leg. Its a store i can spend hours browsing. They have the most gorgeous kitchenalia and I do have a few precious pieces from there, but not enough to quench my prop obsession. Their sales are pretty good, so keep a look out and splurge.

I'm trying to collect a few unique pieces for 'the home' and for that,  I've put together an inspiration board of sorts which I'm lusting after at the mo... 

N

(Image courtesy Pinterest, with original sources on my board My Kitchen Antics)