June 06, 2018

ADDING PINK WITH PRINTS (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CUEMARS)

June 06, 2018/ Amanda Cotton

In a totally pregnant woman, cliche kind of way. Two weeks before my due date, and at the start of my maternity leave, I decided to NEST. Well sort of. Our spare bedroom went from cluttered Monica cupboard, to room of my green dreams. I didn't even take before pictures as it was such a hell hole. A rail, piles of old unloved clothing, and a desk too big for such a small room that was covered in more unwanted clutter. Now its green, bright and airy and the clutter has vanished. And by vanished I mean I took it to the recycling centre/ charity shop. (Its not just hidden in a different room).

But a room never feels finished until its got a little bit of art hanging on the walls to finish it off. (or leaning on walls- I'm big into leaning at the moment now I've had a baby and don't have time to get the hammer and nails out). Que Cuemars, a contemporary homeware brand based in Hackney.

It would seem I have a thing for flamingos and pink. It must be a sub conscious thing, as they somehow manage to pop up in almost every room in my house. I'm like a moth to a flame... or, a flamingo.

This month I've teamed up with Cuemars to talk about their gorgeous A3 size nature inspired prints from their range of botanical greens to beautiful birds, all in a vintage feel. And obviously I chose their vintage flamingo print at £24 to add some more pink to these walls.

Scroll down to see a selection of my favourites from their range, and if you fancy something for yourself, use discount code 'houseoflust' for 15% off their entire range. (Valid until the 10th July 2018).

Bird- Flamingo print. £24 from Cuemars . Green paint by Valspar, colour Breathe Deeply. Brass Dexter light, M&S £199

Bird- Flamingo print. £24 from Cuemars . Green paint by Valspar, colour Breathe Deeply. Black A2 frame with A3 mount is from John lewis £40 — Bird- Flamingo print. £24 from **Cuemars** . Green paint by **Valspar**, colour Breathe Deeply. Black A2 frame with A3 mount is from **John lewis** £40

A selection of my favourite prints at Cuemars

Bird- Flamingo £24

Bird- Frigate £24

Bird – Great Marbled Godwit £24

Bird- Vintage Pelican print

Bird – Piping Flycatcher £24

Bird – Blue winged Yellow Warbler £24

Botanical Coco Illustration £24

Botanical Leaf Dracaena £24

Botanical Pineapple Yellow £24

Botanical Banana Flower Illustration £24

Botanical Leaf – Passion Flower £24

Botanical Date Palm Illustration £24

May 13, 2018

A QUICK KITCHEN MAKEOVER

May 13, 2018/ Amanda Cotton

The kitchen is the place where a family spends most of the active and quality time. There are
higher chances for the bathroom and the kitchen getting dirty faster than other places of a house.
Most of us feel that arranging things in a kitchen in a systematic manner is sufficient for the
quick makeover of a kitchen. But in modern days, most of the builders and residents like the idea of arranging and renovating a kitchen in a quick method that exactly fits the budget. If you are a property owner and wish to renovate your kitchen at an affordable cost, contemporary acoustic wall panels help you out faster and easier.

With the growth of your family, advanced technology, and your culinary skills, you can
update the environment of your kitchen accordingly by using adhesive wall tiles and other
kitchen accessories.

Kitchen cabinets
To rejuvenate your kitchen and adopt advanced technology for this purpose, you can start with
the cabinetry. You can try new colors and panels to makeover your kitchen quickly in your
budget. You can renovate the cabinet doors, and door panels as a combination of glass and metal or you can use textured wooden panels as a part of rejuvenating your kitchen besides giving it a modern look. Painting the kitchen cabinets once again is helpful to make your older kitchen look renovated.

Personalised touch-ups
Add a backsplash to your kitchen on your personal choice. Changing the directions of furniture
to attract the attention is a new way to give your kitchen a modern look. Try the blends of
modern and traditional colours creatively and arrange wool felt curtains to make your kitchen the cynosure of your house. Try mix and match combinations while installing the backsplash in your kitchen to give it an innovative outlook no less than your living room.

Hardware
Replace the old hardware in your kitchen to make it look elegant. Replace wooden handles of the cabinets with steel and sleek handles to give your kitchen a new look at an affordable cost.

Stainless steel bars are available in your budget whereas antique bronze handles give the cabinets more sophisticated look if you can invest more money in it. Try to install felt wall covering that matches your kitchen cabinets to add to the ambiance of the kitchen cabinetry and hardware. You can try new colours, designs, and sizes of hardware and wall covering panels unless you get a good combination to provide your kitchen with a modern look. However, antique bronze cabinet handles and wooden textured wall panels provide your kitchen a renovated look for a longer period of time.

New look by Wall panels
Decorate your old kitchen countertops with new kinds of wooden or granite panels. Glass panels will be available for you at an affordable cost. On the other hand, you can replace the laminates of countertops with granite or marble if it fits your feasibility range. Marble and granite can be cleaned easily as well. Cleaning the countertops and impressively arranging the things gains the attention of your guests. From wall art to various wallpapers, you can support the aesthetic design of your wall, thanks to the flexible nature of the modern acoustic panels.

Floor designs
Use adhesive tiles to give your kitchen an ambient look. Select bright or neutral shades instead of pale coloured ones. As kitchen tiles and floors are prone to dust and dirt and if you cannot clean them immediately, it may impact the elegance of your kitchen. Select dark or neutral shaded floor tiles if you cannot afford budget or marble if you want a permanent floor styling for your kitchen.

Wallpaper
If you use wallpapers to decorate your kitchen, 3D wallpapers or panels are available that are
resistant to heat and steam. Some 3D wall panels can be subjected to cleaning and detergent
resistant wall panels are also available nowadays. Select a featured wallpaper of your choice and decorate your kitchen panel. This can be done at your budget. 3D wallpapers may cost you a few bucks more. However, you need not spend all your fortune to give your kitchen a renovated look if you choose to use 3D wallpapers to decorate your kitchen. These are known for durability and affordability as well.

You can create a custom wall of your own choice to rejuvenate your kitchen at your budget on
your personal taste and choice.

Arrangement of accessories
You can rearrange your kitchen accessories according to your choice to make your kitchen more attractive. You can display or place crockery and utensils in your cabinets neatly to give them a complete and quick makeover. This step can be taken without spending a penny from your pocket. If you have an unused dresser, you can turn it as a kitchen cabinet to display cups and glassware which helps to make your kitchen look more sophisticated.

Use of fabrics
Change the fabrics of tablecloths or refrigerator covers to natural ones like wool felt curtains
instead of using synthetic curtains. You can add the personal touch to these accessories if you
have time to sew new curtains and tablecloths on your own. Sometimes you may use floral print curtains or covers or sometimes you may use bold patterns to cover furnitures like refrigerator or dining table. Another thing you have to keep in mind is, the natural fabric may cause fewer fire accidents and are easy to clean up.
Choose bright colors of your choice as they are dust and dirt resistant. Dark colors like red,
yellow, or orange are proven to improve dynamism and appetite and help to motivate your work in a positive direction.

Lighting
Installing modern lights above the ceiling and top and the corner areas provide an innovative
look to your kitchen at your budget. Prefer bright and ambient light in the dining area. Bright
lights are helpful to enhance a lovable and active environment in the kitchen. You can place
halogen lamps on the countertops to enhance the ambiance of the kitchen. These are available in your budget as well. However, take the help of a good electrician for this task to carry it out
safely.

The wall panels help to provide a sophisticated and elegant look to your kitchen, and you need
not spend a huge amount of money for this. They are available well within your budget and
completely change the look of your traditional kitchen.

This post was sponsored by Gypsum 3D.

May 05, 2018

COAT RACKS- MY PICK OF THE BEST

May 05, 2018/ Amanda Cotton

This month’s pick of the best is all about coat racks and hooks. Yep, random I know. But sometimes it’s the little things which are the hardest to source, and it’s no secret that I’m into the detail.

In the lead up to decorating our hallway/ landing it got me thinking about the little details which I’ll want to add and a new coat rack was one of them. Then once I started doing my own research I thought I’d share my top picks with you lovely bunch.

We currently have individual hooks from Anthropologie which are lovely but were a nightmare to line up, and space out evenly which is why I’d recommend going for a fixed plate set like any of these.

The main thing to consider is practicality over style. Our hallway is less than a meter wide so we can’t have anything which includes a shelf as it will stick out too much… although I do love them. Definitely one for the next house!

**My favourites are number one and five. Both are from West Elm. The only thing that’s putting me off is West Elm’s customer care. After we bought a dining table and chairs from them, we had and are still having terrible service to replace a scratched chair. But annoyingly they do offer the most stylised versions of coat racks available in the UK.

My third favourite is number three, the three-piece brass and black hook rack from Cox and Cox. But with only three hooks its not a practical choice. Which is your favourite?

1. Geo Multi Hook, West Elm £59

2. Vintage style 5 hook, Rockett St George £35

3. Black and Brass Hook rack, Cox and Cox £40

4. Heritage shelf 6 coat hook rack, Wayfair £62.99

5. Deco marble Multi Hook, West Elm £69.00

6. Vitra Hang it all coat rack, Heals £225

7. Graham Hook Rack in Bronze, Anthropologie £88

8. Mid Century stained beech hooks in Natural, John Lewis £49

9. Industrial rack with mirror, Graham and Green £75

10. Heritage coat and hat rack in satin brass, door handle company £26.09

11. Five hook coat rack, Graham and Green £45

12. Lasso black 4 hook, Amara £25

13. Traditional vintage painted wood coat hook, Not on the high street £55

May 02, 2018

INTERIOR UPDATE: LOFT BATHROOM

May 02, 2018/ Amanda Cotton

It’s week 40 of my pregnancy, and while we await the arrival of our little guy I thought it was about time I showed you around our loft bathroom and the inspiration behind the room. plus, I can't sleep as the little guy is on my bladder so my blog is my saviour right now. (When people tell you to get loads of sleep before the baby arrives I'm unsure if they remember the final few weeks of pregnancy as sleep is non-existent. But I'm digressing..

It’s been three months since the builders left and even though someone recently quipped that ‘Builders pain lasts longer than child birth’, I’m praying that there’s some truth in that statement.

When the project was in full swing, I was lucky to get away for a couple of weeks on a work trip in Seoul, South Korea where I came across the shop ‘Style Nanda’… AKA Style Manda due to my love of everything about this store for its mock laundrette, to its LA style pool café and hotel reception, payment desks.

I was particularly inspired by their use of blush pink walls, dark wood work and marble tiles on one of the levels of the store which I ended up sending back to my husband which the caption ‘let’s go pink’ and the rest is history. I also loved the bath full of flowers but thats inspiration for another time..

Bathroom sink unit HACK...

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When researching bathroom sink units I became obsessed with marble/ stone top ones - check out Porter bathrooms for luxury inspiration, but I couldn't find anything under £2,000. I then found one from Bathstore which needed tweaking to be more inline with what I was after. Here's how I achieved the look...

1. The bathroom sink unit was purchased from Bathstore. It didn't come with a stone top, so I had piece of granite cut to fit which cost approx £60 from a local stone company, and then I asked the builder to fit it on top with the sink.

2. I painted the bathroom cupboard in Farrow and Ball off black as I didn't like the charcoal colour. I had to prime it first and then it needed two coats of the estate eggshell.

3. I changed the handles to be brass ones from Dowsing and Reynolds as I didn't like the silver ones.

4. I added a brass towel rail which I picked up in New York on a work trip last year and asked if the builder could fit it to the side.

And encase you wanted to know where anything else is from, I’ve attached all the details below.