OUR LIVING ROOM REFRESH WITH WEST ELM

After years of wanting to join the green sofa club, our day has finally come! Not only that, but we can now say we have a sofa that all three of us (four if you include the cat), can sit on together. .

I read in a newspaper recently that a modern day lounge now consists of a velvet sofa, a drinks trolley and a 70 inch TV. We might not have the huge Television, as I have this weird thing against huge TV’s, and am still contemplating how we can hide our 42inch, but we are guilty of the first two. So does that make me modern? Or am I just becoming an Insta cliche?

Our previous sofa was chunky, light grey and was slightly battered from the cat using the arm as a giant scratching post. To call it shabby was a understatement. It was also a sofa bed, which was purchased at the beginning of our interior journey when we only had two bedrooms and expected lots of guests.

In reality the sofa bed wasn’t made to be sat on daily, and had lost its springy-ness, and truth be told no one ever came to visit anyways. So I’m not sure what that says about us?

I longed for a much longer, luxurious sofa which bought an element of glamour and sophistication to our otherwise adult lounge. And yes our lounge can still be grown up, even with Otis around. Otherwise, why did they invent playpens? Plus I’m too stubborn to hide away our brass drinks trolley which I worked hard to own, even if it does mean I can’t leave Otis anywhere near it without supervision.

So here is our newly refreshed lounge, which I collaborated with the dreamy West Elm to create. It’s still adult, but the new sofa actually makes it more family friendly as we can all fit on it together now. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Our old chunky sofa-bed sofa has now been replaced with this longer, green velvet goddess named Drake from West Elm. He’s much bigger than our previous sofa, but actually makes the room feel bigger due to the sleeker frame which actually feels like it takes up less room. He’s super comfortable and even long enough to be stretched out completely if you want a little lie down. As you do.

I made the cushions a couple of years ago after visiting a House of Hackney sample sale. The printed velvet was a bargain in comparison to buying the actual cushions, so I went for the budget version and made my own.

A room can never have enough lights and I chose the West Elm staggered light as it’s sleek brass thin frame doesn’t take up too much room, and the white glass sphere pops against the dark walls. It’s a great reading light for this corner, and the large round base tucks neatly underneath the Drake velvet sofa.

My track record in keeping real plants alive isn’t good, so in this room I have mostly opted for faux greenery. Most of my faux plants are from Homesense and the little man vase is also from here.

Solid brass candle sticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense.

Solid brass candle sticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense.

The brass candlesticks were inherited from my husbands nan. They’re Jewish ancestry, not that we’re Jewish, but they were gifted by a jewish relative many years ago and have now been passed down the family. I love the family connection and their timeless design. I’d pick these out if they were in design store, so I’m pretty chuffed that they have a family connection too.

I made the fringed lampshade a couple of years ago. I had lusted after one for so long, but couldn’t afford it, so decided to make my own. I wrote a previous article about how easy it was to make your own and luckily he’s stood the test of time.

I opted for the West Elm Distressed Arabesque wool rug from West Elm for this room. The dark mottled traditional pattern makes it great for hiding dinner stains…. jokes. We never eat in here, honest guv. But in truth I really struggled to find a rug that went in here without courting too much attention. I really wanted a rug which didn’t dominate the space, but yet filled it, adding texture and pattern but wasn’t the main focal point and I think this rug fits all of the above.

The shelving unit in this room is old and a nod to the industrial trend which I fell for hook line and sinker when we first bought this house. It now houses all my knick knacks and collectables, not forgetting my Pablo Escobar pineapple ashtray which was gifted to me by the legend that is Barbara Hulanicki.

As I head towards my forties I’ve become a bit of a vase collector. It’s the new lightbox, letter board fad for me. I can’t get enough of them and can’t seem to leave a store without buying one. The brass one above is a previous season West Elm one.

The brass drinks trolley is a still a favourite piece, which i’m reluctant to move out of the lounge even though our soon to be baby will be toddling around here.

(Our drinks trolley is sold out but West Elm do similar style ones).

Solid brass candlesticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense; Faux flowers are from Homesense; Brass plant pot is from H&M. Black Mirror from Wayfair .

Solid brass candlesticks are antique; Vases are from Homesense; Faux flowers are from Homesense; Brass plant pot is from H&M. Black Mirror from Wayfair .

Plants and art; my two favourite things to pad out and accessorize a room. My tips when buying art is to really love it. Think about the longevity and don’t be afraid to move pieces around the house to give them a new lease of life. And regarding plants, choose ones which are easy to maintain and less hard to kill. Cheese plants aka Monstera deliciosa and Mothers tongue house plants need little watering and thrive in dark moody lounges like mine.

And a lounge can never have enough side tables. Especially now our baby needs the maximum floor space to crawl around. I chose the gorgeous brass martini table by West Elm for its timeless look, plus I love the huge dose of metallic in this room. (Its also light enough to move around depending on who needs a table.

And that’s it for our lounge refresh. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the pieces I chose and how I’ve styled them in our home. Please feel free to leave me a comment below. I’m off to go plan the next room thats in need of a little refresh!

West Elm Source list - Drake Green velvet sofa £999, West Elm ; Staggered glass floor lamp £199, West Elm; Martini side table in brass £159, West Elm; Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug - Steel £449, From West Elm.

This room refresh was generously gifted by West Elm. I was extremely lucky to choose the pieces that I love and I will cherish these for years to come. All words and opinions are 100% my own.

MY GUIDE TO DECORATING AND STYLING A DARK LOUNGE

OUR SIMBA MATTRESS REVIEW (AFTER 2 WEEKS OF SLEEP)

I’m not the best sleeper. Okay, maybe that’s a lie. I used to sleep great. The years before we had a tiny human, I used to sleep for 8 hours solid a night. Now I’m lucky if I can get six uninterrupted hours in. So when Simba Sleep asked me if I would like to road test their hybrid mattress I jumped at the chance. Anything to help improve the quality of those six hours, right?

I decided it would be best to have the mattress in our guest bedroom. This is the room that Otis and I (our tiny human) co-sleep in when he’s having a bad night. Meaning, that hopefully all three of us will sleep soundly while still under the same roof.

Simba Mattress Review

So my first impression of the Simba Mattress is it comes in a box, which was unexpected for a mattress as it’s been vacuum packed within an inch of its life, so that this Double mattress can fit neatly into a reasonable sized box. This means if you happen to live in a house which has low head height on the stairs, and you struggle to get a mattress up them, then this is the mattress for you.

Once we took the mattress out of the box and took it out of the vacuum wrapper, the mattress started taking shape pretty quickly and expanding. They say to leave it for 3-6 hours to expand, and 72 hours to completely inflate, but for us within 3 hours it was looking like a deep comfy mattress ready to sleep on.

Now first thing I need to mention which I also didn’t know about Simba Sleep, is that they offer all of their customers a 100 night sleep trial. Which means if you don’t think it’s the perfect match, you can return it at any point within the 100 first nights, and they’ll even collect it for you. You can’t argue with that.

And Simba Sleep also offer a free service to remove your old mattress when they deliver your new one. I mean, thats super handy. Especially for a knackered mum like me, who doesn’t have a big enough car to take ours to the local recycling centre.

Simba Mattress Review

Now the non important stuff that comes with having a new mattress. The look. I say that because let’s get real. We all cover our mattresses anyway with pretty sheets and covers. So does it really matter what a mattress looks like? Well, actually it does matter. To me anyway. Have you ever felt ashamed if your guest was to strip the bed and see what they were sleeping on? As far as mattress’ go, the Simba sleep Hybrid Mattress looks pretty easy on the eye for a design obsessive like me. It has a zip-off, washable and hypoallergenic sleep surface cover which is soft to the touch and easy to clean. It’s blue zip and branding logo against the white quilted top of the cover and grey base are a match made in design heaven. And it looks pretty at home here in my Green spare bedroom.

Simba Mattress Review

So the important stuff -like what it’s like to actually sleep on. Well its its super comfortable. Being a responsive memory foam mattress I was worried I could get hot, but the cooling comfort layer is designed to tackle overheating and give you extra support. It also has conical springs to cradle your body from top to toe and minimise disturbance between couples. And the durable base has been engineered to give you pressure relieving support in all the right places. And I think I mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again. The cover can come off and be machine washed!

Simba Mattress Review

The verdict. The mattress is firm, but supportive in all the right places, and my body feels rested by the morning (well. as much as it can with a 8 month old baby). And as for thinking I would get hot. Even with the heating on, I sleep like a baby and wake up feeling cool and comfortable.

Would I recommend this product? I certainly would.

And if you’re in the market for a new mattress, Simba Sleep are offering you £75 off your mattress, by signing up with the Affiliate link here.

Simba sleep Hybrid mattress Review
Simba sleep mattress box which contains a double.

Simba sleep mattress box which contains a double.

And here’s a little video which my tiny human and I made. Because we couldn’t help but have a bit of fun with the branding. Just look how happy he is…

This Simba Sleep hybrid Mattress was gifted to me by Simba Sleep which makes this an #Ad. No money was taken to review the mattress. All views and opinions are 100% my own. I genuinely would recommend this product. You can see other peoples opinions on Trust pilot.

Simba Mattress Review

MY GUEST BEDROOM REFRESH WITH WEST ELM

Well hello there 2019. I hope you all had a lovely break and are all feeling rested. Now let’s get back to business.

I’m kicking off the new year off with a new bedroom revamp in the form of our guest bedroom. This is also my third collaboration with the wonderful West Elm who have become my go to favourite furniture brand.

This room was my ‘monica cupboard’ for years. A dumping ground for tools and old clothes. But 8 months ago with the impending arrival of baby Otis and spurred on by crazy wild hormones, I decided to paint our spare room in 30 degree heat, while also 40 weeks pregnant. The result was a haven of green painted walls with accents of metallic brass pops. The only problem was it lacked a little bit of love in the soft accessory department and I had never given it the time or attention to treat it to new bedding, luscious lamps and cosy cushions. Until now. Well, with a little help from West Elm that is.

I’ve started by re using my gorgeous West Elm penelope bedside tables in here (you might have seen them in my master bedroom update), as we can finally use two bedside tables instead of the single one that would only fit on one side of the bed previously. This room isn’t that big. Its big enough for a double bed, small bedside tables, chest of drawers and a desk. But that’s kind of it at a squeeze.

So here’s how I gave it a fresh update for our forthcoming guests in 2019….

The bedding is the main talking point of this room, and is what I think now gives this room a wow factor. Previously it has plain white cotton bedding which was lack luster and dull. I chose the West Elm washed cotton duvet cover and matching pillow cases in Regal Blue. That old saying about not seeing Blue and green together is so old fashioned and goes against everything I stand for. These colours should very much be seen together, and by using colourful bedding that matches with your walls, adds drama and more depth to any bedroom.

I also used a crinkle velvet duvet cover in Golden oaks from West Elm to layer between the cover, to break up the bold regal blue. I also used a waffle throw in horseradish from West Elm to add more layers and to style the bedroom.

I was inspired by a lounge image I saw which had reverse colours. Teal walls with a green sofa, and I knew immediately that this was the look I wanted to achieve in here.

No bedroom styling is complete without an array of plump cushions. I’m into the eclectic look, so I deliberately chose different cushions which would compliment each other, but weren’t too matchy matchy. I chose a Mongolian lamb cushion to mix up with a round velvet cushion in Green gables.

I wanted to inject a new highlight colour into the room and decided on this gorgeous bright horseradish tone. i used it in the extra crinkle bedding in the golden oak tone, and also in the brighter waffle throw, and also in the West Elm alloy distressed rug which has hints of the golden tone with a neutral base.

I managed to even pick up a fake hydrangea in Homesense in a golden tone which also compliments these golden pops. You’ll spot him in one of the vases on the fireplace mantle.

Now let’s talk about lighting. I have a penchant for a good lamp, and when the evenings draw in I much prefer lamp lighting than main ceiling lights so it was important that this room also had bedside lights to cosy up the room for our guests.

I chose the the West Elm Green Metalized Glass table lamp which also has the handy feature of having a USB port in the back for those phone chargers, making the amount of leads less messy on their night stand. Gosh, I’m so considerate.

It also has a metallic brass base which is my metal colour of choice across my home.

My second lamp comes in the form of a Tala lamp. This little Obla oak touch lamp is a little piece of magic which has three different dimming settings. Now this isn’t from West Elm, but it was gifted to me by Tala who actually sell their beautiful bulbs on the West Elm UK site. I was lucky enough to visit the Tala head office this christmas with the West Elm team to see their efficial, super efficient workspace and learn about their recycled glass and how they’re doing everything they can to re plant trees each year for global conservation. Not only are they doing their bit for sustainability, but they’re also creating beautiful lamps.

And that’s it for my guest bedroom refresh. I’d love to know your thoughts on the pieces that I chose from West Elm. Do feel free to leave a comment below. Our guest room is now all ready for our first guests of 2019.

Product list - Crinkle Velvet Duvet Cover + Pillowcases - Golden Oaks £149 from West Elm; Washed Cotton Lustre Velvet Duvet Cover + Pillowcases - Regal Blue £149 from West Elm; Metalized Glass Table Lamp + USB - Small (Green) £99 from West Elm; Mongolian Lamb Cushion Covers in teal £69 from West Elm, Round Lush Velvet Cushions in Green gables £39 from West Elm; Penelope Bedside Table £349 from West Elm; Agate Bookends in green £24 (each) from West Elm; Alloy Distressed Rug £499 from West Elm; Bed (Old); Waffle Weave Throw in horseradish £39 from West Elm; Obla Oak touch lamp £155 from Tala; White chest of drawers from John lewis (Old).


This room makeover was generously gifted by West Elm. I was extremely lucky to choose the pieces that I love and I will cherish these for years to come. All words and opinions are 100% my own

CHRISTMAS IN HOUSE LUST

Happy December guys! I’ve withheld long enough, it’s time to go all christmassy on you and unleash the christmas decorations.

This year with the change in having a six month old baby who’s already doing 360 degree turns and is adamant about touching, not to mention gumming everything in sight, we thought it was best to leave the beautiful glass baubles packed away for another year, or century. This years key buzzword is SHATTERPROOF! So when Christmas Time UK got in touch and asked if I wanted to work with them this christmas, I thought it made complete sense to start again and try a new christmas colour scheme.

This year we’re shying away from *tradition* and we’re going all out on bright, playful colour. Plus, a lot of our house is painted in a dark inky navy (Farrow and Ball railings), so the pops of colour really stand out against our dark walls. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Here’s our little christmas house tour..

First lets make an entrance…. I chose the gorgeous circus door wreath from Christmas Time UK as it was fun and colourful and makes a real statement before you’ve even entered the house. The mix of glitter, shiny baubles and gold glitter ribbons mixed with pinecones gives a classic door wreath a modern look.

This year I wanted to experiment with the decorations so I have shown you two different looks in how to decorate your fireplace and staircase.

To create the rainbow christmas tree…

Let’s start with the our rainbow Christmas tree, as this features in both lounge looks.

Rainbow christmas tree
Rainbow christmas tree

I created the Rainbow christmas tree using all Christmas Time UK shatterproof plastic baubles.

I started decorating by first layering the tree with green cabled fairy lights. I don’t like anything too bright so I used a set of 200 warm lights from Wilko which I had from last year. I then started decorating the tree by starting at the bottom and working my way up to the top.

The bottom layer was all about PINK! I used Fuchsia Fashion Trend Shatterproof Baubles in size 40mm, Luxury Cerise Pink Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range in size 60mm, Luxury Cerise Pink Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble in size 80mm , Trio Of Shiny Pink Seamless Shatterproof Baubles - 65mm and Pearlised Pink Shatterproof Baubles 40mm.

The purple layer has a mixture of Purple Mixed Finish Shatterproof Baubles in size 30mm and Luxury Purple Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range in size 60mm

The blues- Blue Glitter Shatterproof in size 60m and then Aqua Turquoise Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles in size 60mm.

The greens Emerald Green Fashion Trend Shatterproof Baubles in size 40mm and Green Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles in size 60mm Lime  with a mix of  Emerald Green Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles in size 60mm and Green UV Protected Shatterproof Baubles - Pack of 6 x 80mm £7.50 ; Luxury Lime Green Satin Finish Shatterproof Baubles in size 40mm.

Then the top has Copper Orange Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles in size 60mm £8.50; Pearlised Pink Shatterproof Baubles - 18 x 40mm

All honeycomb, baubles and over sized baubles are all from Christmas Time UK. The goil foil tassel garland is from Wilko.

All honeycomb, baubles and over sized baubles are all from Christmas Time UK. The goil foil tassel garland is from Wilko.

The first fireplace look I created was created using large oversized baubles from Christmas Time UK and large honeycomb christmas decorations. What’s super lovely is my nan used to use decorations just like this back in the 1960’s before foil decorations were all the rage, so it’s lovely to bring that nostalgia back.

To create the fireplace Mantle Garland….

For the 2nd fireplace look I covered the mantle in 3 x lots of faux Snowy pine cone garland from The range which were £14.99 each. I loved how authentic they looked and I also mixed in one garland of snowey missletoe from The range at £10.99. I then used Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range from Christmas Time UK to layer into the garland to give it a hint of colour.

snowy pine cone garland (faux) from The range £14.99; Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6 From Christmas Time UK; candle sticks are antique.

snowy pine cone garland (faux) from The range £14.99; Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6 From Christmas Time UK; candle sticks are antique.

Personalised Santa sacks are from Love struck interiors. Prices range from £15-20 each; Snowy pine cone garland (faux) from The range £14.99; Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6 From Christmas Time UK; …

Personalised Santa sacks are from Love struck interiors. Prices range from £15-20 each; Snowy pine cone garland (faux) from The range £14.99; Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6 From Christmas Time UK; candle sticks are antique.

Personalised Santa sacks are from Love struck interiors. Prices range from £15-20 each.

Personalised Santa sacks are from Love struck interiors. Prices range from £15-20 each.

This year I also tried out two looks on our staircase. The first was going all out bright and colourful with a selection of honeycomb decorations from Christmas Time UK. I mixed a range of 30cm, 20cm and 10cm honeycombs in shades of purple, pink, red and navy to create the below look.

I also used a faux pinecone garland from John Lewis and some battery mouldable warm lights from wilko to wrap around the banister to give it a more festive feel.

All honeycomb decorations are from Christmas Time UK.

All honeycomb decorations are from Christmas Time UK.

For my second christmas banister look I decided to use the navy honeycomb decorations from Christmas Time Uk with the same garland and mouldable fairylights, but this time I mixed them with a selection of gold paper decorations from Amazon.

Navy and Gold christmas decorations

Both looks are bold, but for me the navy and gold just feels more christmassy so this is the look that is staying.

How will you be styling your home this christmas? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I’ve done.

Source List - All of the baubles are from Christmas Time UK

Fuchsia Fashion Trend Shatterproof Baubles - £3 Pack Of 16 x 40mm; Emerald Green Fashion Trend Shatterproof Baubles - £3 Pack Of 16 x 40mm ; Purple Mixed Finish Shatterproof Baubles - £4.75 24 X 30mm; Luxury Cerise Pink Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 18 x 60mm £10; Luxury Purple Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - £10 Pack of 18 x 60mm; Luxury Cerise Pink Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - £10 Pack of 6 x 80mm; Blue Glitter Shatterproof Pack of 18 x 60m £8.50; Aqua Turquoise Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles - Pack of 18 x 60mm £8.50; Green Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles - Pack of 18 x 60mm Lime £8.50 ;  Emerald Green Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles - Pack of 18 x 60mm £8.50 ; Trio Of Shiny Pink Seamless Shatterproof Baubles - 65mm £6; Copper Orange Glitter Shatterproof Xmas Baubles - Pack of 18 x 60mm £8.50; Green UV Protected Shatterproof Baubles - Pack of 6 x 80mm £7.50; Pearlised Pink Shatterproof Baubles - 18 x 40mm £5; Luxury Lime Green Satin Finish Shatterproof Baubles - Pack of 18 x 40mm £7; Luxury Aqua Turquoise Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6; Luxury Electric Blue Shiny Finish Shatterproof Bauble Range - Pack of 6 x 80mm £6.

Circus Christmas Room Decoration Collection - Door wreath - From Christmas Time UK £30.

The Honey comb decorations are all from Christmas Time UK- Blue Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 20cm £3.50 each; Purple Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 20cm £3.50 each ; Light Blue Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 20cm; Green Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 20cm £3.50; Green Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 30cm £6; Purple Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 30cm; Blue Flame Resistant Honeycomb Paper Ball Hanging Decoration - 30cm £6.

Large oversized baubles are all from Christmas Time UK.

Personalised Santa sacks are from Love struck interiors. Prices range from £15-20 each.

This blog post was sponsored by Christmas Time UK. Even though all the baubles were gifted to me, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I wouldn’t recommend anything I didn’t use and love.

*** AND IF YOU SPEND OVER £50 AT CHRISTMAS TIME UK, THEY WILL GIVE YOU 10% OFF WITH CODE 10OFF***