HOW I TRANSFORMED OUR BATHROOM WITH WALLPAPER

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; Waska Wardrobe/ Storage cupboard £589 from La Redoute. and pink velvet chair from Homesense, Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar.

I rarely talk about our family bathroom. It’s a great size, has a simple white victorian style sink, plastic roll top bath (we couldn’t afford a cast iron one at the time) and has a standalone shower. But to me it still looked unfinished.

With its all white painted plastered walls, our bathroom always felt like it was lacking that va va voom factor, especially when you compare it to the rest of our house.

I’m wallpaper obsessed and a true maximalist at heart, but our bathroom was the first room completed, and it seems to have been neglected in the planning of all the other levels.

First done eight years ago when we bought the house, we designed it quickly and went for a classic, timeless design – aka slightly safe and boring in my opinion. As the years went by, and my taste and braveness evolved so did my dissatisfaction with the white walls, and I decided that this room was in need of a refresh.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK.

Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading; Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home £22; pink faux fur slippers from F+F, and leopard print towel from H&M Home.

I stumbled across Florence Broadhurst wallpapers a few years ago and loved her entire collection. Inspired by Florence’s life as a dancer living in and around Asia, with a particular interest in Japanese florals it was love at first sight for me.

After some clever researching (thank god for google), I discovered that the Florence Broadhurst collection and license had just been acquired by a UK owner, and was finally going to be more accessible for interior design addicts like me here in the UK.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; and pink velvet chair from Homesense.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

After procrastinating I decided on the Japanese Floral design in pale Teal as it’s a Florence classic.

Because the ceiling in the bathroom has been a mass expanse of white painted plaster, I decided that this was prime fodder to get wallpapered too. After all, the 5th wall is now an important part of any room design, and this rooms sloping ceiling was crying out to be wallpapered.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Is this a special bathroom wallpaper? Have I coated the wallpaper?

Well the answer is simply no. As long as you have good ventilation – an extractor fan and a window for those really steamy days, then I have had no problems with our wallpaper.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

But for those a bit more sceptical or just less brave, then you can use a clear varnish to coat the wallpaper to harden it’s exterior, making it less susceptible to taking the odd splash of water and this will also help prevent the steam from making it peel off.

 How I painted our plastic Bath

And encase you wanted to know, because I get asked a lot how I went about painting our freestanding bath. I painted our bath in Coral Crush by Valspar. The bath is a plastic free standing bath from Wickes. To paint it, I gave it a light sand, then gave it three coats of Zinsser Bullseye primer and then used the matt finish from Valspar. The key is to make sure its well primed and I find Zinsser Bullseye primer amazing! As long as the surface is evening coated in this, then any paint will stick to it!

I’d love to know if you’re thinking about wallpapering your bathroom, and what design you were thinking?

WHY WE DECIDED TO RENOVATE AND NOT MOVE HOUSE

In September 2017 we started our biggest renovation to date; The loft conversion. Prior to the work starting we had thought long and hard whether this was what was best for us vs moving to a bigger house.

Our house was a comfortable two bed, one-bathroom mid terrace house, full of character and charm being built in the Victorian era. But we knew we ideally needed more bedroom space to be able to house my ever-growing clothing collection – I’m a fashion designer, and a spare bedroom for family to come stay/ work from home in.

Our loft extension, completed in February 2018.

We were on the cusp of starting a family (Our IVF was booked in for July 2017) and we were optimistic it was going to be successful, and that in a matter of months we could be a family of three.

Luckily everything went to plan and by the time the building work started in the September of 2017 I was two months pregnant with Otis.

When making the decision on whether a build was better than moving, it came down to a few factors.

Firstly, we love where we live. We love our neighbourhood, the quaint Victorian street, our lovely neighbours and we love how close we are to the town centre and to Watford Junction, which is where my husband works, and I need to commute from so we didn’t want to move far.

The second was the financial side. We looked into how much it would cost to move vs stay and extend and the costs weren’t dissimilar.

To move to a 4-bedroom house close by we would have to Spend £20k+ on the stamp duty plus the additional costs of a much bigger mortgage as house prices in Watford vary for a 4-bed property from £500k-£1m depending on area. 

Plus, throw in solicitors fees, moving costs and we’re looking at an additional £30k+ and the stress of moving and trying to sell our house whilst trying to get pregnant.

Alternatively, if we stayed where we are and renovated, we could spend £40k-£60k on the build, add value to our house, and have less stress and still get to stay in a house we already love. So, it seemed like a no brainer.

Let’s not get carried away though, a build of any kind is still very stressful, and we decided to live through ours to save costs which was fine whilst it was only the two of us, but  I’m not sure I’d have the same outlook if Otis had already been born.

The beautiful victorian terraced houses down my street.

Watford high-street.

Once the decision was made, drawings were commissioned and submitted to the council, and the loft renovation started in the September 2017.

It took a long dirty 6 months until it was completed, the builders had fully disappeared, and we were left with a beautiful third floor – adding a large master bedroom, an en-suite bathroom and a fully equipped dressing room to keep me happy.

This left our remaining two bedrooms and family bathroom downstairs on the first floor completely untouched for Otis to have a large nursery/playroom and a spare bedroom for Granny to come stay when we needed help.

Beautiful victorian Terrace Houses down my street.

So how we financed the work. Because I’ll be honest, we didn’t have a spare £60k sitting around in a bank account if I’m honest.

We did however have £20k from inheritance and it felt right that this was invested into our home, so we just needed to finance the other £40k.

We did lots of research on loans vs Mortgages and we ended up using an online mortgage broker site called Habito which meant if we re mortgaged we could borrow from the equity which our house had already made.

In plain terms this meant that as we bought the house for £222,000 eight years ago, and at the time of re mortgaging in June 2017 the house was valued at £340,000 we could easily borrow £40K more which only put our mortgage re payments up by an extra £100 a month.

But what is Habito you ask?! Habito is a free online mortgage broker making mortgages easier - It’s uses technology to search the whole market - 20,000 products from 90,000 lenders - to match you with the best mortgage for your needs in seconds.  It’s online mortgage brokers then give you qualified advice, with no jargon and handle everything with your chosen lender.  This means you can get mortgage advice on your mobile, from the comfort of your own sofa on a Sunday morning (it’s mortgages experts are online ‘til 9pm Mon-Thurs and from 9-9pm Saturday and Sunday). - It helps first time buyers navigate the confusing world of buying a first home and it helps mortgagers save thousands a year!

As the stats prove that 58% of all UK homeowners could save £3,000 every year by switching their mortgage!

Now the works done, I can honestly say that staying put was the best thing for us and our family.

And a huge positive that has also come out of this is that our house has been recently valued at £560k which is an incredible £278k extra equity once you deduct the cost of the building work.

So, if you love where you live, why live anywhere else if you can just better your current home?

Habito are running a competition to celebrate their 3rd birthday over on their Instagram page for you & a friend to each win £300 to put towards your mortgage or home improvements. Head over to their page @Habitoloveshomes to find out more. The competition ends on the 5th August 2019.

This post is sponsored by Habito. All views and opinions are 100% my own.

CREATING A SUSTAINABLE KITCHEN WITH DUALIT

Dualit Classic Kettle and new gen toaster.

It's 5.30am at the weekend and my 14-month-old is full of the joys of spring. It's my turn to give the husband a lie in and I'm keen to get downstairs and start the day. Take on the world. carpe diem? or something like that. Anyhow, what better way to kick off the day than to make myself a cup of coffee and get that first caffeine fix using my new Dualit coffee bags.   

My Dualit Classic Kettle

Having tended to the wee man (not literally) and ensuring he is tucking into his brekkie (2 weetabix!!) in his high chair, I head to my Classic Dualit Kettle. Ah. There she is. In all her finery. What a beauty. It's not just the polished, stainless steel finish that shimmers in the early morning light that makes me love this kettle so much. It's the fact it's so darn quiet when the water is boiling. It's not like my old one that resembled a rocket launch every time I boiled it to make a cuppa. So, what makes it so quiet? well, the clever folk at Dualit have come up with a game changer patent; Whisper Boil Function. Don't ask me how it works, all I know is my quiet, serene, tranquil start to the day remains just that. By quiet, serene, tranquil I mean listening to bubba munch away on his weetbix and guzzle down his bottle of milk without taking a breather. That is the sound of one satisfied baby! 

Dualit compostable coffee bags

Now the kettle has boiled (in under 1 minute) I pour the boiled water into my favourite coffee cup – A 70s retro paisley pattern and I enjoy the Dualit Coffee which give that intense cafetière flavoured coffee I love minus the fuss and time of using a cafetière. Time is precious with a 14-month-old on the loose and the less work I have to do the easier my life is. And did I mention the flavours? Today I am having the Dualit Sumatra Mandheling, but I’ve also had the Dualit Intense compostable coffee bags and the Dualit Decaf Blend. Game changer right there. These coffees are strong and rich in flavour and the coffee bags are all compostable making them more sustainable for the environment. They even come in recycled cardboard boxes which is refreshing in itself to not have wasteful packaging. Thanks’ Dualit for giving me a Barista style coffee ready in 60 seconds from my own kettle is an absolute revelation.

Dualit compostable coffee bags.

One final thing, and in my book a crucial thing to note. The longevity, sustainability and value for money which this Classic Dualit Kettle has been so smartly designed.  It has a replacement element that ensures the kettle perpetually makes my favourite coffee. Having a replacement element means that when it does eventually fail (after all the use it gets in my house) you don't need to chuck the kettle out. You just order a replacement element from Dualit and connect it up and you're good to go and carry on getting that caffeine fix!

Dualit classic Toaster and New Gen Toaster.

Alongside my kettle I have been using my Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Toaster to make mine and little Jimmy's soldiers in the mornings to accompany our coffee, bottles of milk and Weetabix. This toaster has been with us since we moved into our house 8 years ago and bubba was just a twinkle in our eyes. The toaster, like the kettle has been designed with a replaceable element so you are on to a winner. Plus, like the kettle design, the toaster is also a design classic; curved stainless steel, retro, timeless design which is yet to fail me in its performance. No one makes a kettle or toaster quite like Dualit do. Built to last a lifetime and more sustainable for all of us. I’m sure we’ll still be talking about their timeless, clever design for many years to come.

Now, to cease the day! (carpe diem).

This post was sponsored by Dualit, however all opinions are 100% my own.

Talking natural floor coverings with Kersaint Cobb

Kersaint Cobb Floor Coverings - from Left to right; Providence Herringbone PC423, KC Sisal Panama, Morrocco Runner Colour Tetouan (stripe), KC Levana Herringbone, KC Morroco Runner Colour Oujda (Grey stripe), Top Middle- Boucle Artists in Colour Rembrandt 8043, Seagrass Basket Weave - Natural, (Bottom Right) KC Providence Herringbone in colour PC420.

If there’s one thing that makes a house a home, then it’s the flooring which we choose. My home wouldn’t have the same feel if I didn’t enjoy looking at, and walking on our flooring every day, and the decision process for choosing the right flooring can be more complex than just choosing the best-looking product.

Flooring is a big investment, so choosing the wrong floor type can have a huge cost implication, and likewise, no one wants to look at ugly flooring.

I’ve teamed up with flooring specialists Kersaint Cobb to give you some quick tips for helping you make that big flooring decision, and it might even open up your eyes to new options. In a world where we are being challenged to do the right thing and live in a more natural home, Kersaint Cobb seem to have that nailed.

From the softness and warmth of wool to the exciting textures of seagrass, jute, coir and sisal, the Kersaint Cobb range offers the variety and beauty of the natural world in which we live.

Go natural with Wood

This answers that first big question ‘laminate vs wood’. There is no question which one is best, and which will give you the return on the investment. Go natural or go home. It’s of course Wood. At Kersaint Cobb they offer a range of Solid wood flooring in 12 different designs from parquet to planks in natural oak. The range is available in numerous shades and have been sourced from the hills of New Zealand to the forests of Asia.

Kersaint Cobb - Vie Maison, Rustique Fume priced from £71.99 per sq m

The main advice would be to treat the Kersaint Cobb wood flooring with love, care and to use the Kersaint Cobb care kit to allow the wood to grow old gracefully. This is a product for life.

Kersaint Cobb - Traditions, FHBO Farmhouse Brushed & Oiled

Kersaint Cobb - Simply Oak, Aged Oak SO23 priced from £60.99 per sq m (1)

Want to add warmth and softness with Wool carpets

If you want to add warmth and softness, then look no further than using a natural wool floor covering. At Kersaint cobb they have a vast range of wool carpets to suit your needs. The renewable fibre can be as versatile as you want it to be. Warm and cosy under foot to feeling sumptuous and soft. The Kersaint Cobb Wool range consists of shades of warm neutrals and greys to statement stripes. There’s really something here to suit every area of your home.

Kersaint Cobb - Luna, Seashell priced from £61.50 per sq m

Kersaint Cobb - Chic, Venice priced from £42 per sq m

Go Natural with Sisal

Did you know that Sisal is not only practical and durable but is also the hottest trend for carpets at the moment?

Its natural fibre takes vegetable dyes amazingly and at Kersaint Cobb you will find Sisal carpets in a host of beautiful, natural shades to suit your home. And, its antistatic quality means its super low maintenance. My fav is the Sisal herringbone for its subtle texture and pattern. Now just imagine this up the stairs… dreamy eh!

Kersaint Cobb - Big Boucle, Noir priced from £48.50 per sq m

Kersaint Cobb - Mini Boucle, Amber priced from £45 per sq m

Go neutral with Seagrass Carpets

Are you a neutral lover? Well then look no further as the seagrass carpet range is made for you. This collection only comes in pale natural hues to represent its natural fibre.

So, what is Seagrass you ask? It’s a natural fibre which is harvested in a field and then spun and woven with care into the most natural carpet Kersaint Cobb have to offer. The thickness of the fibre is defined by the age which it was picked. The finer Seagrass fibres are harvested when the plant is much younger and vice versa for the thicker more heavy-duty weaves.

At Kersaint Cobb you will find six different designs in the Seagrass range which all come with a thin latex backing, meaning it will live and breathe in your home and the natural fibre will age gracefully in its natural state. 

Soft and golden Jute

Do you want your carpet to give your home that calm feeling? How does biodegradable and fully recyclable sound too? Jute carpets can certainly deliver all of the above. Its delicate appearance isn’t for those well-trodden areas but would be perfect for those quieter areas such as a bedroom or lounge. Plus being a natural material, it reflects the sun perfectly.

Coir

Coir or Coconut hair as I like to call it. Coir is the short brown fibres of the coconut husk, which have been soaked, spun and carefully woven into a rustic floor covering.

This carpet delivers that rustic outdoors feel into your home and is durable for those heavy wearing areas of your home such as hallways and stairs. Its natural material is perfect for protecting your floors from unwanted dirt making it low maintenance and is available in six different natural colours at Kersaint cobb from Natural to Matting light brown.

Carpet Runners

Are you after a carpet runner which is beautiful, yet sustainable? The runners at Kersaint Cobb are lovingly handcrafted from 100% natural sisal, which makes them hard wearing for stairs and hallways. They’re also made in 69cm widths with pre finished, hassle free edges, ready to fit most staircases. The range consists of beautiful stripes to bring splashes of colour into your home, yet still retaining a natural feel. The Moroccan Meknes in its beautiful natural tone with subtle red and neutral stripe would complement any home style.

Kersaint Cobb - Morocco Runners, Tetouan priced from £68 per linear metre

Kersaint Cobb - Morocco Runner, El Jadida priced from £68 per linear metre

Let me know if you have any questions about anything I have talked about here, I’d be happy to help if I can!

Thanks for reading and happy floor shopping.

A x

 This post was sponsored by Kersaint Cobb. All views and opinions are 100% my own.