Shopping

I am currently trying to find a space for this pair of cushions

from Cream Cornwall. Aren't they superb. They also come in black and I would highly recommend checking out the rest of their online shop which is full of original nautical inspired textiles and homewares.

Inspiring interiors - The Tide House

Sometimes an interior can really capture the spirit of a place 

This is  The Tide House a rather fabulous looking hotel in St Ives on the cornish coast. It's definitely on my must go list, not just because of the stunning location but also for the fantastic interiors, I love the muted colour palette and lightwood furniture, especially combined with original stone walls. It seems to capture a certain laid back coastal vibe without being themed.

Let the renovation begin!

So we have finally left our cottage and moved into our new home near the sea. It is a fantastic house which just needed a total update of the interior.

The house is a typical 1930's detached house with large square rooms and generous ceilings, but many of the original features are either obscured by the dated decor or have simply been removed as successive owners have updated the house. Our aim is to redecorate the house, retaining and restoring as many of the original features as is practical, whilst it still functions as a 21st century family home.

We are now several months into the renovation and a lot of the "bones" of the update are well under way. The plumbing has been updated, walls have been plastered and even some decorating and flooring are underway.

I now spend my evenings pouring over paint colours and fabric samples and wondering if we will ever get to that point of the renovation but it is so exciting to see the the home I imagined this house could be begin to take shape.

Farrow and Ball Paint Chart

Lovely and Local - Tregear Pottery

One  thing I am hoping to achieve in the new house is using items sourced from small and or local producers to decorate, rather than items from the high street giants. this is partly because I want my home to feel unique, I don't want to suddenly see my favourite cushion in five different friends houses! But, also because I think it is especially important  with internet shopping and cheap mass production to support those who are striking out and doing something different. I've no doubt they'll still be plenty of the latter in our home, who can resist a few ikea items?  Hopefully a few locally sourced pieces will give it the unique feel we're looking for.

Aren't these pieces amazing! Tregear Pottery is located only a few miles away on the Isle of Wight. All of their pottery is hand thrown and decorated with these beautiful coastal patterns. 

I was lucky enough to receive a whitebait pattern lamp base for christmas and I can't wait to show it off in our new home. I think a few more of these wonderful pieces of pottery may well find their way into the new house as well.

Happy New Year!

A little late, granted, but I can't believe how quickly 2013 passed by and how we are already over half way through January!
For me a new year also means a new home. Yes, in less than a week we will be moving from our cottage in the forest to a house by the sea, it's exciting and busy getting ready to move and making plans for our new home, but also a little sad to be leaving our first family home. My son turns one this month and we will be leaving a nursery behind and creating a "big boys" bedroom in the new house.  This move will really mark the end of era and the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

The Nursery

Christmas Stockings

I love christmas, for me it really is the most magical holiday and every christmas eve for as long as I can remember I have hung up the same appliquéd hessian stocking in eager anticipation of christmas morning. This year is my son's first christmas and I hope he will be as excited about christmas as I was as a child, but first he needs a christmas stocking.Here are my favourites from my search for the perfect present receptacle.

Oka - knitted christmas stocking

jan constantine - felt stocking

landsend - Monogrammed needlepoint stocking

not on the highstreet - retreat home personalised sleigh christmas stocking

Hello.

I'm Lisa and I live with my fantastic family, 1 husband, 2 small children and a rather naughty dog, on the sometimes sunny south coast of England. We all live in a lovely cottage near to both the sea and the countryside.  I love interiors and decorating my home, I also love to cook and entertaining friends and family.

 We love our cottage and our lives here, but our family has started to outgrow the space and we are hoping to move in the near future to a bigger home, nearer to the sea.  It will almost certainly be a renovation project on some scale, so this blog will mostly be about the places and things that inspire me to create our new home.  I love to mix old with new, designer items with junk shop finds so expect to see my latest bargain or the latest interior must have on my wish list with the occasional recipe or kitchen gadget thrown in for good measure.

A beach & the sea, not far from home.