Bathroom inspiration

We decided as soon as we viewed our new house that we would completely strip out the bathroom and start again, including removing the wall that divided the bathroom from the loo ( you can see how it looked when we bought the house in this post). If there is one thing I can’t live with it is a grungy bathroom so it was always a priority for me.

I love a bright and airy bathroom that feels clean and crisp without feeling sterile and cold. My challenge was to find tiles, a suite and decor that were relatively inexpensive but would  look and feel good.

To give you an idea of my plans for the bathroom here are some of the things that I have chosen and rooms that have inspired me…

1. Image via @bloggaibagis 2. Duravit basin and console from Fountain Direct 3. Stelrad towel rail from Plumb Nation 4. Zenta wall mounted tap from ManoMano 5. Image via Doris Lee 6. Shoreditch House bathroom snapped by me 7. Image via Rock My Style 8. Hexagon floor tiles from Walls and Floors 9. Original BTC wall light from The Conran Shop 10. ProWarm underfloor heating from Plumb Nation 11. Image via Living Etc – white gloss tiles from Walls and Flooring

It is a small room so no space for luxurious free standing baths and separate showers and the like. It is all going to be very practical, squeezing in as much as possible – I will follow up this post with the design we have come up with. The floor is going to be the white hexagonal tiles (super cheap) with mid grey grouting to hide the dirt and although I generally dislike tiled floors as I find them cold and hard we have been gifted some wondrous underfloor heating from the brilliant PlumbNation, which solves those problems. I can not wait for a toasty tiled floor on cold winter mornings! PlumbNation also gave us a lovely white heated towel rail that will keep this room warm too. The other tiles we have chosen are very cheap plain white square tiles (do you know how difficult it is to find true white matt tiles? Well, I’ll tell you it is impossible so we have had to go gloss) which will go round the bath that will have a shower over it. They will be laid in a running bond pattern with white grout (I think I’m the only person in the world that hates dark grout).

The only thing we have spent a chunk of money on in the bathroom is the basin. I would have loved an old cupboard with a counter top basin but there just isn’t space in the room for that so I chose a basin with a metal console instead and I like the slightly industrial feel of it. I really like the way wall mounted taps look and function with the added bonus that there is more space on the basin for stuff like toothbrushes. We were lucky enough to be gifted the Zenta tap from ManoMano and I hope that is going to look sleek and simple.

To soften the space we are going to tongue and groove all the way round the bottom half of the room (except the shower/bath that will be tiled) and paint it Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue with All White on the top half of the walls. I will also find a 1930s mirror to go above the basin to add some character and I have bought an Original BTC wall light to go above that.

The room has already been stripped, plastered and the mist coat was on yesterday when I went over so the installation will be all go next week. SO exciting!

Katy x

Holiday House

As you may have seen on my Instagram we are moving house! I started to play the Rightmove game last Friday night, got the flat on the market by Monday and it was under offer within a day – boom! We had a mortgage agreed on Tuesday, saw a house that we like on Thursday and I’ve got a feeling that this could be the one. It’s a cute 1930’s three bedroom house in south east London that backs onto lots of green space (ideal for Otto) and has a lovely garden (perfect for Mimi). It needs lots of cosmetic work and walls need to be knocked down so it wouldn’t be the way we wanted it for quite some time but I’ve always wanted to do a house up from scratch so I’m very excited about it. We will see…

Anyhoo, that accounts for why I have not published this post sooner but it feels like the perfect time for me as all I can think about right now is inspiration for doing up a WHOLE HOUSE and there is nowhere better for design inspiration than the Holiday House. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to a beautiful dinner with the team at Farrow & Ball at the houses (there are actually two of them worth a cool £22m) as they are one of the sponsors and you can spot lots of their colours and wallpapers in the rooms. The houses are an interior design showhouse, where top interior designers showcase their talent to raise funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation – each room is designed by someone different so it is filled to the brim with beautiful designs, furniture, styling and the best bit is that everything is for sale, with proceeds also going to the foundation. Also hosting the dinner and the tour of the houses was Rachel Laxer who is the co-chair and creative director of the Holiday House in London. It was so wonderful to get her insight on the project and to hear the inspiration behind the cause that it supports.

You have this weekend left to visit the house as it closes on Sunday 10th December evening and it would make a lovely day out. You can book tickets here.

Here are a few snippets to give you an idea of what the houses look like…

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

I love the simplicity of this design and the exquisite rug pulls the whole scheme together – CW Design.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

The vintage chairs in this room are the stars of the show – Beth Clancy at Rachel Laxer Interiors.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

The lovely Laura Hammett, who is a friend of mine, designed this stunning bedroom and I really appreciated the attention to detail of every aspect of the room.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

The ceramic wall sculpture in Laura’s design was stunning.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

Wallpaper heaven – Amelia Carter Interiors.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

I love the combination Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue and Calamine stripes in this striking bedroom – Roselind Wilson Design.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

Farrow & Ball’s Peignoir used in the hallway. If you’ve seen my living room you will know that that is one of my favourite F&B colours – Hazel Collins Design.

The Holiday House interior design showhouse designed by renowned interior designers.

This is Rachel Laxer’s design and is dedicated to her mother, Barbara Stern – a strong breast cancer survivor.

I think we spent about an hour with Rachel touring the houses but we could have spent three hours there with no problem at all; there are so many rooms to see and the details in each room need to be soaked up. Buy tickets here to visit this weekend – your last chance!

Katy x

Summer dining inspiration with Robert Welch

Hurrah for summer and the sun! Bring on the heat wave, I say! I can’t wait to get up on our roof terrace for long, lazy lunches with friends this weekend and next week. In fact, our apartment block is taking part in the Big Lunch on Sunday so very much looking forward to that.

Released just in time for the sun, and the perfect accessories for a bit of alfresco dining now that summer is here, Hidcote, Kingham and Bourton, each taking their name from a local Cotswold village, are the three latest cutlery patterns from my favourite cutlery designers Robert Welch. Now, I would obviously prefer to be in the Cotswolds in this weather but I will have to make do with our London roof top and this gorgeous new cutlery. I would love to show you the three new designs and a bit of summer dining inspiration.

Bourton cutlery is the most rustic of the three designs so I have paired it with rough wood, linen, handmade unglazed ceramics and a bit of lavender to bring a summery feel to this table. This cutlery feels so lovely in the hand and is weighted perfectly (so it doesn’t do that annoying thing of slipping down onto your plate or falling out of a bowl – especially handy when taking plates of food in and out for alfresco dining.).

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

I have teamed the Kingham design with a soft pink tablecloth (tablecloths are so useful for eating outside as they can cover up old tired outdoor tables that have taken a battering during the winter months). Dusty and blush pinks don’t seem to  be losing their popularity just yet so it works well with the contemporary feel of this elegant cutlery. Keep it simple with some seasonal pink flowers and let the quality of the cutlery shine.

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Hidcote cutlery is inspired by natural forms and for some reason the beautiful shape of the handles reminds me of sea horses. Therefore, I went for a coastal theme for this place setting pairing blue and white with enamelware – a bit beach-hutty, if you know what I mean – and scattered sea shells. Oh, to be eating breakfast by the sea right now!

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

The lovely folks over at Robert Welch are offering my readers a £25 discount off any orders over £100 you make, using the code GIFT25. A quality set of cutlery is always a great investment for yourself or would make a wonderful gift for friends or as a wedding present.

I hope everyone manages to get out and enjoy the sun over the next few days. Enjoy!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Robert Welch.

Favourite posts of 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is feeling happy, full to the brim with food and drink and relaxed. As the new year approaches I have been reflecting on the year that has been and flicking through the blog posts I have written this year. It’s amazing the memories that come flooding back just by seeing a blog post title: events and days I had completely forgotten about. For me personally it is has been such an important year and so completely different to the last few years that were filled with angst and sadness as we spent four years battling infertility – and battle is the right word. This time last year I felt we had turned a corner and I could see a little light at the end of the tunnel as we had taken a break from IVF treatment and the haze that had surrounded me for so long cleared slightly. A few months later and in the Spring of 2016 we finally got the positive pregnancy test we had dreamed of for so long and as I type this we are just a couple of weeks from baby’s due date; it is still difficult to believe! 2017 looks to be a very exciting one for us and I have never felt so incredibly grateful as we move into the new year.

Here is a round up of my year via some of my favourite blog posts. I hope you’d like to go back to some of these old posts, too, especially if you missed them first time around.

Best DIY

Perhaps one of my best DIY projects ever because these leather handles that I made from bookmarks for our kitchen makeover that we completed in February have proven to be robust, effective and look great.

Best room makeover

We started 2016 by redecorating our living room and kitchen and it was such an enjoyable project that has made a huge difference to the feel of our whole home. It was the perfect way to start the year.

Best house tour

My favourite home that I featured on the blog in 2016 was the incredibly beautiful and unique Hampstead home of Celia, who is the founder of children’s clothing brand La Coqueta. Totally dreamy.

Best event

One of my favourite events of the year was a wonderful house tour organised by Function + Form and Houzz. I totally fell in love with this space…

Best trip

When I went through my 2016 posts I had completely forgotten about a trip that my sister organised for my mum’s 70th to Babington House. Someone take me back!

Best moment

And finally, my best moment of 2016 was finding out that our fifth round of IVF had worked. A mixture of absolute terror and extreme elevation has followed and I can’t wait to share news of baby’s arrival next month (please keep everything you own crossed that all goes well for us!).

I really hope 2016 has been a good year for you and that 2017 holds good things, too. Wishing everyone lots of love.

Katy x

Friday faves

It’s well and truly time to snuggle down at home or wrap up warm outside. I love this cosy time of year; spending more time at home crafting, cooking or entertaining. We spent last weekend down in Lewes for my sister’s 40th birthday on November 5th, which perfectly coincided with the Lewes bonfire night celebrations. A big group of us piled into a hotel and spent the weekend drinking, eating and enjoying the AMAZING parade and fireworks display. I also squeezed a bit of shopping in (natch) and if you haven’t been before, you must visit for the shops alone. Actually, it would make a great place to shop for Christmas presents – one of my favourite shops is Closet & Botts, followed by a yummy lunch at the Flint Owl bakery.

Another thing I like about the festive season approaching are the pop-up restaurants, shops and markets that spring up. Just down the road from where we live I have my eye on the Igloo restaurants on the riverside that look great and the views must be amazing.

Friday faves | Apartment Apothecary

If you are looking for some festive workshops to get you in the mood over the next month or so, Heather is running a fab craft tutorial at the 91 magazine pop-up at West Elm next week. You can book your ticket here and come away with a beautiful textural wall hanging, the perfect autumnal addition to your home.

Thinking more about seasonal crafts, Wool and the Gang are launching a new homeware collection on November 14th. The collection features a range of gorgeous cushions and cosy blankets ready for winter, made up using their Crazy Sexy Wool.

And lastly, in my home I have been thinking more about my bed: spending more time in it, making it cosier now it is colder at night and trying to get a bit more sleep as this bump is getting BIG! I’ve latched on to the idea that some new bedlinen will do the trick and I’ve fallen head over heels for this ticking stripe set in Antique Rose from Toast. Delightful.

Hope you have all had a good week (let’s not mention American election results and the like). Have a great weekend!

Katy x