hello…

We are not interior designers. This website is not about us predicting trends or telling you how to design your home or which accessories are this season’s “must-haves”. It is about us sharing a very personal journey – one which has made us really think more about design and how it affects the way we now live our lives.

Our current journey started in 2017, when we sold our home in West Didsbury, Manchester. We’d lived in the mid-terraced, three bedroomed house since 2000, but had recently renovated it, creating a very unusual, completely open plan space. This gave us a craving for more space. To be somewhere which didn’t have houses to each side of us and to the back and to the front. To be able to see the sunset, not other roof tops. We took a complete leap of faith and sold the Manchester house, buying a stone house, high up in the hills in northern Istria, Croatia and set off on a very new journey.

We really hit the ground running and from day one, had to get our heads around not only sourcing tradespeople and materials but also considering what we wanted our new home to be like. Underpinning our thought processes, was the constant idea that we wanted to create something which was unique and bespoke – and as far from the traditional interior of an Istrian house as possible. We wanted to get to know our new environment and feel the house and understand the space. We wanted space, light and clean lines. We wanted our style, but we knew it would evolve. It would take time. It would become Slow Design…

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Renovation

Interiors

Lifestyle

Travel

Latest Blogs…

Renovation

entrance to our home

entrance to our home

When we bought our house in Istria in 2016, it looked very different to how it does today. It was kind of quarter renovated. The roof was new. The guttering was new. Windows had been fitted. And that was just about it. But, we saw the potential - even seeing ahead, to...

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garden vision realised…

garden vision realised…

Ever since I saw this photo, I knew exactly what the garden at the rear of the house needed to look like. And, luckily, our builder was totally on board and could see the vision we had. Now, four months on, I couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out. For six...

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construction continues…

construction continues…

It seems as if we have once again, shared our home and garden, with builders, for a considerable period of time. But we haven't really - it's only been four months - but we've been so keen and excited to get to the finishing line, that it just seems like we've lived...

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secret garden progress

secret garden progress

It's only called the Secret Garden because it's partly hidden from view and it sounds a whole nicer than the back garden. Since the weather broke and we've had lovely long days of hot sunshine, the builders have been beavering away, trying to recreate our vision. Back...

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Interiors

the *unfinished* apartment : citta alta : bergamo

the *unfinished* apartment : citta alta : bergamo

Although we've largely finished the renovations of our stone house, I can always find something else that needs to be done. So, effectively, it always "unfinished". But not on the scale of these properties, which have been designed to be deliberately "unfinished"....

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string curtains…

string curtains…

Our bedrooms are not overlooked and so we don't necessarily need curtains at the windows. But sometimes, curtains - or a simple roller blind - can just finish off a window. We have installed white roller blinds in all of the window recesses, because even though we...

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winter teal

winter teal

The main bedroom in our house is large. Certainly bigger than any bedroom we've ever had before - and keeping it warm and cosy in the winter, is something I work on every year. It's great in the summer - light, spacious and airy. With the windows wide open and a...

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hallway reno

hallway reno

Not all renovation projects need to involve demolition and mess and heavy tools and living with dust and dirt. I like to think that's all kind of behind us - at least for now, but we never say never. These days, our renovation projects are quite small scale, very...

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Lifestyle

antique hunting

antique hunting

I love a good rummage around an antiques market. I dream of living in a village with a brocante. But I'm just not very good at bartering and securing a bargain. The last time we were in Ljubljana, the Sunday Market was on, along the river. I think this was my most...

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eating our way around bergamo

eating our way around bergamo

Bergamo is a fabulous city in Lombardy, northern Italy, not too far from Milan. It's often overlooked for Milan, but don't make that mistake - you'll only regret it. With a medieval walled upper town, a cosmopolitan lower town and views across to the (often snowy...

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hello december…

hello december…

And just like that, we're into the coldest and darkest part of the year. It only seems days ago that we were sweltering in the garden, throwing windows wide open, dispensing with even summer duvets and sleeping with fans whirring away next to us. Winter in Istria can...

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winter is coming

winter is coming

Summer this year, seemed to last way into October. We had two lots of friends stay with us over this month, and both times, we were able to sit out in the garden and soak up the sun, as well as eat outdoors. Even into November, it's been mild - and we can evidence...

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Travel

rocksalt b&b : folkestone : kent

rocksalt b&b : folkestone : kent

Rocksalt Restaurant and Rooms - with four boutique en-suite bedrooms - have a very enviable location on the South Kent coast. The glass fronted restaurant sits right on the harbour, overlooking the English Channel, whilst the rooms are just behind, on a cobbled...

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the iron men : crosby : merseyside

the iron men : crosby : merseyside

It's been a while since we've visited the permanent sculpture exhibition on Crosby Beach, but it was a place we'd often drive over to from Manchester, if we wanted to get some blowy, fresh air. Called Another Place, it is a piece of modern sculpture by British artist...

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le royal hôtel : nîmes: occitanie : france

le royal hôtel : nîmes: occitanie : france

Continuing our late summer road trip to France, we headed to the city of Nîmes, known for its well-preserved Roman monuments such as the double tiered Arena of Nîmes, dating from approximately 70 AD and still in use for concerts and bullfights, and the Pont du Gard...

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the ancient roman city of acquileia

the ancient roman city of acquileia

Aquileia was an ancient city, founded in 180BC, lying at the head of the lagoons, to the east of Venice, on the road to Trieste, as a Roman colony due to its strategic position between the port and the inland area. It is one of the most important archeological sites...

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