recent blogs

vappeby bluetooth speaker : ikea

vappeby bluetooth speaker : ikea

We've had a Bose Soundlink Mini II bluetooth speaker for a good few years now. It's portable, the charge lasts for quite a long time and the sound quality is excellent. It still looks pretty cool after about ten years, so design-wise, it ticks boxes for us. It's small...

quick bathroom makeover

quick bathroom makeover

We've spent so long focusing on other areas of the house, and in particular this summer, the garden, that we've neglected a couple of rooms. One being the upstairs bathroom. We rarely use it these days, preferring the walk in shower in the downstairs renovated...

ikea mash soup…

ikea mash soup…

Yep, you saw that right. We really did use a packet of IKEA frozen mash in a recent soup recipe. And, believe you me, it was a bit of a game-changer. Our freezer often has a few packets of this particular brand of mash - containing apparently 82% potato - because of...

a place for dinner

a place for dinner

Although we are lucky enough to have a few options regarding where we can eat, sometimes we just want to eat in the living room, where the big woodburner is and where we can watch TV. When we've done this in the past, it's had to be on the sofa, eating dinner on our...

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...

grey & white, with a woodland vibe…

grey & white, with a woodland vibe…

We've never had so much space and shape to play with before, in any of the houses or flats we've lived in, and our stone house has proven itself to be a complete source of surprises. Each time we think we've finished somewhere, we see something else that could be...

the gold room…

the gold room…

I've thought long & hard about adding blogs to the website, in the current climate. It seems too frivolous to be posting about renovations and life-style things and recipes. But, and it is a big but, we've worked hard for so long to get to the point where are...

bedroom two reno : update 1

bedroom two reno : update 1

This room, above, when we viewed for the first time in July 2016, was something of a mess. Two sets of bunk beds, random shelving, dishevelled bedding, bare plaster walls, bare floor boards - all in all, pretty dismal. BUT, with a beautiful soaring ceiling, original...