    Before
 *Lust Home gifted me the wallpaper and paint featured in this post. All opinions are my own. I was already a huge fan of Lust Home wallpapers after using two of them in our retro caravan makeover, so when they asked if they could send me some for a future project I jumped at the chance to transform the living room. It was on my to do list for next year anyway but there’s no time like the present when your favourite interiors brand wants to collaborate! I chose some samples which arrived quickly and were such a good size for getting a proper feel for the pattern and colours. The paint samples are stickers so you can pop them directly onto where you’ll be painting which gives you a much better idea of how it’ll look in the light of your space. I went for She’s a Wildflower (brights on cream) and Smashed Avo paint to give the fire place a cosy update. The paint is actually an eco conscious (yay!) matt emulsion (meant for walls) but I’ve used other matt emulsions on furniture before - as long as it’s sanded and primed and not a high traffic piece it should be fine. You can always seal with a matt varnish if you’d like extra protection from scuffs. The wallpaper is perfect (shout out to Kelly of Oh So Daisy who designed it) and it really ties in the colours of all the different vintage furniture in the room. It’s paste-the-wall which makes it easier to hang, and a really nice thick weight to it. The makeover wouldn’t have been complete without a new rug. Our current beige rug was a temporary fix after an unfortunate incident with a glass of red wine ruined the previous one. When I found this colourful recycled cotton rug from La Redoute it was love at first sight, but I was a little worried it would be too much with the rest of the decor. When my Mum (who came to share her wallpapering skills) saw the rug she seemed concerned too, but once it was all in place she admitted: “it’s mad… but it works”. I am absolutely over the moon with our living room makeover - after transforming the caravan I found I had the confidence to go bolder in our home. I never thought I’d be a maximalist but it’s just so much more fun! Florals aren’t the obvious choice for winter but it turns out they look magical with the Christmas decorations and glow of twinkly lights and candles. Almost like a fairy grotto. I can’t wait to style the space when spring comes too.
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   Last April, I was waiting on a date for major emergency* surgery so it seemed like a good time to convince David that we should buy a vintage caravan. It would be the perfect distraction, I said, and in my defence planning the project most definitely was. There did, however, turn out to be a lot more work involved than I imagined, so here we are - well over a year later - and it’s finally finished! The previous owners had started doing up our wee 1985 caravan, so we don’t have an original photo of how it would have looked, sadly. We decided we wanted to have a proper mattress for comfort and so we wouldn’t have the faff of rearranging cushions and making the bed each night. With a 4 foot mattress making up the bed/lounging area, this left just enough space for a dining section in the middle. We also decided to take out the shower as the original tray was badly damaged and there was damp in the cubicle, instead we just have a cassette toilet and little sink. We were very lucky with the kitchen; the original fridge, oven and hob all work perfectly! My Mum and Dad gave me a pair of Enamel Happy cups for my birthday before we bought the caravan, not long after that I found Lust did a retro daisy wallpaper. These were the starting point for the interior style which I planned out on Procreate. I’ve loved having an excuse to find bits and pieces to match over the last year, even sourcing mini utensils to stock the kitchen has had me in my element. I’ll pop a list of some of the items below:
I really wanted the space to feel like an escape pod where we can go to disconnect from technology and slow down. We have a cupboard stocked with games and puzzles, a little book shelf and a retro radio. I have a few things I’d like to work on next year, but for now we’re going to enjoy a few more trips away before we have to put it back into hibernation. Let me know if you have any recommendations for where we should plan a trip! *I’ve not spoken about this on here before, but it wasn’t actually an emergency in the end. They just had to treat it as an emergency to be on the safe side due to test results.  
   *Lick gifted me a Colour Consultation, Decorating Kit and paint in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. When Lick got in touch asking if I'd like to try their Video Colourist Session to help makeover a room in my home I thought it would be a fab opportunity to change up our bedroom a little. My appointment was booked with Sam and held via WhatsApp. We had a lovely chat about interiors including my likes and dislikes, details of the space I wanted advice on (how we use it, what would be staying the same etc), my interiors style and any other requirements. It was a really relaxed chat and Sam gave me the encouragement I needed to go bold as I told her I loved the arch murals I'd been seeing on Instagram recently. After the session I was sent a bespoke mood board with details of Lick paint colours to complete the makeover. Lick then sent me one of their super handy Decorating Kits and a tin of Yellow 01 which is a soft creamy yellow, perfect for adding a cosy pop of colour to our otherwise white bedroom. I'm just going to take a moment here to say how much I love Lick's branding - from the little messages on the packaging to the logo engraved wooden handles and gorgeous tin - there are so many little touches that make them stand out. The decorating kit I received is the single room painting kit which includes a roller and handle, 2" flat brush, metal roller tray and yellow masking tape. We measured out the space behind the bed, taped up the straight sides and floor, then used a pencil with some string and a pin (as a compass) to draw the arch. David did the rollering while I did the arch edge - I was so surprised at how easy it was as a wee DIY project! The paint went on so nice and smooth, it only needed one coat as the wall underneath was white. It's a really thick, well pigmented paint and a little definitely goes a long way. We finished off our mini bedroom makeover with some wee pops of yellow and other cute accessories. First, a few thrifty ones - the cushions were spare ones my Mum had sitting around, I made some pompoms to add to my fairylights (you can see how I did this using a fork here), I added a couple of yellow/gold items to my accessories box frame, and I put one of my great grandmother's vintage doilies in an embroidery hoop as a wall decoration. The beautiful wall hanging is from Letti and Low on Etsy and I found the rattan mirror on eBay. I also couldn't resist taking a pic of one of Cushy Knit's squishy blankets on the bed as it just looks so snuggly with the new colour scheme. Then, last but not least, we got a big yellow mirror ball! I absolutely love it, it's so twinkly in the sun and just makes it feel like a really cheerful space to wake up in, especially on these gloomier mornings. If you're thinking about having a home makeover, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Lick. The colourist sessions are such a great tool for helping inspire you to try something different in your home with confidence. You can find out more here and also be sure to follow Lick on Instagram as there's so many beautiful real homes featured. I keep spotting more colours I'd like to try elsewhere in the house!  
  This post contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links I'd had some bar ideas on my Garden Inspiration Pinterest board for ages now, but it just seemed like one of those never-going-to-happen projects. We've had this empty, unused corner of the garden which I decided would be the perfect spot for one so it was time to convince David. I showed him lots of examples and he said if I did a sketch of how I wanted it to look, mainly using the scrap materials we already had, we could do it. Yesss!! I can't believe how it's turned out! It's just so real. I initially thought I'd just be getting a fold down pallet shelf or something tiny. In the end we used a bunch of stuff from our garage junk collection - 3 pallets from materials deliveries, trellis for the roof (from a bin store David made), osb countertop (leftover from a garage repair), and the roof posts and monoblocks were salvaged from a skip trip. Of course, with David being a landscape gardener he was able to magic up a lovely patio base, then he constructed the bar using my drawing as a guide. I was in charge of the stools and all of the painting (so much painting). The stools were £12 because of a lucky voucher situation, and I already had foam to use for the tops leftover from another project. I covered the tops with this tropical leaf tablecloth (£6.99) which inspired the colour scheme. The paint cost £24 with lots leftover. The colours are Paradise Petals by Johnstone's and Seagrass by Cuprinol. We did most of the work in a weekend, then I was just waiting for my solar lights to arrive to have fun with the styling. They look so pretty but sadly aren't working, so I've got to return them or I'd have taken a twinkly night-time photo. The other accessories were mostly just things we already had - the chalkboard frames are repurposed from my old tradeshow display. I did buy the floral garland on eBay though. Amazingly, in total we spent around £60! I hope you like our DIY bar! We can't wait to have some friends and family round for cocktail nights! I'll share the rest of our garden makeover soon.  Before - Photograph by Douglas Gibb Photograph       This post contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Happy new year! It's been a while but since we've just finished our mini kitchen makeover I thought it would be a nice post to start the year. It's now been over 15 months since we moved into our house, the kitchen wasn't top of the DIY list as it wasn't too bad, just a bit plain. We wanted to give it a cheap and cheerful revamp and since David had time off after new year, what better time to go for it than the holidays?? The original kitchen was in good shape (apart from a couple of wee joinery bits that David fixed) so after a deep clean and light sand we were ready to paint. The paint we used is Autentico Versante Matt in Antique Rose which was £26.95 for 1L - we had leftover after 2/3 coats. Autentico says it's ideal for kitchen cupboards and that its 'built-in moisture membrane and UV filter makes it water resistant and prevent colours from fading'. It's only been on a few days but I love the finish so hopefully it stays that way! To finish them off I chose some ceramic cream and gold drawer knobs which were from TK Maxx, I think they were £5.99 for 6. Of course, we have 13 kitchen cupboard handles but luckily I had a spare from another piece of furniture we upcycled last year! I spent a while looking at various options for the tiles and couldn't decide, so opted for tile stickers which are a much more affordable and less permanent solution if I change my mind anytime soon. These were from Wall Genie on Etsy and were just under £40 for three packs of 30 so I could have the mix of colours I wanted and some spares. I ordered a sample at the start of October and stuck it on to see how durable it was, and found no issues at all. They were a little fiddly to apply perfectly, especially around the sockets, but real tiles would've been much worse! Finally, we added to our vintage plates wall by hanging some diagonally up from the ones we hung when we moved in. I'm so pleased with the end result and it feels like such a happy space now. |
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