Showing posts with label decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decor. Show all posts

Little Things That Make A House A Home

I know now that it takes a long while to get your home exactly how you want it and since having my own home, I have found that you can have a quite plain boring room but by adding one thing, you can change it into an inviting space that looks like you have spent a lot of time making it feel like a home rather than a house.

Little Things That Make A House A Home

One thing that I have recently found to really make a difference is photo frames, they are amazing at making a room feel more homely. We didn't have any photos up for a long time because we have never been big photo people, it was only when someone gave us a photo frame a few weeks ago that we had an excuse to gets some photos developed. I took this opportunity to go crazy with the photos to give us a lot of choice when it came to picking which photo we used and now the photo frames look like they have been their the whole time.

Another item that makes any room but especially bedrooms and living rooms look more cosy are pillows and throws. I love anything that reminds me of a bed so I love throws on the sofas because I can wrap up in them and pretend that I have my sh*t together. I find they really tie a room together and you can either match the theme of the room or completely go against it and make a statement with a bold pattern or colour. My favourite thing to do is changing the colour of pillows and throw during the different seasons because you can get some quality throws and pillow covers in Primark for not that much and then you never have to settle on one theme.

Something I have always been into is candles and my old bedroom at my parents house used to be covered in large candles and now I have my own home they are spread out evenly in the rooms. I find candles make dull shelves and tables look so much more appealing and especially when they are being used they make the space so much more cosy. Even Callum loves a good candle so there is one out there for everyone.

Another thing I have become obsessed with since having my own house is house plants. I can't say I am the best at keeping them alive but I love having them around especially in the bathroom and kitchen. Another thing connected to house plants is flowers which I think makes a room so much more homely and inviting, I wish I had an abundance of flowers in ever room but sadly again they never last long with me but I love them while they are alive.

Something that I know the girls will definitely agree with and the boys may object to is having fairy lights around the house. I love fairy lights and keep a set up all year round wrapped around our spare bed because who doesn't want some fairy lights in the background. At Christmas time as well I am allowed to wrap fairy lights around the banister, tv unit and lamp in the living room and the room is so cosy and lovely I never want to take them down. I know they aren't to everyone cup of tv but they can really complete a room.

Something I like to leave on the living room coffee table is a bowl full of treats whether that is chocolate or sweets whatever we have. I guess you could call me a feeder... I don't like people to go hungry so I always make sure there is something for someone so having a bowl of treats on the table encourages people to relax and take a handful while they kick back. They are also great when you get peckish watching tv and can't be bothered to move!

The last tip I have for this blog post is have big ass mirrors and canvases everywhere possible. I love big wall mirrors that take up the whole space. You don't have to worry about choosing a photo or painting to go on the blank wall and they are great at making the space feel bigger. I love mirrors in hall walls or on the top of stairs because they look great and most important, are great for outfit photos! Canvas are also great if you have one photo you and your partner really like which would look great blown up on a big wall, its choosing the photo that is hard!

What do you have around your house to make it feel more like home? :)

My Favourite Shops For Home Decor


My Favourite Shops For Home Decor


Ever since moving out I feel like I am always on the hunt for items to add to the house. I always used to like looking through the home sections of shops before but now I actually have space to put these bits rather than stuffing them all in my tiny bedroom at my parents house. I like to shop around for home bits because although I like to have pretty items all around the house, its always about a bargain for me! Here is a list of some of my favourite stores to shop home...

Dunelm 
Dunelm is just the stuff of dreams isn't it! We have gone a little crazy in Dunelm recently but you can get everything there. We've bought most of our bath room items from Dunelm because they are such a good price and you can find some really nice patterns and styles. There are also so many bed covers and curtains to cause from there is literary something for everyone's taste.

Great for : bathroom, kitchen and bedroom 

Ikea 
How could I not mention the Swedish equivalent to heaven? Again we went crazy over in Ikea buying wardrobes, kitchen tables and chairs and loads of side tables for every room. It really is great for big items which you don't want to spend too much money on especially when you have just moved out. We planned to buy some cheap tables from Ikea and then over time upgrade them like most people do but I ended loving some of the pieces we got so have no plans to upgrade them! You can also get some much kitchen utensils, bath room pieces, basically anything you would need you can find it in Ikea.

Great for : bath room, bedroom, kitchen, living room - basically every room in the house!

Primark 
Although most Primarks have a small home section they have a great selection of bedding for such good prices, we have a king size bed so buying bedding can be expensive so when we are buying bedding for our bedroom we normally buy from Primark. I recently bought this gorgeous marble style bedding from them for about £20 which is much cheaper than other places for that size.

Great for : bedding
B&M 
Although B&M is more of a nic nac shop... I still bloody love it! It is great for cheap decorative pieces round the house like candles and photo frames which I love looking at and there are so many styles of bedding for such good prices. I also love the kitchen section because I got a huge Russell Hobbs pan set for such a good price and we bought our deep fat fryer there for only £20! Its also great for seasonal pieces like Halloween and Christmas, I have bought some Christmas oven mitts from there this week!

Great for : bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, hallway and garden & festive decor!!

Tesco
For me Tesco is all about the appliances, cutlery and plants. Although the home section in my local Tesco isn't the biggest I have found quite a few bits in store including 10 house plants which were all between £3-£6 which is a bargain. I can't promise you that all the plants have survived but I do have the cute little plant pots they've left behind to start again! We also bought our square plates and bowls from Tesco which we love as well as a cute little sharing bowl.

Great for : kitchen and house plants 

Wilkos
This might be the last place you expected me to include but Wilkos has a whole collection of copper kitchen tools which obviously I had to invest in. Although I am not obsessed with copper like some people I still wanted the copper drainer just because it was so pretty! I have also bought some Christmas tea towels and oven mitts because you can never have too many Christmas themed oven mitts.

Great for : kitchen

T K Max / Home Sense
How could I not mention one of the best shops for home pieces! I love everything in these stores mainly because they have something for everyone's style, especially when it comes to seasonal pieces! I always get side tracked by the aisle of pans and saucers of all things, even though I am not the best cook I am obsessed with my kitchen and want every size and shape pan and saucer going. Lastly any shop that has a whole aisle of different coloured candles is a winner in my eyes. 

Great for : kitchen, living room, all the candles & festive decor!!

Lastly I thought I would give an honorable mention to garden centers because although some of you may not know this but garden centers are great places to get items for your home and most of them have amazing Christmas sections. I live across from one of the best garden centers in my opinion and I have been popping in every week to see if their Christmas section is ready yet. Most of them do amazing home made sauces and jams as well so we always keep our cupboards stocked up in jam and chutney. 

Let there be light - Unique Makeshift Lamp






Over Christmas I went a bit crazy with fairy lights, I bought quite a few packs to decorate my room over the festive holidays. Since then, I have changed my room around and so now all my mirrors need changing position as they are blocked off by my bed. This also means that my fairy lights look really out of place wrapped round my mirror.

I didn't know what to do with them and then I thought up this idea of putting them inside these two yellow and green vases I have had for donkeys years now which were never being used. 
The idea is so simple and I think it looks really unusual. The lamp can be any colour you want, you just put the fairy lights in the colour vase you want the lamp to be and it reflects that colour. 
These makeshift lamps are really bright and look great on cabinets and shelves, I've put my two on my DVD stand on one end of my room and on my side at the other end. The fairy lights were only £2.99 from home bargains and you can use any size, colour or shape of vase you want!
I thought I'd share this with you because it's a simple and cheap idea, plus it is very different from anything it the shops. Try it out! :) 

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