New Wall Adornments

Our new wall adornments feature one of our best selling motifs: Owls! Each is hand stitched onto organic cotton, with leather and eco-fi felt details. These look great hung as a set, or individually and are made to order. They are framed by an embroidery hoop, and hang very easily as they are very light. We think they are perfect for a Woodland themed nursery, or a child's bedroom. A unique, hand stitched gift to be enjoyed, and treasured forever. Any of our many designs can be made into a wall adornment like these, just get in touch to discuss your idea, lettiebelle@gmail.com

Set of Owl wall adornments, £70

Transformation Thursday - Living Room Progress

When we viewed this house, I initially thought this room would be a great playroom. However, on a follow up viewing, it was clear that having the playroom at the back of the house was a much better plan! Our last living room was on the first floor of our town house, it was very long but didn't feel wide enough and wasn't very cosy.

This room is an unusual shape, which works nicely and creates a welcoming space. Our sofas are not ideal (husband's purchase for his first flat many years ago), and I cannot stand them, but for now they will have to stay. In time we will be investing in some lovely grey fabric sofas from Habitat. Until then, I add cushions to the leather ones hoping to hide them a bit!We purchased new furniture, rug, and curtains for this room as we wanted a completely new feel to our old house. I love grey and pink together, though it has to be the right shades of both to work! I love the parquet floor, which I think I may have mentioned once or twice before....

Initially, this room had a large gas fireplace and surround, which we ripped out straight away. We stripped all the 1980's style wallpaper. A coat of white paint, as in other rooms, did wonders and made it easy to add decorative elements. The ceiling still needs painting, among other jobs. This room is lovely to sit in every evening, and having the playroom means it stays neat most of the time! There are some old folding doors which can make it one room, rather than leading straight to dining room (see below). We never shut these, as the flow of the rooms is really nice with them open.

Below are some before and after photos of the living room, what do you think?

Introducing Transformation Thursday.....The Playroom

'Transformation Thursday' is a new series which will show how we've changed areas in our new house, as we go along. The title may be a touch dramatic, as it's pretty much cosmetic at this stage! This property is a long term project, with a renovation and extension planned for a couple of years time. It needs a complete rewire, bathroom and kitchen to begin with. Having been previously owned by an elderly couple, it hasn't been decorated for about 30 years, though was kept very clean. They clearly loved to make a statement (!) with the interior, and the DIY is pretty scary in places. I will be posting some snapshots of bizarrely placed light switches among other DIY delights, that have to be seen to be believed! We love this house and the feel of it, as do the children and it already feels like home. Below is a look at the room we turned into a playroom. The before pictures were taken when we came to measure up, just before completion. The feature fireplace was pretty incredible, so we ripped that out for Scrappy Frank to dispose of (as well as two other fireplaces).We stripped the wall paper and painted the walls white. This made a huge initial difference, making it feel light and airy. I wanted the play room to be a place for the girls to play, imagine, read, make a huge mess, relax and just be themselves. I have filled it with their favourite things, and made sure there is plenty of storage for easy tidying up. The wooden shelves were already there, and are actually fantastic for displaying drawings, nature finds and little treasures. I often end up in there sewing in the early hours of the morning, very cosy! There is an interview with me by the fantastic Maggie Westhead on her blog Chic Little Baby here, all about this room..... Before Chic Little Baby

After

Hello DODO Dino Prints

Hello DODO are made up of Jam and Ali, a lovely couple of print makers based in Brighton. We have long admired their witty, playful designs and these dinosaur prints were a must for dino enthusiast Scarlett. There are many brilliant prints, totes, greetings cards and even t-shirts to be found on their Etsy site, be sure to check them out! Dinosaur relief prints £5 each, HelloDODO Twitter: @hellohelloDODO