Springtime Re-decorating
If you are beginning to think about doing a little springtime re-decorating, a great way to start is to do a storyboard. Collect lots of magazine images that you love so you can begin to build up an idea of the way you want the room to feel, adding in fabric swatches, paint chips, wallpaper samples, bits of fabric and a colour palette. It really helps to percolate your ideas, saving expensive mistakes later on.

Bar Keeper's Friend
As a designer of ceramics I am occasionally asked about annoying metal marks on plates and bowls. These marks are the result of some metals being softer than the glaze on the ceramic and therefore, like chalk on a board, leaving a silvery mark. The worst offenders for this seem to be whisks as they are made of particularly soft metal. I have just discovered "bar keeper’s friend" which is slightly abrasive and rubs off the marks. It works wonders.

Merry Christmas!
Pick up some mistletoe to hang in the hall for extra Christmas kisses and don’t forget a cheesy Christmas playlist. Have a super happy extra sparkly Christmas!

Fairy Lights
You don't have to just use fairy lights on the tree. They also look lovely on the mantelpiece, in a fireplace, along the centre of the table or looped into swags of foliage.