The Shopkeeper’s Home

One of the most common questions I get asked is where do I find interiors inspiration and my answer is always the same: real homes, styled interiors and shops. Last winter I visited a homewares shop that I had admired on social media for a while and I found it so inspiring that I came home and completely restyled my whole kitchen that same evening! There are so many ideas to take away from beautifully styled shops that can translate to a home; a constant source of great inspiration.

When I found out about lovely Caroline Rowland‘s first book, I knew immediately that I was in for a treat. Along with a whole host of interesting lifestyle shop interiors, The Shopkeeper’s Home also gives us a peek into the real homes of their owners – being the nosiest person in the world and loving nothing more than a good house tour, it doesn’t get better than this. Except it does, because Caroline also pulls together practical ideas that we can all take away from some of the beautiful lifestyle stores featured in the book.

I’m thrilled to be part of The Shopkeeper’s Home blog tour this week (see Holly’s post here, Yvonne’s post here and Jeska’s post here) because I know you will enjoy perusing this book as much as I have; there is so much to look at and so many wonderful details to discover. I immediately honed in on The Hambledon, which is the most gorgeous shop in Winchester. I have long cooed over the perfect styling of the shop (featured on the front cover of the book) and how they use the beautiful building as the stunning backdrop for their much coveted stock. The simplicity of the shop’s interior and styling really appeals to me and even their shelving has provided inspiration for my own plans to install open shelving in my kitchen. I was very excited to discover more about the owner of The Hambledon, Victoria Suffield, and take a look inside her home, which is perfectly curated. Caroline also explores the connection between the shopkeepers’ personal and professional spaces, which is really interesting.

So, if you want practical tips taken from beautiful lifestyle shops on how to use lighting, displays, colour and textiles as well as finding out more about the shopkeeper at work and at home, this is the perfect book for you. It is also a great directory for amazing shops to visit and I know that many are going on my list of places to go. Congratulations, Caroline – I loved every page!

Katy x

The Shopkeeper’s Home by Caroline Rowland, published by Jacqui Small.

P.S. Watch out for more sneak peeks of the book on the blog tour…