Sebra Kili cot bed review and making the transition from co-sleeper to cot

Hello, hello! How are you all? Hope everyone is having a brilliant summer – have you managed to squeeze in a lovely holiday? Lots has been going on here behind the scenes as I’ve been working on launching a new venture – more on that to come soon – and Jules is in the process of changing jobs so we have spent the summer in London. Mimi is growing so, so fast and we have well and truly left the newborn days behind us; she has hit the six month point with a very quick crawl so I think my next interiors project will be baby-proofing our flat (that’s a project I’d prefer skip to be honest).

I have had lots of questions since posting pictures of Mimi’s nursery (you can see the full tour here) about how she has been getting on in her own room. We actually moved her in there when she was four months old, a couple of months earlier than is recommended, as she started sleeping through the night when she was eight weeks (lucky us, I know!) and having her in our room meant we disturbed her when we came to bed and she disturbed my sleep as I woke with every tiny noise she made so it wasn’t really working for either of us. Also, she started to become quite mobile at four months old and was busting out of her co-sleeper – we had the Snuzpod, which was brilliant – so it felt like the right time to move her to her big girl cot, the beautiful Sebra Kili cot bed* (see how we made that transition at the bottom of this post). We got the cot from Houseology and although they have since sold out they do have some other rather lovely kids furniture and accessories including this baby rocker that’s the most stylish baby item I’ve ever seen! You can see Mimi happily rocking in hers here.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

It goes without saying that the Sebra cot is beautiful and I won’t deny that the Danish aesthetic was the main thing that attracted me to it. However, I was very interested to know whether the design would live up to the practical demands that would be placed on it. I couldn’t find any thorough reviews of it online so I hope this will be useful to anyone considering getting it for their own child. Before I go on, I do want to acknowledge that Mimi sleeps incredibly well – I know sleep can be a very sensitive subject with parents so I just want to make clear that I know how lucky we both are and I don’t want anyone to think that I am making light of the issue.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

Garbo & Friends cot bumper from Smallable.

Anyhoo, back to the cot. Other than how beautiful it looks (it genuinely is the first thing anyone comments on as soon as they walk into the nursery) the second thing that appealed to me about the cot was its smaller than average size. I really wanted to have a day bed in the nursery for feeding during the day and if family wanted to stay so we didn’t have a huge amount of space and some cots are flipping huge! The Sebra Kili cot bed is the perfect size for a small room but doesn’t feel restrictive for Mimi. Also, it is designed to grow with your baby as the sides are removable so it can become a toddler bed and the ends stretch out to become a junior bed until the age of about seven with a mattress extension piece. This justifies the high price tag, in my mind, as there’s no need to invest in a toddler or junior bed.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

Before Mimi was born I really had no idea how I would use any of the ‘baby stuff’ and I kind of thought I wouldn’t use the cot at all until she was ready to move into her own room at six months old. However, the base of the cot is adjustable so that you can have it at its highest level and easily reach a newborn. That made it the perfect place to safely pop her down when she was teeny tiny if I needed to be hands free or to dress her there. Look at this cute picture of the one and only time I managed to put her down there for a nap when she was teeny. As she got a bit more alert she loved lying there watching a moving mobile so that gave me precious time to do the million other things I had fallen behind with. As she began to move around and learning to roll she loved playing in there and exploring how to use the sides of the cot as launchpads for movement. It was definitely a very well used space.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

Once Mimi moved into her own room and we made the tricky transition from co-sleeper crib to full size cot we lowered the mattress base and I really began to appreciate the design. Unlike most other cots the bars don’t go all the way round at mattress level so it feels so much cosier and less exposed. We stayed with family recently and she slept in a traditional cot with bars and she woke up so many times with stray hands and feet getting caught between them and she got so distracted being able to see straight into the room. I really, really love that the Sebra cot’s sides are blocked in and I think it made the transition from crib to cot so much easier.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper and vintage shelf

Mimi’s nursery. You can see the full nursery tour here.

By adding a really sturdy thick foam bumper* this has become the perfect cot for Mimi; she loves it and sleeps so well. The bumper stops her banging her head, which is what she was doing when she first moved into the cot as she moves around so much in her sleep and whilst she’s settling herself. It also makes it feel more cosy and she often rests her back against it and sleeps on her side or wedged into the corner. So cute.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

I chose this cot bumper from my favourite kids’ store Smallable because I really wanted to use wallpaper in Mimi’s room as I can remember my own when I was a small child and all the stories I would make up based on the characters in the design. However, we didn’t really have the time to paper the nursery so this bumper feels like a really good alternative. The beautiful detailed illustrations are quirky and unique and I can see us basing bed time stories around the funny characters for years to come as the bumper can be used when it becomes a toddler bed, too. Sometimes, I hang around out of sight when I put her to bed or down for a nap and watch her stroking the bumper and chatting as though she’s trying to play with the funny animals in the drawings. She’s too much!

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

I was very nervous about making the transition from Mimi’s small co-sleeper crib to a full size cot, I’m always worried that the good sleep spell will be broken, so these were the steps I took:

  1. When Mimi grew out of her swaddle bag at about 12 weeks we decided it was time to go “swaddle-free”, which was a major step as she had slept in it since week two and I’m pretty sure it was the biggest contributing factor to her sleeping through the night. She thrashed around like a baby dolphin without the swaddle but she was also in a Sleepyhead so that helped and after a few nights she was pretty settled again.
  2. At about 16 weeks we decided to take away the Sleepyhead as she was just getting too big for it and started to look uncomfortable. Therefore, we put her into a sleeping bag straight into the co-sleeper crib. Again, it definitely unsettled her and she thrashed around and woke herself up but after a few nights she was ok.
  3. At 18 weeks when Mimi learnt to roll we decided it was time to start the process of moving her into her big cot in her own room. The first thing we did was place the crib into the big cot so that she could get used to being in different surroundings but still have the comfort of her familiar crib. We also hung the mobile she had had over her crib in our room over her big cot, as well as taking her light show and the same toy. This worked really well and I don’t think she even noticed that she’d changed rooms.
  4. At 22 weeks (I should have done this a lot sooner!) I realised that the reason Mimi was waking up so early was that she was desperate to roll over in the crib, still placed inside the big cot, but couldn’t as the crib was too small for her to move around in. I made the decision that the crib had to go and we needed to finally rip the plaster off and put her in to the cot properly.
  5. The first week in the cot was quite unsettled as she was learning to crawl at this time so she would wake herself up by moving around so much and start doing laps of the cot. Also, because she had been so used to being so snug in the Sleepyhead and then the small crib she couldn’t get over the fact that she suddenly had so much space. She never really cried or got upset to the point of me needing to go to her during the night but she was more tired during the day as she had had less sleep than normal. I was also tired as I would wake when she did and stay awake worrying about her. The best decision we made was to get a cot bumper as this stopped her banging her head when she moved around and gave her a feeling of cosiness again. Since we put the cot bumper in she has not woken once during the night and she is so happy in her cot.

Gender neutral scandal style nursery decor inspiration with Sebra Kili cot bed with Garbo and Friends crib bumper

I mean, just look at her (and that dreamy cot!).

If you do have any questions about the cot please do leave a comment or pop me an email. Obviously, I haven’t tried it out as a toddler or junior bed yet but I would highly recommend it as a cot for a baby. We are both very, very happy with it.

Katy x

*Sebra cot c/o Houseology
*Cot bumper c/o Smallable

 

Summer dining inspiration with Robert Welch

Hurrah for summer and the sun! Bring on the heat wave, I say! I can’t wait to get up on our roof terrace for long, lazy lunches with friends this weekend and next week. In fact, our apartment block is taking part in the Big Lunch on Sunday so very much looking forward to that.

Released just in time for the sun, and the perfect accessories for a bit of alfresco dining now that summer is here, Hidcote, Kingham and Bourton, each taking their name from a local Cotswold village, are the three latest cutlery patterns from my favourite cutlery designers Robert Welch. Now, I would obviously prefer to be in the Cotswolds in this weather but I will have to make do with our London roof top and this gorgeous new cutlery. I would love to show you the three new designs and a bit of summer dining inspiration.

Bourton cutlery is the most rustic of the three designs so I have paired it with rough wood, linen, handmade unglazed ceramics and a bit of lavender to bring a summery feel to this table. This cutlery feels so lovely in the hand and is weighted perfectly (so it doesn’t do that annoying thing of slipping down onto your plate or falling out of a bowl – especially handy when taking plates of food in and out for alfresco dining.).

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

I have teamed the Kingham design with a soft pink tablecloth (tablecloths are so useful for eating outside as they can cover up old tired outdoor tables that have taken a battering during the winter months). Dusty and blush pinks don’t seem to  be losing their popularity just yet so it works well with the contemporary feel of this elegant cutlery. Keep it simple with some seasonal pink flowers and let the quality of the cutlery shine.

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Hidcote cutlery is inspired by natural forms and for some reason the beautiful shape of the handles reminds me of sea horses. Therefore, I went for a coastal theme for this place setting pairing blue and white with enamelware – a bit beach-hutty, if you know what I mean – and scattered sea shells. Oh, to be eating breakfast by the sea right now!

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

Summer dining with Robert Welch | Apartment Apothecary

The lovely folks over at Robert Welch are offering my readers a £25 discount off any orders over £100 you make, using the code GIFT25. A quality set of cutlery is always a great investment for yourself or would make a wonderful gift for friends or as a wedding present.

I hope everyone manages to get out and enjoy the sun over the next few days. Enjoy!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Robert Welch.

Using vintage finds to create a botanical theme in my bedroom

With the change of season I always get restless at home and want to change things around. However, with a new baby there just isn’t the time to make any big changes so a few little tweaks here and there to brighten up each room will have to do for now. I have spent a lot of time over the last few months in our bedroom, especially whilst feeding Mimi or pinned underneath her whilst she sleeps. I have had hours and hours to look around the room and obsess over little things that need rearranging or sprucing up but I haven’t had the chance to do anything about it until now…

I have been challenged, along with a few other bloggers, to update my bedroom and you can see a few of the ideas over on the Bensons for Beds blog. My challenge was to add a botanical feel to my bedroom using vintage finds; I love both of these things so combining the two sounded like a perfect way to refresh my room for spring/summer. Here’s what I came up with…

1. Botanical display

A lovely way of bringing the outdoors in to your bedroom is to use vintage bottles for plant cuttings. I love the smell of Geranium leaves so I cut stems from the plant in my garden and pop them in bottles of water. They grow roots in the water and eventually flower – just change the water regularly and make sure they have lots of light. Display them with single flower stems and it’s a really cheap and easy way to have fresh flowers in your bedroom on a regular basis and they look extra pretty in vintage bottles.

2. Personalise vintage finds

When you go out vintage hunting don’t dismiss floral bits because they look too chintzy or old fashioned, like this floral framed mirror that was originally a dark mahogany wood. All you need to do is get a bit of paint out and choose a colour to match your room. I painted this sweet mirror white and it nows fits in to my room perfectly and subtlety adds to the botanical theme.

3. Family heirlooms

This was my great grandmother’s quilt and is well over a hundred years old and one of my most treasured possessions. It is always worthwhile checking whether you already own something that will fit in with the theme you have chosen. A vintage floral quilt is the perfect way to add a botanical feel to a bedroom and they are just so, so pretty.

4. Peg rail

I have lots of hooks in my bedroom to avoid the dreaded ‘wardrobe chair’ – you know, the chair where you dump worn clothes that aren’t quite ready for the laundry – but it’s nice to clear a set to play with different style ideas. Here I have hung a botanical illustration from a vintage book (it’s really easy to find beautiful vintage botanical books with coloured illustrations and you can remove the coloured plates without spoiling the book and then frame them for your bedroom), a floral dressing gown (or maybe your favourite floral dress?) and a pretty posy of flowers in a jar to add to the botanical theme in my room.

5. Repurpose vintage crockery

A brilliant way of displaying fresh flowers or plants is to use vintage jugs or bowls. Buy a mix of flowers – a few stems of each – as well as lots of foliage to create a natural looking bouquet and a vintage jug will make them look even better. Vintage bowls or tea cups are also a lovely thing to use for indoor plants instead of stashing them in a cupboard not being used or seen.

6. Hanging planter

If you are short of space in your bedroom and there is nowhere to place a pot plant try making a hanging planter. Buy a vintage enamel jelly mould and punch three holes through the lip at equally spaced points. Attach three chains, all the same length, through the three holes. Screw a cup hook into the ceiling and hang the chains onto it. Buy a trailing plant like this ‘String of Pearls’ for the hanging planter and add a few pebbles at the bottom of the planter so that water can drain away.

So, there you go, a few easy ways to bring a botanical feel to your bedroom. Throughout May there will be lots more ideas for updating your bedroom over on the Bensons for Beds Instagram account where I will also be doing an Instagram takeover. If you are feeling inspired take a snap of your bedroom style on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #SpringStyle, to be in with a chance of winning a prize to help you do a mini bedroom makeover. Read the full terms and conditions and more details here.

Have a lovely weekend, all.

Katy x

*This is a collaborative post with Bensons for Beds.

Our first holiday as a family

Cooey! How is everyone? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? You know all that stuff people say about babies being time consuming, well it’s all true. Mimi is twelve weeks old now and it’s been the fastest twelve weeks of my life and yet we have done very, very little asides from feed, sleep, change nappies, play, go to an occasional music session or swim lesson and repeat; life has become unrecognisable to what it was before.

We had a rough start with lots of feeding issues but we’ve got those sorted out now and Mimi has become such a dreamy baby, always smiling and wanting to play and she sleeps – I still can’t believe our luck to have a baby who sleeps through the night at such a young age and I am keeping everything crossed that this sleep spell does not get broken any time soon. The reason I’m telling you all this? Well, a couple of weeks ago we felt ready to slowly emerge from the baby bubble and get back into the real world by taking our first trip away together to celebrate my first Mother’s day.

I suppose I was a bit nervous that going away with a baby would be no fun or more like hard work than anything else but I had nothing to worry about. We were invited to stay at one of the many beautiful homes managed by Unique Home Stays and after much deliberation (so, so difficult to choose as they are all stunning – I really want to go here and here too!) I chose the magical wooden cabin, Firefly, located in a small hamlet in Cornwall for our first trip away as a three (well, four including Otto). I mean, just look at it…

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

The kitchen in Firefly cabin, available to rent through Unique Home Stays.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

The cabin began life as stables set in a wild flower meadow on the owner’s farm. They set to work to completely transform it in to an authentic woodcutter’s cabin. Clad with 750 old scaffolding boards and reclaimed materials the cabin looks and feels amazing – as soon as we stepped foot inside it felt like the building was giving us a great big hug, helped by the hamper of goodies, cream tea, fully stocked store cupboard and the ready laid open fire.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

The design of the cabin is very clever as it feels so warm and cosy for the colder months (I hate feeling cold at home so I was very pleased that it was toasty warm throughout our stay) yet it is perfect for the warmer months too with the massive barn style doors that open up from the main living area onto the porch with two different seating areas and a BBQ.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

The house is filled with interesting vintage finds that give the space real character and make it feel like a real home, not just a soulless holiday house. The kitchen was very well equipped and because we had the baby we stayed at home in the evenings and cooked up some yummy dinners.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Mimi must have appreciated how comfortable and welcoming the bedroom was as she did her first night of twelve hours of sleep here – the best present I could have asked for on Mother’s Day! It also gave us the chance to sleep properly in the wondrous bed covered in beautiful linens – delish. There were even linen dressing gowns.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

The bathroom in the cabin was one of my favourite bits of the design. With a concrete sink and bath and the shower clad in corrugated iron I initially thought it would be cold and hard but the skylight flooded the room with light and the heating and weathered wood kept it wonderfully warm. Such a cool design.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Otto loved our ‘cabin in the woods’ just as much as we did and he even got his own bed, bowls and treats to welcome him. If you are not doggy people though you would never in a million years know that any dogs had ever been there – the place was spotless.

Wooden cabin holiday home in Cornwall for a couple with a dog

Cornwall is always a wonderful place to visit and we were super lucky as we got the sun but the beaches were almost completely empty as it was low season – perfect! We arrived on Friday and headed to Crantock beach so that we could all stretch our legs after the long car journey and then to the local farm shop for supplies.

Cornwall beach holiday

Crantock beach.

Cornwall beach holiday Porthcothan

On Saturday we went to Padstow for fish and chips at Rick Stein’s restaurant as well as a trip to Port Isaac, which is so beautiful (emergency sun hat purchased for Mimi whilst we were there).

Padstow Cornish holiday

Padstow

We also stopped by Porthcothan beach, which is where my mum spent all her childhood holidays with her father and brother. It’s all so lovely and unspoilt and I bet it hasn’t changed much since the days she visited there.

Cornwall beach holiday Porthcothan

Porthcothan beach

It was such a special time with our little girl visiting the sea for the first time and being able to watch her soak up new sensations. Just the most perfect way to spend my first Mother’s Day.

Cornwall beach holiday Porthcothan

On our way home on Monday we stopped at Watergate Bay for brunch and a dog walk along the beach and it is absolutely stunning; the type of place that makes you gasp when you see it for the first time. Sand stretching out forever and the blue skies were unbelievable. We really didn’t want to leave.

Cornwall beach holiday Watergate Bay

Watergate Bay

Cornwall beach holiday Watergate Bay

Cornwall beach holiday Watergate Bay

Thank you so much to Unique Home Stays for our stay at the incredible Firefly cabin; we loved our time there and made such precious memories of our first trip away together. I want to relive it again and again (and I simply must have my own cabin one day, natch!).

Katy x

Meet Mimi…

Lovely readers, I am so excited to introduce you to our precious little girl, Mimi Ada Copeland, born on 19th January.

Mimi’s birth feels like a magical blur that happened so long ago. In fact, it feels as though we have known her forever. But the reality is she arrived just three short weeks ago, and she was in quite a hurry, too. After just a few hours in the hospital out she came and our five year wait to meet her was over. I’ll never forget the moment I saw her beautiful little face for the first time and I haven’t stopped staring at it in wonder since.

The newborn bubble has been wonderful, terrifying and exhausting all at the same time – nothing quite prepares you for the realisation that you are responsible for keeping this tiny little baby happy and healthy. Mimi feeds non-stop and doesn’t sleep during the day so achieving anything at the moment is near impossible but I’m just going with it (this is the very first time she has settled herself to sleep during the day so I’ve grabbed a few minutes to write this). I’ve very quickly learnt that I need to place my phone, water bottle, snacks, TV remote on the correct side of me according to which boob she is on – this is an important lesson!

For now, I will be taking a short break from the blog and popping in as and when I can. We’ve waited a long time for this beautiful babe so I intend to make the most of this time as everyone keeps telling me it goes so fast; I already miss her being teeny tiny!

Thank you so much to everyone who has messaged me, left gorgeous comments on my Instagram or Facebook posts. I can not get over how kind and generous everyone has been. It is so amazing to be able to share the happiness we feel with you.

Katy and Mimi xxx