Interiors – Page 21 – Apartment Apothecary

Yesterday evening I begged Jules to drive me to Ikea (I’ve never learnt to drive – shameful, I know) to buy a set of BESTA cupboards. I managed to persuade him with the promise of meatballs followed by a hotdog (seriously, that’s all it takes with him) so off we went at 7pm to miss rush hour and the crowds and we were home by 10pm because there is no browsing time allowed with my husband-type in toe.

Between us we really don’t have that much stuff but we also only have one built in storage cupboard in the whole flat so we are quite desperate for some extra ‘hidden’ storage i.e. a cupboard that I can stuff full of crap that no one can see. I always try to avoid large pieces of furniture that take up a lot of floor space and could potentially make our rooms feel cramped so I’m constantly on the lookout for wall cupboards that are not too deep, as this can eat into the space too. In short, I don’t want cupboards that touch the floor or stick out from the wall too much but I do want to store quite a lot of stuff – kinda tricky.

I’m pretty sure BESTA is the answer to my prayers (for now, until I find a beautiful vintage version – obvs). They come in a range of depths, can be wall mounted and they are white so they fade into the background. Perfect. The other great thing is that lots of clever people have come up with creative hacks to make these plain cabinets a bit more interesting. What do you think?

For a window seat just add a mattress and cushions. Yes, please. Image via Elizabeth Heier

Wall mount slim cabinets with a DIY concrete top for a smart hallway table. Very clever. Image via Plantete Deco

If I could afford a marble top I would do this in a flash! Image via Designville

By adding a single wooden top to this collection of cabinets it unifies the look and gives it a bit more character. I’d like to do this with mine with some old scaffolding planks perhaps. Image via Vidanullvier

Try my leather handle tutorial to give a plain piece of furniture a completely new look. Image via Apartment Diet

I have chosen three cabinets this size and I will mount them slightly raised off the floor, which will help to keep the room feeling spacious. I like the idea of hanging a light over it too.

I will bring you a little storage cupboard update once it is installed and stuffed to the brim!

Katy x

*This giveaway has now closed *

The winner is Lucy who was nominated by her husband, Anthony (all the heart eyes!). My romantic side got the better of me when I picked the winner – congrats, Lucy!

I know I go on a bit about my room makeovers but it’s only because I get so excited about making a space feel like new, either with relatively small touches or much bigger changes. My living room makeover is very nearly done (still waiting for a couple of new pieces of furniture) and it has made my home feel like new. I am beyond excited about the fact that I can now offer YOU a living room makeover with the lovely folks over at DFS. Eeeek!

DFS Zinc sofa | Mid-century style | Win a living room makeover | French Connection sofas | Apartment Apothecary

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we would like you to nominate an inspirational woman in your life (whether it be your best friend, partner, sister, daughter, mother, neighbour) for the chance to win a new look for their living room. I have chosen four collections of furniture from DFS that I love (GIVE ME THAT PINK SOFA NOW!) and it was ridiculously difficult to choose just four – gutted I couldn’t include this sofa too. The lucky winner can select the collection that they like best as well as sending me a few snaps of their living room and I will help them place the new furniture and suggest ways to make the whole room look better. Once the makeover is complete I will then post some photos of the new look room here on my blog.

Are you as excited as I am yet?! Check out the amazing sofas available at DFS – one of these could be yours…

Pink velvet Bailey sofa from DFS | Win a living room makeover | Apartment Apothecary

french-connection-_2447372k

Monocrome sophistication

I love the clean lines of this sofa designed by French Connection and the touches of black in the legs and cushions bring an air of sophistication. The bronze table frame adds a bit of glamour – I feel the need to be on that sofa right now drinking a cocktail!

1. Quartz chaise sofa in grey (size and shape of sofa your choice) 2. Swirl rug in charcoal 3. Opaque lamp table

Pink dream

This literally is my pink dream and I hope it is yours too! I’m imagining us all in a cottage somewhere with this beautiful Bailey sofa, footstool and an open fire – I mean, what else would one need in life? Keep this furniture fresh and modern with crisp white walls or soft greys, neutral flooring and dots of bolder colour from vases filled with flowers. Heaven.

1. Bailey velvet sofa in dusty pink 2. Bailey velvet small footstool in dusty pink 3. Blackford rug in sterling.

Mid century modern

Retro lovers out there this chaise sofa with mid-century style legs would be the perfect addition to your home. Combine it with pops of bold mustard, orange, green or blue and an original teak sideboard would finish off the look brilliantly.

1. Eiffel armchair in white 2. Zinc chaise sofa in grey with light legs (size and shape of sofa your choice) 3. Trio nest of tables 4. Wall rug in gold.

Coastal whites

For those of us who like to escape into white tranquility I have chosen this beautifully simple Slate sofa and armchair. I’m imagining a coastal feel in this room with lots of white, raw wood, neutral ceramics and wild flowers. You could also add an accent colour to lift the look – perhaps blue to add to the coastal feel.

1. Slate armchair in white 2. Slate two seater sofa in white 3. Swirl rug in bleach 4. Cabrilo lamp table

To enter

Decide who you would like to nominate (or ask someone to nominate you) and leave a comment on this post telling me why that woman is an inspiration to you and why you would like them to win a room makeover. I will choose the winner on March 22nd and announce it here on my blog. The winner will need to send me a few pics of their living room ‘before’ and ‘after’ because we all know how much I love those!

I can not wait to hear about the special women in your lives and good luck.

Katy x

*Thank you to DFS for collaborating on this fun project.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY 23RD MARCH.

T&C’s

– Competition closes on March 22nd at midday.

– Open to residents of mainland UK only.

– The winner agrees to sending me pictures of their living room so that I can give them advice on ways to improve the room. They also agree to sending me a few snaps of the living room once the furniture has been delivered and the room makeover is complete.

-This prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for monetary value; No cash alternatives to the stated prize will be offered.

– One nomination per person.

February seems to be the busiest and quickest of all the months; catching up after the slowness of January but not feeling that there are quite enough days in the month to do so. This month has been a bit of a blur and we are still all out of routine because the kitchen is only just finished and our sitting room is still completely empty asides from a beautiful new Ercol coffee table. Our new sofa was supposed to arrive mid-January but it has been delayed until mid-March so we are still in weird decorating limbo. I start a new round of IVF in a couple of weeks and had hoped to have everything sorted and done by then but the best laid plans and all that. So, February was all about trying to tie up loose ends and getting organised but it looks as though that process will continue into March.

This month I fell in love with all the blossom pinks and soft greys that lots of you were using to style your homes. As soon as I saw Lori’s Styling the Seasons post I fell in love with the muted colours and how calm her bedroom looks.

Styling the Seasons - February | Wild and Grizzly

Image via Wild & Grizzly

I also have to mention Heather’s post, which is so beautiful and the light in her photographs is just wondrous. The words in Ruth’s post really struck a chord with me and you should definitely take a read here.

There was styling inspiration galore from all of these posts this month, too:

You can also see thousands more images by exploring the #StylingTheSeasons hashtag on instagram – thank you to everyone who joined in this month. There are now far too many each month for us to ‘like’ or comment on but I promise we do look at them all!

I will be back tomorrow with my Styling the Seasons post for March.

Katy x

This week has been crazy busy but in the middle of the chaos I managed to sneak in a lovely little afternoon at my mum’s house for an early Mother’s day celebration. We were joined by the beautiful Katharine Peachey and her brand new baby Peach and whilst he gurgled and snoozed we ate and laughed and exchanged a gift or two. Katharine took some beautiful photos of me and my mum that day that I would love to share with you.

I was born in London and we moved to the house in south west London where my mum still lives when I was about 12. I’m lucky that both my parents and one of my sisters all live so close to me and I can call on them whenever I need to. I’m also lucky because my mum is amazing; it is her 70th birthday next month but you would never believe it if you met her. As far back as I can remember she has always been the life and soul of the party and her cackling laughter is legendary. She is also a complete beauty.

My mum is not interested in routine or getting caught up in the boring details of life: she loves to travel, she loves spending time with her friends but more than anything she loves me and my two sisters (and Phoebe, her dog, who is our fourth sister!). It’s easy to take for granted how lucky we are to have a mum who would literally do anything for us.

We have an exciting long weekend planned for my mum’s 70th in a couple of weeks but I also wanted to give her a special gift this Mother’s Day and this Hepburn Mk II Pink Hearts radio from VQ, that is being sold exclusively in John Lewis, makes the perfect present. I now need to figure out a way of explaining the whole Blue Tooth speaker thing to her 😉

If you would like to win a VQ radio to give your mum you can comment on this blog post or on social media using the hashtag #MyHeroMum. Just tell us about your mum and why she deserves her own Pink Hearts radio. You could even share a photo of her, too! The winner will be selected at random on Sunday 6th March and the competition will close at 12pm on the day.

VQ Emma Bridgewater radio | Photographed by katharinepeachey.co.uk | Mother's Day celebration | Apartment Apothecary

VQ Hepburn radio available at John Lewis.

Thank you, mum, for everything that you do and all the love that you give. Happy Mother’s day!

Katy x

*Written in collaboration with VQ. All images by Katharine Peachey.

It is with a bit of sadness that I write this post. You see, I had plans of installing plantation-style shutters into my home during this bout of re-decoration but it turns out that my stupid windows are not suitable – gutted, totally gutted. However, it didn’t seem fair to keep all this shutter love to myself so I wanted to share some of it with you today.

I always think that window treatments are one of the things that people get stuck on most when it comes to decorating. It can feel like a bit of a minefield – do you go with curtains (black out, full length, triple pleat…) or blinds (roller, venetian, roman…) or shutters (full height, solid panel, cafe-style…)? Not only is the choice a bit overwhelming but because everyone’s windows are different it can be difficult to know how to measure them and then how to install them. That’s why I think it is important to turn over the job to the experts and in fact that was the first thing I did before I moved into my current flat; I got custom made curtains for my bedroom.

I really wanted shutters from Luxaflex for my office and kitchen as I love the character and style that they can bring to a room. They are also very practical as you can easily control the amount of light coming into the room. Just look at how dreamy they are…

I love the idea of throwing open the shutters in the kitchen in the morning to let the light pour in. I love how fresh and modern they look, whilst still reminding me of old characterful French houses.

Shutters in a sitting room would work really well as there are often times that I want to block some light out, whether I am reading the papers at the weekend or guiltily watching a matinee movie, and they are great for privacy too, especially if your sitting room looks on to the street (or over at other apartment blocks like mine does).

This cafe-style shutter on a bathroom window is the perfect solution to achieving privacy yet not blocking out too much light.

Luxaflex will provide a made to measure service from start to finish to help you figure out what will work best for your windows. If you do get shutters, please don’t rub it in my face!

By the way, Luxaflex are running a brilliant competition at the moment to win a trip to Milan (err, yes please!). All you have to do is snap something which says ‘interior style’ to you (it could be anything…a pattern, a small detail or a big interior design statement) and upload the picture to Instagram remembering to tag @luxaflexuk and use the #MyStyleEye hash tag. Alternatively, if you don’t use Instagram you can upload your pic here.

Katy x

*Written in collaboration with Luxaflex and all images from their website.

Besta Ikea hacks

Win a living room makeover

The winner is Lucy who was nominated by her husband, Anthony (all the heart eyes!). My romantic side got the better of me when I picked the winner – congrats, Lucy!

Monocrome sophistication

Pink dream

Mid century modern

Coastal whites

To enter

T&C’s

– Competition closes on March 22nd at midday.

– Open to residents of mainland UK only.

– The winner agrees to sending me pictures of their living room so that I can give them advice on ways to improve the room. They also agree to sending me a few snaps of the living room once the furniture has been delivered and the room makeover is complete.

-This prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for monetary value; No cash alternatives to the stated prize will be offered.

– One nomination per person.

February: A review

For my mum

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