Keeping with the baby theme I wanted to show you some pics of the wonderful baby shower my sister organised for her friend, Helen. The wonderful Katharine, of Peachey Photography, was there to capture the day, and she also arrived laden with cakes and beauteous flowers. A team effort resulted in the most gorgeous spread and a special afternoon full of bubbles, laughter and love…

So pretty! A vintage-inspired spread.

A pistachio and lemon cake made by Katharine and decorated with fresh flowers by my own fair hands.

A kitsch addition of Babycham bottles dotted around the place.

A VERY kitsch addition of the traditional American nappy cake that I made. If you haven’t seen one before, it’s made of lots of rolled up nappies with goodies hidden inside.

We used the appropriately named Bonne Maman jars to display the pretty flowers.

The beautiful mother-to-be, Helen.

An easy way to decorate a room is to fling bunting from one side of the room to the other. Follow my bunting tutorial to make your own.

My little sister, Amy.

My big sister, Juliette.

My mum, Claire, holding the champagne.

The ring test!

Surely the best present of the day.

If you want to see more photographs of the day, head over to Peachey Photography’s blog.

Gorgeous friends and family coming together to celebrate, all captured in stunning photographs. A perfect day x

Listen up, Kate…

I’m sorry if I’m about to offend lots of you, but there is nothing I like less than a generic nursery furniture set – BORING! They are usually white, made from horrible laminated wood and a really dull shape. Worst of all, the furniture can only be used for a nursery, so it becomes redundant when the child grows up. I also dislike blue or pink gender-specific rooms.

Here are my tips for making a nursery more exciting, more interesting and a little less generic….

Tip one: Use vintage furniture

Tip two: Don’t use pastel or gender-specific colours

Tip three: Source interesting wallpaper

Available from Famille Summer Belle.

Available from Ferm Living.

Available from Ferm Living.

Available from Mini Moderns.

Tip four: Paint your existing furniture instead of buying a nursery set

Tip five: Add interesting art work

Available from Mimi’s Circus.

Tip six: Use vintage fabrics

What do you think? Do you like these ideas or are you a more traditional pink or blue kind of person? Have you recently decorated a nursery and done something a bit different to the norm? I’d love to see pics – email katy@18.200.196.112 x

P.S. Kate – I’ll be expecting a pic from you, too.

For a long time now, I’ve been trying to convince Jules to create our ‘five year plan’. Sad, I know, but I’m a bit of a control freak and like to know where I will be and what I will be doing in the near future (even though I know, through experience, that plans never work out the way you want them to).

This weekend, I have finally managed to pin him down to agree to buying a house in the next year. This decision has mainly been influenced by our new puppy, Otto, who needs a garden (I knew this would happen, hence agreeing to get a puppy !). The idea of having a house – hopefully a period one – and being able to decorate and furnish it, is almost too exciting to bear. So, I am going to begin by dreaming of stairs…

When you move into a new house, there is always work that needs to be done and money that needs to be spent. You have to prioritise and make compromises and I am always looking for ways of saving money, whilst making my home as nice as can be.

We are currently away for a week, so I am unable to make anything or take photos of my own, so I am going to show you some stairway inspiration that I have found from Pinterest. All of these ideas are achievable, cheap and relatively easy and would be a good place to save some precious money when moving into a new home.

Inspiration…

The first idea is to use wallpaper to decorate stair risers. Sarah Moore is a vintage designer and writer and here is an excerpt from her book Vintage Home with a tutorial for these gorgeous stairs:

You will need:

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Metal ruler
• Thick card for template
• Scissors or craft knife and board
• Selection of vintage papers
• PVA glue and brush
• Clear acrylic varnish

Tutorial:

• Measure one of the risers in the middle of the staircase and use the dimensions to create a card template using scissors or a craft knife and board. Check that this fits on all the steps – the first and last often vary slightly.
• On the back of your wallpaper, draw around the template, then cut out the pieces. Measure and cut out any risers that vary from the template.
• Make sure the stairs are free of dust and any loose particles, then paint one riser at a time with a thin layer of PVA glue and smooth the paper in place. Push out any air bubbles or creases towards the edge of the stairs. Pay particular attention to the edges, ensuring that they are glued in place.
• Wait until the glue is totally dry, about 24 hours, then cover the surface of each riser with a light coat of clear acrylic varnish to protect the paper.

Other ideas…

I love the simplicity of this hallway and the striking addition of colour to the banister rail.

This is a great idea, instead of spending a fortune on a professionally fitted stair runner. This grain sack fabric is tough and hard wearing and can be attached using glue. Stair runner tutorial here.

I did a post recently about paint effects and this is a good example of how playing around with colour can be an easy way to add interest to any home.

A cheap, stylish alternative to a traditional stair runner. I like the colour a lot.

Or, just leave the middle of the stairs natural wood, which ties in well with the beautiful banister.

A little more tricky to do and very time consuming. Would definitely be a talking point.

By painting the stair risers the same colour as the walls, with a different tone for the treads, creates a clean, simple look.

Now, I’m off to traipse through Right Move…I’m sure I can get a year down to six months. Jules is going to regret entertaining this idea. Ha!