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  • Home tour - a sophisticated turn-of-the-century Stockholm apartment | These Four Walls blog

    Home tour | A sophisticated turn-of-the-century Stockholm apartment

    April 6, 2020

    Fancy starting the week with some more real-home inspiration from Sweden? Then feast your eyes on this stunning Stockholm apartment, which has recently come up for sale. It’s decorated throughout…

  • The best scented candles for staying at home | These Four Walls blog

    The best scented candles for staying at home

    April 3, 2020September 18, 2020

    At this time of year I’d normally publish my annual round-up of the best scented candles for spring. But, with so many of us around the world under restrictions of…

  • The iconic 'Wishbone' chair turns navy blue | These Four Walls blog

    The iconic CH24 ‘Wishbone’ chair turns navy blue

    April 2, 2020April 16, 2020

    [Advertisement – this is a paid partnership with Carl Hansen & Son, but all words and opinions are my own] The CH24 ‘Wishbone’ chair is one of the most recognisable…

  • ALIUM - a brand-new Copenhagen gallery | These Four Walls blog

    ALIUM – a brand-new Copenhagen gallery

    April 1, 2020April 1, 2020

    Travel might be out of the question for most of us at the moment, but today I want to share some inspiration for when we can start exploring again –…

  • 15 of the best minimalist desks

    15 of the best minimalist desks

    March 26, 2020February 23, 2022

    It’s time for another ‘best of’ round-up, and with so many people based at home at the moment, I thought it would be useful to dedicate this month’s edition to…

  • Home tour | A sleek yet gently eclectic Stockholm apartment | These Four Walls blog

    Home tour | A small yet stylish Stockholm apartment with sweeping views

    March 24, 2020

    As promised, it’s back to normal blog service this week. I think we’ll all be in need of a bit of distraction over the coming months and I have plenty…

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I'm hoping to share our finished living room soon I'm hoping to share our finished living room soon but it's too hot to photograph - I don't want to move more than a couple of metres from the fan! So here's a sneak peek snapped a few weeks ago - needless to say we haven't yet tried out the bioethanol stove! 

#neutrallivingroom #neutralhomedecor #cottagerenovation #softminimalstyle #simplehomestyle
Snippets from the first few days of yet another he Snippets from the first few days of yet another heatwave... Late-evening walks around our little town once it's cooled off enough to actually go outside, Loki falling asleep in front of the fan with his mouth hanging open, and a visit to the beautiful @walledgardenatmells in Somerset. 

And if they see this, hi to the couple I got taking to while queueing at The Walled Garden. I didn't catch your names before the queue moved, but your kind words about my books made my day! 

#visitwiltshire #thisprettyengland #visitsomerset #slowsimpleseasonal #summermoments
[AD - PR product] From one Loki photobomb (see my [AD - PR product] From one Loki photobomb (see my last post) to another... I love this view through the doorway from our dining room to the living room. And it perfectly frames the 'Ecru' throw, designed by @ceciliemanz for @elvangdenmark, that I've draped over our CH25 chair. The subtle stripe detailing along the edges is gorgeous, and it's made from super-soft baby alpaca wool. 

#neutralhomedecor #simplehomestyle #cottagerenovation #rusticminimalistdecor #softminimalstyle
Thought I'd have fun doing a little summer still l Thought I'd have fun doing a little summer still life yesterday evening - an hour of creative play, just for the fun of it. Loki decided he wanted to join in too. 

#cottagekitchen #summermood #summerstilllife #lightandshadow #seasonaldecor
[AD - features PR products] After months of floori [AD - features PR products] After months of flooring, sanding, priming, painting and juggling different trades, the ground floor of our little cottage is pretty much finished. And that means I can finally reveal some completed rooms!

I'm starting with the dining room, as it’s the first space you enter after coming into the house through our tiny vestibule (I’m not sure it even counts as a hallway) and it sets the tone for the calm, cosy mood we want to create throughout.

We wanted a rustic-minimalist style: pared-back yet textural, with subtle nods to the countryside setting. 

Like the rest of the cottage, the dining room has beautiful light. It faces west, so it’s illuminated by a golden glow later in the day, but it also gets morning light from the east-facing living room behind. And the ground floor as a whole has a wonderful sense of flow: each room leads directly to the next, creating the ideal balance between separation and connection, openness and cosiness.

To enhance the light and the sense of flow, we’ve painted all walls, ceilings and woodwork in one colour, @farrowandball's ‘Slipper Satin’. It’s a chalky off-white that’s neither too cool nor too warm, and it interacts brilliantly with everything from bright sunshine to flickering candlelight.

We’ve also used the same pale oak engineered hardwood flooring throughout the ground floor. It’s the ‘Wintry Forest Oak’ colourway from the @quickstepfloors ‘Cascada’ range, which is extra-matt for a soft, organic look. We’ve laid it continuously, with no thresholds between rooms, to lead the eye seamlessly from one space to the next.

[PR product]

The ground-floor layout did present some challenges, though. The dining room essentially acts as a transit space from the front door to the rest of the house, so we had to leave clear paths to move through it while also ensuring it has a defined function of its own. To achieve this, we positioned the table towards one corner of the room and anchored it within the wider space with a large jute rug.

We also moved the pendant light to hang over the table rather than in the centre of the room and added a big linen shade from @baileyshome. This creates an intimate d

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