A cosy breakfast in bed with Sainsbury’s Home

[This is a paid partnership with Sainsbury’s Home, but all words and opinions are my own]

Like many people who work from home, I’m guilty of not knowing when to stop. With no set hours or daily commute to worry about, I tend to tap away at my computer long into the evening, only shutting down if I’m going out (or if my husband decides enough is enough and pulls the plug!). One thing I’m strict about, though, is not working at weekends unless it’s completely unavoidable. For me, Saturday and Sunday downtime is precious – the chance to slow down, clear my mind and look at something other than a screen.

One of my favourite weekend rituals is a long, lazy breakfast in bed, and at this time of year I like to ramp up the hygge factor with lots of snuggly textures and soft colours. So, when Sainsbury’s Home asked if I’d like to try out a few pieces from its new ‘Nordic Skies’ collection, which was designed with cosiness squarely in mind, I of course said yes.

Now I’ll admit that a supermarket wouldn’t normally be my first port of call for stylish home accessories, but the ‘Nordic Skies’ range includes plenty of Scandinavian-inspired designs in muted shades of grey, white, blue and blush pink – in short, it’s right up my street. What’s more, it’s great-value and so perfect for adding a few easy and inexpensive seasonal updates around the home.

For my bedroom, I chose a pair of geometric cushions in a beautifully tactile crewl weave, together with a grey felt storage basket that slots into the shelf of my bedside table and allows me to keep lots of relaxing weekend reading to hand. I also added a candle – always a must for me at this time of year, when I light them in the daytime as well as after dark.

The range has also come in handy in the kitchen. My breakfast treat of choice is thick Canadian pancakes, but the recipe came from my brother in Vancouver and uses North American cup measurements. Luckily Sainsbury’s has a set of collapsible measuring cups which mean I no longer have to convert everything into grams as I go along; there are also stackable pink-glass tumblers and grey mixing bowls that work perfectly with my kitchen décor, plus non-stick frying pans that are ideal for pancake flipping.

And in case you were wondering, yes I am going to share the pancake recipe! The secret? Separating the egg whites and beating them to ensure a lovely, fluffy texture…

Ingredients (makes around 8 pancakes)

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder

Method

1. Combine the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the milk and egg yolks and stir until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold half of the egg whites into the batter mix, then the other half.
5. Lightly oil a frying pan and place over a medium-high heat.
6. Pour in the batter mix, using around ¼ cup per pancake, and cook until golden brown on both sides.
7. Serve with your choice of topping. My favourites are blueberries and a dusting of icing sugar, and bacon and maple syrup.

Shown above:

‘Nordic Skies’ crewl geo cushion (£12) – available in stores only | ‘Nordic Skies’ felt storage basket with wooden handles (£12) – available in stores only | Small Nordic candle (£5) – available in stores only | ‘Oslo’ stacking tumblers in pink (£3.50 each) | ‘Nordic Skies’ collapsible measuring cups (£7 for the set) | 20cm frying pan (£18.50) | 28cm frying pan (£25) | Grey mixing bowls (£25 for a set of three) – available in stores only

All photography by Abi Dare