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  • Art for awkward spaces with Atelier Printworks

    Art for awkward spaces with Atelier Printworks

    June 4, 2026June 26, 2026

    Our little cottage has plenty of tricky corners, but there’s an easy way to deal with them: wall art in long, tall, narrow and wide formats from Atelier Printworks…

  • The best scented candles for summer | These Four Walls blog

    The best scented candles for summer

    May 27, 2026May 27, 2026

    The best scented candles for summer, updated with a few new discoveries for 2025…

  • New design finds | May 2026

    New design finds | May 2026

    May 14, 2026May 14, 2026

    On my radar this month are sculptural lamps and pendant lights, relaunched Italian mid-century classics, beautiful bathroom furniture, minimalist rugs, and nature-inspired fronts for customising standard IKEA kitchens…

  • Home tour | A restored century-old house in Westchester County, New York

    Home tour | A restored century-old house in Westchester County, New York

    April 30, 2026April 30, 2026

    Newly reimagined and extended, this early 20th-century house blends sophisticated neutral decor and natural materials with restored historic details…

  • Danish design in Bath: a Carl Hansen takeover at Holloways of Ludlow

    Danish design in Bath: a Carl Hansen takeover at Holloways of Ludlow

    April 27, 2026April 27, 2026

    Carl Hansen & Søn’s 2026 installation at Holloways of Ludlow’s Bath showroom is a dream for fans of timeless Scandinavian design. I took a look around…

  • 1 Hotel Copenhagen: a nature-inspired city sanctuary

    1 Hotel Copenhagen: a nature-inspired city sanctuary

    April 15, 2026April 15, 2026

    Decorated in tone-on-tone neutrals and tactile natural materials, 1 Hotel Copenhagen is a calm city sanctuary in the heart of the Danish capital…

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So here it is: this year's Halloween fireplace, an So here it is: this year's Halloween fireplace, and the first in our new home. This looks tricky to do but it’s actually incredibly easy. Just arrange the pumpkins how you want them, tuck branches and dried ferns (or whatever foliage you prefer) in between and behind them, and use pine cones to fill any gaps. Nothing’s stuck down, so there’s no tape or glue involved, and as there are no fresh leaves or flowers you don’t need to use any unsustainable oasis foam or other water source. I find displays like this look best when there’s an odd number of pumpkins (for some reason, the human eye tends to prefer odd numbers over even ones) in a variety of sizes. I also like the foliage to look a little wild and unruly, with swooshy bits pointing up and down. I’ve gone for an asymmetrical display on one side of the mantelpiece only, but you could centre things or run pumpkins all the way along. #halloweenfireplace #pumpkinseason #autumnhomedecor #seasonalhome #naturalhalloweendecorations Autumn home styling | Natural Halloween decor | Halloween mantelpiece display | Neutral home decor | Cottage living room | Neutral living room | Soft minimalist home | Seasonal living | Stylish Halloween decorations | Minimalist interior
From a lovely afternoon pumpkin picking yesterday. From a lovely afternoon pumpkin picking yesterday. It's become a bit of an annual tradition, although we had to skip it last year as we thought we were about to move house (turns out we weren't and had another month to wait). Anyway, the last photo in the carousel is my haul - 'far too many' according to Chris, but I can't wait to show what I'm doing with them all! #pumpkinseason #spookyseason #halloweendecorations #autumnmood #pumpkinpicking
A few people asked how effective the flame on our A few people asked how effective the flame on our bioethanol stove is, so here's a peek - and I reckon it's pretty good. Obviously you don't get the lovely woodsmoke smell that you have with wood-burners, but you can always recreate that with a scented candle - 'Smoke' by @essenceandalchemy, 'Tinder Box' by @thebotanicalcandleco and 'Winter Embers' by @charlesfarrislondon are ideal. And of course no smoke means no nasty particles in the air... #cosyseason #autumnhome #cottageliving #cottagerenovation #neutrallivingroom Bioethanol fire | Cottage living room | Rustic minimalist interior | Neutral home decor | Cosy home | Soft minimalist decor | Minimalist home | Cottagr renovation
[AD - the flooring is a PR product] We've had a br [AD - the flooring is a PR product] We've had a break from renovating over the past couple of months, focusing on enjoying the finished ground-floor rooms rather than starting on any others. But that's about to change, as work on our bland, tatty and dated bathroom kicks off on Monday. We had originally planned to leave it until next year, but the bath has started leaking through the ceiling of our newly painted living room so we've brought things forward. It's a small space and there isn't really any other way to lay it out, but otherwise we'll be giving it a total overhaul. We're going for a timeless, pared-back look with a hint of rustic cottage charm, mixing tongue-and-groove panelling with beautifully imperfect Zellige tiles and a linen shower curtain. We'll be using the @quickstepfloors pale oak 'Cascada' flooring that we're fitting throughout the house (it's totally watertight and ideal for bathrooms), and adding some much-needed storage by concealing the toilet cistern within a built-in floor-to-ceiling cupboard. The taps and shower will be the same gunmetal finish that we've used in the kitchen, as I love the way it patinates and ties in with the overall palette. I'm also thinking of painting the bathroom in a darker colour than we've used elsewhere - probably @farrowandball's stony 'Light Grey', which we chose for the front door. Swipe through the carousel to see my digital and physical mood boards for the bathroom, and a peek at what it looks like at the moment. Flooring: @quickstepfloors [PR product] Tiles: @bakedtiles Taps and shower: @abiinteriors_uk Shower curtain: @fermliving Wall lamps: @corstonarchitecturaldetail Mirror, travertine accessories and towel: Zara Home Vase: already owned #cottagerenovation #interiormoodboard #bathroomrenovation #neutralhomedecor #minimalistbathroom Batheoom renovation | Neutral bathroom decor | Cottage bathroom | Minimalist bathroom | Bathroom panelling | Neutral interior | Neutral home | Soft minimalist home | Simple interiors
The pocket-door cupboard is perhaps my favourite f The pocket-door cupboard is perhaps my favourite feature of our new kitchen. We dithered about having the pocket doors as they're more expensive than normal ones, but I'm so glad we decided to go for them. They're perfect for a small-ish kitchen like ours, as they slide back into the frame when open rather than jutting out into the room. That makes the kitchen so much easier to use and circulate around, and it's freed up enough floor space for a little freestanding island unit in the centre. We've added a section of worktop inside the cupboard to give us some handy extra prep space, and we can open it up or hide it away as needed. It's turned out to be particularly useful when we've prepared food in advance and need to shut it away from a curious and rather greedy cat... #shakerkitchen #cottagekitchen #minimalistkitchen #cottagerenovation #neutralhomedecor Minimalist cottage interior | Shaker kitchen | Cottage kitchen renovation | Scandinavian kitchen | Soft minimalist interiors | Neutral home | Neutrak kitchen inspiration | Pocket doors

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