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  • Ferm Living's new showroom & concept store | These Four Walls blog

    Ferm Living’s new showroom & concept store

    June 30, 2020

    Today I’m taking you on a virtual trip to Copenhagen, where one of my favourite Danish brands, Ferm Living, has just opened the doors to its brand-new showroom and concept…

  • Focus on: Fredericia's Spanish Chair | These Four Walls blog

    Focus on: Fredericia’s Spanish Chair

    June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

    [Advertisement – this is a paid partnership with Fredericia, but all words and opinions are my own] It’s time for another instalment in my series exploring the stories and inspirations…

  • 20 of the best simple, Scandinavian-inspired bedside tables | These Four Walls blog

    20 of the best simple, Scandinavian-style bedside tables

    June 23, 2020August 11, 2022

    When I asked on Instagram what items people would like me to cover in these ‘best of’ round-ups, bedside tables came up again and again. And when I think about…

  • The TypeO Loft - a brand-new B&B in Skåne | These Four Walls blog

    The TypeO Loft – a minimalist one-room B&B in Skåne, southern Sweden

    June 19, 2020

    Today I have a bit of travel inspiration to help tide us over until we can head off on holiday in real life: a peek inside the just-launched TypeO Loft…

  • Home tour | A sleek cabin in the Finnish wilderness | These Four Walls blog

    Home tour | A sleek cabin in the Finnish wilderness

    June 8, 2020

    Today’s home tour comes to you from Finland, where interior designer Joanna Laajisto has created a beautiful lakeside retreat. When you think of Nordic cabins, you probably think of rustic…

  • Curtains to hide open storage | Seven interesting ways to use curtains | These Four Walls blog

    Seven interesting ways to use curtains

    May 29, 2020May 28, 2020

    Curtains needn’t just be for windows – in fact I’ve come across plenty of interesting and unusual ways to use them over the years. So, for part two of my…

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One of the things I love most about our house is t One of the things I love most about our house is the natural light, but it does have one downside. We face directly east-west, so in summer there's always strong light coming from one direction or another - and some rooms like the main bedroom shown here are dual-aspect, so they get it all day long. It's starting to cause UV damage to furniture and surfaces, even with the curtains closed for much of the day. I think we're going to have to look at adding UV-reducing film to the windows, while we save up to get them replaced properly. If you've used it yourself and have any thoughts on whether it actually makes a difference then I'd love to know!

The photograph on the wall, by the way, is one of my own images that I had printed out and framed. It was taken nearby, on a foggy morning not longer after we moved in, and it's one of my favourites. 

#cottagerenovation #neutralbedroom #naturallight #rusticminimalism #cottageinterior
This is the question we get asked whenever we say This is the question we get asked whenever we say we've downsized. We've also had some weird comments from people who assume that just because we've moved to a smaller house, we must be struggling financially. 

I hate the way the size of your home has somehow become a marker of success, and bigger isn't always better. I can understand people searching for more space if they have a growing family, but we don't. Instead, we made a conscious decision to reduce our mortgage, free up some budget for renovations, and give ourselves some breathing room for the future. 

So no, we won't be extending our little cottage. We don't want or need a bigger house just for the sake of it, and to be honest we consider ourselves lucky to own anywhere at all, given how difficult it is to buy a property nowadays. It would only mean more to clean, anyway! 

Here's to everyone else making the most of the home they have, no matter what its size or their circumstances. 

#cottagerenovation #cotswoldscottage #smallhome #cottagelife #downsizing
A few snippets from Bath, London and home during a A few snippets from Bath, London and home during a burning-hot July, some taken on my phone, others on my big camera. It's been a busy month, but a good one. I'm looking forward to a slightly slower August, and hopefully some rain for the parched landscape. 

#summermood #bathuk #cotswolds #summerlight #cornersofmyworld
[AD - PR products tagged] The view that makes me h [AD - PR products tagged] The view that makes me happy every time I come in through the front door (until I get to the bottom of the stairs, which is where the extent of our cottage renovation currently stops!). 

#diningroomdesign #cottagerenovation #rusticminimalism #neutralhomedecor #simplehomestyle
Back in May I spent three fantastic days exploring Back in May I spent three fantastic days exploring Bergen with my friend Becky, and I've finally got around to putting together a city guide. 

Norway's second-largest city and one-time capital is known as the ‘gateway to the fjords’, and many people fly in and head straight back out again on a cruise. But it’s a place that’s well worth exploring, either as part of a wider itinerary or as a destination in its own right. Sandwiched between mountains and sea, it's a wonderful mix of history, culture and scenery, with a Unesco-listed Hanseatic harbourside, plenty of art galleries, a thriving food scene, and pretty wooden houses that creep up the slopes of its famous seven hills. 

Here are my top 12 things to see and do in Bergen, including restaurants, viewpoints, museums and more. Save this post for your future travels, and find my full Bergen guide on the blog. 

#visitbergen #visitnorway #travelblogger #travelphotography #divineworldplaces

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