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  • 23 of the best minimalist blankets & throws for autumn & winter cosiness

    23 of the best minimalist blankets & throws for autumn & winter cosiness

    August 29, 2025January 23, 2026

    My pick of timeless blankets and throws to keep you cosy – and your home looking beautiful – over the autumn and winter months ahead…

  • Vipp Townhouse Lagrasse – Scandinavian minimalism meets medieval French architecture

    Vipp Townhouse Lagrasse – Scandinavian minimalism meets medieval French architecture

    August 19, 2025January 23, 2026

    The latest addition to Danish brand Vipp’s growing guesthouse portfolio blends modern, minimalist design with medieval architecture in a beautiful French village…

  • Hotel Petra – &Tradition’s new design-themed stay in Copenhagen

    Hotel Petra – &Tradition’s new design-themed stay in Copenhagen

    July 22, 2025February 3, 2026

    A look inside Hotel Petra – a new Copenhagen design hotel, bar and restaurant from Danish brand &Tradition…

  • Highlights from 3 Days of Design 2025 | Product launches that caught my eye

    Highlights from 3 Days of Design 2025 | Product launches that caught my eye

    July 18, 2025January 23, 2026

    Gorgeous new furniture, lighting, home textiles, accessories and lime paint that caught my attention at this year’s 3 Days of Design…

  • Profile | Artist Savita Hartsteen

    Profile | Artist Savita Hartsteen

    July 15, 2025January 23, 2026

    I chat to Rotterdam-based artist Savita Hartsteen about her minimalist yet deeply meaningful paintings, her artistic journey, the power of nature, finding fulfilment and turning a dream into a reality…

  • Sleeping in a heatwave with cooling bamboo bedding from Laud

    Sleeping in a heatwave with cooling bamboo bedding from Laud

    July 11, 2025January 23, 2026

    My review of Luff Sleep bamboo-silk bedding from UK bedding specialists Laud: what does it look like, is it good for your skin and does it really help you stay cool in a heatwave?

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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
So how is everyone doing in the heat? It's been un So how is everyone doing in the heat? It's been unbearably hot and humid here all week, and I don't manage well in this kind of weather anymore (neither does Loki, as you can see). But we've also had tremendous storms, with some of the heaviest rain and most intense thunder I've ever experienced on Monday evening. #summermood #naturephotography #sunsetsky #lightandshadows #chasinglight

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