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  • New discoveries from London Design Festival 2019 | These Four Walls blog

    New discoveries from London Design Festival 2019

    October 7, 2019October 4, 2019

    The third week in September brought London’s annual Design Festival, with hundreds of exhibitions and installations springing up around the city. It’s always brimming with inspiration, and after spending far…

  • 15 of the best simple, sculptural candleholders | These Four Walls blog

    15 of the best simple, sculptural candleholders & candlesticks

    October 2, 2019February 23, 2022

    Autumn has officially arrived, and that means candle season is here! To be honest I light candles year-round, but as the nights draw in and the days get darker, they…

  • Home tour - a stunning mix of old and new in southern Sweden | These Four Walls blog

    Home tour | A stunning mix of old and new in southern Sweden

    September 30, 2019September 26, 2019

    It’s home-tour time again and today I’m taking you over to Sweden for a peek inside the beautiful apartment of Felicia Alm. Set in the small town of Landskrona, it’s…

  • Eight alternatives to grey and white for fans of neutral decor | These Four Walls blog

    Eight alternatives to grey and white for fans of neutral decor

    September 25, 2019September 26, 2019

    If, like me, you want your home to be a calming sanctuary, then you’re probably drawn towards neutral walls in grey and white. But soothing, understated interiors don’t rule out…

  • Kinuta Terrace - a pair of minimalist apartments in Tokyo | These Four Walls blog

    Home tour | A pair of minimalist apartments in Tokyo

    September 16, 2019September 25, 2019

    One of the highlights of Copenhagen’s ‘3 Days of Design’ festival back in May was the launch of Karimoku Case Study – a new lifestyle brand developed by Japanese furniture manufacturer…

  • Review - the ‘Mesmerine’ breakfast collection from Kenwood | These Four Walls blog

    Review | The ‘Mesmerine’ breakfast collection from Kenwood

    September 11, 2019September 11, 2019

    [Advertisement – this is a paid collaboration with Kenwood, but all words and opinions are my own] Small kitchen appliances such as toasters and kettles are so often an afterthought…

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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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