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  • Scandinavian dreaming with Skandinavisk's new Eau de Toilette collection | These Four Walls blog

    Scandinavian dreaming with Skandinavisk’s new Eau de Toilette collection

    November 9, 2020

    [Advertisement – this is a paid collaboration with Skandinavisk, but all words and opinions are my own] Oh how I long to head off to a little island somewhere in…

  • A relaxed summer celebration with Georg Jensen's 'Bernadotte' collection | These Four Walls blog

    A relaxed summer celebration with Georg Jensen’s ‘Bernadotte’ collection

    August 7, 2020August 6, 2020

    [Advertisement – this is a paid partnership with Georg Jensen, but all words and opinions are my own] It’s my 37th birthday tomorrow (I’m not sure how that happened –…

  • Craft kits & online workshops to try at home

    Craft kits & online workshops to try at home

    June 12, 2020February 9, 2021

    Recently I’ve found myself yearning to do something creative just for the sake of it. I used to spend hours drawing and painting, but nowadays any creativity tends to be channelled…

  • The best scented candles for staying at home | These Four Walls blog

    The best scented candles for staying at home

    April 3, 2020September 18, 2020

    At this time of year I’d normally publish my annual round-up of the best scented candles for spring. But, with so many of us around the world under restrictions of…

  • Coronavirus - how to help & where to find help | These Four Walls blog

    Coronavirus – how to help & where to find help

    March 20, 2020September 18, 2020

    Normal blog service will resume on Monday (I think we all need a bit of continuity and escapism at the moment), but first I want to end my week of…

  • 25 ideas for making the most of your leisure time at home | These Four Walls blog

    25 ideas for making the most of leisure time at home

    March 18, 2020September 18, 2020

    Millions of us around the world are now facing weeks and perhaps even months stuck at home as various restrictions come into force. It’s a daunting prospect – even for…

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Some stills of our beautiful new kitchen with time Some stills of our beautiful new kitchen with timeless slim-framed Shaker units and oak interiors from @nordiskakok. The room isn't very big (3.4 x 3.2m), but it is roughly square - a big change from the narrow galley-style kitchens we've had in the past. We've kept the layout largely the same as it was, partly because it makes sense and partly because it meant we didn't have to spend money moving services around and could instead focus our budget on the units themselves. We did get rid of the upper wall-hung cabinets though, replacing them with a long open shelf that makes the space feel much larger and airier, and hid our boiler inside a tall worktop-mounted cupboard. On the other side of the room, we replaced a huge radiator with a smaller one, making space for an integrated fridge-freezer and a full-height cupboard with pocket doors. The latter is perhaps my favourite feature in the whole kitchen, as the doors slide back into the frame and don't stick out into the room. This gives us valuable prep and storage space that we can open up or hide away as needed, with a fully usable section of worktop inside. The pocket doors also freed up enough floor space in the centre of the room for a small freestanding island unit. I liked the idea of something rustic made from gnarled wood, to reflect the countryside setting and provide an element of contrast with the smooth units and worktops. It took a lot of internet searching, but eventually I found a salvaged prep table that’s exactly the right size. We’re planning to add a couple of stools where we can sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, but we haven’t found the right ones yet. #shakerkitchen #shakerkök #cottagerenovation #cottagekitchen #moderncountrykitchen Shaker kitchen | Cottage renovation | Neutral kitchen | Minimalist interiors | Cottage kitchen | Pocket doors | Minimalist kitchen | Freestanding island unit | Kitchen renovation | Rustic minimalism
Pics from a wonderful day out in Shaftesbury in Do Pics from a wonderful day out in Shaftesbury in Dorset, and a beautiful drive down through Cranborne Chase to get there. We had a wander down the famous Gold Hill, explored the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey, had a delicious pub lunch and accidentally bought three candles in @thebotanicalcandleco. See if you can spot me in one of the photos... #thisprettyengland #visitdorset #shaftesbury #visitengland #dorsetlandscape
Here it is: our finished kitchen! The kitchen we Here it is: our finished kitchen! The kitchen we inherited when we bought the house was tatty and dated, with broken appliances, ripped lino, chipped laminate worktops and cracked unit fronts (some of them literally looked like they'd been kicked). Now, it's a calm yet cosy room that channels the soft, rustic-minimalist mood that we're gradually adding throughout our little cottage. We've used timeless slim-framed Shaker units from @nordiskakok, which we've paired with white-pigmented oak interiors, quartz worktops and splashbacks with subtle veining, a long open shelf and a freestanding island unit made from salvaged wood. I'll share more details in a future post, but here are some before-and-after photos showing how the space has changed. We put most of our renovation budget into it, which means some other projects will have to wait, but we now have the kitchen we've always dreamed of and we couldn't be happier with it. #cottagekitchen #shakerkitchen #minimalistkitchen #cottagerenovation neutralhomedecor Shaker kitchen | Cottage kitchen | Minimalist interiors | Cottage renovation | Neutral kitchen | Soft minimalist interiors | Rustic minimalism | Neutral home decor | Freestanding island unit | Open kitchen shelves
[AD - PR products] Summer light falling across the [AD - PR products] Summer light falling across the dining room, our oak @quickstepfloors flooring and our lovely Carl Hansen Wishbone chairs from @hollowaysofludlow. I've been working down here for the past few weeks as it stays cooler than the office upstairs, and the chairs really are comfy enough to sit on for hours at a time. Bring on long, cosy meals and board games in here once the nights start drawing in! #neutralhomedecor #scandinaviandecor #minimalinterior #minimalistdiningroom #cottagerenovation
The hills on the edge of Bath - like everywhere el The hills on the edge of Bath - like everywhere else, they're looking both beautifully golden and scarily parched at the moment. We've had several wildfires around here over the past couple of weeks, so I'm longing for some rain. And although I don't like to wish time away, please bring on autumn! #bathengland #theprettycities #bathskyline #thisprettyengland #visitbath

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