Sometimes it’s possible to take life – and work – too seriously. The tropical trend is going to be huge news this summer, so why use a boring biro when you can use a pen with a cheery carved parrot or cockatoo instead?
These bright little birdies are £3.50 each at Sass & Belle (Sassandbelle.co.uk), and there are four designs to choose from.
I’m going to tweet – sorry, treat – myself to the red parrot. How about you?
The house next door to us is having a complete makeover, and as part of it, the owners have just installed full window shutters both in the living room and the bedroom. They look GORGEOUS and they’re making me deeply regret choosing curtains in my own bedroom. Bright and clean and the perfect blank canvas for loads of different colour combinations, shutters may not be super cheap, but when you consider the cost of made-to-measure curtains (not to mention the cost of dry cleaning them), they’re actually a sound investment. Not only do they look stylish, but they’re uber practical too, working as the modern (much nicer) equivalent of nets, keeping prying eyes out, but allowing the light to filter in.
As one of the big trends in interiors at the moment, shutters are set to feature centre-stage at this year’s Ideal Home Show, which runs from 18th March to 3rd April at Olympia in London. It’s all down to Thomas Sanderson – experts in shutters, window and conservatory blinds – who are the main sponsor of A Traditionally British Home, one of the full-size show homes at the event, styled by Linda Barker.
And to celebrate, they’re offering five lucky Treasure Hunter readers a pair of tickets each to visit the show. You’ll get to tour every room of the four-bed house to see the latest trends and colour-schemes, and get lots of inspiration from seeing Thomas Sanderson’s energy-saving shutters and clever automated window blinds in situ. Oh, and you’ll also have fun touring all the stalls and stands, watching demonstrations and doing a fair bit of shopping. My idea of heaven!
I recently wrote a feature for Notebook – the Sunday Mirror’s magazine – on how to recreate the look of this gorgeous green leafy hallway. It’s a brilliant modern-meets-retro scheme that would work in a living room or even a bedroom; and I love it so much I thought I’d share it with you, too. The […]
When we first moved into our house seven years ago, it was a chintz palace. Everything was bright yellow and blue; there were frills everywhere; and the shell-shaped bathroom sink was very special indeed. Slowly, we modernised, but on a shoestring budget, which meant the faux-beamed artexed kitchen ceiling had to stay. I painted the […]
A while ago I tested travel beauty products for a national newspaper. My favourite? The Green Balm, an ingenious – and very cute – calming balm from MOA (Magical Organic Apothecary). It contains completely natural ingredients such as yarrow, tea tree oil, beeswax, plus coconut, sweet almond and soy bean oils, and smells DELICIOUS. I now carry a little […]
I’m a cleaning product junkie. My under-sink cupboard is crammed with mysterious potions, and I love a good browse of the Lakeland catalogue. But if I had to choose just one product to beat them all, it would be the sexily-named Kilrock K2R Stain Remover Spray. Seriously, it’s a miracle worker. No matter what you’ve […]
The ‘it’ fruit of the summer, the pineapple, isn’t going anywhere just yet. I’ve spotted chic black pineapple-shaped pots, sparkly cushions, and even metal pineapple bookends at the Autumn homeware preview shows. But if you want a subtle way to try the trend, look no further than this brilliant gold pineapple necklace from HEMA (my new shopping […]
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