Wallpaper Dilemma!

I decided this weekend i'd kick start decorating the tiny back room at the boyfriends - it'll eventually be a spare bedroom/dressing room & I have been given sole decorating responsibility :) Exciting times!

I'd already decided I wanted it to be quite clean & light, bringing colour in with accessories & soft furnishings, so embarked on a little trip to B&Q to pick up some paint. Whilst I was there I took a little detour to the wallpaper aisle, not expecting to find anything that would really jump out at me & was pleasantly surprised when I spotted these super cute designs -

                            Left - Statement Brighton                                                          Right - La Vie Ordinaire

At just £19.98 a roll it's an absolute bargain & the playful style is exactly the kind of thing I was after - I think they would make a really quirky statement wall whilst still keeping the room nice & light -  I just can't decide which I prefer, I really love the colours in the Brighton design, but think the scenes in 'La Vie Ordinaire' would suit a dressing room more - decisions decisions! What do you guys think?!

Birthday Treat

Last week myself and the boyfriend took ourselves to Suffolk to celebrate my birthday. I'd come across some beautiful converted barns on Domestic Sluttery last year & decided i'd treat us to a relaxing country break where I could hide away & pretend like I wasn't turning 25!

We stayed at Belle Grove Farm, the love child of Jo & Nick - who after 30 years of running Safari's in Africa moved to Suffolk to create an absolutely beautiful countryside haven. They've built themselves a stunning fairy tale home on the site of the old farm house (complete with its very own dragon on the roof!) & converted the old out-houses into beautifully exotic self catering accommodation which they rent out as holiday homes.

We stayed in the Stable, the smallest of the 5 properties (the largest of which sleeps 8) It was the perfect size for two & had everything we could possibly have needed from a selection of DVD's & board games to a coffee machine & hot water bottles.

This has got to be one of the most beautiful places i've stayed EVER, the detail that went into every aspect of our stay was crazy, there is nothing that Jo & Nick hadn't thought of & we were only too happy to be tucked away in the middle of nowhere in our beautiful stable with the log fire, under floor heating, roll top bath & a bottle of champs.

The fact that it snowed pretty much every day we were there only made the farm even more beautiful, it was like walking out into Narnia every morning with the iced over pond & snow covered trees, it's like Christmas had come again. I could not recommend Belle Grove more highly, it was the most beautiful place to run away to & the perfect first holiday of 2013!

Second star to the right, and straight on till morning

I came across this Neverland wallpaper by Emma Molony on Domestic Sluttery and fell in love! One day I hope to be able to purchase it and pair it with my very own Peter Pan spineless classics poster... they are destined to be together. Although, it is pretty expensive at £60 a roll, so I think if i'm lucky enough to own a room covered in this beautiful illustrative wallpaper, it is more than likely going to be a very very small one... A box room, or a downstairs toilet... either way one day I will have it in my life.

Isn't it so cute?! You can see Peter & Hook's ship, the mermaids and the lost boys, being able to look at this every day would definitely help me in my quest to never grow up :)

Cushion Crush

After my Singapore and Thailand trip i've become slightly obsessed with brightly coloured birds, and everywhere I seem to look at the moment there are cute little bird cushions scattered around. So with summer round the corner (fingers crossed!) I decided i'd treat myself to something colourful for the sofa. These are a few of my favourites I found scattered across the web -

1. Loving Budgies £55 Chloe Croft on Rockett St George
2. Fabulous Flamingo £70 Rockett St George
3. Flamingo & Flowers £55 Chloe Croft on Rockett St George
4. Love Bird cushion £45 Not on the High Street

I love them all... Although they are slightly above my budget! So I was thrilled when I was taking an impromptu stroll around Next home section yesterday and found this lovely love bird cushion.

Love Bird cushion £12 Next

Aren't they sweet :) I do love a splash of colour, specially when it's bird shaped and reminds me of holiday times!

Pretty Prints

A lot of you probably have the same problem as me, you settle down to read a blog, and 3 hours later you find yourself somewhere completely unrelated after a chain of link clicking. This has taken me to some weird and wonderful places and has also left me with a wish list of about a gazillion things that I want to buy some day.

One thing i'm sure of is when I FINALLY have my own home, I want it's walls to be filled with lots of lovely artwork and prints, and my wish list is ever growing.

Here's but a few of my favourites:

London Map Print - Famille Summerbelle 

I love this London map print by Famille Summerbelle with its cute little illustrations, It comes in 3 different colours and can also be bought as a laser cut piece which is amazing but about 3x the price! 

Birds of sadness - Studio On Fire

This is a print by US based letterpress print firm - Studio on fire. I bought a book of theirs a few years ago and it's FULL of beautiful designs. I'm not really sure what it is about this poster but I just kept getting drawn back to it. The quote is a Chinese proverb that reads "You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making a nest in your hair" Deep huh?!

Peter Pan - Spineless Classics

I'm a huge fan of the Spineless Classics posters. They take a classic book (Peter Pan's my fave) and create beautifully designed typographic posters which feature the WHOLE book. Every last word. Amazing no?

Manners Maketh Man - Chase and Wonder

This cute little monkey print is by design group Chase & Wonder. They create prints, greetings cards and accessories all featuring beautiful illustrative designs. I like to think that if I hang this around the house it'll be a nice little bit of motivation for the boyfriend, if not i've got a picture of a monkey wearing a bowler hat on my wall and I can see nothing bad about that!

Paris Vs New York 

And finally... Paris Vs New York, a comparison of the two cities by French graphic designer Vahram Maratyan. Whilst visiting NY he started an online travel journal, showcasing his observations of the city in the form of these gorgeous graphics. Have a flick through, they're super clever.