My £50 restyle shopping challenge

This week the lovely PR folks at the UK's largest homewares and soft furnishings store Dunelm got in touch to ask me to get involved in their #mydunelmbag campaign, which is currently running on TV and social media.

Dunelm has tasked five UK interiors bloggers to create a new look for under £50 using their products. "Would I like to get involved?" they asked.  "What, go shopping and get styling?" I replied.

Sure thing!

So here you go peeps, this is my trolley full of goodies…scroll down to see the little nook I styled at home to create a cosy little reading corner in my living room.

#mydunelmbag well not exactly a bag, more of a trolley really

proof that Dunelm is where I've been shopping!

my little corner before (with my cute painted little ottoman & Grandad's wingback)

ta da, the selection of goodies from #mydunelmbag (see list below for details)

My Dunelm Bag:

• Tall white vase £9.99
• Trees cushion £19.99
• Geo skandi plate £2.49
• Cosy skandi mug £2.49
• Delphinium spray flowers x 3 £4.47
• Vanilla grass x 2 £1.18
• Decorative wooden bird £4.99
• Zig zag cushion £9.99

Total £55.59 - slight overspend but hey.

(Previously bought from Dunelm - sculpted wire lamp £20.99). All the other stuff is my own.

If you fancy winning up to £250 worth of Dunelm gift vouchers for yourself, snap a shot of a recent shop at Dunelm and share it using hashtag #mydunelmbag on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I know someone who very cleverly completely decorated their hotel bedrooms using only Dunelm products and at only £250 per room for mirrors, curtains, bedding, lighting and ornaments that is a pretty fab bargain don't you think (and you'd never guess it was all from Dunelm *wink*)

Happy shopping!

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Friday Find: bright, bold & contemporary scandi / eastern fusion homewares

I've been meaning to share the love for Sian Elin for aaaages! If you haven't come across her and you have a penchant for colourful, contemporary scandi-esque interiors with distinct "look at me" appeal, then you're in for a real treat.

"Featured as one of the Sunday Times Top 30 Fabric & Wallpaper designers, Sian Elin is a Wales-based e-tailer selling home-wares and gifts. With one foot firmly rooted in the West, Sian Elin looks to the East for inspiration. Our fresh designs, and globally inspired colour palette create an exciting mix of contemporary products, where Scandinavian style combines with Eastern flair." sianelin.com

 Just check out these and you'll understand why Sian's products are so highly rated…

Go on, go treat yourself to something from this gorgeous mix of contemporary products, where Scandinavian style combines with Eastern flair. It's Friday afternoon after all *wink*

Happy weekend y'all x

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Adding a splash of colour: coral / raspberry / orange

The summer holidays may be coming to a close but bright and cheery summery colours are at no risk of disappearing this a/w season. Just check out the delights below to see how you can easily keep a happy vibe in your home by adding a splash of coral this autumn.

Allegra Hicks for Made

Allegra Hicks has serious style and with her non-fussy approach to design her Lulu range for Made is adorable.

Marissa  - bang on with the last

My love affair with all things Habitat endures and their new collections are just so funky. I love the textured, multi-coloured Marissa cushion for it's retro slash modern floral design…

The woven geometric pattern of the orange Meera cushion gives it a kind of 'stroke me, squeeze me' 3D quality to it….

…and Mod, hello Mod, this metal modular candle is so cool, you can take it apart to re-model the design and height of it, plus the colours are gorgeous - rose, plaster pink and mushroom grey.

Whilst on the subject of coral / raspberry I have to mention and share with you (just in case you haven't seen it yet) Scion's Pivot fabric from the Rhythm Weaves collection. Some of you may know that I have been on the search for the "perfect" coral fabrics for some time now and so when I found these my heart sang, I jumped for joy and I shed a little tear (sad I know, but it's all about the passion right?!)

Scion Pivot fabric (cushion) in Blush / Jasmine

Oh and also Clarke & Clarke's Zirah in Flamingo - what a fabulous colour name!

Flamingo - how can you not feel happy when you say that word out loud?!

Go on then, one last one, Villa Nova's Lea Rouge from the Celeste collection

Contemporary floral weave with a lustrous sheen - yums!

I know, that's enough now, but honestly if you knew how happy I was when I found these three fabrics and how long and hard I had searched you'd feel my joy too! *beaming happy designer*

www.homerestyler.co.uk

Bright n funky bedroom makeover (for under £50!)

Hello my lovelies, the sun is SHINING & I feel on top of the world today, full of energy and creativity so I thought I'd share with you a little makeover I started yesterday and finished this morning.

Ok, some of you will know and agree with my enduring love of neon, coral and grey…well for this makeover I have combined them and wham bam with spending very little at all have completely transformed my bedroom.

I am entirely forgetful and rubbish at taking 'before' photos but I've got a whole host of afters so here goes…

I had two old cream bedsides that needed funking up...

...so I bought Annie Sloan Barcelona Orange & mixed in a little Emperors Silk...

…and made a luscious deep coral & got paintbrush happy

The wall behind the bed was white & bland...

…so I bought a roll of IKEA Bråkig wallpaper & some awesome neon memo clips & push pins...

…and hammered some round wire nails onto the wall..

…& hung up the wallpaper with the memo clips. Et voila!

Coraliscious

The bonus is when I get bored I can really easily change the wallpaper with minimal time / effort / damage

My trademark colour co-ordinated books!  

Just enough pops of colour

Oh and I pinned a piece of 'art' wallpaper up with some neon orange push pins hee hee

I absolutely love it and for less than £50 the room looks and feels fresh and funky. The geometric patterns on the wallpaper and cushions work well with the curves of my retro bed and I am looking forward to snuggling in bed to appreciate it tonight *smile*

Have you been doing anything creative lately?

Now I am going to go and enjoy some sunshine, shh don't tell anyone ;)

Until the next time x

wwww.homerestyler.co.uk

A sprinkling of sugar - injecting pastels into your interiors. Just don't make it too sweet!

According to those 'in the know' pastels are BIG in 2014.

• Benjamin Moore has downgraded grey and in its place heralds "breath of fresh air" pale blue

• Heal's Tottenham Court Rd store window sets are styled with pastels, mostly pinks

• H&M has pale pink as a running theme throughout its core SS14 homewares range

• John Lewis Maison trend is all about the pale and beautiful

• Ferm Living has injected more pastels into its soft furnishings

• IKEA launched the Bråkig collection, the colours of which are misty pastels

.... what more can I say, if you're shopping high street, then pastels will be hard to avoid. Take a look here for yourself....

Benjamin Moore 'breath of fresh air' paint

Heals pastel window display (notice the copper)

Heals - ombre trend still continues

Pretty in pink at Heals

H&M soft greys, pinks & metallics

John Lewis pastel painted hanging pears

Ferm Living pastel hues & geometric shapes

IKEA Bråkig collection - more pastels and geometrics

Being more of a fan of all things bold, pastels aren't generally on my radar. However when mixed up with metallics - especially brass,  bold wham bam dark inky blue, deep dark grey or even blackened aubergine and ever stylish geometric pattern, you've certainly got my attention *smile*.

How do pastels make you feel? Fancy them in your own home?

I can feel Spring in the air, can you? 

It's making me sooooo happy - yay!

So what's hot this year? Colours for 2014

Believe in what you think you know, because if it feels right to you then it will work for you. Like I've said time and time before, I'm not really one to jump on a bandwagon and follow a trend for trend's sake. But what I dig, is when something is bang on trend and I'm already on it (yeah baby!). 

I'm 50:50 with what the colour big shots have to say this year. According to Pantone, the colour of 2014 is 

According to Pantone “An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.” To spruce up interior spaces you could incorporate this hue in paint, accent pieces and accessories. Radiant Orchid complements olive and deeper hunter greens, and offers a gorgeous combination when paired with turquoise, teal and even light yellows.

Hmm, purple's just don't do it for me. I've tried various combination, hues and tones of purples over the years but it is not a colour that pleases me. Maybe it's too feminine for me? I know it is a favourite amongst high street stores and appeals to a wide age range so this will certainly be a success if adopted by such accessible brands.

Following on from that, Dulux's colour of the year for 2014 is 

Teal perfectly combines the natural harmony of green with the tranquillity of blue, it has a gentle character and is a favourite in the world of design. For such a statement colour, teal is surprisingly versatile and works well in different colour combinations. Sitting opposite coral on the colour wheel it works beautifully with delicate pinkish tones and warm ochre yellow, but for a trend look should be combined with other tones of teal, green or blue to create a tone-on-tone effect. 

Now, I love teal! I have worked with it a lot over the years and have always been pleased with the overall results when combined with colours such as yellow and grey along with wood and white finishes. 

What do you think? Will you be favouring Pantone or Dulux's colour of the year and injecting some if it into your home in 2014?

On an aside, my favourite colour (as many of you already may well know) is yellow - happy, sunny, bright, jolly, uplifting, gotta love it. It's not en vogue at the moment and it's an absolute swine to get in any kind of fabric or fitting but perseverance pays off and yup, after months of digging, poking and searching I found a fabric I love yeehah! Romo, I salute you, I have fallen head over heels for Ilsa Mimosa in Orvieto fabric for my living room…check it out, it's the fabric on the left below. How fab is that….ochre yellow, vivid inky blue with warm grey and bright white  - my ideal, match made in heaven colour combo *big grin*

Share with me what fabrics you've fallen in love with recently. And, hey it's not long to wait until all the Spring collections hit the shops so if you are still struggling, bear with, your very own match made in heaven design may be just around the corner!

www.homerestyler.co.uk

HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY NEW LOOKS!