Updating home accessories for autumn with TK Maxx and Homesense

As you all know I love updating my home throughout the seasons as its such a quick and simple trick to changing up any room without spending a fortune and with very little effort. I was contacted by TK Maxx to head into store and see what I could pick up so I thought I would share the treasures I found.

Candles are such an easy way to give a cosy feel to your living room and I found this super pretty glittery one! I think this would also make a lovely gift for christmas and they had lots of different scents and colours - I opted for the yellow zest scent with multi colour glitter top which gave a pop of colour to the table but also smells insane!

Picture frames are something I am always picking up as I love to group them together and create a little display, they are easy to move around and switch up with photos or prints to add a little interest to a boring corner. The frames I picked up this time were super affordable and I just loved the mix of textures with the wood, gold and slate.

Let me know how you will be changing up your space and what treasures you have found in TK Maxx or homesense recently! I love that every time I head into store I never know what I will discover. 

We will be moving house soon and I am so excited to have some new spaces to decorate!

The interior design inspiration I will be taking from the Air BnB I stayed at in Brighton

Last week we travelled to one of my favourite places Brighton just for a couple of days away and a little break. The air bnb we stayed in was absolutely beautiful so I wanted to share a few photos and the interior inspiration I will be taking forward into designing our next house.

- Mixing metals I would normally stick to one coloured metal for fixtures/ decoration but throughout the apartment there was a wide mix of brass,gold,gunmetal and silver that worked really well in creating a contrast on a real regency but eclectic modern style.

- Mix of surfaces - I loved the concrete work tops mixed with the old scaffolding boards, open brick, painted brick which made up the kitchen contrasted with the detailed tiles injecting a burst of colour. The mix of textures really adds depth and so much interest to the room.

-Lighting - I noticed even though it was such a bright open airy space there was lots of lighting, industrial mixed with modern bedside lights. I love how in the living space the lights help to zone off the areas and hung at different heights really show off the high ceilings. There was also strip lighting above the beams which added a bit of warmth to the high ceilings and open space.

- The bathroom was simply beautiful! I loved how the floor tiles were used as up stands this is something I would like to take forward as an idea in our next place. Again there is a real mix of styles with the modern bath and chrome fittings but then the paintings with gold frames add that old regency style making the room really contemporary.

- Artwork/furnishings - I loved the carefully selected art work throughout the apartment which injected bursts of colour to the blank walls but also tied in furnishings, for example the pop of orange in the chairs was mimicked in the cups and formed part of the large painting, this idea worked well in just tying the whole look together but still keeping the eclectic style.

You can see why I fell in love with this place! If you guys have stayed in any amazing air bnbs please share them with me! I am wanting to arrange looks of little trips across the country to gain inspiration and it just allows me to be super noisy and look at pretty houses.

The Air BnB I stayed in was Charlottes place

Updating my Desk with TK Maxx and Homesense

I like to change up my desk area quite often, it helps me to stay inspired when designing so when TK Maxx/ Homesense got in touch for me to head into store to see what treasures I could find I knew I would be on the hunt for a couple of pieces for my desk. 

I spotted this little trio set of ceramic pots which are supposed to be for plants and can be used inside or outside but I thought they would be perfect to house my pens and to help keep my desk tidy but also look super cute with the little summery motifs! I also love to keep photos, cards and drawings on my desk and recently took a trip to Brighton where we got some photo booth photos done, I spotted this super cute white frame which has magnetic glass so the photo can be changed real easy. 

I love how affordable Homesense/ TK Maxx is and how I can find some really unique places to update areas of my home.

Now to start designing my collection autumn/winter 

If you have been into your local Homesense / TK Maxx store recently I would love to see what treasures you have picked up!

What I have learned from buying our first home

I am writing this post almost 3 years on. We have completely finished renovation our first home! Which seems crazy, I feel like it was only last year we were picking up the keys. Our little home was put up for sale on the weekend so I thought this would be a good time to share my thoughts about buying our first home and what I would have done differently or some little tips to bare in mind if you are buying your first home.( all my own experience)

Be very open minded 

Scope out areas you might have previously shunned in the past, it might be the only way you can get value in a time of soaring house prices. We started our search in Bristol but quickly realised that by looking further out of the city we were able to buy a house in Stroud rather than a one bedroom flat on the outskirts of Bristol.

- Make a list of priorities, the must haves but also if there is anything you might be able to compromise on, be realistic its unlikely you will get your dream house straight away . In our case location was what we compromised on in order to get ourselves on the property ladder, however actually worked out for the best long term.

Be thrifty 

For around six weeks before you apply for your mortgage curb your spending as much as possible as the lenders will check through your bank statements to look into how much money you spend per month and use that as an expense.

- They even counted Georges numerous KFC trips into our expenses!! 

Save Save Save!

This is an obvious one but the bigger the deposit the better and the better your interest rate and in turn the less you will be paying back.

Factor in Fees

This might also be an obvious one but with all the big numbers and fancy wording flying about its easy to miss the added costs. We have just started looking for our next home and had a budget but quickly realised we would have to look at homes at least £10,000 'under budget' to account for stamp duty! 

Dont have sleepless nights over price

Who knows what will happen to house prices there is no point worrying about something you cannot control, all we know is what our mortgage repayments are. 

It can be a very long process

It is super frustrating the time is takes to exchange and collect the keys to your new house - ours took almost 7 months and we were first time buyers with no chain! you just have to be patient and it will all be worth it in the end.

Your house wont look perfect straight away 

In fact it probably wont look perfect at all! I had this idea in my head we would have the whole house complete within a year but three years on and just before we were putting it up for sale we were still finishing bits off. For the first two months we actually had deck chairs in the living room!!

Dont put too much pressure on yourselves to get everything done quick and just enjoy the time decorating and designing your very own first home.

If you are self employed 

A quick note to all my fellow self employed friends, nothing is easy when you are self employed.  You are seen as a risk so there are extra checks in place especially when applying for a mortgage. If you are employed you merely have to show a contract to prove your salary so you dont even have to have started the job! but when you are self employed you need to show at least three years tax return before they will even consider you, even then they will take an average of the three years as your salary. So my advice would be to keep your accounts in order or employ an accountant to do so which is what I have recently done! 

ENJOY

Finally just enjoy, its not everyday you buy your first home. So try not to stress too much and just have fun. I am so looking forward to decorating a new house but also super sad to be leaving our very first home behind.

Now the search begins for our next home, I will be sure to share our journey with you! 

My new sunglasses - GlassesShop.com

The summer has finally arrived! and when the lovely people at GlassesShop.com contacted me to choose my favourite pair I clicked straight onto the website to take a look. After much consideration I went for the red Barbara cat eye glasses - sunglasses are an easy way to pull your whole look together and add a little twist to your outfit. 

I especially love how these have glitter in the red frame!!

They even provide prescription sunglasses so you can add your own prescription to the glasses frames and choose from a wide range of styles,frames and colours. I think that GlassesShop offer a lovely range of super affordable eye wear that feel really lightweight but good quality. 

I do have a 50% off code that you guys can use if you decide to shop on site too - Just enter code GSHOT50 at checkout.

eyeglasses, eyeglasses online

Dining Al fresco with TK Maxx and Homesense

Al fresco dining is my favourite kind of dining! So when I was challenged by TK Maxx and Homesense to head into store and choose some of my favourite pieces to share with you guys I headed straight to my local store. You never know what you are going to find as the stock is updated all the time, heading into store there were so many pretty pieces for a summer BBQ or party. I knew I wanted to stick with quite a tropical theme as it would go really well with the palm plates I had picked up from Homesense over easter. Also who doesnt love a tropical theme in summer?!

The Little 'hello summer; tumbler was only £1.99! and they had so many different designs from flamingos to palm trees. I also Spotted the two taller glasses which would be perfect for my strawberry gin cocktails which were £3.50 each. My favourite piece is the pineapple tray which is amazing quality and super pretty with the colourful pineapple print and was only £12.99! again there were lots of different designs but I thought this one really added to my tropical theme.

 I also picked up some ice lolly moulds, filled them with fruit and lemonade to create my own fruity lollies! I did the same for ice cubes adding raspberries, mango and strawberries to water which I could then add to the cocktails.

I am so excited for summer parties and BBQs over the summer, especially now I have these pretty pieces! Let me know what summer treasures you find when heading into your local store and have the best summer.

A big Thank you to TK Maxx and Homesense.

Easter table decorating with homesense and TK maxx

I wanted to create a contemporary twist to a traditional setting, making my table display fun and colourful and in keeping with my home style. So of course I headed to homesense! The place full of everything you didn't know you needed! So here is what I created.

The colour green is a huge trend within interiors and I am in love with palm prints so when I spotted these palm leaf plates I just had to snap them up! They will also be great for summer BBQs. Homesense has a huge collection of bowls, plates and vases and I wanted my table to look very eclectic bringing in lots of colour and print so I opted for these two ceramic bowls to hold Easter eggs and treats!

I wanted to create a centre piece for my table to I picked up a glass dome which I filled with colourful chocolate eggs and a couple of daffodils - I love how this looks and I think this idea could work for lots of occasions by switching up the display within the dome.

Flowers were also a huge part of my display opting for brightly coloured tulips with long stems so I could hang a couple of egg decorations to add some height to the table.

I was super pleased with how my table turned out, I just need to organise a little Easter party!

Happy Easter!

* Thank you to Homesense/TK Maxx for the collaboration