Update your interiors for Spring with Magpie

Hi guys,
I'm having a real interior design binge at the moment: Apartment Therapy is like crack to me! We bought our new house last May (so very nearly a year ago) and have done loads of renovating/decorating upstairs. But the big job that is the downstairs of our house has remained pretty much untouched: until now! Whilst spending one of many hours online window shopping for the details we'll put in when the real work is finally done, I stumbled across Magpie. Magpie is a British based ceramics company: they also create coordinating soft furnishings. There pieces tap into my personal taste so perfectly I wondered for a moment if there was some special mind voodoo going on!



I can imagine these pieces sitting on the 1950s Mid-Century dining table we bought last year (that still needs sanding and varnishing, but of course in my daydream it looks perfect!) To say the pieces are such great quality and such lovely designs, I was surprised by how reasonable the price-points are. 'Chirpy', the bird collection, is my favourite one: I love the rich colours and the mid century feel will match the theme of my open plan living room/dining room perfectly. The price point for this range is £8.50 for a mug, £20 for a set of four side plates, and £22.50 for a 4 serving espresso set. See what I mean? Really reasonable prices!

Looking what I'm going to put on it when it's finished has given me the inspiration I need to get out into the garden and finally get that dining table sanded down! Do you get newly motivated to update your house at this time of year? I suppose they call it 'Spring Cleaning' for a reason!

Love Tor x

2014 Trends From Achica: My New Obsession

Hi guys,
One of my main resolutions for 2014 (certainly my main shopping resolution) is to finally get to work on our house. We have so much decoration and renovation to do, and I have a vision for how I want the place to look: we're just not there yet!

We've christened 2014 the year of the house. And so all of my shopping focus is on shopping for things I need to get the place kitted out and looking perfect. That's why Achica is my newest obsession: it's like BrandAlley, but for incredible home furnishings! They sent me over their 2014 trend report this week, and I genuinely went weak at the knees with excitement. If my house could look like their catalogue then I would be one very happy bunny:


The geometric-style light fitting is on my immediate hunt and find list! I've bought an incredible chandelier for above my dining table, but don't want to get an electrician in to fit it until I have one for the living room too, so it's a matter of urgency. I also love the pastel room, and am going to use that picture as the basis for my office decoration!

So far, the only rooms we've completed are our bedroom (which we've done in various shades of grey with a vaguely Parisian feel) and Wilbur's nursery (which has a full-blown circus theme). My next project is the bathroom, which we are decking out in a water coloured blue and accessorising with Cath Kidston's rubber duck print. Then it's time to tackle the living room - gulp! We have Sanderson's dandelion clocks wallpaper for the feature wall and then need to get to work with the sander on all the fixtures and fittings. It's going to be the mother of all jobs, but we're looking forward to getting stuck in!

Do you have any interiors resolutions for 2014? And are you using the new year as an excuse to have a proper spring clean? Or are your resolutions far more fashion than home based? I'd love to hear all about them!

Love Tor x