Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts

Old English Company | Review | Prints and Pins

Saturday, July 14, 2018






There are no two ways about it, I have to just come out and say it- I am obsessed with interior design and making the spaces I spend my time in feel like home. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you've looked at the housing market lately) I live in rented accommodation so there is only so much I can do to my current home without making my landlord really mad, so whilst I spend my days putting together interior inspo Pinterest boards, and poring over copies of Ideal Home, and House Beautiful, I can't really live out my Kate La Vie-esque dreams just yet.

One way I put my stamp on our home is with artwork and prints, which is why when Old English Company asked me to pick anything I wanted from their site (up to £50) I jumped at the chance to work with them. I'd never checked them out before so I wasn't sure how far that £50 was going to stretch but I was pleasantly surprised to find I could pretty much help myself to anything I liked and then some! After spending a good 30 minutes looking at all they had to offer I finally decided on two prints, and an enamel pin.

































My favourite thing about Old English Company is that their choice of prints and quotes is very different from any others I've seen from other print companies. My absolute favourite book of all time is Wuthering Heights so I actually made a little gleeful yelp when I saw the Emily Brontë quote.  Because I am a total cliche of a writer I also adore William Shakespeare, and having noticed they had that very famous "though she be but little...." quote I had a search for something I didn't already have on display, and found this brilliant print featuring a line from the play As You Like It.
































Both these prints cost £16 in A4 but are also available in 8x10 or A3 for £13.95 and £21.00 respectively. I think these prints are beautiful in their simplicity, and they are printed on very sturdy card so they maintain their shape whether you decide to frame them, hang them, or simply stand them against a wall.

It took me a while to decide where to place them but I settled on placing them above our bed with one on each side of our giant dream catcher. I have a new found love for these little picture shelves so I bought a couple for these prints, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far. Now if only I could paint these horrible magnolia walls a nice bright white!!
































Now don't worry, I'm not forgetting my other choice which was this cute little enamel pin (£7) which says "Stay Weird". There were a few pins that I really liked but I honestly think that "stay weird" is an important message to wear everyday. It took me a long time to stop describing the things I love as "weird" or "unconventional" when the truth is, the things I love are the things that make me who I am and if I want to stay me, I have to stay weird!
































As you can see I gave the little dude pride and place on my work lanyard (right under the amazing Dorkface rainbow pin) so every single customer I come in contact with can get a little reminder to be themselves.

Overall I am so happy with my choices from Old English Company, and I already have more prints, and pieces of stationery and homeware, added to my wishlist. If you are in the market for some simple, beautiful, well made products I wouldn't hesitate to point you in their direction.

Happy Shopping. And don't forget to Stay Weird!



Disclaimer: The items in this post were gifted to me by the company mentioned throughout, in return for an honest review. I picked each item personally, and all opinions herein are my own. I will never promote or recommend any product or company I do not believe in, and would not willingly spend my own money on.

Keeping Warm this Winter- The Bedding and Curtain Edition

Saturday, November 26, 2016

I don't know about you guys but I am ALWAYS cold- winter, spring, summer or fall (autumn)- you can find me wrapped in blankets, duvets and the odd dressing gown. Of course it's always worse in winter so I started looking for ways to keep my gas bill down, and my temperature up....

DUVETS ⬥ THROWS ⬥ CURTAINS ⬥BEDSPREADS ⬥ BLANKETS

These are they way forward people. IMHO you can never have too many, and because I'm in the middle of renovating my (our) bedroom, I thought what more reason do I need to do a wee wishlist/haul type thing! 

I set out to pick loads of different things from loads of different places, then I fell into a Yorkshire Linen, and John Lewis shaped hole and I just can't get out...


Can you tell I have a thing for blue and white, haha. It all just looks so cosy to me and sometimes that's half the battle. I think if things look warm, and comfy-cosy then your brain automatically starts to warm up...or I could be talking complete nonsense!!

One thing I know that isn't nonsense is that we (or at least I) always overlook curtains when someone asks "what do you use to stay warm?" but if you think about it having a room that retains heat is better for you and your wallet. I don't have curtains, but I am so in the mood for them!

Yorkshire linen have so many nice sets of cheap curtains and they are so well priced...the ones in the picture above are only £19.99 for a 46x54 inch pair WITH tiebacks.
I'll be honest after I chose these I found at least another two sets that I want so I guess I'm still curtainless until I can decide!

You might recognise the striped throw from my last wishlist- well I own it now and it is so good! It looks quite thin but it keeps me so warm when I throw it over me when the mercury dips a little (lottle) lower during the night.

And of course no bed is complete without a proper good duvet set, whilst I would kill for all white bedding a la pinterest I just don't have the time or inclination to be constantly washing bedclothes-seriously who does?? So I've chosen these blue bad boys from Yorkshire Linen (of course!) to go with my stripy blue throw, and my dream bedspread!- these stripy babies are sadly no longer available BUT the guys at Yorkshire Linen have added these beautiful oriental covers to there lineup and I'm in love!

I know you're thinking "duvets, throws, and bedspreads, AJ? Really? Isn't that a bit much?" But no, no it is not. Think about it this way- you are going out one morning, it's -2 degrees outside so you pop a jumper on over your t-shirt, and then a jacket, and some of you may even bang on a coat too (I'm all about shoulder-robing)-it's all about layers, in and out of the house.

I'm going to leave you with two things-1) a sneak peek of my current bed set-up (pre-this post makeover) and B) Top-Tip: for a little extra hug at bed time buy a size up when you purchase a duvet and duvet cover. There is nothing better than a Kingsize duvet draped over a double bed *ah bliss*.



Items in picture at the top can be found here:

Oriental Blue Duvet Cover-£19.99
Utah Vanilla Lined Curtains- £19.99
John Lewis Coastal Stripe Throw- £25.00
Annecy Bedspread Violet- £174.99 (I said dream for a reason haha)

What are you guys top tips for keeping warm in the colder months? Any exciting bedding brands you think I should check out? Would you be interested in a post on bed dressing or is it just me that finds that stuff interesting?? Let me know in the comments and remember to come chat on Twitter.
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Disclaimer: This post contains collaborated content but all items chosen, and views are as always completely my own.

The One Where AJ is Allowed to Decorate!!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Guys, I am officially renovating!

I have had some awful landlords, but my current ones are actually the world's greatest!They are the kind that let you pay £100 a month less than the market value because you say you'll bring your own couch and bed, they are also the kind that let you hang all the art work you like, and then suddenly they become the kind that are alright with you building your own open air closet in their bedroom!! Basically my point here is that my landlords are the coolest and I'm completely overhauling my bedroom.

I'm obviously going to do a couple of posts once my closet and desk area are finished (just waiting on the walls to be painted) but for now I thought I'd throw together a little bedroom furnishing wishlist. HINT: I'm having a mad case of white, blue and silver-itis.

New Bedroom Wishlist