All posts tagged: Interiors

My house-buying journey

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Buckle up, it’s a looong one.  Jan 2021 I’ve moved back to my mum’s during lockdown and decided to give up my London flat, so I have the motivation to start this house-buying ‘journey’. I hate the phrase ‘journey’ but as this is a flipping epic saga it makes sense.  I set up alerts on Rightmove and draw up a list of must-haves and definitely-absolutely-no’s for my dream pad.  I want a period property with at least 2 bedrooms. Nice to have: my own front door. Very nice to have: a separate dining room, bay window and garden.  It’s been SUCH a long process and I feel like my life is kind of on hold. @chez.shez Alerts start pinging for properties but as it’s lockdown I don’t rush to follow up–big mistake–properties are getting snapped up in record time.  See a lovely 2 bed Victorian terrace with a garden on a quiet street next to a cute little pub. I think this is a contender, call up the estate agents and book a viewing. I’m …

Buying Your First Home as a Single Woman

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Owning my own home was something I never thought was possible. As a fully paid-up member of generation rent I was fully of the belief that home ownership was simply out of reach. I left university smack bang in the middle of a recession, interned for free and worked hard in an industry renowned for not paying that well (fashion). All while paying extortionate London rents. I never had a penny of savings, never had any money at the end of the month, and frequently got my card declined at the supermarket (until I realised that any transaction under £20 wouldn’t register with my bank and proceeded to get lots of overdraft fees). This sounds all doom and gloom… but there’s a happy ending! You can buy a house as a single woman. This month I had my offer on a house accepted and a mortgage accepted with a good lender. So how did I do it? Read on… Widen your options for where you want to live I have lived in London for almost …

New Flat Tour

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I‘ve recently moved into a new flat and this was the first unfurnished flat I’ve ever moved into. It has its pros and cons, on the one hand it’s great because I don’t have to live with gross hand-me-down furniture, on the other hand it’s very expensive and time-consuming to buy all new stuff. I’m coming at it from a two-tiered approach. Some things I’ve bought really cheap – like a £20 chest of drawers from IKEA that I’ll probably throw away at some point, and other things I’m investing more in (I’ve just ordered an armchair from Made.com, my first proper piece of grown up furniture). I’m definitely more of an accessories girl – a great cushion or vase can make a room. So I’ve started moving in pictures and trinkets from my travels to make the flat homelier. It’s still pretty bare – but I’ve only been in the flat for two and a half months (3 weeks of which I was in Bali and 1 week I was in The US). Anyway, …

H&M Home Haul

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For years I’ve heard my friends and fellow bloggers rave about H&M’s amazing homewares range but never bothered to check it out until recently, because I shop online and H&M are notoriously bad at online shopping – everything takes about 4 weeks to arrive. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Now I’ve moved SOUTH OF THE MF RIVER (can you believe it) to Brixton, I’m taking advantage of the, frankly great, high street. The jewel in the crown of which is H&M and it’s shiny new homewares section. I’ve just moved house so needed a few things to spruce up my room and I was pleasantly surprised by how cheap the stuff is. I got a few great cushions, some jewel-toned glassware and a cute pineapple candle. Is the pineapple trend over yet? I refuse to let go of it without a fight. Shop H&M home

6 Of The Best Luxury Candles

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‘You’re literally burning your cash’ a friend once said to me over my penchant for posh candles, but I can’t slash won’t stop buying them. In the big scheme of things they’re a relatively inexpensive treat, hell I can drop £30 in Nando’s no problem, so a nice luxe candle is way better for my waistline and they do last. I hate cheap scented candles because they just smell rank – they do! A decent scented candle can emit a luscious fragrance even when not lit and when you do spark up it only takes a minute (girl) to fill your entire room with a delicious scent. Also in my defence I do use the empty pots when they’re burnt out for storing makeup and trinkets so really they’re quite a good investment. And everyone needs a little luxury in their lives, a well-placed Diptyque candle can elevate your room decor tenfold, it’s just classy bbz.  Byredo candle | Diptyque Mimosa candle| Bella Freud Loving Candle  Le Labo Candle | Lola James Harper Candle | …

House of Dreams: Why We’re Addicted to Pinning

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I recently spent a full, sunny (!) afternoon busily decorating my home, picking out gorgeous fabrics, lamps, plants and all that good stuff. Of course this was my imaginary, completely not real home. Which lives, in a way, on my Pinterest account. I’m obsessive about collecting these images and relish looking at their loveliness, weirdly, like an actual home, I believe my choice in virtual decor reflects well upon me.  Of course I have never and maybe will never own a home, I live in London… actually, scratch that, I live nowhere! I’ve just returned to England after travelling for several months, so technically I’m homeless. But when I do move into some place it is 100% going to be incredibly expensive rented accommodation. I’ve lived in house-shares my entire adult life; which are so fun, always a friend to share a bottle of Tempranillo with, parties, hungover breakfasts. However the drawback is that you don’t have a space that’s really yours. The house is literally owned by someone else, you are merely a paying …