Home design hooks
Isn’t this pretty?
The home design metal hooks provide four useful hanging hooks, where you could hang your keys or other bits and pieces.
It’s also a very decorative home accessory, as the design is adorned with birds, butterflies and flowers, so the piece would look good simply hung on the wall.
The cream home hooks are only £10.50 from Lilac Coast.
Handmade tealight holder
This beautifully delicate tea light holder is handmade from porcelain by ceramicist, Carys Boyle.
The intricate rim has a shiny lustre finish and is available in gold or silver.
The tealight holder would be ideal to use as a centrepiece on a table for an intimate dinner, or simply as a decorative home accessory.
The lustre porcelain tea light costs £12 and can be purchased from Carys Boyle Ceramics.
Colourful oven glove
This rosy red and green apple oven glove is part of the homeware range at M&Co.
The colours and design make it a bright and cheerful piece to have in your kitchen. It was affordably priced to start with, but is currently in the sale for only £6.00.
Matching accessories are available too, which are also reduced, including a fabric chair seatpad (£7.50) and rosy apple teacosy (£4.50).
Large wall clock
This is one dramatic clock!
If you’ve got a large wall space to fill, it would look stunning and work well as a wall feature.
The steeple clock is quite rustic in design – it’s made from iron frame and has traditional Roman numerals on it.
The clock costs £175 and can be purchased from Graham and Green.
Homebase Portland kitchen
If you’re keen to create a cosy, country style kitchen in your home, then here are five easy ideas to help you achieve it!
Having a light background such as white, cream or beige gives a feeling of light and space. If you want to use a colour, keep it light – try a pale green or blue. You can add bold colours with cleverly placed accessories.
If you don’t want to replace kitchen units, it’s quite simple to change the look by painting your cupboard doors, using a light colour such as buttermilk or cream.
If you prefer to go with traditional pine units, you could easily replace the doors without having to replace the whole of the kitchen units! Using decorative handles will give that final touch, and can be classic or modern, depending on your own personal style.
Chunky wooden tables make a bold centrepiece, and were the heart of a traditional country kitchen. Look for rustic style, with pine or oak pieces.
A dresser can be a great focal point, and creates a place for you to show off dinner pieces. Or how about hanging a plate rack on the wall?
Look out for materials which will accentuate your country kitchen, such as slate, pine and oak. Dress windows with fabric to tie in – why not try a simple gingham or pretty floral? You could also match these up for table dressings, such as napkins or tablecloths.
Check out your local secondhand outlets for those chic and rustic accessories. You can often find beautiful dinner sets and tea sets, and don’t worry if they’re not an exact match – that’s part of the charm!
Inject a little colour by adding bright electrical accessories, like your kettle and toaster. Try matching counter-top items to tie in, such as utensil holders, knife blocks and tea towels.
Look around for traditional scenes, and antique style frames. Pictures of farm scenes, animals, or garden and floral views look lovely and cheer up a plain wall.
To create more light, try hanging a decorative mirror in a place that will catch some light from a window. Beware though – steam created by cooking could mean you’ll need to clean it often!
Stock up on paint at Homebase or Focus DIY.
Update your kitchen with new cupboard doors from Wickes or Homebase.
Find new cupboard door handles at Bombay Duck.
Invest in new country or rustic furniture from Lombok, Oak Furniture Land, The Cotswold Company or Pine Solutions.
Buy mix and match china from Emma Bridgewater or hunt for secondhand bargains on Preloved or Ebay.
Add new country style kitchen accessories and gadgets from John Lewis, Kitchen Fun or Kitchen Science.
Buy fabric from Cath Kidston, Designers Guild or Laura Ashley, to make into new curtains or seat covers.
Choose a decorative mirror or kitchen clock from Graham and Green or find inspirational wall art from Not On The High Street.
Buy a new country kitchen at Second Nature Country Kitchens.
Written by Tereasa Easton
Useful garden trug
This cream metal Fair Trade garden trug is perfectly suited for all your garden needs.
Whether you use it to pop out to your garden to cut freshly flowers to bring inside, when you’re picking homegrown fruits and vegetables or as a means to transport bits of gardening equipment outside, it’s a good size for all sorts of gardening needs.
When not in use outside, you could even pop it on a windowsill with pots of colourful flowers in or even grow herbs in it.
The cream gardening trug is £14.99 and can be purchased from the Oxfam online shop.
A matching cream metal jug is available for £9.99.
Danish mugs
If you love classic blue and white china, then these Danish Skagen mugs are sure to appeal.
They differ from many mug designs, as they don’t have handles. As a bonus, this means they stack really well together and can take up less space in a small kitchen cupboard.
The blue and white stripe Skagen mugs cost only £6 each from Very Nice Things.
Multicoloured knives
It’s no secret that we’re fond of colourful cutlery, so it’s not a great surprise that these vintage 1950s knives caught our eye.
The six piece knife set is made of Sheffield stainless steel and each of the composite bone effect handles on the knives is a different colour, reminiscent of the popular shades of the 1950s.
The set comes boxed and costs £28 from Home Sweet Homestyle. If you love all things vintage, then it’s well worth checking out their shop, as it’s a treasure trove of vintage goodies!
These lovely red and white tea towels are handmade by Elin at Nordic Touch. Like us, she is keen on products that help make a home cosy and add a personal or rustic touch to the interiors.
Best of all, these tea towels won’t break the bank, as they’re very affordably priced at only £2.99 each. Why not have both?
You can find the tea towels, plus a range of other lovely handmade products, at Nordic Touch.
For more details about Elin’s home products and Scandinavian inspirations, check out the Nordic Touch blog.
Write lists in style
If you’re a fan of the shabby chic interior design look, then here’s a useful decorative chalkboard with an antique white finish that would look right at home.
The chalkboard could be hung in the kitchen and used for jotting down your shopping list or notes for the family, or you could use it in the hall to record essential reminders, or even in a study.
The chalkboard measures 38cm by 60cm and has a distressed white finish. It costs £19.95 from Fields of Blue.
