A week in Devon

I

Brixham, Devon

Last month my husband and I spent a week in Devon. We both love the coast and often go to Cornwall but we thought it would be nice to see somewhere else for a change. We found a lovely cottage near the harbour in Brixham that also welcomed dogs. That is something very important for us when we book a holiday as we could not leave our dog behind. He loves the beaches too much!

On the Ferry

We were very lucky with the weather, apart from the odd rain shower. We took the ferry across to Torquay and had a stroll around the marina. Our dog was allowed on the ferry too. He was ever so good.














We drove to a little village called Cockington and my, how pretty it was! Such a typical English countryside village. We enjoyed a Devonshire cream tea in the cafe garden. I bought a horse shoe from a gift shop for the garden gate.

Cockington Village

We had a  lovely week away and enjoyed ourselves very much. We created some happy memories. My husband also surprised me with a night away at Jamaica Inn, just off the A30 in Cornwall! He thought, seeing as we were so close to the Cornwall border, he would treat us to a night's stay. You can read all about it in my next post!

Pressing Flowers

When I was a little girl I used to spend hours picking baskets of flowers from the hedgerows during walks in the countryside. I also loved to walk around the garden collecting as many different types of flowers that I could find. Afterwards I would press them between pages of a heavy book or in a flower press. 

Most often these flowers lay forgotten about until one day I would come across them. I would then make cards and pictures for family. 

As I got older, my love for flowers only grew. I love having a garden and house full of flowers. 

I was delighted to discover a pretty wooden flower press from Laura Ashley and promptly ordered myself one. I could not wait for it to arrive! 

It did arrive quickly, so I chose some little flowers to press. You place them between pieces of blotting paper and cardboard and leave the flowers in the press for about a week. Larger flowers will take longer. 

I have a few ideas about what I would like to make with my pressed flowers. I've seen such pretty arrangements that have made a lovely framed picture. 

Bathroom Makeover

I knew the bathroom needed working on as soon as I saw the avacado suite! It wasn't just about the colour either, the bath was in poor condition and was very deep and narrow. The pink and white patterned tiles were not to my taste and the room felt cold, dark and small. Unfortunately I do not have any before pictures of the bathroom!

We had several quotes to fit a new bathroom suite but all designers insisted it was not possible for us to tile the walls ourselves. Apparently it needed doing as soon as the old suite was taken out. We wanted to keep costs down so in the end bought a white suite from the DIY store and found a local plummer to fit it for us. 

It took 2 days in total and then we could get working on tiling. I say we but I mean my husband!

The work begins! I chose big cream tiles to make the room brighter

 I chose big cream tiles for the bathroom so the room would look nice and bright.

Keeping the décor natural meant that I could have a variety of colourful accsesories and change them as often as I wished. I have several sets of bath mats, towels and flannels. At the moment mauve is my favourite as it's soft and gentle looking and very Spring like.  

 

I picked some Cows Parsley but it did not last long in the bathroom. It looked really pretty though!

I think my husband did a fantastic job of the tiles, considering he had never done anything like this before.

The little jug is from B&Q! At only £4 I think it was a bargain.

The bathroom feels really nice now and it is so nice to unwind in the bath after a long busy day with a few candles lit.

Garden Days

I love this time of the year when the garden springs to life after a long winter. The nights are getting lighter, it's warm enough to enjoy drinks outside on the patio and the doors can be left wide open!

Feels lovely to be outside again!

As you know from my previous post, I did not have much of a garden last year so it was lovely to see buds appearing on the trees and new shoots growing on shrubs.

I could not wait to get started sowing seeds in the greenhouse.  I would like more colour in the flower beds so I decided to grow a variety of flowers as well as salad and vegetables.

Isn't is lovely to see the greenhouse being used again after the winter?

This year, I treated myself to a potting bench! I have wanted one for a while now and thought it would be ever so useful. I was right! It has handy hooks on one side, which is perfect for keeping my gardening tools organised. No more excuses for loosing my dibber and plant labels!

My potting bench. My lovely friend Rachael from Sew, Ray, Me sent me these little seed packets that she made. How cute are they?!

I found the little cream watering can in a local antique shop a few years ago. Its perfect for giving seeds a drop of water when they have just been planted. The flower pot, seed tin, paper pot maker and fork were from Sainsurys. I just love the garden accessories they have on sale at the moment, 

I've been busy planting up some pots for the patio too. My husband and I both enjoy relaxing with a drink on the patio in the warmer evenings in front of the log burner. 

I would love to hear about what you are growing in the garden this year. Isn't it exciting when seedlings begin to germinate?! Hopefully we shall have some nice warm weather to help everything grow. 

Home Inspirations from Homelife Direct

I love browsing magazines and websites for home inspiration, I can and do spend hours looking at gorgeous pieces of furniture and accessories. In the past I have made many mistakes and purchased various bits and pieces because they were cheap or something that would make do until I found something I really wanted.

Since we moved to Meadow View, I have given a lot of consideration on how I would like my home styled. I am a home bird and love spending time in my home, whether it is baking fresh bread in the kitchen or relaxing on the sofa in the living room with the soft glow of candles flickering away. Moving to a place that needed renovating has meant that we could create a lovely home that is to our taste.

Homelife Direct is a fantastic website, a great source of inspiration and sell lovely quality pieces of furniture and accessories for the home and garden. My wish list is quite extensive!

As I like my home to reflect on the countryside that I am surrounded by, I like the modern country look. I like to keep clutter to a minimum and have a few nice pieces scattered about the home. I also like the change my accessories with the seasons. My newly decorated lounge has been kept simple with white walls to create a bright fresh look.

I love these tub chairs from Homelife Direct. How perfect would these chairs be to relax in during the evenings? I can just picture one in my living room, drawn up near the fire in the colder months. I think these tub chairs would be perfect for the summer house too. I can just imagine sitting in one, with the double doors wide open, reading magazines and sipping home made lemonade. These chairs come in a wide range of colours and patterns too.

Pictures taken from www.homelifedirect.co.uk

Homelife Direct also sell these beautiful cushions and at a fantastic price too. I love hessian as I think it really goes well with the county look Im trying to achieve. The only problem is, how to decided which ones to buy! I have several different ones on my wish list. I do like to change my cushions with the seasons. I like soft pastel shades for Spring and Summer and earthy tones for the Autumn/Winter.

Pictures taken from www.homelifedirect.co.uk

I think every home should have a sideboard to display pretty decor. I have two in my home. One in the hallway and another in the living room. Would it be greedy of me if I had another one in the summerhouse?

Picture taken from www.homelifedirect.co.uk

The Padstow Off White Large Oak Sideboard would be perfect for any home as if offers lots of storage space. A pretty lamp, photo frames and a vase of flowers would look perfect on it.

I didn't have a garden when we moved into the place and I have worked hard to create one from scratch. Much to my delight Homelife Direct sell garden furniture too! I simply adore the Windsor Garden Swing Seat. I would love this in my garden so I could spend the summer sitting in the garden overlooking the meadows.

Picture from www.homelifedirect.co.uk

Homelife Direct is a website well worth visiting. They offer free delivery too!

The Summerhouse

I am not actually sure what to call this little room that joins onto our home. It was built with the property in the 1960's and I guess you could say it was an early type of conservatory made from wood. It reminds me of the summer houses you can get for the garden so that's what I'm calling it!

Words can not describe it!!

Basically it has 3 sides and a roof and was built over the kitchen window and back door. When we first moved in, the walls were damp, roof leaking and the carpet was filthy, thread bare and musty. 

Whilst my husband carried out other jobs, this room became my project and I decided to paint the walls white to make it lighter. I spent ages painting it, ripped up the carpet and put a tile effect floor down. The finished result? Hmmm. It looked nice for about a day! The damp was causing mould to grow. I was horrified. The glass windows were soaking wet every day. I was using my karcher window vac every half an hour! 

The damp was horrifying!

So, I spent many hours on the internet trying to find a solution. I read that vents could be installed to help with condensation and that the walls could be insulated and then covered with plaster board. 

So after much research, my husband re felted the roof and I sprayed dettol onto the wooden walls. Once it had dried out and the mould had disappeared before my eyes I began to paint it cream. I used Cuprinol garden shades in Country Cream. I used this paint on the wooden garden benches last year in the shade Willow and it's fantastic. Lovely to paint with and looks like it was painted yesterday. It's weatherproof for 4 years. I painted the outside of the building in Willow.

Already starting to look much better!

Once the walls were painted cream, I bought voiles in Ivory for the windows and made a window seat using two wooden blanket boxes. I thought that they would be useful for storing wellies in. I added seat pads and cushions to complete the look.

The voiles help to create a softened look and the wooden boxes that make the window seat are useful for storage

Finally, I found an off cut of a wooden effect floor which has finished it off lovely. I solved the wet window problem by using a dehumidifier! It's amazing how much water it collects over night. I love this little room now. It's so bright and clean and such a transformation!

Cushions, baskets and vases help to create a country feel

New wooden effect floor to complete the look

 
 Storage boxes make an ideal window seat 

I really can not get over the transformation! I love sitting on the window seat with a cup of tea looking out into the garden. When the weather is nice and warm I can have the doors wide open but it is also lovely to hear the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. Especially now as since the roof has been refelted it is actually waterproof! 

A Morning in the Kitchen

I do love cooking and baking in my little kitchen! I have an allergy to dairy products so I like to plan my meals in advance and cook in batches so I have some left over for the freezer.

I love this cute egg house my sister gave me. I do think plug sockets are ugly!

There are so many options these days for dairy free products and Pinterest has been a great source for information and inspiration. I do love cheese and always on the look out for dairy free alternatives. Please let me know if you can recommend any!

Here are a few pictures of meals and snacks I've made from the book Deliciously Ella.

Thinking ahead. Meal and snack planning in advance

I love having my equipment close to hand so I keep my food processor, juicer, blender and slow cooker on the kitchen work tops. My food processor is the Magimix mini plus and has been worth every penny. I use it nearly every day and it's fantastic for chopping veg and salad.

Preparing my morning smoothie

My blender was from Next and I make delicious smoothies and soups. I love the range of homeware in Next.

 My slow cooker was Next too and is perfect for meals for 1-2 people. If I'm batch cooking I use my large slow cooker. Ideal for filling the freezer!