So first of all, I must apologise for the radio silence around here for the last week. I was hit by a nasty bug that pretty much just wiped me out for the best part of a week. I’m still not well, mind you, but at least I am out of bed and mostly functioning like a human being again. I will say, however, I’m super behind on pretty much everything so apologies if you’ve emailed or sent me a message on social media lately and I haven’t responded. I’m still working through my emails but on social, I tried to get through as many as I could but there were literally hundreds and hundreds of notifications and I simply couldn’t get through them all. If I’ve missed something important, please just use my contact form above and I’ll try to get back to you! An unplanned week off has just thrown my whole schedule out of wack so apologies for that. 

Speaking of out of wack schedules, I realise early February is probably far too late to do a little roundup for 2017. But nonetheless, I was hoping you’d allow me to do a little look back anyway. I’ve been quite focussed on what I have in my home lately. This is clearly due to the fact that at some point soon, we’ll be packing it all up and moving it to a new location. For those wondering, nope, we haven’t moved yet. I will address this in a future post (I have a feeling a lot of my readers abroad are totally confused by why it’s all taking so long while many of my UK readers will be more familiar with the process) but for now, let’s just say we are playing the waiting game. Lots and lots of waiting. Hopefully soon though.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand – I was thinking of all the things I ended up getting rid of both when we decluttered the house and also when we did a huge clearout of our loft space. I had so many items that I no longer loved, that just didn’t suit my style at all anymore or that simply no longer spoke to me. Many of the items I ended up giving away (in fact, I have another pile in my office that needs to be dropped off for charity) but there have been plenty of items that I continue to love hard.

Vintage chest of drawers? Coming with us.

When I announced we were moving, I had quite a lot of messages saying to me, ‘Oh it’s a shame you’ll have to leave all your lighting behind when you move!’ or ‘The people who buy your home are going to love [insert name of major piece of furniture here] when you move!’ and all I can think is, ‘Girl, that stuff is coming with me! There’s no way I’d leave that!’ After all, the house is being sold – not all the furniture within it. I’ve also had people ask if we were just going to sell everything inside the house and start from scratch. While this sounds like a rather lovely idea, erm… dudes. I’m not rich here. As nice as that idea sounds, I can’t afford to take a hit like that just letting everything in my house go and having to buy everything all over again straight away. Do you have any idea how expensive Stamp Duty is?! So, yeah, sorry. That’s not happening!

Kitchen fixtures and fittings like the gold sink and tap? Yes, that’s all staying.

We will indeed be taking almost everything with us when we go. I mean, we’re not ripping out the kitchen or anything but lighting, furniture, accessories – I’m absolutely going to re-use these things in the new home if I can. I’ve been spending quite a lot of time looking at measurements and trying to decide which furniture will work best in which room. The nice thing is, a lot of my stuff flows together fairly well so mixing and matching will definitely happen. I don’t intend to just plonk up a room in its entirety and place it in the next house as is so hopefully, with a change in context, items will feel and look a little different. At least that’s the plan!

So I wanted to talk about some of the purchases or gifts I received over the last year for my home that I absolutely love. The items that I can’t wait to move into the next house and continue to enjoy. It was hard to put this list together because I get a lot of items for my home over the course of the year but these are my top 5.

The Vintage 70s Glass & Brass Shelving Unit

Oh, how I love this piece. It was a gift from the lovely Nadia of Preciously Me after I’d been looking for one like this for years. Yes, years. That’s how hard they are to come by (well, at least if you don’t want to spend £5k on one) and so I could hardly believe my luck when Nadia said she didn’t really need it anymore in her own home and asked if I’d like it for my own.

For now, it lives in my office, however, when we move, I’d love to see it in a room where it gets a bit more of a starring role. I’m thinking perhaps the future living room may be a more appropriate spot for it.

The Ziggy Sideboard from Swoon Editions

I hesitated to order this one for the Glam Cave. Not only was it pretty pricey, the waiting time for it was months (I think I placed my order in April and it finally arrived the tail end of August) but my goodness, was the wait worthwhile. It really added such a touch of glamour to this space and the glow that those beautiful gold doors give takes this whole space to the next level.

As we won’t have a snug when we first move in (we will have an unfinished cellar but that will be a project that’s probably at least a few years’ away), then I think it’ll probably be best placed once again in the living room. I’d love to see it really shine in one of the main rooms in our home.

The Domino Mirror Tray by Sweet Pea & Willow

This was sent as a PR gift from Sweetpea & Willow and honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful tray in all of my life. I was utterly gobsmacked when I unwrapped this one because I don’t know if a brand has ever got my style quite so bang on as they did when I was sent this beauty. It’s been used in both the dining room as well as the living room – currently, it’s right at home on my coffee table – and while I don’t know exactly where it’ll end up when we move, it’s one that will likely be the first of the accessories to be unpacked.

It’s such a versatile piece and while it’s not exactly cheap and cheerful, a piece like this is absolutely guaranteed to be a talking point in any room. It’s incredibly heavy and beautifully designed and in my eyes, the kind of investment piece you’ll love for years to come.

The Portside Outdoor Sofa from West Elm

This was part of a collaboration I did with West Elm on our back garden makeover but we got so much enjoyable use out of this over the warmer months. It didn’t really matter whether the sun was in or out – if it was dry and the temperatures were moderately warm, this outdoor sofa became our chosen spot to hang out after the working day with a cold beer. It is so incredibly comfortable and totally changed the way (and amount) we used our outdoor space. Sadly, it’s not currently in stock but keep an eye out in the next few months as they add back their Garden Furniture.

I would not have considered previously investing in good quality outdoor furniture in the past, simply because I thought it wouldn’t get enough use with our rainy climate, but we really did get so much enjoyment out of having this. Of course, it’s coming with us and I can’t wait to set it up in a sunny spot in our new back garden.

My Bespoke Marble and Brass Dining Room Table

And finally, after endless searching, I decided I simply couldn’t find what I wanted in terms of a dining room table. And so – not for the first time – I decided to go bespoke. The table base was commissioned from Refunk’d and the marble top was provided by Andy Thornton. I couldn’t be happier with the finished result. It really is my dream table. The chairs, on the other hand, I’ve now had for many years so perhaps it’s time for a change there? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see!

It’s funny that nearly all the items I chose are from my three always-used and always-loved neutrals: black, white and gold. There’s definitely a reoccurring theme here. With a new house to look forward to and rooms to fill, I imagine there will be a few more purchases when we finally get in there.

In the meantime, are there any favourites from what I chose today? And I’d love to know – what were your top purchases or gift for your home last year?