My thrifty 50s kitchen renovation: What’s next on the to-do list…

August 20, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

To be honest with you, the kitchen was one of the most disgusting rooms in our fixer-upper home. So it was kind-of the room we tackled first. It got a coat of fresh white paint (to cover up the oil-and-nicotine stained walls eww) on the day we got the keys. We’ve since painted the existing cabinets. which has freshened up the units. But there’s still plenty more to do…

How to use mid-century Remploy furniture in a modern interior

May 7, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

If you want to get a mid-century feel in your home but don’t want to compromise on the flexibility that contemporary design provides, choosing vintage furniture made by Remploy could be the answer…

My thrifty 50s kitchen renovation: DIY Retro artwork (using tea towels)

April 1, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

This week’s DIY project is a little different to my usual kitchen renovation posts; I’m turning some printed tea towels into framed art work for my kitchen alcove. Here’s how I did it, step-by-step…

My Thrifty 50s Kitchen Renovation: The coolest lighting ever!

February 23, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

There have been some big changes in my kitchen this week and it’s made a huge difference to the feel of the room. Yes, I’ve installed some new lighting and I honestly think they are the coolest mid-century style lights you’ll ever find…

My Thrifty 50s Kitchen Renovation: A low-cost worktop & upcycled cupboards

February 7, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Here’s how I refreshed my kitchen with just a few tins of spray paint and a sparkling new worktop…

An update on my Kitchen makeover

January 16, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’m about to start work on my DIY kitchen makeover. I say ‘makeover’ rather than ‘fitting’ because we’re keeping the kitchen units in place and are planning to give the whole room a facelift with a new worktop, some window treatments and a lot of paint. I shared the ‘before’ photos on the blog in […]

New year, new kitchen – my plans for a thrifty renovation

December 12, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

Oooh it’s the 12th December already! Who else thinks that December is the fastest month of the year? Blink and you miss it. I’ve barely got any decorations up yet! That said, I’m already planning ahead to my new year, and that’s because I’m super-excited about my kitchen renovation. So today, I’m sharing my plans […]

DIY furniture makeover: How to give vintage kitchen chairs a new lease of life

November 20, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Since moving into my home and starting to renovate room-by-room, I’ve realise just how expensive furniture can be. I’ve been especially surprised by the cost of chairs and have therefore only had an ancient folding chair (that was my desk chair as a teen) to sit on at my kitchen table since we moved. I […]

My home office makeover – getting inspiration from STUDIO

May 17, 2017.Reading time 8 minutes.

I’ve got two copies of the newly released book STUDIO by Sally Coulthard to be won – read on to enter the giveaway!When I first viewed my house, I was specifically on the look-out for an office space to call my own. In previous homes I’d had a desk in the corner of the living […]

Bedroom progress – a retro-style bed & snuggly new duvet

April 18, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

Today I wanted to update you on our bedroom decorating project and share a quick review of my new duvet. You may remember that I’ve been waiting for my bed to be delivered and it has finally arrived! I spent the weekend with a screwdriver in my hand, assembling my new bed. What do you […]

Where to find bedding in mid-century colours

March 9, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Hurrah! We finally have some new bedding for our new bedroom. After weeks spent stripping off wallpaper, days painting layers and layers of while emulsion to cover up bright peach walls, and even more hours spent laying beautiful laminate flooring, I think it was about time that we got a little reward for all our hard […]

Minimalist mid-century modern window dressing

March 6, 2017.Reading time 8 minutes.

There’s a lovely big window in our living room. It lets in so much natural daylight and offers a lovely view over the garden. In fact, it’s pretty-much the only feature of the room at the moment, so I want to make the most of it. I wanted to give it a sleek, contemporary window-dressing but […]

The 12th Night & a 1967 Sprite caravan decorated for Christmas

January 4, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

Ahh it’s nearly time to take down those festive decorations and get your home back to ‘normal’ – whatever that is! Apparently decorations should be taken down by the “12th night”, although there seems to be some confusion over when that is – it’s either the 5th or the 6th January. Either way, the time for sparkly decorations is up […]

Guest post: 50s Summer Party Dresses

August 25, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

Does a stack of wedding and party invites leave you with a ‘what to wear’ headache this summer? Why not look to the era of gin cocktails and elegant summer soirees for your party vibe this year? The 50’s is providing us with some serious party wear inspiration right now and what’s more there is […]

Picquot Ware – Instructions & guarantee information

April 7, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

A while ago I shared a blog post about Picquot Ware. In my original post I discussed the ‘lucky find’ my husband and I had when we bought some pieces of Picquot Ware at a carboot sale last summer. I also shared some progress on polishing up the pots and how I planned to keep […]

My favourite reads + ‘Swing Dance’ book review

November 3, 2015.Reading time 8 minutes.

November is here and you know what that means. Not only is the countryside is looking particularly glorious with golden leaves and harvest fruits on the trees, but it also means that Christmas is on its way! Which you can probably guess from my festive blog posts last month is something I’m already particularly excited about. […]

How to create iconic 1950s hairstyles

August 21, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Marilyn Monroe – they all epitomised an era of elegance and glamour. Their looks remain timeless and, therefore, it’s no surprise that their influence on style still lives on today. Celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera all embrace the hairstyles of the […]

1950s Picquot Ware & my tips for polishing metal

June 25, 2015.Reading time 10 minutes.

I thought that today’s blog post was just going to be about polishing up silverware and that I would be able to share a straightforward set of tips on how to bring your old teapot back to life. However, while I was polishing my pots, I turned them over and found a name stamped into […]

Create a glamorous party look with silk rollers

November 23, 2014.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’m sure you’ve heard me say it many times before but I love the glamour of the 40s and 50s and even though my wardrobe of vintage dresses and cute swing dancing shoes is gradually growing, the one thing that I’ve not yet been able to achieve is the hair styles from this era. I’ve […]

Googie style & my new dress

September 20, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

Have you every found yourself drawn to a piece of furniture, a homeware accessory or an item of clothing but you have no idea why? Even though it might be the tackiest, most brash, weirdest thing you’ve ever seen, you can’t take your eyes off it and actually kinda want it? I’ve always taken an […]

My day out at the Vintage Festival & D-Day Celebration

June 15, 2014.Reading time 3 minutes.

Last weekend I had one of the best days out ever: I visited the Mid-Suffolk Vintage Festival on Sunday so I thought I’d share my photos of the event this Sunday. Hubby, mum and I headed to the Mid-Suffolk Showground unsure of what we’d find at this brand new event and was pleasantly surprised. It […]

Interior Design Inspirations for a Retro Home: Lighting

December 3, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

Now that I am at the stage of adding the finishing touches to my retro living room, my attention has turned to lighting and I wanted to get a couple of lamps and shades that would compliment the 50s and 60s style that I’ve used throughout the room so far. I’ve been keeping an eye […]

My retro-inspired living room – Lego accessories

September 29, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

As you probably know by now, I am slowly but surely funking up my living room to create a kitsch 50s/60s/70s look and, as Lego was invented in 1958 and was the must-have toy of the time, I’ve looked into getting some bright & plastic-y Lego accessories. This Lego-brick CD player was a gift for […]

My retro-inspired living room – an old armchair rescued!

September 14, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

I am pleased to say that I’ve got another freebie for my retro living room design project – an armchair that was on its way from a vintage furniture shop to the dump. It didn’t exactly look like this when my hubby brought it home to me; it had a cream damask patterned cover over it which […]

A gorgeous piece of artwork for my retro living room – by artist Mable Tan

August 10, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

I saw this funky retro-inspired photograph when I was recently browsing on artist Mable Tan’s website Happee Monkee and instantly knew it would be perfect for my 50s, 60s & 70s interior design project (here’s my mood board). You may remember that I shared an interview with Mable Tan on my blog recently and this is the piece of […]

A new table for my retro living room – and it was free!

August 4, 2012.Reading time 3 minutes.

As you probably already know about me, I’m quite thrifty and I like to get a bargain but this one takes the biscuit – I got this lovely retro table completely free! I was pretty lucky with this one, as it was sat outside a house nearby (I was just walking past back from the […]