New Bathroom

I know most blog posts will be sparkly and festive at the moment, mine is simply sparkling. It is the reveal of my shiny new bathroom. We have lived here for 2 years before being able to get the bathroom completely re done. It was previously done very cheaply, featuring plastic panels instead of wall tiles and cheap lino tiles that curled at the edges, not to mention the DIY jobs on the sealant, that turned a nice shade of black. It was what it was and we lived with it and saved and planned. So this day has been pretty exciting for our family.

Here are a few shots of how it looked before.

Here are the exciting after shots:

We found a fantastic carpenter to do all the work. The bathroom was gutted and we soon discovered plasterboard missing and no more nails used on a few tiles above the sink. I was expecting a lot worse to be revealed if I'm honest.

Our bathroom is small and we are a family of 4 so I had to cram in what I could. I wanted a freestanding bath with no blocked off areas to create a look of space. I chose these tiles from Topps Tiles for the floor and I'm so happy with how they look. We also decided to go a dark grey on the walls to contrast against all the white. I don't think small spaces should be afraid to use some colour. The window is now uncovered and I added window film which I blogged about here.

Of course as a family we need a lot of storage so the sink unit was a must, it hides so much!

The wall behind the toilet needs a print up, I can't decide what. Any ideas? I would love to hear what you think?

Love Lemon x

Thank you to Simon Warrington for your amazing work and impeccable attention to detail.

Summer Memories

The sun keeps on shining here in Suffolk so I feel like the summer isn't quite over but we are all back to school, nursery and work now. This summer has been one of my favourites so far. We have had so much sunshine. We went to our first festival as a family to Latitude and it was amazing, one of the best weekends that we all enjoyed. Live music, great food, friends, sunshine and camping. We also hired a beach hut and spent lots of time at the beach, eating our lunch and dinner down there. We visited the Isle of Wight for a long weekend with friends and it was such a good trip to a very beautiful island. Somewhere I have always wanted to visit. We saw family and friends and generally had a fantastic 6 weeks.

Of course I took lots of snaps on my phone and on our camera and shared lots of memories on my Instagram account. Here are a few of the best bits:

Our first family festival outing

The Family Campsite

My lovely friend Nicole married Gary, such a beautiful day!

The pink lady uni girls back together for the final wedding

Beautiful Isle of Wight - The Needles

We happen to be around for the Garlic Festival!

Bonusprint got in touch with me with some great tips for getting the most out of your phone snaps so you can be proud to print. I must admit and I am not the best at getting things printed but I think its a real shame. As a Christmas present a few years ago my husband made a book of photos from our first family holiday to France. I loved having it all there to look at. I would love to create one for summer or even just for Latitude as our first family festival.

Tips include things like not using a flash so it doesn't make your photo too bright and avoiding using a zoom when you can crop a photo later. For lots more useful tips to get the best quality shots click here. There is also a 30% off code to get you started.

I was given a gift voucher by Bonusprint to print a photo of my own. I wanted to create something a bit different and special for my bedroom. I chose a photograph I took one gorgeous evening of my local beach. I chose to print on wood, I really wasn't sure how this might look but I felt it was worth trying something new to review. I was so impressed when it arrived. It's my photo and it looks like a piece of art! The quality of the printing is superb and the wood really adds something special and works great with the beach photo. 

My bedroom is currently getting a refresh so this was the perfect addition, I will post soon once it is complete.

Love Lemon x

Thanks to Bonusprint for my gift voucher, please note all thoughts are my own.

Plywood Party

I would like to take a minute and a blog post to express some appreciation for Plywood! Yep you heard me right. Ever since I saw this material feature on an episode of "The House that 100k Built' which was a great series by the way, I have been researching homes that are using plywood in a variety of ways. I like the way it looks and its cheap! It's made from layers of wood sliced into sheets and compressed together. It is incredibly strong but perhaps a Marmite love or hate situation. Exposed edges mean you can see the layers of wood. I personally think this adds a lot of character but some may feel this looks less solid and cheap in comparison to solid wood.

The use of Plywood is not something new, it was used most famously in the 1950's to make the Eames Lounge chair and ottoman which today is iconic with modern style design.

I have been looking at some modern homes and how they have used Plywood.

 From Made Architects 

 Marieke's Modern Industrial Home on Homes to Love

 Dwell

I discovered Unto This Last who started in 2001 with their open workshop in Brick Lane. A place to make and sell. Using birch plywood to make beautiful furniture of simple, elegant design. 

Carpenter Tom Lindfield has been using Plywood to make bespoke units. He uses birch plywood for its swirling grain pattern and suggests picking out your own sheets so you can choose the patterns you like as every sheet is different. I have been following his work on Instagram, and loving how versatile this material appears to be.
Heres is some of Tom's fantastic work, for more information you can email Tom on tom.lindfieldcarpentry@gmail.com who is based in the Cambridge area.

Please share below any plywood projects, I would love to take a look.

Love Lemon x

Outdoor Shower

I know what you're thinking; why in this country would you need an outdoor shower? However we live by the beach and have surprisingly good weather at times and I have a vision of having a big house near the beach. For now I will make do with my slightly smaller version a bike ride away from the beach but I always imagined an outdoor shower and lots of outdoor storage for beach 'stuff' which seems to be growing the older my boys get.

So it may just be a pipe dream for now (see what I did there) but I would love to have a shower to come home to, a place we can all wash our sandy toes and maybe my house wouldn't be so full of sand?!

I like the look of very rustic, simple showers and being outside there are so many mixed materials and plants you can use.

Here are some of my favourites:

Leva & Bo

The MacMillans' Home for Apartment Therapy

Christina Cleveland for Camille Styles

Jane Cowlick

Vacation Homes of Key West

I really want to build one now!

Love Lemon x

Navy and Copper

Just a quick post to show some love for this colour combination of navy and copper. I just think it works so well. Many high street stores feature copper accessories so it feels like a very accessible look at the moment. Check out a few examples I found below:

From John Lewis 

This amazing bed is navy velvet and copper lights by @sevenwillowdesigns

The bathroom cabinet below is by Superfront based in Stockholm, Superfront help give your Ikea pieces a bespoke look. Its all about the accessories to add that something extra to your furniture.

These copper side tables work perfectly next to the navy velvet chair and are available from The French Bedroom Company

This copper clock is available from Rockett St George 

On the high street there is a lot of affordable copper to add to your home. This copper flex set is from Cox and Cox.

This striking pendent is from Dunelm

I really like this simple copper framed mirror from Maisons Du Monde 

Lots of love for the copper but teamed with a dark navy is just seems to add such a feeling of luxury and richness.

Love Lemon x