Redecorating on a budget

When we moved into our first flat way back in 2009, I wanted a sleek, red-white-black themed living room that would appeal to both Rich and I. However, as time went on, I was less and less pleased with the look of our living room. By the time we moved into our house 3 years ago, I didn't feel entirely comfortable with our room theme. It felt like a rental. That might be because it is a rental, but it didn't feel like a home. I didn't have that cosy, warming feeling when I was relaxing on the sofa.

Eventually, this year, we decided to go for it and finally create the room of our dreams. Well, my dreams. Rich is very much of the "If you're happy, I'm happy" train of thought and I've given him full reign of his computer room so we agreed the living room would be under my creative direction. Since we rent, we were unable to paint or wallpaper the walls so, instead, we got creative with our furniture.

Of course, we're hardly millionaires, so we had a strict budget for renovating our room. When setting a budget, it's important not to go beyond your means. If you decide to borrow money, especially when it comes to expensive items like sofas and chairs, a tool like the TSB Loan Calculator can help you work out just how much you can afford. Then, with some clever, careful planning, you can stretch your money even further than you'd expect.

Our pink sofa and heart-shaped footstool (Eee! Dreams do come true!) are from DFS. We first saw them in September but, by the time we were able to buy them, they were out of stock. However, we discovered something even better! DFS has an eBay outlet store that sells ex-display models at a discount rate. We ended up getting both items much cheaper than we'd anticipated and they were available immediately!
I love how the pale pink of the upholstery sits against the duck egg rug which originally belonged to my grandparents. If you know anybody who is moving or having a clear out, it's worth asking them if there's anything they might be able to donate to you.

To add more interest to plain walls, cheap shelves (these were £5 from Ikea) decorated with knick-knacks and photos can make a real difference. I also like to frame posters in simple clip frames to make them look more special and use greetings cards or postcards to decorate my office area for just a pound or two. Charity shops are also a fantastic place to pick up interesting accents without spending too much. These vintage hardbacks and the crochet rug on the arm of the sofa were both from charity shops for just 50p each. I've further decorated the sofa with novelty cushions such as this adorable deer one from Flamino Gifts*

Finally, the cheapest, most effective way to complete change the look and mood of your room is extremely simple: Rearrange the furniture. Since moving our sofa around, the room feels larger but also more enclosed and comforting. We have a defined office area in the corner (I bought the desk cheaply from a vintage site a few years ago) and a much happier room. 

If you have any other ways to redecorate and renovate on a budget, I'd love to hear them!

This post was written in collaboration with TSB

My Festive Bedroom

I've already made clear that I love to decorate my home for Christmas. My festive spirit is not limited to the living room though- I also go all out when it comes to my bedroom. Since that's the first room I'll see on Christmas Day, and the location of stocking emptying, it's important to me that it is as festive as possible!

This year, we treated ourselves to an early Christmas present and invested in a feather duvet which is the greatest thing I have ever bought! It's so thick and fluffy, it rustles when you move it and it even smells amazing with a real homely aroma. Since snuggling under the feathers, we haven't had to put the heating on in our bedroom so it's also helping us save money and energy. Perfect!
This year, Christmas bedding seems to be everywhere and I was over the moon to find this incredible red and white set. As you may know, I'm a Christmas purist and all my decorations need to follow a red and gold theme, so this fits perfectly. The repeated motifs of holly and robins have a Dickensian quality which just adds to the traditional feel. I even managed to find an adorable reindeer cushion to perch on top.

All year round, I have fairy lights strung around my headboard but, for Christmas, they are joined by this garland which has additional lights woven within it. I love how well it reflects the frosted wreath above which I purchased at a Christmas market a couple of years ago. Traditional Christmas markets are a wonderful place to find unique homeware for the festive season.

What would Christmas be without some festive candles filling the room with spiced scents? My bedroom cabinet is filled with candles so I can just pull one out and light it while reading in that snuggly, feathery bed. 

As you've probably worked out by now, it's important that every element of my room feels festive. We have a skylight covered with a grey VELUX blind which is fantastic for blocking out light but doesn't quite fit the yuletime theme. I fixed this by covering it in a little red fabric and adding white ribbon with pom pom trimming. I'm like Kirsty Allsop, just without the cameras. And Phil.

With that, my festive bedroom is complete! What do you think? 

5 tips for decorating a Christmas tree

Christmas tree decorating is my thing. I'm a fairly creative person anyway but, for some reason, adorning festive trees seems to be my calling. You know that episode of Friends where everyone decorates the tree really badly, then Monica turns it around and it's perfect? My tree is like that, only I won't let anybody else touch it. For the boring stuff (assembling our artificial tree andh putting the lights on), I "let" Rich do it and shout at him from the sofa when he does it wrong. The actual decorating, however, is my territory. I put my Christmas playlist on, light my Christmas candle and dance away while hanging up my baubles. Perfect!
While decorating this year, I had the idea to create a little post on tips for decorating a tree. Of course, everybody has different visions for their tree, but hopefully these are generic enough to apply to anyone. 

In my case, it's all about being as traditional as possible with red, gold and glitter in abundance. I also adopt a more-is-more policy when it comes to baubles and lights. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be happier with the meagre (to me) amount I have. We also have an artificial tree as I like the look of a massive, full tree that would be far too expensive to go out and buy each year. 

I should also warn you now that I take my decorating very, very seriously. No doubt some of you will read this and think my approach takes the fun out of it but this is just the way I like to create my tree! 

Theme

This might be obvious, but decide on a theme and stick to it. As I mentioned above, mine is traditional red and gold. It's very rare that I stray from these colours, although I do have the odd decoration that doesn't quite fit. In this case, I keep within the general traditional theme since they're all green, or red and white. This keeps my tree looking cohesive and purposeful. I've seen some adorable retro pastel decorations this year, but they'd look ridiculous on my tree. Too many ideas or colours going on and you'll end up with a mess. 

Positioning

The one thing that will really make or break your tree is going to be the positioning of your decorations. They need to be evenly spaced and well-balanced in terms of size, colour and style. As with most things, getting the foundations strong will make it easier as you go along. 

With our artificial tree, we put the lights on before fluffing the branches. This makes the process of stringing lights up so much easier as we don't have to fight with branches hell-bent on poking us. With the lights on, you can clearly see where you've already placed them and avoid getting clumps or sparse patches. As the back of our tree is pressed in the corner, there is no point wrapping lights all the way around so we string them from top down in a zig-zag pattern.

After the branches have been fluffed (in all directions, not just to the side), we start draping the beads (no tinsel in this house!), again from top down in a zig-zag formation, one colour first, all the way from tip to foot of the branches and then repeat the process with the second colour. 

Before getting out the baubles, we put the star on top of the tree (although I don't actually like the star, so I'm hoping we can buy something different this year). I know this goes against everything you've ever known in terms of Christmas tree decorating but trust me. You know how you put the tree topper on and then all the baubles fall off when you knock them? Have you ever knocked the whole tree over when putting the topper on? (I haven't but it does happen!). Better to knock it over before you've spent hours carefully hanging up decorations. 

Ok, so now you have your tree lit up, fluffed up, beaded/tinselled up and toppered up. Now's the fun part: The actual decorating! While I'm beading up the tree, Rich tends to sort the baubles into both colour and size order (Remember, nobody else is allowed to touch it!). I always start with the biggest decoration and put it roughly in the centre front of my tree. Then I work down from the largest to the smallest, putting up one style at a time. So, for example, I have 10 icicle baubles- 5 gold and 5 red. I'll put all the icicles up, one colour at a time, before moving on to the bell baubles.

As I hang them up, I'm very careful to place them in a vaguely symmetrical pattern to avoid ending up with clumps of the same style and colour together. I want to balance my reds and golds carefully, so I try not to have two reds next to each other. The same goes for the style of bauble- I don't want two snowflakes next to each other, even if they're different colours. To avoid this, I'll put a red snowflake top left and then a second red snowflake roughly bottom right. I try not to do this with too much accuracy as I don't want my tree to end up looking too symmetrical. That would just be weird.

Once I've put the big, cumbersome decorations up, I can fill in the gaps with the smaller baubles, still ensuring I balance them out colourwise. 

Critical eye

After every single decoration is hung up, I take a step back and give my tree a look over. If the decoration I've just placed on the tree doesn't look right, I move it and step back again. Sometimes I do end up moving the decoration four or five times but, for me, it's worth it. Don't be afraid to move decorations around. One bauble might be placed perfectly to begin with but later clash with one nearby. If there's no better place for the second bauble, I'll put the first one somewhere else. Think of decorating as a constantly evolving, very fluid process. I have been known to move a bauble days later because it's suddenly looked out of place. 

Taking that step back to assess your tree can be really beneficial. It's very easy to get caught up in minutae and neglect the big picture, so constantly taking the tree in helps draw the whole look together.  

Timing

By now you'll have realised I'm completely obsessive when it comes to my tree, so it won't come as a shock to say it takes me hours. I'd say on average it takes me around 3 to 4 hours to completely decorate it to a standard I'm happy with. Allow yourself plenty of time, otherwise you'll just end up chucking everything on and saying "that'll do". Having the luxury of a whole day ahead means I'm under no pressure to rush. 

Details

Finally, it's the details that will truly make your tree. I have a handful of really personal ornaments that have memories attached, such as the one I bought at Walt Disney World this year, complete with a photo from the holiday. Don't neglect the area around your tree- a tree skirt is much more pleasant to look at than the cold metal stand. For alternatives to a tree skirt, try popping your tree in a basket or covering the area with some festive fabric. Mine is a tablecloth from Sainsbury's. 

The end result! As you can see, I don't limit my decorations to the tree alone- Consider the wider aspects of your ropm. I love the reindeer head so much that it's going to stay up all year round, minus the fairy lights.

Obviously, Christmas trees are very personal and not everybody will want a tree that looks as traditional as this. If you want a more rugged look, go for it! Please send me photos of your trees as I love to see them! 

My Office

I've wanted a home office for the longest time. Somewhere I can sit and relax to write my blog posts and edit photos; an inspiring little hub filled with my favourite things. At long last, I've managed to achieve my dreams! It's been a work in progress for the past month or so, but I'm finally at a point where I can share it on here.

I've had to censor the artwork on the walls because of copyright. I know that sounds ridiculously pompous but, honestly, it's not worth the risk of getting in trouble! The Disneyland sign was a wedding present bought in Florida, the milk bottle clock is from TK Maxx, embroidery hoops from Etsy and the bat hook was bought in Debenhams. I'm going to hang my calendar from it. 

The lower shelf is the home of my 1950s piggy bank, although I can't remember where I got it from, and my little cuddly alpaca. The fawns are from a local charity shop, as are the vintage hardbacks, which were used as decorations for our wedding. I bought the tin bucket on eBay to use as a pen pot but, when it turned up, it was far too big. One of the children in my class bought me the trinket box from a market when he visited his family in Pakistan. My teaching assistant, who is also Pakistani, told me that these boxes are all handmade for sale. It smells amazing, with heady scents of patchouli and sandalwood that linger from the marketplace. 

The second shelf is my favourite. Again, it has vintage hardbacks stacked up, although the bottom book is actually a storage box from TK Maxx, in which I keep my Post It notes. I bought the little phrenology head at the same time. I've wanted one for ages, and this cute little one was just perfect! For some reason, I have a thing about kitschy salt and pepper shakers, so there are two on this shelf. The birds are from Urban Outfitters, but the smaller ones above are 1960s London souvenirs that I picked up at a vintage market. The pink lemonade bottle from Bill's holds this cute fluffy Mickey pen from Magic Kingdom. 

I was very kindly sent this bell jar by DotComGiftShop. It's the perfect size for perching on my Ikea drop-leaf table and holds these fairy lights for a really pretty effect. Handily, it's super easy to place things inside. The glass bell simply lifts up, so I can place whatever I want to display on the distressed metal tray below and then carefully position the jar back in place. 

The Christmas nametag is my favourite thing and it will live on my desk all year round. Every year, since before I can remember, the whole family would visit my grandparents' house every Christmas. My grandad made the most amazing Christmas dinner, and everybody had these little Christmas placenames. I keep this on my desk as a little memento of my grandad and the wonderful Christmases we had. 

I knew that I was absolutely going to have a silver tinsel curtain, and I love the way it looks. It's the perfect kitschy backdrop for my desk. I've used some red striped twine and mini pegs to hang up a small selection of postcards, greetings cards, and photobooth pictures of me and Leona.

Above my cupboard is an Ikea picture shelf where I keep my jar of pressed pennies. I'm hoping to fill it right up over time. 

As my office is in the corner of our living room, and therefore doesn't have much space, I bought a folding chair from Ikea and hang it from hooks inside the cupboard. Unfortunately, it's very uncomfortable! 

These photo frames are from Museum Selection and are perfect for displaying my wedding photos. I love the varied sizes of the windows, and I spent forever organising and re-organising my photos to get the perfect combination. 

The frame has an antique gold gilded effect, which creates a lovely feeling of luxury. I think they look gorgeous!

 There we have it! My long-awaited, but very highly-desired, home office. I could not be happier with it, although I do have some future plans for the living room so keep your eyes peeled! 

My book jar

In a recent book bloggers chat (#bookbloggers, Tuesdays 7-8pm), Sarah told me about her book jar. I really struggle trying to decide which book to read next, so this seemed like a really fun way to tackle my to-read pile.

The idea is to put each book name on a piece of paper, which you then fold up and put in the jar. When it comes time to read a new book, just choose a piece of paper at random and surprise! The decision is made for you.

My bunny jar originally had other plans but, when they didn't pan out, I realised it was the perfect size for my book jar. Although it should really live in my bedroom, where I tend to read, it just looks too cute in my office!

If you're a big reader like me, I really recommend a book jar as a fun, decision-free way to choose your next read. 

The Great Shoe Purge 2014

I like shoes. A lot. Which isn't a problem until you consider that I can never throw a pair out, even if they're falling apart. This resulted in me owning 94 pairs of shoes, which is a sickening number, especially when I only wear about 10% of that number. 

As you can see, my shoe storage was overflowing and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find the shoes I was looking for each morning. So I decided enough was enough, and set about throwing away all the old, dirty and broken pairs. 

 In the end, I became quite ruthless, which is very unlike me, and threw out a grand total of 26 pairs. 

Look how beautiful that shelving is now! I'm so much happier with it, it makes finding shoes much easier and I have an excuse to buy 26 new pairs of shoes. Right?

What's on Rich's bedside table

Last month, I showed you what is on my bedside table. I thought it would be an interesting contrast to take a look at Rich's table too. It was a lot neater than mine but, erm, it turns out that most of the stuff on there was mine too. Sorry Rich!

 Clockwise from top left: 
His glasses bed (which I thought was equal parts adorable and hilarious when I first visited his house and saw it!)
Hair bobble (we have a lot of these!)
Dog from O2 Be More Dog campaign.
Burt's Bees foot cream.
Glasses case with his old glasses
Lotil cream. I need to use a lot of this for my poor feet.
Savlon healing gel and healing plasters.
PC Gamer magazine.
Get Out of Geek Night vouchers. Every Thursday is Rich's "Geek Night" (basically an online social with his geek friends). For my birthday, he gave me 5 vouchers to convert Geek Night to Becky Night. 
Pliers.
Lush Snow Fairy Sparkle (That's mine).
Popbands (They're mine too).
Pastel nail varnishes (Also mine).
Terry Pratchett novel.
War and Peace- A bit of light reading. 

I've moved all of my stuff now, so Rich has his bedside table back again. Poor Rich, he puts up with a lot! 

By the way, if you enjoy reading my blog and would like to see me up for a Cosmopolitan Blog Award, you can nominate me for Best Lifestyle Blog here. I'll send virtual cake to everyone who nominates! 

What's on my bedside table

My poor bedside table is an absolute dumping ground. It's only a little cabinet, but it's bursting at the seams with books, magazines and candles. It was high time I gave it a little clear out, so I thought I'd show you what has been living inside it all this time. 

Clockwise (in a spiral motion) from bottom left:
Hot water bottle// Two pairs of scissors (I don't know why there's one pair, let alone two!)// Magazines dating back to 2012// My to-read pile of books// My diary// Passport photos of myself// Beauty samples from magazines// Lavender essential oil// Lip balm box (no lip balm inside)// Benefit lipgloss// Benefit blusher// "Love" sign// Primark, Sainsbury's and Yankee candles// Sudocreme// Candle lighter and lighter// The books I've read this month// The remote for the bedroom light// USB// Tablets// Ticket from Vogue Festival// Pens, pens, pens.

You'll be glad to hear that my bedside table is a lot neater now with only the essentials: Candles, books and my diary. It looks so much nicer! 

By the way, if you enjoy reading my blog and would love to see me in Company magazine (let's face it- that would be AMAZING!), you can vote for me here. 

A box of childhood memories

About a year ago, my mum brought around a box filled with a bunch of stuff I'd left behind when I moved out of her house. I finally got around to having a look through it and I thought it would be interesting to record what I found. Most of the items in here are from the late 90s, but there were also a couple of items as late as 2007. It's like a little time capsule documenting my childhood!

This little drawing was hanging on my bedroom wall until we moved house when I was 7. You can see it says '89 on the left. As my brother was born in September '89, and also had one of these on his wall, I assume they were bought to celebrate his birth.  

A very faded printout of me and my Grandma on a cruise ship in 2000, when I was 11. The outfit I'm wearing was actually my Grandma's- They were silk pyjama-style clothes that she bought in China and I was obsessed with them! 

 Another Christmas present! This has got some real crackers in it! 

 To say some of these never really took off is a bit of an understatement :-7

A newsletter from another cruise, about 6 months before the one above. I was well travelled as a kid! 

For Christmas 1999, my mum bought me a couple of Charmed books (I was the sort of child who would read above their age range!). It started a little craze for the TV show that lasted 4 years or so. Funnily enough, I'm in the middle of re-watching it from the beginning. Phoebe has always been my favourite! 

Even before I got into Charmed, I was interested in "the occult". I was a strange kid!. I cut out all the spells from Mizz magazine (Why on Earth were there spells printed in a pre-teen girls' magazine?) and kept them together in a folder. I went through another brief phase when I was 16 but I'm over that now. I'm just a muggle. 

Good job on spelling your own name, 7-year-old Becky! I teach 7 year olds and I would expect them to be able to spell their own names. Maybe I wasn't as intelligent as I thought I was! 

"Including books". I love the way I specified the books, as if it's totally normal to sleep with piles on books in your bed. Yes, I would do that. I told you I was a big reader! 

The things 9 year old girls write to each other! Katie was my best friend at school and sent me this postcard from Walt Disney World Florida. 

My GCSE English literature coursework. I've put an apostrophe in "stanzas". What was wrong with me?

Wow, was I cool in 2005 or what?

I remember that My Chemical Romance issue of Kerrang! well. It was August 2005. I was holidaying in Exeter with my very religious grandparents when I bought it and they were horrified by the subheading: "Death. Drugs. Revenge. They're not okay". I found myself sitting in a seaside cafe explaining the methaphorical lyrics and Gerard Way's recovery to a couple of pensioners. Just what every emo kid needs!