Next - a home blogger event

Remember last year when I went to the Next press event and shared with you their brand new store in Shoreham, England? Well this year they invited me to the home blogger event in Ipswich...

On arrival at the store we were treated to an icy cold fruity mango lassi and then given a tour of the new store which has inspiring, fully fitted stylish bathrooms, pretty bedrooms, luxe lounges and cute gardens. They had two major Autumn/Winter trends: Home Comforts and Salvage.

Home Comforts is inspired by the renewed interest in crafting and has a distinct retro country look to it. Ditsy florals and large scale checks are key and feature in a colour palette of raspberry pink hues, meadow greens, and warm chalky neutrals. Key items include the Bobbins table lamp, teacups chandelier and the balls of yarn vases.







In contrast, the Salvage collection has a recycled industrial feel to it. Soft greys, creamy whites, and biscuit in knit and tweedy fabrics are key. Furniture is made from distressed, untreated wood and wall storage from industrial looking wire. Key items include the decorative typewriter, cutlery chandelier and wire baskets.

I loved the mixture of neutral textures on this beautifully dressed bed

Have a sweet day!

Christmas at Next

So here is the sneak peak at what you can expect from Next this Christmas! At the press event they showed us four stories for Christmas; a contemporary red and white themed story that included applique deer head cushions and red berry topiary trees, a rich decadent purple theme, a glitzy gold story with glittered birds and bird cages, and my favourite, the ice palace with contemporary snowflake motifs and twinkly twiggy trees.

In a colour palette of opal, pearlescent and frosty tones of white mixed with the brilliance of silver, soft focus floral and leaf motifs with cute polar animals sit alongside shiny silver deer heads and snowy white pinecones. Etched heart and twinkly snowflake decorations were hung and feathered birds perched from snowy paper mache trees.

All of this got me thinking about Christmas and how I can update last years theme of a "Winter Woodand" Christmas. To kick start my ideas I have created a new Pinterest board, Christmas 2011. I just love Christmas and can't wait to start crafting and making some new decorations.

What are you thinking for Christmas, or am I just a tad too early!?!

Have a sweet day!

Cute desserts and great company

After our tour around the Next store we bundled back into the coach that took us to Hotel du Vin in Brighton where we were treated to a delicious three course lunch. The desserts were especially good and I loved how they served the Eton Mess in small glass jars.

Over lunch I had the pleasurable company of gals who founded the blogs Design Trend, Pink Bow, Mary Middleton, Style Made Simple, Dear Designer and Domestic Sluttery.

Between the lunch courses we were shown how the New Shoreham Next store came together from initial design concepts to how they achieved the final look. Then, as cheese and crackers were served we were given a sneak peak at their stylish mood boards which inspired this year's Christmas collections. My favourite was the Ice Palace collection with sparkly snowflakes, silver deer heads and twiggy candelabras, all of which would match my last year's Christmas theme, Winter Woodland Christmas.

More on Christmas@Next tomorrow!





Click here to see more photos from the Next Press Show

Have a sweet day!

Vintage bathroom

I loved all the vintage bathroom accessories I saw last week at the Next press show in Shoreham. I would like the pink acrylic soap dispenser for my cloakroom along with the pink pedal bin as they would match my color scheme perfectly. I am also loving the cut out metal bins for my craft room to hold my wrapping paper in. The crochet boxes and drawers in pretty pink and pale blue would be ideal storage for my craft odds and ends. I also can't resist the vintage glass storage jars for putting pretty candy in.

Have a sweet day!

Next

Today it seemed an obvious choice to share with you Next, as part of my shops i love series. As well as seeing Next's fully fitted kitchens, starting at £4,000, you can also stock up on the prettiest of kitchen accessories at their new Shoreham store. I loved their pink glass jars, perfect to pretty up kitchen shelves with or great storage for your craft nik-naks. Candy coloured glasses to serve icy cold milk in with blooming lovely plates for your iced cookies. Scalloped clear glass cake stands for lemon drizzle cake and a variety of wire cupcake stands. They also have cute laundry room accessories like the pink Spring clean housekeeper's box set and pastel peg bags.

Have a sweet day!

Pretty Pink Garden

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of being invited to the Next press show at their fabulous brand new store in Shoreham, near Brighton in England. On arrival at the Next store we were treated to breakfast at Starbucks, where Jen from Design Trends and Suzanne Imre, the editor of Living Etc, and I discussed the joys of cake pops.

We were then given a tour of the new store which has inspiring, fully fitted stylish bathrooms, pretty bedrooms, luxe lounges, swanky kitchens and cute gardens. Including a fabulous paint feature wall with tap screen paint guide and sexily displayed samples of carpets and tiles. Today I am sharing with you my favourite garden features, a pretty pink country style one with ornate scroll off-white white bistro table, chairs and plant pot stand, floral decorated bird houses, cute watering can string lights and vintage inspired tool hooks. Tomorrow I will be sharing with you some sweet kitchen decor and on Thursday my favourite bathroom set up at Next, the Vintage Bathroom with crochet accents in sugary pink and pale blue. Also this week I will share with you the adorable desserts they served at lunch and give you a sneak peak at Next's Christmas collections. So stay tuned.....

Have a sweet day!

Wall towel storage

I have loved the way hotels store towels for years now and I really wanted to store my towels in a similar way. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and wanted something simple and unobtrusive. The pictured towel rack from Next fit the bill perfectly. The stone spot towels from Cath Kidston, coupled with the light and dark silver sage coloured ones from Restoration Hardware complete the look!