Hallway decorating ideas – to the beach!

I love this summer hallway decorating idea, it just makes me want to reach for my bucket and spade (ahem, my baby brother’s bucket and spade) and head straight to the beach.

Devote a designated spot to change shoes or hang coats and towels to keep the place tidy as kids run in and out. Brighten up the space with bright fabric and colourful hooks, and by add as many coastal-chic accessories as possible! The beach sign is so sweet (although, I think it’s pointing in the wrong direction?) and the cushions are so so pretty!

roomenvy - summer holiday hallway

The ultimate urban garden

Has anyone been to visit the Union Street Urban Orchard in Southwark? I popped along yesterday after work to check out this organic garden – everything is recycled down to the wood used to build each shed – tucked in between a block of flats and a railway bridge! Now that’s an urban garden!

I was so impressed by this little garden haven, it has loads to see: a seed library, a greenhouse, a living wall, a tyre swing garden, a skip transformed into a table tennis table, a railway arch turned into a cinema, even a shed for making cider (not that I hovered round there too long, of course).

If you get the chance, it’s really worth going down there – it’ll only be up until 19th August. Bring a sandwich during your lunch hour or (BOYS LISTEN UP) arrange a cute romantic date with a bottle of wine – the girls will love it.

roomenvy - Union Street Urban Orchard

Grow your own summer salads

I must admit, I’m not the most green-fingered of folk, and my idea of growing vegetables is forgetting I had been given a bag of potato bulbs and discovering them 6 months later – honestly, the SCARIEST thing to come across!

But it’s salad season, and I really feel I should make more effort. Check out this cute idea for an indoor garden! Position a table by a window for your indoor salad greens. Grow salad in wooden seed trays, herbs in illustrated pots and tomatoes under glass cloches.

roomenvy - indoor garden

The definition of bedroom storage panic

Bedroom storage panic

• noun 1 sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety while hearing something snap in your canvas wardrobe, suddenly followed by an ominous ‘Pisa like’ lean south. 2 informal frenzied hurry to save clothes as if they were on fire.

• verb (panicked, panicking) feel or cause to feel bedroom storage panic.

Not the least stressful morning I assure you, franctically throwing my clothes onto my bed for safety with one hand, while using my other one to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa that’s now residing in my bedroom.

Ignoring the claims that I have too many clothes that I don’t wear (ok, so I might have seen a couple of items ‘mid-frantic-wardrobe-emptying’ with labels still on), I have decided it’s best just to invest in a new bedroom wardrobe.

Does anyone have any clothes storage space-saving secrets? Me and the handsome pile of clothes I now share my bed with would love to hear them.

roomenvy - bedroom storage

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would be so ashamed…

Fab wallpapers! – the utterly fab kind!

I LOVE the new wallpapers from Tesco’s new range. We headed to their autumn/winter press show and were utterly WOWed by their high-impact, low-cost designs, the perfect ‘too much money spent of Pimm’s’ summer decorating remedy!

Tired (literally) of baking hot sleepness nights, I’m looking to give my bedroom a cooler, summer twist, and these wallpapers are perfect for the job … and will look just as at home when I’m shivering over winter.

Here’s a sneak peak at the new range (is it wrong that I actually like the mix of samples feature wall??)

roomenvy - bedroom wallpaper ideas

Ooooh and here’s my most LUST-WORTHY wallpaper design of the week.

roomenvy - feature wallpaper bedroom

Gimme!

Urban garden design ideas

I may have lost my ‘naaaah, I don’t really need to take a jumper to work’ confidence after this morning’s rain surprise, but I sure haven’t lost hope in sunny summer weekends in the gardens. As a city girl, I love these urban garden design ideas from Livingetc‘s latest issue – they’re perfect for adding the wow-factor to even the smallest of spaces.

A river runs through it …

There are plenty of sexy outdoor fabrics on the highstreet at the mo. I love this floral fabric combination, ideal for an exotic lounging area in the garden.

roomenvy - colourful outdoor seating

Flex those green fingers …

Construct a cool living wall of fragrant herbs that’s good enough to eat!

roomenvy - urban herb garden

Banksy, eat your heart out…

Create a modern arbour by using an outdoor wall as a canvas for bold artwork! This urban garden is just PACKED with attitude.

roomenvy - wow walls urban garden

Nursery decorating ideas

Oh to be a newborn baby …

1) No nail-biting anxiety about England’s World Cup match against Germany

2) No desperation to get out of work on time to watch Andy Murray play at Wimbledon

3) And … well ….I think  these nursery decorating ideas speak for themselves!

roomenvy - sky blue nursery ideas

roomenvy - pretty French-style nursery

roomenvy - nursery ideas

Decorating ideas for young adults

I never thought I’d be just as jealous of bedroom ideas for teenagers than I am for the beautiful adult bedroom schemes I come across every day, but it was something about the funky wallpapers and multi-zoned spaces that really had me hankering for my school years – that, and the fact that they are looking forward to TWO MONTHS worth of summer holidays!

Check out housetohome’s pick of the best decorating ideas for young adults…

roomenvy - teenager's multi-purpose bedroom

Friday’s fetish: swanky English garden designs

Well this glamorous garden isn’t exactly the average compact outdoor space! I was FLABERGHASTED when I saw this beautiful English country garden from Homes & Gardens magazine. It actually reminds me of my Brownie leader’s garden all those year’s ago (I really should look her up!)

Anyway here are some pics -  marvel, find inspiration, assure your own patio that it doesn’t need to feel intimidated … it’s up to you!

A humungous swimming pool? So far, so good …

roomenvy - garden swimming pool

roomenvy - garden room

I bet this door leads to some sort of castle!

roomenvy - secret garden door

A lake? Now that’s just showing off!

roomenvy - weeping willow lake

Kitchen ideas on a budget

I know, I know, no one wants to here the word ‘budget’ at the moment, but when it looks this pretty (I’m not going to attempt to compare it to George Osborne) then it’s definitely worth the initial groan.

This super-funky kitchen was updated for less than £140! It’s all in the colourful accessories, and ‘designer-chic for less’ statement furniture pieces.

Decorating top tip: Break the colour rules and combine hot pink with lipstick red – against white almost any colour mix goes.

roomenvy - rainbow brights kitchen