Christmas dining rooms – my favourite 5

It’s officially the run-down to Christmas (my advent calendar assures me so) and i’m getting really excited about putting up my decorations this weekend.

I’ve been finding dining room decorating inspiration this morning, here are my favourite festive schemes.

This country cottage Christmas dining room is so warm, cosy and welcoming. You can take a tour around the rest of this Christmas country cottage on housetohome. Invites to come round for Christmas lunch are most welcome!

roomenvy - country cottage Christmas dining room

This modern Christmas dining room is certainly eye-catching. I love the candy pink dining table and silver decorations.

roomenvy - modern Christmas dining room

The hanging stars and snowflakes look fantastic in this dining room dining room, so much more than just a fancy Christmas table setting.

roomenvy - star-studded Christmas dining room

A fan of all things country style, this Christmas dining room is definitely at the top of my ‘lust list’.

roomenvy - country charm Christmas dining room

Draw attention to your festive table, by hanging shimmering glass baubles overhead. I really like the candelabras in this dining room they make a great high-impact, low-effort Christmas table centrepiece.

roomenvy - oversized Christmas baubles dining room

Feeling inspired? Check out this great guide to laying a Christmas table.

Friday’s Fetish: wall stencils

I was completely inspired by Helen Morris, one of the faces behind The Stencil Library when I met her this week. She shared some fantastic tips with me about stencilling – especially for those of us who rent and don’t want to anger our landlords with a door surrounded by butterflies (I mention no names!) She shares some great tips on her blog, Design Inspiration.

Wall stencils are a fantastic way to  liven up your scheme and give it a truly personal touch. I just love them!!

1) They don’t have to be bold and brassy, these leaf stencils add a lovely delicate touch. Though to be honest, what’s going to make more a statement than having a TREE in your kitchen? They’re taken from designer, Di Overton’s kitchen.

roomenvy - kitchen decorating the natural way!

2) You don’t just have to use stencils on the walls, either. This funky home, featured on Design Sponge, proves just that.

Bring your floors to life! The hardwood floors in this dining room are given an update with playful pattern.

roomenvy - so much more than a floor!

And don’t let a simple radiator miss out on all the fun. Now this is what I call stylish heating!

roomenvy - turn up the heat with a colourful stencil

SNEAK PREVIEW!! Marks & Spencer’s new collection

Just when I had allowed myself to get excited about Christmas decorating (however premature that might be) I was invited to see get a sneak peak at Marks & Spencer’s spring/summer 2010 homeware collection – and it would be rude to keep it to myself!

However frightening it was to think about summer in the garden at the same time as I was thinking about all those mince pies, I was so excited to see their gorgeous new patterned cushions and tropically bright tableware.

You’ll have to wait til next year to get your hands on these beauties but prepare yourself for florals, florals and … more florals.

roomenvy - bedroom in bloom

roomenvy - dining table flower power

I thought I’d spare you the alfresco dining shots – in a season of darkness at 5pm, that’s just cruel!

Friday’s Fetish: Decorating with Parisian panache!

I’ve been on the hunt for more decorating trends on Homes & Gardens. I love this glamorous Parisian-chic look even more than I love the fact it’s Friday! Yes, it’s fairly high-end but that doesn’t put me, and my ‘not exactly a mansion’ house, off! There are plenty of great style ideas to steal!

Go for a sugared-almond pink shade on the living room walls and team with tightly upholstered & button-back furniture to get that glam Parisian look.

roomenvy - French-style glamour living room

Arrange furniture loosely and don’t be afraid to mix and match designs – it’ll add that ‘relaxed French cafe’ feel. Gold accents liven up the pastel green walls in this dining room.

roomenvy - pretty pastels dining room

It’s all about elegant upholstery and generous curtains in vibrant colours. A screen like this is ideal for breaking up a large open-plan space.

roomenvy - flamboyant soft furnishings

I’m not sure about this hallway idea though. I think green walls look great against the stone flooring, but a ship chandelier isn’t really for me – although, statement hallway lighting most certainly is.

The strewn scores of music are the best bit – nothing says Parisian glamour quite like imitating a restless 18th century composer!!

roomenvy - classic-style hallway

More Halloween decorating ideas!

I don’t tend to associate Halloween with adult behaviour – perhaps it’s the fact that people spend this spooky holiday trying to either scare people, trick people, take sweets from people and dress up other people (not exactly ‘boardroom behaviour’). All I associate it with is a whole ‘lotta’ fun!

I saw this uber-sophisticated Halloween decorating idea on myhomeideas.com. It’s aiming to give the traditional Halloween pumpkin an adult spin with bronze nailheads and shimmering ivory hues. I think this would be fantastic for a swanky dinner party on the night, after all, why should the adults miss out on the fun?

However personally, this year i’m sticking to the more traditional Halloween decorations. If you can’t bring out the child in you on Halloween, when can you, eh? … well not until Bonfire night anyway.

Friday’s Fetish: Decorating with modern romance

I’m in the mood for something a bit romantic to kick-start my weekend (must have been all that chat about lazyboys!) and have been really inspired by the Decorating inspiration: Modern Romance gallery on Livingetc.com.

All you have to do is release your inner flirt!

Choose soft pink pastels for your walls and team with hot fuchsia florals and a glistening pendant in the bedroom.

roomenvy - sugarplum bedroom

Sprinkle flowers on white-washed floorboards. Choose a pretty stencil and fill in with a candy pink paint shade. I’m definitely stealing this dining room idea to create a rug-effect in my bedroom!

roomenvy - floral accents dining room

Hang a feminine and striking floral wallpaper behind your dressing area to define the space and team with a statement mirror for oodles of boudoir glamour.

roomenvy - boudoir chic dressing area

So there you have it, modern romance, without being expected to fork out on half of the dinner bill!

Halloween party ideas

I’ve been TEASING the children in my neighbourhood, by marching a parade of pumpkins into my house (it’s for a how to carve a pumpkin video, as opposed to a pumpkin soup obsession!) Now I feel even more pressure to get the house extra spooky and extra trick-or-treater worthy on Halloween night.

So i’ve been on the hunt for lots of halloween decorating ideas. One of my favourites is this ghoulish guide to setting a haunted Halloween table from myhomeideas. It has everything from ‘murky menus’ to lace chandeliers – not sure the ‘death by chocolate’ halloween treats are going to last until the kids arrive though.

roomenvy - halloween feast

What are you serving up for Halloween?

No room for white walls

There is nothing I love more than doing something creative with a plain white wall. Bold patterns, exciting textures and three dimensional fretwork can work wonders.

Check out this hallway from housetohome.co.uk – the perfect combination of detail!

A mixture of white lattice makes the most of the blue wall

Beautiful bureaux – a storage story

This blog post on Apartment Therapy made me think about storage … I can’t imagine why though?

Gah! Someone needs to tidy their room!

Storage seems to be one of the eternal problems of modern life, the more lovely stuff we have, the smaller houses become, the less space we have.

I am a certified hoarder. At the moment it’s issues of Cosmopolitan, but that’s another story for another day… I think shelving can work wonders, whether it’s fitted or standalone, but i’ve also been on the hunt for a stylish bureaux.

Don’t think they have to be stuffy and just somewhere to hide bills – they’re great for displaying artifacts, storing beauty products, accessories – anything you want!

Check out this inspirational gallery of the best bureaux from housetohome.co.uk.

Fill this pretty bureau with useful items or beautiful things to display

Find more great storage ideas at housetohome.co.uk

A taste of glamour

I’ve always fancied myself as a glam rock chick – so this London apartment would suit me down the ground! I particularly love the black chandeliers, art-deco paintings and striking brass door handle.

Check out Livingetc.co.uk to see the rest of the house.

roomenvy - black chandelier

roomenvy - living room