Christmas Wrapping with Primark

Christmas is rolling around again with it’s parties, meals and gifts and all the expense that goes with it!

However, wrapping your gifts and making them look wow really doesn’t have to be expensive! Primark recently asked me to try out their Christmas gift wrap range so I popped into my local Primark in Cheltenham for a lovely browse and picked up all of this delicious wrapping for under a tenner. I tried to pick a good mix in order to suit all tastes.

Primark Wrapping Paper - 10 metre rolls - £1.50 - £2 per roll.

Elf

The Elf wrapping paper is perfect for wrapping gifts for kids (young and old!) and is £2 for a 10 metre roll. I wrapped my gift, added red ribbon and then, picking up on the Elf theme and colour scheme, added red, yellow and green Pom Poms to the gift tag. These poms poms are available from any craft store and you just simply glue them in with PVA glue. In the film ‘Elf’, the elves love to eat candy canes so I used this motif to add something extra to the gift wrap too. The candy cane Christmas tree ornament featured here is from Primark, it you can buy the sweet versions inexpensively online. The added bonus of these of course is that the recipient of the gift receives extra gifts as part of the wrapping.

Gold.

Gold wrapping paper is always a classy statement and you can make it even classier by adding ribbon and evergreen embellishments.

Simply snip some evergreen from your hedge or the local park - it will last for ages. I also used a tag and gold stickers from the Primark range to make a personalised label - Mums always love that sort of thing.

 Fir Tree.

I love the Nordic look and bringing the outdoors indoors and Primark’s Fir Tree wrapping paper is a great one if you like this too. For this wrap, I used inexpensive garden twine instead of ribbon for a rustic look. I then popped out and snipped some dried cow parsley and grasses that grow abundantly on roadside verges. I tied a few bits of the dried foliage together with the garden twine and taped it to the gift.

Silver.

Silver is another timeless classic that can be brought up bang to date with monochrome embellishments. For this gift I added black photo corners to the wrapped parcel and inserted a photo of myself to my mum, but you could add a picture of you and the recipient enjoying a happy moment together during the year. The photos can be in black and white to keep with the monochrome scheme, or have it printed in colour if you prefer. It’s a great way of using some of this photos on your phone camera roll and again the wrapping becomes part of the gift.

The camera bauble is also from Primark.

So, it’s pretty easy and inexpensive to make your Christmas gift wrap look more expensive than it actually is - get crafty with additional stationary or get outside with your secateurs - it’s fun!

This blog post is part of a paid partnership with Primark but, as always, all views are my own.

How I Chose my Love Your Home Sofa

Love Your Home Ottilie Sofa in Dove Stain Resistant Velvet.

Everyone thinks that choosing a new sofa is one of the more fun things about styling your home. We all have our own ideas of a ‘dream sofa’ and getting to that stage of a home or room renovation where it’s time to choose the sofa often marks the end of the stressful (and often boring bit) where it’s been all about getting the electrics right and deciding on the height of the skirting boards (yawn).

However, choosing that sofa can also be pretty tricky. There’s so much on offer and there’s so many boxes to tick. Where to start? Well, I think the best place to start is with this question - is it going to be a 5, 10 or 20 year sofa? In other words, how long do you want this sofa to last? This will depend on your current circumstances of course - are you a student or a space starved millennial? Are you planning on having kids in the near future or are you in a rental that you’re not allowed to decorate? This will help you to define the colour (trendy or timeless), fabric (washable or more luxurious), style (trendy or traditional) and price range that you go for.

I’m not a 5 year sofa girl and never have been. I like my furniture to work hard for my money plus, with recycling and zero waste on everyone’s agenda, I don’t want to buy anything that I’ll be chucking out in 5 years time. Even when I bought my first (tiny) house I didn’t buy a new sofa - I bought a second hand one from a friend.

So my natural frugality, together with the fact that I needed a sofa that’s going last at least 10 years anyway, was my guiding force. I needed it to be practical as I have three adolescent children at home and - guess what, folks? - they’re any less messy than they were as toddlers! OK they’re not smearing rusks into the furniture any more but they are still spilling their drinks and dropping ketchup soaked chips all over the place. And the dog isn’t much better!

I was so ready for a bit of luxury though and have lusted after a velvet sofa for years. Obviously velvet is not compatible with the lifestyle of my household as described above but I’d been really excited to read about Stain Resistant Velvets at Love Your Home. Not only does it not bruise or show water marks, you can wash the seat cushions covers in the washing machine at 40%. As Love Your Home say themselves ‘The Stain Resistant Velvet really is perfect for families with children and pets, who want that luxurious look while remaining practical’. Hellooooo - it has my name all over it. It also has a very high Martindale rub test of 100,000 of you’re into statistics like that.

Massive range of colours and fabrics at Love Your Home

So that was the fabric chosen. Now for colour. I’m really into naturals and neutrals as you may have noticed from my Instagram account. This not because I dislike colour, quite the opposite actually, I love all colour and find it difficult to settle on one. I would very happily choose a pink or yellow sofa, or the gorgeous rust colour that’s on trend at the moment, but I KNOW I’d get bored with it in a few months. This is why I go for neutrals - I know myself and will simply add coloured cushions and accessories to accent the sofa rather than going for a solid colour block.

Ottilie Sofa in Turmeric Mohair Velvet.

Neutral colours comprise of whites, blacks, taupes and greys and I chose Dove a pale warm grey. My thinking was that it was just dark enough to disguise any marks but light enough not to dominate the room. Dark colours are obviously very practical but also make a piece of furniture seem bigger and more dominant. I wanted to keep the room airy. I also chose grey, as opposed to taupe, to contrast with the old pine floorboards we have in the house. This contrast shows the floorboards off to their best advantage whereas a taupe sofa next to the floorboards would have looked wishy washy. Lisa Dawson and I always say on our Styling Your Home workshops to make the most of what you house offers you first, i.e. original features, natural light and proportions. In my case the original Victorian pine floorboards and the high ceilings are a much loved feature of my house and I wanted a sofa that would compliment them.

Grey is a brilliant foil for natural wood tones.

The next choice to make was the style of sofa. We wanted something that all 5 of us can snuggle up on and we also know we loved the chaise style sofa. Love Your Home has many styles on offer and I genuinely love them all. I opted for the Ottilie Chaise Corner Sofa because it was large enough for all the family but the proportions are relatively dainty - the arms are slim, for instance - which makes it look less dominant and keeps the airy look I was looking for. Also is allows for more lounging room! The airy feeling is also helped by the colour choice and the tall legs (rather than a solid base) which makes the sofa look like it’s floating.

So those are the reasons I chose the Ottilie in Dove Stain Resistant Velvet. And I chose Love Your Home to work with after a long search for a sofa company that ticked off all of my following requirements:

- Superb quality sofas - all of the elements of the sofa structure look and feel top quality. Fabrics are sourced directly from third-and-fourth generation European mills, and the method for making them stain resistant occurs in the dying and not afterwards.

- Large choice of styles and fabrics - the choice is varied but not overwhelming and you can choose up to ten free fabric samples ahead of making your choice.

- Sustainability - the frames are made with sustainably-produced beechwood.

- Beautiful designs - there simply isn’t a single unstylish design in the whole range.

- Reasonable prices - nothing eye watering here!

- Excellent customer service - from start to finish the service is friendly, helpful and reliable and you get a no quibble 14 day return guarantee if you’re not completely happy.

But Love Your Home also do another pretty unique thing - they let you tweak the dimensions of their standard sofa designs. We tweaked the length of our Ottilie sofa - standard sizes are 250cm and 310cm but we had it made to 280cm to perfectly fit the available space in our front room. As well as tweaking dimensions, you can also have it made in a fabric supplied by you, and you can also tweak things like finish, stitching, piping, cushion pads, fabric mixes or upholstery.  Being able to specify a personalised sofa this way is also a brilliant thing as an interior designer and would usually cost a lot more than the 10% that Love Your Home charge.

So, even though sofa shopping can be tricky, my sofa journey with Love Your Home was nothing but a pleasure. Their showroom in Godalming is a beautiful hidden gem but if you can’t make it there, then their website is brilliantly easy to navigate.

Finally, although our sofa was #gifted, I did loads of research on sofa brands before I approached Love Your Home. Their brand was the only one that really offered the personal service I was looking for as well as quality furniture. The owners Leigh and Abi are passionate about their business and have had long careers steeped in style and design. I honestly wouldn’t recommend their products and service if I wasn’t convinced of it’s high quality. If you’re looking for a new sofa then check them out - I won’t be looking anywhere else for sofas for the forseeable!

The Kitchen Garden at Nova Food

Nova Food is a super cool food destination in the heart of Victoria, SW1. Just two minutes' walk from Victoria Station, it brings together some of London's most exciting eateries including Timmy Green, Shake Shack, Franco Manca and Aster.

Until 8th September, Nova Food has transformed into a botanical haven with the launch of a new immersive pop-up, The Kitchen Garden.

Londoners and visitors alike are invited to come and explore the five unique zones that will make up this calming sanctuary in the city:

·         The Herb Garden, home to a variety of beautiful and aromatic plants which nod to  Nova’s culinary offering

·         The Lavender Lounge, a quiet reflective space for Londoners to unwind

·         The Secret Garden, a hide-away corner for fitness and wellbeing activities

·         Shed Sessions, a showcase of the amazing brands on offer in Nova Food, with pop-ups and workshops throughout the three week activation

·         The Centre Stage, where locals and commuters can enjoy performances from the comfort of a deckchair

The garden has been brought to life with a host of activities to help people relax and recharge, helping to restore busy Londoners’ health and wellbeing. These include:

·         A programme of meditation classes hosted by Re:Mind;

·         A vegan discussion panel hosted by Nova’s newest resident, 1Rebel;

·         Exclusive performances & Q&A’s from the stars of London’s best-loved musicals;

·         Live music to wash away those evening commute blues;

·         Weekend yoga life drawing classes with Yogi illustrator Kate Philipson;

·         Themed cocktails and wine tasting from some of your favourite bars and restaurants;

·         Inspiring shed makeovers by moi; 

·         Mindful gardening and relaxation workshop with Claire Ratinon.

To celebrate the event, I was invited to style up three sheds in keeping with the mindful and healthy living theme of The Kitchen Garden. 

The first shed is called ‘Woodland Summerhouse’ and is designed as an escape from the hustle and bustle of London life. Dine with friends amongst nature and let the aromatic lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary around the shed help you to de-stress and relax. 

The second shed is a bar called ‘Botanical Escape’.  Enjoy a drink surrounded by lush and aromatic greenery, designed to make you feel like you’re in a magical woodland oasis.

The third shed is a bar called ‘Rustic Coastal Escape’.  Enjoy a relaxing drink surrounded by delicate dune grasses and rustic coastal plants and textures such as dried hydrangeas, seagrass and oyster shells, a refreshing antidote to the London cityscape.

All the sheds are designed as calming escapes from city life and will be used as pop up venues by Nova Food retailers throughout the event.

Ticketed events will cost just £5 per person, with all proceeds going to The Cardinal Hume Centre, a local charity which provides support to local homeless people and families in need.

A full schedule of activities can be found here on The Kitchen Garden events page, where you can also book your place onto our special activities. For more information, check out Instagram by searching @createvictoria and #TheKitchenGardenNova.

The Kitchen Garden Schedule

Opening times:

·         Monday to Friday: 10am to 8pm

·         Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 7pm

Upcycling with Aldi

I'm a massive fan of Aldi - I do all my food shopping there and I pride myself on the both the speed of my packing (I can beat the check out staff!) and always managing to get the weekly shop in for under £100 - pretty good for a family of five (and I really need to get out more I know)!  Anyway, £100 for the weekly shop is generally achievable as long as I've managed to avoid what I call 'The Aisle of Temptation' - that's the aisle in the centre of every Aldi store where that weeks special buys are displayed. Special buys comprise of things like sports equipment, gardening equipment or camping equipment and so on, depending on the season. Well this week, I'm afraid, you're going to have no chance of avoiding 'The Aisle of Temptation' because as from today it's UPCYCLING week and Aldi are selling affordable versions of everything you need to upcycle a piece of furniture  - from fabric to power tools, they've got it all.

To mark upcycling week, Aldi asked me and three other bloggers to upcycle a piece of furniture using some of their upcyclng range. They also threw in the challenge of then selling the upcycled item and donating the money to the charity Teenage Cancer Trust.

As posh coffee at home is becoming such a big thing, I decided to up-cycle a console table and change it into a Home Barista Station! So, I purchased an inexpensive but good quality console table in plain white.

The console had a glossy finish so I sanded it down with my Aldi Detail Sander

Let me at those power tools! 

This gives a smooth surface and provides a good 'key' for the paint to adhere too. I then painted the console with two coats of Aldi Chalk Paint  - White.

It's all in the preparation. 

I then lightly sanded the console again after the second coat of paint using fine grit sandpaper.

Since turning 50, Dee was finding she was having to massively up her exfoliation game.

I then removed the existing chrome handles with the Aldi 3.6V Pivot Handle Screwdriver and sprayed them copper with Aldi Decostyle Spray Paint. I also bought six chrome cup hooks and sprayed them copper too.

Begone, boring chrome. 

Whilst the copper items were all drying, I painted the console table with Aldi Chalk Paint - Dove.

Rob had 40 fits when Dee failed to put newspaper down to protect the floor.

When this was dry, I sprayed the top of the console table with two coats of Aldi Decostyle Stone Effect Spray Paint - Dark Stone.

This is cool stuff!

Cardboard floor protection down now. 

I then gave the whole unit a coat of Aldi Furniture Wax.  This hardens to make a much more durable finish.

Very important stuff.

Once this was dry, I re-attached the drawer handles using the Aldi 3.6V Pivot Handle Screwdriver. I also attached the 6 cup hooks.

Not my hairy hands.

To finish the Home Barista Station, I up-cycled some old pots and jam jars to use as straw and sugar holders, with a variety of Aldi paints and sprays.

No use crying over spilt milk.

And here's the finished item! A Home Barista Station! Well, a useful cupboard to all of your coffee paraphernalia together at least. And new faffing opportunities as well!

I're really enjoyed up-cycling this piece and trying out all of the Aldi kit. I was particularly impressed with the power tools - really good kit for the price and they come with lots of accessories too!  I didn't get to use the staple gun, the fat quarters or the stencilling kit but I'm sure I'll find a use for them soon!

The Home Barista Station is for sale now and all proceeds will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust. If you'd like to bid, DM me via Instagram Dee Campling with your bid by Tuesday 31st July 10pm and the highest bidder wins! (Immediate payment via Paypal needed, buyer to collect or arrange courier from Cheltenham.)

This blog post was sponsored by Aldi UK, but, as always, all opinions are my own.

Affordable Art Fair

As a long time homeowner and interior stylist, I'm passionate about decorating homes in a way that makes the owner feel happy and relaxed and that also doesn't break the bank. There's absolutely no need to spend a fortune on any interior item - the key is to work out your core style, become confident with that style and spend money only on items that suit your core style. This discovery of your core style is usually a journey involving trial and error, but more importantly, it's about developing an awareness of what really makes your heart sing and why. 

What's your core style -  a perfect example of eclectic interior style here at Artist Residence, London, with some kickass art on the walls too.

I'm not an art expert by any means (I got halfway through an Open University Art History degree before abandoning it to have children) but exactly the same rule applies to buying art in my opinion - buy what makes your heart sing. In recent years the availability online of posters and prints has gone through the roof and, at the same time, the trend for gallery walls has really taken off with people buying prints galore to add to their gallery walls. And those gallery walls are getting bigger and bigger - growing as far and as fast as the homeowners confidence grows in their own style.

Go as big and bold with your gallery wall as your core style allows. Propping art against the wall and displaying sculpture on the floor? That's fine too!

But did you know that for the same price as many posters and prints you can buy a piece of original or limited edition art? In recent years the Affordable Art Fair has been bringing art to a far wider audience at their regular art fairs held around the world. The fairs are beautifully curated and displayed and are a visual feast for the eyes. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the choice, there's plenty of friendly help available from AAF staff and gallery owners. The price range of the art on offer is wide but there are many pieces for under £500 and under £250. The Affordable Art Fair asked me to come along to their London Hampstead fair last week and choose some art for £250. Here's a couple of the many pieces that jumped out at me while I was browsing around the beautiful marquee.

Hanging Around 1  - Victoria Heald. Oil and Acrylic on board. 61cm x 61cm.I love how this ordinary, casually dressed person is suspended against a glamorous gold backdrop.

After Modigliani by Hock Tee Tan. Chinese Ink and Oil Pastel. 80cm x 110cm.

After much browsing and debate, I chose two pieces of limited edition art with my £250 voucher.

Lips by Andrew J Millar. 24 carat gold leaf on Polaroid.

I chose this limited edition by Andrew Millar partly because I have always loved collage and I've never before seen the effect he's achieved with gold leaf and Polaroid.

Detox III  - Marcelina Amelia.

I chose this Marcelina Amelia limited edition partly for it's simple but bold lines and the enigmatic half face.

But mostly I chose those pieces because the ideas behind each of them connected with me. A while ago I read this blog post on choosing art by Lorraine Aaron of Curious Egg and she sums it up perfectly:

'You are the most qualified person to decide what art goes into your home. It's up to you to decide if you are interested in the idea or not - that's what makes buying art so subjective because we're all interested in different things. When that idea connects with you it's like magic and it creates a little spark. Every time you look at the artwork, the connection will recharge and you'll know that it holds within it someone's personal message that you received in your own way'.

Because of this I already know that I'll love and treasure these pieces for longer than if they were just prints. And they didn't cost much more than a print.

The chosen pieces in my home. The Marcelina Amelia piece needs framing!

Another beauty of the Affordable Art Fair is that you can now buy the art that's shown at the fairs all year round on the Affordable Art Fair website shop . There are over 6000 pieces available from the shop and you can filter your search in any way - by  price, colour, genre to name but a few. I heartily recommend an undisturbed romp around the website to see what catches your eye and resonates with you. Read the story behind the art.  I've made a start for you with my Top Ten Edit. In the unlikely event that you don't like the art you've chosen once it's in situ, the Affordable Art Fair offers a 14 day free returns policy. 

I really loved my insight into the Affordable Art Fair. I think it's briliiant that both established and emerging artists have this platform to grow from, and that people now have easy access to all sorts of art whatever their budget or interior style.

This blog post was sponsored by AAF but as always, all opinions are my own.

The Emma Mattress

A while ago Emma Mattress asked me if I'd like to try one of their mattresses in the size of my choice.  As we were redecorating our daughters room at the time I asked for a single one for her as her old mattress was well overdue a replacement. 

I'd never actually heard of Emma so while we were waiting for the mattress to arrive I did a bit of research into Emma and discovered the following:

• Emma was founded in 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Emma matresses are made in the UK.
• Emma mattresses were voted 'Best Buy 'Mattresses 2017 by Which Magazine.

The mattress arrived quickly after ordering  - it's rolled up in a box and really easy to carry and unpack.

We let it unfurl for a couple of hours and then installed it in my daughters room.Straight away the bed looked cosier.

Not only did it look cosier - lying down on it was a revelation. I've honestly never laid down on anything comfier! To me, the mattress delivers that elusive holy grail - the perfect softness but at the same time very supportive. I immediately regretted not asking for the king sized version of the mattress for myself and looked into how Emma had achieved designing such a comfortable mattress.

Emma have managed to make the most comfortable mattress ever by combining layers of memory foam, cold foam, pocket springs and Airgocell. This combination adapts itself to your body type and gives the maximum amount of comfort. It also keeps you cool. It's like sleeping on a highly supportive cloud!

Anyway, I was so impressed that I emailed Emma and asked them if they would consider collaborating with me on a king sized mattress for my own bed. Luckily for me they said yes and one is winging it's way to me as we speak!

The beauty of Emma too is that they offer a 100 night trial to see if you're happy with it. A mattress is a big investment and a good one can make a huge difference to your well being. If you've spent a lot of money on one that's not helping you rest, then that's a big cost both financially and healthwise. I know I operate far much better in my day if I've slept well the night before. In the unlikely event that the Emma mattress is not for you then you can send it back within the first 100 days for free for a full refund. I don't think you can get a better guarantee than that!

Anyway, my daughter is really enjoying sleeping on her Emma mattress and I often find her reading in bed now as it's just the comfiest place in the house for reading. I can't wait for my Emma mattress to arrive too. Emma have given me a discount code to share with you DEE110 which gives you £110 off any size mattress. Click here to go straight to their website.

This blog post was sponsored by Emma but, as always, I would never accept a collaboration with a brand I didn't truly believe was of a very high standard.

Sunday Dinner in Winter with Denby Pottery

January - the one month of the year when I think it's perfectly acceptable to hibernate as much as possible. It's cold outside, it's not light until 8am and it's dark again by four. You can't go anywhere without donning lots of layers and it seems to take much longer to get to places when the weather is dark, freezing and wet. It's so much easier to stay in but it's also very easy to stay in too much and get down in the dumps. I think it's much better to embrace the season and make the most of what it has to offer with bracing walks in the countryside followed by cosy get togethers and meals, indoors by the woodburner, with friends and family.

I'm lucky enough to live in the beautiful Cotswolds and there are picturesque walks starting pretty much from my doorstep. We wrap up super warm with jumpers, coats, scarves and hats and pop on our walking boots or wellies. My husband's favourite motto for life is 'there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes' and off we trot, regardless of the weather. We also have a dog, Ted, who is not at all fussy about the weather - he just wants to get out there! We round up friends and family and their children and convince them to come with us. Children are much better at long walks when they have the company of other children we've learnt (by bitter experience!)

Photo: The Cotswolds by @cotswoldsgent

Denby Pottery has been making tableware for over 200 years so they definitely know what they're doing! And it's always a pleasure to serve food to your guests on good quality crockery - it makes your guests feel more welcome and special. Quality crockery like Denby also helps to elevate the look of the food to the next level - always useful when you're cooking is as average as mine! I tried the Denby Natural Canvas Range and I love it's elegance and simplicity. It also mixes and matches with all of our other crockery and glassware.

Denby 'Natural Canvas'.

When we get back from our walk, usually cold and wet, it's really preferable to have dinner waiting with no further effort needed and the best way to achieve this is by leaving a casserole cooking slowly in the oven. I've been using the Denby 'Halo' 26cm Cast Iron Casserole to cook chicken casseroles in the oven while we're out. Left on a low heat for a few hours, this cast iron casserole dish cooks the food perfectly and then keeps it hot on the table while you're serving up (and serving up seconds, hopefully!). It's good looking enough to be left out on the dining table.

Here's one of my recent successful receipes - Coq Au Vin. It serves six and can all be thrown in the cast iron casserole dish and cooked slowly on a low heat in the oven for three hours.

6 medium chicken breasts

1 bottle Merlot

12 shallots

150ml chicken stock

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp tomato puree

250g mushrooms

2 Rosemary sprigs, 2 Thyme sprigs.

Denby 'Halo' Casserole

Fresh air, good food and good company really are the perfect way to keep the winter blues at bay and Denby make it both beautiful and easy with their good looking but practical tableware. 

Cuckooz - Hoxton.

I recently stayed at the Cuckoos property in Hoxton. Cuckoos are a collection of serviced apartments dotted around London with an emphasis on it being a home from home. I think I've probably spoken before about how I can't bear to stay anywhere ugly. I can't work out the point of spending a lot of money on staying somewhere that is not as nice as your own home! It should always be at least slightly better (I know that sounds so pompous!) and so I was delighted when I heard that Cuckooz properties are all designed by interior designers,

Sure enough, as soon as you walk into the apartment, you feel immediately at home and positively energised by the decor. The Hoxton apartment was designed in collaboration with Camille Walala, a French artist known for her powerfully positive digital print. Her signature tribal pop style certainly puts a smile on your face and gives the apartment such a fresh feel.

The master bedroom is large and spacious, with french doors onto the patio, plenty of storage space and a wondrous en suite bathroom. And Camille Walala's decor carries on through the whole apartment to the second bedroom which is also amply sized. Everywhere was spotlessly clean.

The main bathroon is next to the second bathroom and is amply stocked with lovely Bamford products. The decor is all pulled together by the spacious and imposing hallway.

The playful black stripes were all painted by hand and are a brilliant example of how to create a striking look without spending a lot of money.

Hoxton itself has a vibrant arts and entertainment scene and has mostly shrugged off it's rough and ready image associated with it's past.

We loved staying at this Cuckooz apartment in Hoxton - it was beautifully  decorated and furnished with everything you might need. The surrounding area is so interesting and well worth a visit in it's own right, or as a springboard into central London with it's excellent transport links. I'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

Marks & Spencers Sleep Retreat @ The Artists Residence

I'd like to consider myself Quite A Busy Person but I am also a big fan of my bed. I love an early night, I love sleeping and I love lying in. It takes two cups of tea before I can get going in the morning and it's not unusual for my husband to make the bed in the morning before he goes to work with me still in it! One of my other 'quirks' is that I can't stand staying anywhere ugly. I know this is not exactly a third world problem, but staying in a run down hotel or a holiday cottage that was last decorated in the 1990's actually makes me feel ill! I know, I know - I need to get over myself! To compensate for this ridiculous phobia I take my own cushions, rugs, bedding and lights on holiday with me. And it's probably the reason I like glamping so much - you can design and create your own space! So when Marks and Spencers invited me for a Sleep Retreat at The Artists Residence, London, I couldn't actually believe my luck! Two of my 'things'  - sleep and beautiful interiors all rolled together into one delicious package.

I arrived at The Artists Residence unfashionably early (because I'm such a keeno) and got checked into my room - No 4 The Club Suite. 

As someone who's hotel experience is largely made up of Premier Inns and also as someone who is also more affiliated with a greasy camping stove than a hotel mini bar, you can see how much of a dream wrapped in a wish this room was for me!

Marks and Spencers had also very kindly left a treat box of sleep related goodies - beautiful pyjamas, a silk sleep mask, This Works Deep Sleep Bath Soak and Deep Sleep Shower Gel and Formula Absolute Ultimate Sleep Cream which promises 'skin that looks like you've had eight hours sleep even when you haven't'. Needless to say, I've been slapping that bad boy onto my face good and thick ever since! 

The sleep theme continued downstairs at supper at The Artists Residence. We were all seated at a beautifully decorated table and invited to help ourselves from sharing platters. 

Dining room goals at The Artists Residence, London.

The menu for the evening was especially designed by nutritionist Amelia Freer using foods that naturally help to promote sleep. It was all about healthy fats from olive oil, nuts and seeds, along with plenty of protein in the form of fish and vegetables and minimal refined sugar to avoid overnight blood sugar fluctuations. The menu also provided magnesium; an essential mineral to help calm the mind and promote sleep. Even the sour cherries in the dessert were carefully selected to help sleep as they contain melatonin, a key component in sending signals to the brain telling it to go to sleep. The meal was rounded off with a glass of truly delicious warm spiced cashew nut milk.

While we ate, Certified Sleep Coach Max Kirsten talked us through lots of tips on how to get a better nights sleep and how he feels that we are all, these days, affected by sensory overload - something that I can strongly relate to.

Fascinated!

The worst culprit for sensory overload is, as I've long suspected, our mobile phones. Mobile phones are the biggest killer of sleep not only because of the light they emit - the short wavelength of the blue light emitted by mobile phone screens encourages our brains to be alert. Activating the ‘night mode’ function goes some way to reducing this but we heard from Max that it's far more effective to limit phone usage in the evening. More alarming than the light though, Max also reported that new research shows that our brains have now started firing up just at the sight of a mobile phone - the mere shape of it is enough to excite our brains at the possibilities it can provide and prevent sleep. 

Bright overhead lights also encourage our brains to stay alert, we learned, so it's best turn off the overhead lights and have ambient light such as candles or table lamps on instead, to allow the circadian rhythms of our bodies to wind down naturally in lower-level light conditions.

The final sleep fact that I took away was that our bodies tempertures dip naturally in the evening, signalling to our brains that it's time for sleep. We can help this process with a warm bath or shower; the cooling process afterwards will help lull us to sleep. It's also important to find bedding that suits as being too hot or too cold at night will greatly disturb sleep.

With these soothing facts in mind, and after a lovely evening of delicious, sleep inducing food and drink, we retired to our rooms. I popped on my new pyjamas, oohed and aahed over my room a little more and then and then jumped into my sumptuous bed which was made up with a Marks and Spencers Hungarian Goose Down duvet with Marks and Spencers Pure Linen Bedding Set

I had a super comfortable night and awoke the next morning refreshed and with only a slight headache from all the wine at supper which I'm sure helped with the sleep too!

I then took the absolute liberty of having breakfast in bed followed by a long soak in the free standing clawfoot bath. Something I havent done since before I had children fifteen years ago! 

So, thank you so much The Artists Residence and Marks and Spencers for having me at your Sleep Retreat. It really was a dream, wrapped in a wish, and I'm very grateful for the experience.

This blog post is in collaboration with Marks and Spencers but all views are my own, as always.

Photo Credit: Sam Mellish.

Older Posts

Hey there!

So, I started writing blogs before my new website came kicking and screaming into this world.  If you are interested, they are over on Blogger, so just click and read the following titles.

Crushing on velvet

Vintage caravan makeover

In praise of neon

Five ways with hairpin legs

Three must have house plants

From camping to glamping - 4 tips

What I learned at Abigail Ahern design workshop

Modern scandinavian look on budget

3 ways with fairy lights

Five houseplants that I think are pretty hard to kill