Another day, another gift guide and this time I’m looking at all things home related! I’m currently in the process of moving house yet again, and it’s even more difficult than usual due to this virus! The flat we are moving out of hasn’t been let yet and the house we are moving into still needs the electrics finished and is currently full of heaters and pipes! Far from ideal. We are also moving into a teeny cottage so it is very sad seeing all these lovely things that I want to put in it but most definitely don’t have the space. Anyway, that doesn’t mean you lot can’t fill your houses with lots of lovely goodies, so here are some of the bits I’ve come across that I’d love to have myself or I think would make a great gift for somebody.
I’m going to change up the way I’ve been doing these and go room by room rather than by products, so I’ll start with the cosiest room in the house…the living room. I don’t know about you but I love cushions, I have too many and none of them match but they all look fabulous! Most of my cushions have come from Tuppence which a small business based in the Borders which is handy for me. There are loads of designs to choose from and I have cushions with hunting prints, stags and sheep so far but one that I don’t have but very much want is a newer release, the Woven Jewel Bee Cushion. They come in red, blue and green and cost £35…I just need to find a space for one of these to fill!
Staying with the cushion theme, another favourite of mine is Anna Thompson Art. She offers an amazing selection of brightly coloured cushions featuring her own distinctive designs. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the velvet Zesty Fox cushion (£69.95) and I absolutely love it. There are plenty of designs to choose from including pheasants, hares, horses, cows and stags…I could go on!
Someone who’s cushions I have not had the pleasure of owning yet but fully intend to, is Clare Haggas. She has brought out the most incredible range of velvet cushions in her signature rich colours and eye catching designs. They come in double sided velvet (£175) or single sided (£155) and are at the pricier end of the scale but once you take a look at them, you will understand why. There are her usual pheasant designs which are beautiful but I am completely taken with the Pluming Marvellous Cushion which has the most incredible blue peacock design! There is not a single design from this collection that I wouldn’t want in my home.
Aside from cushions, something I have had on my wishlist for quite some time is a fluffy footstool, and the item in question I have my eye on is the Baa Stool Mary Baa Stool which is £225. You can choose different leg styles and length as well as lots of different fur so there is something to suit everyone (as long as you like the furry look that is).
An item that I think is often overlooked but make fab presents are coasters. Everyone should have a couple of coasters kicking around the house. I personally like a sturdy, heavy coaster my favourites at the moment are by Mulberry & Hare. Made from natural stone, they are really strong and heavy and are anything but flimsy! They don’t have a huge range but I love every design they have to offer. Currently I have a bumble bee design which is no longer on the site and the March Hare but I also want to add the Snaffle and Pheasant designs to my collection. These are £14.99 for a pair and for the quality I’d say this is a great buy!
Another coaster that I use on a regular basis is the Oliver Bonas Alphabet Initial Gold & White Marble Coaster (£9.50). It’s a nice touch to have a personalised coaster and it means it stays in the same place and nobody pinches it! These are also nice and heavy and are made from white marble with a gold initial in the middle. It’s the perfect partner for my morning cup of tea (and further 10 through the day).
Moving into the kitchen and this is somewhere I might go a bit wild when we move as it is much bigger than the one we are leaving behind. One item that I already know I need in my life is the Anna Thompson Worktop Saver. Her designs are amazing and the only issue I have is deciding whether to choose the Between a Horses Ears, Brassy-Backed Bantam and the Running Reynard. Prices are £22.95- £29.95 depending on which size you choose.
Sophie Allport is another brand where I literally want everything and she has so many products to make for a fabulous kitchen and my wishlist that I have saved on the site looks more like a wedding gift list. As yet I have been unable to decide between the Chicken, Fox and Pheasant designs but I’ll need to make a decision soon if I am actually going to have any of these items in the house when we move in. One product I never thought I’d ask for is oven gloves, but here we are. As much as I love the other designs, I am leaning towards the Fox Oven Glove as the deep green shade is not only lovely but also won’t show up any marks when I inevitably burn it. This is £16 and I can’t say if that’s good value or not as I actually don’t know…but I’d buy it anyway. The matching roller hand towel is also a great looking product and the fact it has a velcro fastening might mean the dog won’t pull it onto the floor (that’s a big ask though). As well as the foxy design, I also love this Sheep pattern. Again, at £13, is this a lot for a towel? Probably, but it’s going on the list.
Moving on to one of my favourite products…mugs. I love mugs, I have way too many but I will keep collecting more. If you follow my Instagram, you will see I have had a terrible time with our Emma Bridgewater mugs and so as beautiful as they are, I absolutely cannot recommend them in this list. I do however, have a huge wishlist of Sophie Allport designs…it’s literally so long I couldn’t possibly put them all in here but a couple of my favourites are the Highland Stag, Farm Animals, Pheasies and the Highland Stag. There are two sizes of mugs, at either £12 or £14.50 (I like a large cup of tea so will be going for the big one) and so, so many amazing designs!
If you’re looking for something a bit more fancy, I am loving the look of the round cheese boards from Tipplefield. These are made from Rhodesian Teak and have silver plate brass figures in the shape of either stags or or pheasants depending on which you go for. The stag cheeseboard is £80 while the Pheasant cheeseboard is currently reduced from £80 to £58 and I think either would be a great addition to a dinner party (when we are finally allowed).
Moving to the bathroom and to be honest, I don’t think there is a great amount I can add in here but I’ll try my best. First of all I found this little soap dish on the Joules website but are from Garden Trading. I’ve been looking for one of these for ages as would like to start using soap bars rather than bottles (better for the environment ya know). This is made from natural granite so should be pretty sturdy and it looks nice. Again, this is something I don’t really know what the average price range is but at £12 it doesn’t break the bank and it’s taken me so long to find one I actually like, I’ll take it. And to go with the pretty soap dish we need some pretty soap, so here are some that are also on the Joules site and are from Toasted Crumpet. I went for the Two Gardeners Exfoliating Soaps as they also contain walnut shell for exfoliation as well as cleansing but there are other options to choose from. These are usually £12 but currently 10% off so you can get them for £10.80.
One thing I am massively looking forward to when I move is having a bath! Our teeny Edinburgh bathroom only has room for a shower and I have so missed being able to get in the tub. I’m not really one for bath bombs and a mountain of bubbles but I have to say these Citrus Bergamot & Grapefruit Bath Salts (£10)from Oliver Bonas look pretty damn nice…and not just for the bath, I would leave these out as decoration!
You always need something scented in the bathroom and I prefer a reed diffuser, and all the better if it looks nice and fancy. Everybody will have a different preference when it comes to scent but a couple of my favourites are the Sophie Allport Fig & Ginger Reed Diffuser (£25) and Rituals Sacred Saffron Mini Fragrance Sticks (£19.50). If you really fancy splashing out, you can’t beat a bit of Jo Malone. My favourite is the Lime Basil & Mandarin Scent Surround Diffuser and at £64 it is certainly a bit of luxury!
Everyone likes a little bit of novelty in their bathroom right? I know I do and one of my favourite finds is the Looprints Sex in the Country Loo Roll. £4.99 might be a bit steep for one loo roll but come on, who doesn’t like a bit of toilet humour?!
Speaking of toilet humour, and it took me ages to find this online, is the “52 Things to do While you Poo” book. We currently have this in our bathroom and it’s a great talking point. Currently £5.94 from WHSmith…bargain!
Okay just one more novelty option. V.I.Poo Spray kills me every time. I’m not going to explain what it does, you’ll just need to look it up if you don’t already know. This is exactly the type of gift I regularly give because I think I’m hilarious. I’m assuming you can guess my maturity level by now but anyone who doesn’t find this funny cannot be my friend.
Last but not least is the bedroom but if I’m honest, I can’t really think of many gifts I would want or would give for this, but I’ll still waffle on anyway. One thing I am in need of is some new bedding and I have my eye on the Sophie Allport Foxes Bedding Set which starts at £40 and the Sheep Bedding Set which starts at £38. The reason I haven’t bought these yet is because I wear a lot of fake tan and light sheets always end up looking a rather unsavoury shade of orange. I’d actually be happy to receive these as a gift as bed sheets are bloody expensive!
One product I do keep in my bedroom is my jewellery box. It took me forever to find one that I liked but then I found Stackers which basically allows you to create your own…the hard part is trying to decide as there are lots of gorgeous options. Personally I went for the classic size in the colour “Taupe” and then added the classic lid, ring and bracelet layer and the watch and accessory layer. The lid cost £25 and the other layers £20 (although some are currently on sale for £18). The best part about this brand is you can have as many or as few layers as you like and choose those that suit the jewellery you own! If you want to creat your own, you can find the page here.
If you aren’t enough of a jewellery wearer to require a full on jewellery box, I also love the look of these Oliver Bonas Mixed Marble Stacking Trinket Pots (£24). These would be perfect for storing not only jewellery but any other bits and pieces that you have lying around, not to mention they look super pretty too!
I like to light a candle in the bedroom in the evening so when it gets to bedtime, the room is full of scent. I mentioned the This Works Pillow Spray in a previous post but I also like the This Works Deep Sleep Heavenly Candle (£26) as it doesn’t take long to fill the room and the lavender scent is very relaxing.
I also like good old Parks candles, I don’t have a favourite scent and tend to buy them in multipacks so I get a variety to use, however, I always like the Cedar, Vetiver & Patchouli. This is usually £45 but currently on sale for £18!
Again, if you want to go all out, I’d point you back in the direction of Jo Malone. The candles fill the room with scent really quickly so they don’t need to burn for long and can last for ages. I’d be happy with any fragrance, but like the diffuser, my favourite is the Lime Basil & Mandarin (£49).
For the last part of this post, I’m going to talk about art, and this can be anywhere in the home! One of my favourite pieces is called Master and you may not be surprised to know it is by none other than Anna Thompson Art. I actually have so much love for her work and her prints vary from £89-£495. I want pretty much all of them but my second choice is Royal Imperial as the colours are so striking and I think it will look incredible on the wall!
Another artist I love who is based in Edinburgh is Tori Ratcliffe Art, she produces the most amazing watercolours and I am lucky enough to have a stag print called “The Clash” which starts at £45 and I’m also loving “Scotch Bonnet” which starts at £60 but there are so many products to choose from! Tori does anazing things for the environment and raises lots of money for charity so you know she’s a good egg. She also has the cutest dog who is regularly featured on her Instagram!
I’m also a big fan of Kimberley Dewhurst Art and have a fabulous pheasant print called “Bold as Brass” and I feel that “Breaking Cover” would make a great partner on the wall. She creates the most incredibly detailed pieces from birds to butterflies, hare and stags…I could go on, you just need to go and see for yourself.
Last but not least, we are big gin fans in our house and we came across the site, We Love Prints last year and found loads of fun gin bottle prints. These will look fab in any room of the house but I think they will look great in a bright bathroom! They start around £14.99 each and come in multiple sizes. I love the “Hebridean Hue” and “Harbour”.
So there’s another gift guide post done and dusted, hopefully it might have provided a bit of inspo! I’m going to try and get another one up tomorrow but may need a wee break as doing these day after day is taking up a hella lot of time! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these and any other suggestions you have!
Until next time,
Kirsty
lifewithkirstyjane.com 