A few of my favourite things

Minimalist is not where I am at… Marie Kondo and I probably would have to agree to disagree on a few things - although the way she organises those drawers is inspiring!

Tom & I are collectors - bordering maybe on hoarders to some, but we love to collect and show the pieces that we have inherited, found, bought or made. It is through these special pieces a space can tell a story, I am inspired by spaces and their stories. I tend to group things in my space in a way that connects them and then lets the pieces do the talking. Below are a few of our many collections, the key to living like this is to not be afraid to pull the collections apart, mix and match and use them in different ways . A chaise lounge that belonged to my parents has been re-covered in an Ikea Red & White Stripe fabric that looks fresh. It sits at the front door with an occasional table and creates little reading area that the kids love to slump on.

We have these amazing American classroom maps that Tom and I found in New York, that sit pride of place at the entrance, along with my Dad’s old desk, and great Uncle Elston’s books. Mixed in this space are some leather safari chairs that are a little trashed after being crawled up and down on so many times - which is annoying but is part of our philosophy of “Let’s live surrounded by the things we Love “ Things are going to get broken, but we’d rather use the pieces than keep them in a garage or wait for the right time, because it never comes. We’ve had causalities, footballs flying around chandeliers are my particular dread, but we understand with kids, that it is live and let live, and for the most part the collections and kids have co-existed with only minor damages.