CURLY AND CANDID

My favorite family decorating picture - this is Kieran and I — My favorite family decorating picture – this is Kieran and I

I know, I know! It is November and us Christmas loons need to sort ourselves out and put a hold on our festive cheer so ridiculously early, and all that jazz. As it happens I do agree that playing Christmas music in stores on the first of November could be a little premature but as for the rest….. I can’t wait to get started!

Christmas is a very special time for us, not just Roy, myself and the boys but my whole family as I am one of six siblings and we still all go to Mum and Dad’s house on Xmas every year to exchange gifts with each other before going off to attend to our own fabulous Christmas day traditions. Obviously with so many siblings, so many extra family members and SO many fun events to attend before and during Christmas it makes sense for us to start early.

This week I set myself a list of “Christmas things to do” and here is what I have achieved:

Check gifts: I save with Park during the year and so in October I received a wad of vouchers for use against my Christmas present buying. I have also been picking things up as and when I’ve seen a suitable bargain. This week I took everything down, checked what I have against my master list and reminded myself of what I need to get still.

Gather Inspiration: I adore Christmas magazines (although still can’t get my hands on the Good Housekeeping Christmas Edition!) and build a healthy collection before the season is out. I have also been spending an obscene amount of time pinning crafts and recipes on Pinterest.

Start Stockpiling: The idea was to go to Lidl, get a few festive goodies to put away and not eat any of them. I did buy festive goodies….. that is all I have to say on that.

Get Wrap and Cards: Done! If I’d been very clever I’d have bought sellotape too but hey-ho, I need to leave something for next week.

Slim For Santa: Every year I give my slimming journey an extra kick so I will *hopefully* look better in Xmas photos. This year I have decided that I am being ridiculous and unrealistic and am looking forward to a relaxed and sensible but not so much slimming Christmas.

All in all I think my Christmas prep so far is going pretty well, what do you think? Are you super-organised and have you started ticking things off a master list yet?

*This post has been entered in my favourite linky, in fact the only linky I take part in which is called Festive Friday and this week’s posts can be found here.

I have posted many times before about my bedroom being the one room in the house that doesn’t seem to get any attention. It is a brilliantly laid out room with a fireplace and two large sash windows and all of my furniture is white and wooden. Being such a big room part of it has been earmarked as my office as during the day no-one else is using it and I love working in such a bright and light room.

The problem with having your office in your bedroom however is that it sometimes loses the “soft” and relaxed feel your bedroom should have. To combat this I’ve chosen my desk and furniture carefully and have been pleased with the way that the office and the bedroom blend as such so that we are not sleeping in a room filled with eyesore metal furniture. My filing cabinet is even cleverly hidden behind a white shaker style door.

The room has still been missing something and I felt it needed something more feminine that worked with the space and made sure that the room was a relaxing and warm bedroom first and an office second. I decided then that the bed should be the focal point and while looking at the bedding at Argos I came across the perfect solution, the Province bedspread and duvet set from the Catherine Lansfield Signature Home range. Together these make up a truly beautiful bed.

The quality of the king size duvet is undeniable and it looks fabulous against the accompanying bedspread (which is now my favourite thing in the room). The bedspread is perfect for layering up during colder nights and of course may be used on its own when the summer eventually comes around. Roy likes the design too (not too girly for him) and we are both really pleased with how the room has worked out.

So, what do you think? Have I pulled off the bedroom / office balance effect properly? Do you like the office / bedroom combo? I might have to sleep on it more to be sure but so far I think it all looks great and it feels a nice place to work and relax.

*This piece was written in collaboration with the mentioned business

The Christmas Preparation Starts Here

Using Interior Design to Bridge the Office / Bedroom Divide