Bright, patterned towels - yay or nay?

Well I can't get enough of them. My airing cupboard is bursting at the seams and I have a long wish list of towels left in me. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourites I've seen as I've been poking around shops recently because, well, there's no better time to stock up before the relatives arrive at Christmas. Wow the world with your towel collection whilst giving your bathroom a bit of a facelift. 

Above are the beautiful

Padua Christy range in Deep Sea

blue (which I have). They come in 3 colour variations + have a nice border around them.

Something a little more fun, I saw these in John Lewis recently, it's 

SCION's range

. The hedgehogs are a personal fave. Again, nice border on each end - is it just me who loves that? It's the only way I can tell between a Primark towel and something a little more luxurious. 

I also came across these sets in John Lewis, which would look quite good together for a mish mash look. The first are the

Coastal Nordic Scene towels

,  great for a seaside theme bathroom or small toilet. The second set are the

Isometric towels in Steel / Dandelion

which would look great in a spare bedroom with grey colour schemes.

Then I came across the

Tibetan bright towels

(to the far left) in Marks + Spencer which I adore. The range look like they should be rugs and have that luxurious autumnal look to them. Great styling in the photo above too, the Tibetan towel looks fantastic against the bright yellow. Not so sure on striped towels like the far right though. Striped towels aren't really my thing. Can't even give you a valid reason why ;)

And finally, these towels which are way too nice to be towels. I came across them on the

Urbanara

website. They look more like shawls or throws, don't you think?

I'm really intrigued by them. Do they even feel like towels? are they super fast drying? I really wonder. All I know is that if you're going away for a weekend somewhere and you rock up with a towel like this you'd be instantly cool in my book. 

What do you think? Are you a patterned towel lover?

Fiona xoxo

11 things to add to your kitchen for a cottage feel

Are cottage kitchens a yay or a nay in your book?

More and more home owners are opting for modern looks in their kitchens. Glossy white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, marble finished floors. But after flicking through my countless period homes magazines archives, I realised something. 

If you go for a cottage theme in your kitchen it will never date. And not only that, if your kitchen is super small, you should make a statement of it with cottage style. Give it cottage character.

Good things come in small packages after all, and I've always thought, your kitchen doesn't need ridiculous amounts of space to be on trend. 

If you've seen my kitchen before (which isn't regularly featured on my blog, I must say, I've only photographed it in my

Before and after Laura Ashley kitchen tiles

 post) you'll see that it's sorta small. I always feel like it has cottage appeal with the oak worktops and the stable back garden door though - and believe it or not we're in the middle of a city. It's an urban cottage look!

Anyway, I'm loving having a small kitchen and want to introduce more cottage character to it so I thought I'd pull together some ideas to give your small kitchen some country chic if you live in a pea sized little home. Let's go cottage kitchen chic together!

I hope you like the ideas...

1. Store all of your fruit, veg, bread + laundry bits inside wicker baskets

Seriously, I have a ridiculous amount of love for everything wicker. I've said it once and I'll say it again and again. This versatile material is so easy to find in high street stores or charity shops. It gives texture and warmth to rooms in need of cosy-ing up (can a kitchen be cosy?) and it's a great way to bring the outdoors indoors.

2. Mix and match your tea cups like you have a porcelain addiction

Something I'm slowly but surely collecting (and salvaging from any charity shop in sight) are tea cups. You know, the ornate floral kind with very sweet gold rims and matching saucers? I found 4 for 50p in a second hand shop near me, and as I'm collecting all different types, I'm getting so much enjoyment out of my collection.

3. Opt for open shelves and welcome the cluttered look

I've seen DIYs on pinterest showing you how to remove parts of your existing kitchen cupboards to open up your kitchen and get a shelving look. Stacking gorgeous plates, pots and pans on open shelving is a great way to give your kitchen a cottage vibe. If you're brave you could use a cute vintage floral wallpaper

like this from Graham + Brown

to sit behind the shelves. So cottagey!

4. Paint existing cupboards or walls in muted tones from Farrow + Ball

I know I'm not the only one who loves

Farrow + Ball

, but really, they are THE paint choice of all choices if you want to channel the country/cottage vibe. Our kitchen has

Farrow + Ball's Bone

on the doors and skirting, and it brings in a touch of English heritage. Their paints are all mixed with traditional, period decor in mind making it extremely difficult to get it wrong.

5. Rugs can sit in the kitchen too!

Kitchen rugs are all over pinterest at the mo. Rugs are fantastic genius little things that can totally change the space you're decorating. For a cottage kitchen look, I would opt for a half round crochet rug (bonus points if it's crocheted with plastic style, durable material for high traffic and a lot of cooking spillages) to sit near the sink to keep your tootsies cosy as you wash up. It's the little things!

6. Mismatched old wooden chairs are a must

...and if you can fit one in, get your hands on a rocking chair too. Adorn these bad boys with multi coloured crochet blankets for ultimate cottage chic.

7. Ditch bevelled tiling and opt for artisan crooked edges

Subway tiles are so on trend, but the straight edges never really appealed to me when I was choosing tiles for our kitchen. I knew I wanted the sought after white tile/black grout look but I also wanted a hand made touch that was less clinical. I opted for non-straight edge white tiles on black grout which some might say was a brave decision. We don't have clean edges, but I love them. Crooked = character-filled in my book. Homebase are stocking these

quintessentially british tiles

at the mo. I'm so glad we chose them.

8. If it's not being stored in a wicker basket, store it in a Kilner jar!

These beauties are from

Silver Mushroom

. I love them as they're a little different from the clear traditional jars.

Homebase

have a great selection of clear jar storage in their Kitchen section too, but for a different spin, try all white.

9. If you need mod cons, go for copper

Every kitchen needs a kettle, cocktail shaker and a microwave right? Sometimes stainless steel are the only option and that doesn't sit easy in a cottage kitchen. Where ever you can, opt for copper or antique gold / brass appliances. I love my new copper cocktail shaker from 

Silver Mushroom

. It's a steal at only £20.

10. Get yourself a quintessentially English radio, like, now

No cottage kitchen is complete without a vintage style radio.

Pure

have a fabulous range of digital radios. This one above is inspired by a fine

Sanderson

 fabric / wallpaper. Possibly the cutest collaboration ever between Sanderson + Pure, wouldn't you agree? The Chelsea radio has been born, and looks none other than perfect whilst you butter your toast in your cosy cottage kitchen.

11. Grow your own herbs or daffodils + introduce some green

The beauty of cottage kitchens is how they have an outdoorsy feel without losing warmth from woods, crochet accents and copper utensils. How is this achieved? By adding filling your worktops and window sills with plants. A herb garden is a must in any kitchen. Plant in a long timber pot and you've nailed the look!

Want to see if having a cottage kitchen is the right choice for you?

Download my free interior class to define your unique style in every room you decorate

.

Please please take 2 mins to

vote for me as Best for Home

in the Cosmo Blog awards, I'll forever be in your debt + will send virtual chocolate <3

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Fiona xoxo

Images all thanks to:

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