Home Sweet Home

I'm moving out of my lovely East London home at the end of the week so I'm in the process of packing everything up. As I was putting things in boxes I realised there are quite a few handmade things dotted around my room which I have never blogged about. It also occured to me that it would be a shame not to document my little home before it exists no more! I think I've mentioned before that I love interior design so here's a bit of mine...

A medicine cabinet I found in an antiques shop which was that horrible bathroom shade of pink. I sanded it down and gave it a distressed white finish. The little owls and their tree were made for me by a lovely Finnish lady.

A cake stand made from junk shop crockery. This is what it looked like after I had taken everything off it...

...and here's what it looks like normally.

I'm planning on making another cake stand soon, either for my new flat or to sell. Here are the pieces ready to be assembled on the left. On the right you can see my collection of broken china. I'm still a bit in denial that these beautiful plates and mugs are gone forever so I've kept the pieces in the hope of finding a project I can use them in. Any ideas?

You may have seen this is the edge of earlier pictures. I liked this french mackerel tin in an odd kind of way. As you can see from many of the photos I have a strange attraction to empty tins and bottles, they're really useful for putting flowers and candles in. I had a few rose candles I'd bought which were too pretty to burn, so I stuck the tin to the wall and used it as a little shelf!

At the bottom of my full cake stand you can see this collar. I crocheted it using this pattern. It's really useful for prettying up a boring top or dress.

My bed. I bought this bedspread at a market the other day for £4! I love the colours and mixture of prints. I also made the two floral cushions from ikea fabric. Next to them you can see nounou my boyfriend's bear (now everyone knows he's a little boy at heart! sorry Pierre if you're reading this). Also that is my signed Nouvelle Vague poster, a prized possession.

My blue themed bedside table. That alarm clock gives me a heart attack every morning!

Here's a close up of the little alcove shelves. The observant amongst you will have noticed that I had already started tidying this when I took the picture of my bed.

This has been the most useful and space-saving piece of furniture ever. Coat rack, shelving, cubby holes, jewellery holder... It's got it all! On the left is my Rob Ryan papercut. I've been following his work for years and when my boyfriend bought me this I was so happy.




On my grey blazer here you can just about see the little Russian doll brooch I bought from my friend Olly. Check out her Wollies here, they are beautiful labours of love.




My most recent find. A beautiful lamp for £2 from Deptford Market. Took a while to clean and I'm trying to decide on a lampshade, but I love it!

Well there we go, bye bye little home. It's been lovely living in such a vibrant area. I'm going to miss having so many amazing creative designers and vintage shops on my doorstop. Here are a few of my favourite neighbours should you ever be in Bethnal Green:

Shelf for work from inspiring designers : http://www.helpyourshelf.co.uk/

Beyond Retro for the best selection of vintage clothes: http://www.beyondretro.com/

Traditional and useful homewares, walking past this shop everyday makes me smile: http://www.labourandwait.co.uk/

Beautiful displayed jewellery from Comfort Station: http://www.comfortstation.co.uk/