Weekend Update

This weekend saw a very welcome escape from London to go and stay with friends in the Cotswold countryside for a couple of lazy days mainly revolving around eating, antiques-hunting and sofa-lounging. Heaven. 

I went | To Tetbury in Wiltshire Gloucestershire for an afternoon of antiques hunting. Jamie and I came away with some Victorian medicine bottles, a silver cocktail shaker, a mother-of-pearl box for playing cards, some old boxes of photographic film and a big old wine bottle for a candle. You can see some our haul on my Instagram.

I ate | A lot! From home-cooked pork belly and brownies, to baked camembert with cranberry at The Wild Duck, this was winter eating at its best.

I drank | Really into all things Beetroot juice. With blueberry and/or apple for sweetness. 

I watched |  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Accurate adaptation and awesome visually - might feel a little lacking in substance for those who haven't read the books. One of those stories that really benefits from a narrator and being in Katniss's head.

I wore | My vintage fur coat bought in Paris many years ago is once again getting lots of wear now its getting colder. 

I bought |  Inspired by our host's insanely cosy sitting room, I've invested in some grey throws to have on hand as it gets colder. This striped one and this waffle throw from John Lewis are two favourites. 

In other news, I've finally got round to adding some pieces to my Tictail store with more to come very soon. Iro, Isabel Marant, H&M and Free People all up there.... Check it all here.

All images via my instagram // @lucywilliams02

Home-Making

If you follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram will have gathered that I moved house a few weeks ago and as a result have been fairly preoccupied with sourcing cheap furniture, scouring Ebay for dining tables and generally having my entire attention diverted towards all things home-related. And after lots of requests, I thought I'd share a few snaps of our new flat and some favourite bargain finds I've picked up along the way.  The place was  unfurnished when we moved in and aside from a couple of bits I had already, we really had to start from scratch. Within about 10 days of moving in though it was pretty much done with everything aside from the sofa and bed being second-hand in order to keep costs down.

We sourced lots of stuff from Sunbury Antiques market at Kempton race course just outside London- scroll to the bottom for a few hints and tips if you're thinking of making a trip there. I'm already hankering for a return visit...

After a 2 weeks of constant Ebay trawling, I finally found the perfect kitchen table via Boathouse Originals. It was originally painted dark blue but they very kindly repainted it for me in this dark grey chalk paint by Annie Sloan. I love how worn the top is - it means no one has to be precious about spilling stuff or using a dreaded coaster.

 I found the chairs in a local shop near my parents house while the stools and bench (just seen on the far side) all came from Sunbury. The stools cost £10 each and I think the bench was about £25. I repainted the tops of the stools white as they were originally a varnished wood yellow-y wood that clashed with the floor and table top. It's a very small space so the bench works really well as the table can be pushed against the wall until we have people round. I've since got some new cushions for the bench and chairs so it no longer looks quite so bare! 

The vintage 1930s mirror was via Ebay and the chest of drawers was the best bargain of Sunbury at only £10. I looked at others that were £70-90 so I couldn't really believe my luck with this one. I eventually want to strip it and repaint in a matte light grey but the gloss white will do for now.

I never throw away a Diptyque candle - I just use boiling water to get the last bit of wax out and then use for storing make-up brushes/cotton buds. Also in the shot is my favourite lip balm by Nuxe (it has to live on the bathroom shelf or I'll loose it in a day!) and my new little black skull candles Jamie bought for me when in New York. 

Records, magazines and favourite keepsakes picked up on our travels have found a home on the shelf above our dining table. I love catching a glimpse of my crosses up there.

I knew I wanted a trunk for a coffee table so that was one of the first things we hunted for when we arrived at Kempton.  I'd been looking on Ebay and visited vintage stores before Kempton but to no avail so this was the final push in the search! I ended up spying this beaten-up black one under a tressel table. It wasn't actually for sale initially - it belonged to the trader who used it as storage! - but luckily it was ours for £40. The Kilim rug also came from Kempton and we managed to get a pretty good deal on that and the one below for the hallway.

My skulls in their new home. The blue one is from L.A, the white from Tulum. 

Much to Jamie's dismay, I insisted on buying these vintage antlers at Kempton. But for £40 (they go for closer to £100 on Ebay) I couldn't not. At the moment they're living perched on my new zinc butler's tray from Cox and Cox.

A brief glimpse of our cosy living room. It's getting there!

And last but not least, the 1920s antique bistro set for our new garden, also picked up at Kempton.  The whole set cost us £90 which isn't bad considering some individual vintage chairs like these on Ebay are fetching £40-50.  I saw a table like this for £100 in a French-style antiques shop recently so £90 for all three ain't bad. I love the fact they're not matching or immaculate either and are already stained and worn-takes the pressure off having to keep them perfect!

And finally, a few tips I've picked up along the way.... 

....for furniture shopping in general: 

• Set yourself a budget and stick to it. Give yourself a pot and divide it up in terms of what you need to buy. Try not to be tempted to overspend on one item otherwise it means you have less for everything else. The perfect one is out there somewhere and for the right price!
• Use Pinterest. I found it really helpful to direct my eye and comes in handy sometimes when you're asking yourself if you really like it.
• On the whole, look past big stores and online interiors boutiques.  Sofas/beds etc are worth spending more on so you get something good quality that lasts but otherwise Ebay and antiques fares offer more interesting, unique pieces and are normally so much cheaper (yes even cheaper than Ikea). Those antiques stores and independent vintage furniture shops with loads of amazing pieces?  They probably go to Kempton to buy stock....
• Try not to rush it - rather than going for the first or easiest thing, hold out for the right thing or that image you have in your head. This is one I really struggled with as it's so tempting to go for whatever's easiest just so you can have said item immediately. I was very tempted by a few things along the way as I was looking for stuff but ultimately was so glad I held off once I did stumble upon the 'one'. 

....Sunbury Antiques market specifically: 

• Get there early. It's best to arrive at 6.30 A.M if you can - we got there at 6.45 and it was already very busy.  Yes it's dark and cold when the alarm goes off, but 100% worth it when you get there. The trains start to arrive from London around 7 A.M so best to get there before the crowds.
• Unless you're just browsing for fun, have a list of items you want to find and look only for these. There's so much amazing stuff it's easy to get sidelined! I barely stepped into the inside stalls as we had so much furniture we wanted to find so stuck to the outdoors stalls instead. 
• If you see something you 100% know you want, get it there and then or it might go. Do one fairly quick round of the whole market when you arrive to get your bearings and suss out which areas you want to re-visit.
• Take cash before you get there. This way you can stick to a budget and don't have to waste time queuing for the machine. 
• Everyone barters but some vendors might not budge. Be realistic but always worth asking for a good deal. 
• To give you an idea of time, we arrived at 6.45 and were back in central London having dropped off our finds at home by 12.30. You can accomplish a lot in a short period of time if you put your mind to it! 

Inside

I'll be moving house at the end of the summer so my thoughts (and pins) have shifted slightly, with interiors and all things inside being my mental focus of late. As we’ll be renting and the square-footage is likely to be pretty small, it’s all about little details and personal add-ons that make a big difference.

Mirrored trays for making lotions and potions look a little nicer.

Make-shift bar cart

Simple wood bath tray 

On the hunt for the perfect set of old horns for the wall

'Morroccan bed spread' is one of my favourite ebay search terms right now. 

Might have to invest in one of my favourite candles (Baies) as a house-warming present to myself

Roller-wallpaper - such a good idea

 

Ikat rugs and stacks of magazines

Vintage tea tins for herbs

Love these skull catcti; the one house plant I won't kill. 

More rugs, trunks and catci

Drinks tray

Found this on Pinterest-a great way for making an ugly bed look a bit prettier. Anyone know where from?

I'm obsessed with insects at the moment (not as weird as it sounds I promise!) and I love these prints from Graham & Green.

Mini ladder for a side table

I already have these but just love them. Never throw away old candle jars! 

 I love the idea of a wall of random photos, prints and posters. 

Kilim floor cushions

More horns and lots of clean white to save it from all feeling cluttered.

And last but not least, a dream house for the 'one day' box.

All pictures from my Pinterest boards.

Happy Homes and Horrible Hairdressers

Found all these amazingly inspiring pics on ETC, Le Fashion's sister blog.  I love nice spaces and am secretly, or now not so secretly, addicted to home and interiors magazines and love catching glimpses of amazing rooms whilst sitting on the top deck of the bus....I love the way the unmade beds in these pics just make the pictures look even better (though I have to admit I am definitely a bed-maker-kind of anal) and that Hermes tray and all that's on it, the silver skull being my fave,  is almost too good to be true.  The well worm Chloe boots just at the bottom of the Hermes pic make me think that whoever inhabits that gorgeous abode is definitely a girl after my own heart too....  

So Saturday morning, slightly fuzzy-headed and heading for the hairdressers.  Now normally I like the hairdressers-a sugary cup of tea with those little wrapped, caramelised biccies, catching up on celeb gossip magazines guilt-free, a nice head massage and coming out with cleanest smelling hair ever (only with a slightly dodgy blow dry). Today however was different.  Sulky, grunting hair dresser who washed my hair so aggressively and angrily told me to 'move my head up' before haphazardly chopping into my hair as if she was after an asbo.  Didn't offer me a drink and pulled and scraped at my hair so hard it hurt...no yummy lotus biscuits for me and definitely no tip or return custom for her this morning.  Am now consoling myself with tea, biscuits and Masterchef at home....

HomeSweetHome

I like my clothes black and house white....

Feast your eyes..

Quick post of a few of the thigs ive saved over the last week on my boyfriends computer, mainly from fashion canvas I think but not sure about some of them. Getting more and more into my interiors shots (a sure sign of getting old and domesticated) and I'm still such a sucker for cigarette shots....