Style Direction

Does your style direction wax and wane? Do you know what your 'style' is? I feel like I'm drawn to different styles constantly.

Lately I love to see spaces filled with glamour and neutrals but I also love rooms that have a rustic feel and I am habitually drawn to the feminine touches of colour...

But what I really love is spaces that balance all of these factors, these are the rooms that take my breath away!

My favourite heart stopping deal breakers:

The feminine chic touch of orchids in any room
Lots of white
Trims and accents of black
Shots of pink or purple
Chunks of amethyst
Faux fur
White or pink roses
Pattern: pretty in pinks, animal always, black and white stripes and dots
Gold frames and accents

Look and love dear readers...

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Birthday Weekend

{Beautiful flowers for my nest}

(a trip to oxford complete with burgers and the best ever milkshakes at Byrons}

{an amazing meal at The Hand and Flowers, Marlow}

What a lucky girl I am! X

Back in the Game

Well this little blog has been neglected for too long! After a crazy few months moving (again!) and being very busy on all fronts I am now back and firing on all cylinders!

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January is a love hate month for me. It sees awful weather and short days with the hangover from Christmas and so long till Spring but it's also mine and my best friend's birthday month. It can be hard to feel energised and motivated when it is dark and cold but strangely I do!

The new year to me feels like a new diary all fresh and empty reading to be filled. I like to plan a lot in January, just little things plotted out for the unfolding year ahead like little seeds waiting to bloom... it give purpose and something to look forward to in these dark days. Do you do this too? Are you you in hibernation till the Spring?!

I love the idea of this stylish diy filing box above. Not only is it a great way to stay organised it then turns into a lovely keepsake when the year is done. Instead of months you could divide it up for projects, rooms, clients or inspiration styles. This may be my weekend project, I have so many empty boxes since Christmas!

Another thing I find helps with the January Blues is giving yourself a little post Christmas treat. It doesn't have to be costly, but something that gives you a quick pick me up.  As we are going out for my birthday I went all out for a bright red dress...

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after gleaning inspiration from this outfit...

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so will be pairing with thick black tights for this cold January weekend! Whether yours is as freezing or hot and sunny - enjoy! x

Tailored Masculine/Feminine

... is how I'm feeling right now...

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How about you? X

Snippets from Summer

Here's a few shots of from our holiday in Cornwall.

We were very lucky with the weather, it had been miserable for weeks but we had blue skies for the entirety!

Port Isaac - where Doc Martin is filmed

Fresh shellfish at Port Isaac Harbour

A beautiful cove outside of Newquay called Lusty Glaze!

St Michael's Mount near Penzance

People walking along the causeway at St Michaels Mount - we got the boat!

St Ives

We stayed at a uber child friendly hotel called Sands just outside of Newquay. I had been so worried about the weather I wanted somewhere with things for kids to do just in case. It's a friendly, welcoming, great value hotel with loads of facilities and can see why it's won it's many tripadvisor awards. Their outside space for kids was amazing with zipwires, bouncy castle, swimming pool, tennis courts etc.

We've decided though that next time we want to try the Watergate Bay Hotel a few further miles up the coast. It's had a major revamp and the new decor is gorgeous - fun and fresh with lots of bold striped wallpaper, floor boards and a hit of nautical. I think it gets the balance of child friendly and chic just right.

It's right on the beach at Watergate Bay (obvs!) and across the road from Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant where we had an amazing dinner one night watching the surfers until it grew dark.

The balcony bar at Watergate Bay Hotel

Dinner at Watergate Bay Hotel

Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall

Lusty Glaze at sunset

Our last supper at Lusty Glaze, steak and seafish on hot stones

We loved it and will definitely be back next year, fingers crossed the weather is kind to us again!

E Design - Room Service!

Well after a wonderful, family focused summer the kiddies are finally back at school and pre-school so I have a few tender, precious hours to myself each day!

I've decided I'd like to give some more time to my interior design, building up slowly but still being around for the boys.

So I'm now offering 'Room Service' an E - Design service! I've been doing this for a few clients and friends who don't live near me and I'm pleased to say it's worked really well.

The hardest part of redecorating for a lot of people is working out what they really want and envisaging it in their own space. This is where E-Design is perfect as I work with you to really find out what it is that you want, bring it to life and then you can go do it with no pressure and enjoy the process! I'm really excited about it I can help you out with either:

- Inspiration Consultation: a listening and advising service, culminating in a tailored personalised moodboard, setting out the colours and feel of your room for you to go forward and create or...


- Room Service: a full e-design 'room' service where, after consultation, I create a moodboard, a pininterest board just for your project, floor plan and action plan with lists of suppliers and helpful tips to create your dream room.

To get the ball rolling and to make sure this can be available to all I'm offering these at a very special price just for this month - just £20 for the Inspiration Consultation and £40 for Room Service!

Any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch at leanne.chandler@rocketmail.com x

Monday Brights - Ikat Eye Candy

Raining here again {sigh}


And the camping was of course a no-go so we 'rain checked' haha. Yes I'm losing my grip with all this wet weather so I am forcing some really sucker punch brights upon us this Monday to lift the spirits....

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Gorgeous, right?

L xx

Happy Friday {another wet weekend}

This is us in England right now... trying to enjoy the summer even though it is the wettest on record - we WILL have fun!

We're going camping this weekend and then on holiday to cornwall next week so I will definitely need these wellies (i have them in pink but am loving the red with the leopard!)

...this outlook on life...

And to remember to enjoy the moment with the people who matter! 

What are your plans? Whatever they are, rain or shine, have fun!

L x

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Garden Room

During our 'renting phase' as I like to call it we have now rented quite a few different types of house - Georgian, Victorian and uber contemporary. Before that we owned a starter home/new build and then a converted barn!

We've learned a LOT through this process, and as much as I still crave my own home I think it has been a great learning curve for two house-a-holics! And narrows down for me exactly what I want from my dream home. Not dream-win-the-lottery-home but dream forever home.

Although this dreamy room is an apartment in Madrid (see here for more), this image sums up my perfect day room. A room or even a space off of the kitchen with wall to wall glass doors with day bed, fresh modern moroccan features, lots of white, warm wooden floors and of course a hint of pink. What could be more perfect? Gorgeous!
L x

Bargain Buy #2 - Warehouse Yellow Lace Dress

There are so many early sales on right now! I've been searching for a nice dress to where to Henley Festival next week. It's black tie so some women wear floor length gowns but I'm not really feeling that so was looking for something sophisticated but something I could also wear again.

After trying on about 100 dresses this one came home with me. It's not what I will be wearing to the 'do' but I love it and it was down from £58 to £35 so it would have been rude not to!

Warehouse have some great dresses at the moment and I must say they are much better in real life than viewed on their website so definitely one to check out.

Tomorrow I'll post the dress I found for next weeks event - another bargain! L x