Good morning, lovely subscribers, and as you read this, I will be en route to Heraklion airport to board a Jet2 flight home to Leeds. Sigh. I bloody LOVE holidays. This one I have taken with my kids (plus Ellas boyfriend) and have been really looking forward to spending a full week with them. Holidays change so much as they get older. When they’re small, they’re an endurance test. I’ve recalled this before, but I remember being in Crete when my three were little and Leo was only a year. I put him down for a sleep (our room was by the pool) and relaxed with a book, only to be disturbed by a German woman shouting that a child had escaped and was about to launch themselves in. He’d climbed OUT of his cot (don’t ask how) and wobbled his way out of the apartment, like a mini Adam Peaty in a nappy. I can categorically say that this holiday, I will have more of problem getting Leo (now 17) out of the bed than I will getting him into the pool.
Also, your kids are so much more interesting as they veer towards adulthood. On the same holiday, I can recall the same German family sitting next to us at dinner (it was a tiny Hotel called Little Inn on the less visited South coast of Crete) having political discussions and general knowledge conversations with their teens over dinner. In contrast, we were sat with three kids aged 8, 6 and 1, all of which had iPads or phones in their hands in order to stop them from constantly shouting ‘where is the food?’ or ‘can we go home now?’ so that we could enjoy our dinner for at least five minutes in peace. One day, we said, that German family will be us. And, indeed, it is, although now there are only four of us due to my divorce but I am reaping every single reward of those years of tinies, albeit alone (which is actually even better, ha). It’s good. If you have young kids and you’re reading this with half an eye on the pool so that they don’t accidentally drown, then rest assured that your day will come.
But enough parenting chat and back to the point and what have I spotted whilst perusing the heady heights of the High Street this month? Stainless steel tableware - and furniture - is hot to trot, showing there’s a strong lean towards metal textures and shiny shiny. The trend for the artisan look is also evident, with embroidery and woven textiles that are touch satisfying in all the colours, plus painterly ceramics that look like they’ve come straight from the kiln. And simplicity is key - unfussy, natural tones and materials that confirm the move away from jewel brights and towards earthy, easy to use and blend colours.
So here’s my list from twelve of the most alluring High Street homeware brands as seen this August. And my favourite find this month? Without doubt it’s the Oliver Bonas retro leather chair (not adorned with an olive, lemon or orange, thank God) which could easily pass for vintage and which I will now immediately begin saving for for my bedroom renovation . Happy Saturday!
Right, let’s kick off with H&M Home who never fail to please. They’ve got a Sale on as I write this and during investigation for the best of the new, I managed to order some hand towels and a bath mat. Sigh. Anyway, this rice paper lamp is giving me Formakami vibes - it’s a great size and would look brilliant on a landing or staircase drop. I am a big fan of rice paper lanterns - they’re eternally stylish, give great diffused light and are never too expensive.
Quite into red at the moment, I have to admit. This gorgeous double sided quilt is from a collaboration with antique dealer and textile collector Katharine Pole, taking inspiration from her pattern archives from the 18th and 19th century and reimagining them into contemporary fabric designs. The colours here are fabulous and I’m super tempted to add to to my bedroom moodboard.
More red - well, more like burgundy - and some excellent wide painterly stripes on this cool little stoneware mug at John Lewis. Each piece is unique and these would look excellent in my pale blue kitchen. Whether or not I can warrant another mug is dubious, but these are great value as they’re part of the JL Special Buy. This means that they get a good price from the supplier and pass it on to the customer for a limited time which is brilliant.
There’s a LOT of stainless steel going on on the High Street. It’s been having a moment for a while and this season, Mango Home have a whole collection of shininess for perusal and I’m not complaining about it. This jug is a winner - a good size, perfect for table water and looks the part. This is the kind of addition that you’ll use for years, it’ll never go out of style.
Ah La Redoute, I really do love you. Now, I don’t need this side table as I have already built a bench in my courtyard but if I hadn’t, I would be jumping on this one. Really solid, nice size great colour and easy to care for too. It comes in this pale blue but also the exact ochre of my outside tiled bench PLUS also a jade green so if I was considering adding, then I’d be dropping straight into my bag. It would look equally good inside - just a small addition but it would add texture and colour to brighten up your home for the onset of Autumn (although I don’t like to think too much about that, I am a Summer Forever kind of person).
Now, this is actually from the Made collection at M&S but I REALLY like this. Cushions are one of those things that can update your room really quickly with fairly little outlay and there’s a few things about this that I really like, mostly the colours which are an excellent combo. Also, the plaiting is very satisfying to look at although I would entirely keep this away from my cat Flo who would destroy it in moments. A great addition, I feel.
Big fan of embroidery and feel as though it’s having a bit of a comeback at present. As it should - it’s textural, gives a handmade look (even if it’s not) and is interesting to look at. These napkins from Anthro are goodies, you get two for £22 so they’re not the cheapest (although I have been finding that napkins ARE fairly pricey in general for something that you wipe your mouth on) but look how pretty these are?
Am deeply tempted by this. I never know whether or not you are supposed to keep eggs in the fridge or not - do comment if this is your specialist subject. In the supermarkets they’re on the shelves which makes me think probably not. Anyway, lack of knowledge aside, this is a great little number for twenty quid, nice recycled glass and simple design which sometimes I find Dunelm fail on (they can make things a little fussy when they don’t need to be). But one thing you can always rely on Dunelm for is good value. I can feel a trip to my local one coming on.
I like this. Again, simple classic design, unfussy, gives good targeted light and would look fantastic next to a reading chair or at the end of a sofa. I have a targeted light similar on the wall next to mine and it works really well and also varies the type of light source which makes it all look more interesting. The fact it’s a plug in also enables you to add a wall light without the prerequisite for an electrician coming over to chase massive holes into your walls, so everyone’s a winner.
You know I love a fish, and this one is a beaut. As someone who is prone to rolling up kitchen roll to stuff in the top of wine bottles, I would certainly have a use for this and the fact that it’s sea themed is the icing on the cake. It’s also silver plated so a nice thing to have and would make a great present, birthday, wedding or otherwise. Any suggestions aside from the teaspoon trick stuck in the top, btw, for keeping sparkling wine sparkling would be appreciated - I put a bottle in the fridge yesterday (with spoon) and today it’s flat as a pancake.
I cannot claim the kudos for finding this absolute gem of a chair on OB, it’s entirely down to my friend Bibi who sent a picture to me, but THIS I love. In fact, I would go as far as to say it’s my favourite find this month. You would never in a zillion years know that this wasn’t vintage, the colour is sublime and I will be planning my new bedroom around it. SO nice. Bravo, OB. Please can we have more of this and less clothes covered in fruit?
Always here for a candle holder and this looks to me like an IKEA classic. Waffling on about simplicity again, but this ticks all the boxes AND is in stainless steel so easy to clean and would look excellent with any candles you chose to stuff in it. I can confirm that it’s important for candle holders to be easy to clean after allowing candles to burn down this weekend on a ceramic one and had to get a knife out to scrape it all off. These would also look great grouped as a three for maximum effect.
So there you have my favourite finds this month. Which do you like the best? Do tell me in the comments below!
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