Blue And White Colour Scheme Cotswold Cottage House Tour

You might have seen this gorgeous Modern Country Living Room before. Don't you just adore that grain-sack-covered sofa?

and this much-copied faux grain sack staircase....

{created with masking tape and Farrow and Ball paints}

But have you toured the rest of this gorgeous house, located in my neck of the woods, the Cotswolds?

Let's start in this gorgeous Modern Country kitchen...

Have you noticed it's that same Modern Country kitchen colour scheme again?

Chalky white and pale blue...

Those same colours appear all over the house in different guises...

Downstairs and now upstairs...

In the bedrooms...

And this pretty, coastal bathroom. I'm such a fan of scrubbable wood panelling in the bathroom...

I think the chickens should thank their lucky starts that the paintbrush hasn't been flicked their way...

...yet!!!

Images via Country Homes and Interiors

Book Review: Annabel Karmel's Busy Mum's Cookbook!

This is the second book I'm sharing with you which talks about how to make great food for your family on days when you don't have a whole heap of time to wallow in the pleasures of cooking: Annabel Karmel's Busy Mum's Cookbook.

Annabel Karmel has got a good thing going. She was a front-runner twenty-five years ago in helping to create a whole new way of cooking: delicious, home-cooked meals that are great for all the family, which has earned our trust when it comes to knowing her food tastes yummy!

I weaned our children using many of her recipes when they were tiny....and now they're getting bigger, here she is again, helping us on the way to cooking nirvana with slightly more mature tastes...though there are still recipes that you know will bring them running...

Busy Mum's Cookbook is divided into seven chapters with names like 20-Minute Recipes, Storecupboard and Six Ingredients, and these definitely do have a different audience in mind from her Baby & Toddler Cookbook Days. Even the photography has gone all grown up!

Annabel Karmel has had three children of her own so she knows what she talking about when it comes to being a busy mum....and it shows! She's been there, done that...and written the cookbook!

Book Review: Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can By Miranda Gore Browne

Miranda Gore Browne's second book (published by Ebury) is called Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can. This is currently one of my most reached-for recipe books for one simple reason...this book is crammed full of really yummy recipes that you can whizz up in no-time-at-all, taking literally a few minutes to put together.

Now, I do love a lazy Saturday cooking up a feast in the kitchen but there are plenty of other times when I have friends and family unexpectedly dropping in, or when I want to do some baking with my kiddiewinks, when Miranda Gore Browne's recipes, which are quick, easy and scrumptious, exactly hit the spot.

I'm still rooling over Miranda Gore Browne's amazing Chalon kitchen!

Full of ideas that need only store-cupboard ingredients, but look and taste just as good (if not better!) than if you'd spent all morning slaving over a hot stove, Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can is a total must-have!

Great British Bake Off's Miranda Gore-Browne's Chalon Modern Country Kitchen

Who can forget the lovely Miranda Gore Browne of Great British Bake Off fame? Miranda was a finalist in the first ever series of Bake Off and has recently released her second book, Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can, which has turned me into a total fangirl!

Miranda Gore-Browne being filmed in her kitchen

But before we get onto that, let me show you her lip-smackingly drool-worthy Chalon Modern Country kitchen...

Miranda in her Chalon kitchen

Perfect Modern Country Kitchen!

It's been designed with that same classic Modern Country Kitchen Colour Scheme of chalky off-white and muted grey-blue that I shared in my last post. This is a look that, given a little bit of tweaking, works fantastically well in a whole range of kitchens: small or large, cool North-facing, or sunny South-facing. These colours will be your friends!

And by introducing those industrial-style pendant lights, this Country kitchen is given a big shot of Contemporary...

Modern Country Kitchen Colour Scheme

A Modern Country Kitchen at its best!

And now, let us move speedily onto Miranda Gore Browne's new book Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can, before the green-eyed monster gobbles us all!.....

Images via mbptv and Chalon

Modern Country Kitchen Lust!

I stumbled upon this gorgeous Modern Country kitchen by DeVol delight the other day and just had to share....

The Modern Country kitchen colour scheme of chalky white and soft blue-grey is perfection; restful and serene, which makes it perfect for a busy family home.

I adore these cabinets set in either side of the chimney breast. And it's the typically old-school country accessories, like the Sheila Maid clothes airer and Mason Jar lighting, that give this actually quite contemporary kitchen its Modern Country charm....

...and the same goes for these Chapel chairs!

  

It's little touches like these that make ALL the difference in any Modern Country kitchen. We're currently saving our pennies for our dream kitchen so I have my tick-list at the ready!

Mmmmm....!

Images via DeVol 

My Top Tip For How To Choose Your Modern Country Rug!

It can be a bit daunting choosing a rug. Where do you even begin with so much choice at your fingertips? So many colours, styles, shapes and materials designed befuddle us!

If you're all of a tizz, relax with my top tip on narrowing down the Modern Country rug of your dreams!

This step is surprisingly simple! Instead of looking through shop after shop and needing a good lie down with the stress of it all...

...have a relaxing browse through images of rooms you already know you love and see what floor choices they've gone for. If you need a helping hand, take a peek at the lovely Modern Country Living Rooms I'm sharing today, or a lengthier look at my Pinterest pages.

What drew me in time after time was the look of natural materials. This is no real surprise, given that jute, coir and sisal are a complete staple in Modern Country Interiors, with their beautiful textures and lovely neutral colour range.

And what did we chose? Come back on Friday and I'll reveal all....

Images via Ballards, Pinterest, Crucial Trading, Crucial Trading, unknown, Cote De Texas, Border Oak, unknown, 1st Location