Kate Middleton in Turquoise Dress

Speaking of all things girlie and beautiful, 

let's talk Kate Middleton,

the Duchess of Cambridge.

{I wonder if we'll ever stop calling her 'Kate Middleton' now that she's married?}

How's does this gorgeous turquoise dress rank on your to-die-for list?

I'd say it's pretty dang high up on mine.

Total teal lushability.

Kate Middleton wore this incredible dress to the London Olympic Gala Concert. 

She was by FAR the best dressed lady of the night.

Lady of the night?

That came out all wrong.

;-)

She could not look less 'lady of the night' if she tried, could she?

All the details, down to Kate's beautiful up-do and Jimmy Choo's are just perfection.

But it's Kate Middleton's sparkle-studded turquoise dress that she wore to the Royal Albert Hall event that hits all the right spots for me.

It's delightful.

Detailed.

Dignified.

Now that I'm towards the end of of my pregnancy, I can't help my mind drifting towards non-maternity clothes. They all look so beautiful, soft and so non-stretching-over-a-massive-bump. I have clothes-envy wherever I look...

On the catwalk, this Jenny Packham dress looked more like this:

Kate Middleton has changed little details to make it more in keeping with the future queen of England.

And I much prefer her more modest version. Do you?

I'd say this little number would go down a treat as a leaving-hospital outfit for me.

Let's take a look at how that might pan out...

Yup, I can just imagine Kate Middleton reaching into the car to swing out the baby car seat!! I think it might just work.

Ahem....

Stop your sniggering...

Hopefully, by Wednesday, I'll have snapped out of my Kate Middleton reverie and be ready to talk Girl's Bedrooms: Neutrals...

Wish me luck!

{And if you're desperate for more Kate Middleton gorgeousness, then check out these posts: 

Kate Middleton: Jackets, Kate Middleton: Tops, Kate Middleton: Skinny jeans, Kate Middleton: Dresses, }

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Girls' Rooms Colour Schemes: Brights

I absolutely LOVE the part where I get to narrow down exactly the look that I want one of our rooms to have. I so enjoy playing around with different schemes and ideas, don't you?

But where to begin?

Well, I thought I'd show you the process I go through step by step.

First off, I want a basic colour palette to work from.

Let's have a look at colour scheme option one:

BRIGHTS.

I guess this is a bit of a broad theme for one post. 

So broad, in fact, that it could be split into three further categories 

{and then, no doubt, eighteen sub-groups and forty-three meta-sub-groups....}.

You can either go in a vintage direction, like these images, 

which I think can work extremely well in children's bedrooms. 

Sturdy, brash and practical....

with blocks of colours...

and funky retro patterns...

Or, if you love a bold look, then why not embrace it with 

bright for bright's sake...

Look at this gorgeous wall-paper.

Not my cup of tea but I bet any little girl would adore 

staring at it as she fell asleep each night...

And, woooooah, 

that's not what I'd call a restful children's bedroom, 

but it's certainly attention-grabbing...

And lastly, as you might have guessed, my favourite: 

subtle with a pop of bright.

Not too overwhelming, easy on the eye, not too kitsch. 

I do love the look of this room....

but it seems a bit impractical with that spindly light 

and lack of storage. 

Am I being too picky?

Now, let me have it...which is your favourite?

Images: 1st Option, Despues, A Paddington Perspective, Bloesem Kids, House To Home

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Girlie Heaven a-coming up!

That's as far as we've got with this room. It's served very well as a unisex bedroom while our twins were sharing but as we now we have two daughters sharing this room, and given that we're about to have another little girl joining the family, I'd say it's about time for a makeover, wouldn't you?

{I know it must seem a bit crazy having work done on the house with only a little while before our baby is due but my nesting instinct has well and truly taken over and there's just no stopping me!!}

So, sit down and make yourself comfortable 

and get ready for a nice chunk of girlie inspiration. 

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Case Study: Farrow and Ball Hay

So many of you have emailed me to ask about the paint colour 

that we used in the split-bedroom that I thought I'd put together another 

Farrow and Ball Paint Case Study just for you!

We first painted this bedroom for our gorgeously newborn boy/girl twins 

so I wanted a colour that seemed girlie AND masculine at the same time. 

Farrow and Ball Hay

Farrow and Ball's Hay was the perfect choice.

Farrow and Ball Hay

But, before we get going, have you checked out my other Farrow and Ball Case Studies? Just click on the links to have a peep...

Farrow and Ball New White
Farrow and Ball Old White
Farrow and Ball White Tie
Farrow and Ball Blue Gray
Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

Farrow and Ball Down Pipe

Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath

Farrow and Ball Pigeon

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Green Blue

Dulux Heritage Stone Green

Farrow and Ball Lamp Room Gray

Farrow and Ball French Gray (interiors)

Farrow and Ball French Gray (exteriors)
Farrow and Ball Mouse's Back

Earthborn Gregory's Den

Farrow and Ball Light Blue

Farrow and Ball Powder Blue

While it's all very well gazing at gorgeously put-together magazine shots of Farrow and Ball paint colours, very often they are colour-adjusted so that what you imagine will be a gently dirtied cream is actually a strong mint green {yes, that's happened to me..}. To avoid such a catastrophe coming your way, I put together my case studies using both collated images AND photos from my own home from different times of day and under different lighting conditions so that you can see EXACTLY the colours you truly love.

Farrow and Ball Hay

For example, here is the same part of the bedroom showing how Farrow and Ball Hay can change under different lighting conditions:

Farrow and Ball Hay under strong midday sunlight...

...on an overcast morning...

...and with fading evening light.

Ours is a south-east facing room so it gets warm light much of the day but when Farrow and Ball's Hay is used on north-facing walls, it takes on a greener hue:

Farrow and Ball Hay front door

Farrow and Ball describe Hay as 'a bright but not excessively hot yellow', which I'd say is bang on. There's nothing citrussy going on with this colour.

Farrow and Ball Hay

Although Hay is quite a strong colour, it also has a lovely mellow quality, which prevents it from seeming over-whelming.

I love it!

Do you?

Images via: Misi, Bryella, Ocean Bathrooms, mine, mine, mine, Vintage Heart Duckumu

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Sanding Our Wooden Floorbaords

That yucky pink carpet needed to go (and you can't even see the unmentionable stains on it - lucky you!). Given that two gorgeous girlies will be sharing one of the split-bedrooms, I foresee many {many} future beauty product-related spillages. I remember tipping over a bottle of nail varnish on my parent's brand new carpet in my teeneage boudoir....and the less said about burns from hair straighteners the better....

Sooooo, we went with the wood option. Underneath this carpet and underlay was a layer of hardboard...and then, I was thrilled to find, gorgeous wooden boards in excellent condition.

We called in outside help for sanding the floors. It's a job that can be horribly messy in the wrong hands {mine!}so I was glad not to have to do it ourselves. Getting everything ready was a complete upheaval. We decided to have the whole of the middle floor sanded, which meant storing furniture and toys and books and games and beds and bedding and mattresses from three very full children's bedrooms.

When old wooden floors are first sanded, they look all shiny and clean and new, so I knew I wanted to stain them to ensure the colour looked aged and mellow. The company we used recommended Colron's Wood Dyes, which come in a variety of colours. 

We picked Medium Oak, which left our floors looking EXACTLY how I'd hoped colour-wise. Huzzah!!

And then they were sealed with matt varnish. I know some people go mad for high gloss but I love the gentle sheen that this look gives.

On the down side, it has left a large gap between the skirting board and floor in one of the bedrooms that will needs adjusting...

....but overall I am v. v. pleased!

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