Pumpkin Vase

Pumpkin vase is a way more chic way to do Halloween. Brought to you by Editor with a lovely little "how to" guide. Check it out here.

Antique Eiffel Tower Scissors

I don't think there has ever been a more perfect present for me. I'm obsessed with stationary, Paris and antiques - tick, tick, tick. Except I think there might have only been one pair and they've been sold, still who knew scissors could be so exciting ; )

Umbra Homeware

Umbra homeware is another site I discovered by accident while browsing and it has some really cute pieces. It's an American website but you can select your country, the prices go up quite a lot when converted into pounds but I presume that's to cover some of the shipping and import costs. Having said that, the pieces are still quite reasonable and they are really different. Here's some of my favourite pieces I've seen so far.

Fairest mirrors £35

Rolly Shelf £687.50

Biblioteca bookshelf £435

Rolly Table £312.50

Mantra wall decor - "do what you love, love what you do", £35

To see more, visit their website. I have also discovered a discount website in the UK called Red Candy which offers quite a few Umbra products, the Fairest mirror set from above comes in at £24.24 rather than £35. Score!

Curtain Room Dividers

Curtain room dividers are the perfect answer for smaller or studio apartments when you have to try and distinguish between dining, sleeping, and work space in one room. Hanging a curtain around the bed area of the room helps to give some privacy and provides a more relaxing place to sleep. It also works well for large warehouse like spaces where you may have plenty of space but a lack of interior walls.

I started looking into this idea for a way to hide the fridge we have to keep in our living room as the kitchen is too tiny for our smeg. I've not made a start yet but will post any pictures if I do.

Shoe Storage

One day I want my shoe cupboard to look like this...

IKEA PS Design Collection

IKEA PS design collection is in it's 7th season but it's the first time I've seen it. The PS collection is IKEA's way of doing something a little less mass produced and slightly more creative from what I understand. A “focus on cutting edge Scandinavian furniture design without losing sight of what makes IKEA unique –  affordable, quality design for the many people.” 

I really love this table lamp with tulle lampshade from the collection and the pine cabinet. I normally hate pine but this design reworks the look of those pine bedside cupboards people used to have. Making good out of bad.

The other really great thing about this collection is that they have a website showing how their products fit into different people's homes to put the emphasis on them being practical products that work for you and your home whilst being design led. I have some serious apartment envy, it's amazing what people have done with some quite small spaces. I've put a few of my favourites below but to see more visit the website PSathome.

Novelty Salt And Pepper Sets

Novelty salt and pepper sets are one of those things you don't really need in your life but once you've seen them you will want them anyway. I absolutely adore these ones from Urban Outfitters, the perfect way to kitsch up your dining room table. They are all priced at either £9 or £10 as well so you can afford to be frivolous.

Chilli And Passion Fruit Martini

Chilli and passionfruit Martini is one of my favourite cocktails at Japanese restaurant Zuma. I don't have their "house recipe" but this one tastes very similar. Bear in mind that the ingredients aren't the kind you will just have in the cupboard so if you want to make these drinks for a special occasion - we have a cocktail night at our house - then a bit of forward planning is required. I find it best to order unusual liquors off internet specialists rather than traipsing around my local supermarkets and off licenses because I normally come back empty handed.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce cranberry juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• 2 ounces Captain Morgans Parrot Bay Passion Fruit Rum
• 1 ounce passion fruit puree 
• 1/4 ounce fresh ginger juice
• red chilli flakes
• To garnish 1 thai chilli or half a passion fruit

Directions

Combine liquid ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake, strain and pour into a martini glass. You can garnish with either a red chilli (not for eating!) or with half a passionfruit (my preference). Finish off with 12-18 red chilli flakes.

Happy Pill Vases By Venini

Italian brand Venini has brought the traditional art of glass blowing into the future with these Damien Hurst style "Happy Pill" bicolour vases. I think they're amazing but I warn you, they are not cheap at £968 each.

It's not just novelty pieces, check out the beauts below. If you think your bank balance will stretch you can find them on yoox.com

Romantic Cards

Romantic cards often involve hearts and a dubious colour scheme of pink and red which really doesn't appeal to men so much. I love the honesty and humour of these cards. I'd much rather receive an "I fucking love you" card than one with a cutesy animal on.

You can buy them here or come up with some of your own to make it more personal.

SyuRo Copper Tins

SyuRo Copper and Brass tin boxes make organisation look shiny and pretty. Made in Japan, each edge is meticulously bent by hand, while each seam is manually tucked rather than soldered. This quality of make means they will last for years, much better than using cardboard versions that rip when you try to move them anywhere.
Prices start from $56 and go up to $92 depending on the size. You can find them here

Now Mirror By Doug Aitken

Doug Aitken is renowned for his innovative fine art installations. He experiments with different media and artistic approaches with his work encompassing photography, sculpture, films, sound and installations.

I'm loving these different text sculptures he created.

I also like this still from one of his movies Immagration. I know it's not exactly something you would like to have in your home but it's an interesting image none the less.

To see more of Doug Aitkens work click here.

The Canopy, Hong Kong

The Canopy is an idea for a residential tower block in Hong Kong. Whilst this image looks realistic, the concept from Boutique Design is still only an idea and is yet to be built.

The projects aim is to incorporate some of the nature of Hong Kong into city living and so the apartments are given a "tree house" like feel with the balcony actually becoming your individual garden. I love this idea. Firstly I'd like to have a balcony in my central London flat, then secondly I would like to turn said balcony into a garden and thirdly have a garden party/bbq.

If you would like to read more/see more images

Hat Wall

I have a million hats and keeping them stored in my crammed wardrobes without bending them out of shape is always a challenge. I love the idea of having them all on display on the wall like this.

Instead of trying to stuff your worldly goods into drawers, hang them out for everyone to see, you just need a few hooks and an empty wall space, it works for necklaces, bags, scarves and even clothes. Don't overdo it with the clothes though, there is a fine line between artful display and market stall. 

Hanging your "objets d'Art" is cheaper than buying real art to tart up a blank wall and comes with the added bonus that with your accessories on display, you're much more likely to remember what you have and play around with your outfits rather than using the same handbag day in day out. 

I once used empty shelf space to display all the shoes I couldn't walk in but were too beautiful for me to get rid of.

Well If You're Going To Play Croquet...

Betsey Johnson's Home

I dare you not to fall in love with this house. If I was one to use superlatives I would be all OMFG all over this post but I'll let the images do the talking.

This is the kind of house you should expect from a talented and unique fashion designer with her identity stamped all over the place. Because of that I can forgive the perhaps excessive use of pink, if you have a favourite colour why should you limit it to one room?

It's the little pieces that make this look extra special, the Virgin Mary plaque next to the sink, the vintage waste basket in the bathroom. Whilst things may look accidental or random in this style of house when you look closer, you realise that every single piece has been thought about. Which makes me start to look at the silly little things around my house in a whole new light.

How divine is the mirrored glass perfume shelf built into the wall over the bathroom sink? That idea is a keeper.

Vintage Suitcase Shelves

Vintage suitcase shelves could be a fun DIY project if you have the time, which you probably don't but still nice to think about for one day.

Jennifer Nicholson's Home

Whilst enduring a long wait in the doctors office I was forced to read one of those old Hello magazines to keep myself amused. Going off track but, why do they only have magazines that are 2 years old and only of the Hello/Ok variety at the doctors? Ok back on track, I actually found something of interest amongst the Z list celebrity 'at home' features.

The home of Jennifer Nicholson (daughter to Jack). The house is close to the sea hence the nautical theme that runs through some of the rooms. Funny how shells in a bathroom is gross but shells stuck all over a fireplace is totally cool. I particularly like the beaded ship chandelier.

I love the way this house mixes so many objects together, regardless of whether they go, it's like a curation of pieces. Who would have thought that all you need to spice up a rather classical dining room is a large bright chairman Mao painting?!