A Raft of Reading

I recommend you put the kettle on, kick off your shoes, sit back and get ready for some fantastic reading! I have three online magazines with new issues out, and all are full of great Christmas inspiration...

1) UK's Heart Home magazine has a fabulous new winter issue with lots of Christmas decorating and gift ideas, as well as their usual brilliant lifestyle features. I had to show you the gorgeous home of interior design enthusiast, Kimberly Hughes - totally my kind of space, with colour, pattern and loads of attitude.

2) Funkytime is always a feast for your eyes with their delicious photography and graphics. If you're a crafty, diy sort, you'll love all the amazing Christmas and holiday projects.

3) Last but not least, I spent way too much time drooling over the first issue of To & From magazine. It's editors are fellow bloggers, Katie Anderson, and Meg Biram. Together with 50 of the industry's top style and design bloggers, they have brought us some of the most incredible gift suggestions, for anyone and everyone. Make sure you check it out. Quite frankly, I'd like one of everything!

The Home of Ellen & Portia

Ellen DeGeneres is one of my favourite TV personalities, I mean... have you seen her dance?! You know that question - "if you could have anyone to a dinner party, who would you invite?" - well, Ellen would definitely be invited. She's funny, kind, infectiously positive, the sort of person you want to have around you - gush, gush!

To top that, the girl likes to decorate! I was really interested to read how much she loves real estate and interior design. In an interview with Architectural Digest she talks about how growing up they always rented, but she and her Dad would dream about owning a house. They looked at real estate together and Ellen would pick out her bedroom. So, naturally, when she became a super successful comedian and talk show host, the first thing she did was buy houses, lots of them.

I love this home she shares with her gorgeous partner, Portia de Rossi, in Beverly Hills. It has a lovely eclectic style, with some beautiful pieces, but also a relaxed, inviting feel to it. Some of my favourite things are the artworks, particularly the Andy Warhol paintings (note the sneaker work in the dining room, Ellen's trademark shoe of choice), the inlay mirror in the bathroom, and the shelves of shoes (easy to see whose shoes are whose!), oh, and that pool! x

London House tour

My blogger friend, Marina, author of Iced Vovo's, was lucky enough to look after a house on the Livingetc house tours recently. The event took place on two separate days, offering exclusive access to up to 16 homes situated in North London or West London - now that's my kind of sight seeing!

The kitchen/dining area in the home Marina looked after is a previous favourite of mine, with it's Persian rug and mismatched chairs. So I was really excited to see the rest of the house.

I'll start with the guest bedroom because I am so taken with the sumptuous blue velvet chair - the colour and shape are just divine, and the hint of blue in the vase above connects the chair to the rest of the black & white colouring.

The master bedroom has more classic black & white, and the skull print adds colour and a bit of edge. The mirrored-back wardrobe is a restored shop display cabinet - brilliant! This is apparently a trend in London, as Marina said that a lot of the homes on the tour featured such cabinets. In contrast, vintage apple crates have been used for shoe storage.

In the living room a pair of horns and an antique leather carver chair sit comfortably side by side with an industrial light and push bike. Mixing together antiques, mid-century pieces and salvaged finds has allowed it's owners to well and truly stamp their mark on this home. And that's what a home should be all about.