The fresh light-filled home of an inspiring foodie + give-away winner

Which section of a newspaper do you read first? According to one article this will tell you where your passion lies. And this is what led Anna Jones to quit her office job one grey day and start a chef training programme at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant. Since then Anna's gone from strength to strength having worked at restaurants such as Le Caprice, cooked for rock stars, royalty and the G20 at downing street, as well as shaped the meals at east end schools and people suffering from obesity. Anna now works as a stylist and food writer out of her Victorian town house in Hackney, East London where she created her first book: A modern way to cook, a collection of yummy healthy vegetarian recipes. Her creativity shines through in the way she's decorated her home too: artfully mixing designer, antique and bespoke pieces. The white wood floors and walls give way to vibrant pops of yellow and blue, resulting in a pared-back, fresh and light home. Let's take a peek inside....

Photographer: Idha Lindhag. Stylist Linda Berlin

Such a lovely home, so simple and calm. And such an inspiring career change, don't you think?

Items I know and love: Bluebell sofa, mirror,  blanket,  frosted window film, bespoke plywood kitchen cabinets by Russell Bamber, glass pendant light from here. Circus pendant light (above dining table) - 20% off right now. Eames chair (15% off right now).  French bed frame from Ardingly Antiques Collectors Fair. Am I missing anything?

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Other fabulous foodie homes I've featured include the blue home of a Swedish food blogger (also captured by Idha Lindhag) and the New York home of a cafe owner . And for more London inspiration I'm a big fan of Tamsin Flower's cheerful home and a pretty white and grey Primrose Hill home. Aaaaaw, this post is making me want to go home for a few days! I do love London!

Have a lovely day! - oh and don't forget to pick up today's paper to check where you turn to first. You never know - an inspiring career change might be just around the corner....

PS Thank you to everyone who entered the weekend give-away. The winner and runner-up has now been announced here.... eeeee....holding thumbs as they say in Sweden!

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Bright, breezy and perfectly styled in Stockholm

Bright, airy and breezy and beautifully styled. This Östermalm, Stockholm apartment on the market through Alexander White is the perfect way to start the week!

 

Alexander White via Stil Inspiraton

Favourite items? Mine is the the beautiful leather chesterfield and the vintage fan. Incidentally, our new bedroom is at the top of the house and gets extremely hot in the summer - perfect excuse to invest in a vintage fan - any tips on where to source one?

I'm currently in London (my home city!) for a few days. I love being back, it's such a fab city in the spring time. Yesterday I spent a day in London fields, East London home of the Columbia Road Flower Market and a great local pub!

Did you get up to anything fun?

PS Tomorrow I'll be hosting a very exciting give-away so don't forget to stop by for your chance to win!



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Urban Pioneer: Interiors inspired by Industrial Design

I absolutely love receiving a new book in the post, don't you? The smell of the pages, the anticipation of settling down a little later with a coffee in hand. And today is one of those days. The new book Urban Pioneer: Interiors inspired by industrial design by Sara Emslie has just landed on my doormat. There's something about the rawness of large, spacious rooms and the rustic feel of ex-industrial spaces that is simply awe inspiring. And Sara's wonderful book is packed with industrial-design inspiration, beautiful images and styling tips from homes set in the most magnificent buildings including: a warehouse in London, a former dockworker canteen in Amsterdam and a converted feather factory in Brooklyn. Here's a sneak peek......

This is just a small example of some of the lovely spaces inside....

Now all I need is a conversion of my own. I've always quite fancied a windmill (or even a lighthouse!), how about you?

Sara is a stylist and writer based in London (actually not far from where I grew up). You may recognise the name from her best selling first book: Beautifully Small: Clever Ideas for Compact Spaces (which I reviewed here).

You can pick up a copy of Sara's new book through Amazon here or order one through local bookstore.
 
Have a lovely day!

PS there's a very exciting give-away right now here (would hate for you to miss out!).

Book Credits
Urban Pioneer by Sara Emslie (Ryland Peters & Small, £19.99) Photography by Benjamin Edwards © Ryland Peters & Small

Home-owner credits:  
Pg.12 – Next Door’s Space by Carin Scheve and Francesco Caramella (open-plan space with concrete support columns)

Pg.36 – The London home of Peter Win (dining table with wooden drinks cabinet)

Pg.6 – The home of Louise Miller, available to hire through www.millerstyle.co.uk (kitchen with wooden benches)

Pg.94 – The home of Thomas and Bibi de Haas (galley kitchen beneath a mezzanine)

Pg.62 – The residence and studio of Jennifer and Liam Maher (aka Energy Plan Creative) (book shelf & 2x mannequins)

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Global Soul, English Heart: Inside a Layered London Home

"Show me your friends, and I'll tell you who you are," so the proverb goes. I think the same can be said about a home—or at least, it should be. After all, it’s the one place in your environment where you and your cohabitants have true autonomy.

That’s what struck me about this London townhouse. While we might not know exactly who lives here, the space offers plenty of clues about their interests, passions, and perhaps even their story. The eclectic mix of art, ceramics, textiles, and treasures from around the world suggests a deep love of travel—or perhaps a personal connection to different cultures, maybe even roots in places like Africa or Asia. What’s clear is that these aren’t just decorative objects, but items that feel meaningful. You could easily imagine one of the inhabitants running a small business sourcing and sharing beautiful, handcrafted pieces discovered on their journeys.

I love how these carefully chosen details pop against a crisp white backdrop, giving the home an almost gallery-like appeal. It keeps the space feeling bright, warm, and inviting.

Let’s take a peek through the keyhole and see what other clues we can uncover.

Wow, there are just so many details in this London house. It’s a real treasure trove—every item feels like it tells a story. I especially love the blend of pieces from all over the world, yet it still feels undeniably English, with its wall-to-wall carpets upstairs, Windsor chairs, and classic upholstery.

Did anything in particular catch your eye?

Do you think someone could walk into your home and tell who you are? If someone walked into ours today, I think they’d probably say, “Woah, this is one messy family!” Eeeek!

Fancy peeking into a few more English homes today? You might just fall in love with these:

Step into a cosy collector's house
Stay in this beautiful Victorian house in Nottinghamshire
A cosy cliff hideaway on the North Devon coast

On another note, I recently wrote a piece for IKEA about how sofa beds are no longer confined to the guest room, but have become a central element to the urban home - you can find my article here if you fancy a read! 

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Niki

Photography courtesy of Inigo, with thanks. 

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Unusual places to stay: Bert's barge in London

Holiday planning in our family usually begins with the search words 'unusual places to stay' - we love to find places which are just a little bit off the wall - houseboats, the world's smallest luxury home, tree houses, ski pods - you name it! (What are your usual search words?). We're heading to London to attend the Amara interior blog awards soon (exciting!) and I was so excited to discover Bert & May's latest project - a barge hotel. Moored up on Regent's Canal in Hackney, east London, Bert's barge has been decorated using all the panache you might expect from a company that specialises in fab handmade and reclaimed tiles, wood flooring/ cladding and paint. Combine this with a distinct Scandinavian touch and...well, I'll leave that up to you to decide...

 

Oh how I'd love to stay here! How about you?

You'll need to book early though - it's unbelievably popular. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on their site for future trips though. Who knows - maybe this could be a project for the canals of Malmö too?!

If being afloat is not for you, I was also excited to discover Bert's Boxes -  a pre-fab mobile home that can pop up on your land within 14 weeks....

 

Which do you think you'd prefer?

They had me at the tiles and the wood burning stove, so hey, I'll take either, I'm not fussy!

Other examples of oh so cool houseboats include this playful Dutch family space and a dream holiday home on lake Eildon. 

I have a dream to build a little outhouse somewhere like Bert's box and hoping it will look like one of these.

More holiday inspiration in the 'design hotels' archive...

On the opposite scale....for the student...here's some fab inspiration for a college or university room. 

I think it's time to celebrate the weekend don't you? How much would you love to hit this bar straight after work today? See you there?!

Have a great weekend and see you Monday!

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