Category: News

Aug 07

News: My Favourite Things

By Bailey

sound-of-music[Use Pinterest as a source of creative inspiration during home decorating. Next thing you know you're skipping around your home like Julie Andrews singing 'My Favourite Things'. Well - I will be, anyway... Image: Buried in Betsy's Closet]

Refurbing a house is by no means a doddle – as I’m sure I’ve communicated in previous posts-! How-Tos have been limited due to our desperate attempts to get the house not just liveable, but visitable. (Our spare room has become a dumping ground for all things that require a shelf).

Pinterest has helped me MASSIVELY during the creative process, giving me ideas for paint colour, flooring, room styles – and much much more. So with this thought, please find my favourite inspirational images that have helped Lamb and I design our home so far. I’ve also thrown in a couple of my favourite crafty finds, which (when the refurb is complete) I will most certainly be doing. After all, a house is not a home without a few pieces of homemade goodies dotted about.

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Jul 09

How-To: Refurb a House (& Stay Sane)

By Bailey

how to refurb a house and stay sane

When Lambert and I decided to embark on our first refurb project together, we knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. We’d watched enough Grand Designs over the years to know that things go wrong and there’s always a few things you would have done differently in hindsight.

Our project started eight weeks weeks ago. Packing up our South West London flat and escaping to the countryside of Kent was a job in itself. Our new Victorian semi-detached house was in no fit state to house humans (or Mog) so a friend of the family kindly gave up his flat nearby and moved in with my parents for a few weeks. This was extremely lucky as we saved a great deal on renting! We are very aware how fortunate we were. It really is all about who you know.

During the process, there were a number of things that could have easily triggered stamping of the feet and holding of the breath. They include:

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Jun 06

How-To: Sell Your House in 10 Days

By Nicky – Mum of two, garden & interiors enthusiast and fellow Nester

how to sell your house in 10 daysThat’s what we’ve just done, even though the house next door languished on the market for a year before our neighbour decided to take it off!

So how did we do it? Here are my Top 10 Tips for a swift sale:

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May 24

How-To: Decorate your Home for the Diamond Jubilee

By Emily – Bailey’s friend, colleague and fellow home-lover

jubilee partyCelebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by styling your home in all things British.
Image:  RUCraft Blog.

It’s fair to say that I have quite a royal theme going on in my living room. My favourite find is this Royal Crest, which takes pride of place on my wall…

royal crestImage: ebay

I first spotted it at Portobello Road Market and regretted not buying it. Then saw one again at Taste of Christmas festival, but was going for drinks straight afterwards so couldn’t take it home. It took weeks of searching afterwards but I finally found a seller on ebay…
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May 18

Refurb News: Top 10 Lessons Learnt (So Far)

By Bailey

how to install a kitchen

Current status of our kitchen

My house refurb in Kent remains a challenge. However – the plastering, electrics and plumbing are complete! *Does a dance like Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air*

For anyone attempting a house refurb (or even a spot of DIY) here are my Top 10 Lessons Learnt So Far. I wish I’d had this list three weeks ago…

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May 10

News: Bailey’s New Nest

By Bailey

how_to_DIY

My hands now constantly look like this...

How-To Make a House a Home – From Scratch…

I’d like to apologise for not posting as frequently in recent weeks. But it’s all been for a good cause – I promise! Lambert and I have recently purchased a Victorian semi detached house in Kent, which requires a COMPLETE refurb.

As you can guess, it’s been pretty crazy. Not only had the previous owner covered the ENTIRE interior with wood chip wallpaper (I curse the day it was invented), but we’ve had to knock walls down, move bathrooms upstairs and generally cope as a couple getting used to non-London living.

We’ve had a blast so far – even though there’s already been some blood, sweat and tears! But the best thing about it? It’s given me some awesome material for future How-Tos!

Stay posted peeps – this is an EPIC experience – and I’m going to take you every step of the way with me! Please note I do not claim to be a DIY ninja – I’m sure there will also be a handful of How-To-NOTs in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, here’s some snaps I’ve taken that’ll give you an indication of the scale I’m talking about…

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Apr 17

Painted Furniture: Before & After

By Bailey

how to transform chairs

Previously on The How-To Home, we’ve shown you how-to whitewash wood. I spotted a perfect example of this how-to during a visit home. Mama Bailey recently had a number of pieces of wooden furniture painted, as they were looking a bit worn and tired.

The power a lick of paint has…

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Apr 14

Bailey’s Favourite… Hallway Storage Ideas

By Bailey

hallway ideasMake life easier with a well organised, stylish hallway. Pinned by The How-To Home from House To Home .

Hallways are the last thing you see when dashing out the door and the first part of your home to welcome you back after a long day. Yet, saying all this, their design and decoration tend to get overlooked by many homeowners.

Your hallway should do three things. 1) Give you a warm welcome home after a long day. 2) Present your home to visiting guests. 3) Play host to all of your must-grab essentials when heading outdoors – keys, phone, purse/wallet, iPod, sunglasses, shoes, coat, brolly, handbag, school bag, dog lead, torch, change for the ice cream van… you get the gist.

BUT you gotta store all these staples in the right way – otherwise they’ll just get in your way and what should be a swift exit feels like you’re wading your way through coats upon coats en route to Narnia.

Here are my top favourite hallway storage ideas that will make entering and exiting your home a daily delight…
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Apr 07

News: Happy Easter!

By Bailey

Easter Ideas

Mama Bailey has excelled herself this year

IT’S EASTER! I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love the long Easter weekend, catching up with the ones you love and eating VERY well. (Diet today so far has entailed 15 x mini Lindt gold bunnies, some fizz and a sausage roll – now that’s style).

Rather than drone onto you about why I love Easter – Mama Bailey, Bez Bailey (my big sis) and I decided to take some pictures of our Easter crafts/decorations that really give the home an Eastery feeling. Top prize goes to Mama Bailey, who gave us beautiful wooden bowls with yellow feathers, Lindt bunnies, Easter chicks, chocolate hens from France and a speckly hen pencil. Amazing.

Happy Easter everyone…

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Mar 31

News: Ideal Home Show

By Bailey

Ideal Home Show Earls Court

Let the inspiration commence!

The Ideal Home Show is renowned for ‘bringing ideas and inspiration to generations of British homeowners.’ At The How-To Home, we believe in sharing our how-tos with you for the same reason: inspiring you to make a house a home.

So, with notepads, pens and cameras packed, we tubed to Earls Court ready to be inspired by the show’s exhibitors – from huge global companies to independent designers. From the number of stands we saw, we selected three to tell you about. Not only were their products fab – but they were really nice people, too. I hope you like our Top 3, and if you really like them make sure to check out their websites for more information.

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