Shop of the week- Melody Maison

I’ve no doubt you’ll all be aware by now of my love for vintage French-style furniture- it just oozes glamour, girliness and timeless Parisian chic.  So imagine how I felt when I stumbled upon this cute Doncaster-based online homeware boutique!!

cream bergere screen, £174.95 

Melody Maison specialises in ‘vintage chic furnishings and beautiful French style accessories‘- and at refreshingly affordable prices I might add! 

I’m loving how the bird stencil on the display cabinet, below, makes the piece special and unique.  Something to try yourself at home if you’re feeling brave!

display cabinet with bird design, £249.95

 distressed cream console table, £245.95

 cream ornate chair, £130.95

I imagine the chair, above, with a gorgeous vintage silk gown draped over it, with a dressing table displaying pretty vintage perfume bottles… sigh!

posted by Emily

Lytton and Lily

Our Shop of the Week this week is Lytton & Lily.  This delightful online boutique offers a range of vintage styled and traditionally-inspired home and lifestyle products, as well as offering well-known brands such as Kath Kidson, Neom and Dogeared.  If you favour traditional French style, you’ll love their products!

vintage French style milk bottles, from £9.25

The theme of the shop was originally inspired by owner Debra’s grandparents and named in their honour – Lytton & Lily. Lytton was a master builder and Lily was an avid homemaker. 

Small French style armoire, £495

Debra and her husband, Duncan established Lytton & Lily Vintage Home & Garden with a small mail order business in 2004. Since then the mail order business has continued to develop and grow and they opened their first store in Barnstaple, North Devon in March 2005. The website was launched shortly after in October 2005.  I find it quite impressive that this small company had online presence so early on… this is what a lot of independents tend to score poorly on, which is a shame and definitely a missed opportunity.

I love these cute baskets, below…

set of 3 french wicker oval baskets, £30

posted by Emily

Why didn’t I think of that?

Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best.  Often i’ll come across an image in a magazine or on the internet and think to myself “what a great idea… why have I never thought of doing that?!”  I suppose that’s why it’s called inspiration, right?! 

Who said bedrooms have to be symmetrical?  It’s too easy to stick with what is expected rather than to push the boundaries.  Don’t have matching bedside tables and lamps just because you feel you have to!  Use the floor space you have to its best advantage.

What makes this bedroom, above, different from the norm are the bedside lamps which have been suspended from the ceiling.  Nice to look at, plus it leaves more room on your bedside table!

 Add interest to a wall and turn picture frames into more of a feature…

Love vintage teacups? Me too!  If you collect pretty tea sets why not have them on display for all to enjoy?

posted by Emily

The future’s bright for Rice…

Founded in 1998 and based in Denmark, Rice sells colourful, quirky home accessories both online and on the high street.  I came across some of their lifestyle images on Flickr and the colours really caught my eye!

These products really lift my spirits and make me smile.  The colours are so cheerful- you’d never have a dull day if you lived in a house that looked like this!  It’s kind of chabby chic-meets barbie-meets-Kath Kidson, don’t you think?

posted by Emily