Staging a home for sale.

Jon and I live in a partially renovated turn of the last century house and for a very long time nothing has been done to the house and we have been living in it around all the half finished splendour. The time has come to get it finished so we can sell it and move on. With this in mind I have been trying to plan out exactly what we will do in each room and what the over all look of the house should be, hence my search through the handmade market for beautiful goods to fit the job.

Now this beautiful Cushion from Susie Stokoe may not fit in with the beige look, but it will add some colour to a room and I will be able to take it with me when I go and it fits perfectly with my love of colours.

Chuck E Byrd Wall Art is sadly something I won't be using to sell this house, but it may well feature in a house I build later on. I love this little Chimp! It's a great way to personalise a child's bedroom door.

Oops a Daisy's pretty toile de jouy decoupage side table is a great piece of staging a house for sale. Due to the black and white colour scheme it will fit into most rooms and add a bit of detail to an otherwise very plain coloured room.

This beautiful wooden bowl from Beach and Cabin would look great on a dining table with some brightly coloured fruit. I love the pattern of the grain of the spalted sycamore wood. It's not a wood I'm familiar with but I think I might search out more pieces made from it now.

Stover Tile and Design created this fabulous granite serving stand and it would look great in any kitchen. We have dark black granite work surfaces in our kitchen and this would add a lovely lighter touch in the middle of the expanse of black.

I'm a huge lover of bright colours and the thought of painting everything a bland white or off white is filling me with dread, but it is what other people want that's important when trying to sell a property. Oh well, I guess a vat of off white paint, metres of beige carpets and cream coloured drapes is the way forward. Goodbye 'Smoking Jacket' Red, 'Turtle cay' green, 'Peacock' blue, and 'Passionate Purple' sigh. At least I know after taking a look around that there are lots of beautiful handmade goods out there that I can use to stage my house to get a sale and those pieces can come with me when we do move and I can use them in my next multi coloured bright and bold home.

Where did I put those dust sheets and my paint brushes?

Written by Lynne of PiratePixieCrew and Hyperloop Hoops

Watch the Birdie!

This week I brought a lovely bag from a shop on folksy called Notes. As you can see from the photo of me holding it, it’s gorgeous!

The inside is lined with navy blue and white polka dot fabric with a handy pocket – it’s just the right size to keep all my stuff in. I shall be proudly wearing everyday to work! So, in celebration of such a lovely purchase, this week I’ll be choosing lovely stuff with birds on.

First up is this hand felted red cushion by Olofsdaughter. It’s bold design makes it a perfect piece to brighten up any room. It’s made from 100% Australian merino wool, which must be why it looks so lovely and soft.

I love this bird parade mobile by Gifts Define – it’s so cute! Two of my friends are expecting children this month, so I think I’m going a bit soft around the edges for children’s items, and children in general! This decorative item includes four colourful wool felt birds and a happy sad cloud who is oh, so sweet! This shop offers a variety of other types of mobile, including a funky safari mobile which is equally as cute.

I’ve chosen some lovely hand printed birdie gift tags from Paperleaf. These 5 gift tags are printed on recycled manilla card. Perfect for jazzing up your gifts! Paperleaf produces a wide range of lovely gocco printed materials, including custom made wedding invitations, as well as some very funky earrings.

I love prints of any sort, but I especially love this print from Lapwing Printworks. This wonderful cockerel print is made using wood block print. His six different colours really make him so pretty. My parents used to keep chicken when I was a child (in London!), so I’m especially fond of them. Once I have a house of my own, I’d love to have this print on one of my walls. I don’t think I’ll be quite ready for real chickens yet!

Last but not least – the cutest corduroy purse by Needles and Buttons. The little paisley fabric birdie on the front really caught my eye. You can’t tell from the photo, but the back of the purse has embroidered with yellow flowers – this little touch really makes this purse extra special.

Written by Rose P of Felt Giraffe

Home sweet home

My boyfriend and I are thinking of buying ourselves a house this year. Even though we haven’t found the right place yet, it’s already been quite stressful and taken over our lives! We spend evenings in lively debate about where do we want to live, what type of place do we want, which mortgage should we get, what’s the market going to do, boring, boring, boring. To prevent myself from becoming the dullest person ever I’ve tried to turn my attention to thinking about what I’ll put in the lovely house that we buy.

So, firstly this funky flamingo cushion cover by cheeky boo. It is made from gorgeous Japanese fabric, with a very cute yellow mini pom-pom trim. It would look ace on any sofa, bed or if you’re lucky enough, on a lovely bay window seat. Currently I can only dream!

My favourite little felt pots - I like these so much! They look so soft but pleasingly functional. Papaververt makes a wide range of high quality bowls, vases, trays and plant cosies all of which are equally tempting. I’m so in love with these - good job my birthday is coming up soon!

This amazing Topoware set for two includes 2 salad bowls, 2 serving plates and 2 dinner plates. They are all beautifully designed, taking inspiration from topographic maps, making eating both classy and fun!

This little pin cushion by Picciolo is an incredibly stylish way to store all those pins you crafty people have got lying around. The blue felt and the red and white polkadot fabric makes the cutest crafting accessory.

Aha! Another bird themed item, but possibly the cutest bird I’ve ever seen! Rachel Mcbird has been created by cookoorikoo. Not only is Miss Mcbird cute, she’s also made from recycled material, making everyone happy, especially me!

Hopefully not long until we (and all these lovely items) find our way into a nice new house all of our own. Keep your fingers cross for me!

Written by Rose P of Felt Giraffe