Cushion-me-happy: Love Me, Hug Me and just Kiss Me!

Summer lovin'? Did it happen so fast? It does here.

Bold text cushions are deliciously on-trend at this minute and these are filling the portfolios of the most seasoned designers of soft furnishings. I have here the Hug Me, Love Me and Kiss Me Word cushions available from Swanky Maison from the chic, modern design style of Karen Hilton.

The bold monochrome colour scheme of these 45cm cushions will effortlessly nestle into your current home styling, making a contemporary statement of the now! The fabric of the main body of the cover is needlepoint cord for a soft feel and the lettering applique is black felt.

How can you resist them? They beg you for a good squishing!

However, at £50 a pop it's more like Spare Me. It could be costly for you to collect all three of these beauties! Thank goodness it's free delivery!

But fret not, I might just have found three rather kindred spirits that may just be MORE huggable, loveable, kissable? YES

Look familiar? Yes indeedy. These bold and bouncing sister cushions feature a dead-ringer design in three contemporary colours that add that splash of colour and character that to be frank the Karen Hilton cushions just can't. Rather appropriately the cheeky Kiss Me cushion is set in a crimson red for a flirty look.

Each individual cushion appears to have soul and personality all of their own, so can be enjoyed on their own or all together!

Of course the material is polyester chenille rather than cotton, but my goodness is this type of fabric soft, and so practical, being machine washable! I'd like to see you try and machine wash the Karen Hilton articles... This fabric type also gives a sense of depth and texture to the colour, especially the Love Me cushion with subtle flecks of black and grey behind the weave, I love it.

And the price for this designer-inspired style? Just £6.99 for each cushion. Just think you could have this set of three 45cm cushions for a kick of personality in your home for less than £21! That's way less than half of the price tag of ONE of the designer counterparts!

And these cushions at this price are ONLY available at TheRange.co.uk and in the stores all over the UK. Click away to go straight to the Love Me, Hug Me and Kiss Me cushions, I might just still be there too...! The shameless bargain hunter that I am.

If that's not good value than I may as well shred the bank card now. Sling a comment this way if you agree!

Happy furnishing!!

Florals are a fine thing - Modern floral curtains to make your windows go "ooOOoo"

Carrying on this flippin' marvelous floral theme we move to some curtains, one of the most focal features of any room (unless you live underground... if you do then apologies, curtains might be of less interest to you!). Because some prefer a light-coloured curtains - to keep a sense of open space - and some prefer dark for a more dramatic look, I have picked my way through big designer names and found both fabulous styles to hopefully suit either preference!

How about these beauties? The modern stencil-like flower print of the Lucia pencil pleat curtains by John Lewis instantly boast an alluring stencil-like flowerhead print in a deep but still remarkably vibrant red over a very subtly dusty pink background shade, with slightly contrasting leaves that wind elegantly through the proud, red flowers.

But hold your horses, a name like this comes at a price. These (full polyester by the way) Lucia curtains start at whopping £100 for their smallest size of 164cm width X 136cm drop (that's 65" X 54") up to a wallet-bashing £200 for the 228cm width X 228cm drop (90" X 90")... Yikes!

After I finished wincing, I thought, "No, there IS a way to get hold of favourite designs without resorting to moonlighting... and I will find them!"

And I spotted these, the Fleur lined curtains available from The Range (my new favourite sweet deal hotspot). The red and pink lotus type flowers are similar to the Lucia, but if anything these more multi-tonal flowerheads look as if they're blooming out from the fabric for a much more 3D effect. As with the Lucia, there are little subtle leaves that weave gracefully through the design, giving off a little shimmer as they go.

Fleur has a hint of the oriental about them and are practically glowing with a light-coloured centre that darkens through the petals. What can I say, I'm in love!

These really caught my eye and held it for ransom... and it gets better, there's cushions to match!! WANT

The price? I'm so glad you asked... These lined curtains in the smallest available size of 117cm width  X 137cm drop (46" X 54") are just £16.99, with a total of six sizes available. Get this, the largest at 229cm width X 229cm drop (90" X 90") comes in at just £47.99, that's LESS than a quarter of the price of the premium brand!

I'm quite staggered you can get design like this in a fully lined curtain for so little, I'm equally as staggered that the same polyester fabric of the Lucia by John Lewis can cost quite so much!

Smitten as much as I am? Click here to go to the product page.



This doesn't stop here, fancy another??

I promised a darker colour curtain style and here we are, I've got for you here the Carnaby red floral curtains with a pencil pleat, by premium supplier Sundour.

I just want to want to sink into the design of these curtains, it's so warm warm-looking and inviting, with bold red flowers that should surely bring out the colours in a room. These are classy and sultry, great personality in a room with a neutral colour scheme.

Price time, the smallest size at 117cm width X 137cm drop (46" X 54") rings in at £53.00, the largest stanadrd size of 229cm width X 229cm drop (90" X 90") is £113.00. Not too bad? Just wait for what's next...

I present to you the Felicity lined jacquard woven curtains in a chocolate brown with a pencil pleat header from The Range, I just had to give this brilliant retailer another look as it really turned up trumps with the Fleur curtains I just fetaured above. And they didn't let me down!

The chocolate tone of these curtains is richer, warmer and just... plain elegant. The golden leaves are bolder but contrast with the red flowerheads superbly. This colour palette of dark brown, red and chocolate certainly has regal qualities and would be ideal for even the most contemporary home styling.

Getting that tingly feeling in your purse? You should be, once again the smallest size of 117cm width X 13cm drop (46" X 54") has a heavenly price tag of just £20.99, music to my ears. And for the largest? The 229cm width X 229cm drop (90" X 90") is just £47.99. Everyone's happy; you, your bank balance and your windows!

Want it? Get it.


I hope this designer to value comparison didn't disappoint. If you approve, please comment! And I will have many more comparisons soon for you. Happy furnishing!

Florals are a fine thing - The Must-Have Watercolour Bedding

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Earth laughs in flowers". Isn't that a lovely way to look at them, I couldn't agree more! They are such an expression of joy and vitality, reaching for the Sun as if soaking up all they can from their sometimes short bloom. There will have been a time when primitive and hairy mankind (I mean ages ago, I'm not talking about your ex-husband) will have only witnessed the myriad of possible colours in this world through the natural wild flowers he came across in the native meadows, before the days of paint, dyes and Pantone colour charts...

But that's enough mushy gushy, let's get down to the really important stuff, how to get some super-happy florals into your home styling (without reaching for the watering can!)


Take this eye-poppingly lovely bedding set from Bluebellgray. A lot can be said for modern printing techniques which are facilitating some absolutely stonking designs! This photo-perfect watercolour style print couldn't be more on-trend if it tried. The florals positively burst out of the fabric with bold, perfectly contrasting colours.

Taransay Duvet Cover in pink by Bluebellgray

However ... at a starting price of £65 for a single duvet cover set, this does pack a punch in the purse.

But fear not, after a little oo'ing and ahh'ing I have found a simply brilliant alternative for your delectation ...

Jardin Purple Duvet and Pillowcase Set available only from The Range and TheRange.co.uk

The Jardin bedding set features the exact same style and spirit, rendered in a watercolour print with bold flowers. This set is EXCLUSIVELY (said in a big singy voice!) from The Range, in the stores and online at TheRange.co.uk, you won't see this anywhere else (believe me, I've used my best web-sleuthing!)

One of my favourite parts of this bedding are the leaves that wind their way up between the flower heads for a mesmerising wild meadow look! I also LOVE the cute little bluebells, which for me balance the colour palette perfectly. I personally think this Jardin bedding set has bucket loads of character, I even dare to say more than the Bluebellgray set (Oh yes I did!)

Sure you do have to sacrifice a little cotton for a synthetic alternative, but this is still a 50/50 polycotton mix throughout. Want to hear the best part? This fab bedding set starts at just £10.99 for a single, and a king size will only set you back £18.99! Phew, I can't take all this bargain-buzzing excitement!! Click here to go see it.

With a big chunk of the budget left over what's to stop you popping some real flowers around to fill your place with amazing aromas? Because to be fair these bedding sets can't help with that!

Happy furnishing lovelies!