traditional garden games - summer fun

As the summer feel almost a glimpse away and with Easter approaching fast maybe its time to get some family fun into the garden. We are proud to introduce our latest collection from The Traditional Garden Games Company. This company have introduced a range of good quality, hard wearing traditional games and activities for all the family to enjoy.

If you want to encourage your children or grand children to indulge in a little outdoor activity then these products are fantastic. How about organising a family game of traditional boules, or traditional skittles to show off your under arm skills.

A giant game of snakes and ladders with hidden tasks, where you don't just play the game, you become part of the game moving up and down the snakes and ladders on a giant 3 meter square PVC board. Test your precision skills with a traditional game of lawn darts or the old favourite '4 in a row'.

A great game for the grand children is teaching them the skills and etiquette of crochet. these lovely wooden sets come in both full size croquet and children's size croquet sets. The full croquet size set is also fantastic for a cheeky afternoon with friends and pimms.

My personal favourite has to be the ultimate sports day set. This one for me has the highlights of the traditional sports day. Compete for 1st 2nd and 3rd place in this highly entertaining

box set of the egg and spoon race, the sack race, the three legged race and running race. Complete with a start and finish line this traditional games sports day box set has it all for a truly memorable days fun and entertainment......... maybe a few prizes for the winners is in order xxxx

Have fun xxxxxxxxxxx

all things white and beautiful

elegant and simple to achieve, this years hottest home interior look is still focused on the white shabby chic, clean style white painted furniture look. Whether in the bedroom, bathroom, office or lounge this style evokes a sense of romance, peace and shabby chic tranquil indulgence.

For a bedroom use with pastel tones to create a romantic, vintage inspired feel.

The lounge, mix with linen and stone tones, rattan baskets, textured cushions and throws for a versatile, warm, relaxed look.

Within an office, use as a base and lift with some bold reds and blues to inspire creativity.

Use in the kitchen with warm wood tones to create a really country style look and feel, incorporating fresh soft furnishings combined with browns and fresh spring green's.

If you like the shabby chic furniture I this blog and would like to see more from the range then click here. xx

country style doormats

country style doormats - yes, these fantastic shabby chic style doormats are great for keeping your home clean and free from mud and debris. with a variety of different styles and designs its easy to slot them into your home, matching them to existing deco and brightening up the house. a lovely welcome doormat greets guests and visitors, while a shabby chic vibrant pink and green or green and brown doormat screams creativity. what about a fun bay tree design doormat or a fun potted sunflowers doormat? a flamboyant flurry of country flowers? or a cast iron oval one for a spot of garden elegance? finally before you make your choice, consider a multi purpose wooden doormat with a shoe and shoe brush attached.

More welcoming doormats available in our store, so come and take a look xx

www.touches-interiors.co.uk

spring has sprung - the garden has to be done!!

Spring Has Arrived!

Yes it's finally beginning to happen, Spring is showing signs of arriving. As I looked out of the french doors yesterday it really was refreshing to see snow drops, daffs and tulips peeping out of the ground. It also highlighted just how high the grass has grown and how much freedom we have given the bushes and hedges around, a little pruning and hacking is desperately required (a weekend task for the lovely Gary I'm thinking).

So with a new sense of Summer looming its the perfect time to start investing some much needed love, care and attention to the garden. To create a lovely country rustic garden there has to e an element of allowing nature to work its magic. Resisting pruning those hedges and mowing that lawn to the millimetre, you really do have to take a Lassie faire attitude and allow everything to grow, rust and evolve just that little bit longer. Incorporating garden furniture and accessories really helps you to enjoy the garden and use it to its full potential. A rustic set of tables and chairs, reminiscing of aged ceramic pots is inspirational for a little alfresco dining and a continental early morning breakfast. An aged ceramic bird bath perched on the step or a hanging heart iron bird bath encourage birds & wildlife to the garden. Pop a piece of wall art sun's, some flower planters , church window style planters, or a few aged ceramic hanging baskets onto a dull wall to really give it a wow factor.

The problem is that as soon as the sun come out, the garden manages to get inside. Do you know what I mean? Muddy feet, fresh cut grass traipsed into the house! Well why not look at a wellington boot stand, they are cast iron, can be left out doors so no wellies clogging up the hallway or base of the stairs. They can hold a set of two boots or a family size set of four. With it's central shoe scraper you don't need anything else to keep the mud away from the home. However if you don't regularly pull on your wellingtons and are after a simple but stylish shoe scraper or brush then why not look at the hedgehog shoe brush or snail shoe brush? Popping one by the door encourages family and friends to give there shos a good clean when entering the house.

So come on, while the sun is shining get out there this weekend and enjoy (I know Gary will be! wink wink x).

Ambiance Lighting......... Cream Lamps

Just a quick post to remind you that we have some lovely cream lamps in stock at the moment that are perfect for brightening up and shabby chic room. The Square Cream Lamp, Orchid Cream Lamp and the Pillar Cream Lamp are three very versatile lamps that can be used in any room around the house from the bedroom, living room to the dining room and hall.

To add a dash of neutral colour to a room why not take a look at the new Rustic Distressed Linen Lamps that come in two sightly different designs and sizes. Or maybe if you fancy making a real statement in a room the Champagne Reading Lamp is perfect for dominating a sideboard or lamp table whilst the Champagne Standard Lamp shimmers beautifully in any corner.

Lamps really are the quickest and often the cheapest way to really lift a room and create a homely ambiance.

create a home office

Inspired by an article I have just read in March's edition of Country Living I have decided to redesign my Winter cozy office at home and introduce some Spring light and style to the area. As it's the area I seem to spend most of my time I think it's only right that although there is a need for practicality its also a need for it to feel comfortable, stylish & inviting. So my first thoughts were the position of the furniture in the room. As my office is in the small room off the kitchen, it has a lot light owing to the french doors that look out onto the garden. Perfectly positioned for losing myself in creative though during the day. So with this in mind I repositioned my desk, (the cream shabby chic desk). This desk has a fantastic amount of desk top surface area which I have customised with a piece of inexpensive glass that I got from our local glass merchants to protect the surface and stuck photo's & images that I find inspiring between the glass & desk to really personalise.

As I am limited to space in the area I have the weathered oak fold away chair with a lovely linen cushion on for extra comfort. Instead of the usual industrial looking filing drawers I have used the shabby chic small boy chest for all my paper work & propped a round diamond mirror, pail for my pens, a relaxing aromatherapy candle & glass lotion dispenser filled with my favourite hand cream on the top (got to keep a bit of girly glamour close to hand).

For keeping notes I have adopted two methods, one is that I have popped up a selection of different hooks, I have added a few of the single heart hooks, the cream triple hook & a rustic grey distressed triple hook. I use these to add info sheets & files to using dog clips. I also have a selection of hanging jam pots that I use for popping in a few staple office stationary accessories such as paper clips, string, pins etc. Secondly I have a selection of notice memo boards. I use the different designs as a system of office organisation (although I'm sure it doesn't look like organisation to anyone else). I have the fabric damask pin board for all things that need dealing with urgently, the fabric memo board for tickets, show information & suppliers details & the new picture magnetic notice board for my calender, stamps, bits of inspiration that I come across etc. I also have the pink postcard vintage inspired magnetic memo board for receipts......... It really is a post modern, vintage look that I find works well and looks inspirational & intriguing.

Finally I have added a cream french clock, to inspire good time keeping, a cream pillar lamp so that it really does create an ambiance of country chic and a rattan traditional basket on the floor as a paper bin to complete the look. Add my trusted radio and away I go.............

I just have to share my feelings on this product x

Just a quick bit of information on a new product that I absolutely adore.... these cut glass knobs! I don't know what it is that is inspiring me about them (well I do, they are cut glass, vintage style that are quite simply me!) But it's more than that, as soon as I saw them I loved them. (again it might be that I am planning my own vintage inspired wedding at the moment and therefore suddenly everything that evokes the aged era bring me over all romantic) I have yet to work out where in my home they are going to feature but believe me they are; and as one of my very best friends has just moved house I am also thinking that maybe they would be an ideal gift for the lovely Amy Lou who shares my obsession, take a good look Amy, they are heading your way

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