Home & Design Round-up: An introduction & welcome

Hello and welcome to our brand new Homes and Design Round-up! I’m thrilled to be a new BritMums round-up editor. I can’t wait to bring you the best of all the homes, interiors and design related blog posts that I can find.

For this first round-up I wanted to give you a general introduction to some fabulous blogs and posts that you possibly haven’t come cross yet. If you think home interiors and design isn’t for you then think again. If you wouldn’t know where to start in decorating or renovating a home, or if you think home blogs are only relevant if you’ve got loads of money then I’m hoping to change your mind and give you lots of down to earth inspiration for your own home. Don’t despair if you have no interest in cushions or the latest wallpaper trends, we are going to change all of that! So here we go…….

You can usually find Mum of All Trades with a glue gun in the garage, upcycling her latest charity shop find but this month she’s been discussing the new Spring homeware trends for 2013. If you’re one for following fashions then do take a look at her post. Boat Yard Salvage (one of my favourite looks of the moment) is still big for Spring, and you can’t beat the fabulous items that she comes up with from Matalan. Stylish and affordable.

Are you finding yourself overwhelmed by clutter? Do you wish you could clear the decks a little and breathe? Anyone with children will tell you that they come with a huge amount of paraphernalia and it never stops growing. Lottie at Oyster and Pearl has a fabulous ongoing project at the moment called Project Simplify where she’s declutttering her home. Check out her brilliant tips for the best ways to go about this often momentous task. My favourite tip? ‘Be Brutal – you don’t want to have to do this again’!

Continuing with the decluttering theme (it’s that time of year isn’t it) Heather at Growing Spaces has done a wonderful job of re-organising and sorting her craft cupboard and kitchen dresser, and don’t they look fantastic now?

And so how about some home makeovers I hear you cry. Well the wonderful Becky at Family Budgeting has been showing us how you can achieve a great makeover at low cost. Becky has been revamping her lounge on a budget. Small changes here and there, some new art, some fresh paint and a few extra home furnishings (and by this we mean cushions of course) and the room is brighter and fresher. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the house turns out!

On the other hand Cheshire Mum has shared the design plans for her house development and they look amazing. Like her, I’m particularly in love with the bifold doors across the back of the house. She’s looking for input, recommendations and suggestions from others so do pop along and let her know what you think, particularly if you’ve been there and done this kind of home improvement before.

Now how about some cool interior inspiration? Penny from Alexander Residence has been looking at some amazing wall murals by a company called ohpopsi.com.  Not for the faint hearted, these are dramatic, bold and striking. Choose and design your own mural for a bedroom or any room that can take such wow factor. Whilst over at the Ana Mum Diary, Amanda has been delighting us with her interior and home choices through her ‘I Love Mondays’ feature. Designed to banish those Monday blues she sources wonderful items through some virtual shopping. If you love retro pieces in your home, you’ll love this post introducing us to Johnny Moustache and his beautiful cocktail chairs.

And to finish off for this month, I’d like to introduce you to one of my ‘How To…’ posts – How to Create the Perfect Home Office. For bloggers and home workers alike, creating a calm, organised desk area in your home is essential. It doesn’t matter how big or small the space, there’s always a solution.

I do hope you find some inspiration for your own home amongst these wonderful home and design posts. If you’d like to be included in next month’s Home and Design Roundup why not tweet me a link to the post so I can take a peek. You’ll find me on Twitter @lovechicliving.

Jen x