This is currently the most frequently used phrase in my blogger vocabulary.

I Want.

I know I know. Someone has whacked me with the needy greedy stick, pretty darn hard I might add.

And why? because we are re-decorating.

Yup, the O’Shea residence is having a major cosmetic overhaul.

What with Rock My Wedding and my day job I must be absolutely bl*ody mad but when I get an idea in my head it adheres like super glue and there is no stopping me, I may be small but lordy is my nagging mighty . I think Mr O’Shea looks at me all moany and groany and whiney stamping my size 4 feet and wonders what the hell he has got himself into……

As some of you who read my Wherever I Lay My Fancy Hat post some months back will know, as much as I love wedding design I love home interiors in equal measure. Nothing makes me happier than curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea, a chocolate digestive and a copy of Living Etc/Elle Decoration/House Beautiful ……to name but a few.

I want to walk into a room and think “Wow I adore living here” not “It’s ok” or “It will do”.

Of course we don’t have an unlimited money pit ( believe me – far from it) so I am constantly on the hunt for last-a-lifetime investment pieces or little pretty accessories that are reasonable in price but look as near to fabulous as possible.

It hasn’t been easy.

And then I found THE SHOP.

An on-line store so full of Charlotte type perfection that I may have actually stopped breathing.

I Want EVERYTHING it sells. I Want my home to look like it’s white washed pages. I Want to be as skilled at interior design as the creators of Pale And Interesting.

I Want a weathered dove grey cupboard to store all of my books

I Want battered old leather armchairs and glass teardrop chandeliers

I Want exposed wooden floorboards and a sea of scattered shells

I Want small ceramic votives and delicate pots filled with paper butterflies

I Want an old wood burning stove and french floral cushions

I Want antique metal file boxes and daisy hooks made of brass

I Want mis-matched wooden frames and tarnished silver candle sticks

I Want the warmest hand stitched blankets and a hallway filled with light

I Want provencal apothecary bottles for my lotions and tall vases for scented blooms

I Want cups painted with dragonflies and long white trestle tables laced with love

I Want an airstream in the garden and the perfect picnic set for two

I Want vintage china to display pink peonies and I Want ………. I Want………

What I really really WANT is for our home to be our home. In reality I don’t expect it to look like a magazine feature or an exact replica of someone elses vision. Where is the creativity or the personalisation in that?

Much like weddings I’m giving it the same coat of paint – take inspiration, use your own skills, tastes and loves and make it your own.

Of course I was a bit naughty and I may have indulged in a few pieces from Pale And Interesting…… the metal file boxes ( as frankly the shade of grey/blue was literally made for my RMW paperwork) the apothecary bottles and the book ” the relaxed home” for my mug of tetley/biscuit break next weekend.

Bliss

Anyone else decorating?

Any other amazing home interior stores we should know about?

And if you are on the hunt for decor gorgeousness just for Saturday kicks please complete this sentence ” I Want………”

Big making a home your home Love

Charlotte xxx

I’ve just been in my kitchen, being a good wifey (as I had the day off) – don’t let me fool you into thinking I’m the little wifey all the time!

Anyway, I was making the dinner (chilli) and baking a lemon loaf cake (once again, this is not the norm in the Norris household) and as I looked around the kitchen I realised what a lot of memories it held. I’m not talking about memories of good times, but physical memories in form of our wedding gifts. In fact they are littered all over the house, each one a reminder of the day we started a new life together and also each and every guest who wanted to commemorate that day.

So I thought I’d take you thought my all time favourite wedding gifts and see if it inspired you to think a little out of the box and add a bit of cool to your wedding list.

Design Devotee

Before Wedding Magazines overtook my magazine life and filled my house there was only one magazine for me, Living Etc. Filled with gorgeous homes from across the globe that embodied my philosophy on life. Being a fan of old houses, and modern design, I like blending. And having read up on all the modern design classics, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to fill my home with the more reasonably priced items.

Although I’m cheating by including the Ghost Chair which I have owned for several years now, it’s a great example of a modern design classic along with the Anglepoise 1227 which now sits on the RMW desk. Both retailing at around £150 they’re on the pricey side but will be much loved in your home for years to come.

Crystal Clear and Porcelain perfection

Top of everyones traditional gift list is a dinner service and I was no exception. I’ve always loved unpacking my Mums wedding dinner service for parties at home and I wanted my own families legacy. Although we had lived together for soooo long we still had the ‘University’ set of plates which had in turn been hand me downs from my mum – chips ahoy! So I couldn’t decide if I wanted everyday tablewear or a ‘for best’ dinner service and in the end I decided ‘best’ was totally against my whole living style. I’m lucky to have a lot of friends that live locally, we cook together regularly and eat together lots. We bought our dining table to seat 10 and so a dinner service only for best wouldn’t see much love. Thats not to say I didn’t want to keep it nice, so we bought a set of just 4 square plates and bowls for everyday when it’s just the two of us. For when there are more sat round my dinner table than just us two, I chose this casual white range by Sophie Conran for Portmerion.

I’m a little obsessed with crystal and we also didn’t have a full set of beautiful glasses but I found it incredibly difficult to find a design that wasn’t going to look dated in the years to come, or that already didn’t look dated with bad cut glass patterns. In the end I settled on a Vera Wang for Wedgwood design called Duchess, subtle but elegant and I love drinking out of it when I’m feeling particularly happy!

Garden Gadgets

Another emotional throwback was my desire for a garden bench. My Mum bought my Dad one once and I wanted one that I could take from home to home and sit with Pete on one day, with grandchildren running around the garden. Sentimental I know

One of my favourite things about the little house I live in with Pete is the Garden, and I love eating outside in the summer basking in it’s southwest aspect. So a BBQ was a natural addition and it’s had non-stop use since, being hauled out again in the recent fab weather.

Luxe Living

Pete’s only concession on the gift list…? A Coffee Machine. I argued with him about it as I felt it was too luxurious and too expensive to put on the list but in the end it was bought and we’ve loved using it ever since. In retrospect for those worrying about putting expensive gifts on their list, there will always be people who spend less than you would expect, but most will be astonishingly generous. We put a note on our list acknowledging we didn’t need much and vouchers would be fine towards the more expensive items.

And the other gift I enjoy daily? Our cutlery. A heavy weight set by Robert Stanton in a timeless design, I hope it will be on the dinner table for many years to come and was a very generous gift.

Vintage Favourites

So what lead me to write this whole article? My Kitchen Aid. One of the items we bought with cash and vouchers we received, it sits in pride of place in my kitchen and whips up a lovely lemon cake . Iconic yet practical (and therefore for me the very essence of modern design I had lusted after her creamy goodness for years…

Another fun item that I was excited to put on the list was a DAB digital radio. We opted for a Robert’s white solar powered number that works in the garden, instead of these Robert’s revival designs (which I still love) and it gets use in our kitchen while we cook as well as in the garden outside. Domestic Bliss.

All the above items are available on the John Lewis Gift List.

So where will you be having your gift list and what is the item you’ve always wanted to put on yours?

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Long before I had given weddings a second thought – (long before I had even met James in fact)… I was into interior design.

I bought my first home in 2001, a tiny 1 and a half bedroom terrace with the most tragic decor you could imagine. I’m talking avocado bathroom suite, peach wallpaper throughtout…complete with various floral “boarders” and a scarily unattractive burgundy carpet IN EVERY ROOM.

Beautiful….

Not.

So I got myself a lodger, lived off beans on toast and rich tea biscuits for 12 months, didn’t buy any new clothes ( I know can you believe?!)….and set about re-decorating the whole thing from top to bottom.

Some things I just couldn’t afford ( had to live with the avocado unfortunately) but in general I made it into a simple, stylish and modern home which I sold on a few years later for a worthwhile profit.

The house that James and I live in now was in a similar decorative state. No burgundy carpets I’m pleased to report but a whole heap of half arsed “renovation” work that we had to put right.

Not to mention the fact that on the first viewing we were greeted in the living room by a zebra print sofa, a tiger print chaise lounge and a cow skin rug.

Really.

Was like walking into Joan Collins’ closet.

Circa 1985.

Luckily once the unsuitable furniture and huge flouncy curtains had been removed we were left with an easily modified blank canvas and our old Victorian semi was ready to have the O’Shea seal of style approval stamped all over it.

* The kitchen – we have a walk through arch way from the living room

So I bet you gorgeous lot are thinking “eh? What the hell has this got to do with my wedding?!”

Right?

Well then, let me explain my reasons:

1) It’s easy to get confused by all of the loveliness out there, magazines, wedding fayres, other peoples weddings… and let’s be honest even blogs like Rock My Wedding. There is so much choice on offer it’s difficult to know what is right for you and your Big Day.

The only thing I would say here is to remember to stay true to yourself and don’t be swayed by what other people think you should have and what is currently in “fashion”. Take a look round you – and by that I mean your home, your interior decor, your every day wardrobe……and remember what it is YOU really like.

2) Consider re-usable decor. My biggest bugbear when planning the venue decoration was the thought of shelling out a whole lotta dollar for things that essentially we would only use once and that would spend the rest of their life gathering dust in the loft.

There is a ton of pretty available that you can use for W-day and then use in your home too… or indeed vice versa. I’m sure most of you already have lots of lovely in and around your abode that would be just perfect for adding some style and sophistication to the proceedings…..

Scented candles? cool pictures/photographs? vintage vases? glamorous trinkets?

* We used a whole bunch of heart decorations that we now hang on the kitchen cupboards…, the retro mugs are from www.notonthehighstreet.com

3) Sometimes it is nice to escape from weddingville altogether. If only for 5 minutes. And occasionally at Rock My Wedding we like to go slightly off the long road to “I DO” and just post about something a bit different.

As above – don’t underestiamate the power of a bright bloom in a bud vase – these were £1 each from Sainsbury’s. And if your bloom budget is limited then how about having a go yourself?

Oh and correct me if I’m wrong but what is the deal with peoples reservations against carnations? I think they are just divine not to mention dirt cheap and long lasting.

Unfortunately we didn’t discover Coulson Macleod until after the O’Shea Big Day but had we I so would have used this ” Love does not make the world go round, Love is what makes the ride worthwhile” piece for decor.

The juice bar clock and rustic/distressed chairs are by Laura Ashley and the retro inspired Bush radio was from Asda…. ( you’ve got to love supermarket chic)

The one thing we didn’t put enough thought into and is a big regret of mine was the guest book. We made a small last minute purchase, didn’t put it in an obvious place for people to find and didn’t let anyone know it was there.

If I had my time again I would use a picture that James bought me for the first birthday I celebrated since being together and have everyone sign around it. Then it would be significant, it would be very “us” and it would be taking pride of place it our home as a lovely memory of all our guests and the best day of our lives.

I am also a big fan of the cute couple canvases/prints that we are seeing used where the guests sign around the image, a lovely “forever” type keepsake.

* Limited Edition print by Kate Martin at www.55max.com

I would say our home decor is a kind of “rustic retro romance” ( completely made that phrase up but you get my meaning)….and that’s what we threw into W-day.

Be true to yourself and be true to your style – that’s all I wanted to get across.

And if you like “home is where the heart is” then drop us a comment, we have a whole bunch of rooms between the RMW team that we can post about.

Big Rustic Retro Romance Love

Charlotte xxx

Believe me I know from experience that during wedding planning mania it can be so so easy for you and your future husband to get swept away by the sheer madness of it all.

The result can be anything from a few stress related disagreements to almost completely forgetting what the point of it all is in the first place.

Your Big Day should be one of the best days of your life.

And not because you will get to wear the most gorgeous dress you have ever seen or because everything works out “as planned”.

Oh no.

It will be one of the best days of your life because you and your fiance are commiting to spending the rest of your lives together, through bad times, through the good times, in sickness and in health.

Your Wedding will be one of the most sweetest and beautiful memories you ever experience together but it is only one of the millions of special memories you will share throughout the years.

At the end of this month Mr O’Shea and I will have been married for 6 months and let me tell you – they have so far been the best 6 months of my life.

Just today Mr O got up at 5.30am to take me to the airport as he didn’t want me to get a taxi on my own, he then picked me up again at 7.00pm in the pouring rain and because I was so exhausted and starving hungry from a 14 hour day in Belfast went to the local fish and chip shop and proceeded to make me a chip butty…..

You can’t get better than that folks.

I love my husband and I love being his wife.

Our wedding was amazing don’t get me wrong and no matter how hard you try there will always be a small feeling of deflation after the event as you have dedicated so much time and energy to one thing.

BUT it’s what comes AFTER the Big Day that counts.

Remember what it’s all about.

Lots of the above

Mrs O’Shea xxx

Last week I received a rather lovely email from Hannah of Coulson Macleod a store that offers “Art with Attitude. Not for Squares”

Hi Charlotte,

Hannah
Coulson Macleod

Wel Well Well.

They are really rather gorgeous I must say.

Like Hannah said – a magnificent idea for a wedding gift or just as a special Christmas gift to yourself.

And just how very cool would one of these look as decor at your Big Day – imagine the photo opportunities!

And my absolute personal favourite ( and just about to be added to the ever expanding wish list) ….

Beautiful right?

I was thinking of scheduling this post for next week at some point but then realised they are in fact limited edition, only 250 available in each design and then they are ALL gone.

And believe me they are already selling like hot cakes.

Get thee on to the Coulson MacLeod website pronto.

There are lots of contemporary pieces of pretty to inspire and admire.

Charlotte xxx

P.s James I love you…..and ( if possible) I may love you that little bit more if Santa sends one of these beauties down the chimney