Cath Kidston Vintage homewares

I’ve always felt quite unsure about Cath Kidston’s designs. I first came across her designs when she did some custom shells for some Nokia mobile phones. Whilst not inherently modern in their appearance, I’ve come to appreciate their splash of vintage couture but also the intentional tackiness of their trademark floral prints which gives a fun edge to their products. The vanity case, pictured above, is one such example. The print itself is leagues away from what we tend to expect from highly fashionable homewares, yet Cath Kidston is well and truly seated alongside more orthodox brands. Whilst I don’t think I could handle a house decorated from top to toe in Cath Kidston (if you’ve been to Selfriges in Birmingham and seen the Cath Kidston stand, you’ll most likely agree), tasteful inclusions help give a sense of fun and vintage couture to even the most modernly designed home.

Price?: £35
Where? Cath Kidston official website and Selfridges.

Karim Rashid gift wrap

Beaumonde play host to a heap of highly fashionable designers and Karim Rashid is one such example. The image above is a piece of gift wrap to give a present a bit of extra jazz over the usual cheap and nasty paper they sell at the till point in Primark. What I liked most was the recommendation of perhaps framing the paper and using it as a wall decoration. I did this with a piece of gift wrap I found in Paperchase last month and it looks great and works out much cheaper than actually buying art work ready framed or on canvas. There is an absolute mass of different designs to explore on Beaumonde’s site so I suggest you get mooching, phone in hand because it doesn’t seem you can order online.

Price?: The wrap pictured above is £1.18 a sheet.
Where?: Beaumonde, I believe you can place orders over the phone. They are also available from Selfridges, London.

Black and Blum: James the Bookend

The books on my shelf are continually falling down (usually in the middle of the night, scaring the living hell out of me) so these bookends are just the solution I was after. Well, I say that as if Black and Blum were the first people to invent a book end but I don’t think I can resist having a little rubber man holding my books in place for me.

Black and Blum do some very innovative designs, and this bookend is one of my favourites. You can also get a door stop version if you’re not loving the ‘Fred’ stiletto I posted previously.

Price?: £15
Where?: Selfridges London or Black and Blum’s website.

Coffee is the key to a healthy lifestyle

That’s a fact, you know? It is in my book anyway. Due to that, it only seems apt that coffee is made properly, so I’m talking a coffee machine. My boyfriend surprised me with one for Christmas which I have instantly fell in love with (it’s pictured above.) It takes filter coffee which means you can go buy all the coffee from Whittards that you always wished you could but couldn’t because you didn’t have a filter machine (or is that just me?) At just £24.99 from Amazon (or from Argos if you simply can’t wait and can handle the experience that is shopping at Argos) this one is a bit of a steal. However, at that price, it’s somewhat a budget model, what do you do if you’re looking to burn a few pounds on the mother of all coffee machines? (Something I’m intending to do next year/once this one packs in.)

This beautiful creation is from DeLonghi and allows you to create perfect cappuccino by pressing just one button. These are available right now from Whittards of Chelsea for the reduced price of just £549. However, I noticed a similar machine in Whittards the other day for £399 so it may be worth checking in store for a lower price. Whittards also have it for sale online.

Price?: Mentioned a few prices here, point is, you can pay whatever you like for a coffee machine. From twenty quid to hundreds of pounds. Pick your price and show your coffee how much you care.

‘Fred’ Foot in the door Stiletto door stop

Of all the stores, in all the world, Paperchase is my undisputed favourite. From pens to paper and key rings to candles, the amount of time and money I spend in Paperchase makes my mom want to slap me. My most recent purchase was a stiletto-shaped door stop because I’ve started to feel somewhat antisocial keeping my door shut in the flat back in Manchester and if I’m going to have a door stop, it’d be nice to have one with a bit of jazz attached to it. Problem is, it’s a big hefty fire door and I’m not sure if the door stop I’ve bought will hold it so when I return to Manchester in a couple weeks time, I may cry if it doesn’t work. Perhaps to the point of requesting a new, lighter door. This stiletto door stop is also available in black (although Paperchase in Birmingham only had red when I went in) and is made by ‘Fred’ in the US.

Price?: £5 in Paperchase, or £5.99 from I Want One Of Those.

Umbra Mosh frame

I remember first seeing all the umbra frames when Selfridges first opened in Birmingham. I instantly fell in love with their quirky designs and distinctive use of shapes and angles. The Mosh Frame pictured above exemplifies everything I adore about Umbra design with it’s far from orthodox design and use of different shapes and angles. Whilst some may be concerned that their photos may become nauseous being shown at multiple different angles, I feel it adds to the photos, giving them a bit more life that may have been lost in a more standard frame. Plus, it makes the whole thing so much more engaging so people are more inclined to look at the photos (so make sure you include only your very best photos, preferably touched up heavily in Photoshop.)

Price?: The Mosh Frame is £23.50 but Umbra offer a slew of frames to suit every pocket.
Where?: Again, my beloved Selfridges or Umbra’s online store which features a plethora of other swanky home decorations aswell.

Habitat Kea Table Lamp

I managed to collar my boyfriend into buying me one of these in a sort of “you would if you loved me” blackmail-esque kind of way. In retrospect, I feel I should have abused his caring nature a bit more than I did because at just £8 (plus a bulb though, sorry), these are a bargain. Whilst I can’t quite put my finger on what they remind me of (a tulip?), I love the overall aesthetic of the lamp, especially the off cut top. Shape aside though, whilst it looks plain white, it’s actually a frosty glass shade which creates a lovely warm glow when you switch it on. These are also available in red but it all felt a bit too brothel-esque for my tastes so I opted for the white.

These are available right now from my favourite homewares store in the whole wide world; Habitat.

Price?: £8 at the moment, plus around £1.50 for the bulb.
Where?: As stated previously,the wondrous Habitat is selling these beauties. You can see the lamp on their site here or find your nearest store.

Villeroy & Boch New Wave coffee cup

I picked one of these up from the oh-so-space-age Selfridges in Birmingham. They have the most fantastic handles on them but this handle does pose an issue for us left handed folk (we do exist, you know?) However, Villeroy and Boch have somewhat come to the rescue with a left handed version but, sadly, it only seems available in white and not all the other colour variations that are available. Nevertheless, in spite of their somewhat limited support for the left handed community, these are great mugs that deserve a place in your cupboard (or on your mug rack, it seems a shame not to display them really.)

Price?: £12.50-£17.50 depending on size/decoration. There are some in Selfridges sale for around £13 down from £17 if you wish to save a few pennies. Also, matching saucers are also available for around £20 and £13 respectively.
Where?: Selfridges Birmingham & Selfridges Trafford centre (these are the only two I know for certain, I assume you can pick them up in any Selfridges with a homewares deperartment.  They can also be purchased from Villeroy and Boch’s e-store for just £8.75.

Homewares are cool. Period.

Here are some of the most fashionable, impressive and down right gorgeous homewares available today.

Your home deserves to look gorgeous.