This little birdie...

Cheer up this grey weather with a beautiful Birdcage lamp from Graham & Green - ideal for adding a splash of colour and cheer to your home...

Medium Birdcage Chandelier - £470, Graham & Green

Do the look...Hubsch

1. Chalkboard decal - $12.99, Wallies

2. Hoxton stool - £50, Next

3. Set of 3 vintage glass bottles - £19, Not on the High Street

4. Emmanuelle enamel black pendant - £50, Habitat

5. Set of 3 rope crochet baskets - £25, Casa Couture at House of Fraser
6. Ingalls bench - £275, John Lewis

I spotted this fab lifestyle shot on Hubsch Interiors website - as with many, I absolutely love the rustic loft-living style but it's not always easy to achieve the right feel in your own home. I've spotted the above items on the web and the high street that might just help do the trick...

Hubsch products can also be found on CosyGlimpse.co.uk

Made.com must-have

I'm currently trying to convince myself that I don't need these dining chairs from Made.com...

Well of course I don't need them - I WANT them! It's not purely for the fact that at £149 for a pair they're really quite reasonably priced, or the fact that they'll go perfectly with our cream dining room table, or because they'll off-set the dark dining chairs we currently have, or the fact that they look good enough to eat - I just must have them, simple. If only it wasn't the end of the month...I'll just have to wait til next week then.

Pair of Jelly acrylic chairs - £149, Made.com

TRAVEL - The beauty of Berlin

Last August I went to the beautiful city of Berlin. Having previously not even considered Germany's capital as a potential city break location that I wanted to visit I really had no idea what to expect; I was very pleasantly surprised.

We stayed at Hotel Mani in the Mitte district. 

The hotel was ideal - beautifully decorated, quirky yet sleek, small yet kitted out with everything we needed; we were also permitted to use the stunning roof terrace bar of the sister hotel just around the corner (what better setting for a couple of sunny afternoon drinks?). The location of the hotel was also perfect, we couldn't have asked for anything better, particularly on our reasonably small budget. Just a short walk from Alexanderplatz, probably best described as the Leicester Square of Berlin without all of the bars, we were close enough to walk pretty much everywhere whilst still being able to experience an essence of Berlin-living in what seemed to be quite an upscale, trendy area.

Berlin itself is of course known for the obvious history and you really do have to do a bit of sight-seeing whilst your there - the buildings and surroundings such as the Reichstag are beautiful.

Another reason for visiting Berlin is the food; I couldn't go to Germany without trying sauerkraut and currywurst, especially with a German boss back in the office! I will never forget my first German meal, unfortunately not because it was just too delicious - quite the opposite. In simple terms, because I have no idea of the correct ones, it was rubbery pale cheese, very large, dry bread, pickled gherkins and...a tub of lard. LARD! I'm sure there were better things I could have tried, I'm quite a fussy eater as it is; needless to say, I stuck to what I knew from then on...

This short, brief summary of my trip doesn't do any justice to the sheer diversity of Berlin - from the wealthy Charlottenburg to the graffiti, infamous nightlife, culture and everything in between, Berlin is 100% definitely worth the visit; I, for one, will most certainly be returning very soon!

Fashion for the home

With Couture Fashion Week currently under-way it's all too easy to dream of floating down the streets of Paris in one (or all) of the exquisite gowns - now I can't speak for you but I can pretty much guarantee this is a very distant dream for me. What is perhaps more achievable however is taking the inspiration to make your home just a little more couture...

Whether you take inspiration from the colour (red seems to be a safe bet at the moment) or perhaps pick out the textures and materials with the use of accessories, there are many relatively quick, easy and purse-friendly options available to take a stab at.

For those that don't fancy scouring the high street Marks & Spencer have created a fab selection of footstools that fit well with the Valentino gown as worn by Cara Delevingne...

1. 3D multi flower beanbag - £149
2. Layered applique petals beanbag - £139
3. English Garden beanbag - £149

Well hi there, long time no see!

You may have noticed that we haven't been particularly active (read: we've done absolutely nothing at all) on Satchels & Soap since July 2012 - this was due to a number of reasons, mainly that same old story - TIME - or lack of..! Well it's a new year so what better time to get back on the horse so-to-speak.

Without blabbing away for far too long about the amazing changes in the pipeline (you've hopefully already spotted the updated logo) and mind bogglingly brilliant posts we have up our sleeves, we thought we'd kick off the new era of Satchels & Soap with something simple yet brilliant, and what better way than with the new TV ad from IKEA - brilliant as ever, here it is...

Lovely to see you again!

x

Sunday Style - Borough Market

So it finally happened, this weekend saw a glimpse of sunshine and fingers crossed it's set to continue for most of the week!!

To celebrate Mr S&S and I found ourselves in Borough Market - the perfect way to celebrate the weather. We bought a selection of tapas style delights and moseyed on home to enjoy the food over a glass of vino in the garden, bliss!

dwell AW12 - sneak preview

Last week I went along to the dwell AW12 press show and it certainly did not disappoint! 

Set in the very beautiful Il Bottaccio the collection spanned the room, offering Christmas themes, a bit of Pop colour and a super natural space to boot along with dwell's signature blend of quality, design, affordability and compact living style - here are some highlights...

You can see more from the collection on the dwell website here - it can't hit the stores soon enough!!

Kate Moss meets George Michael

I've been a bit absent from blogging for a little while so, by way of an apology, here's a little something something new - George Michael's new music video featuring Kate Moss. Anything featuring KM has got to be worth a watch, (love her!) and the song isn't too shabby either - enjoy!

Bedroom Athletics AW12

Yesterday I popped along to the Soho Hotel to check out the new collection from Bedroom Athletics, a fun and vibrant clothes-for-the-home brand. With a gorgeous selection of the fluffiest slippers known to man and the ideal clothing for lounging round the house, bed time or popping to the shops it's the ideal go-to brand for everything you need when you just can't face leaving the house and jeans aren't quite comfortable enough.

The sumptuous pink and lime hotel suite complemented the range perfectly, with the super soft Marilyn booties scattered across the huge white bed, the fluffy Sienna and Cole slipper boots neatly lined up to one side and the men's new Harris Tweed collection taking pride of place on the dark wood table. The capsule clothing collection included beautiful brushed-cotton pyjama shorts and trousers, the softest of soft lounge tops, conveniently long-bodied vest tops and t-shirts, and the most comfortable range of onesies that may even lead me to be a convert (you think onesies are just for babies? just wait til you see these...)

Marilyn booties on bed, Sienna (tall) & Cole on the bench

Kacie pumps and Kim booties

Harris Tweed collection on table, men's slippers/boots below

Marilyn in Teal - £20

Molly in Coral - £40

The brand has undergone a shake up and it definitely shows - the new collection is strong, precise and oozing quality - definitely one to keep an eye on!

Available on the Bedroom Athletics website, Figleaves, Office and select John Lewis and Fenwick stores.