Everything & the Kitchen Sink.

I've absolutely loved the process of making our house a home, although we're no where near finished there are some bits that have our personal stamp on them & I want to share some of them. Partly because I'd love to be able to look back over the years & see what we've kept the same & partly so you can all have a cheeky nose around our home a snapshot at a time.

Something that I was adamant about was that I would not have a kitchen sink area cluttered with washing up items. I wanted something nice to look at when doing the dishes. Some of you probably think thats a super boring thing to care about but I'm not the biggest fan of washing up & I think it makes it all that more tedious when you're staring at something ugly. So, in the absence of a view I accessorised.

I've always wanted a citrus plant in the house so I bought a Calamondin tree & a brightly coloured indoor pot from Blooms (sorry I can't find you direct links their website is tres confusing: I searched 'gardening tools' & the results were 'petit pois' - not helpful). The fruit is edible but in truth I bought it purely because I thought it was pretty.

My basil plant on the other hand is totally practical (I have a tomato & basil salad every day for lunch - nom) & the pot was a cheap one from B&Q that set me back all of £3 but looks a thousand times better than just the tub & the bag that the basil comes in. I'm hoping to have a herb garden eventually but I think I'll probably keep my basil indoors because I use it so often & I personally think it looks lovely.

I keep my Orla Kiely Jar (RRP £30) by the window too. I store biscuits in there & I think it's too pretty to be hidden away anywhere. I was considering buying a few more Orla Kiely Jars in the same design but I think for now I like that the kitchen isn't too uniform & I think I could easily get carried away buying absolutely everything available in that print if I did decided to co-ordinate.

The last thing that's on  my window ledge & my absolute favourite item is my ceramic dotty bird by Lena Nystrom. I bought it in a gallery in Kristianstad, Sweden, a few years ago so I can't remember what it cost me but I think it is absolutely adorable. I haven't been able to find out a lot of information about her or anywhere that you can buy her work online but I think it's such a quirky piece & I'm so glad I picked it up. If you ever visit the south of Sweden & do decide to go to Kristianstad check NIMT to see if they're showing her items & buy a piece - they'll cheer up any area, even the kitchen sink.