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All articles filed in thrifty

Bedroom Retailers Upcycle What a find!October 17, 2018October 19, 2018

British Heart Foundation Makeover Challenge

There are amazing charities out there, we all know that. But the British Heart Foundation is certainly one that is, and pardon the pun, close to our hearts. We’ll come to exactly why later. For starters though, we got approached by the British Heart Foundation several months back about a really exciting project which we…

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Accessories Furniture Retailers What a find!September 1, 2015August 24, 2015

Finding Lola & SiDney

We’ve discovered a vintage gem and the best bit about it is that it’s a stones throw away from our humble abode in Tooting! Situated on Garratt Lane, Lola and SiDney is a retro retailer with an array of incredible vintage finds, from 20s through to 60s with an abundance of mid-century wares as well as…

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London based duo blogging about interior, trends, design & industry news. Winners of the Best Design Inspiration blog in the Amara Interior Blog Awards '16, Forward Features is the journey of David & Mark, interior geeks searching for domestic bliss in the city.
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POP 💥 . New art, who dis? We saw this @mdentonesq piece titled ‘Blew’ over a year ago at The RA Summer exhibition and we fell in love. You may find it familiar. It’s a contemporary, gold leaf version of Chinese Girl by Vladimir Tretchikoff and we’ve been pining over it ever since and now it’s ours, all ours. We got it from @jealous_london who offer, amongst other galleries, an art loan called Own Art. It’s a government scheme to make art more accessible to all so we’re paying this off over 10 months, interest free. Great right? Can’t wait to get it up on the wall. The aim is to do a gallery wall so watch this space for that to happen soon! . #art #artwork #ownart #artloan #jealousgallery #VladimirTretchikoff #MarkDenton #ChineseGirl #Blew #painting #paint #artist #framed #new #home #homeinspo #reno #firsttimebuyers #firsttimebuyer #goldleaf #london #ra #rasummerexhibition #sharedownership #decorating #interiors #interiorinspo #interiordesign #design #bubblegum
☑️ So you know there might be a big vote coming up. It’s going to change our county for good and it’s never been so important to exercise your democratic right. - That’s right, the @amaraibas voting comes to an end on the 11th September so you still have time to be heard 💪🏼 - We were over the moon to be asked by the good people at the #IBA19 to help judge the Best Newcomer category with @borealabode (who credit goes to for this snap of intense and in no way stayed moment of judging). - Head to @amaraibas and follow the link in their bio for all the info 🥰 big love to the team for having us - #amara #blogawards #IBA #love #interiors #interiordesign #design
Happy Saturday everyone! Any exciting weekend plans ahead? We’ve headed to a gallery in East London this morning to scope out a piece of artwork we’ve been after for about a year now. Do you know there’s a government funded art loan called Own Art where you can pay art off, interest free, over 10 months? We didn’t! It’s bloody genius! So we’re going to take advantage of that and treat ourselves to something that’s going to make our soon-to-be gallery wall looking awesome - watch this space. For now, we’ll leave you with a snap of our shelves whilst we gobble down our cheese and bread from Borough Market. Have a good Saturday all! . #artwork #artloan #ownart #art #details #shelves #shelfie #shelving #weekend #london #decorating #firsttimebuyers #firsttimebuyer #property #flat #apartment #sharedownership #london #books #bookworm #newbuild #weekendplans #goodvibesonly
END OF BANK HOLIDAY BLUES 😭. Does it have to end? It’s been a busy one, that’s for sure (see last post) and the hangover we have today is not good (we’re currently nursing it with a heap of shit food and a snooze in the park) but this heat paired with a three day weekend has been utter bliss 🙌🏼. . On a separate note, we’re currently having to have firm words with Kiki who is leaving her black fur all over the new sofa. It’s a constant hoover and lint roller situation in the Forward Features household. Any other cat owners have a continuous war with fur?! . #sofawoes #sofa #cat #catfur #blackcatsofinstagram #orangesofa #livingroom #homeinspo #designinspo #furniture #interiors #interiordesign #design #livingarea #lounge #bankholidayblues #bankholiday #weekend #summer #shelves #shelfie #roominspo #designinspiration #myhome #firsttimebuyer #firsttimebuyers #sharedownership #flat #london #newbuild
What a testosterone-filled weekend! No joke. We’ve had Ikea delivery men whizzing in and out, a chap from @aveon.blinds.and.shutters who measured our windows and gave us some options on blinds (we have to have vertical opposed to Venetian in the living area which isn’t ideal but that’s another story), we’ve had two guys from BT in to sort our internet, someone from the developers to sort the plumbing and our killer handy man, @nat_handyman from @taskrabbit to sort all our mounting needs (he’s great, book him!). There may be a heat wave but it’s been raining men in our flat. . Talking of mounting though, that brings us to our new shelves in the living area. You may have seen on our story that we wanted these and we’re so happy that they’re finally up. It means we’ve now cleared all our boxes of books, art and knick knacks and can have everything on display. We also got this dining set from @ikeauk, it’s not the ideal dining situation but it will do for now. So done with flat pack furniture for a while 😅. We’ll show more updates soon. . Swipe to see a before and after! 👉🏼 . #flatupdate #interior #design #wallmounting #wallshelves #shelves #shelf #ikea #shelfie #mounting #handyman #firsttimebuyers #decorating #diy #flatpack #home #homeinspo #scandi #flat #london #smallflat #spacesaver #weekend #bankholiday
We’re being bullied guys 🆘. Bullied by @melanielissackinteriors and @_lisa_dawson_ for not stretching our DIY muscles and unashamedly using @taskrabbit for our shelfie goals 😂😂. In all honesty, we wish we were brave enough to tackle this task ourselves but unless we want to knock through to next door or send ourselves to A&E with a whole through our hands, we’re going to leave this one to the professionals. With that said, head to @_lisa_dawson_’s Instagram to check out her shelf mounting skills 💪🏼 and read @melanielissackinteriors latest blog for the top shelf brackets on the scene at the moment. . This shelf is also going to be mounted this weekend. It’s a metal number from @coxandcox [gifted] and we’re thinking it could look great in the main bathroom. . Now we just need a shit tonne of plants for all these shelves and we’ve NAILED IT (pun intended) ✌🏼🌿. . #shelfie #shelving #shelf #wallshelf #mounting #taskrabbit #wallmounted #diy #tasks #skills #interiors #design #interiordesign #bloggers #london #renovation #newbuild #firsttimebuyers
Sunday morning check list. Tea ✅ PJs ✅ Good book ✅ Fluffy Cat ✅ Bed ✅ . Since moving, bedtime has been BLISS as we completely started fresh with everything. To start, we upgraded from a double bed to a kingsize and I don’t think we will ever look back. We also got a brand spanking new mattress from @evesleep. (Perks of working in interiors 🙃) The main thing about the mattress which has changed our lives is that it doesn’t move when the other person gets into bed. So when one of us stumbles in a little boozy from a night out and looking like this 🥴 the other one is like this 😴. Heaven 👌🏻. We’ve also gone for linen bedding which is ideal for lazy buggers like us as you don’t need to iron it. So we’re feeling a little smug and sleepy right now in our Sunday morning lazy island, aka bed. . Also, for anyone wondering, we conquered Ikea on a weekend - it actually wasn’t bad until we got the ninth circle of hell, aka the kids area. At which point we threw a Vitmossa throw over us, shielded ourselves with a Billy bookcase and made a mad dash for the exit. We also didn’t get meatballs which we’re now heavily regretting 🆘 . Anyhoo, that’s enough for one morning. Back to the book... . #sundaymornings #sleep #bedtime #bed #bedroom #morning #lovemornings #bedlinen #newbed #mattress #cosy #homeinspo #interiorschat #sundaybrunch #interiors #happy #love #chill #grey #bookworm #book #thegoldfinch #reading #pyjamas #pjs #cuppa #gay #tea #catsofinstagram #blackcat
MORNING! 🌝 The past couple of weekends in the new flat have included quite a few late nights and early mornings so we haven’t quite had a chilled weekend just yet. So last night we stayed in, watched Bridesmaids whilst having a few beers and a massive pizza and it was HEAVEN. And now this morning we’re enjoying the sunny view tucked up in bed with a cup of tea. Definitely what the doctor ordered. However, we might be about to throw the calm completely out the window as we’ve decided to go to IKEA on a SATURDAY. Are we being mental? 🆘 Big shout out to @designandbeyond for these glorious flowers as a housewarming 💛💛💛 . #sunnyspot #saturday #weekend #chill #bliss #stillinbed #ikeatrip #newflat #orangesofa #flowers #freshflowers #morning #weekendplans #decorating #homeinspo #interiors #interior #firsttimebuyers
HOARDERS. That’s what we’ve been for the past few years and now we can set everything FREEEEEE. It’s been so exciting unpacking boxes of all the lovely bits we’ve gathered over the years (and some questionable things too) and now we just need places to put everything. This weekend’s challenge is getting some artwork up as the walls look sad and in need of some art lovin’. And then we need a bar cart for all our hooch 🥴🍸 - we’re tempted by @melanielissackinteriors and @house.48 awesome Ikea hacks but scared we won’t be able to do it the same justice 🤷🏻‍♂️. What do you reckon, give upcycling a go or just bite the bullet and buy new? . . #hoarding #hoarders #unpacking #moving #artwork #art #vintage #fleamarket #knickknacks #barcart #upcycle #bust #antiques #frame #todolist #firsttimebuyers #newbuild #london
SOFA SO GOOD 🧡. Ok, that’s a proper shite pun but just look at this dreamy delight. Sayonara festival camping chairs and bonjour to our burnt orange beauty. This is the Scott sofa from @madedotcom, but you knew that because it’s all over Instagram. We couldn’t resist it. It’s insanely comfy and just look at the colour! . We’re now in urgent need of a gorgeous rug though! What would you go for? We want to go for more Soho House vibes rather than a Moroccan souk so think more tonal colours than Aztec prints. Comment with any recommendations, we’d love to hear! . Also, please excuse all the crap in the background! . #newsofa #sofa #orangesofa #burntorange #livingroom #sittingroom #newbuild #newflat #sharedownership #firsttimebuyer #firsttimebuyers #homeowners #flat #london #interiors #homeinspo #interior #homedecor
We’ve been in the new flat a full week now! There’s still lots of things to do and a few things we still need. We’re currently on the hunt for a sideboard, bedside tables, rugs and dining chairs so if anyone has any good recommendations of brands then shout! We’ve got our brand spanking new sofa from @madedotcom which we are LOVING. We’ll pop a photo up soon and we’re also planning on doing a little flat tour sometime next week, so keep your eyes peeled. . . . In the meantime, here’s Kiki enjoying a sunny spot in the bedroom. Not going to lie, moving her into the new flat was stressful af (who doesn’t like it when there cat shits in the back of an Uber?!) but she’s definitely more chilled now 😅💩. . . . #homeowners #newflat #bedroom #catsofinstagram #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcat #cat #pink #green #plant #botanical #update #exciting #newbeginnings #moving #move #firsttimebuyers #firsttimebuyer #property #sharedownership
AND WE’RE IN! We’re officially home owners 🤗🥳. We won’t lie, Friday and yesterday were S T R E S S F U L. Firstly, there was a whole hoo-hah with getting the deposit over. David has never spoken to Barclays so much in his life. Then there was sweet relief when that was all sorted and we got the keys 🤸🏻‍♂️. . Then yesterday was just classic moving excitement/stress. We had moving men, Ocado chaps and a handy Task Rabbit-er in and out all day amongst the chaos. After being up at 7am, we finally sat down to have a much needed glass of fizz (and a few Negronis) around 9pm 🥂 - the perfect compliment to KFC (natch). . There’s still SO much to do, naturally, but we’re getting there. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. . We might be sitting on some recycled Glastonbury camping chairs in the living room, but here’s a snap of the bedroom which we wanted to get done as speedy as poss so we have a little sanctuary to escape to. It’s not 100% but we’ll get there! Swipe to see the before ➡️ . #homeowners #newhomeowners #home #interiors #yay #happytimes #beforeandafter #bedroom #moving #movingstress #london #unpacking #andbreathe #design #bedroomlook #bedroominspo #homeinspo #makeover #decorating #manorplacedepot #firsttimebuyers
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