Buying a home

Today we dipped our toes into the house buying waters and went to view a couple of houses in East Sussex. For our first viewings we chose the most contrasting properties possible. The first was a 1930s red-brick semi, the second was a out-of-town development of new houses.

Buying a house is not something I ever really ever thought would happen, for both financial and commitment reasons. We're on a tight budget and we've no idea what's out there, so yesterday viewing the differing houses put perspective in our minds about what we do and don't want.

Stepping into the 1930s semi, everywhere you looked there was a DIY makeover desperately crying out to happen. Original fireplaces had been covered, pebble-dash paint was cracking, decades old carpet musting - I'm by no means DIY adverse but this would take £50k and a team of builders to completely overhaul the space. There wasn't one thing that wouldn't have needed changing. Lesson learnt from property 1 - we do not want a huge project. 

In the car, we shot off to location/property number 2. Within seconds of walking into the brand new house I wanted to get out. I hate new houses. Partly because of my distaste for the government schemes they are built upon and partly because of the abundance of magnolia, mdf and plastic. In the UK the government has schemes set-up to allow first time buyers to get the first step on the market. However, the new houses roughly work out at £100k more than an old house. Leading to the poor home owners who sign up for the deals part-owning over-priced property that will take twice the time to pay off and unlikely to ever sell for as higher price. Here are some links to more information about that here: Huff Post Evening Standard

Rant aside. First time house-viewing verdict - this is not something I'm going to enjoy.

xo

Nesting

In excitement of what's to come, I'm suddenly obsessed by interiors and already nesting. I finally got around to fixing up the terrible sewing job I did in a rush for our cushion covers 6 months ago. After unpicking and re-measuring, using vintage fabric I picked up in the Bexhill British Heart Foundation shop, I remade the removable cushion covers with this easy pattern from The Guardian. 

I also bought these gorgeous hand block printed napkins from Lulu & Nat and these retro placemats from ebay.

And finally, here is the dress I am halfway through making. It's a Cynthia Rowley pattern by Simplicity (2215) and seems to be going ok, apart from the missing invisible sewing foot needed to finish. I'm hoping to complete once I'm paid and can buy said zipper foot next week.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

M xo

Traditional craft revival - Solva Wool Mill, Wales

My friends often tease me for my folky ways, but thanks to my father's hippy roots I've grown up to love traditional crafts. On our recent trip to Wales, we stopped by a working woolen mill in Solva. Not only did I fall in love with the woven rugs, blankets and knitted accessories but also found the most adorbs cat clambering atop of a bin of cardboard and offcuts.

Solva is the oldest working mill in Pembrokeshire and the only one in Wales specialising in flat-weave rugs, carpets and runners. Over the past 30 years, the domestic trade has declined greatly. With us importing wool and brands choosing to manufacture abroad, it's likely the majority of our wool products promote air freight and are potentially sourced from countries where animal welfare is not a priority.

When we move next year, I'm hoping we can upcycle and reuse where possible, but if we're buying new, be supportive of traditional crafts and promote more thoughtfully resourced products. I fell in love with the geometric traditional tapestry rugs. If you're interested in visiting a working Welsh mill, there are more details here: welshmills.org.uk/millsopen

Here are some of our snaps from Solva and check out the links at the bottom for stockists of traditional welsh products.

Solva Woolen Mill
Blodwen - Modern welsh traditional products