Form over function is an eternal struggle. It’s very rarely you find a beautiful item that is equally practical, so, you have to decide which you want to live with. This can be a beautiful silk tablecloth that would stain before you can say red wine, or an offcut of garish PVC that will wipe clean in two seconds and a million other choices. 

Our more recent big decision is kitchen worktop. We’re opting for a traditional looking ivory kitchen, complete with range cooker and plate racks, but can’t decide on the material for the worktop. Granite is pricy, glossy and too modern, but laminate looks dull and could potentially ruin the hard work we’ve put in to get the look we want. 

Our hearts want to go for the surprisingly costly solid wood option but are so worried it will mark easily (especially when a certain husband seems to love nothing more than splashing mugs of tea and dropping slices of beetroot all over the place and not cleaning them up). So, I turn to you…. Do any of you have solid wood worktops? How easy are they to maintain? Do they mark easily? Do you regret the expense? Tell all…

Remember back when I told you about the huge number of roses we’ve got growing out at the house? Well, as much as I bemoaned how boring it would be to simply dry them for pot pourri, I couldn’t come up with any better/quicker ideas, and was sick of seeing them go to waste, so grabbed the last few heads the other month and set about drying them. 

It’s amazing how much the petals shrink! What covered the bottom of our bath for a few days (a cheap but huge air fresher!) amounted to a couple of handfuls in the end, but they smelled so nice (if you like rose) that I packaged them up and will have them for sale when I do my first craft market in December. 

Yes, more on that exciting/ nerve-wracking escapade soon.

Having used most of my annual leave on our honeymoon adventure I have to be particularly choosy as to how I use my remaining allocation. I am, of course, keeping a lot of it for working on the house. But, a girl needs a treat every now and then.

So, with that in mind, I will be hopping on a train for Manchester next weekend for a day of crafty indulgence at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair provides a unique shopping experience and an excellent opportunity to see and buy the latest works in jewellery, interior textiles, fashion accessories, ceramics, glass, silver, wood, furniture, paper and more from 140 of the most talented designer-makers in the UK.

For more information visit: http://www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk/

Given the number of accidentally ruined woollens I have been victim to in my time, I was sure that when I actually wanted to felt some old wool scarves I had picked up at a local thrift/charity store it would be simple. Oh how wrong!  

We are wanting to create a really cosy and homely feel in our new lounge and looking into lots of autumnal shades, tartans, plaid, woollens etc so need to start working on these to cover cushions and an old footstool and table that were left. 

So, after various temperature changes, rinses, powder and ‘aggravating’ methods, I still haven’t quite perfected the art of felting. I have scoured the internet for a simple tutorial but none have had the desired effect. Tonight we are using a kettle, soap flakes, a bucket and a pestle and mortar! Stay tuned! (or help us with your methods/tips).

Well, if you ask me, there really is no need for Chocolate Week at A Home For All Seasons as we seem to celebrate, or at least consume, the lovely stuff on an almost daily basis.

Because of this shocking lack of self-discipline and regard for our general health we are cutting down – drastically! So, what better time to have one final blowout? On Sunday we will be eating our last chocolate item of 2009! It has to be something amazingly scrumptious and we want your suggestions/recipes.

For more choccy goodness and ideas visit http://chocolate-week.co.uk/ . Or pop on over to the lovely Domestic Sluttery website who will have a chocolate giveaway every day this week!

Long before Kirsty Allsopp found her beautiful deco bath for her Handmade Home, I have been a fan of Art Deco styling. – we even had it as a theme for our recent wedding! 

So, it was hard for me to come to terms with the fact that finding a similar bath was almost impossible, not to mention ridiculously impractical. I also began to talk myself out of the idea of a period bathroom. 

All the upstairs rooms will be decorated less traditionally than downstairs (the land of ornate cornicing, ceiling roses, grand fireplaces, stained glass and the like), so it made sense to go for something simple that would be practical and not date.  

The idea was to opt for a simple white suite, smallish shower, painted tongue n groove to dado height (probably in a light blue/green) and the rest all white. And then we found the Plaza range by Ideal Standard. Nods to deco stylings with its geometric lines and affordable and available, plus, it would allow me to indulge in my Art Deco loves, which I haven’t been able to horn into any of the rest of the house. 

So, we are now thinking of checkerboard tiling on the floor, bold black and whites, lines and ideally a small deco mirror above the sink. My worry is that it may be a little too over the top for such a small room but we’re going to give it a try – here’s to bathroom bravery!

One of my favourite Christmas memories is my first Christmas I was dating my now husband. We had been invited to his parents to help decorate their tree. They are BIG fans of the festive season and I honestly didn’t think that poor tree could possibly withstand the weight of another decoration.

There were so many! From all over the world and each with their own story to tell, they really ignited my own desire to build up my own epic collection. So, in addition to trying to buy some wherever we are on our travels, I have also been making some every year.

However, as you know, we’ve got a bigger house to fill this year (if indeed we get moved in for Christmas) so I have been looking into Ornament Swaps. I’ll be keeping you updated with any I find.

The first is over at A Small Fox: http://smallfox.typepad.com/a_small_fox_in_a_big_worl/2009/10/first-annual-small-fox-ornament-swap.html

I have never been one for celebrity endorsements (though I must confessed in my sleep-adled state I almost bought some celebrity endorsed moisturiser on the shopping channel at the weekend – but let’s forget that confession). But, pricy cosmetics aside, I have found one endorsement that is actually quite good.

A few months ago I signed up for the weekly newsletter over at GOOP, a website by Gwyneth Paltrow that promises to ‘nourish the inner aspect’. I was all set to hate it but it’s one of the few newsletters I get that I always read and often enjoy. Let me know what you think!

As you know, we have quite a grand entrance hall in the new house and one of our current decisions is lighting. It’s actually an incredibly dark space when the front door is closed, so ideally we want something as bright as possible.

It’s also one of the areas of the house we are wanting to keep looking as traditional as possible, so that kind of limits our choices. An obvious choice would be a drop crystal style chandelier, but neither of us feel that’s really ‘us’. We’re not over-the-top, ‘champagne and caviar’ types (think more quiet, ‘mug of tea and corned beef sarnie’ types).

So, imagine my delight when I came across this perfect compromise. A retro ceiling light with just the right hint of glamour. OK, perhaps it’s not *perfect* - I doubt it would cast enough light and at £145 it’s way over budget, but if you love it and have the money you can snap it up on Ebay right now.

Retro ceiling light available on Ebay at: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250388537864