touches home interiors

shabby chic white furniture

kati — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:13:05 +0000

all things white and beautiful

elegant and simple to achieve, this years hottest home interior look is still focused on the white shabby chic, clean style white painted furniture look. Whether in the bedroom, bathroom, office or lounge this style evokes a sense of romance, peace and shabby chic tranquil indulgence.

For a bedroom use with pastel tones to create a romantic, vintage inspired feel.

The lounge, mix with linen and stone tones, rattan baskets, textured cushions and throws for a versatile, warm, relaxed look.

Within an office, use as a base and lift with some bold reds and blues to inspire creativity.

Use in the kitchen with warm wood tones to create a really country style look and feel, incorporating fresh soft furnishings combined with browns and fresh spring green’s.

If you like the shabby chic furniture I this blog and would like to see more from the range then click here. xx

Easter Fun with Garden Games

kati — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:10:52 +0000

traditional garden games - summer fun

As the summer feel almost a glimpse away and with Easter approaching fast maybe its time to get some family fun into the garden. We are proud to introduce our latest collection from The Traditional Garden Games Company. This company have introduced a range of good quality, hard wearing traditional games and activities for all the family to enjoy.

If you want to encourage your children or grand children to indulge in a little outdoor activity then these products are fantastic. How about organising a family game of traditional boules, or traditional skittles to show off your under arm skills.

A giant game of snakes and ladders with hidden tasks, where you don’t just play the game, you become part of the game moving up and down the snakes and ladders on a giant 3 meter square PVC board. Test your precision skills with a traditional game of lawn darts or the old favourite ‘4 in a row’.

A great game for the grand children is teaching them the skills and etiquette of crochet. these lovely wooden sets come in both full size croquet and children’s size croquet sets. The full croquet size set is also fantastic for a cheeky afternoon with friends and pimms.

My personal favourite has to be the ultimate sports day set. This one for me has the highlights of the traditional sports day. Compete for 1st 2nd and 3rd place in this highly entertaining

box set of the egg and spoon race, the sack race, the three legged race and running race. Complete with a start and finish line this traditional games sports day box set has it all for a truly memorable days fun and entertainment……… maybe a few prizes for the winners is in order xxxx

Have fun xxxxxxxxxxx

French Bathroom Accessories

kati — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:05:50 +0000

French Bathroom Accessories

Creating the perfect french style bathroom can be quite easy. It’s basically down to light, natural, rustic tones; mixed linen textures and french style bathroom accessories. You can really open up a room and create the illusion of a bigger space by simply applying light tones to the walls. Drape light linen curtains to the windows, hanging them so they drop to the floor creates an airy effect. Add an old style chair in the corner, a traditional french style rattan chair or a country style stool would be perfect. Then go to town on the accessories.

Whilst subtlety is the key, detail is also as importance. Simple cream, white accessories are great as they are subtle enough to keep the style and look but also detailed enough to create the wow factor once noticed. There are many options to chose from based on the size of the room. If your short of space then a wall mounted cream toilet roll holder would be ideal, but if you have ample space an want to add a bit of an unusual wow factor then a free standing toilet roll holder is perfect.

A free standing towel rail is perfect for not only adding the much sought french style but is also perfect as a clothes rail to keep them off the floor when discarded. The free standing towel rail comes in a strong cream painted iron, with three good sized rails and a lovely scrolled design shelf at the base. perfect for keeping lotion, potions, slippers……… it also looks fantastically rustic french when perched next to the stool or rattan chair.

Adding french bathroom style vintage metal signs and plaques only enhances the look. Popping a blue bathroom sign or ladies powder room sign on the door or a collection of them on a wall really makes a statement. This looks fantastic in a really good sized bathroom or simply lean one or two of them on widow Sile’s or on the sink if your short of space.

Then adding a bit of vintage glamour, glass and mirror the bathroom is transformed. Adding a vintage etched glass soap dispenser or free standing glass soap dish adds a touch of nostalgia. A diamond mirror really lifts light into the room and gives it that final vintage glamorous french touch.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions or are looking for inspiration for your own bathroom then please feel free to contact me (if you have a picture of the area you want to transform this would be great). I’m more than happy to help you.

Love

Kati xxx

country style doormats

kati — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:41:05 +0000

country style doormats - yes, these fantastic shabby chic style doormats are great for keeping your home clean and free from mud and debris. with a variety of different styles and designs its easy to slot them into your home, matching them to existing deco and brightening up the house. a lovely welcome doormat greets guests and visitors, while a shabby chic vibrant pink and green or green and brown doormat screams creativity. what about a fun bay tree design doormat or a fun potted sunflowers doormat? a flamboyant flurry of country flowers? or a cast iron oval one for a spot of garden elegance? finally before you make your choice, consider a multi purpose wooden doormat with a s hoe and shoe brush attached.

More welcoming doormats available in our store, so come and take a look xx www.touches-interiors.co.uk

Spring has Sprung!!

kati — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:55:23 +0000

spring has sprung - the garden has to be done!!

Spring Has Arrived!

Yes it’s finally beginning to happen, Spring is showing signs of arriving. As I looked out of the french doors yesterday it really was refreshing to see snow drops, daffs and tulips peeping out of the ground. It also highlighted just how high the grass has grown and how much freedom we have given the bushes and hedges around, a little pruning and hacking is desperately required (a weekend task for the lovely Gary I’m thinking).

So with a new sense of Summer looming its the perfect time to start investing some much needed love, care and attention to the garden. To create a lovely country rustic garden there has to be an element of allowing nature to work its magic. Resisting pruning those hedges and mowing that lawn to the millimetre, you really do have to take a Lassie faire attitude and allow everything to grow, rust and evolve just that little bit longer. Incorporating garden furniture and accessories really helps you to enjoy the garden and use it to its full potential. A rustic set of tables and chairs, reminiscing of aged ceramic pots is inspirational for a little alfresco dining and a continental early morning breakfast. An aged ceramic bird bath perched on the step or a hanging heart iron bird bath encourage birds & wildlife to the garden. Pop a piece of wall art sun’s, some flower planters , church window style planters, or a few aged ceramic hanging baskets onto a dull wall to really give it a wow factor.

The problem is that as soon as the sun come out, the garden manages to get inside. Do you know what I mean? Muddy feet, fresh cut grass traipsed into the house! Well why not look at a wellington boot stand, they are cast iron, can be left out doors so no wellies clogging up the hallway or base of the stairs. They can hold a set of two boots or a family size set of four. With it’s central shoe scraper you don’t need anything else to keep the mud away from the home. However if you don’t regularly pull on your wellingtons and are after a simple but stylish shoe scraper or brush then why not look at the hedgehog shoe brush or snail shoe brush? Popping one by the door encourages family and friends to give there shos a good clean when entering the house.

So come on, while the sun is shining get out there this weekend and enjoy (I know Gary will be! wink wink x).

create a home office

kati — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:46:15 +0000

create a home office

Inspired by an article I have just read in March’s edition of Country Living I have decided to redesign my Winter cozy office at home and introduce some Spring light and style to the area. As it’s the area I seem to spend most of my time I think it’s only right that although there is a need for practicality its also a need for it to feel comfortable, stylish & inviting. So my first thoughts were the position of the furniture in the room. As my office is in the small room off the kitchen, it has a lot light owing to the french doors that look out onto the garden. Perfectly positioned for losing myself in creative though during the day. So with this in mind I repositioned my desk, (the cream shabby chic desk). This desk has a fantastic amount of desk top surface area which I have customised with a piece of inexpensive glass that I got from our local glass merchants to protect the surface and stuck photo’s & images that I find inspiring between the glass & desk to really personalise.

As I am limited to space in the area I have the weathered oak fold away chair with a lovely linen cushion on for extra comfort. Instead of the usual industrial looking filing drawers I have used the shabby chic small boy chest for all my paper work & propped a round diamond mirror, pail for my pens, a relaxing aromatherapy candle & glass lotion dispenser filled with my favourite hand cream on the top (got to keep a bit of girly glamour close to hand).

For keeping notes I have adopted two methods, one is that I have popped up a selection of different hooks, I have added a few of the single heart hooks, the cream triple hook & a rustic grey distressed triple hook. I use these to add info sheets & files to using dog clips. I also have a selection of hanging jam pots that I use for popping in a few staple office stationary accessories such as paper clips, string, pins etc. Secondly I have a selection of notice memo boards. I use the different designs as a system of office organisation (although I’m sure it doesn’t look like organisation to anyone else). I have the fabric damask pin board for all things that need dealing with urgently, the fabric memo board for tickets, show information & suppliers details & the new picture magnetic notice board for my calender, stamps, bits of inspiration that I come across etc. I also have the pink postcard vintage inspired magnetic memo board for receipts……… It really is a post modern, vintage look that I find works well and looks inspirational & intriguing.

Finally I have added a cream french clock, to inspire good time keeping, a cream pillar lamp so that it really does create an ambiance of country chic and a rattan traditional basket on the floor as a paper bin to complete the look. Add my trusted radio and away I go………….

What is Shabby Chic? What is Country Style?

kati — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:15:29 +0000

Shabby Chic. Country Style…….. What Do These Styles Mean

When we are describing our style we tend to use the terms shabby chic & country style. At Touches we have identified these styles as the look and feel that we want to emphasis within our ranges. The feminine design and style of the shabby chic look mixed with the homely, warm feel of the country style and the clean, classic ambiance of the french style are all reflected in the Touches style. The question is what do these interior terms actually mean?

I am going to try and explain what the terms mean in general and what they mean to us. I am also going to look at how we use then creatively within our collection of interiors and the style we are encompassing within the Touches look that we are constantly working on to provide you with a collective, strong sense of style and identity that you can recreate, copy and take inspiration from to use within your own home.

To begin with the ambiguous term Shabby Chic. For a bit of history, Shabby Chic is a style that started here in Great Britain. It is a style that evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old chintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming ‘good’ taste. The end result and concept of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect, as opposed to the sentimentally cute Pop-Victorian.

Thus Shabby Chic as we understand and use it at Touches is in essence a feminine design style that is reflecting of a casual and relaxed lifestyle. It is a form of interior design where items are chosen for signs of wear and tear and the distressed, rustic look. The look emphasis’s on neutral colours and an often washed, unfinished look. Within Touches this is best reflected within our distressed, antiqued white and cream painted furniture within the bedroom and bathroom such as our dressing table which looks fantastic with the glamorous diamond round mirror or lovely shelving bedside. In the bathroom this style works brilliantly, a simple wall mounted cream toilet roll holder, cream towel rail with a scrolled shelf or fantastic cream heart hooks. The nicks, fissures and distressed nature of the pieces create a sense of aged, rustic, worn away quality that makes each piece individual.

To look at the term Country style, this type of interiors style design shuns the formal, drawing room style of classic design in favour of a comfortable, lived-in look of a farmhouse or country cottage. With the idea of family and friends popping in with muddy boots, the style inspires the concept that guests feel comfortable to sit in a country style living room or drop in for a cup of tea and homemade cake in a country style kitchen. This design style is casually elegant with a compliment of sturdy, practical furniture and warm rustic accessories. The emphasis is on useful rather than fanciful for furniture & accessories.

At Touches we have interpreted this style to include warm oak furniture, cream practical tea coffee sugar canisters rustic egg rack , brown metal napkin holder and strong sturdy wellie boot stands for the garden to name a few. We have used the style predominantly within our kitchen furniture, which is predominantly a strong practical oak range that includes tables and chairs, consoles, lamp tables and a storage drawer units. For accessories we mixed it with the clean lines of the floral look of English Country and linen textures and vintage lace of the French Style within ranges of linen cushions, cozy throws, tea cosies and for the eco touch plastic bag holders. Mixing the styles and materials creates a real post modern mix of exciting yet practical lighting and accessories.

The eclectic mix of these interior styles gives Touches it’s strong sense of practical, clean, rustic warmth with a touch of femininity and sense of comfort and inviting living. Used practically around your home and garden we want to help you create an environment that you look forward to coming back to after a hard day. A space that invites fun and friendship. Popping on a lovely warm cream square lamp, lighting scattered tea lights around the house and snuggling up in a lovely heavy throw in front of a cosy fire with some lovely back ground music or your favourite soap. Perfect.

After all your home is your castle and what a better way to express your individual flair and style.

A Lovely Easter Present

kati — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:14:33 +0000

Children’s Clothes & Accessories

A Lovely Easter Present

With Easter approaching fast the prospect of giving children a gift of an egg can seem mundane and repetitive. So why not get a bit creative and practical this year and buy them a gift that they can keep and use. Why not a lovely set of cupcake pyjamas for a little girl or maybe a set of soldier or tractor pyjamas for the boys? Or perhaps something warmer for a lovely Easter walk, a crochet cupcake bonnet or cozy pram coat hand kn itted with soldiers standing to attention at the bottom? Another idea is to buy a shabby chic child’s cushion for the bedroom or nursery? A lovely lady duck pink cushion with checked edging and lots of different fabrics and sewed into the design or for a boy what about a fun teddy bear cushion design? The idea of a small gift instead of an egg will be appreciated by the parents and enjoyed by the child long after Easter has ended. A lovely set of pyjamas or a cosy cupcake pink hot water bottle or sailor boys hot water bottle will be the perfect end to a happy Easter (it might even encourage the little mites to bed!) xxxxxxxxx

country style knobs & handles

kati — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:08:28 +0000

country style

knobs & handles

the easiest way to update a piece of furniture or change the look of a cabinet, door or cupboard to a country, shabby chic style, vintage, unique piece of furniture that looks lovely and unique within the home is to add some french inspired finishing touches starting with the handles and knobs. As we understand the beauty of detail and the effect it can have in transforming the look for the home we are making it a priority of ours to provide these hard to find, French inspired handles. We have cream painted handles with an embossed heart in the centre that look stunning on cupboards and drawers. There are also the cream heart and flower knobs that are country style, round flat knobs that have a classic embossed design and a cream clean finish. For real shabby chic glamour take a look at the diamond inspired knobs. These really do glisten and catch the attention of sparkly girls everywhere. So to really lift a piece of furniture, add a touch of shabby chic to your bathroom or simply change your kitchen units to create a real farmhouse, country look these handles and knobs are a real inspiration. keep coming back and having a look as we are constantly adding new lines……

xxxxx

be the perfect valentine

kati — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:30:37 +0000

be a perfect valentine

this one is for the men……

tired of the same old valentines gifts? a bunch of pretty flowers and a selection of the finest chocolates are no doubt always a winner, but if you really want to show that special someone in your life that you really do care how about creating a magical, relaxing evening for them… why not run them a bath? and I don’t mean one surrounded by children’s ducks and soggy towels. a really special bath involved dim scented candle light, such as Yankee Candles Relax or True Bliss candle, maybe a few hanging heart tea light holders from the window? a couple of crystal tea light holders glistening around the room? Or for a really special effect some floating candles in amongst the bubbles (don’t forget the bubbles no good bath can miss those out). maybe pop some special signs of love at the front of the bath such as the words bathe or LOVE and some hanging tin hearts so that as they sink into the warm bubbles they really get a little hint of how much you care reminding them this really is a heart felt special bath. Add a glass of their favourite champagne and pop on some easy music and let them soak away all the troubles of the day. Then, and here’s the clever part, whilst they are relaxing you can prepare a special room in the house for them to come out to. Its never nice to come out of a warm bath to the reality of everyday life. So a special room, be it the bedroom if your in the mood for some fun or the dining room if your planning a special meal can be transformed with some mood lighting, aromatherapy scented candles such as the Yankee Candle Sensual and some twinkling flower lights. Trust me, valentines day is about letting your loved one know that you appreciate and care for them so why not indulge them in a simple but special way…………. xxx xxx