In an ideal world we would be able to buy whatever we desired for our homes.  But personally I have found that having to ‘make do and mend’ has stretched my creativity and resulted in a space that feels so much more inviting.  If you are not sure what you can do for quick, easy and effective updates in your home, look for clues in any retail space as they are masters of the make-over.  Here the shop Merci in Paris has simply spray painted twigs and created a magical clothes display.  You could do the same and hang memento’s, photo’s and even change the display to be in tune with the seasons – perhaps hand made paper flowers in summer and glass baubles in winter.   The possibilities are endless but the price is low – my kind of decorating.

I attended a beauty industry talk this morning (more on why in January), of which the guest speaker was Marcia Kilgore;  founder of Bliss Spa’s, Soap and more recently the Fitflop. Marcia was inspirational, authentic and clearly passionate about life.  I then, finally managed to get to the London outpost of Anthropologie on Regent Street.  I felt as if I had walked into Merci in Paris, which was a little disappointing as I wanted something different, but that’s me being super picky.  If you have not been to Merci, this will be a real treat, but it is the merchandising that is captivating, rather than the merchandise, which if have a good eye, you would find in Portobello Market or similar for considerably less.  That being said, it worth a visit and if you can’t make it to London, try their site – image below taken from www.anthropologie.co.uk