Winter Living Style E-Book

Selina Lake

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 93

Beschreibung

Transform your home into a beautiful, elegant and welcoming haven, inspired by the romantic charm of winter.

Das E-Book Winter Living Style wird angeboten von Ryland Peters & Small und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:
Home styling, Hygge home, Cosy living, Rustic style, vintage chic, winter living

Leseprobe

Selina Lake

WINTER LIVING STYLE

Selina Lake

WINTER LIVING STYLE

BRING HYGGE INTO YOUR HOME WITH THIS INSPIRATIONAL GUIDE TO DECORATING FOR WINTER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBI TRELOAR

Senior Designer Megan Smith

Commissioning Editor Annabel Morgan

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Publisher Cindy Richards

Indexer Vanessa Bird

First published in 2015 as Winter Living.

This revised edition published in 2020 by Ryland Peters & Small 20–21 Jockey’s Fields, London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th St

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Selina Lake 2015, 2020

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2015, 2020

ISBN 978 1 78879 243 1

E-ISBN 978 1 78879 314 8

Printed and bound in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

Contents

Introduction

Winter INSPIRATIONS

Homespun CHARM

Faded GRANDEUR

Rustic RETREAT

Winter WHITES

Festive CELEBRATIONS

SOURCES

BUSINESS CREDITS

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

There’s something truly magical about winter. It’s the time of year that makes us want to nest – to make our homes feel cosy and snug – and welcome friends and family at festive parties and gatherings. In this book I share my tips for styling and decorating the home in order to create lovely, uplifting interiors during the winter months. It starts with my ‘Winter Inspirations’, which is full of ideas for putting together dramatic winter floral displays, wallpaper and fabrics. Then in each chapter I explore a different style theme: ‘Homespun’, ‘Faded Grandeur’, ‘Rustic’ and ‘Winter Whites’, all of which will hopefully inspire you. The concluding chapter is ‘Festive Celebrations’, in which you’ll discover how I style my own home ready for Christmas, featuring ideas on how to create country, natural and traditional looks. I also show you how to put together a colour-pop party and a romantic soirée for New Year’s Eve in a gorgeous old barn. I love getting crafty and making my own decorations and textiles, so throughout the book follow my ‘Makes’ and have a go at making your own lampshade garland, simple cushions/pillows or pinecone firelighters. I hope you have fun getting your home ready for the winter magic.

Winter

INSPIRATIONS

There’s a lot to inspire us in winter. I love the magical feeling you get when you wake up to a blanket of snow outside. The sun is lower in winter, which can create a glorious golden light in the evenings and shadows that are long and deep. Over the next few pages I share what I like to get up to during the winter months and show you how to style your home to make the most of this wonderful season.

The joy of WINTER

Styling my home with twinkling tealights on the mantelpiece, cosy blankets thrown over the back of the sofa, snuggly faux-fur rugs on the floor by the bedside and piles of vintage eiderdowns adorning the bed. Drinking cups of steaming hot chocolate/cocoa, while sitting inside by a roaring fire. Heading out for long winter walks in the countryside with my family, wrapped up with woolly hats, scarves and gloves. Crafting away the long, dark afternoons and early evenings. Venturing into the cold to forage in the garden for berries and foliage to make winter posies. The build-up to the festive celebrations and bringing my collection of vintage Christmas baubles down from the attic. Eating, drinking and making merry!

My top ten things TO DO IN WINTER

1 baking cakes

I like to bake cakes during the winter so I can offer any house guests a slice. One of my favourites is a chocolate fruit and nut bundt cake. I bought my vintage bundt tin/pan from a junk shop and use it all the time. I use a variant of a Victoria sponge recipe, but I substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder, and add dried fruits along with chopped-up milk chocolate and mixed nuts. Once the cake has baked, I remove it to the pan/tin. I love the pretty pattern the tin/pan leaves on the cake. I then decorate the cake with a dusting of icing/confectioners’ sugar and display it on a vintage glass cake stand.

2 getting cosy

When it’s cold outside we all want to feel snug and cosy, so make sure you have extra blankets and throws ready. I like to layer beds in the winter with a mix of vintage eiderdowns, knitted blankets and quilts for extra warmth. A hot-water bottle is also an essential for keeping cosy. Pop one in your bed 10 minutes before you climb in to get it nice and toasty for you.

3 roaring fires & toasting marshmallows

Having an open fire is a real luxury and will not only keep your room warm and welcoming, but it will also be a focal point. The fireplaces in our Victorian house had been covered up by the previous owners, so when we moved in we got to work reinstating the openings. We bought original Victorian marble fireplace surrounds from eBay, which my husband installed in our living room (see page 138). A perfect winter afternoon for us is sitting in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate/cocoa and toasting marshmallows.

4 getting crafty & learning a new skill

Winter is the perfect time to take up a new crafting hobby because, let’s face it, it’s probably too cold for most outdoor activities. Why not invest in a new craft book or search for how-to guides on the Internet. I love getting crafty when winter is approaching, particularly making my own Christmas cards. I also make some of my presents for my friends and family. This winter I’m going to try and learn more sewing techniques so I can jump back on my sewing machine. I’m also going to finish knitting the scarf I started last year.

5 winterizing the home

The beginning of autumn is the perfect time to get your home ready for the winter months to follow. Perhaps you could replace light voile curtains with thicker lined window treatments. You might want to have a change-around with your accessories, such as taking out a pastel- or light-coloured cushion/pillow and replacing it with something richer and darker. Fill tealight holders and lanterns with candles ready for the early dark evenings and change your bedding from cool, light and airy to warm, woolly and layered.

6 throwing a winter party

I love arranging parties at any time of the year because it’s a great excuse to do some party styling. For a winter dinner party, candles are a must to add a bit of magic to the table, with vases of richly coloured winter flowers scattered in between. I always serve drinks to match the season, so I make batches of warm mulled wine and mulled cider, which I serve in tall vintage glasses with stripey straws. I like to decorate the space with festoon lights, electric-pink honeycomb pom-poms and a mass of twinkling tealights.

7 wrapping gifts

Each Christmas I like to come up with a different wrapping theme for my gifts. One year I wrapped all the presents I’d bought or made for my friends and family in vintage-style floral wallpapers, which I decorated with a mixture of pinks ribbons and bows. I like to come up with my theme early so I’ve got plenty of time to shop for the items I need, such as ribbons, papers and name tags in the right style. This year I’m going to my local do-it-yourself store to buy off-white lining wallpaper (it’s much cheaper than actual gift wrap). I’ll then decorate the wrapped presents with neon-pink ribbon and home-made gold glitter tags.

8 decorating with my vintage bauble collection

I’ve been collecting vintage tree ornaments for years, and I search charity shops and flea markets looking for these pretty handprinted glass baubles throughout the year. I use them to decorate our Christmas Tree in the living room (see page 138). Any leftover decorations will adorn the mantelpiece, or I’ll arrange them in glass jars and on vintage plates.

9 making my own christmas cards

I always make my close family and friends handmade cards, but I also buy handmade cards from craft fairs and shops. I buy packs of A4/US Letter white card and cut each sheet in half twice to get the right size. I sometimes use stamps, hand-drawn motifs, photocopied photographs or collage papers to decorate them. I also love receiving handmade cards!

10 making a wreath

I love hanging a handmade wreath on our front door in the run-up to the festive period. I use a metal wreath frame and then weave cuttings from the evergreen plants in our garden to bulk out the round shape. Once the entire frame is covered, I add baubles, ribbon bows, woolly pom-poms or flowers and berries, depending on what style I’m going for that year. (See page 136 for my Festive Dress-the-Door tips.)

* I love how a blanket of snow makes everything beautiful and pure – a truly magical scene.

In this Danish wood cabin a sofa has been adorned with Turkish cushions/pillows in dark floral designs.

Style your home FOR WINTER

During the winter most of us spend more time indoors, rather than braving the cold for a night out. We’ll stay in and invite friends over for dinner or drinks, and have the family over for afternoon tea and gatherings. So it’s a good time to think about styling your space.

There are a few practicalities to consider when styling your home for winter: number one is keeping your rooms warm and welcoming. Dig out the blankets and throws you tucked away during the summer and freshen them up with a quick, cool spin in the washing machine. Once dry, drape them over the arm of your sofa or armchair, lay them on your bed and stack the rest in a pile on a shelf or in basket, so they can be easily grabbed when needed.

Next, think about your flooring. I have painted floorboards in most rooms of our house, so I use a large Moroccan-style rug in the living room from The Plantation Rug Company to add warmth and rich colours. In our bedroom I use faux-fur rugs from IKEA on both sides of our bed, and in the kitchen a woven plastic Moroccan mat works well to keep the draughts at bay, plus it’s easy to wipe clean.

The armchair has been made inviting with a Mongolian rug, and on the floor is a patchwork of rugs and cushions/pillows. Behind this wood-burning stove hangs a wallpaper panel by Deborah Bowness. The burnt-orange chairs bring in a retro element to the cosy space.

There’s no need to rush out and buy loads of new furnishings for your home – for the Winter Living style you can work with what you already have and dress it for the season, perhaps investing in a few new accessories. I like to use a mix of chair styles around our dining table and to make them more comfy I add cushions, faux-fur rugs and folded knitted blankets. Sometimes simply arranging a few candles along your dining table or sideboard will make your space feel even more wintery. Use a mix of tealight holders, candlesticks or large pillar candles placed in jars and vases.