Pretty packaging

I'm mildly obsessed with well-packaged products. Regardless of what's on the inside, I often find myself buying things that look good on the outside for no other reason than that they are aesthetically joyful. 

It's what's on the outside that matters (above) some well packaged products, clockwise from bottom left:

• Titus sardines, 97p from Africa One Stop Shop
• Original 1950s and 60s paperclip and drawing pin collection, around £6 each, from Present & Correct
• Penguin Great Food collection includes slim volumes of gastronomic wisdom inside beautiful covers. Here, A Taste of the Sun, Elizabeth David, Notes from Madras, Colonel Wyvern Wyvern and Recipes and Lessons from a Delicious Cooking Revolution, Alice Waters, £6.99 each. Or buy the whole set, £140 (but a fraction of that price at The Book People)
• Lavender Water, first made in Portugal in 1887, £20 from Labour & Wait
• Old Czech matchbox labels, £6 (to create your own pristine packaging), from Present & Correct
• 1930s  Portuguese toothpaste, £2.50, from Labour & Wait (not original 1930s...).

The inspiration to post about packaging came after my friend Abi returned from Lisbon with the gift of a little book, all about the joys of some of Portugal's most iconically packaged products (below; the title translates as Genuine and touching products of original Portuguese creation). It's nice isn't it? 

And here are some gratuitous shots of packaging I've magpied away over the years.

Introducing... Gaelle Monin and her lovely home

The stylish Gaelle Monin and I e-bonded over a shared love of Bjorn Wiinblad ceramics (see below). I featured a wall plaque (from the wonderful Pip's Trip on the blog a while back and Gaelle dropped me a line to say she was watching a couple on eBay – and, by the way, "nice blog". Which is always great to hear. 

So I was delighted when, a couple of months after that email, Gaelle got back in touch to say she'd started her own blog, Nice Day 4 A Sulk (in case you don't recognise the reference, it's lyrics from a Belle and Sebastian song). The blog shares her discoveries of loveable stuff she comes across, as well as snaps of her new and gorgeous done-on-a-budget home as she continues to decorate it. I've loved watching her chart her progress, and so asked her to share photos of and words about some of her finished corners and rooms here (and keep reading for her shopping tips, below).

I love clever details like the unexpected kitchen-style clock in the bathroom, clashy bedclothes and artfully positioned framed pictures. And I really now want some Papier d’Arménie!

Sitting room The high ceilings make the whole wall-dressing task very tricky. With daunting surfaces of white walls to fill, I have to be thankful to Ikea for selling such cheap frames. The ‘art’ was purchased from my comfortable couch, via Spineless Classics, A Little Bit of Art and Folksy. Her swish pendant lampshade is – gasp – from B&Q. Sadly they don't sell them anymore but this bamboo shade isn't a bad match – Kate.


Reading room (left) I’m cheating here. This is really a corner of my living room, so I should call it the reading ‘area’. My obsession for order turned these shelves into a meticulously organised library. From the bottom up: cooking shelf, art and French shelf, and Murakami and African literature shelf (and nearly out of the shot, my boyfriend’s comics’ shelf).




Bathroom Despite owning a £14.99 Argos drill, I am not one for DIY (and nor is my boyfriend). We were therefore very lucky to find a flat that had just been refurbished from top to bottom. The downside is that our bathroom does look like a hotel bathroom. This corner of the room is my attempt to ‘shabby it up’ a bit...

Bedroom A lick of paint and a few mismatching brass and ceramic knobs from eBay transformed this old Argos chest of drawers from my student days. Et voilà! And Bombay Duck has an inspiring selection of interesting new knobs too – Kate

Stove This stove is probably my main reason for wanting the flat so much. And when it’s not burning during milder months, I use a "firewood" scented candle from Henri Bendel to pretend I still have a fire going.


Shopping: A few of Gaelle's favourite things

(From left to right) Aluminium stag hook Another impulse of mine: hooks. I want them everywhere. This one is particularly Christmassy, but I like it up all year-round on my bedroom door. £9.95, Graham & Green; Invisible metal bookshelf The perfect solution for growing piles of books by the bedside: these invisible shelves seamlessly float above our bed and carry the mess that would otherwise clutter our small bedside tables. £14.50, Amazon; Papier d’Arménie The oldest, greenest and cheapest of home fragrances, it reminds me of my childhood in France. £2.50, Labour & Wait

Linen box I have recently developed a worrying obsession for old-fashioned linens. What better place to store them but in this French-style wooden box? £29, Caravan nb. not available online. (Left) huckaback linen bath towel: £17.99, LinenMe, (right) linen table runner: £7.99, H&M Home.

Retro style clip lamp I wish I could buy all the different colours available in this range and change them to match the seasons, or my mood. To please the banker, I settled for a sophisticated grey. £34.99, Kidsen

Christmas makeover coming soon

I've just had my house made-over by a department store for Christmas for a shoot. I'm writing about the experience for the Independent on Sunday (look out for it in the magazine next weekend). It was a weird experience but in a house that doesn't usually bother with festive festooning, but this year has a need to, it was actually rather inspiring. Above are a couple of shots you won't see in the feature - Reggie the dog posing with a Christmas tree shaped cushion, £20, on the sofa, and a sweet little wooden tabletop (or, as here, shelftop) tree, £13. Both are from John Lewis.

Now I'm feeling all festive, I've had my radar on for other nice decorating bits and pieces...

Love the glittery fawns at Paperchase, £2.50 – they come in white, pink, green and gold as well as the purple colour above. They also do fully-grown reindeer, families of penguins and lots more sweet stuff. Also love their funny knitted tree decorations shaped like teacups, £5 for four. 

Drift Living - which specialises in Scandi-tinged products - has a clean-looking angel choir mobile for £12.50. An unusual idea that could look good in a pale, minimalist home.

And what a brilliant idea from utilitarian design mecca, Labour and Wait - fir-scented incense, £5, "to give any home a wintry log cabin feel". And what gorgeous packaging. 

And with last posting at the weekend, you might just make it in time to get your hands on some of Kitty Nation's original vintage greetings cards (or you could always stock up for next year). this Santa and Rudolph one is from 1960 and costs £1.69.

This "Merry" sign (below) by Johnny Egg, £40 at Heal's is rather brilliant too. And this sleek red glass Christmas bird, left, £5 from Marks and Spencer (3 for 2 as you can see) is just like a non-festive blue bird I recently bought in Habitat for a little more cash...