Ingredients:
**For the Chocolate Cake:**
**For the Peanut Butter Frosting:** (This is a huge amount. I make it and freeze half to use another time. It freezes well!)
**For the Chocolate Ganache:**
Instructions:
**For the Chocolate Cake:**
**For the Peanut Butter Frosting:**
**For the Ganache ** Make this just before you're ready to use it once the cake is assembled and has been chilling for at least half an hour!
**Assemble and crumb coat:**
1. Cushion of the month
This January the Cushion of the Month is... Blue Raindrop print. The only type of January Blues you want this month and that's our best-selling raindrop print in blue with gorgeous coral piping. It's 50x50cm and printed on 100% linen. You can find it here
2. Inserts
We're now stocking cushion inserts if you'd rather have us sort that out for you. Made from 100% duck feather, they meet the Responsible Down Standard and can be washed and dried at home to keep them fresh and dust-free. You can find them here.
3. Fabrics
For those of you who are interested in buying our fabric by the metre we are working hard to make that a possibility in 2022. We currently have a little bit of sample stock in green zig-zag, pink clover, spotty ticking and blue raindrop available if you're super keen. Just email hello@kittyholmes.com to find out more
4. New things!
Right now we are sourcing some new things for you to add to your home. To give you a hint they are soft, warm and rhyme with schmilts. It's taken us a while to find the right people to make these for us but we are in the home stretch now and hopefully can share the news in the next month or two.
As ever, we are always happy to help with advice or inspiration to give your home more colour and joy. Just email us at hello@kittyholmes.com and we'd be happy to help!
]]>Ingredients:
Pastry
Filling
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin. Rub the flour, butter, sugar and egg together with a splash of cold water until it just comes together as a dough and don't overwork it. Wrap the pastry in cling film and set aside to chill in the fridge while you make the filling and maybe add 10 mins because the filling making is very fast.
To make the filling, turn the mincemeat out into a bowl, chuck in the apricot and apple pieces into the bowl and mix by hand.
Roll out the pastry to 3mm thickness. You can try it a bit thinner but it might end up being a bit too sticky if you roll it too thinly. With a round pastry cutter, start by cutting out 6 x 9cm circles of pastry. I like to roll them out a little bit to fit the muffin tin a bit better. Press the pastry into the muffin cups and fill each one with a good helping of the mincemeat mixture - I go to almost to the top of the pastry-lined cup. You can then probably make another 4-6 pies with whatever pastry you have left.
With a fluted pastry cutter, cut out 6 x 8cm pastry circles for the lids (slightly bigger than the top of the muffin cups). Place a lid on top of each pie and gently push down to seal the mince meat in. Sprinkle with caster sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with fresh cream, brand butter or just on their own.
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1. What colours are you drawn to?
What colours do you really love? Think about specific places, memories or even people and see if anything springs to mind. Thinking about her love of green has given me an appreciation of the colour that I never had before and consequently, there's now more green in our house. My friend Martha from the Colourfile loves sunrises and painted her whole kitchen with those colours in mind - check her Insta out here. One great piece of advice I once heard (and I wish I could remember who said it!) was to look at your wardrobe and notice the colours you wear. For me, that's lots of blues and pinks in different tones and surprise, surprise, there's a fair bit of that in our home too.
2. In common and...in contrast
I let you choose your inserts - only you know how full you like your cushions or what you like them filled with but...I can help you find the right insert size!
So...here's a quick visual to let you know what size insert you need for your cushion cover.
Any questions, please send me an email over at hello@kittyholmes.com and I will be happy to give you more guidance.
]]>Cheers! Salud! Prost! À votre santé! Kanpai! Skål! L'chaim! Yamas!
This recipe comes from my friend Alastair, who during the lock down has published a wonderfully entertaining daily newspaper for his friends and family and this recipe was included one day. Alastair is a very creative and talented theatre director and if you like this recipe, then try his plays over at http://www.originaltheatre.com/ which you will enjoy even more.
I slightly changed it to not have quite so many nuts (the original recipe called for 400g) and less honey too (originally recipe used 200g) and it still worked really well. The reason for this change was that I didn't have enough honey or nuts so just went with what I had!
Ingredients:
300g nuts of your choice, chopped but not too small. I used pistachios, almonds, pecans and brazils which is what I had in the cupboard but any nut will work, I'm sure.
200g oats
100g honey
75g canola oil (but I'm sure you could use butter or coconut oil here too)
125g dried fruit of your choice, chopped.
rind of one orange
Method:
Preheat a fan oven to 140c and line a rectangular baking tray with baking paper. The tin I used was about 23cm long x 18cm wide.
Heat oil, honey and orange rind over low heat.
Once the oil/honey mixture is warmed, combine it with the oats, fruit and nuts.
Press the mixture into the baking tray and cook for one hour.
When you remove it from the oven, press the mixture down again and then leave it to cool, preferably until the morning and cut it when completely cool.
You can also bake this loosely on a baking sheet if you just want it as granola!
Perfect with a cup of tea for breakfast. Or lunch. Or anytime! xx
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Remember the saying ‘home is where the heart is’? Turns out it’s actually true, for me at least. I’m originally from Sydney but for years I’ve lived in London. In fact,I've actually spent more of my life out of Sydney and now London is very much my home. It’s where my stuff is, my immediate family… my life is here. Both Sydney and London are two of the biggest and best cities in the world, full of life, colour, vibrant events, and I can’t rate one higher than the other. But my most favourite place of all these days is right here inside my house.
I really love being at home: working, cooking, reading, existing. When I’m out and about, just the thought of being back home makes me happy. No matter how lovely a party, lunch or outing, I often find myself wanting to click my red glitter heels (OK, trainers) and get back home in an instant. Why do I so firmly believe that being at home is best?
We live in a digital age that’s stuffed full of gadgets and tech tricks: I’m not saying I want to go back to horses and carts, but I do think that all a person needs, sometimes, is a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a squidgy sofa (plus a few plump cushions, of course). And it’s not just me, because I’ve talked about this with plenty of mates and most of them are secret stay-at-homes too. I took a little look into it and it turns out there’s proper boffin-based scientific evidence to suggest that thinking of home can actually raise our endorphins and, basically, make us happy. Works for me, anyway!
Those in the know say that shaping our surroundings to suit our needs is a psychological way of strengthening this feeling of home: to the best of our abilities, we instinctively seek out favourite bits and bobs that reinforce the home factor, picking the right lighting, fabrics and accessories (and, yep, gorgeous squishy cushions) to suit our individual home style.
It’s so important for me to replicate our home in order that we settle faster, wherever we are. Expats friends who move around a lot do the home-making thing with alarming speed and efficiency, and I must say I’m pretty good at sorting things out too. I can unpack a suitcase faster than you can say ‘stuffed pillow’, and get a holiday rental looking like we’ve lived in it for years (and no, I don’t mean just throwing a few old socks around).
If you’ve just moved, or you’re simply planning a change, and you want to get things right in a short space of time, here are my three top tips to making a place feel like yours:
1. Pack a few foldable favourites in your hand luggage, especially if you’re moving house and dealing with potentially homesick children. Loose cushion covers, a small framed photo each and your favourite book, set out strategically, will cheer everyone up.
2. Do some advance online browsing to see if your favourite shops are in the locale, or deliver to your new place, then get shopping, treating yourself to your favourite scented candles or diffusers, new cushions, side lamps and place settings to fit with the new habitat, and an online order of yummy sweet treats for when friends come to visit.
3. Get out and about and familiarise yourself with the new hood: it may feel strange now but before you know it you’ll be cosying up as if you’ve lived here forever.
Ah, Valentine’s Day, that heart-shaped date in the diary promising cards, chocs and ruby red flowers. In our house it comes just after my second child’s birthday, so we’re usually chomping leftover cake and stepping on balloons and honestly, Valentine's Day has always seemed a bit cheesy to me. I much prefer the more recent invention of Galentine's Day.
Anyway, we don’t wait for 14 Feb to splash a bit of red around. For us, red is an ever-present colour, not daubed over our walls but definitely dotted about the place in cushions and accessories, adding vital warmth during these oh-so-long winter months. And I always have a few bright flowers from the garden in my favourite vases: they’re such a lovely natural decoration whatever the date.
I’ve always thought red was a colour to be embraced: remember that it brings luck according to Chinese tradition, and here in the west it’s an energetic and vibrant colour signifying leadership and love. Also did you know that it’s an appetite stimulant? That’s why you’ll often find it in restaurants, dining rooms and kitchens. I really love to see it combined with natural, off-white fabrics.
Passionate maybe, but no way does red have to be too SHOUTY: you can save your crimsons for the kids’ bedroom and bring out the more adult burgundies and maroons for grown-up areas. A few red cushions chucked around can give living spaces a chilled-out, mellow vibe, and who doesn’t love a wine-coloured rug draped over a neutral wooden floor? Gorgeously rich, not to mention cosy underfoot.
Here’s hoping the power of red works for you this Valentine’s Day. As a one-off gift I’m offering a bundle deal on all my red cushions for my subscribers only. It will land in your inboxes on Friday so don't forget to sign up if you haven't already.
Remember to subscribe to keep up to date with future offers. I promise not to over-email you and will only send you gorgeous cushion covers, napkins and make-up bags, not spam!
Lots of lemon, pistachios and almonds make this one of the best cakes around. Paired with a cup of tea it is a religious experience.
Pistachio Cake
Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter
1 Lemon
Tspn vanilla essence
100g ground almonds/almond flour
120g shelled pistachios
250g caster sugar
4 eggs
40g plain flour (I've used gluten free flour for this if you need to make it gluten free)
For the topping:
1 lemon
60g pistachios
50g caster sugar
Method:
Preheat oven – 150c/gas 2
Line a loaf tin – 22 x 12cm and 6cm deep, with parchment paper
Soften the butter. Finely grate the lemon peel. Use a food processor to grind the pistachios – not too fine I find is better - you want the odd chunky bit in there.
Beat the butter ad the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the zest and vanilla, then fold in the nuts and flour.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 50-60 mins. You might have to bake it a bit longer than this - it is really quite dense and can take a while to cook.
The cake is ready when a skewer comes out clean - again this might take a while! Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out.
For the topping, grate the lemon peel and squeeze the juice. (I like extra lemon and topping). Halve the pistachios. Mix the lemon juice with the sugar, boil until thick, add zest. Stir and pour over cake and decorate with some dried rose petals if you're feeling really fancy!
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Line a loaf tin (the one I use is 21cm long, 11cm wide and 7cm high or 8 x 4 x 3 inches approx) with baking paper and preheat the oven to 160c (fan)
Ingredients:
2-3 revolting, old mashed up bananas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon (although I might omit this if I decide to use chocolate chips)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour (I quite often do half plain flour and then the other half something more wholesome like either spelt or wholemeal flour)
1/4 cup of vegetable oil, but not olive oil. I usually use canola.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Method:
1. Mix the sugar and oil together.
2. Add the eggs, mashed banana and vanilla until it it all very well combined.
3. Add all the dry stuff - the flours, baking powders salt etc. until it is just combined - don't over mix it. At this point add chocolate chips if you are feeling crazy or just leave it plain.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 45-50 mins or test with a skewer until it comes out clean. Leave it in the tin for 5 mins and then turn it out onto a rack to cool.
]]>Not to blow my own trumpet, but many of those goodies can be found right here on kittyholmes.com where, as the big hand clunks past midnight in the small hours of Friday, several brilliant offers will be up for grabs to those with an eye for a pretty cushion cover.
If you’ve been following my page, as I dearly hope you have, you’ll know that when you make a purchase from Kitty Holmes it’s not just about gorgeous fabric, pattern and colour, but the great deal of thought that goes into how the items are made, in terms of workers and the environment, and it’s not just me who’s investing time and thought into the subject.
Plenty of companies these days are prioritising eco-friendly production. If you ever wonder whether your favourite brand is in line with your ethical expectations, do a bit of digging to work out what’s behind the company you support. Be nosy! Look out for Fair Trade symbols, check the policy online, and if you’re still in doubt it’s perfectly fine to send an email asking:
But back to Black Friday, now several minutes closer than when you first started reading this post. I can’t divulge the full exciting details, but I am ridiculously happy about the prospect of my upcoming bundle deals and scorchingly hot discounts that you really won’t find at any other time of year.
If by some fluke you’re likely to get to the end of the week and forget this very special date, worry not: hit my subscriber button and I’ll send you an advance reminder, as well as future reminders for all my other brilliant sales and offers to come, so you never miss out again! I promise not to over-ping your in-tray and I’ll also make sure my subscribers get a little extra on Black Friday, perfect for pattern-happy tree gifts (or, let’s face it, just for you).
]]>INGREDIENTS
Method
But grey was never a real ‘colour’ in my book. OK, I do have a few grey things: my two favourite cashmere jumpers and a big, soft grey scarf to name a few. I’m not sure when I developed my passion for bright colours – perhaps it was just as we started our family when, with a houseful of gaudy toys, there was absolutely no point in having a restrained colour scheme. Judging by all the patterns I now love to create, I suspect I’ve always loved bright things.I love spreading the joy to family and friends with pink, dotty, zig-zag, spotty, red, green and animal print cushions all jostling for space on my sofas (but only in odd numbers, if you remember).
Also, I’m not alone in knowing that colours have essential therapeutic values, all the better to create the kind of mood and style that’s just right for you.
The rainbow rules
RED: Pillar box red is all about energy, excitement, passion. Use it in small doses to start, like with a red rug, a lampshade, or a set of my fun red chevron napkins.
YELLOW: This background accent is coming to the fore as a main player, not just a background tone. Splash a little sunshine to create instant cheer, then offset with accents in hot pink and cool turquoise. Recently added to my collection is the lovely Yellow Tulips cover that combines yellow with some cobalt accents, which is a great way to introduce some yellow into your home.
PINK: Feminine and fun, pink also has a calming, benevolent influence. Lipstick pinks make fun, strong impact statements; go for powder pink on walls and add deep rose accessories. It’s a really accessible way of adding a bit of colour to your home and you can have a look at some of my Pink Clover designs if you’re thinking about dipping your toe in.
GREEN: This living, breathing, spiritual tone is traditionally used in bedrooms and bathrooms but I’ve seen loads of living room palm prints lately, and not just in pubs. Jungle green is creeping up – we are literally bringing the garden indoors. As for office zen, mint green with a desk in the middle is positively sacred. My friend Martha Roberts, who wrote the wonderful book “Shelfie” has recently painted all her bookshelves mint green and they look amazing - go and see for yourself @the_colour_file on instagram.
PURPLE: I’ll admit, I wasn’t a fan of purple homewares until I saw a wooden chair my friend had reupholstered with a beautiful seat in a deep mulberry flavour (sorry, shade): totally gorgeous. There’s definitely a place for purple, especially as the colour signifies nobility, luxury and power (so that chair was pretty much a throne, then).
ORANGE: Misunderstood as a 1970s throwback, orange is actually the colour of encouragement, success and determination. It’s long been a popular choice for sunny accessories, and personally, I really want an orange leather handbag to brighten up my navy winter coat. Start small with a couple of those retro orange salt and pepper mills and see where it takes you… orange duvet cover? Orange sofa? You just never know!
BLUE: Said to be a calming, subdued hue, we can all afford to go bold and grown-up with this one: choose a strong dark tone and the blue will really sing out. Think indigo swags, cobalt carpets, inky blue statement walls: it’s basically a great base from which to set the tone for other homewares in equally strong colours. I’ve got lots of blues in my collection for you to browse through and it’s a really safe way to start experimenting with colour in your home.
So if you’re still feeling cautious about colour, let your inner Pantone doctor loose and spread a little joy about the house!
Lots of love,
Kate
]]>It's vegan and also easily adaptable for those who need to be gluten and/or dairy-free. You just need to use a gluten free stock and don't serve with the sour cream garnish if you want to avoid those things.
You will need a big pot to cook it in and a blender - a stick blender is probably easiest but you can do it in a regular blender or food processor. You just might have to do it in a couple of batches.
Serves 6-8 depending on how hungry you are and how much bread you serve it with:
I’ve done a bit of research into this, and it seems the numerological concept of three is that it signifies abundance, creativity and charisma: see how even the trait is split into three?
For me, this most holy trinity of numbers simply feels right, especially when it comes to home styling, where three is positively sparkling with magical properties.
Take pillows. Everyone – yes, everyone – has a personal way of arranging cushions, even if they don’t realise it. Ask anyone and I bet you they’ll come up with a response as to how they do it, from pedantic arranger (“I place four blue cushions and two striped cushions on either side of a large green one”) to carefree plumper (“I chuck some down and walk off”).
Me, I tend to arrange my cushions according to the mood of the day or the light in the room but I’ll let you into a secret: I always use odd numbers, very often three. Two at each end and two in the middle? Yuk, no thanks. And it’s funny because I’ve always thought it was just me who had an aversion to equal figures, but in fact lots of us do, and there are several reasons as to why our brains prefer odd numbers, especially threes.
It seems to be to do with the way our eye takes in groups of objects. Two might seem pleasingly symmetrical, but a group of three allows the eye to move around more freely, instantly creating a memorable image. A two-tone scheme can feel overly stylised: add a third colour and the space becomes complete.
Here, then, are my top three tips for trio styling:
1 Use triangular positioning to encourage the eye to move around a group of objects: have a go at reducing the coffee table jumble down to three key items, say a vase of flowers, a fruit bowl and a napkin-holder. See how you’ve also instantly decluttered the room? Magic!
2 Introduce a third tall object to break up the formality of a low pair (like a tallboy with two side tables) to give a relaxed feel in chill-out spaces like bedrooms and sitting rooms.
3 Take the trio theme right through your styling, for example picking out three cushions in three different patterns, to really emphasise the triptych idea.
So next time you’re about to neatly plump those four book-end scatter cushions, I dare you to whip one away and see how you get on with just three. Less (well, three) really is more.
Lots of love,
Kate
P.S. As a Halloween treat for getting to the end of this blog post, for a limited time I'd like to offer a free cushion cover for every two you buy. Enter code TREAT3FOR2 at checkout between 9am October 30th - Midnight (London GMT) November 3rd. Happy Shopping!1. Cushions and soft furnishings
Well you knew I was going to say that, didn't you? Nonetheless, the transformative effect of a few brightly coloured cushions, a blanket or a rug can really lift a room. So many times I've had people walk into my living room and say "What have you done to the room? It looks so different!". I've had the walls painted the same white for almost a decade and the same sofas too. The only thing I change is the cushion covers. You can spend whatever you can afford or if you're handy and have a sewing machine, there are some really easy tutorials you can follow on YouTube for envelope style covers that require no zips, so really easy to make. Invest in your interiors accessories and build a collection that gives you lots of scope to mix and match whatever mood you're in.
2. Flowers and plants
This is possibly one of the easiest fixes. These days you can get seasonal flowers inexpensively from your local supermarket. At the moment M&S is doing lovely daffodils for £1 a bunch. Grab a few and you've got flowers to put all around your house. For those of you lucky enough to have a garden, experiment with different types of foliage in different types of vessels.
Or if you don't like the idea of the weekly investment of cut flowers or have concerns around sustainability, get some house plants. They're fantastic for cleaning the air in your home and obviously last longer than cut flowers. I recently bought some great ceramic pots from Anthropologie and they were all under £10. The houseplants from my local garden centre were between £3-5 pounds and still going strong which is a miracle as I am dreadful with keeping plants alive!
3. Shop what you have and swap things around
I am a huge believer in this. It's easy to forget or to become blind to some of the lovely things we have in our homes. You might have a jug in the kitchen that you can easily move to a living room, fill with flowers and pop on the coffee table. Likewise, a photo you've had sitting in a corner in the living room might be better on a wall in the kitchen. Move the pictures on your wall around. Go into each room where you live and see what might work in a different way in another room. The lamp base in the guest bedroom might work even better in the hallway with a different shade on it. Or go and get a sample paint pot and paint it a different colour.
Have a look at @the_colour_file or @shelfiebook on Instagram for great ideas on rearranging and working with the things you have.
Be confident and move things into places you wouldn't normally do! Move your sofa to a different place.The worst thing that can happen is that you put it back where you originally found it...or repaint it if you have a thing with sample paint pots, like I do.
4. Lamps
Anyone ever read David Sedaris's essay "The Shadow Of Your Smile"? He notes "It's funny how with the flick of a switch you can perform a virtual charmectomy: wiping away everything that made a place inviting". Like David, I too have a strong aversion to overhead lights, especially non-dimmable ones. What I do have is a lot of table lamps. And lamp shades. Some of these I cover myself. Not with any great skill, but with a can of spray adhesive instead. IKEA does lamp bases and lampshades starting from about £4 which you can customise or just use to freshen things up. My favourite lamp bases are from Pooky Lighting and I've bought really fun, handpainted lampshades from Nellie who you can find on her shop called TheCambridgeHouse on Etsy or Instagram. Otherwise there are lovely scalloped shades at places like Matilda Goad but I don't trust the flying footballs, skateboards, children and cats at our house to make that investment right now, but they are really lovely if you want to treat yourself!
Anyway, table lamps and lamp shades area great way to make your home cosy. They don't have to cost a fortune, but if you opt for something with a little bit more oompf, they really will change the way your home looks.
5. Clean and Organise
"BORING" I hear you say from wherever you are on earth reading this. Spend 15 minutes in one room, removing the piles of random stuff that can accumulate on various pieces of furniture, or the kitchen counter top in my case. Dust off the surfaces, clean the floor and open the windows (even for a minute or two if it's cold outside) to get some fresh air in. Look at the space and appreciate it.
If you've got another 15, look inside a cupboard or bookshelf and tidy them up a bit. Remove anything that doesn't need to be there. You will have made a bit more space which for me at least, gives me a bit more space mentally too.
Or go into the kitchen and sort out one drawer.
I know that this is probably the least interesting idea, but don't underestimate it. The only thing you give up is your time and I guarantee that afterwards you won't regret it and will enjoy spending time in your home a little bit more.
As a matter of fact, I am going to go off right now and do this exact thing to my living room!
And please, whilst I remember, can you please wash your cushion covers? It gets rid of the dust mites and once they've been washed and ironed they somehow make a room look really pulled together again.
Hope you find these helpful and please let me know if you have any other quick and easy house refresh ideas I may have forgotten to mention!
Kate x
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Here's a little bit of news from me:
Cushion sizing
I've had various comments about people's preferences for cushion sizing. The one thing that kept coming back was that 30 x 40cm inserts have been tricky to find. So, I've resized my smallest cushion covers to be 30 x 50cm. This size seems easier to track down so hopefully this will make life a little easier. I know for example, that H&M do a really good feather insert in this size so hopefully your cushion insert dreams will be answered!
Another request was for a larger 60 x 60cm cushion. I won't have them this time around but am hoping to be able to roll out some larger – and different-sized – cushions as my business grows. If you do have a cushion size preference please email me at hello@kittyholmes.com or message on Instagram (@_kittyholmes_)
Colour palette
There is definitely more of a cosy, wintry feel this time round. It's all about navy blues and burnt yellows and reds. I've used a heavier weight fabric, going for a double cotton Oxford cloth rather than linen, and on some reverse sides have used a cotton velvet. Of course, nothing matchy-matchy, it's pattern clash galore. No plain Jane sofas for me (or you, presumably, if you're reading this post).
Expanded range
Who would have thought? I'm not just about cushion covers any more. Some of the feedback I got was that people wanted to see some of my designs in things other than cushions. So, this season, I'm going to trial some napkins for your holiday tables and also some make-up bags, which make great gifts for Christmas, or for yourself, for any old time. To make these things possible at this early stage in my business, I have made them, along with my cushion covers, in quite limited quantities, so if you want anything, I really would be quick with placing your orders!
Please email me at hello@kittyholmes.com if there anything else you'd like me to see develop or patterns and colours that you'd like to see in the future.
Black Friday
I will be doing a really special offer for this. Please make sure you follow me on Instagram (@_kittyholmes_) for more details. Definitely sign up to my mailing list too!
So that's about all from me. Keep your eyes open for new products and offers that should be here soon.
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When it comes to style, I really don't think it helps being very prescriptive as ultimately you have to do what makes you happy but having taken a LOT of cushion photos I can tell you, in my experience what seems to work best.
1. Go for odd numbers.
If I see a sofa with two pillows in either corner it looks terribly sterile and the cushions look lonely. Poor cushions. I honestly think that one big fat pillow looks better than two. On our big sofa right now I have seven cushions of various sizes and shapes. I remember reading somewhere that the brain tends to find odd numbers more appealing than even numbers and odd numbers are better at capturing your gaze. Apparently the lack of symmetry forces your eyes to scan your surroundings a bit more, and that folks, is at the heart of visual excitement. Don't believe me? Go on to the website of any sofa company and you will see that if they use cushions in their photography/styling, they almost always use an odd number!
2. Mix sizes
Again with the previous point. Asymmetry really is more appealing and memorable to the human eye. In my collections, I use larger squares, smaller squares and rectangles. You can really play with the balance and proportion of a room this way. It also gives you a lot of versatility and you can move these various shapes from room to room as a way of giving a quick, cheap and easy update.
3. Mix patterns
With cushion covers the investment isn't so huge so you really can take a few risks here and go for something that you wouldn't normally consider. If you're nervous, then going for lots of different patterns in the same colour - all blues for example - is a really easy way to experiment with pattern mixing that doesn't feel too overwhelming. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, consider having a two to three colours in common amongst your patterns so there is a common thread of colour amongst your cushions. This doesn't even have to be in the actual print, but even in small details like the piping or other trims that perhaps match a rug you have in the room or your curtains. It's small things like this that bring a bit of harmony to the mix.
For me, the most important thing to consider when mixing pattern is to consider the proportion of the patterns you want to use. Have one large print/something bold, something on a medium scale like a floral or chunky striped cushion and then something in a very small print - a polka dot, mini leopard print or small gingham. If you're curious about doing this, I can highly recommend Rebecca Atwood's book 'Living with Pattern' on pages 60-72 where she gives great guidance on building pattern collections throughout your home. I practise what I preach so my cushion covers always have a mix of pattern proportions making it easier for you to build a balanced cushion collection.
4. Change with the seasons
Firstly, it serves as a good reminder to launder your pillows and get rid of dust mites but secondly, a change of your cushion covers can completely change the room your way looks. So, consider having a winter set and a summer set. Somehow walking into a room in the depths of winter with bright pinks and whites doesn't feel quite right in that type of light. You've got a couple of options - either keep those and balance them out with some velvets or thicker textured covers or switch to another set of covers more suited to the current season and changes in light that each season brings to your room. A change really is as good as a holiday so have some cushion covers in rotation to keep you and your guests eyes and hearts engaged with your surroundings.
5. Inserts
A limp looking cushion makes me feel sad. People have different reasons for choosing different types of inserts but PLEASE just make sure that you fill whatever cushion covers you have with a nice plump cushion insert whether you're buying feather, foam microfibre or wool. Buy a size larger insert if it helps but please don't entertain a deflated looking cushion anywhere in your home. I forbid it.
I'm going to end this with saying don't agonise too much over your interiors. Life is not perfect and in my opinion, your home shouldn't be either. Things don't need to match. It helps if it's clean and if you can find things, but your home is for living and enjoying, not about maintaining perfection. The more relaxed your home can be, the more everyone who steps through your front door will enjoy being there. So, get out there and build a lovely, eclectic collection of cushions that give your home some personality and that you can relax and sink into every day of the year.
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I'm running a competition on Instagram
Two lucky winners will get the each get £100 store credit (with free shipping!).
HOW TO ENTER:
1. Make sure you're following me @_kittyholmes_
2. Tag a friend in the comments section of the giveaway post on my feed who you think might like my cushion covers
....and that's it! So easy!
And now for the boring bits:
1. Competition closes at noon GMT, Friday July 13th, 2018. That's 12pm London, UK time!!!
2. This competition is open to international entrants aged 18 and over. For entrants outside for the UK/EU, please note that whilst I will cover shipping costs, your parcel will still be subject to local duties and customs. These are completely out of my control and remain your responsibility.
3. Each tagged friend counts as one entry.
4. Winners will be announced on Instagram on Monday July 16th, 2018.
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