Let's talk TV Units

When AIF (or Adventures in Furniture) got in touch and asked me to preview their Living room furniture, I decided to take a look at their TV units and I make no apology for the sameness of items I've chosen from their site. AIF are a company that "specialise in contemporary designs that are crafted using solid materials and traditional techniques" which means their furniture is built to last, and I think that shows.

On their site there's a selection of TV units which I think are right and up to the job. You see, I have issues with the TV property shows that have TVs on a wall above a fireplace, I think the TVs are just too high.  

My rule of thumb is that the TV should be at eye-level , or lower when you're sitting on the sofa.  Often (but not always) having it above a mantelpiece means it's too high and therefore uncomfortable to watch. I also think it gives greater prominence than is necessary for a piece of electrical equipment which all too often we can plan our lives around.

For me, TV units should be at least twice the width of the TV itself and low-level. That means they aren't in your eye line as you watch the goggle box and therefore don't interfere with your viewing. Ideally, I'd have some open and closed space, because let's face it we could all do with the extra storage, and not all of it needs to be pretty!

So these are my picks from the Living Room section of their site:

TEAK LODGE TV CUPBOARDS FROM £1099
Photo credit: AIF

NORDIC OAK TV UNITS FROM £859

LOFT LOW SIDEBOARD / TV UNIT £826
Photo credit: AIF

LIGNA OAK TV UNITS FROM £979
Photo credit: AIF

So what do we have?

Well you'll not be surprised to learn we have a low-level unit, that's just about double the size of our television which is hung on the wall - at eye level from the sofa. I've had to compromise on the style of our TV unit. It's wood and is open shelved, which was the requirement for MOH's hifi - and as that's a big thing for him - and the only place it could go - there really was no choice. The bigger compromise for me is having his record player on top of the unit; I've countered that though with three terracotta plant pots with a pine cone in!

On the whole, it works for us - it's not exactly what I'd choose, but it's close enough and well, life's about compromise right?

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own.

Making cute pom-pom Easter bunnies and chicks

Recently I saw some cute pom-pom Easter bunnies and chicks on Pinterest, and well you know how much I like to try some of the things I see on there, I thought I'd give these a go. I looked at the original post and thought it should be relatively easy enough to do. In fact the trickiest bit was probably drawing the templates, but I reckoned that they didn't need to be perfect and just needed to look enough like a bunny or a chick - you might already have seen these on my Easter tea party post on Sunday!

So with my bunny template and some small scraps of wool I was ready.

1. You'll need two bunny shaped cut-outs and then simply wind the wool from the centre hole around the bunny's middle.  I used small lengths of wool as that made it easier to get it through the central hole. As the hole filled up I found using a crochet hook invaluable to guide the wool. 

2. I decided to have multi-coloured pom-poms; to join the second colour just tuck the end under the wool as you continue to wind the wool through the hole. If it's longer than the rest it doesn't matter as you can trim it later.

This took me right back to making pom-poms as a child, although we stuck with circular pieces of card for the traditional round pom-poms.

3. When you've wound as much wool as you want around the card - remember the more wool you wind, the fuller your pom-pom will be - then it's time to cut the threads. 

Tip: keep your thumb firmly on the centre of the bunny!

4. Then take another length of wool and tie it between the two pieces of card around the wool you've just cut.  Tie it tightly, this is what will keep your pom-pom together.

5. Draw a face, and you're done!  

To make them stand up unaided I've found folding the bottom edge out helps - you'll see what I mean with the chick.

To make a chick

Repeat the same process, this time with a chick-shaped template.

And there you go, a cute and easy way to make a pom-pom Easter bunny and an Easter chick.  Winding the wool around the cardboard is quite soothing and easy to do, so it'd make a great craft to do with the kids.

What do you think of my pom-pom bunny and chick?

To see more of my Easter-inspired pins take a look at my Easter Pinterest board: 

Follow Stephanie - Life at 139a's board Easter on Pinterest.

Some fantastic tableware choices from Nest.co.uk

When Nest.co.uk got in touch and asked me to preview their kitchen and dining ranges I found myself poring over their site contemplating exactly what I needed to make my new dining table - and chairs when they arrive, absolutely perfect. I've a feeling that the longer it takes for the chairs to arrive, which will hopefully be in the next few weeks, the more expensive it could get.

I have visions of the table completely transforming our lives, which may be a tad on the unrealistic side if I'm honest. But even in our reality I'm hoping that we'll eat at the table more often than in front of the TV, I know the dream hey?

The meal that we most consistently eat at the table, is strangely enough breakfast. And clearly having this carafe for our fruit juice would make breakfast even better.

MUUTO CORKY CARAFE & GLASSES £64
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

Once we've cleared the table from breakfast I think this plate would look great on the table.  I'm intrigued to know just how jelly-like it is. The Nest website says the plate has been created by "experimenting with the texturisation of surface materials, resulting in the core material being enhanced to influence the jelly-like appearance."

It's a beautiful colour too isn't it? - and it'd pick up the blue in the wallpaper behind our table.

KARTELL JELLY TABLE CENTRE PLATE £72
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

And for the times where we do eat dinner on the sofa in front of the TV - because in all reality we will sometimes - these trays will save MOH wearing his dinner, which happens all too often and should actually be the prompt we need to eat at the table more often.  

NORMANN COPENHAGEN NABO TRAYS £59
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

The final piece I want to share with you is this cleverly designed tableware set.  It looks like a vase, but each of the tableware pieces stack together to form the vase - and while that's clever, look at how detailed and decorative the individual pieces are. I'm not sure I'd leave it stacked that often.

IBRIDE YUAN COLLECTION TABLEWARE £139
Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

The vase when stacked is 30cm high - the height of a ruler (what a go to visual measurement that is!) and comprises 4 or 8 plates, a salad bowl, another slightly smaller bowl and a dish and is topped with a small pot with a lid. It's so very clever, and beautiful too.  And just goes to show not all tableware has to be stored in our cupboards.

Photo credit: Nest.co.uk

What's on your table?

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own.