Garden inspiration mood boards

April sure is a funny month isn't it?  There's been highs and lows of temperatures and let's hope they're back on the rise again soon.  But a glimpse of sun, or rather a lot unusually as was the case, and it doesn't take much to convince us that it's here to stay, and we're going to have the hottest summer ever (again).  

Only for our hopes to be dashed when overnight the temperatures plummet to single figures. But that's the 'joy' of the English weather, and it doesn't stop us enjoying our gardens does it?  With the early glimpse of sun, I don't expect I'm the only one making plans to enjoy my garden. There's quite a bit of work to do before I can pull the sun loungers out though, but for now, let's get some garden inspiration from these mood boards which use items from Wayfair's Outdoor range

Knowing me and colour, you'll not be surprised to see my first three boards contain bright colours, but even I don't do full on colour all of the time, so I've also included a couple of calmer boards too, and all of the boards contain items I love and think you will too.

brights + stripes: Virrat chair | Stockholm lantern | Crystal plastic drinking glass | Monza plant pot (set of 3)

That pink chair!  I'm a fan of this style of chair and have seen it increasingly this year - my fear though is that it'll be much harder to store than the traditional deck chair shown below.  I've a suspicion that it won't be too long before I've found a way around my dilemma - did I mention that I've scheduled in a clear out of the shed for next weekend?

modern traditions: Cold Summer folding deck chair | Askö Bar Serving Cart | Giant Dominoes

A drinks trolley is also on my wish list. I know I said I wasn't sure if I was keen or not, but I've talked myself round and MOH is keen too.  And, that means when he makes drinks, he'll be out of my way as he'll have his own drinks making space.  I know that in reality, he'll use this space and the space he previously used, but the fine will be to make me more cocktails, so I think that's a win!

For me, summer isn't summer without a barbecue, a picnic or an ice lolly or too.  Adding these all together really do bring fab times, which of course is a classic whichever way you look at it.

fab times: Salida charcoal barbecue | Sweet Summer days ice lolly plastic drinking glass | Outline insulated picnic tote bag

I told you that the first three boards were colourful, but I hope you'll agree full of summer fun.  There's times - and gardens - that call for something altogether calmer, and dare I say it, more elegant. The metal tree seat is an absolute classic, but sadly wouldn't work in my garden, we'd be sitting with at least one foot in the flowerbeds.  

english garden: Varda metal semi-circular tree seat | Artificial Daisy /Hydrangea wreath | Snuffle vintage planter box

I'm much more likely to have zinc planters, in fact I'm always on the look out for zinc planters and I'm convinced I'll find some in the junk shops of Norfolk. I keep looking, and with no joy yet, so maybe I'll given in soon and treat myself.

My final board is a nod to how our gardens can calm us, how they can be places to sit and watch the world go by. Whether that's watching the wildlife go about its business, watching the temperatures (hopefully) soar, or to relax watching the dancing flicker of a flame late into the evening.

calming elements: Dragon fly garden wall art | Garden wall thermometer | Insect, butterfly, bee cottage, hanging bird house | Burn stainless steel propane gas fire pit

So there you have five different mood boards providing garden inspiration, which inspires you?

* This is a collaborative post, but all views are my own.

A family room, with a lot going on

I'm in two minds about this room set at this year's Ideal Home Show. I like stuff and things around me so it should be my thing, but I'm not sure if it is, and I'm not really sure why.  There's nothing in here that really offends me, but other than it having a real lived in feel, there's not much in here that really grabs me either.  

Perhaps it's fallen into that betwixt and between, and is neither one or the other - I'd be interested to know what you think after you've seen the photos. So, onto the room set.

Perhaps it's because too much of it is neutral in my opinion. But I do know that the standout item is the wall hung bureau or writing station - it reminds me of the bureau we had when growing up. The idea of closing the flap (writing table) and shutting away the office for the evening is almost completely alien to us now, now that we've developed the 'always on' mentality.  Somehow just the flap of that piece of furniture harks back to a time less frantic, peculiar hey?

It does make good use of the wall space though, there's the corner fireplace above and the wall mounted drawers below.  There's plenty of shelf space too.

As I've said in previous Ideal Home posts from this year, there was often a brightly coloured armchair bringing a pop of colour, and this room set was no different.  This time orange. 

And there was another pompom trimmed cushion.  I tell you, they're everywhere.

So what do you think, are you smitten or a bit take it or leave it, like me?

Spring bedding, of the bedlinen sort

Yes I'm talking about bedding again, it seems it was the weekend for both refreshing an existing set and trying out a brand new one too.  Handy really as the one I dyed has now been earmarked for another bedroom, so the new set's arrival was well timed, and while I need to start thinking about bedding of the garden type, for now I'm happy to share these.  It's lovely and Spring-like don't you think?

I think you'll be surprised about where they're from.  I know I was pleasantly surprised when browsing the website when choosing and I'll admit their products challenged my memories and preconceptions of this shop. It's a retailer that's well known for its thermals, and when they got in touch to discuss working together, given my over active thyroid I was hoping it wasn't for the thermals.

No doubt by now you've worked out this pretty bedding is just one of the bedding sets available from Damart.

It's the Jardin set, in teal and I love its fresh look and how it tones with our existing decor, the headboard and coloured sheets and pillowcases.  I don't know if you were surprised as I was, but I know that this has made me realise that it's well worth keeping an open mind.

And it's not just their bedding that turned my head, there's some great looking dresses on the site too.  As I said before Damart are well known for their thermals, but with my overactive thyroid thermals are the last thing I need, whereas MOH is the 'icebox' - funny how often, couples can be at different ends of the body warmth scale isn't it?

But enough musing, back to the duvet set. I think it goes pretty well with my caravan quilt too.  I don't sign up to the school of thought that everything has to match, it's nice to have something that isn't quite what's expected, but nothing too wacky or out there. Like many things it's a balance and what you're comfortable with, isn't it?

There's nothing better than new bedding, well... apart from freshly ironed new bedding!  It's starting to be a bit of a habit as once again I found myself wielding the iron. That's twice in a month, but don't worry it's not one I'm hoping to keep up!