Big Ideas: An Industrial Bathroom

At this year’s Ideal Home Show there were some extra kitchen and bathroom room sets right at back of the hall, and while you know how much I love a room set or several, I’m surprised that I’ve not shared any of these yet.

As well as this one, there’s another four to come in this series of posts which cover the room sets with “Big Ideas.” The first is this industrial bathroom, which has a classic and almost oriental feel to it, its Big Ideas are:

1. Wood-effect walls: tiles that are waterproof, but have an authentic look

2. Tin bath: it keeps the heat, is symmetrically shaped

3. Walk-in shower: frameless glass and easy to clean

4. His & Hers double basins: wall mounted taps

5. Patterned floor: a classic twist and budget friendly

That tub.

Not many rooms could take a tub like that and do it justice, it’s not one to squeeze into a space is it? For me it’s the simplicity and symmetry of the central tub, set against a relatively plain background and on that modern patterned floor, which isn’t too dissimilar to the pattern on my blog header.

Go on, scroll up and check, I know you want to. I just did too!

But it’s not just the big impact stuff, the wire baskets under the sinks are a favourite of mine too. And wood tiles, remember when I saw those in Portugal earlier this year? I was an admirer then when I realised the tiles in the Totally tropical loos were actual tiles, and not floor tiles on the wall!

The simple lines, and lack of frame, on the shower is also a win for me. I’m not a fan of super enclosed showers, and I know that MOH would be very much up for a shower tray that’s that low off the ground. It was something we wanted when we put our shower in, but our budget didn’t stretch to that.

So Big Ideas that I think work well, what do you think?

Post Comment Love & Blogger Showcase 7-9 December

Hello there and welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo a friendly linky where you can link any post published in the last week. If you were here last week, it was great to see you and if you’re new here this week, then you’re very welcome. Both Morgan and I know you’ll find some great posts to read, and encourage you to pop over to some of the posts linked and take the time to leave a comment or two so that everyone benefits from some extra love.

The only progress I’ve made since last week on Christmas is the start of Christmas nights out, more mince pies and munching my way through part of the gingerbread house I helped to make at a Neff and Currys PC World blog evening. And while the gingerbread house - and its 3D tree - was a success, it’s not going so well over here, and with that shorter deadline I may even have to go into some actual shops soon.

Wish me luck…

Blogger Showcase: Montana from The Moody Mum

1. Who am I?

I am a mama of two who comes from a small hometown, trying to make it as a parent in the city life. I am used to having a yard, and a large space to go outside and play, we are now living in a 1 bedroom apartment - which is surprisingly the norm around here for new families. I had my children very far apart - nine years, so trying to navigate parenting between two very different life stages is a challenge, but one I accept with arms open. I grew up dancing on the stage - ballet and tap, something I still enjoy to this day. I am a huge bookworm, and love to create in the kitchen.

2. How did I discover blogs/blogging?

I have a background in working with people who suffer with addiction problems. As much as I love my job, it really drains me. I was always interested in blogging and creating websites and doing something more for myself, but I never knew what I would write about. Who would want to read anything I created? I had always had this idea to start a blog - and had been following some of my favourites for awhile. It was more a courage thing for me, what if I fail? What if nobody reads it? I finally realised that none of that matters. What matters to me is how I feel when I am writing, and it makes me feel great about myself, a definite sense of accomplishment. 

3. Why did I start blogging? 

I started blogging after I had my daughter. Being at home on maternity leave I have a ton of free time and to be honest, I was getting bored. I finally realised that I have something that interests me, and something that I would enjoy writing about. Being a mama! 

4. What do I find most challenging?

When you are starting out as a blogger, or with any new website really, it takes up a lot of your time. It really is like my third baby these days. Whenever I am not parenting, I am on the computer writing, researching, jotting down ideas for future posts. I know my spouse thinks that I am spending too much time on the computer and maybe I am. Finding a balance is tricky.

5. What is my favourite topic to write about?

I have a lot of information on my site, some about teething, breastfeeding, what stay at home moms do in a day, and those are all great but my number one favourite thing to write about is my day to day life with my family. I am actually a recovering drug addict and have come so far in my life and I don't ever want to take that for granted. My life looked very different not so long ago, and there were times that I had no family around me because I was so deep in my addiction. I am so proud of where I am today, and the family that I have created. 

6. Are you blogging for fun, or do you have goals?

Both! There is a definite plan to create an income out of what I am doing, but I really do love the writing. As long as someone, just one person can take away something from my words than I am happy. 

7. What is your favourite thing about blogging?

That nothing is off limits! You can literally write about ANYTHING, and someone will most likely be interested in it. It kind of reminds me of being young and keeping a journal, it’s like a secret that you write down not knowing if your mom is going to read it. I love seeing the reactions to my posts, and reading all of the comments.

8. Have you ever attended a blogging conference?

No, I have not. It is something that I would love to experience at some point in my life though. 

9. What are your three best posts?

My favourite post so far is: My life as a mom, the things nobody talks about - it is literally the down and dirty nitty gritty details about childbirth and after that nobody ever wants to tell you! 

Happy Six months to our little lady - Marlow's birth story

Outdoor Yoga Benefits - A day with my gal pals

10. Describe yourself in three traits

• Quirky

• Particular

• Sociable

11. Tea and biscuits or coffee and cake? 

Tea and cake, please! 

12. Your perfect night out?

Picnic blanket on the beach with take out watching fireworks or the stars. 

If I had time to plan it would be something out of the norm like a pottery or cooking class.

One thing I want to try is going on a double date where we each buy our spouses an outfit from the thrift store to wear to dinner. That one would be funny! 

13. Your perfect night in?

Bubble bath, candles, a good book, an excellent meal, and not having to clean up after! 

14. My best quality according to my mom?

Helpfulness.

Remember to stop by Montana’s social channels before you link up: Facebook - Google+ - Twitter - Pinterest - Instagram

If you’d like to be featured as a future Blogger Showcase, then please send either Morgan or I your answers to the questions and we can agree a date, we’d love to share more about you.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wine tasting at Roccafiore

Well, when in Rome - or more accurately, Umbria…

Exactly, we just had to visit a vineyard on our trip to Italy this autumn, and MOH lost no time trying to find just the one. And that’s how we ended up at Roccafiore, a vineyard in Todi close to where we were staying. What interested me was what they call the “natural and sustainable viticulture” which we learnt means a more natural way of producing wine.

It’s just a small vineyard set in the hills of Todi, the terraced gardens where we had our tasting were very pretty - usually the tastings take place inside, but as it was unexpectedly warm we were more than happy to sit in this pretty setting. When we arrived the workers were having their lunch, and they were a great advert for their company - I’ve said it before, but you can tell a lot by a company by their workers, and later when we saw them at work, they looked equally as happy.

Having our tasting outside meant more work for our host as she fetched and carried everything we needed, including a pretty jam jar of flowers and a wine passport for us to make notes about the wines in, and some weird dog-like biscuits (in the basket) which I wasn’t much of a fan of.

We’d chosen to have lunch alongside the wine, which is always a good move, and the lunch included some of the charcuterie from pigs kept on the land, which tasted as good as it looks. There’s also olive groves on the land and they also produce olive oil, which we tasted slathered over bread, and also very tasty. Tasty isn’t a word I thought I’d use about olive oil, and it’s here we realised that we don’t use olive oil in the same way at home, and it’s wasted how we do use it!

When it got to the part of the tasting that the price list came out we surprised ourselves by considering the olive oil. We didn’t buy any though as there were only 3l cans available, and this summer aside, we couldn’t think of when we could make use of so much olive oil to do it justice, which was a shame.

We also did the calculation on the optimum bottles of wine to ship home, which turned out to be three cases. Red, of course, although even I was tempted by a couple of the whites. And so a couple of weeks after we returned from Italy, some of their Il Roccafiore, a Sangiovese and Prova d’Autore (a blend of Sagrantino, Montepulciano and Sangiovese) followed us home.

As I said at the top of this post, when in Rome (or Umbria)…