Autumn is Approaching

I'm not sure if it's the change of season, the slight chill in the air or the abundance of the 'new collections' that are inundating the shops and online at the moment, but I feel like turning over a new leaf.  A new wardrobe, decorating my home ready for winter hibernation and leafing through my cookery books...stew anyone?  

So on this note I feel completely ready after this busy summer to create an autumnal, cosy hide-away, for me to hibernate throughout the colder months. Now how do I do this?  I think the key words are, Cosy, Warm and Luxurious.  Think velvet, cashmere and candle light.  Here are my inspirations for my seasonal overhaul...

These muted tones are just gorgeous.  I love the soft greys and blues against the peachy tones of the blinds.  The furniture is simple, but the fabric choice is luxurious.  

I just love the simplicity of these curtains, with a simple tie-back detail.  Autumn is a great excuse to add some berry tones to a room.  The berry cushions in this neutral backdrop really adds a warm feel.  Remember to accessorise to create a new look, there is no need to get the paint brush out.  

Nothing screams winter hibernation more than a roaring fire.  A wood burning fire works so well in any home style, but this country cottage room just makes me want to snuggle up in that chair until spring!

Pure decadence!  The darker tones in this room makes it so inviting, and the candle light is a pre-requiste for any autumnal space. 

The mixture of fabrics and muted tones in this room are divine.  We love the beaded throw on the sofa, very elegant.

Our online boutique has ventured in to Autumn today.  Check out our new collection of accessories to cheer you up when the nights draw in...

Shop HERE

Back to School

We are in the last few days of August and that only means one thing to me...back to school!  Even though my school days are long behind me I still have that 'new start' feeling as September approaches.  New collections, new season, new you?  Anyway I digress...

My little nephew starts his very first school next week at the grand old age of four, *collective arghhhh*, so as all the little ones start their new school year (and new schools for that matter) with shiny new back packs and lots of funky stationary, here at Butterfly Lane we have found the coolest and most fun accessories for your mini scholars, from lunch boxes to pencil cases.  All you mummy and daddy's out there still have one week left to get organised...so we hope this helps a little bit!   

The coolest satchel of them all.  Perfect to carry books, papers and a lunch box.  We want one too! 

£45 from Graham & Green

The girliest pencil case ever.  They come in a rainbow of colours and are the perfect little accessory for your little fashionistas.  We think they are well worth shipping in from the USA.

MochiThings, $20

Bring a sense of geography to your little ones accessories with this oh so stylish 'European Sights' pencil case.  It'll be hard to decide what colour to choose!  

£10 from Blueberry Park

This bright and breezy desk tidy will make homework time so much more fun...and organised!  

£25 from John Lewis

Owls are the bird du jour so look at our grown up owls for grown up studies, here.  

Nothing makes school work more bearable than a funky pen.  This little floral beauty comes in blue and yellow too, why not collect the set.  We love!

£4.50 from John Lewis


















Hope all you little ones have a stylish and fun school year!  As my mum used to say when she dropped my brother and I off at school...''learn a lot!!!''

If all you parents need to redecorate after a crazy summer break or you are just at a loose end now that the kids are occupied in school, look at our new online boutique.  

Love: SheerLuxe

I make no secret that I'm a digital kind of girl, scouring the web for inspiration, new finds and information.  So I love it when I find a site that amalgamates everything I need in to one location, and no one does it better than SheerLuxe.com.  I have used this handy and oh so fashionable website for years.  I would be positively gleeful when I received an e-newletter from them when I worked my 9-5pm office job, giving me a little excuse to procrastinate and wander through their digital world of high fashion, fabulous interiors and beauty advice, from the very best of  what the World Wide Web has to offer.  That's right, SheerLuxe is different as it only showcases things that are available to buy online.  So these dream like products are only a few clicks away!  

SheerLuxe Homepage

I am an online shopping-oholic, I love the convenience of shopping in my pyjamas, browsing everything I need to buy from the comfort my sofa with the dog snuggled on my knee.  It's easy, reliable and adds a perk to your day when a parcel is delivered to your home or office.  It's like receiving a gift - bought and paid for by yourself but hey ho, a 3-5 day delivery time can erase that part from your memory.  

I admit it, I am bias about this online shopping malarky, I have worked in the business for years and now own my very own online boutique.  But this 'insider knowledge' has made me quickly aware of what makes a bad 'online' experience, and therefore I feel I am allowed to gloat about SheerLuxe and its usability...and above all the gorgeous products it showcases that makes my Mastercard twitch inside my purse.  

There is so much to SheerLuxe but I would recommend the following:  

• Their blogs.  I love reading new blogs and SheerLuxe have every corner covered, from beauty, fashion and recipes, pop this on your 'Must Read' list.  

• I make a point of looking through their Hot Products as they always seem to stumble upon something fabulous and new.  

• Everyone loves a bargain so check out their offers page for discounts in lots of lovely online boutiques. 

I hope I have let you in to a little online secret.  Happy browsing!

Everyday Opulence

I am constantly inspired by understated and simple interior design, however I am also constantly drawn in to the opposite end of the spectrum with opulent, extravagant and lavish design (my alter ego you could say!).  Surely, both of these styles can work together in unison, and I'm a firm believer that they can, and I call it Everyday Opulence.  This look is not ostentatious, lets just say...plush!   

To create Everyday Opulence Butterfly Lane would suggest the following 10 must haves:

1.  Velvet

2.  Glassware

3.  A lighting scheme using lamps and candlelight

4.  Textured and detailed cushions

5.  A little bit of sparkle

6.  Pearls

7.  Fresh flowers 

8.  Shimmering fabrics 

9.  Fanciful accessories

10.  A chandelier.

Creating sumptuous interiors is all about accessorising and here at Butterfly Lane we have some fabulous accessories that will turn your home in to a luxuriant and palatial hide-away!  Here are some of our favourites...

View our Candle Holder collection

Opulent Jewelled Napkin Rings

Gorgeous Sparkling Photo Frame

Glass Etched Decanter 

Glass Trinket Jar

Every room in your home can have an opulent feel, and my no means least should be the bathroom.  Below are some gorgeous examples of how bathrooms can look luxurious...remember the glassware and the obliquity chandelier.  

I am usually a strict neutral lover, and nothing else will do.  I do feel that vivid colour can create an overpowering look.  However, these images below are just beautiful and the sharp accents of colour add to the opulent and regal feel.

Purple Accents

Green Accents

Everyday Opulence can be fashioned in any room in your home.  See below a stunning kitchen, with splendid chandelier, and bedroom with the most fabulous, luxurious and opulent bed!  

Have fun creating a palatial and plush home.

Remember to visit our new online boutique, Butterfly Lane, to find gorgeous home accessories to make your house a beautiful home full of Everyday Opulence!  

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Last of the Summer Soiree

So August bank holiday weekend is fast approaching, a weekend that symbolises, dare I say it...the end of summer!  So with this in mind I think we should embrace this extended weekend and enjoy some summertime living, even if the weather isn't up to scratch.  I'm thinking Pimms, sundresses and sombreros...erm, maybe we should leave the sombrero!  

Anyway with this in mind here are some gorgeous outdoor spaces to inspire you to create a summertime oasis of your very own.  

I just love fairy lights outside, they are festive, subtle and above all oh so elegant.  I have invested in some solar powered fairy lights this year that I have simply wrapped amongst the wall climbing plants and trees, so come nightfall they sparkle.  

The Butterfly Lane al fresco collection is just so chic (even if we say it ourselves!).  It looks like your most treasured crystal but in fact it's acrylic!  This collection can also be used for inside soirees throughout the rest of the year.  I like to get cost per use out of my purchases, so I know I'll be using the stunning salad bowl time and time again.  

View the full al fresco collection here

No party would be complete without the cocktail du jour, so here is a favourite at Butterfly Lane HQ, which was first discovered at The Booking Office at the St Pancras Renaissance.  I hope you enjoy it!  

The Champagne Cobbler:

1 slice of orange

1 lemon wedge

1 fresh, skinless, pineapple wedge

3/4 oz Maraschino liqueur

4 oz Champagne 

Muddle the fruit an Maraschino at the bottom of a bar glass.  Add ice and Champagne, stir gently and strain in to a Champagne flute.  Garnish with orange peel and serve.  Et voila!  

  

Anyway, here's hoping for a beautiful September so we can extend our summertime fun a bit longer.  

Remember to look at our new online boutique!  We hope you like it.  

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My Favourite Things: Helen Turkington

Here at Butterfly Lane we are big fans of interior designer Helen Turkington, her designs and style.  She is among one of the most influential and talented designers within the UK and Ireland.  Her name stands for a unique blend of sophistication and liveability, a sentiment that we just love at Butterfly Lane.

She has recently launched a beautiful paint collection, in stunningly subtle shades, that will blend and flow from one room to another.  "Developing and creating my own bespoke paint range was very exciting.  I've been working with paint for years so I used what I learnt to bring a range to my customers."

Here she picks her five favourite things from the new Butterfly Lane collection that will give your home the Helen Turkington seal of approval.

Perfume Bottles from £5.95

Grey Jars from £35

Jug £30

Owls from £14.95

View our glassware collection.  Prices from £5.95

Visit the new Butterfly Lane boutique here!

  

The Legacy Of Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel

Yesterday marked what would have been Coco Chanel's 129th birthday, despite dying in 1971 her legacy still lives on.  Coco was a pioneer in the world of fashion with a colourful and exuberant character.  Her iconic designs from the boucle jacket, the classic quilted bag and strings of pearls still remain relevant today and are wardrobe staples for many fashionistas.  She redefined how to dress women with classic and timeless designs and she was a firm believer in elegance...and of wearing perfume!  She left the world with a legacy of fabulous, wise and witty quotes which transcends generations, and here are a few of Butterfly Lane's favourites.  

"A girl should be two things:  classy and fabulous."

"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress, dress impeccably and they remember the woman."

"A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future."

"Some people think luxury is the opposite to poverty.  It is not.   It is the opposite to vulgarity."

"As long as you know men are like children, you know everything!"

"Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping it will turn in to a door."

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."

Here are some of our most favourite Chanel designs of late, which showcases how this classic brand is still relevant, fabulous and above all modern today.  

Classic cream design and the classic and oh so chic boucle jacket

Here at Butterfly Lane we are all about elegance and timeless design, so today we would like to bring some Chanel styling in to our interior design.  Below are some rooms that Coco herself would adore, all you'll need to do it pop on your box boucle jacket, have a spritz of Chanel No.5 and imagine an era of timeless sophistication.  Voila!  We're thinking a classic black and cream colour palette, pearl, luxurious accessories, and simple, classic designs, with of course copious amounts of Parisian chic.  

Classic, Parisian, black and cream palette...very Coco

Parisian, neutral and chic

Elegant and simple with a French charm

Classic furniture 

Elegant bathroom and dressing area

We hope Chanel will continue to give us aspirational and elegant designs to fill our lives with beauty.  Oh, how we love Chanel!

*Remember our online boutique is now open, so take a look at our gorgeous range of home accessories.  Click HERE to be transported to the Butterfly Lane Boutique.  

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Going For Gold

Wow, what a weekend of sport!  As London 2012 reaches its final week there have been gold medals presented here, there and everywhere for Team GB and here at Butterfly Lane we are almost bursting with pride.  

The Olympics have got me thinking about Gold.  As I am by no means an athlete (an hour spin class has me on the verge of collapse!), I will not be getting my gold bling my competing in Rio 2016!  But we all don't have to be in peak physical fitness and be an Olympic athlete to desire this colour.  

Gold accessories against a dark backdrop

In this very blog I rave on about timeless and classic interiors, but I have a hidden secret...I am a closeted glamourzon!  I just love the right hint of glitz and glamour, especially in my home...and in my jewellery collection!  Gold epitomises glamour to me, and here are a few inspirational images that showcases how gold can look effortlessly chic and not in the slightest way tacky.  

Warm Gold Accessories

Gold Accents 

Use gold mirrors to add some glitz to a room... 

This desk looks so stylish with hints of gold, and the red gives it and opulent and regal feel.  

Remember, there are lots of different shades of gold, from duller tones to more champagne shades, so you can find the right shade that works for you, and they all can work fabulously against a neutral background.  

Gold Inspired Mood Board

  

Just add the odd gold accessory along with lashings of sparkling glass and you'll create a glamourous and decadent space to be proud of. 

Let the interior design games commence...good luck!