Little Big Bell

09 Dec

How to style a festive Christmas table with M&S homewares.

How to style a festive Christmas table with M&S homewares.

This year I decided to celebrate Christmas with a festive room.

If you have been following me on here, you would have seen that it was originally a white room that was starting to look a bit run down and tired.

I started off by restoring my oak table with interior wax from Ronseal, and then giving the room a fresh lick of Frenchic paint. The final step in this room’s transformation, was the styling of my Christmas table, and I’ve decided to do this with the beautiful tableware collection from Marks & Spencer.

We always host a large family Christmas party in our home and it’s always a fun day.

I’ve decided to have a trial run for four here. Since the room is so colourful, I decided that the table should be simple.

Instead of using separate placemats, I’ve used 2 table runners on either side of my Christmas table. I didn’t want to use a table cloth as I wanted to show off my beautifully waxed table. I’ve gone for elegant white plates, plain white napkins and brass cutlery. The crockery is the 12 Piece Maxim Box dinner set from M&S. I used to go over the top with Winter foliage on my Christmas table, but I found that although beautiful, when we wanted to eat, we had to move everything away from the table.

This time I wanted decor that could stay on the table with the food.

I’ve decided to use some iconic centrepieces like paper Christmas trees, cute reindeers and a nutcracker. I’ve tried to keep the table decor harmonious with the painted wall.

So, I’ve used reds, yellows, greens and golds. I have also lit up the table with tea lights, candles and sparkly fairy lights. Don’t the lights make you feel so happy and cosy? To start, I would serve my guests some sparkly Prosecco.

How cute are these glasses from Marks & Spencer? When you have Prosecco, you need to snack on something right? I’ve used this Ash Wood Oblong Dip Platter to serve up some olives and nuts. In the background, I will burn a berry scented candle and play some soft soothing Christmas tunes.

That star serving dish is also by M&S. Here’s another view of my Christmas room with the painted pin board I created to put up my Christmas prints and cards. I love looking at the board. What do you think? Doesn’t the Christmas table look magical with a nutcracker? This beautiful white and gold Christmas crackers are also from Marks and Spencer. After the Christmas meal, we usually go for a lovely evening walk in the park. These festive mugs will come in handy for hot cocoa after the walk. Maybe, I should add a little tipple of brandy in as a treat? That Christmas art print is by Osotwee.

Hope you’ve enjoyed a little glimpse into our Christmas table and room.

How are your Christmas preparations coming along?

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

( All styling and photography are by Geraldine Tan, editor of Little Big Bell. This is a paid partnership with Marks and Spencer.)

04 Dec

My Eames walnut bird from Vitra.

My Eames walnut bird from Vitra.

For as long as I can remember, even before I started blogging, I’ve had a passion for all things Vitra.

As you can see, I have amassed quite a collection in one of my rooms at home.

Today, I really want to talk about the Eames bird from Vitra. As you can see in my Crittall style black metal cabinet, I have two of them.

I have had the black Eames bird on the right for many years.

One day, a painter in my house knocked the black bird off the table (accidentally) and a small part of its tail chipped off.

I was totally heartbroken. My husband swiftly superglued the piece back for me and it looked as new, but deep inside I knew it was no longer the same. When Vitra released the Eames walnut bird, my heart skipped a beat. I fell in love with it at first sight.

If you have never seen or handled an Eames bird before, then let me tell you that it is indeed a work of art.

I’m not sure how it is made, but that whole piece of wood is just so perfectly sculpted and smooth. It is so elegant.

Apparently, this wooden bird was one of Charles and Ray Eames’ most treasured objects, and it stood in the centre of their living room for more than 50 years.

If you are new to the Eames, then let me introduce you – They were an American couple who were designers of some of the most iconic architecture and design pieces. Here is my super stylish and comfortable lounge chair, also an Eames classic.

Vitra doesn’t just sell Eames products, but they also champion other designers, for instance, Alexander Girard. As you can see, alongside my Eames birds, I have quite a collection of Girard wooden dolls.

I love what these dolls depict. There is the tenderness of love and family in them.

There is also humour, for instance the doll with the feather on its head comes across as a joker, and makes me laugh. My cupboard directly faces the second floor hallway, and you can see it as you enter my front door.

I love having this view whenever I get home. Don’t you think my new walnut Eames bird is such a great addition to the collection? Doesn’t it look so cool next to the black one?

Can you also see that they really match my black and walnut Eames lounger? I really think this Eames walnut bird would make a great Christmas gift for a design lover.

Incidentally, my walnut bird is standing on another Eames design classic, the ‘Dot Pattern’ wool blanket. It’s another one of my treasured possessions, a Christmas gift I got last year.

Hope you have enjoyed this post, and seeing my design collection.

Hopefully, this has also given you some ideas for gifts. Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are.

I will be back soon with more festive posts.

( I have done all the styling and photography myself. The vitra walnut bird was a Christmas gift to me by Vitra. All opinions in this post are my own).

02 Dec

A painted Christmas mural wall with Frenchic Paint.

A painted Christmas mural wall with Frenchic Paint.

I’m excited to reveal the second instalment of my Christmas room preparation.

Last week I showed you how I restored my tired looking oak table ( photo above) back to its former glory with Ronseal Interior wax.

This week, I’ll be showing you what I’ve done to the walls of this room to create a festive feel.

I wanted to use something a little different to my usual pastel palette, a warm and festive Christmas mural.

I decided it should be a statement wall, but nothing over the top, something simple yet elegant. So here it is. The Christmas mural reveal! It’s a giant gift.

I decided to paint it a festive Flamenco Red using Frenchic paint. The Flamenco is from Frenchic’s Original collection that can also be applied to furniture.

What’s fabulous about this paint is that it’s a natural, chalk and mineral paint, that requires no stirring or addition of water. It is also toxin, solvent and VOC free with virtually no odour when applied.

It is a little different from my usual pastel colour palette isn’t it? However, I’m loving its warm comforting tone and it’s really getting me into the mood for Christmas. I also picked a muted minty green called Apple Of My Eye and a mustard tone called Hot As Mustard. They were both painted on as straight lines to create the ribbon effect on the red gift.

I love how the green and mustard contrast yet compliment so well against the Flamenco Red.

The Apple of my eye paint comes from Frenchic’s Al Fresco range. It’s a hard wearing chalk paint that can also be used outdoors and for garden furniture.

The Hot As Mustard paint is from Frenchic’s New & Improved Lazy range. It is chalk paint with a wax infusion that is self priming, self levelling and self sealing with no odour. I also made this gigantic gift rosette out of left over yellow wrapping paper. I was rather pleased with the end result. What do you think?

It was so fun to think up the whole concept. I have also used Frenchic’s Hot As Mustard paint to create a pin board effect on the adjacent wall. I wanted a striking colour to show off my new Christmas prints and cards. The Christmas print at the far end is by Katie of OSO TWEE. I love how she has set out the print and the font style used. In fact, the red perfectly matches my Flamenco red wall don’t you think?

The Noel Noel print is by my talented insta friend Gayle Mansfield Designs. I never tire of a red and pink combination.

The pretty Amaretti tin print is by another one of my favourite artists, that is the super talented Holly Maguire.

Can you spot that super cute “Dachshund through the snow” art print? It’s by my friend and watercolour expert Emma Block. I just adore her work so much.

Last, but no least is my bespoke neon art print created by Maria at House of neon. Isn’t it wonderful? Certainly a great and affordable way of getting an on trend neon sign on your wall right? A great Christmas gift idea too.

Anyway, I just wanted to mention these lovely ladies for coming to my rescue, as I needed something special to decorate my beautiful Frenchic painted wall with. I absolutely love using Frenchic paints. It goes on so easily and the paint coating and finish is just wonderful. You should get some samples to try out. Once tried, I can guarantee that you will become a loyal fan of their paints.

Anyway, now that you have seen the table and walls, the final post will be everything coming together in my Christmas table styling.

Can’t wait to show you.

Hope you have enjoyed seeing my Christmas mural. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

( All photography, concept and styling are by Little Big Bell. This is a paid partnership post with Frenchic.)

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