Decorating with wood

I have to be super quick this morn as off to a meeting the other side of town. Even though we are in the midst of winter – a very mild one in England I have to say, cozying up the house for the evening is one of my favourite pre supper things to do. Pj’s or loungey clothes on- check, music on check, candles to light indoors and out, a quick trip down the end of the garden to empty the food bin in the compost, feed the birds and gather firewood and then the fire to prepare.

The thing I hate most about the warmer months and don’t take this the wrong way I love the warmer months is no fire. No crackling, smouldering wood in the grate gently scenting the house with wood smoke – my most favourite ever smell. Sometimes I wait a little bit and not turn the music on so the only sound I here as I’m pottering around the kitchen is that of the fire (well in my dreams). The two M’s have crazy hour most days – a pre supper romp at speed (actually only lasting abut 20 mins) that entails zooming around the island, barking and going bonkers. Toys get thrown all over the place, rugs get pulled up, furniture jumped upon but sometimes just occasionally they forget its nearly suppertime and lay snoring on the sofa. Then all is quiet other than the fire crackling away and me tip toeing around the kitchen.

TV is never on until late and never as background noise, ever, can’t stand, not even in the morning. TV’s for me at least are for the later part of the evening the snuggling down watching a movie or The Good Wife which I am currently ever so into!

I digress, my apologises. I wanted to talk about the impact of fires or more specifically of logs in rooms. If you are lucky enough to have fireplaces like me nothing beats piles of logs stacked up in baskets or on the hearth ready to burn. It’s that rustic vibe I think that is so tantalising especially when like here it’s combined with not a country feel but an urban glamorous one. Logs are fab for stacking in alcoves you can even build a fake fireplace and stack in there as I did on a TV show a while back. This sounds weird I know but stay with me on this – the more tension you create in a room (juxtaposing say a basket of logs next to a velvet sofa) the more interesting the space becomes. Its not so much the partnering of the inexpensive next to the high end it’s more that interplay of contrasting textures – they create magic. If you don’t have fireplaces working or otherwise, then maybe think about adding some sort of wicker /hessian baskets. Or maybe panel a wall with wood like I have done in my bedroom. It’s all about creating an interplay of tension, which I should say is only ever good in interiors and not for the record in relationships!