SPRUCE UP FOR SPRING WITH ARGOS HOME

When I hear the word Argos, I bet I'm not alone when say I am immediately transported back to my childhood Christmases, where I would spends hours going through the catalogue, circling hundreds of 90s toys of dreams, such as Magic Copier, Mr Frosty and Baby All Gone. Fast forward the clock to 2010, when James and I moved into our first place together; a Victorian flat in Clapham, and we were buying seagrass drawers for our bathroom, one of those floor lamps with the paper shade, and for me, a Wahl PowerPik hairdryer (anyone with Afro hair knows that one of these is basically life).

Beyond this, I had never considered Argos to be a go to for our first proper grown up home. Not because I felt that there was anything wrong with their home products, it's more that I didn't realise that they fitted so perfectly with my decor aesthetic. Nor did I realise that they supply brands such as Sainsbury's Home, Hygena and Habitat and if, like me, you're tight for time and can't get to the store, (poor Sienna gets blamed for this a lot of the time), you can buy online and have it delivered to your door, or if you prefer, you can also do click and collect. The joys of the 21st Century!

Argos Home gave me the opportunity to spruce up my home with some products from their website. Being the 'Monica' that I am, I really loved that their homeware is organised into four ranges for ease of finding your perfect look for your home:

Pictures from Argos Home.

Serenity: for those who love chic pastels;

Infusion: think global vibes that wouldn't look out of place in a Moroccan boutique hotel;

Beach House: do NOT think dated stripes and rubber rings- this is calming and modern;

Inhabit: Scandi, wood, midcentury and industrial- anyone that knows me or my Instagram feed well, will have put money on this range being my favourite and they wouldn't have been wrong; I picked all my items from here.

I decided to give my kitchen and guest bedroom a spruce up for spring from the Inhabit range, here's the lowdown on what I picked and my thoughts on it all...

Kitchen:

You recognise the view, but probably not the gorgeous accessories. 

When I revamped my kitchen last summer, something I was desperate to do was to rip out a whole wall of cupboards, as I really wanted to use a scaffold board to make an open shelf to display items that I like and use. Anyone who takes photos of their kitchen and shares them on Instagram knows that chopping boards are probably going to make it into 99% of your shelfie pics. Be honest, how many of them did you buy just for decor purposes?! This Prestige board and Collection Salisbury butcher's block are not only practical for purpose, they are also really beautiful and tick all the modern rustic boxes. These marble jars, are not only really solid and massively on trend, they are also a simple and subtle way to effortlessly style in your kitchen. What's more, they come in a set of three, which is the magic number for styling!

Gorgeous and fresh, the chopping boards and marble jars give a much needed lift to your kitchen.

When the opportunity to collab with Argos Home came about, I promised myself not to get sucked in to crockery sets because of storage space (especially since I did away with the cupboards), but it was totally impossible to resist this 16 piece Heart of Home stoneware dinner set. When they arrived, the first thing I noticed was the quality- they are all so sturdy and solid, and appear a lot more expensive than the £34.99 price tag. Then surprisingly, secondary to this, I was struck by the look of them: if you love earthenware, these have your name on them. They are glazed, so are more durable as they won't scratch and the grey detail paired with the mottled speckles on the surfaces of the bowls, plates and insides of the mugs are ideal for both modern and more traditional kitchens. They also make everything I put in them look ten times more delicious, which is never a bad thing in my eyes; saves a fortune on dinner parties when your guests don't notice that you've served them beans on toast as they're too busy ogling up the plates.

Just an ordinary Thai beef salad, but look how yummy it looks on those plates..!

Check out all the kitchen and dining products from the Inhabit range here.

Guest bedroom:

Even though my guest bedroom was, once upon a time, the most popular room on my Instagram, I felt it needed a change to make my whole house flow better and to also feel fresh for spring. The Inhabit range was the perfect opportunity to give it a more grown up Scandi look. A couple of weeks ago, in front of some Saturday night TV, James and I assembled the Hygena Skanda ladder shelf, and while it is in the Inhabit living room section, testament to its versatility, I think it looks amazing in my guest bedroom, and I am a fan of the endless options you have for styling. Personally, I like the contrast of old and new so vintage books and pops of fresh green for spring compliment each other really well and is a great way to break up the monochrome.

These shelves give you the perfect excuse to faff to your heart's content.

The pièce de résistance for me has to be this Kenji double bed. The statement fabric headboard takes away the need for a bit of art above the bed and is so effortlessly classy, it was love at first sight when I unwrapped it. In fact, I was so desperate to see it erected (clean that filthy image from your mind. Now.), I did it all on my lonesome (obvi this is a two person job, so grab a friend if you're doing it yourself). I wasn't disappointed, and with this soft and textured Seersucker bedding set and herringbone throw on it, it really is such stuff as dreams are made on. Literally.

Add texture with this bedding and throw.

For accessories, I am a massive fan of these Heart of House Origami cushions, as I've never seen anything like them on the high street, especially for £11.99 each. They look like they've come from a Danish design shop, and the grey matches the bed perfectly, and will look great in a living room too. When it came to this gorgeous Habitat Begera basket, my childhood nostalgia kicked in for the brand and I'm so happy that Argos Home stock a huge range of their products. The grown up me, however, loves that it makes for fab storage and brings together the wood accents on the bed and shelf, drawing the eye around the room which gives a sense of cohesion. I am slightly jealous that this isn't my bedroom, but James and I, who don't get out as much as we'd like, will definitely be going on holiday to the other side of the landing from time to time.

I am disproportionately in love with these Origami cushions.

This basket adds a pop of warmth and colour to the bedroom, it's also really practical too, due to its size.

Click here to see the whole Inhabit bedroom range.

It's sometimes hard to fully express in writing but I have honestly been really impressed with the range and quality of products and tastes Argos home caters for. You should definitely make it one of your go to places for your home, or, if you're like me, when you're browsing for decor inspo, take a look on their website to see if there's anything that whets your interiors appetite!

This blog post was sponsored by Argos Home. The words and opinions are my own and I would never receive payment for anything that I didn't like or wouldn't buy myself.

HOW TO MAKE A STATEMENT IN THE BEDROOM.

For those hoping this is some kind of Fifty Shades guide, you may as well stop reading now. For those whose mind is cleaner than a kitchen that's had the full Kim and Aggie (remember them?!) treatment, read on!

If you're not after S&M tips, read on to see how I got my guest bedroom looking sexy.

We've lived here for just over three years and while the whole house has been nothing but a work in progress, one room I've never gelled with was one of our guest bedrooms. Why? Because of the brown laminate, which I think should be banished to Room 101 for the rest of its days (but that's another story), and the dodgy built in laminate wardrobe. Together, it was very soulless and bland and if it was a person, it would be Nigel in Accounts, head to toe in beige. No matter what I did to it (and believe me, it's had more transformations than Madonna), I still wasn't 100% happy with it.

I gave them all a good go, but none of these looks were hitting the spot for me.

If you've followed me on my Instagram for some time, you'll know that I've tried calm and grey Scandi, botanical bedding, and neon colour pops, but none of those looks made me say 'YES!' and I realised that it wasn't because of the accessories in the room, as they all look fab elsewhere, but because of the room itself.

White walls, cream laminate wardrobe, brown laminate floor- the combo of nightmares...

So here's what I did to make my room less drab, more fab and packing a personality, and more importantly, keeping the costs lower than the bar at the Limbo Championship Finals. Oh dear.

PAINT EVERYTHING:

You heard me. Paint. Everything. Paint the floor, walls and wardobes. Don't stop there! Paint the plug sockets, light switches, radiator and paint it all in the same colour for a smart finish.  I won't bore you again with how I did my floors, as you can read about that here and I painted my wardrobes using exactly the same method I used when I painted my kitchen cupboards, the only difference was that I used Estate Emulsion, not Eggshell this time (thankfully, I had some of this leftover, as I used it on my radiator, after priming. And turning it off, obvs.).

The difference a lick of paint can make. Have a look at the plug socket behind too- just prime, then paint!

As my wardrobes have mirrors on them, I taped the edges, so that the primer and paint didn't go near them and I used my trusty 'leftover Carling cans that I couldn't shift at a family BBQ' method when painting the doors to elevate them so that I could paint the edges with a smooth finish, as you definitely don't want any excess paint gathering, unless you don't care if your doors stick together/ or not close cleanly. I didn't paint the insides of the doors and drawers, simply because I felt they didn't need it as they're hardly going to be on display like they are in the kitchen, and they're in a pale brown laminate, that isn't too offensive to view when I'm trying to get a jumper from there.

I should have shares in Frog Tape. Walls and wardrobes all prepped and ready to paint!

I was deliberating for ages, and dragged loads of you in to vote on my Stories over Hague Blue and Railings (Hague Blue won every time, FYI), but my gut kept going back to the rich, deep tones of Railings. I know it's hardly revolutionary, as you can't move on Instagram for the colour, but I wasn't quite looking for the obvious bluey tones of Hague Blue.

I put a test patch of Hague Blue, Railings and Downpipe on all walls, to see how they reacted with the light.

For those who the prospect of going to the dark side would be like taking your favourite white shirt and cooking a curry in it with no apron, or those who feel that rooms will be sucked in, fear not! Dark colours add personality where there is none, and enhance personality in spaces which have period features. This is massively cost effective as you'll need to buy more home accessories to do the work for you, rather than just getting a pot of paint and working with what you currently have. I also read in one of my interiors magazines, that darker colours, in fact, draw the eye AWAY, so won't suck the space in, but of course I wouldn't recommend doing this in a room with no windows, otherwise you'll feel like you're in solitary confinement...

The bed pops and the eye is taken away with the dark walls. 'Completely Devoted' print from SooUK. Tasseled hand woven cushion from Shiv Martin Textiles.

I found that by putting a test patch on all walls and seeing how the light makes the colours appear, it gives you a good idea of what it'll look like when it's everywhere. Painting the floors white also offsets the walls beautifully, so think of other ways you can bring light into your space, as it doesn't always have to be the walls doing all the work.

White out: before the dark walls happened.

COMFORT IS KEY:

Just because you don't sleep in your guest bedroom (unless you're in the dog house, obvs), it doesn't mean you put comfort on the back burner. As I'd painted such a dark colour, I had to consider how I'd want to feel if I was to sleep in there as a guest, and cosy was one of them. I added throws, sheepskins and also a feather JuJu hat from Mink Interiors to the wall to add texture.

Styling and accessorizing- my fave part of a makeover. Hand painted and distressed Mason jar from Wendy at All That Jarz.

I was beginning to hate the bed that we picked up for a song in the Dreams sale in 2015, as it just looked so 'meh' against the white wall. Now, it pops against the dark wall and to make it even better, the lovely people at Emma Mattress got in touch to send me a mattress for the bed. Well, lucky guests, I say!! Firstly, seeing the mattress come out of its rolled vacuum pack, was more satisfying than it should have been, watching it expand slowly and come to life. I slept on it a couple of nights ago, and it honestly felt like I was sleeping on a firm marshmallow in a boutique hotel, thanks to the supportive memory foam, made up of four layers and if you're prone to overheating at night, the top layer of the mattress will regulate humidity. If that's not already sounding bloomin' marvellous, Emma Mattress give you an 100 night trial and if you're not happy, they'll come and collect it for free and you'll receive a full refund. While that's fantastic, I doubt you'll need to send yours back, especially with a 10 year guarantee and free delivery- what perks! Use the code NEST100 for £100 off a single, double or king Emma Mattress, the code is valid until April 30th 2018.

How the Emma Mattress is made up. Pic from Emma website.

USE YOUR ASSETS:

Whenever I give any room in my house a lift, I always make the most of what I have already, the most obvious reason is that it's a great cost cutting exercise. I love repurposing items, at the moment, I'm all for using old books as decor, they make fab platforms for small plants and trinkets. I also love using scaffold boards for floor boards to balance accessories on, I pick them up for free from my local scaffold yard.

Add interest by repurposing items.

I've used this industrial stool from Swoon Editions as a side table, and styled it with a gorgeous stone planter from Mizzle and Haze and faux eucalyptus from Fox Flower Shop and upcycled an old lamp from my parents with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey.

Beautiful chalky greys offset perfectly against the dark wall. 

And yes, you probably recognise THAT rug from La Redoute that went practically viral on Instagram, that used to be in my living room, but adds some coziness up here instead to break up the white floor. Let's not forget that there's nothing crisp white bedding, like this double set gifted to me from Dreamon UK.

I wish this was my actual bedroom now!

If you're planning a room makeover, my top tips are to be brave with colour, be cost effective and think of three adjectives to describe how you want your space to be, and go for it!! Enjoy some more detailed photos, before and after pics and links of where I got some of the fab products from my guest bedroom below!

Wardrobes and floor before...

And after. Gorgeous vintage shop sign from my equally gorgeous Instabuddy, Becca @malmo_and_moss

Bedroom before.

Bedroom after.

I was going to replace the blingy door knobs, but I quite like them now the wardrobes have had a makeover. Vintage beetroot print from Ink & Drop. Hamlet quote print from Bespoke Verse.

Belly basket from Sunshine and Shade and fiddle leaf fig from Root Houseplants.

Texture and details- can you tell I've got a new phone?

This blog post was sponsored by Emma Mattress, the opinions are my own, as of course, I would never receive payment for a product that I didn't actually like or wouldn't buy myself.