Our US road trip was certainly a trip of extremes. From the starkly varying landscapes as we swept through the west coast to the hugely divergent experiences in each city we visited and each hotel, tipi, cabin, wigwam or motel we stayed in, no two days were the same, if even remotely similar.
After leaving the cosy cabin-esque lodgings of Redwood Croft, we continued on our glorious route over the cliffs of route 1, looking out on the vast, blue pacific ocean. We stopped to stock up on fruit and veg for a picnic lunch at a little stand by the side of the road where apparently Marilyn Monroe is the artichoke spokeswoman!
About three quarters of the way to San Luis Obispo, where we were headed, we saw a sign for an elephant seal beach. Of course we pulled over (how could we not?) not realising at the time how lucky we were, as these amazing creatures only inhabit that little rookery at limited times of the year.
After stopping for an elephant seal photo opp, and watching them sand themselves (I have no idea what they were doing, but it looked awesome, they basically periodically dramatically threw sand all over themselves with their flippers), fighting, barking, splashing and (I think) cuddling, we drove on to our final destination for the day: The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo.
My cousin initially recommended The Madonna Inn to me when I was researching for this trip and wanted to find some vintage-inspired, OTT luxury lodgings. Contrary to my initial belief, The Madonna Inn is not named after the iconic pop star, but after its founder, Alex Madonna.
The minute we drove up, it looked very promising. I mean, look at it! I had booked the Fabulous Fifties room (of course) but the hotel is so much more than just themed rooms. No detail is spared, even the lampposts are painted pastel pink.
The Fabulous Fifties room is basically like the interior of my brain. Painted baby blue brick wall, pastel pink furnishings, vintage-style furnishings and some gloriously gaudy animal prints – let’s just say I was completely at home!
Even though we’re both vegetarians, we decided to visit the legendary steak house. Not because of the food, you understand, because of the spectacular décor. To be honest, it’s so cluttered it has the potential to be an interior design nightmare, but somehow it’s so bold and such a statement that it just works – the atmosphere is incredible. Twinkling fairy lights, gilded angel statues, well, gilded everything… we overlooked the fact that there wasn’t very much for us on the menu and just took it all in.
We didn’t visit the spa this time (hey, we’re not made of money… one day!) but we did get to sample delicious complementary cookies from the bakery as a welcome gift and the free toiletries were among the best I’ve used, complete with the trademark Madonna Inn branding – and I do love consistency.
While we were there, John and I took the opportunity to use the perfect colour palette of the room as a background for some quick press shots for Darling Lovely Life. Getting ready at a proper dressing table was just another excuse to linger there.
We left a lot later than we intended to, I wanted to take in every moment of the surroundings I loved so much. Eventually, and very reluctantly, I packed up my suitcase and we headed back on the road towards the mountainous Sequoia National Park.
On the next instalment, we leave luxury behind in favour of a remote cabin in the woods where we sleep among the bears (eek) and meet the biggest tree in the world! See you then!
This is a short and sweet interiors piece! The reason for that is that we have a teeny tiny bathroom. In the coming months I’ll be showing you some epic bathroom pretty – copper tubs, distressed floors, accessories to die for – but today I’ll be telling you all about how to make the most of a little space.
The first thing you can change is the tiles. I bought my bathroom tiles from notonthehighstreet.com – they’re from seller Welbeck tiles but there’s a huge selection on the site if these ones don’t suit your scheme.
The second thing I would suggest is getting a large mirror. Nothing creates the illusion of space like a mirror. I bought this baby on sale for £15 at TK Maxx. It has a little shelf which is great for storage (as long as you don’t put anything too heavy on it).
Another way to make a room seem bigger is to have light floors. Our house isn’t particularly spacious, so we have white floorboards. Not only do they create great lines that give the illusion of length, but they reflect light back into the room and make spaces seem airy and roomy.
An easy way to give character to a small space is through accessories – adorable bins, cute toilet roll holders, even a new toilet seat. Our shower curtain was from M&S a couple of years ago. While they don’t sell it any more, there are plenty like it on the market. This beauty from Sainsbury’s is just £10!
Wall plaques and tin pictures that won’t get damaged in a bathroom can really brighten up little rooms. One other way to accessorise and save space is to put your bubble baths and shampoos into clean crystal decanters. That means you can stock up without having to store extra stuff. Perfect!
Recently, we decided to put our savings into remodelling and decorating our home. We plan to be here a long time and for this house to really be a little nest for us. However, redecorating an entire house is a daunting project. We weren’t sure how to go about it and so decided to take things room by room.
Working from home full time and especially in a job where feeling fabulous is part of the job description, it’s important that I have a real space in which to get things done, and not just a small desk in a corner somewhere or slouched in front of the TV. I had seen a few pictures on Pinterest and in Pearl Lowe’s Vintage Craft book of little offices in wardrobes, and really fell in love with the concept of having a small, enclosed space that could hold lots of pretty decorations and be neatly packed away at night if extra guests need a place to sleep.
How I designed my vintage office
Wallpaper
This wallpaper was a bargain £10 per roll from Wallpaper Direct and brings a really pretty, floral focus to the feature wall behind my desk.
Wardrobe office
I bought my wardrobe for about £20 on eBay. We took several days to sand and paint it in Javan Dawn 1 (Homebase paint) and brilliant white. Initially, the wardrobe and bureaus we bought looked like this:
Bureau
My pretty pink writing bureau was just £10 from eBay. John and I fixed the foot, which had a slight crack in it, sanded it and painted it a pale pink (check back in a couple of days for a feature on how to paint furniture).
Phone
This pretty pink rotary phone is by Steepletone and is available from many online retailers. It’s the same model that’s winging its way to our recent competition winner!
Typewriter
My turquoise typewriter was about £25 on eBay. It is decorative but apparently does work when spruced up!
Flooring
The flooring in my office (and throughout the house) is soft wood floorboards painted with several coats of hard-wearing floor paint and sealant.
Lace panel
This lace panel was £10 from eBay. I chose black lace to give the room a slight gothic edge to counteract all the pink!
Chairs
My spinning office chair was my one extravagant expense shipped from America. You can buy it online from Pottery Barn Teen (it’s the Ooh La La swivel chair), but be warned, the shipping costs more than the chair itself! The corner chair was a plain white chair before I went at it with Decopatch decoupage patches from Hobbycraft! Now it’s a patchwork floral chair that matches the rest of the room!
Decorations
I decorated the room with pictures, oil paintings in gilded frames, beautiful and inspirational pictures and photographs of my friends and family. My calender is a vintage cats calender that my lovely friend Heather gave me for my birthday (she knows me well).
And that’s Darling Lovely Life HQ – where the magic happens every day! As they say, it might not be much, but it’s mine! Check back in a fortnight for our second interiors instalment where I give you a sneak peek into my vintage-inspired bathroom!
