Decor 101

Today I’m sharing the second leg of my recent 12-day road trip around northern Spain with my friend Becky: the beautiful province of La Rioja, just over an hour’s drive south of our starting point Bilbao on the other side of the Sierra Cantabria mountain range. La Rioja is world-famous for its high-quality wines and contains three separate wine-making regions . The Rioja Alta lies on the Cantabrian slopes at the western end, with its altitude resulting in grapes that ripen late and therefore wines that age well. To the north-east is the Rioja Alavesa, part of which extends into the neighbouring Basque Country, while the Rioja Oriental sits in the province’s south-east and has a hotter, more Mediterranean climate. There are plenty of guided wine-themed day tours to La Rioja from Bilbao and San Sebastián, but it’s definitely worth staying for a few nights if you can. There’s a lot more to the province than wine, and as you travel around you’ll come across stunning landscapes, ...

Today is a big deal for me because it’s publication day for my first book, The Soft Minimalist Home – Calm, Cosy Decor for Real Lives and Spaces . It’s a dream come true – a moment that’s exciting, nerve-wracking and surreal all at the same time. I’ve always wanted to write a book, and specifically this book . Over 10 years of blogging and styling, I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of minimalist decor on our mood and wellbeing. But I’ve also found myself coming up against the same misconceptions – that minimalist spaces are stark, soulless and impractical – over and over again. With this book, I want to dispel those myths and introduce a more relaxed approach to minimalism – one that’s warm, inviting and highly liveable. In it, I visit 15 real homes around the UK and Europe, exploring how a diverse range of people have designed pared-back spaces that are as individual as they are. Throughout, I hope to show that minimalism does not necessarily mean living with less, but r...