25 Beautiful Homes January 2016

A new year is approaching and all we have between now and the beginning of 2016 is the festive period. Once my son’s birthday has passed, on 14 December, I really start to get into the swing of it, from the office Christmas party – Secret Santa present still to be bought – to Christmas Eve in the village with carol singing. I’m not one to rush off to the shops on Boxing Day as it’s my ideal time to sit and do as little as possible, and eat as many turkey sandwiches as I can manage. Then New Year’s Eve will come with a bang! I’m slightly dreading the thought that the children will be needing a taxi service – a definite downside of living in the country when it…

1 LEADING LIGHT Rascal table lamp, £85, Fishpools 2 CUTE CRITTER Billy the Cat wash bag, £14, Not Before Tea 3 HIGH SPIRITS Whisky Arran decanter with walnut base, £85, LSA International 4 WRITE ON… Ingenuity ink pen in white/gold, £153, Parker 5 ROSE TINTED Barista & Co copper eight-cup cafetière, £44, Lakeland 6 NEW SHOOTS Plantini mini planthouse metal flat-pack kit, £25, another-studio.com 7 LEND A HAND Bronze palm dish, £295, Luxdeco 8 GLOBAL APPEAL Armillary decorative sphere, £30, Marks & Spencer 9 TREASURE TROVE Green jewellery box, £140, Nina Campbell 10 COOL CURVES Tom Dixon plum glass & copper ice bucket, £200, John Lewis…

1 RETHINK PINK Ascaso Strawberry dream versatile coffee machine, £500, Debenhams 2 SWEET TREATS Il Massimo hamper, £65, Carluccio’s 3 STELLAR SAVING Robot money box, £12, Debenhams 4 EYE SPY Polaroid Cube HD action camera, £79, Currys 5 ROLL WITH IT Superball storage container in turquoise powder-coated steel, £55, Wesco 6 INTO THE GROOVE Crosley Cruiser turntable, £90, Amazon 7 PAST, PRESENT, PERFECT Record player tin, £25, The Contemporary Home 8 POWER PLAY Retro racing car, £39, Halfords 9 ON SONG Pure Pop Midi DAB radio, £90, John Lewis 10 SPOIL YOURSELF Pomegranate, argan and grapeseed fragrance trio, £36, Crabtree & Evelyn…

A new year is approaching and all we have between now and the beginning of 2016 is the festive period. Once my son’s birthday has passed, on 14 December, I really start to get into the swing of it, from the office Christmas party – Secret Santa present still to be bought – to Christmas Eve in the village with carol singing. I’m not one to rush off to the shops on Boxing Day as it’s my ideal time to sit and do as little as possible, and eat as many turkey sandwiches as I can manage. Then New Year’s Eve will come with a bang! I’m slightly dreading the thought that the children will be needing a taxi service – a definite downside of living in the country when…

FAUX-PINE GARLAND This Christmas, I would like to invest in a good-quality faux-pine garland, and I wonder if you can recommend any that have a particularly realistic look? TANYA HOLLINGSWORTH, BRIGHTON I’m a big fan of a garland, as you can do so much with one, from decorating the mantelpiece, embellishing a staircase or front door, or running them along a console table as a decoration, as nicely illustrated with this lovely version, pictured, by Rockett St George (01444 253391, rockettstgeorge.co.uk), measuring 190cm and costing £24. John Lewis (03456 049049, johnlewis.com) has a few different options, the most luxurious – and realistic – being its Fern and Pine Cone garland, 180cm, £45. JENNY LIND-STYLE BED My daughter is moving out of her cot into a single bed and I have fallen in love with…

1 LEADING LIGHT Rascal table lamp, £85, Fishpools 2 CUTE CRITTER Billy the Cat wash bag, £14, Not Before Tea 3 HIGH SPIRITS Whisky Arran decanter with walnut base, £85, LSA International 4 WRITE ON… Ingenuity ink pen in white/gold, £153, Parker 5 ROSE TINTED Barista & Co copper eight-cup cafetière, £44, Lakeland 6 NEW SHOOTS Plantini mini planthouse metal flat-pack kit, £25, another-studio.com 7 LEND A HAND Bronze palm dish, £295, Luxdeco 8 GLOBAL APPEAL Armillary decorative sphere, £30, Marks & Spencer 9 TREASURE TROVE Green jewellery box, £140, Nina Campbell 10 COOL CURVES Tom Dixon plum glass & copper ice bucket, £200, John Lewis…