Rituals | Closing the Front Door

Photograph by Elizabeth Doupnik @homeinthehemlocks

Coming home is always lovely, but taking a moment to truly appreciate it can make shutting the door on life outside one of the day’s simple pleasures

On autumn evenings, when it’s dark early, and particularly on days when the wind is up and squally showers are about, there’s nothing like the feeling of stepping inside your hallway and closing the door on the world. 

Plenty of us take five minutes to do some stretches or a meditation in the morning, or to say a prayer or write in a gratitude journal last thing at night. Maybe you even make the most of your lunchbreak by taking a moment in the garden or reading a book… We think That Moment When You Close The Front Door should be one of those milestone moments in a day, too. 

Perhaps you’ve just returned from a long day at work? Maybe you only went out for a run or took the dog for a walk? But when you get home there’s nothing like stepping into the warm and kicking off your shoes, is there? It’s a bit like the moment you get into clean sheets, or take off an uncomfortable bra and fling it in the laundry (if you know, you know). So why let that moment fade and plunge headlong back into your day? 

Before you shout ‘hellooo?’, start unloading the dishwasher or rummaging in the freezer, take a moment to take a deep breath and welcome yourself home properly. We’re all guilty of forgetting sometimes what a privilege it is to have a roof over our heads; this is your opportunity each day to thank yourself for that. 

Take off your coat and shoes, put them away carefully and reach for something more comfortable for your feet. Put on the lights in the nearby rooms. No, not the overhead ones - the ‘good’ lights; the ones that glow gently in the corners. Then draw the curtains so you’re cocooned in your own kingdom. 

Have a ‘shutting the front door ritual’. Light a scented candle if you like or spritz the room with something warming and autumnal and sit down. If space allows, no hallway should be without a Comfy Chair but if not, step into the next room or even just sit on the bottom stairs. Maybe put some gentle music on and spend a few minutes just decompressing or reading a chapter of a book to get you back into ‘home mode’. You could spend it stroking a pet - as long as they’re not going to harrass you to be fed immediately. Whatever you do, don’t make to-do lists in your head or think about the evening’s chores just yet; there’s plenty of time. 

The front door is closed, the world is shut out, you are mistress of your own kingdom. Welcome home, again. 

If you’d like more inspiration for making your hallway a welcoming place, don’t miss our ‘My Place’ pages in our October issue, which this month is on hallways, and includes this lovely space belonging to Elizabeth Doupnik.

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Ways to spend time in a window seat

A window seat is at the top of our home nook swishlist. Here are a few ways to make the most of yours if you’re lucky enough to have one.

1. Take tea in it. Proper china, mind. In fact, you probably want to invest in one of those trolleys for cakes and sweet treats, so you can perch your teapot and milk jug on top and not have to make too many needless trips to the kitchen.

2. Read in it. The obvious thing to do with a window seat is to sit down with a good book and look very picturesque and intellectual from the outside, even if your reading matter is a Jackie Collins and you’ve simply buried the front cover in your lap. Somehow, a window seat increases the appearance of culture in the same way spectacles do. Make the most of it, we say. 

3. Get a bit Gothic. Go all Wuthering Heights and sit and watch the rain lashing at the panes of glass while thinking wistfully of lovers long out of reach. 

4. Flaneur the hell out of it. Sit with the intention of doing absolutely nothing but people watching. If your window looks out only onto your garden you might have to employ a gardener first or send your family out to do some chores so that you may observe them hard at work. Try to make them the occasional mug of tea to avoid becoming a bit irritating. 

5. Become a wildlife expert. Whether it’s birds, butterflies, foxes or merely the local cat population, a window seat affords the opportunity to become au fait with all the living things that pass through. 

6. Turn informant. If your seat looks out on a public byway, get yourself a notebook and come over all Miss Marple. You never know what you might notice that proves useful at a later date. If you don’t spot anything you can always just pretend to be on a stake out, which is just as exciting. 

7. Cloud watch. The original and best bit of mindfulness available. Spot dragons, medieval battles and giant rabbits, all from the comfort of your seat in the window. 

8. Turn the window on its head and become an art installation. Dress up. Use props. Imagine your way into various scenarios and let others enjoy ‘viewing’ you each day, rather than you viewing them.

If you are feeling inspired to creat a window seat of your own, don’t miss our My Place feature in the May issue, in which Lottie Storey has gathered together some of her favourite window seats from Instagram and beyond, including this one, pictured above, which belongs to Jason Korinek @westcross_property_renovation. The May issue is in shops now or available to buy in our online store.

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Five fictional (and factual) attics

We’re all predisposed to love an attic aren’t we? The chance of finding a long lost treasure, the secrecy of a huge room, hidden at the top of a house, the thrilling idea that it could be a private space just for us? 

It’s little wonder they feature in so many books, both fiction and factual. The attic is a metaphor for the brain - a space right at the top of the house, where all manner of creative and imaginative happenings might occur, a place where memories are stored, and made. How many writers scribbled in garrets, locked away in a dusty loft, after all? You don’t hear of many writers furiously penning novels in sparkling open-plan kitchens, do you? They’re a space to get away, feel ‘above’ mere mortals bumbling about in living rooms and bedrooms. Here we celebrate five literary attics: 

1. Thornfield Hall’s attic in Jane Eyre

The first Mrs Rochester is the inhabitant of the attic in Charlotte Bronte’s best-known novel. Jane hears various crashes, moans and the like and it transpires that the source of them all is Bertha Rochester, one-time beauty and now ‘demon’ in the attic who starts fires, bites visitors and chews up Jane’s wedding veil. Since we know Rochester is about to marry Jane bigamously, frankly we’re with the first Mrs R on this one and think the veil-shredding (and probably some of the biting) is fair enough. (Also, Mr Rochester is pretty irritating. We might have bitten him too.) Poor Mrs R jumps to her death during a fire at Thornfield but holds a special place in our hearts as the first and our favourite ‘mad woman in the attic’. 

2. Jo March’s attic in Little Women

Like many women writing in attics, Jo is a bit of a bluestocking, who wished to be a boy and found her skirts cumbersome. She writes her way out of her femininity, wearing a ‘scribbling suit’ of a black pinafore to soak up the ink and a feathered cap, like a master craftsman, and into a comfortable inhabitation of confident womanhood. Again, the attic is both an escape and a sign of Jo’s superior intellect. And we loved her for her inky hands and the rats that nibbled her pencils. 

3. Anne Frank’s attic in the secret annex

Never could an attic be more thrilling than the real attic in Amsterdam in which Anne Frank enjoyed some fresh air, away from the stuffiness of the rest of the annex each morning. Anne wrote her famous diary in the secret annex in which she was hiding and the rat-infested attic, which was mostly used for storage was her escape, with one little window that it was possible to look out of without fear of being seen. 

4. The attic in Flowers in the Attic

Much though we love a creepy Gothic tale in autumn, we might not linger too long on this very disturbing tale by VC Andrews of incest and abuse that haunted many of our teenaged years. Suffice to say, the attic here holds many a secret and spawns many more secrets of its own. <Shudder> 

5. The attic in The Yellow Wallpaper

It’s the decor that’s the real star of this novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. When a young woman is sent to spend a period of rest in a colonial mansion at the turn of the last century, she’s shut up in the old nursery on the top floor of the house. Far from resting her mind, the room itself turns her imagination inside out as she endlessly describes the wallpaper, comes to believe there is a woman trapped inside it and then becomes that woman herself. A beautiful feminist novel that’s deliciously creepy, too. You aren’t sure whether you want to never go upstairs again or disappear to the top of the house forever. 

In our September issue our My Place feature is all about (much less creepy and much more beautiful) attic rooms like this one above by @finlay_fox.  Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Long weekend compendium

Photography: Kirstie Young

Projects, Pastimes and Proper Jobs to throw yourself into at home this month

There’s such joy in spending spring days at home when, as well as hunkering indoors, there is pottering in the garden, sewing that can be done into light evenings and the chance to really enjoy your home at its best.

With two long weekends to get stuck into this month (as well as, let’s face it, plenty of time at home), now is the ideal opportunity to do all those jobs and projects you never have time for and enjoy a bit of being busy doing nothing, too. And it’s a prospect to relish so take it slow and plan this well.

In our May issue, we have a special feature on Crafternoons, with delightful projects that will absorb you for just a few hours, but if an afternoon pleasantly whiled away isn’t enough for you, here are our ideas for whiling away an entire day or weekend productively.

Here’s our Simple Things Compendium of projects, pastimes and Proper Jobs that will make you wish long weekends could last all week.

Projects

Long weekends are made for good projects. The best sorts are fun to plan, absorb you completely and leave you with a glow of satisfaction. It’s a good idea to practise in advance your expression of nonchalance and an airy “oh it’s just something I knocked up at home” for when friends comment admiringly.

A simple project you can do in an afternoon is always satisfying and paper crafts are ideal for this timescale. An origami corner bookmark, homemade notebook, or dip-dyed stationery are good for paper craft beginners. For semi pros there is a plethora of paper ideas on the internet. We are coveting the paper sea scene under a little glass dome from Etsy maker My Papercut Forest. If you can repurpose some old paper for a project, award yourself an additional grown-up gold star - old maps, dressmaking patterns and tatty books or old newspapers can all look beautiful used to cover books, lampshades or even the walls of your loo. 

We do love a kitchen table day. If you have a box of neglected essential oils lurking somewhere (who doesn’t?) you could spend a happy morning experimenting with scents to make room sprays (three parts water to one part witch hazel and your choice of oils), or even a cleaning spray for your yoga mat (a few drops each of tea tree, lavender and peppermint in distilled water). Neal’s Yard sells a range of ‘base’ products called Create Your Own if you want to branch out into lotions and potions.

In fact, how about dedicating a day (or even an entire weekend) to kitchen projects? We spend so much time in the kitchen on everyday food prep. How much lovelier to spend a day pottering in the heart of the home, radio murmuring, creating delicious things to store away for another day. We don’t think you can ever have enough jams and chutneys but if you fancy something different, try pickling vegetables or making green onion kimchi (pictured above) or turmeric pickled cauliflower, and you’ll always have something impressive to fancy up a cheese on toast lunch. A long weekend at home is the ideal time to get out those foodie kits thoughtful souls gave you for Christmas and you never got round to. They’re a fun way to try out a new kitchen project, from making your own cheese to brewing your own beer. Who knows, you could have a cottage industry started by Monday. And if you don’t have one in the back of a cupboard, make it a gift to yourself.

Keen stitchers might enjoy the opportunity to make the most of the light evenings, when fabric fun times need not be curtailed by 40-watt lightbulbs. How about stitching a hammock for the garden, re-covering a deck chair, or digging out your embroidery threads and customising a shopping bag with the name of your hometown? You might try a craft you’ve never tried to make something to you never knew you needed… needle-felted dachshund or macrame market bag, anyone? 

Fancy a weekend spent making your garden a little lovelier? You could make a newspaper nursery for seedlings, by planting veg seeds in homemade paper pots, give your herb garden a complete makeover, or create one from scratch, planting them in something quirky, from the ubiquitous pair of old wellies to palettes, an old metal tub, concrete blocks or apple crate. And while you’re outside, if you can source some tins from the recycling turn them into garden tea light holders for the longer evenings: just clean thoroughly, spray-paint, fill with water and freeze and then punch hole patterns in them using a hammer and nails. Projects complete, we suggest you light your tea lights and spend the evening in the garden with something delicious you made earlier. 

Pastimes

Is there anything nicer than being in a holiday cottage and having nothing but a pot of tea, and a book you found on the cottage’s bookshelf to occupy you? We think not. You can recreate that holiday cottage feeling by spending a day or two slowing down and whiling away a few hours on completely pointless things you love.

Along with mince pies, jigsaws are a joy we think should be indulged in all year. They’ve enjoyed something of a makeover recently. No more puzzles of Labrador puppies posing with carnations: there are endless ‘cool jigsaws’ to purchase (we love Jiggy Puzzles and Piecework Puzzles), with images beautiful enough to frame afterwards.  We’ve even created an online puzzle or two of our own you might enjoy.

If a jigsaw has you in the mood for more puzzles, spend a morning with the crossword. If you’ve done newspaper crosswords regularly in the past you’ll know the joy of getting to know the quirks and in-jokes of the various ‘setters’. If you’re new to them, try The Telegraph for a good cryptic crossword that isn’t completely outfacing, but you’ll find a paper and a setter you get on with. All you need is a decent ballpoint pen and a large cafetiere of coffee.  

We all ‘read’ but when was the last down you sat down to do nothing but read for a whole afternoon? (It was in that holiday cottage we mentioned, wasn’t it?) With a whole weekend to waste wonderfully, you could read a book you’ve never got round to, one you read when you were too young to appreciate it fully (we see you, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca) or finish one you started and then put aside. And on that note, what happened to that novel you once started? Alternatively, get everyone in your house to pen a short story and read them aloud in the evening. You can see others telling stories at The Moth if you need a bit of performative inspiration. 

Get out the board games, too, from old favourites like Cluedo and Battleship to the whizzier new board games, such as Sagrada, in which you build stained glass windows, or the spooky Betrayal at House on the Hill. And board games aren’t just for cold winter evenings; take them outside. There’s a plethora of garden games available, from Kubb to Giant Chess and, let’s face it, like tennis, Scrabble is more fun played on grass.

If you’re struggling to think of ways to pass the time on a slow weekend, cast your mind back to childhood. Chances are you’ll enjoy the same things now you loved then. Perhaps you have a neglected musical instrument in the loft you could get down and tune up? And when was the last time you spent an afternoon drawing, painting or doing calligraphy? You probably still had name tapes in your clothes, let’s be honest. Get out your pencils and a sketchbook and give it a go again. If you want a little guidance, try a Sketchbook Club online. 

Talking of pastimes from past times, consider photography. Not the snap-happy stuff you do on your phone. Dig out your old camera and give it some love. Whether digital or analogue, the act of considering composition, light and shutter speed bring the skill and the joy back to taking a photograph. 

A weekend at home is also a great opportunity to try something new - whether it’s scrapbooking, researching your family history online, or learning to play Mah Jong, whiling away some time never looked so appealing. 

Proper jobs

We do like to bask in the glow of a job well done, but the best jobs are those that you can really get absorbed in at the time. How about making this the year you come over all Moley from The Wind in the Willows and do a proper spring clean?

Pop on our Spring Clean playlist and invest in some really lovely cleaning products you want to use then start at the top of the house and work down, dusting first, and doing floors last.

Alternatively, a couple of free days are a good opportunity to give a neglected spot a new lease of life. You could bottom the greenhouse; scrub the empty flower pots, sweep the spiders into a corner (but leave them somewhere to hang out), hang tools on walls so you’ve got some room to work, and voila, you have a sunny room of your own to escape to with a cup of tea and that crossword. Or treat your home’s exterior to a facial - wash down windowsills, scrub your front step (1950s housewife skirt tucked into knickers a plus but not a necessity) and Brasso your door furniture.

There’s something meditative about ‘enjoyable cleaning’. Decluttering your whole house, however, can feel like something of a chore, and we’re here for the fun jobs so we’d suggest choosing a small area to make lovely: sort out your coat cupboard, perhaps. Or what about your books? Would it make you happier to see them arranged by colour, author, subject matter or Dewey Decimal system?  Imagine getting completely on top of your pantry… finding all those tins of weird things we all have at the back of the cupboard and actually making something with them, then sorting everything out with beautiful storage so a row of jars and tins greets you pleasingly as you open the door. Aaah… that’s better.

And there are a hundred small but enjoyable jobs to ‘do well’ on a weekend at home, from washing your cushion covers and polishing your cutlery to hanging that framed print that’s been standing in the hall for a year and finally, actually putting all your photographs into albums. 

Don’t forget to reward yourself regularly with tea and cake for your efforts. And make it some decent Earl Grey and a proper homemade cake. If a slow weekend is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly, we think.

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From our May Scrapbook issue…

The comfort of things | Layering up

There are certain things in your home that are like good friends: they always cheer you up. This month we feel the love for a well made bed. 

A bed can have many layers, each of varying quality, cost and sophistication. Take your pick from the smorgasbord of tog ratings and thread counts and assemble yours to your own specification.

Mattress

The foundation of a good night’s sleep so worth investing in. The perceived wisdom is to change it every eight years, but this depends on the quality of the mattress.

Mattress protector

A thin, often quilted, cover to keep the mattress unsullied.

Mattress topper

An affordable option to changing your mattress. Padded with feathers or made from Memory Foam, it is an extra layer of support.

Electric blanket

A necessity as the temperature drops, even when the central heating is on: little makes you sigh with pleasure like getting into a toasty bed.

A sheet  

Flat sheets beat fitted in our book: you can fold them easily before putting into the airing cupboard, and you get to show off hospital corners. Thread count of 300 is ideal; it’s high quality and launders well. Ironing sheets may be considered a waste of time, but slipping into a bed made with freshly laundered cotton sheet is a civilising thing.

A duvet

There are too many choices of fillings and togs to go into here but a tog of 10.5 suits most, reduced to 4.5 in summer.

Duvet cover

Tempting though patterns and designs are, plain colours are more versatile, with white top of the heap.

Pillows

A better-quality pillow really does mean a better night’s sleep. Try a firmer pillow (mixture of down and feather) topped by a pure duck down pillow (expensive but dreamy) for a blissful combination.

Pillow cases

Choose between the annoyingly named ‘housewife’ (simple and plain, fits snugly over pillow) and the Oxford (has a fabric border with a mitred corners). Ideally, they should match the duvet cover.

A pillow protector

(a plain pillow case slipped inside) to prevent staining and ensure longevity of the pillow is a sensible addition.

Bedspread or quilt

An extra layer of warmth and handy for covering up rumpled bedding and toast crumbs.

Throw

Adds a touch of interior designer show-offiness and handy on chillier nights.

Cushions

Can be changed at whim. Also useful for propping yourself up if reading in bed. Pile neatly on to an ottoman at night.

Turn to page 114 of October's The Simple Things for more on the comfort of beds, including how to get that elusive plumped up showroom look.

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The comfort of things | The bookshelf

There are certain items in your home that are like good friends: they always cheer you up. This month, we feel the love for the bookshelf on page 112 of the September issue.

It’s an undeniable fact that a bookshelf improves a room. The addition of a row of books, no matter how small, instantly adds warmth, colour and personality. Novelist Anthony Powell knew this when he entitled the tenth book in his ‘Dance to the Music of Time’ series Books do Furnish a Room. Any house without at least one bookshelf feels empty and unloved, and its owner risks the danger of looking like someone with a sketchy, suspicious identity. Nosing around other homes lined with a bookshelf or two, on the other hand, can reveal much, and is as irresistible as poking around a vinyl collection once was.

But which book lover are you?

The bibliophile

Organises their books according to category, chronologically, or alphabetically by author’s names, like a bookshop. 

The aesthete 

Arranges their books in colour bands: all books with colour co-ordinated spines are grouped together. Not especially handy when actually looking for a book however.

The would-be librarian

Houses books in bookcases that line walls or even entire rooms, which can then be called ‘the library’ or ‘the study’ with justification.

The curl-up-with-a-good-book loafer

Sits and reads on a wet afternoon in a designated armchair by a window next to a shelf of books. 

The interior designer

Intersperses objects, plants and photographs in front of books. Shelves can then be treated as ‘decorative installation’ with displays changing according to whim.

Turn to page 112 of September's The Simple Things for more, including our pick of bookshelves to buy, make or hack.

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Listen: Home playlist

All we want is a room somewhere... This month, we relish the comforts of home. Loverly.

Listen to our Home playlist now. 

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Home: Easy alfresco dining

This month in our series about what really goes on in a home, Clare Gogerty grabs a plate and invites us to eat out in the garden.  

Eating every possible meal in the garden is one of the most blissful things you can do during the summer months. The simple act of sipping a cup of tea on the doorstep while listening to the birds and feeling a warm breeze on your face can transform this humdrum activity into something special. Pile a tray with toast and coffee and head outdoors for breakfast and suddenly it feels like you’re on holiday. And a glass of rosé and some nuts dished up on the patio or a balcony becomes a celebration.

Meals in the garden are simultaneously liberating and fun. Entertaining family and friends takes on a more chilled dimension when you sit beneath a tree, children and animals run around your feet and the light gradually dims. The only rules about eating alfresco is that there are no rules: the more relaxed and informal the better. 

“Picnics always taste so much nicer than meals we have indoors”
Five Go Off in a Caravan by Enid Blyton

• Put on a buffet: ideal for larger groups of people who can heap up their plates with your delicious food and then settle on rugs to eat it.
• Use brown paper instead of a tablecloth. Then scrunch up and dispose of it when everyone has gone home.
• Keep tableware relaxed. Nobody wants elaborate settings when they are eating in their shorts.
• Invest in a garden parasol to keep sun and rain at bay.
• Platters of cold meat, bowls of salad, chunks of cheese, bread on boards and jugs of drink (alcoholic and non) are probably all that’s required, food-wise.
• Stock up a drinks trolley with glasses, drinks and trappings, then wheel back in when stocks run low. Have lots of ice handy to keep drinks cool. 

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Nest: The Window House

To watch the sunset and see the stars was a couple's simple dream for their home in West Virginia. The finished project is a unique upcycled house.

Turn to page 116 of June's The Simple Things for more about this incredible home and watch the film below to see how it was made.

Film credits:
Filmed by Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne Long
Interviewed by Jordan Wayne Long
Music and editing by Matt Glass

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How to get rid of moths

Moth larvae are most active when the temperature creeps over 10 degrees – about the time our woolies are put away. Act now to prevent moth munchies.

Prevention
l Only put away clean clothes. For moths, dirt is the icing on a woolly cake.
l Pack clothes in vacuum storage bags. Order from lakeland.co.uk
l Larvae loves carpet. Vacuum regularly, especially edges and under furniture.
l Lift and beat rugs.
l Moths like warm, dark spaces, so consider open wardrobes and turning the heat down.
l Lavender, conkers and cinnamon sticks are all natural repellents.

In the event of infestation:
l Put your clothes in plastic bags in the freezer for 72 hours.
l For carpets, blog.labourandwait.co.uk advises dissolving a quarter-pound of rock ammonia in about a half-gallon of boiling water. Immerse a large house-cloth, wring and lay flat on the carpet. Iron with a very hot iron until dry.

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Home: Make the most of your shower

This month, in our series on what really goes on in a home, Clare Gogerty considers bathing and the pleasures of keeping clean.

Turn to page 116 of April's The Simple Things for the full feature.

Make the most of your shower

The mere experience of standing beneath a steady stream of falling warm water is pretty joyful and can be enough to revive and soothe. Especially if you sing while you’re about it. But there are a couple of things you can do to make the most of your shower time, so that you emerge ever more squeaky clean and sprightly.

❊ Keep the temperature moderate. It is tempting to crank it up and watch your skin turn rosy, but too-hot water dries out the skin. Somewhere between 95F and 100F is about right.

❊ Hang a bunch of fresh eucalyptus near the shower. It will release essential oils as the bathroom steams up. Eucalyptus is a good cleanser, helps fight bacteria and smells lovely.

❊ Apply conditioner to damp hair and then put on a shower cap. Continue to wash as the conditioner works its miracles. Then rinse it off.

❊ Avoid shower curtains if at all possible, as they have a propensity to get mouldy and cling creepily to your skin. If you can’t avoid one, wash it regularly with a couple of old hand towels and half a cup of white vinegar to prevent mildew. 

For more on bathing traditions, our pick of the best bathroom cabinets, towels 101, a word on flannels, the definitive answer on why your skin wrinkles, plus eight extra somethings for the smallest room, turn to page 116 of April's The Simple Things.

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Home truths

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Home style: The alarm clock and other morning rituals

The alarm clock is hard to love. It’s what startles you from the deepest of sleeps and jangles you into the day. It’s persistent and bossy, and won’t be silenced until you pay it attention. And the most annoying thing of all is that it does all of this for your own benefit, like a finger-wagging head mistress.

In an ideal world, of course, we would be woken naturally by the gentle caress of dawn and the soft rays of sunlight streaming through muslin curtains. But the reality is that it is more usual to be jumpstarted into the new day by the insistent clamour coming from the bedside table. 

Turn to page 108 of March's The Simple Things to read the rest of Clare Gogerty's alarm clock potted history, plus her selection of the three best alarm clock buys.

And while we're moaning about mornings, here are our top picks for making early hours more bearable. 

Linen pyjamas | The Simple Things Shop

Dressing gown | Verry Kerry

Blanket | The Simple Things Shop

Felted wool slippers | Toast 

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From the March issue

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Homes and interiors

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Competition: Win a brand-new woollen Bell Twist carpet and fitting worth up to £1,500 (closed)

Whether your bedroom is in need of a spruce underfoot or your living room lacks cosiness, a new carpet will give any room in your home an instant lift. Especially a high-quality wool carpet such as the one up for grabs from Brintons this month.

This year marks the 50th birthday of one of Brinton’s best-loved carpets – the wool-rich Bell Twist. To mark the occasion, we’re offering you the chance to win one – a fantastic prize worth up to £1,500.

LASTING STYLE

The Bell Twist is a carpet that has stood the test of time – and fashion. Originally launched in a modest palette of 10 colours, it now comes in a 50-strong collection of plain shades, from ivory to ebony, via a wide choice of attractive neutrals as well as classic jewel shades and soothing pastels.

Its fashion pedigree includes some memorable campaigns: in 1993, it featured as a carpet dress designed by Vivienne Westwood; and later it starred in ‘the most luxurious carpets in the world campaign’, with renowned shoes designer Manolo Blahnik.

DESIGNED FOR LIFE

A plain carpet leaves poor quality nowhere to hide... Luckily the Bell Twist is a carpet that will stand the test of time. Its wool-rich yarn is specially woven with a depth and texture designed to withstand the rigours of everyday life. Testament to its staying power, it has been in continuous production ever since its debut five decades ago.

What you could win

A new carpet for one room, excluding stairs and hallways, in your choice of colour from the Bell Twist range of 50 shades. Underlay is included. Fitting is part of the prize, so long as the room is empty with no flooring in place.

HOW TO ENTER

Closing date: 31 March 2015

To find out more about the carpet experts, go to www.brintons.co.uk

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Sponsored post: Five ways to make your bed cosier

Believe it or not, we spend a third of our lives sleeping and while most of us may be thinking that our 7-hours-a-day is the best we will ever get, there are some small changes that can make a big impact on the quality of your sleep.

Here are five ways to make your bed cosier.

1. Manage your sheets

Although tightly tucked sheets and blankets have long gone (replaced by the marshmallow loveliness of the duvet), sheets still have their place on the modern bed. And that place is on top of the mattress (and possibly the mattress topper, see below) not on top of you – top sheets that lie below the duvet may keep it clean but always, always, get tangled around your legs. But what sheets to choose? Thankfully the days of brushed nylon are over, replaced by easycare, no-iron cotton polyester but, really, breathable natural fibre is what you want. Cotton with a long staple such as Egyptian or Pima (grown in the US, Australia and Peru and sold under the name Supima) is considered best for strength and comfort. Sheets made from organic cotton, grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment, are becoming increasingly available and worth looking out for. But linen is the queen of bedlinen. Spun from the fibres of the flax plant and repeatedly laundered in the manufacturing process,it is especially soft and becomes more so, the more it is used. It is also stronger than cotton, stays cool in summer and requires no ironing – if you are happy to live with rumpled sheets, which is part of the appeal. The downside is its price, which can be prohibitive, although H&M sells a linen double duvet cover and pillow set for £60.

Martha Stewart, who gets her bed changed almost daily(!), recommends replacing cotton and linen sheets with flannel (brushed cotton) sheets as the nights get colder. We’re with her on that, though not on the daily change thing. A word about thread counts: all bedlinen comes with a thread count. This is the number of threads per square inch or centimetre, which indicate how closely woven a fabric is. Finer threads produce smoother or softer fabric so a higher thread count is considered better quality: luxury bedlinen can have a thread count of 350 to 500 or higher. PS: Don’t even think about satin sheets.

2. Don’t ignore your pillowcases

Square pillowcases (65x65cm) have begun to appear on more beds as the ‘boutique hotel’ effect is aped by an increasing number of us. Too bulky for actual sleeping on, they are mostly decorative and sit behind the more conventional pillowcases: the Housewife, a plain fabric envelope (50x75cm), and the Oxford, which has a wide fabric border. It’s easy to forget to change pillowcases but considering the amount of time we spend with our faces pressed up against them, it’s worth doing so every couple of weeks. If you don’t, you face the grim prospect of facial oil, dead skin and residue from shampoo and general grime, clogging up both pillowcase and facial pores. A pillow protector prevents all of this besmirching the actual pillow (Marks & Spencer has some quilted ones). Some people swear that silk pillowcases make hair shinier and less static and skin less creased, and it’s certainly true that are lovely to lie against. Worth giving a go.

3. Create a pile-up

Propping pillows against the bedhead, magazine-rack style, gives the bed an extra dimension and prevents it slumping into limp student grunginess. Chuck a few cushions in front and you’re pillowscaping. Consider square pillows, too – they look good piled up in front of your regular pillows – and come with the added benefit of being a reading-in-bed prop (a bolster is also good for this). Whatever you do, avoid pulling a bedspread over the pillows unless you want the unwary to think they’ve stumbled across a dead body. Bedspreads look best folded back to frame your pillowscaping work and reveal your lovely linen sheets.

4. Chuck on a throw

A throw or blanket in a co-ordinating colour or pattern, draped over the duvet, is an easy win in the bed-styling game. Keep it folded at the foot of the bed and it will also keep toes toasty, or higher up within grabbable distance for shoulder-wrapping warmth when TV-in-bed watching.

5. Go for extras

Anyone bitten by the bedlinen bug will know that it’s hard to stop buying it, once you start. Fortunately, there are no end of options to pimp your lie-in. Mattress toppers come filled with down, cotton fibre, topped with merino wool or made from memory foam, and add a layer of softness and ease to the bed (although an old duvet makes an adequate substitute). Bedspreads and quilts are handy for dragging over everything else when bed making really is too much to contemplate, and of course they bring colour and pattern. Valances, ra-ra skirts for divan bases, are good if you like flounce and can’t bear the sight of an undisguised bed base. And finally: if you have never considered an electric blanket, now might be the time to do so: a whole world of snuggly winter warmth and luxuriant comfort awaits you.

The design and sleep experts at Hästens can advise on the best bed buys that will have you waking up bright eyed and bushy tailed every day.

Bright Bazaar book offer

The first book by The Simple Things Marketplace Editor, Will Taylor, is out now. Bright Bazaar: Embracing Colour for Make-You-Smile Style is a 192-page refreshing take on colour from one of the world’s leading interiors bloggers, Will Taylor.

To order Bright Bazaar at the special offer price of £20 including UK P&P, telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk, quoting the offer code APG137 and the book ISBN 9781909342200.

Will knows how colour can lift your mood. Try his colour cocktails to bring spring freshness to your home in May's issue of The Simple Things.

Grow indoor herbs PLUS a competition (closed 30 April 2014)

Add colour to your kitchen and flavour to your food…and win some brilliant freebies along the way! Choose a few herbs to grow indoors and you'll be killing two birds with one stone. You'll instantly be able to enliven home-cooked dishes with fresh flavours as well as introducing a bit of colour and interest in your kitchen while you're at it.

Indoor herbs are easy to grow providing you give them plenty of light and water them regularly - though not too much as their roots won't appreciate 'sitting' in water. Read on for our top tips, and win with Carbon Gold.

Choose robust varieties like rosemary, bay, thyme, mint, basil, parsley and hyssop if you're new to growing and buy from a good independent garden nursery. Don't be tempted to pot up supermarket-bought plants because they've been raised in specific conditions (warm temperatures and often grown in water) which make them more delicate and less likely to thrive for longer than the few weeks shelf-life they've been raised for.

Says The Simple Things' Gardening Editor, Cinead McTernan:

'I went for hyssop, which I can add to soups and stews and when the weather warms up a bit, salads. I use thyme in lots of cooking and found a really pretty variety, 'Foxley' from my local garden centre.'

Go for herbs with fairly shallow roots rather than long, tap roots if you're growing in smaller indoor pots, again to give them the best chance of growing healthily. You can use quirky containers and recycle tins, pots, and other vessels but make sure they're big enough to give the plants chance to develop a good root system, and if they don't have a drainage hole (such as a very large teapot), add a few stones to create a layer of drainage.

Fill your container with compost - go for peat-free if you can and try something like Carbon Gold'sGroChar, which is fantastic for retaining moisture in the soil. You won't have to water so often, which is ideal if you're often out and about. Cinead bought two thyme plants, dividing and planting one in the Allison's bread tin using Grochar and leaving the other in its pot.

She says: 'I often discover that the one left in the pot has dried out and I've had issues with browning leaves due to irregular watering (or lack of watering). No such problems with GroChar. Top tip: If you're using GroChar, you might think the soil is dry. Use your finger to test just underneath the top layer of soil and check the moisture levels, watering only when this feels dry.'

Don't be afraid to divide herbs, teasing the roots apart carefully, to end up with two or three plants rather than just one.

Try sowing seeds too - micro herbs are a great idea as they'll be ready to harvest in a matter of weeks and the small leaves are packed with an intense flavour compared with the mature leaves. Again, Carbon Gold have a really good seed sowing compost which I'm going to try. I've chosen 3 varieties from Jekka's Herb Farm - Bull's Blood, Wild Rocket and Red Frills Mustard. Check back in a few weeks to see how my micro seeds get on...

COMPETITION

Add colour to your kitchen and flavour to your food…and win some brilliant freebies along the way!

Give seeds the best start in Carbon Gold’s Seed Compost and add a dash of glamour by planting them in something out of the ordinary – vintage tins, charity shop teapots or even a colourful wellington boot!

Carbon Gold would love to hear about the most quirky container you’d use to house your herbs.

Their favourite idea will win a Home Grower Starter Pack worth £51.95 and five runners up will win a 1kg tube of Soil Improver each.

You have until April 30 2014 to share your most inspired ideas! Here’s how to take part…

1. Simply ‘like’ the Carbon Gold Facebook page

2. Seek out The Simple Things competition poster nestled amongst Carbon Gold’s Facebook pictures

3. Leave a comment underneath the poster, sharing your creative container concepts.

Competition closes 30 April 2014

Meet the original upcyclers: Mark and Sally Bailey

Mark and Sally Bailey, king and queen of up cycling, talk us through their stripped-back style  

In issue 21 of The Simple Things, Mark and Sally Bailey share their love of beautiful, functional and nostalgic objects.

Baileys has become a destination store: a place to spend an hour or so, basket in hand, wandering around the different spaces lost in a shopping reverie. Retail guru Mary Portas has praised the way "it encourages you to meander through its rooms of beautifully merchandised spaces". All manner of delightful household objects, from wooden dolly pegs to plump sofas, are heaped into crates and packed onto shelves without feeling either congested or unmanageable. This is largely down to the acres of space available (actually 20,000 feet), but it's also due to Mark's expert eye for display. "He's often in here until midnight arranging things," says Sally.

No day is typical at Baileys. "Increasingly, we discover great things at local fairs and smallholder shows," says Sally. "We've found bakers, weavers, bodges [hand-turned chair makers] and biscuit makers there." "it's exciting how many young people are taking up traditional crafts like cheese making rather than a traditional career path," says Mark. "if we can stock their stuff, we will."

Read the full interview on page 52 of The Simple Things issue 21. Buy now, or have a look through the digital sampler:

Spoil yourself with 15% off at Idyll Home

For the next two weeks the lovely people at Idyll Home giving every reader of The Simple Things 15% off their gorgeous home and garden accessories.

You've probably spotted Idyll Home before inside The Simple Things as their furniture and accessories are often featured in our 'Things To Wake Up And Want', we've always been big fans of their selection of unique things for the home and so are really pleased to say you can now get 15% off online as a reader of The Simple Things.

To claim your discount use the code simplethings15 at the checkout.

Happy Shopping!

*Sponsored post* A way with windows

*This is a sponsored blog post from Hillarys*

Simplify the process of choosing blinds, curtains and shutters by booking an appointment with an advisor from Hillarys who can advise on style, fittings and proportions as well as colour and patterns. Our Signature Service includes measuring and installation too, perfect for those who can’t quite get the length of their curtains right, aren’t sure where to put the poles or don’t know their recess measurements from their cord tidies!

There’s a massive choice of gorgeous fabrics and styles and we’ll bring our ‘shop’ to your home so you can mix and match with existing furnishings. Simply call us on 0800 389 1659 to arrange your Signature Service appointment.

Seriously stylish, seriously ethical

Fashion-Conscience is an online store selling the best in Fair Trade, organic, sustainable, recycled, up-cycled and vegan clothing, accessories and gifts. From well known brands to small independent brands all showing us it's stylish to be green. And best of all, they're giving us 15% off until 31st May if you use the code: SIMPLE at the checkout. A great excuse to treat yourself over the bank holiday!

* Terms and Conditions:

To claim your 15% off please use code SIMPLE at the checkout. 15% off only valid on full priced purchases. Offer does not include delivery charges. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer/s. Valid until and including 31st May 2013