The wedding is a distant memory...

Like almost everyone in the country, we had a great Royal Wedding but doesn't it feel like a distant memory now?! It was a very busy time for us and the weekend just gone was our first opportunity to take stock and relax. Although we had a few drops of rain (and some mightly thunder), we still managed to get into the garden to do a spot of tidying up and partying. We tried out our new cage lanterns (see below) and they looked great tied into the bushes at twilight - it was a good idea worth repeating! On Sunday, in between the showers, we walked off a heavy Saturday night along the beach. We're really lucky to live so close to the sea and really ought to take advantage of it more often! If you fancy making your home a bit more 'beachy' over the coming months, we've got a great range of wooden signs including the one below, and our eclectic cutlery is back in stock for great beach bbq's and picnics. Enjoy - and have a great week.

Love

Clare xx

Finally, Spring appears to have arrived (fingers crossed!) and with it, Easter. We love this time of year and we've been busy creating a gorgeous collection of new products for you (and ourselves!).  Obviously, one of the key themes for Easter is eggs and we have an abundance of great ‘eggy’ treats from wreaths to decorations and Easter gifts, with barely a hint of chocolate in sight. I’ve found it impossible to decide on my personal favourite, so here are my edited highlights:

Easter Scene Paper Egg Box, £4.50 for set of two

Fill them with your own chocolate eggs (or less calorific treats for those of us who may be watching our waistlines!), and these fabulous paper egg boxes are a fun and unusual way to give a gift on Easter Day.  Decorated with a children’s Easter scene in a style that will be familiar to many of us from our own childhoods, they're wonderfully traditional and make lovely keepsakes that can be used to store bedroom bits and bobs long after the chocolate has gone! Large 15 cm, Small 11 cm.


Felt Daffodil Wreath, £16.99



Nothing says 'Spring has Sprung' quite like a big bright bunch of lovely yellow daffodils!  Hung on a door or wall, this gorgeous wreath is a fabulous way to welcome guests to your Easter Day celebrations, or just to add a little springtime cheer to your home. Please note however that this item is NOT available for next day delivery.




Yellow & White Blossom Tree, £19.99


An unusual and utterly beautiful way to decorate your home for Easter, this gorgeous yellow and white blossom tree will add a splash of fresh springtime colour to any bare corner of your home.  A great way to add a little detail to a fireplace or hearth now that (hopefully) the coal buckets and log baskets are going to be out of use for a few months! Dimensions: Height 60 cm.

However you choose to celebrate Easter this year, we’d like to wish you a very happy and peaceful one.

Love
Clare
x

Mothers Day - Sunday April 3rd 2011

There’s just time to place an order and get a lovely gift for your mum before Sunday.  If you’re anything like us, your poor mum might get taken for granted quite often, so why not treat her to something special this weekend?

We’ve got some great pressie ideas, including our Best Mum Bookmarks at just £3.99 and our Bestest Ever Mum Glasses Case at £9.99. Or, if you’re after something a bit more flowery, why not take a look at our range of vases? We have a beautiful Knitted-effect Porcelain one or a fantastic blue Rob Ryan Smell Us vase, both at £29.99. And for a more creative look, try presenting your mum with a beautiful bunch of daffs and one of our lovely Pastel Metal Jugs at just £5.99.

Whichever item you choose, be sure to be extra kind to your mum on Sunday!

Love

Clare
x

Help, advise and lots of goodies!

Millions of Britons are expected to hold or attend a street party to celebrate Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton this April.

Street parties are a very British tradition and TCH have a fantastic selection of fun royal wedding gifts and party items, perfect for a street party.  You'll find a collection of t-towels, games, chocolates, champagne party bubbles, crown glass decorations, bunting, cake stands, party poppers and much more - all adorned with the British flag or colours.

The most important thing you need to do when plannig a street party is to request a road closure from your local council.  In the past, celebrations have been stopped due to charges levied by counsils for temporary road closures, events licenses and public liability insurance.  Thankfully it's much easier now, all you have to do is simply fill out a form to request the road closure.

For help in planning your Royal Wedding street party, check out The Street Party Site with some great tips and advice on throwing your party, making sure it all goes to plan. 

Take a look at our Royal Wedding party range today where you'll find all the party items and accessories needed to help you celebrate the big day.

A touch of bygone style at The Contemporary Home

On the retro front, we have some great products this season, many of which have been retro homeware classics for decades. Our Dreyfuss phones were first designed in 1937 and make a statement of style, grace and elegance. Today’s modern version simply plugs into a standard phone socket and measures 209mm W x 120mm H x 228mm D.

Another retro homeware classic is the iconic Keep Calm and Carry On design which was originally produced by the Ministry of Information as a poster in 1939. One of our versions also incorporates an antiqued Union Jack flag and is stretched on canvas across a deep wooden frame. The dimensions are 51cm Wide x 76cm High x 3.8cm depth. We have several others either hand-printed on paper or on cotton tea towels.

If cooking is more your thing, then we have several retro homeware ideas for the kitchen too. My favourite has to be our lovely vintage feel cookie cutters in their own stylish retro tin. They are great for the baking enthusiast (such as me!) or for getting young children involved.

So if you’re like me and just love a mix of old and new together, be sure to check out our retro homeware.

Love
Clare
x

Make a statement in your garden

Possibly one of our most chic outside wall lights (and the one gracing our very own back door at home) is our metal Fishing Lamp. In days gone by, this type of lamp would have been used by fisherman, hence its name. It has a lovely classic design that attracts admiring comments in both country and contemporary homes. We know, we’ve used it in both! The zinc-plated, powder-coated steel shade makes the light incredibly robust and we offer it in a variety of colours and finishes, including black enamel, cream enamel, white enamel and brushed metal.

Another favourite outside wall light is the best-selling barn lamp. Despite the name, you won't need a barn to display this classic light to its best effect. It’s ideally suited to any external wall although some of our customers have also used them as indoor lights too. All our outside wall lights are CE approved and IP44 rated.

So there’s no excuse for stumbling around in the dark anymore. Light up your life!

Love
Clare
x

A cool way to share your style

We’re stocking a great selection of retro metal signs at the moment. They’re great for virtually any room in the house and, in some cases, the garden too! Our Pottering in the Shed retro metal sign is one of our best sellers and no doubt adorns many a garden shed up and down the country. Another one that is in continual demand is our American-feel Hot Baths retro sign which states that a hot bath is 25 cents, with soap and towel extra. If only that were true! I’d make a fortune in our house.

But if you’re after something with a bit more history, then check out these three fabulous retro metal signs. Firstly, our Baldwin’s Nervous Pills vintage style sign. This A5 steel sign measures 148mm x 210mm and lists the common ailments of the late 1800’s that were claimed to be cured by these ingenious little pills! Our second and third great retro metal signs are from the US; an original front page design from a Superman comic and a poster celebrating the box office hit, The Wizard of Oz. Both are made of steel and measure approx 41cm x 30cm. Three great retro metal signs that will bring a smile and add a touch of vintage style to your home. But you’ll have to beat me to them first!

Love

Clare

x

A great way to combine style with function

We have chosen some great items of kitchen enamelware for our 2011 collection. One of my personal favourites is our beautiful green French enamel pot which measures 15cms high and comes with a lid. It’s perfect for keeping kitchen bits safe, as well as for storing essentials such as rock salt or sugar. Another kitchen enamelware essential is our cream enamel flour shaker. Being a keen cake-maker, I know that taking a moment to sift the flour really makes a difference to the way the sponge turns out, and this handy item is the perfect solution. Minimum effort with maximum result. Perfect!

And finally, yet another truly function item of kitchen enamelware – our cream recycling bucket. When all the cooking and vegetable scrapping has been done, simply pop them in the bucket and put the lid on. Keeps scraps tidy until you fill the composter and at 28cms tall, it sits neatly on the window sill or worktop.

Have fun in the kitchen.

Love
Clare
x

Giving is not just for Christmas!

So for 2011, we’re paying special attention to our gifts for the home products and will keep them topped up with lovely new eclectic ideas all year round. You’ll find great ideas across all categories on the site including our new range of small pastel metal jugs, which are great as a gift for Easter or as an alternative vase at any time of the year. Another great gift for the home (and really good as a gift to yourself!) is our best selling etched glass tea light holder with its beautiful antiqued silver finish. It’s totally gorgeous and looks great with tea lights, pens and pencils and even as a mini vase.

For chicken-lovers (such as us) or around Easter time, we have a fantastic range of hen-related products. They all make great gifts for the home, including our wonderful chicken blackboards. The first is a mini hanging chicken chalkboard and looks great in the kitchen and the second is larger, with a wooden surround and a padded soft notice board beneath the chalkboard for keeping special things safe.

Just remember, giving is not just for Christmas! Have fun choosing gifts for the home at any time of the year.

Love
Clare
X

A taste of life the Contemporary Home way!

Given my love of eclectic interiors, you won’t be surprised to learn that we’ve been working on a whole new range of exclusive designs over the past few months. You won’t be able to buy these great products anywhere else but here. And they promise to be a vibrant mix of colours and textures, with quirky little finishing touches – perfect! I don’t want to give the game away completely but I can let you know that two of the new eclectic interiors product ranges will be cushions and bunting, and we’ll be unveiling them soon so please keep checking the site for details!

But if you can’t wait, we already have a wonderful array of products that might suit you. From retro Dreyfuss phones to bright, modern kitchenware. Keep them separate, or use them together. That’s all part of the eclectic interiors fun!

Love
Clare
x