Are they back at school yet? Is the summer over? Well there is some consolation at this time of year as the new collections start to drop in store and online and today I have been asked to show you some of the new range from House by John Lewis.
This range was launched in 2012 and quickly gained a reputation for its simply designed, scandinavian-style, affordable homewares. It’s now the biggest of the company’s three in-house brands with 19 designers working on the products.
There are two collections every year (Spring and Autumn) and while the clean lines have remained true to the original style, the designers have used up to date colours (check that blush pink and mustard out) and have also allowed an element of wit to creep in.
Anyone who follows fashion can’t have failed to notice the plethora of leopard print that is about this year – actually you’ve probably noticed it even if you don’t!) and now you can introduce a subtle element into your homewares with this lamp. Technically it’s a cheetah but let’s not quibble over the details. It’s £45 by the way. There’s also a rather nice black and white one for £35.
The full range includes tables, lighting, furniture and even mattresses as well as these smaller accessories which you can mix and match with what you already have. I have styled them here with my table, which I found in the road on the way back from the tip and you can’t get much more affordable than that.
For me the stand-out piece was the rug, which starts at £120, and is really soft underfoot. Quick note – it’s showing out of stock at the moment but that’s because it’s new, it should be online by the time you read this but if not keep an eye out. I also like the snooze cushions (for £18) particularly the chilli one which is lovely with the pale pink linen (£15).
The joy of ranges like these is that you can just add a small thing to totally revamp the space. It’s like buying a new top and realising that it goes with so much of your existing wardrobe so you immediately feel you have several new outfits.
By adding a new lamp and cushion, and perhaps a rug to a space you can totally refresh it. Then, as with your clothes, you can put it away at the end of the season and change to something different. That way when it comes out again in a year it feels like a new discovery.
Doing this means you are less likely to get bored of what you have so it stops you buying more. I have summer clothes are that 15 years old because I only wear them for about two weeks of the year (not this year mind) so why not do the same thing with homewares?
And these colours are fast becoming classics – shades of grey and pink – so they will go with much of what you have already. The ochre lamp (mustard, hay, saffron or turmeric – call it what you will) is the modern colour to mix with it and – you have to take my word for this – that is a colour you are going to be seeing a lot more of in the near future.
This was a paid partnership with John Lewis where they sent over the product to be photographed in my house and then collected it again afterwards.
