close

Seasons Greetings To You All

Good morning and I wish you all a Happy Christmas, a good holiday and general greetings of the season.

Father Christmas on skis by Kate Watson-Smyth
Father Christmas on skis by Kate Watson-Smyth

The blog is going to take a break over the holidays now. I usually keep going throughout December but I’m sure you will all agree that this year has been A Lot and my brain has gone slightly melty round the edges. I do, however, want to say a few things before I go for a lie down and a piece of cake.

Firstly, I cannot thank you all enough for showing up, reading and engaging as you all have through this year. It’s no exaggeration to say that writing this four days a week has kept me going as much as some of you has said it has helped you.

I have tried this year to write more how to pieces and useful posts that you can get your teeth into and which might be useful to you. There is plenty there to go back over should you fancy dropping in over the next couple of weeks.

To begin, this link will take you to the August postcards which ran over the summer including posts on how to decorate your home to boost your creativity, how to get your partner to agree to your design plans and how to choose a colour palette.

If you get through that, or don’t fancy it then how about:

Why you need brown furniture in your home.

10 tips for buying vintage

Do’s and don’ts for painting furniture

If you don’t fancy those you can wander through the last eight years of posts by visiting the archive button, which I have helpfully moved up the sidebar so it now sits near the top under the search bar. Choose the month and see where it takes you.

Now I shall be off to stock my shop which, by the way, will open on 16 January. For those of you missed that post it is also in the sidebar but you can read all about it here.

The blog will be back either in the New Year or shortly after Christmas depending on how long it takes to recharge the batteries. I hope you will allow me that drop of vague indulgence and I look forward to seeing you in your inboxes very soon.

Lots of love XK

 

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

49 Comments

  1. Hope you have a truly lovely Christmas break Kate, and I look forward to more of your fabulous, interesting, stylish writing in the New Year!

  2. Dear Kate, have a beautiful Christmas and take your time to rest mind and body and hurrah for cake!

  3. Dear Kate, am seconding precisely what Anne has managed to articulate so well! As a fellow rare commenter but avid reader, your unique voice, witty writing and sense of perspective and humour make your blog my favourite online destination. I am sure your shop will become the same in 2021. Thank you for maintaining your positivity this year for all of our sanity. I hope you and your family have a fabulously restful and well earned festive break, wishing you a very merry Christmas from New Zealand xx

  4. Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Your blogs have been such an inspiration to me and the my clients, I use it all the time to get inspirations for their homes and create something wonderful for them. Have a wonderful break and hope to hear from you in the new year.

  5. I believe I have a lovelier home thanks to your advice and expertise. Happy Christmas and as we say in Scotland Lang may yer lum reek! Best wishes and prayers for a better 2021.

  6. Have a lovely peaceful well deserved break Kate. You’ve kept me sane this year, your books, your blog, not to mention Enid’s “bold as brass” carry on. Take care, stay safe n see ya in 2021 for, hopefully, a better year. Roll on the Vaccine 👍

  7. Merry Merry Christmas Kate and a big thank you for another year of fabulous writing, creativity, ideas, laughs and just great reading – much appreciated. Cheers! xo

  8. Have a lovely break Kate well deserved. I’ve moved house three times in the last 5 years & your blog as well as your book have kept me inspired through all of them. Thank you, Merry Christmas & here’s to 2021 x

  9. Have a lovely break! Thanks for all that you offer to us, your dear readers! Your blog is a consistently bright spot in unusual, unpredictable days. Enjoy your down time!

  10. Congratulations Kate on keeping this blog; and for now taking a break. May your Christmas with your family be all that you would wish for. Thank you for sharing your creativity and your family with all of us.

  11. Joyeux Noël from France and many thanks for your posts, podcasts and words of wisdom and fun. Looking forward to 2021

  12. Thanks to you I have found the ‘right’ green and the ‘right’ pink and it looks gorgeous. And it so has to be ‘right’ 😀.
    Merry Christmas!

  13. Kate, I second all of the above, so in haste, thank you for all you do. Stay safe and well and enjoy precious time with your loved ones. xx

  14. Thank you Kate and a Merry Christmas, Happy Yule from Nova Scotia Canada. My morning cup of coffee is always spent with you, and your blog never fails to inspire and delight. Enjoy your break and we shall see you again in 2021. A better year for all!

  15. Enjoy your well earned break! I love reading your blog and dipping in and out of your books. Very muchl ooking forward to your new book and perusing your store.

  16. Nadolig Llawen ( Merry Christmas) from Pembrokeshire. Thank you for keeping me sane & contented each day for many years. Looking forward to hearing from you in the new year. Lots of love, Sue xx

  17. I too hardly ever comment on blogs, just had to say can’t believe you’ve been doing this for eight years and I’ve only just found you in the last few months! Love everything about your blogs (all of the above to be honest). Have a lovely relaxing Christmas.

  18. Happy Christmas and enjoy your break. Looking forward to your return whenever it suits you. Such a lovely blog, thank you.

  19. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
    Happy to hear you are taking time to unwind. Thank you for all of your hard work. You bring so much joy all year long! Happy holidays! 🎄

  20. Hi Kate,
    Thank you for the blog. It’s a real morning highlight and has been a very welcome distraction from the ghastliness that has been 2020! All those gorgeous images and inspiration have been the perfect antidote.
    Have a great Christmas with the ones you love and I look forward to your return when you are suitably refreshed.

  21. Happy Christmas Kate! Enjoy the cake and a lie down, and hopefully we will all be feeling somewhat refreshed by January!

  22. Have a very happy and relaxing Christmas break, thank you for all your posts this year. Here’s to 2021 which I trust will bring hope and new opportunities to us all.

  23. I discovered your blog at the beginning of lockdown, obsessively read your back catalogue for a few weeks and now look forward to your posts 4 days a week. Thankyou for being such great entertainment during the strangest year.

  24. Even in breaking the unwelcome news that you’re taking a seasonal break, you make me laugh Kate! Your knowledge, generosity and entertainment are such a delight and have been all the more precious in recent times. I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas and can’t wait to be uplifted and inspired by you again in the New Year! X

  25. Thank you Kate for all your blogs this year which are the first thing I read in the mornings. You’ve brought such positivity to us all through this extraordinary year and deserve a well earned break, so relax and eat as much cake as you like!
    See you in 2021.

  26. Thank you so much Kate! Wishing you a very happy and relaxing Christmas and well deserved break. I have so appreciated all your wonderful books, blogs, posts and podcasts this year. At a time of global stress, uncertainty and isolation I have really valued your clear, funny and informed voice more than ever! Here’s hoping to a better 2021!

  27. Merry Christmas, Kate! Have a well-deserved rest. I’m a new reader, and have been cheered and helped by your blog this year. I particularly like the way you combine love of design with ethics: Design for Diversity, do less harm, attention to values as well as to lines or colour. And I’ve noticed that you follow through – not just one post about black-owned businesses, but making sure they’re an ongoing presence. I also enjoy the way your advice mixes guidelines with the understanding that this should be a way to discover what’s right for each person.

  28. All the best to you and yours Kate. Keep safe, and we look forward to seeing you in the better year. Cheers from Canada!

  29. Happy Christmas from North Yorkshire Kate.
    Have mentioned before how your posts lift me, and obviously many others too. Love your ideas and your writing – enjoy your lie down and your cake!

  30. Thank you Kate for another year (albeit a strange one) of relaxed, informative reading with the right touch of humor which speaks to me. Enjoy your family and have a very Merry Christmas together despite the uncertainty out there. And a lovely beginning of the new year with renewed hope.

  31. Merry Christmas to you too, Kate :).
    I love your blog and look forward to joining you again after the holidays and your well deserved break. I also cannot wait to visit your new ‘virtual shop’!
    Carla

  32. Happy Christmas Kate – I hope it’s relaxing and you are re-charged for the New Year! Yours is the email I most look forward to each morning. You bring such inspiration and ideas that I want to get on with right now!
    Thank you.

  33. Many thanks Kate, I hope you have both a restful and restorative, well-deserved Christmas.

    I rarely write comments – invariably somebody has beaten me to it and has written exactly what I should have liked to have said. And, I expect there are lots like me. We read your posts, and spend hours checking out your recommendations. It’s a great education, not just learning about what is ‘out there’ – new colours, products, trends etc., but, and perhaps more importantly, in the process learning about ourselves, what floats our own personal boats, and how we can make our individual tastes look even better. Now that’s inspirational!

  34. Best wishes for 2021 from Dublin! .
    This blog cheers me up in the morning,, I really look forward to it and have learned so much since being a regular subscriber .
    Onwards and upwards to bigger and better things and wishing you much success into the future Kate.
    Please come to Dublin , as and when things allow 🙂

  35. Will miss you in my inbox every morning but delighted you’re having a break. I never comment but always enjoy your blog and just want to pass on my good wishes for a gorgeous, relaxed Christmas with your loved ones.
    Barbara

  36. I hope you have a lovely break. I really enjoy reading the blog in the morning, it brightens up my day. Nollaig Shona (Happy Christmas) from a regular reader in Ireland’s most northertly point.

  37. I’ve said this before and will say it again, other blogs in my life come and go, but yours is my constant companion. Many of your posts I can only aspire to, many I can actually achieve – either way, I love your thoughtful and considered approach to everything you share. Have a wonderful Christmas with those you love and I look forward to your return whenever that may be xx

  38. Have a peaceful and relaxed Christmas Kate. You blogs are like little lamps in a grey dark morning, and always welcome.
    Look forward to next year.

Comments are closed.