General

What a tense 2013 Great British Bake Off final. Congratulations to Frances Quinn – definitely a star baker.

Her recipe for success ‘a dollop of randomness, teaspoon of wonder, pinch of eccentricity, drop of serendipity, handful of curiosity, fluid ounce of fun, all mixed together with quintessential quirkiness to produce a deliciously different bake,’ worked a treat last night, wooing the judges in style.

You just can’t beat the smell of freshly baked cakes in the home. My mother is a fantastic baker and, although I give it a go on a rare occasion, that overwhelming desire to bake has undoubtedly been handed down to my daughter who regularly produces delicious treats like these amazing raspberry cupcakes. Not overly good for the waistline, it must be said, but simply divine!

For more information about Frances, check out her website www.francesquinn.co.uk

What a bright and breezy start to the week! Loads of great house shots plonking into my computer’s inbox plus an invitation from Susie Watson Designs to come along today to their interior design course at the new store in Chichester, West Sussex. Sounds fantastic.

Hope your week’s off to a flying start too.

So delighted that 25 Beautiful Homes have chosen Sharon Harvey’s cosy drawing room to star on the cover of this month’s magazine!

Sharon and I instantly clicked when we met each other over a pot or two of Annie Sloan paint during a fantastic workshop at Ivory & Pitch in Westbourne a few months ago.

It was a pleasure to visit Sharon’s beautiful country home in Hampshire with photographer Richard Gadsby and great to receive her feedback:

‘Feel free to use us again for a photo shoot. Both you and Richard made it a fun experience.’

Way back at the start of the summer, I blogged about a beautiful flint and brick home in West Sussex with a pretty stable door. Well, Sheila Schapiro’s adorable mews house is also featured in the November issue of 25 Beautiful Homes and she is equally thrilled!

Sheila, who works in interior design, has transformed an unloved mews house into a truly elegant home with a heart. It’s another super house with a lovely feel, as you’ll see from the shots in the magazine that were taken by photographer Bruce Hemming, and definitely worthy an appearance in a national magazine.

If, like these lovely ladies, you fancy seeing your home or room makeover on the pages of an interiors magazine just give me a call on 01243 792379 or drop an email to mail@janetmcmeekin.co.uk

To contact Sheila Schapiro for advice about interior design, ring her on 01243 776750.

Great buzz up at the Grow! Cook! Eat! event at West Dean College in West Sussex over the weekend. Cooking legend Mary Berry was the main attraction with a vast number of fans turning out to catch a glimpse of the Great British Bake Off star in action.

Another crowd puller was the country singing duo Ward-Thomas – twin sisters Lizzy and Catherine were just amazing.

Fab time! I’m definitely keeping the weekend of December 14/15^th free for West Dean’s Christmastime event which is already shaping up to be a festive delight.

Ever hunted high and low to find that ‘Holy Grail’ item for your home? If so, then you’ll know where I’m coming from with this story…thankfully one with a happy ending.

A few months ago, an artist friend and I had a wonderful day pottering around the Village-Vintage Fair in Plumpton, East Sussex. The sun shone, the stalls were fabulous and the friendly stallholders more than helpful. We returned to the car, laden with some very special finds (pictured above).

My treasures included this lovely vintage jar with a green-tinge – perfect for my current bedroom makeover project.

All was well until, one gusty day, a piece of flint positioned rather precariously on a cupboard above, fell down, smashing said gorgeous jar to smithereens. It wasn’t a good look.

Feeling a tad miffed, I contacted the stallholder, who reassured me she’d a few similar jars in stock.  Problem was, she was based in Lewes ­– 42 miles away.

Biding my time to tie the jar-hunting mission in with a work trip, I found myself in Lewes towards the end of last week and popped into the shop where the original stallholder sells some of her lovely wares. Unfortunately, the jars were either too big or too small. Having scoured virtually every nearby antique shop, I’d resigned myself to either searching further afield or having a total rethink about what would look just as good in the corner that was earmarked for the jar.

As I wandered around my last port of call, No 1 Lewes (pictured below), a beautiful antiques shop on the bridge in Cliffe High Street, nothing was jumping out in a green glassy way. However, being the chatty type, I happened to mention my quest to Liz and Lily who commented: “Have you seen our glass jars at the back of the store yet?”

Well, ten paces later, I’d finally found the Holy Grail. There were loads of glass jars of exactly the right height ready to be purchased.

With the jar carefully wrapped and ready to be taken home by its new owner, I waltzed back to the car feeling chuffed to bits. The jar has been crammed full of fresh flowers and is looking just dandy. Thanks to all concerned for your help!

What a lovely end to the week. Just taken a call from a very enthusiastic lady that went along the lines of: “My friend has an amazing house and would be really keen for it to appear in a magazine. Every single room is gorgeous!” I can’t wait to see the shots.

This weekend, with rather autumnal weather on the cards, I’m determined to crack on with a few bedroom makeover tasks. I recently ordered some matt chrome retro-style switches online and am delighted that they are now in situ and looking good beside the Rockett St George wall lamps.

In between the long list of jobs on the To Do list, I’m aiming to find a few moments to browse through the latest Vanessa Arbuthnott catalogue that’s just plonked through the letterbox. Her new Bohemian Collection (pictured) has a truly romantic theme, inspired by the countryside and Vanessa’s rural roots in the heart of Gloucestershire.

Thanks very much to Diana, Claire, Gillian, Tilly, Tilli and Simone for taking the time to pop over to my Facebook page and also for all the follows on Twitter.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, I hope it’s a good one.