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The Guest House

Jun 17

A Stylish Pink Bathroom

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STYLISH PINK BATHROOM. At least not in the house we just purchased. There is, however, this appalling state of a

Marie-Louise

Jun 13

To Bathe Or Not To Bathe?

This isn't a hygiene question - this is a bathtub question. We are all shower people in my family. The kids stopped taking baths a couple of

Marie-Louise

Jun 11

Choosing Tiles And Taps (Or, How To Know You're Middle-Aged)

One of the updates I'm most excited about for The Guest House is the overhaul of the bathrooms. This morning, we headed out to Moncada to me

Marie-Louise

Jun 9

Ceilings (And Other Things I Never Previously Thought About)

Work on The Guest House is well underway! Our first project is the most straightforward and not actually worthy of a photo series - it's sim

Marie-Louise

Jun 5

Our First Home

Well, we did it - on June 1st, 2020, we finally bought our house! Work is underway so that we can move in at the beginning of July. The prop

Marie-Louise

May 25

How To Make A Kid's Reading Nook

My daughter is seven and obsessed with books. This is by far my proudest parenting coup to date even though it clearly has nothing to do wit

Marie-Louise

May 24

5 Interior Design Mistakes To Avoid

Obviously, there are a gazillion mistakes you can make when tackling the interior design of your house. But let's just focus on the five int

Marie-Louise

May 23

How To Figure Out Your Interior Style

Oooh, this is a juicy one. On the front page of this blog, I've currently written 'Expat Interior Style' right across the top. What does tha

Marie-Louise

May 22

10 Questions To Ask Before Starting An Interior Design or Home Decor Project

I'm currently enrolled in an online course to get an Interior Design Certification. I have no idea what kind of value, if any, this certific

Marie-Louise

May 21

How To Create The Perfect Outdoor Dining Space

Well, perfect in my eyes, but that doesn't make for a Pinterest-worthy title, does it?! One of the reasons we moved to Valencia is that the

Marie-Louise

May 20

What's In A Name?

I'm always interested in the story behind a name, especially the more unusual ones. (Why DID you name your kid Zephyr? Please, do tell!) So

Marie-Louise

May 19

Walk-In Pantry Wishlist

Or: How You Know You're Middle-Aged I think my walk-in pantry fantasy has more to do with the fact that I'm only 164cm (that's 5'4" for tho

Marie-Louise

May 19

Be My Guest

I love hosting overnight guests which has made apartment living a bit of a drag. There's never enough room for anyone to stay comfortably fo

Marie-Louise

May 17

Boys Will Be Boys

Oh, how I hate that saying. It's an excuse for so much vile behaviour, isn't it? It also pushes the theory that boys and girls are just inhe

Marie-Louise

May 16

Ever Evolving

The problem with children is that they are always changing. Just when you think you've got them sussed, they go and morph into another being

Marie-Louise

May 16

Master of Sleep

Every time I've decorated a new home, I've always found myself veering towards colour. Initially, I firmly remind myself that I'd like a coo

Marie-Louise

May 15

Dining Drama

I'll be the first to admit it - I'm rather terrible at throwing dinner parties. My cooking is sub-standard and I never seem to get the timin

Marie-Louise

May 12

Space To Live

Out of all the rooms in our new house, I think the living room is the one in which we'll probably spend the most time, other than the kitche

Marie-Louise

May 11

Opportunity Knocks

Today, I'm going to address the one room of the house that I have zero motivation to style. I'm not sure if anyone else feels the same way,

Marie-Louise

May 10

Different

You'd think that as your completely stereotypical nuclear family - mum, dad, 2.5 kids (girl, boy, dog) - we'd choose a completely stereotypi

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