Jem-ing some Joules, a peek at my master bedroom

I'll preface this post with a warning: if you're a fan of all-white minimal colour schemes, sharp edges and  modern design you have probably wound up on the wrong blog, it happens! However if you're partial to a well loved suitcase, a little clutter and a blousy floral read on . . . . 

A few weeks ago I was contacted regarding the launch of the Joules bedding range in collaboration with Bedeck - until this point I had been totally unaware that Joules were branching out into homeware so it came as a very pleasant surprise and I jumped at the chance to review some of the bedding! I grew up pony-mad, so Joules have always been on my radar as they started out firmly rooted in equestrian/country attire and I adore their heritage feel. My Joules wrist-warmers have seen me through three winters, I have a years-old pair of their wellies still going strong and a Cowdray sweatshirt that has seen better days due to being very well-loved. 

I hinted that I was especially in love with both the Sunbird Floral and the Lulu Floral duvet covers and crossed my fingers that when my review parcel arrived one of those would be in it - as you can see I wasn't disappointed. The postman seemed taken aback at my enthusiasm when he handed me the floral-bagged package and despite wanting to rip it open on the spot I did manage to wait until he had departed. I'm quite fussy about how fabrics feel - so both bedding and clothing have to feel good against my skin or chances are I'll never use them - the duvet cover I received did have that new-sheets stiffness out of the packet but after washing and pressing I was more than happy to get it onto my bed!

Having slept with the duvet for several nights running now (hence the creases!) I can confidently say I'm a smitten kitten, I can tell that the cotton will soften beautifully the more it is washed and I have been impressed with the quality of the print as well as the button closure at the bottom of the cover - I love a button closure. The vibrant bird and floral pattern is even more beautiful in person than what I saw on the website, but the surprise for me was just how much I loved the reverse side with its simple stripes - all the duvet covers in the range are reversible - but somehow I hadn't really thought about how functional this is. My man isn't massively keen on all things floral and although he had said the bedroom was my domain to do with as I fancied (he's a keeper!) I was pleased when I road tested the stripy side and found it suited his simple tastes. Overall I can give the Sunbird Floral duvet cover a definite thumbs up for both quality and aesthetic, will absolutely be putting my money where my mouth is and treating myself to the pillowcases. Although as you can tell I'm not totally matchy-matchy where interiors are concerned so I might well pick up the Lulu Floral duvet cover as a spare set, or the Reversible Horse cover. Hmmmm . . . . 

I was in the middle of a shoestring revamp of our master bedroom when the duvet cover arrived, and when I say shoestring I mean exactly that - our Ikea fixer-upper bedroom furniture bought in 2007 for our very first flat was looking tired and had never really been what we wanted anyway although it did the job admirably! Freecycle and eBay were my first ports of call, no luck with the former but after several fraught bidding wars I was thrilled with the white-painted 1930s two drawer chest for £10 and the larger dark wood 2 drawers over 3 chest for £20, its drawers are lined in gorgeous old wallpaper. Our bed frame was also from eBay and came in at £42,  although the dark wood drawers are my favourite buy I was most excited about the bed frame as the boy and I had shared a 3/4 mattress on top of a super shallow divan base for 5 years which meant we were only around 10 inches off the floor while sleeping. A proper double bed with a memory-foam topped mattress (thanks Dad!) has felt like pure luxury for the past week, I could get used to this! 

When it comes to other touches you'll be totally unsurprised if you are a regular reader; stacked vintage suitcases, old postcards, battered frames and flowers in jam-jars are some of my very favourite things. Flowers do magical things to a room, especially when dotted around in smaller makeshift vases I think - I love using old tea caddies and golden syrup tins too. The large jar on the left hand chest of drawers is a 1922 Kilner, the glass is so beautifully thick and slightly wobbly and I love the seafoam green hue to it. Nothing in our bedroom cost a fortune - the worn leather suitcases were £10 for two, the mesh birdcage-esque drawers were £15 and the truly awful landscape (I have an inexplicable love for it) to the right of my framed postcards was only £1 - and it all came from local markets and charity shops. It has been more fun than I can tell you bringing out pretty things I already owned too, I really don't think you have to spend a fortune to give a room a lift.  

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, especially those lucky souls at Bestival (I'm not jealous at all!)

If you're as enamoured with the new bedding collection as I am you can shop bed linen at Joules