A Living Room Tour!

As many of you may know, I have recently moved house! I left the quiet streets of sleepy Farnham and traded up. I have moved to bustling Brighton, where there truly is never a dull moment. Let me explain my living situation a little. I live with my boyfriend in a two-bedroom flat in the heart of the high street. We have already found our favourite wine shop and established that there is a really good pizza place a couple of doors down. Originally, when I started my 'Moving and Improving' series, my plan was to move in with my best friend. Unfortunately, life got in the way and we couldn't make it work. However, our plan hasn't changed too much as she will hopefully be packing and moving next year. 

Before I show you my lovely new living room, I want to issue a few thank-yous. 

Firstly, thank you to my parents who dragged all my stuff from my home-town to here (a 3-hour drive nonetheless). Secondly, thank you to my boyfriend who has to put things in high places that I can't reach, carry stuff up heavy stairs and deal with me decorating our new little home. Thirdly, thank you to Perch and Parrow who gave us our lovely sofa. 

My boyfriend and I were having a conversation about sofas the other day. He was talking about when he lived with his parents and the sofa was just always...there. And when moved into his student house, a sofa was included. We spent over a month without a sofa, hunting for the right one that would fit our space and our comfort needs. What I am saying is - a sofa is a privilege you don't usually think about.  Most houses have them or come with them when you rent but as soon as you have an unfurnished property, you figure out you truly can't live without one. So I want to say a massive thank-you to Perch and Parrow who were kind enough to gift us a sofa. 

So the sofa you see pictured is huge. I found it difficult to fit all its beauty in one lense. However, their website is linked throughout and I will make sure to link it again at the end of this post. This is the Arun Three-Seater Chaise Sofa in the colour Sea Salt. Perch and Parrow make bespoke furniture in a selection of colours and fabrics.

Next to my new sofa from Perch and Parrow is my coffee table. A little while ago, I wrote a post titled One Small Step into Adulthood where I spoke about a table I purchased from the charity shop. The table was the first proper adult item I had bought and having it all made up in my new house, really does remind me that I am a full-grown human now. 

On this table, I have a few items. Firstly is my chess board from my Dad, which he got me as a graduation present. Then I have a few of my older books (a common theme in my new flat), like Grimm's fairytales and Longfellow. As well as a faux cactus and a few candles.

Across the room is my fireplace. This fireplace is not useable, it has been built up so we cannot light fires in it. However, I have covered the grate in candles so at least we can pretend there is a fire there. On top of it, I have put a photo of me and my boyfriend, a few more books (see, I told you it was an ongoing theme), including my signed copy of Autumn by Ali Smith and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. My candle from Newshome Candles has also found its home on my fireplace as well as some more faux cacti. Stuck on my mirror is a quote from the one and only Dolly Parton and also, a polaroid of my dogs. And finally, there is my glass jar with a few wine corks in it. My boyfriend and I plan to fill this jar up with more corks but we always end up drinking cheap wine. 

 Above my sofa is a shelf, which frankly, is way too high for me to reach. So I spend the majority of time asking my boyfriend to move things around for me. On this shelf is a plethora of items which I have collected throughout a few years. As I have so many books, I went for a yellow, orange, brown and white colour pallete here as I thought it matched the majority of the other items.

My newest addition is Sedrick, my ivy plant. When I first moved into my new home, my boyfriend had already been living there for a month. He told me he was going to buy me flowers as a moving in present but instead, he surprised me with a massive ivy plant which we later decided to call Sedrick. Sedrick is currently alive and healthy, let's hope he stays that way!

Next up is my buddha head. He is made from solid stone and is extremely heavy. Again, I have an array of books, which I have already mentioned. A few of my notable favourites on this shelf are - Angela Carter's Fairly tales, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and Nutshell by Ian McEwan. And for all the readers who have been keeping a close eye on my collection of books, yes that is my second copy of Grimm's fairytales. The first was on the coffee table and no, these are definitely not my only two copies. 

Now, probably one of the most interesting items in my flat is this teapot. I picked up this teapot from a really random charity shop in my hometown when I was 13 or 14 (just for reference, I am now 21 years old) and it has been with ever since. I don't know what drew me to this teapot. It could have been the intricate design or the fascinating colour palette. It could have been the fact that it says 'Made in Japan' on the bottom and was definitely brought over by a person, not by a company. Or and probably, the most likely, it could be because it reminded me of Mulan, my favourite film in the world. Anyway, I love it and it looks amazing alongside all my other items. 

Next to my mysterious teapot is me and my boyfriend's graduation photos. We are now deeply in debut and have wrinkles made from pure stress but it's a nice reminder of how we got here. We are now both happily living together, in a wonderful area, both working in our respective fields.  

And finally is my funky highland Cow picture which was a gift from my now ex-housemate. His vibrant orangey and yellow shades fit perfectly with my  colour palette. 

Thank you for reading this post and thank you to all the people who made it possible to actually make this move happen. Again, thank you Perch and Parrow for gifting this sofa to us. Please keep up-to-date on this series, I may have moved but I still have a lot of adulting to learn!

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Shop this post:

Sofa: Perch and Parrow

Cactus Candle: Vinegar Hill (no longer listed)

Ali Smith Book (Signed): Thrifted

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Book (Signed): Waterstones

Fluffy Blanket: TK MAXX (Similar one linked)

Candle: Newshome Candles

Sedrick The Ivy Plant: Brighton Plant Shop

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