I was lucky enough to visit in late March, and the famous cherry blossoms were out in full bloom. People in Japan treat the sakura with a kind of reverence and celebrate with hanami parties (basically a great excuse to sit under the trees, drink and be merry!). And it’s not just a visual thing – we ate cherry blossom ice cream and cherry blossom sweets which were like mini works of art!

I recently saw this cushion from Laura Ashley and it brought back all those wonderful memories. I think it would look stunning on a bright pink armchair, perhaps upholstered in a chenille or chunky cord. 

Homebase also have a beautiful cherry blossom wallpaper which could look good on a feature wall (I think a whole room would be overpowering) I’m tempted to visit my local store at the weekend to pick up a sample – even if I don’d end up using it, I could put it in a frame to make a great piece of mini-art!

I went along on the opening day, full of anticipation, and was not disappointed. Spread over 2 floors, I was astounded by the scale of the place and delighted with the sheer array of homewares on offer, all in a rainbow of colours to suit every possible decor theme. Brands on offer include Dorma linen, Brabantia kitchenwares, and bargain Wedgwood china. Glamour girls will love the range of Kylie at Home bedding! 

I came away with a modest purchase (a £2.99 spray of faux peach blossom) but will definitely be back once the crowds have died down. 

Visit the website to find a store close to you, or alternatively place an online order - there’s currently free delivery on beds and furniture (available until 18th September)

I did manage to grow some delicious chillies (though these were grown on the windowsill indoors) but my tomato plants failed dismally. To begin with, gusts of wind kept snapping the delicate branches, and then a cold snap made the leaves wilt and drop off. Lastly the lack of sunshine means that the tiny fruits have refused to ripen. Very disappointing! Still, there’s nothing like home-grown produce and I refuse to give up… though next year I plan to invest in a mini greenhouse!

As it’s been such a poor Summer, I’ve promised myself some cosy bedlinen to snuggle up to as the nights begin to draw in. The dreamy duck egg blue colour on this Coniston Throw attracted me immediately, but unfortunately wouldnt go with the cream carpet and walls in my bedroom. Luckily The White Company have a very similar (albeit pricier) throw available in fawn or storm grey which would suit most neutral schemes.

I’m still hankering after an ottoman for our front room – I’ve picked out one I like from The Footstool Company but haven’t been able to convince myself to part with the necessary cash!

The last thing on my shopping list for Autumn is a cosy floor lamp to read by in the evenings. I like the tripod style ones but am not sure if they’re a fad or not? Online retailer Grattan has an affordable version currently on sale at £25.

The main objective was to brighten up the room and I definitely think the new tiles have achieved this. We’re fortunate to have a big window in our bathroom which lets in the light, and the shiny-ness of the tiles helps to enhance this. Now, we just need to be clever with our storage to make sure that the room doesn’t get cluttered up (and I promise not to cover every available surface in shampoo and shower gel bottles!!)

I’m also going to treat myself to some new accessories – I think wood or chrome will keep things neutral and I’ve seen some affordable things at Next and John Lewis which I can get in my lunch break!

The tiler is booked, so this weekend we started the job of removing all the old tiles from our bathroom. Here’s a ‘before’ photo:

Unfortunately the task of removing the tiles proved not to be as straightforward as we had hoped (it never is!). We bought our house in the height of the UK obsession with TV property programmes (Changing Rooms, Location Location, Location, Property Ladder et al) from a guy who had clearly bought the house at a good price and then spent 6 months doing it up. Except he seems to have run out of steam halfway through and obviously cut corners wherever possible…so most things in our house superficially look nice, but they hide a wealth of DIY sins which we keep on discovering!

The problem in the bathroom is that he applied tiles straight onto plasterboard, which means that big chunks of plaster came off with the removal of each tile. So now we have a lovely hole in one wall! Great, huh?

So we took a trip to the DIY store for a new piece of board. Unfortunately at least 2 walls in the bathroom potentially have the same problem, so we decided that the tiler will have to tile over some of the old tiles rather than risking another disaster and more holes in the walls. The new board will have to be treated for water-resistance before the tiler arrives. More work and more expense for us!

Tune in for the next thrilling installment of ‘Karen vs The Bathroom Project’. I have a feeling it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Stage one – I got someone from Wickes to come and draft up some ideas for us. Things didn’t bode well when she laughed out loud at the size of the room. 2 weeks later, we got the plans through and they were disappointing. We could squeeze in a full sized bathtub but would have to compromise with a cloakroom sized toilet and sink. Rather than buying a new (inferior) suite unnecessarily, I decided to scrap the plans for a new layout and and spend money on new tiles and a professional fitter instead.

Stage two – I started phoning local tradesmen to get quotes. This, I discovered, is one of the hardest things in the world! The first tiler, who lives very locally, stood me up not once but twice. When I phoned to see where he had got to, he was rude, dismissive and totally unapologetic for wasting my time. I put the phone down in a huff, and immediately called 4 other local businesses. The first one “didn’t do tiling any more” despite having a current advert in the Yellow Pages, and the 2nd one was fully booked until July. The others didn’t pick up the phone at all. Arrgghh!

So that brings me to stage three – wondering if the whole project is worth the hassle, or whether I can actually put up with those dark blue, badly fitted mosaic tiles after all. I like to think that there is a lovely reliable man/woman out there who will come tile my walls in a clean and tidy manner and not charge the earth, but does anyone know where I can track down these knights in shining armour? Answers on a postcard please!

• The Newgate Quad Clock in chrome – this little 1930′s inspired beauty appeals to my love of Art Deco style shiny things, but £80 is a lot of money for a clock!
• A new picnic set – I am the proud owner of an empty but rather grand Fortnum & Mason ‘Weekender’ wicker hamper, and need some funky melamine plates and glasses
  to put in it. Picnic sets haven’t really hit the shops yet, however, so I will have to be patient.
• These gorgeous fairy lights from The White Company - They’re part of the new 2008 Spring/Summer collection (the kids’ collection, to be precise, but they are surely far too pretty and glamorous to be restricted to children’s bedrooms!) 
• A small sofa/ottoman for the bay window in our living room – I could do with some extra storage so an ottoman or wooden chest would be the sensible option here,
  but I’m also tempted to buy a small sofa to fill the gap. I’ve seen one I like from an online company called SofaSofa which comes in a chenille fabric for just £259. But I don’t know whether I’m prepared to make the leap of buying large furniture online without seeing it up close.

Decisions, decisions!