The Ins & Outs - Polly's Big Day & How to Make Your Kitchen Feel Bigger

Episode Date: February 4, 2025

Polly’s big day is almost upon us, with "How To Design A Garden" out this week (February 6th). Make sure you've preordered here... https://geni.us/HowToDesignAGardenJojo talks us through her rules for artwork above your bed and gives us some great tips to make your kitchen feel bigger.Polly teaches us how to balance the colours in your garden and lets us know what seeds we can still plant at this time of year.This episode is sponsored by fabric and homeware business Tori Murphy. Tori Murphy is an English textile brand dedicated to creating thoughtful, timeless and sustainable products for the modern family home. Visit their website https://www.torimurphy.com/ and use the discount code inandout10% at the checkout to get 10% off and check them out on Instagram @torimurphytextilesInstagramPodcast - @the_insandouts_Jojo - @houseninedesignPolly - @pollyanna_wilkinsonProducer Andy - @andy_rowe_WebsitesJojo - https://www.housenine.co.uk/Polly - https://www.pollyannawilkinson.com/Pod Rowe Productions - https://www.podrowe.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Innes and Outies and welcome to this week's episode of the Inns and Outs podcast with myself Jojo Barr and the lovely Pollyanna Wilkinson. On today's episode, Polly's big day is almost upon us. I tell a cracking joke, if I do say so. Colors that balance your garden from Polly, my rules for artwork above the bed, Polly lets us know what seeds we can still plant at this time of year, and how to make your kitchens feel bigger.

Now this week's episode, we're very excited to announce, is sponsored by the gorgeous, talented female founder, mother of three. Basically, I have a bit of a girl crush on her, Tori Murphy. She makes the most beautiful curtains you have ever seen. And she's just hit something so unique in the market that I don't think anyone else is doing. Polly and I went to see her at Decorex this year actually, didn't we, Polly? And we swooned, heavily swooned over all her wares.

That's where I fell in love. You fell in love. And from there, we've both basically now got Tory Murphy curtains in our house. My little Ziggs and Rocky share a room together, which is always something I believed in. So my two little girls share a room, but Ziggy's in her bed is in like a sort of nook in our in her bedroom. So almost as if not in like the eaves. And so it's almost like a little den. And I've always wanted to have a curtain across this little den. And as soon as I saw this curtain from Tory Murphy, it's this beautiful sort of burgundy stripe, like a sort of almost like a circus stripe. And it's got this lovely big floppy heading and that

is now Pride of Place creating this little den for her so every night she pulls her little curtains across, so whisks them across and she sits in there and reads her books at night which she could never do before so it is so special and looks so gorgeous. I will post a photo of it on the Inns and Outs page so that you can see it but Polly tell us what your curtains are like. They're so thick and beautifully lined aren't they? They're stunning. Oh my god, they're so beautiful. They're actually the ones I saw at DecorX and I just pointed them and didn't I say to you, can I have these, Jojo?

You did. I think you might have ran at full pace over to the stand and just fallen into them. Exactly. And these stunning ochre, sort of very very deep sand coloured curtains. They are, oh I love them so much. So there's sort of this ochre linen on one side and then on the other side a beautiful stripe with a sort of rusty stripe so that when you're outside looking in you get to this little peak of both. But it's so, they're so unique aren't they? Because if you have a say a side door or a front door and there's a bit of a draft or a chill that comes through, I can't tell you how effective a curtain is at stopping that draft from coming through and something like this

because they're wool, so the fab this sort of stripe, she does them in either wool or cotton but there's lovely stripes, really beautiful patterns. I just have so much respect for what she's created because I think it's so incredibly unique and English and it's got a sort of a classic traditional twist that's on these sort of slouchy curtains and they're just they're really really unique and actually now she even does wartime poles and hold backs you know some really nice to pull the curtains back with. I love those swirly-whirly hold backs. They're like a giant button.

Exactly that goes on the side of the wall to hold the curtain back. But so I can't rave more highly about her and she's just so cool. She's just so cool. And also she's now opened the most beautiful, go and follow her Instagram actually because she's just opened up her own store

and it is like sort of Decorex on crack. It's so delicious. It's so beautiful. It's in, if anyone's near Grantham, it's so delicious it's it's so beautiful it's in I don't if anyone's near Grantham it's about an hour outside of London go and check it out but but Tori thank you so much and she's also offering a discount code to all our innies and outies which is in and out 10% which you've used at checkout will give you 10% off any of her amazing wares gosh sorry that was a huge introduction to our podcast sponsor

this week, but she's worth it. So go and check her out please for every reason just to swoon at her and her wares. Yeah. And I will also share a picture of mine because I can't do them justice in words. They're just the prettiest thing you've ever seen. They are. That lovely yellow, that blush pink walls. Delicious. I feel like this is all eyes on you this week Paul. This is a huge week for our poly here. The due date's nearly here. The book's nearly out. She's due. The baby's out. The baby's out the baby is coming out in two days yeah I am swollen positively ecstatic the book comes out on Thursday so depending on when you're listening to this it might be out oh my gosh Thursday the 6th of February get your

order in right now Polly's book on your coffee tables in your hands grab yourself a cuppa or a martini or a gin tea. Get it, get it, get it. To be fair, without being salesy, it is the perfect time to plan your garden because it's still, you know, it's not like, you know, as soon as it gets to Easter, everyone's obsessed with their gardens, but I know it's still cold and February-ish. So it's a great time to sit down, have a little read,

make a plan. Now's the time to do it. So perfect, perfect time. And then you can start planting and having or building or whatever It is you need to do and you're gone in the spring. So order the book Thank you. Okay. Anyway, catch me up. What's going on with you? Oh gosh pal Um, I've been spending all of my days in hospital right now I'm afraid with my dear dad

So things have taken a little turn for the worse, which as anyone will know, this bastard disease, it doesn't go the way you think it's going to go or that you want it to go. So one minute we're thinking, right, chemo is going to start next week and then something will happen. So it's been a roller coaster of just ups and downs. But in good news, mum has had her second operation now on her arm and she is back home and recovering. So I'm feeling very grateful for that. And also just, I know I'm just going to give the biggest shout out right now to my sister because I am so eternally grateful to my sister Lulu, who by the way listens to this podcast religiously. She loves

it. So which is so special, But I just I love you so much Lou and I'm so grateful to have you by my side at this very, very challenging time. And yeah, it's not easy. I have to tell you, I love my dad more than life itself. So it's a it's a bastard, but I'm just trying to stay strong, get through it as best I can. And also just how are you juggling everything, pal? I was going to say, well, I have an amazing, very supportive husband, as does Lulu, luckily. Brad's been an absolute rock with the kids.

But I think it's difficult when you're when you're so distracted with something that's so heavy and obviously it's so it really your feet feel so sort of like they're just floating slightly off the floor. You can't quite put them on the floor and everything around you and everything you're doing and work and kids, I can't quite grip onto them. It's like, because I'm constantly needed elsewhere. Like my mind is so on this situation right now. But who knows how long it's going to go on for and who knows, it just seems to be so many ups and downs. But what I will say, it's really given me so much reflection over in the past when friends of mine whose parents

might have passed away or they've been through something similar or friends and family and I don't think until you're actually in it, you really truly understand what people go through. And I found that I've, I've sought an awful lot of solace in, um, in joining groups or understanding or reading about other stories and other people's experiences of, of pancreatic cancer and of what they went through. Um, because I think everybody's story is so different, but I think you find comfort in other people who've been, have sort of trodden the same road, if that makes sense. And so that's given me an awful lot of comfort right now.

So for anyone else out there who's walking down that same path as me, my heart's with you, I feel for you because it's a very tough time. It's not easy with small kids and a busy business as well. It's not like you can just put both of those things down and not think about them. No and actually my team have been absolutely amazing because I've been slightly vacant and I always try and be really sort of involved in everything we're doing but at times I've just been my head's not being in it and they've just been absolutely amazing all of them I'm so lucky

to have such an incredible and supportive team um so thank you all so much I can't I love you all um anyway enough about that I'm so conscious I don't want to make it all sort of doom and gloom so um you know there'll hopefully be some light within the dark so um we always bring our true selves here sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's sad. And that's yeah, that's why our innies and outies are with us. Right. Exactly. Thanks guys.

Thanks for all your lovely messages. I know I say every week, but I'm so grateful to all. Thank you so much. So yes, what about you my love catch me up with some fun stuff. Give me some fun, please. Give me some light. Check some of your fun in here. Here, here's something special, just to take it from the incredibly sad and horrible to the ridiculous.

I have been, I've been to House of Plague this week. I've had, Colin's had God knows what, flu, was it COVID, was it, I don't know. He soldiered through, bless him, I think it really hit him for six. There's lots going around, isn't there? And then my son had Hmm

Would we call it no Rovirus the shirts he had the shirts and I gotta tell you You know when you say you should Scotch guard your sofa Your velvet sofa. Oh no. Let's just say I didn't Scotchgard mine. The sew her home velvet sofa? The pale, pale green sew her home velvet sofa. Oh no.

Took a bit of a beating this week. Oh darling. He sharted. He sharted on the velvet sofa. He sharted on the velvet sofa. Poor boy. Poor boy. I, poor boy, poor boy. I know everyone has said poor boy and I was like, yes, poor boy, but also poor mommy.

Poor sofa, poor sofa, poor mommy, yes. So that was fun, thank God I had some carpet cleaner in the house. So that was probably the low point of my week. And you haven't caught anything, you're okay. Oh my God, do you know, I feel like I've been walking around in a hazmat suit, because obviously with the book launch this week I was like I cannot miss my own book launch yeah I will down 27 in modium and you

know whatever it takes I just so I've been utterly terrified of that just because the launch also fun fact I had breakfast with Adam Frost this week. Do you know who Adam Frost is? I don't, I'm afraid, sorry, fill me in. Fill us in. Who's Adam Frost? Someone doesn't watch Gardeners World. No, I don't.

He's one of the, he's a brilliant gardener designer and gardener, and he's one of the presenters on Gardeners World. And we've both got books coming out at the same time, so we found ourselves having breakfast together at a Hampton by Hilton in Bath. Oh wow. I wish I'd said it was a bit surreal.

Having watched him on Gardener's World for god knows how many years. I might have to google this chat. I feel a bit bad for not knowing who he is. You should know. I mean all the outies are absolutely groaning at you right now. Okay sorry Ateez but listen I'm a very much like a, I'm really terrible with names but brilliant with faces. I could stop some oh, yes

Of course, I know him there. Yeah, I know him. Yes. Hi Adam. Sorry about that. I know your face I don't know your name now. I do Probably the highlight of the week versus the low light of the room. Oh, wow Yes, okay Highlight Tony tiny thing other highlight Colin has bought me a bird feeder with a camera in it. So anytime a bird comes in and eats that it has like a sensor and it takes a photo. Oh, sweet.

That's a really cool present. Isn't that so cool? I just came home and he was like, open that box. Does it, if it would be even cooler, it would be even cooler if it had like a little cattle prod that came out and zapped a squirrel. So it takes a photo of the bird. Oh I thought you were going for the birds there. I thought no, no, no. Yeah I know that, I know it's just going to actually be a series of photos of squirrels isn't it. But I can't wait. I will share an image of the first bird I get. Okay, sounds good. There is one more thing I thing. I haven't told you I got I've first time ever I've got brown nails

I've got brown. I went to the nail shop. I literally went to the nail shop and I was like I'll go brown today and I had brown Nails, it's I like them, but then it's very unusual. I mean, I don't think it's I I like them, but then it's very unusual. I mean, I don't think it's a bit lucky. I was worried when she was putting them on that they were a little bit like slightly sort of poo brown. Oh shit fingers. Shit fingers. Yeah. I mean, it would go well in your world because you sort of dig in dirt.

It was sort of very intentional. But I just I keep looking down I'm like is that nice? Does that look nice? My hands are all pasty. I'll share a photo of that too, I'm very curious. I'll share a photo of that, just yeah anyway there you go. So good catch up this week. That was a real random array of catch ups wasn't it? I tell you what to liven up the mood my end apart from my shit brown nails, I have got a joke for you finally is it as good as my one was no but it just oh really tickled me okay what's managed my expectations so let's hear it what's the definition and what's the definition of suspicious

i don't know nuns doing squats in a cucumber field. Indeed. That's a shame. Can you just picture it though? If you just picture it, it becomes more funny. Yeah, it does. It's a really visual image, isn't it? It's a really... So imagine looking out and seeing lots of nuns just bobbing up and down, squatting, but smiling at the same time. So nuns just bobbing up and down, squatting,

but smiling at the same time. So there you go. Quite serene smile one hopes. With that, shall we just jump straight head first into a cucumber field? I mean into some questions. Let's. Come on then. Let's do that.

Jump on in. Go on. Gosh. Come on, let's do a bumper, a bumper crop. A bumper crop, if you will. Yes. Speaking of cucumber fields. I love a little quick fire round because it's just, it's very testing, isn't it?

Very testing on our, on our knowledge. It is, and that mail bag is a bulgeon. I've got one from Ginny. When choosing a colour scheme for a room, do you start with the paint or the fabric? This is a really interesting question actually. I like this question. I would only start ever with a fabric if it was a really, if it was a fabric that I saw and I was like,

I really want to use that. Like I've seen it, I love it, I want to use that somewhere in my house and I would then build around it. So then you would pick obviously a paint color to match that fabric. But actually where we always start is with hard finishes. So we would not start anything until we had the hard finishes down. So I suppose if you're it depends if you're renovating or just refurbishing, you know, but I would I would always tend to go.

I would go floors. Yeah, I'd sort of go, are you doing wood or stone? And then I'm going to say paint. I'm going to say paint and wallpaper and then comes fabric. Yeah. But you would only really ever choose fabric first if you're building a scheme around it. So a lot of designers might go out and find, see, you might have noticed with our designs at House Nine,

I wouldn't say that we are heavily, we're not heavily pattern based. Our colours, the patterns that we use tend to be quite small and delicate. And therefore I think if you were a designer that particularly loved big bold fabrics and patterns, or you particularly, I know if you had if you fancy a wallpaper for instance in a downstairs loo that was wild they had tigers all over it and that's what you just really want that wallpaper then of course you're gonna build the scheme around that wallpaper so yeah very very much depends okay I've got one here from Laura Laura is asking what can I be planting now to help my garden look good in the summer? Spring bulbs are done. Good girl. Yeah, good girl. Well done. Oh gosh, well anything. I mean, you can plant. It's a great

time to plant now. So we're sort of February, so February, March, April, brilliant time to plant and to, as we move into the warmer months of March, April, you can start dividing too. But you say you want summer interest. So, I mean, you've got so much choice. What color do you want? What time in summer? June, July, August? I mean, some of my faves that I would plant in spring, I'd probably wait until March, to be honest,

rather than doing it in February, just in case we get a coldy. Sometimes it gets really cold. I say it all the time, don't I? I'll come up with some different ones, but I mean, I love a hardy geranium for something which is gonna work really hard. So something like geranium, rosanne, or azure rush,

or Orion, those are all purpley ones, those are lovely. You could bring in some salvears, which give good height, that's sort of better for early summer. So you've got the old classic salvia caradonna which is a very dark purple or you could go salvia amethyst which I really like which is more of a pink one which we use quite a lot if we just want to move away from being too purpley I'm just looking in my garden now for different ideas summer feels so long ago doesn't it if you've got a shadier spot, you could

whack in some anemones, which are great for late summer, and they come in whites and pinks. They are rampant though, so watch out. Anemones. Do you know what I love? I actually have decided I really love, I guess you like what you know will work in your surroundings, right? So I think where I live, I love more sort of wild flowers. So more sort of things that I imagine would grow up around here. So I actually love your tulip collection. I actually really love those sort of peachy colours, sort of softer colours, more muted. Yeah, lovely. I don't like sort of the hot pinks and I definitely don't like red. I've decided I don't like red flowers. I've decided. Isn't that interesting? I think red's really divisive. It's very

rare that we put red flowers into a garden. Now what we will do is crimson, like a really beautiful sort of clarity, crimson-y colour, but I very very rarely put anything red in. It's the same as interior isn't it? Red is that really, it's the strongest color in the color wheel. So it's very aggressive and it really draws the eye. It does, yeah. Oh and roses, well let's talk about roses. Roses is the perfect time to be putting them in and I wouldn't be without them in any garden. So as long as you don't have deer, they're gonna eat them all. Now actually is the perfect time

to be ordering their root and put them in. So they're gonna flower for loads of summer. Do you like yellow flowers? Did I make that up? You don't, what do you do? Does it depend on the yellow? I do, I do. But I mean, I know a lot of people hate yellow flowers,

but it's not really about yellow on its own. I'm sure you feel the same in interiors. It's things like there's this very pale yellow that you get in a plant that we use a lot called Choreopsis moonbeam. That's Choreopsis with a C, which is like a really really pale star-shaped flower which looks insane next to purples and it just chills out purple because if you do too much purple it can be quite like, mmm. Yeah, so I don't like purple so much as a colour. Whereas if you pop in and really pale yellow. Yeah that's such a god.

Can you imagine that? No I'm not that keen on purple. Oh it's stunning because they're kind of complementary you know they sort of sit opposite each other on the colour wheel so people that are very resistant to yellow will also will often be like look we just need a little bit because it's gonna be this incredible counterpoint. Oh that's so interesting. It's like balances.

If it helps to balance. Yeah that's so interesting. And same with orange. Yeah I see I often do orange with blue, orange with purple. Yeah that's why you shouldn't shy away from the colors. Red is actually the only one that I find really hard to harmonize with and that's we don't really use red in sort of really fiery schemes where we're using orange and yellow as well. And usually for late summer color

when those colors are more prevalent. But like red and purple, for example, together, no, no. So pale yellow is absolute beauties and things like rude becky air as well as a sort of hotter yellow that looks incredible. Did you just hear my stomach? I actually thought the cat was at the door. I couldn't work out what that noise was.

It went, mm. That was my- You've not had any breakfast. I wonder if I only got picked that up actually. I hope so. How's your algae going pal? It hasn't actually arrived yet so I think it might be coming from the States. I think it's actually coming from Japan so I'll let you know about that. Slow is how it's coming. I'm so excited to watch you age backwards. Come on, chop chop. Yeah, I know. I want to know what's going on. Okay, I've got a little question from Ruth. Wall art for behind headboard in a bedroom. She's got dusky pink walls and blue velvet soft furnishings. I want it to look nice and not look like it's from Next.

Solid burn on Next there. Sorry, Next. Okay, let's see, Paul, do you know what I'm going to say? Because this has been a question. I know that you're not a massive fan of blue velvet. And I also know that you say no art above headboards. Yes, but I love that you've been listening, Polly. I don't believe in putting things above headboards guys, I'm afraid. Unless it is a particularly high ceiling, I will always put things off to the side of the headboard.

I will never put them above your headboard. I don't believe that artwork looks right above a headboard. So what if it says welcome in neon or live love laugh? Okay so not all right so Ruth in answer to your question no art. No I'm sorry no art. So instead. But okay so instead so if you are again it very much depends on the budget. Blue, velvet and dusk pink. Again, those two colors together, and this is what we spoke about last week, they are quite counter sort of active with each other. And I actually don't think,

so blue and pink are very, very complimentary, but in a way they need something like black and white to help kind of marry the two together. Otherwise, I think they feel a bit, if you just had pink and blue in a room together, it would feel exactly like we spoke about last week. It would feel like pink and yellow in the same room together. It would feel like it needs something to break it up. So I always think something like a very slim black frame with a lovely big white

mount, and then either you could have some nice black and white artwork you know some pictures but that will instantly help create some neutrality is that a word neutrality it is isn't it neutrality yeah in the room and help kind of break those two colors up because that's quite strong blue blue and pink are quite they're quite strong so I think that black and white is really gonna help do do that for you. And then I think you probably only really want one piece of artwork that's going to be a sort of a bit more of a standout piece. And I think something soft, it's going to be something in your bedroom that you're going to be looking at all the time. So I'm always a fan of

things like, I love a nude. I love a nude painting or when I say nude I literally mean a nude person. So I love a very sort of soft line drawing of a nude or something in a bedroom I always think that's just looks really calming and nice. Anything that's very bold or abstract is I think a bit jarring. A bedroom is somewhere that you want to create calmness, it's your sanctuary, it's somewhere that should feel peaceful. And therefore the artwork should work hard to do that, or not hard even. So yeah, that would be my advice. Probably a couple of, and don't also feel like it has to be, don't

feel like it also has to balance. What do you mean? Don't feel like it has to match. So don't feel like you have to, just because you've got two beds, the tables that are the same and you've got your bed, don't feel like either side of the bed, they have to match. You could have two small pictures above each other on one side and then the other side could be just one. Don't, don't feel, as long as they're sort of hung right and they are, um, they sort of hold hands a little bit, they don't need to match.

So unless you have a completely symmetrical room. If you've got two, say you've got two on one side, do you have a preference for layout? Do they sort of sit on top of each other on the diagonal? Exactly, if you had two small rectangular pictures, I would frame, so I would put them on top of, one on top of the other. And then on the other side.

Literally, as in little soldiers on top of each other, not off-center. No, stacked on top of each other. And then perhaps on the other side, you have one that's sort of slightly bigger, that could be a bit of artwork or something that could be over the other side the bedside table so i would i would do that but i i like to leave space around your headboard um it does it's a funny one if i do i do think it also depends on the size of your headboard so i i like i like a high headboard there is a rule here for super king king doubles the height of

your headboard the maximum height of your headboard, the maximum height of your headboard and what it should be. So for instance, on a super king bed, you want to be aiming at above mattress, about 95 centimeters to a meter in height. Your headboard wants to be above your mattress. So that gives you a really nice, it makes the bed, it frames the bed beautifully. It makes it feel substantial enough. And also if you're leaning up in your super king bed against your pillows, it feel substantial enough and also if

you're leaning up in your super king bed against your pillows you've got enough place to put your head back on. I'm not one for these little low headboards because I also think then you do have this massive void above your above your headboard and that's sometimes when you do need a bit of artwork because if you've got a really low headboard then you will need a bit of artwork above there but if you are gonna have a bit of artwork, because if you've got a really low headboard, then you will need a bit of artwork above there. But if you are gonna have a bit of artwork above a headboard, keep it calm, keep it calm, keep it really calm.

Can I segue on headboards? I have to buy one for Raph. Okay. I'm nervous about what fabric you buy a child. That's why everyone gets wooden frame beds. Teenager. Yeah, that's why people do wood frame beds. That's why people do wood frame beds. If you do want a nice soft headboard. I've got a divan base for him. So get a nice

headboard with a removable cover. Ah, good tip. Removable covers on headboards are great. So you can just take it off, get it dry cleaned, pop it back on or just replace it when the time comes. Because just imagine the amount of gel and hair product that's going to go into his hair in like three years. And's actually interestingly its colors like navy blue or dark green that's going to show up Let's say if you went with a sort of cotton That's going to be more likely to show up sort of greasy head marks Don't go with anything like linen worst fabric ever for like little boy's rooms And then you will it will literally soak up that hair grease like a sponge

You're almost better off going with a contract velvet or something that you're not really, it's gonna be wipeable. Yeah. That's sort of soft. But go with something that you can take off and easily replace, so you're not gonna have to replace the whole headboard.

Good tips. Enough of that. Okay, my darling, running outside. Got one here for you from Pink Sky in the City. What flower seeds to sow now or in the next month? Right, okay, so we're, I mean, we're're early February so my number one tip is don't go overboard with seeds now anyway because it's still, light levels are still quite low and if you're anything like me and you get a bit over enthusiastic, you sow loads of seeds in February and then

you've got these really leggy seedlings in late February, March because you'll get leggy seedlings meaning very sort of tall and floppy because they just don't have enough light. So unless you're really lucky and you've got some beautiful sort of heated very bright greenhouse and maybe some propagation lights it can be that you're jumping the gun a bit. That said there's some that you can do now and actually you should do now. So sweet peas you can absolutely be sowing now, in fact you could have sown them sort of from Christmas onwards. There's a really great climber that I love. If you want something just to romp up a fence or a shed or something for a summer it's not fully hardy in this country so chances are unless you're somewhere really warm it will die back in the winter, it won't come back. it's an annual. Well it's not an annual, it's called like a half hardy. It's called Kobea scandens, that's C-O-B-E-A,

scandens, and it's kind of like this really beautiful vine-like flower with purple or white cups, the flowers look like little cups, it's stunning, grows like billio over the season and so it will romp over something if you want to hide something for a season. And they need a lot of time in order to get them to flower before we get cold. It need, they need to be sown now. So get on and do them. And then, I mean, come March, you can really start going for it. So I think, I think it's Valentine's day where we get enough daylight that it's worth starting to sew.

So then by about March you can really go for it. If you look at your seed packets of basically any lovely annual cut flowers, they'll all say March, April, May. I need to go into my wildflower, don't I? Really need to make a start on that. Yeah, March would be a good time for that, my friend. February's not quite warm enough, but we would look at wildflowers in early spring

when it starts warming up, when things start germinating. When you can sow things undercover in March, sorry, I should have said, March is probably a little bit too soon to do anything outside. It'll take, things don't tend to start germinating until it gets warmer. And you can just watch what's happening when you start getting

Loads of weeds in your garden. That's when you should start sewing outside amazing That's when everything's warm enough. So hopefully that helps my darling. That's great Okay, I have a question from blooms and bulbs You guys are the highlight of my week. I've missed you are two color kitchens still in Gosh, I hope so because I've got one. Oh they absolutely are, yes. Two-tone kitchens are absolutely still in style and they are expected to remain trendy in 2025 and onwards again, I say it all the time, it's not necessarily about the colour that you're choosing, it's the kitchen itself. So if it is a very modern kitchen and you're painting it in two wild colours like blue and white or something, then maybe that would go out of style, you know, that would go

out of trend. But I think if you're choosing subtle, nice subdued colours and the kitchen itself has sort of got a timeless feeling to it, then I don't know, I I do not think that's gonna go out of style at all it's how it's done you've got to do it right it's got a really I just think two-tone kitchens have got a really timeless appeal especially to what a really great way to make a kitchen feel bigger is to do is to have darker units on the bottom and then lighter units on the top because it's going to draw your eye outwards as soon as you make those upper units dark, you're going to bring the room in like with any sort of paint colour. So yeah, but they're super versatile and also a really nice way to incorporate timber as well. So if you have

a say timber island, I wouldn't probably then do a two-tone island on the background because that timber is acting as your second tone. But I think if you're going to have, say, a painted island, you could do a painted island. They're very popular at the moment, aren't they? Yeah, they are. But again, it is timeless. But I mean, to ask the question, it's not really a trend, is it? Two-tone kitchens have been around for ages, haven't they? They've been around for a really long time. I'd say most devolved kitchens and

plain English kitchens have been, they been quite two-tone in general. Yeah, I just think if you go bold with those two tones, like Paul, with your colours, we went with a very soft palette of two-tone. So I don't see how that could ever not be, you know, how that could go out of date. So yeah, there you go. Well, particularly also if they're colors you love, I will never not love green. Exactly. Being the color of true relation.

So go, no, absolutely go for it. Yeah, but just keep them, keep them toned, keep them tonal. Okay, I've got a fun one here. This is from Inner Frenchie. I've lost my mojo. So much to do in the garden and I don't know where to start. Lots of fails in 2024. We should talk about garden fails actually. That would be quite fun. I'd like to know what people's...

I'd actually love to know what people's garden fails were. We should ask that as a... Should we pop a little question box up and see if anyone had any major garden fails? That would be quite interesting. Yeah, definitely. I mean we all have garden fails. I still have garden fails now. I mean that's gardening for you. That's sort of the weird wonderfulness of it, I think, is we're always learning. But lost your garden mojo. Look, I mean, if you've lost your garden mojo, I would say it's the hardest time of year to get it back, isn't it? Cause it's not exactly lovely being outside. So if you want to get out there and you're a bit overwhelmed by the task,

just choose one. There's this amazing book by my friend Letitia called the five minute garden. And she just says, you know, rather than trying to work through your whole, your whole list of to-do lists, just choose one thing. Go out there for five minutes and do one tiny little thing. Prune one rose or sweep five minutes of leaves, then go back inside and just ease back into it. It gets so much easier when the weather improves. So just do what you really need to do and just let yourself off the hook with everything else. Oh, I like that. I like that answer. Okay, I guess we'll move into what's in and what's out this week.

What is in and what's out, my love? Mmm. I've got an infie, which I'm noticing. I'm curious in your thoughts on this. V-neck jumpers. Have you noticed these are a thing now? I've actually just re... Funny you say that because I've recently got one

and I can't quite work it out. I'm so used to having my chest covered that it's very unusual to service suddenly have a low Top it feels like oh god. I'm full of it naked. You're not wearing a white tee under that. Oh what? White t-shirt The thing seems to be like white t-shirt. No, no, I don't know. I don't know if I like that look The thing seems to be like white t-shirt with a vignette jumper. No, I don't know if I like that look. What do you think? I'm not sure.

I'm not sure about that look. I quite like it. I keep seeing the girls on sheer lux on them and I'm like, oh, you're winning me over. It's a bit like things like bucket hats. I really hated them and now I think they're really cool. Just takes me a few years to jump in. I just don't know if that would look really ridiculous

on me, straight us. Are we? Let's find out. Okay, let's try. Let's each take a photo of each other in a bucket. I'm not sure how you do it with the jewelry. The jewelry stresses me out there. How do you do it with like a V-neck?

Yeah. White t-shirt. I'll keep you posted on that. Do you know what I'm gonna say? I'm gonna throw this out there. Lottie Del Main, who's our garden designer friend, I always look at her and I think she's so fabulous and her outfits are so effortless,

but yet she still looks really cool. She wears glasses with the chains on and just the hats. And she always just pulls it off. And I thought, if I could never dress like that, I'd have the sort of imagination. No, she looks banging. She's banging. She always dresses really well.

Yeah, fashion inspiration going to L'Occitane d'Almen. Well, I guess what's in is soon to be Valentine's Day. So I'm interested. I think we need to delve more into that, but that is, that's what's gonna be in, isn't it? Chocolate, luckily. That's trundling around the bend, isn't it? Oh, you want to go out

For Valentine's Day, or you a firm believer in staying in I think not firm believer in staying in now I don't believe in going out Valentine's Day And I also don't believe in buying flowers for each other on Valentine's Day because I think it's just massively overpriced Do you know inflation on gone flowers? Yeah, I don't love the premium added to a specific day. Don't appreciate that at all, no. I'd rather get some flowers a couple of days before. No tend to mark them up then too to be fair. And a handmade card if you're listening. Lovely. Alright then. And then out? What's out? Do you know, I read something from the day that apparently what is going out of style

is shiplap, you know, is panelling. And I literally sort of laughed in my seat and I thought that's a ridiculous out because panelling will never go out because it's always been in. Panelling has been around since the beginning of time. So whoever wrote that silly out, how dare you, how dare you. Panelling will never go out of fashion.

Gosh, well my entire house is now paneled, so that's unfortunate if so. I'm sorry, I'm clutching onto the panelling and it will never go out of fashion and it shall remain forevermore. So there. Good. And out for me is my book this week.

Have you ordered it? Have you ordered it yet? I did not. I'm going to order it now. Alright, well that's quite enough of that. Work time. Love you very much. Love you all. Welcome to The Grindstone. To my Aileen's and Aisleys, we love you.