Sharing a minimal but still playful holiday table setting, appropriate for the holidays. This doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel; perhaps you invest in one nice set, or beautiful napery and linens that you bring out just for the season. Adding in foliage or interesting seasonal tablescapes to create that sense of balance, dimension, and drama.
Last year we hosted Christmas lunch, and put the emphasis on our beautiful dining set with red accents on the scalloped edges – the perfect festive touch. Adding extra texture with ribbed coupe champagne glasses, and brightness with some lemons – sourced from nonna’s garden. As beautiful as a fir and pine garland or centrepiece would be, something more fresh and vibrant feels more well suited for a summer Christmas. Summer florals would also be a beautiful touch here (though we are limited with a narrow dining table – just 90cm wide!).
Another way to add in some warmth and height to the table is through the use of candles. This candle holder is minimal yet absolutely stunning, and I can imagine this paired with some lovely candles from Black Blaze for a striking composition on the table.
If you didn’t want to do place mats, you could opt for a tablecloth (I just recently bought this one for future occasions, along with matching napkins), and you can get quite playful with the napkin placement. We folded ours and placed cutlery on top for something quite clean, but using napkin rings, tying them in knots or decorating them with festive foliage can add a styled touch.
Finally, don’t forget about glassware. We served champagne in ribbed coupe glasses, though coloured glassware can be especially impactful and help to bolster a colour theme (for us, almost always green). These multi-coloured stem wine goblets are so fun, as are these wave coloured tumblers – a great way to inject that playful spirit into your table setting!
You’ve likely already gotten a good look at our en-suite (and main) bathroom if you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, but I wanted to take a moment to share it in detail here, too. In case you’ve missed it, my husband and I recently added a second storey to our home, in addition to reconfiguring downstairs and re-designing our kitchen. We’re still settling in, but I’m planning to slowly share a window into each space, and talk through design elements along with where we sourced everything.
Like a good capsule wardrobe, we started our design intentions by setting a theme. Something we were drawn to was the use of natural textures, light and bright airy feeling rooms, and the restrained use of colour guided by what we might see in nature. Which is where green comes in, something you’ll see replicated throughout many spaces in our home. A lot of our interior style preferences over the years have had that minimalist, Scandinavian influence. But that can sometimes lack warmth, which is where some smaller Japanese elements come to play (through the use of paper lanterns etc and colour).
For our bathroom, we knew we wanted a travertine, or travertine look tile as a starting point. To add in warmth, an oak or oak-veneer vanity with stone finish. Then to give the space some personality, a feature tile. We quickly settled on the idea of a half feature wall, which is visible from the door, that adds a real sense of calm to the space.
From a design perspective, you can see we opted for a walk-in shower. This was the most practical option to allow us to maximise the functionality of the space. We used this same design feature in our downstairs bathroom and loved it for ease of use (though note, not practical when you have a wee toddler trying to crawl in during your morning shower!). Because we knew we wanted to have a half tile feature wall, a shower ledge felt like it made much more sense. Not only does it provide lots of space for product, but it acts as a visual break between the two types of tiles.
Because of the length of our shower, we were thankfully able to add in two vertical towel rails at the opposite end to the shower head. This is great as it means we don’t have to exit the shower space to grab a towel, and for me, it’s one of the main luxuries I wanted to have in our bathroom. A couple of other points about the shower? The tap is located at the entrance, so you don’t get wet turning the shower on. We have a tile insert drain which gives the shower space a seamless finish. And we went with a single waterfall shower head, which makes it feel like we’re showering in a hotel.
We had enough space for a 1200mm vanity. We potentially could have gone with a double bowl set up, but the single large centre bowl is perfect, while still allowing plenty of bench space. The configuration is great too, with a small bin on the interior. For practicality, we chose a shaving cabinet style mirror. The key thing here being that we wanted to maximise potential storage space. This particular style opens inwards – as in, the hinges are in the centre, rather than the sides – allowing us to go with a 1200mm mirror as well. Love the little shelves on the sides, too. We utilised the same mirror (larger size) in our main bathroom and the shelves have much more of an impact there – will share, soon!
Finally, the fixtures. We decided to go with brushed nickel; this felt modern, timeless, and a refreshing change from the standard stainless steel.
Overall it’s a tidy space which we’ve maximised to its full potential by being strategic about the finishes and items we chose. What do you think about our Japandi-style ensuite bathroom?
Of all the linen bedding I’ve tried, I think that this might be the best. A pretty big call, but after testing out different brands for the past decade, nothing has quite come close to MagicLinen. So for a change of pace, today I wanted to run through a review of MagicLinen bedding, and share what it is that I think makes it so great.
About MagicLinen Bedding
MagicLinen is a family-owned business based in Lithuania, designing and manufacturing high quality linen home textiles – linen bedding, bath, table, and kitchen linens, linen curtains – as well as linen clothing.
All of their products are made using European Linen that is OEKO-TEX certified; this means that it is free from harmful chemicals.
The brand was borne out of passion for linen, and it makes sense. Lithuanians have been producing quality linens since the 2nd century; it’s a trade that their artisans are highly skilled at. All products are handmade, and MagicLinen also offers custom sizing too.
MagicLinen Linen Sheet Set in “Striped in Natural”
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create a styled moment in our guest room, so opted to go for the Linen Sheet Set in ‘Striped in Natural’. I was really drawn to the white and natural stripe combination, and thought this would pair beautifully with the Linen Duvet Cover Set in ‘Natural’, while adding some soft contrast and visual interest.
In terms of how the 100% European Linen feels? It’s thick, and has this robust, durable quality to it. Other bedding we’ve bought in the past has had more of a soft loamy touch. Whereas MagicLinen bedding feels smooth and like it has some weight to it. Rigid or stiff aren’t quite the words I’d use, but it’s meaty. And despite what you might think, it’s suitable for both the warmer and cooler months. Linen is naturally temperature regulating, meaning that it’ll keep you cool during the warmer months, but retain body heat when it’s cold.
The stripes on the set I received run horizontally across the mattress, however I note from the website that if you have a preference you can contact customer service to customise the direction.
I love the little touch of the tab which indicates which is the short side on the fitted and flat sheets. This is usually something I find myself battling with when making the bed, so it literally takes the guesswork out of it for you.
The elastic on the fitted sheet is stretchy but doesn’t feel like it has too much slack.
MagicLinen Linen Duvet Cover Set in “Natural”
And of course, to match, the Linen Duvet Cover Set in ‘Natural’. It’s hard to gauge, but I think that the gsm or weight of the linen used for the duvet cover is slightly more dense than the sheet set.
This has all the same beautiful properties and characteristics as the sheets. It is so smooth to the touch, but has this enduring sense, which I put down to the thickness of the fibres. You can get a sense of the weave from the close up imagery provided.
Little touches are what make purchases like this feel special, and on the Duvet Cover Set, it’s the aged wooden button closure at the base. I also like that on the inside of the coverlet, you’ll find ties in the corners so that your duvet doesn’t slip around and “thin” out on one side.
Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention? I haven’t noticed that it picks up fluff. This is something we’ve had happen in the past with a different brand, and rendered that set virtually unusable for us (if you have a long-haired cat, you’ll understand why!).
The ‘natural’ colour is a light-medium beige which leans a little cool in undertone. A good choice if you like soft neutrals, but find yourself defaulting to white for the most part, as it is muted in shade, but richly saturated in colour.
MagicLinen Bedding Final Thoughts
Rounding things out by chatting about the price. Both the MagicLinen Sheet & Duvet Sets will set you back upwards of $300 USD/$500 AUD depending on the size of your bed. That is a pretty big investment, but one thing I’ve learnt over the years is that it’s not worth scrimping when it comes to bedding. If you buy quality, it will last you decades.
And to me, that’s what you’re getting here. MagicLinen bedding is stonewashed. What this means is that they are literally washed with stones, which beats at the fabric. This accelerates the ageing process, and helps to make linen feel soft and smooth to the touch. The process can be repeated multiple times to achieve the desired effect.
If you’ve ever pulled linen bedding out of the bag and it’s felt silky smooth, then the chances are that it’s been treated with chemicals. While it might feel more supple to the touch – initially – you’ll find that they will actually wear out faster. So the robust quality that I referred to earlier? It’s a good thing. A very good thing.
It’s details like this, that really makes MagicLinen stand out above the rest. And the fact is, their pricing is competitive, when you look at like-for-like brands offering similar product. And, for those who want a choice other than white, beige or charcoal, MagicLinen bedding is available in a generous array of colours (approximately 20 colour choices as of this posting).
