Kirstie’s Homemade Home
Kirstie Allsopp
Kirstie Allsopp
In A Nutshell: More style than content, but perfect for Kirstie fans and does provide inspiration for bringing homemade shabby chic to your home
I love watching Kirstie on TV, despite the fact I know I am being shamelessly manipulated. She lives in a charmed world where wonderful second hand furniture always materialises at a bargain price. Craftspeople wave their magic wands and enable Kirstie to succeed at crafts that normally take years to perfect. Despite this illusion, I think the basic message of the show is sound – furnish your home by buying second hand or making stuff yourself. And Kirstie is such an inspirational ambassador. Who can resist her head girl bossy charm and “if someone as inept as me can do it, why can’t you?” Personally I think the lady doth protest too much, and I am sure she is supremely efficient at everything she tries.
The book accompanies the TV series, and is divided into two main sections – the first half comprising Kirstie’s tips for furnishing a home, room by room. This includes using recycled kilner jars as hanging lights, using antique quilts as wall hangings and using patterned or floral tablecloths as they are less likely to show spillage. This is followed by a pick and mix assortment of 25 projects for items that have appeared on the TV show. A diverse range of crafts are represented – sewing, cake decorating, soap-making, napkin folding and upholstery. For more complex crafts such as stained glass, pottery and spinning, the advice given is to seek out a course. The stunning photos considerably enhance this book, providing endless inspiration for creating the vintage shabby chic look Kirstie advocates.
Personally I feel the first half of the book is more successful. Kirstie’s personality and real life expertise working in property comes through, so there are useful tips amongst the fluff. The projects themselves are presumably provided by the craft experts as they are not topics on which Kirstie could write with authority. I’m not sure I would be inspired to make anything included in the book, but may seek out another book where the craft is explained in more detail. This is a book for die hard Kirstie fans where her special brand of style triumphs over substance.
