If I Had £5000 This Month Here Is What I Would Spend It On
A small introduction to our beloved writer. Elizabeth Metcalfe and I worked at House & Garden together, she is a force. A force of joy, intelligence and determination. She wrote the bestselling New English Interiors and I doubt a second book is far off. We hope that she will bless us with her writing as much as possible as her picks below were utterly delightful.
If I Had £5,000 This Month, Here Is What I Would Spend It On, By Elizabeth Metcalfe
If I’m truly honest, nothing fills me with quite as much giddy delight as going on a bit of a splurge. Even if it’s only an imaginary £5,000, I couldn’t have been more thrilled to contemplate how I might spend my pennies and pounds. Most of my money currently goes into nursery fees and even though a big part of my job involves looking at and writing about lovely things, I’ve become quite good at admiring them from afar and accepting the fact that this is a time of life when I really only have the cash for the essentials. You can imagine my glee, then, at getting to “spend” £5,000 entirely on things I love.
I toyed with the idea of splurging on a couple of big ticket items, but in the end most of my choices cost a few hundred pounds or less. A couple of exceptions are the Jess Wheeler ‘Chard Wall Light’ (I’m married to a gardener – this almost feels par for the course!) and an antique Orkney chair from Spencer Swaffer. I’ve wanted one of these cocooning seats ever since I visited the islands and found them just about everywhere we went. I love how they not only look wonderful, but also keep the draughts out. In fact, many of the things I chose combine beauty and utility rather well; I love anything that makes everyday life feel more special or makes you look again. I’ve spread my imaginary fortune across an assortment of things for the house, the garden, the wardrobe – and, quite frankly, the sheer pleasure of having them. Yes, straw earrings, I’m looking at you.
Remaining: £4,125
Remaining: £3,905
