Kirstie's Handmade Home

I love all things Britian including the laid back yet professional approach they take to television shows. Kirstie Allsop is one of my favourite hosts and I enjoy her and Phil's funny banter on Location, Location, Location. It's a property hunter show which airs here in Canada and I often watch at HGTV.ca. I have also recently discovered another show featuring Kirstie, called Kirstie's Homemade Home.

In it she travels from Antique shop to artisan studio to road side dump looking for things she can create or reclaim. She is trying to restore an old cottage that hasn't been lived in for 40 years. I must say, her vision astounds me. She is not one of those classic, chic designers who goes ga-ga for everything new and coordinated. She truly is unique in her approach to home decor, at least to me here in Canada. Her sense of eclectic style and home grown design is a complete departure from the very rigid and formal expectations that are rampant here. I like her style and I really like this program.

Now that I am getting ready for my first 'real' home I find myself drawn to different decorating shows and this one has simply stolen my heart. Kirstie makes the task of decorating and making a house into a home so much easier than I anticipated. She really does preach that if you like it, it works. And decorating shouldn't be much more than that. It's the personal stamp on a house that makes it a home.