For those of you who are planning a little holiday in the UK this year, why not visit the beautiful Suffolk countryside?

Yaxley Hall cottages can be found in the centre of the historic town of Eye with its magnificent Church, wonderful deli', numerous irresistible antique shops and coffee houses. Although, having said that, it is surprisingly undiscovered.

Clerk's Cottage, Castle Cottage and Church Cottage each offer stylish self-catering holiday accommodation; ideal as honeymoon hideaways, for weekend and short breaks, or for longer holidays. Being located close to the Suffolk, Norfolk border, the cottages offer a perfect base from which to explore East Anglia.

Each cottage has been acquired and carefully refurbished by Dominic Richards, the owner of nearby Yaxley Hall - where my husband and I were married!

Dominic's style has been published widely in magazine spreads, books and on TV. The cottages match the blend of traditional and contemporary styles for which he is well known, with the emphasis on the luxury of natural organic materials, beautiful historic interiors, indulgent panelled bathrooms, contemporary four poster beds and kitchens.

The historic cathedral city of Norwich and the University town of Cambridge, each present a wonderful blend of historic and contemporary architecture, suberb restaurants, entertainment and shopping facilities. And the stunning East Anglian coast offers something for everyone, from quiet unspoilt fishing villages, to fun-filled resort towns, sandy beaches and shingle shorelines, colouful beach huts and ancient abbey ruins.

Click here to visit the Yaxley Hall Cottages website.

Some of you may already know that I do spend too much time daydreaming on Rightmove. Looking for my ideal home where money doesn't matter one jot! Rather than just keep these musings to myself, I've decided I'm going to share them with you on here as and when I find them. That might be quite often! I look in Kent and East Sussex as ultimately this is where I'm hoping we might end up, but I might feature a gem from another other county if I find one. 

Anyway, here's my find for today: a 3 bedroom townhouse in Lewes, East Sussex. A little pricey, especially when you can't park your car outside but it has a beautiful and rustic kitchen/diner and a fab courtyard garden. The ceiling in the kitchen is gorgeous with its painted beams. I'd love this feature in our dream house, but having suggested it to my husband in the past, he said he tought it would be like living in a shed! I've got a lot of persuasive work to do on that one...

Click here to view the property on Rightmove

Imagery ©Rightmove

These before and after images are almost unbelievable. They are of houses that have been transformed, beyond recognition, by clever design. The company behind the transformation is called Back To Front Exterior Design. Pop over to their website to see many more examples of work they have done from traditional style homes to some very contemporary ones. I discovered them via one of my twitter friends Colporter and I'm pretty pleased I did - maybe our dream home isn't so much of a dream anymore!

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After:

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All images ©Back To Front Exterior Design

We're delighted to be featured again in Period Living magazine, July 2012. Our Vintage platter and our Lime White candle sticks are both featured in their style ideas sections.