A peek inside: part 2

As Sarah pointed out in the comments to my last post, I am extremely lucky to live in a real, actual house.  Friends who reside in more expensive cities (so, every city other than Leicester then) get a bit green-eyed when they realise I have two living rooms, two bedrooms, a sewing nook... and all for not that much more than a deposit in London. 

Last week I took you for a peek around my front room.  This is a tour of my other living room: the room at the back of my house, where I hang out in the evenings watching TV or DVDs, and where I read in winter (the front room being far too chilly to spend much time in between November and April, sadly).

My beloved wood-burning stove does a good job of keeping a draughty house warm in winter.  This TV is the first one I've ever bought new: I had huge CRT hand-me-downs until very recently, my last one gave up the ghost and I splashed out on a brand new one.  The wooden mask over the fireplace is from Malaysia.

This room always felt a bit soulless until I had the shelves put up last summer.  They're home to travel and history books (on the far left of the bottom shelf you can see two copies of the biography that was written about my grandparents).  The soapstone head is, of course, from South Africa, and the black & white photograph on the top shelf is just titled, "Men dancing, Durban 1952".  I found it at Spitalfields Market years ago, and I love it.

This is seriously the best couch ever.  The range was discontinued by Ikea a few years ago, but if you ever come across an Ekeskog on eBay, BUY IT!  The cushions are topped with feathers so are super-snuggly, and the whole thing is long enough for my 6'2" boyfriend to lie down comfortably.  I love it so very, very much.

Horrible Ikea coffee table with (clockwise from top left) wooden candle holders from South Africa; Nelson Mandela Warhol-style coasters from... yep, South Africa; the woven basket from Lesotho, which used to belong to my Grandparents, is a useful home for remote controls; travel guides for my upcoming trips with The Boy; magazine and 'zine pile; amazing cloth napkin which my aunt Jenny sent me from South Africa, featuring various South African delicacies (including malva pudding, melk tart, bobotie, koeksisters... trust me when I say they are all yummy!).

The door leading through to my kitchen (which you will definitely not be getting a tour of: it's filthy!).  My favourite print - the Aardvark manifesto - can be seen on the wall, and propping the door open is Ellie the elephant.  Bet you can't guess where she comes from...

My cosy reading chair, complete with piles of cushions and blankets to snuggle into.  The heart cushion is made of Lewis tweed and was bought on Shetland; the tartan blanket is made from recycled wool and was found in a shop in Hay-On-Wye.