Plastic Woven Storage Boxes

I loved this set of three nesting boxes for their colour and their shape. They were one of those accidental discoveries and I bought them without knowing where I'd use them as we had just moved into our new house. In the end they were a perfect match for the colour scheme I picked for the nursery.

The boxes are very lightweight and made of plastic so could be wiped down or washed if they needed to be cleaned. They will probably be good for packing away clutter such as toys, but they aren't airtight so they do let dust in. Not good for storing linens or clothes. They are empty at the moment, but I think it won't be long before they are brimful with toys.

This particular design doesn't seem to be available online anymore, but Laura Ashley have some great storage solution.

Snowman Milk Jug

I loved this little milk jug the moment I saw it in the Design Museum shop. An alluring liquid white and intriguing design.

I bought a matching sugar bowl, but the lid broke so now the milk jug stands alone. I quite enjoy when people aren’t sure which bit to pour the milk out of, the small hole or the big one. (Both work, but the small hole works better.)

Coffee Grinder

We had a coffee grinder just like this (only with a different picture) when I was growing up. Coffee was a big thing in our house and it still is. I was visiting an old friend in Haarlem, the Netherlands when I saw he had one on his kitchen wall. I couldn't contain my nostalgia, I simply had to have one. He explained that they could be bought second-hand on the markets and promised to pick one up for me at the next Koninginnedag.

It's made out of porcelain with a wooden lid and glass jar to catch the grinds. The handle has a wooden knob too. I know its possible to get replacement glass (and perspex) jars as I had to get hold of one for my dad a couple of years ago. I couldn''t find any useful links then or now, but I remember calling the Douwe Egberts head office in the Netherlands and they were very helpful.

Nothing beats a coffee made with freshly ground beans. Plus the grinder has a gauge at the back so you can control how fine the coffee is ground, depending on how you plan to filter it. (We either use a cafetière, a stovetop espresso maker, or most frequently, a one-cup filter — the kind that sits on top of the cup — that you can buy at Whittard.)