What everyday things do you find utterly charming/chic?

Wandering around a National Trust property before Christmas, when it's decked with tradional decorations like holly and ivy, bits of dried orange, cinnamon sticks and twinkly lights. Followed by a walk outside in the cold and then a cup of tea with a slice of cake.

Oh I absolutely love this! Similar to my post directly before it, but on steroids! 😁

A very specific one….
My parents live in a lovely elegant Georgian house. Being old it has various random holes including one about an inch in diameter through the floorboards of the downstairs loo, to the cellar.
When I came home one Christmas I discovered my mum had taken a few of my brother’s Lego minifigures and made one of them dangle down through the hole like a potholer while the others stood around peering in.

Scrumptious thread!

Mine isn't chic, but definitely charming. When I find random children's toys in incongruous or unexpected places, like a teddy bear in the bath, a toy car on top of the hob in the kitchen, some felt tip pens under the covers in my bed, or a little playmobil figure sitting on the Christmas tree. Never fails to make me smile.

Love a kitchen sofa.

But it must be a squishy, knackered one in a faded print or plain neutral linen, with cushions and throws, not the one I'm thinking of which is lipstick-red leather with hard, slippery seats, bleaugh. Neither charming nor chic.

My butter dish

re reading books

the house being like a gallery of the things we love like photos of the kids, art they’ve made etc

colourful plates, mugs, oven dishes etc

the cats sleeping together on the sofa

every room being filled with colour but not so much that it’s overstimulating and not relaxing.

herbal tea

DH bringing up my coffee and vitamin c water every morning without fail

when the kids occupy themselves on a weekend morning so we get a lie in (rare)

weekend morning cuddles with the kids in our bed

always having fresh flowers from DH

soft lighting no big lights

seasonal scented candles

I love how well-stocked PIL’s kitchen always is, with the most wonderful food. They’re big foodies and never, ever skimp when it comes to food, sourcing things from multiple places (this bakery, that cheese shop, such and such deli etc.). They always buy their favourite of whatever they fancy. Their motto seems to be life is too short for mediocre food (and wine). They’re both very slim and disciplined/sensible with food too, not sure how.

Has anyone else got Facebook pushing articles at them about the ‘frazzled Englishwoman interior’ as a result of this thread?

Love the date night. I have an unpredictable work schedule but mostly don’t have weekday evenings free so I never make plans. However sometimes work is quiet and I am unexpectedly free on a random Tuesday evening so DP drives the 1 hour from his house to meet me after work and we have a spontaneous mid-week date. 🥰

I’m with you on this having grown up similarly to you. I sometimes find myself tipping over into too much (especially when dd1 is home!) and feel so stressed by it. That sweet spot of having back ups but it all being tidy and organised is immensely satisfying

Christmas cards hung up with string. My favourite decoration.

I so love this thread. These simple things and rituals make my life special. In this crazy world and especially at this commercialised time of year I'm so happy other people enjoy the little things too.

Church bells
Homemade soup
The short, dark, quiet days of winter
Sea swimming
Baskets
Dusk
A book left open on a chair, especially with specs set down beside them
Bulbs in pots on window sills

Narrow boats! Yes!

Old dogs with faded faces
Home made chutney on the shelf ready for Christmas
Allotments
Narrow boats
A sofa in the kitchen
A knitting/sewing bag
Birds eating on a bird table or splashing in the bird bath.

Yeah I've got to say, I feel so much better about my shabby, old (but tidy!) house after reading this thread 😂

I sometimes get stressed with things being out of place, the house never looking as clean as my friends immaculate new builds, dogs everywhere (note to self, multiple large dogs in a Victorian terrace was always going to be chaotic and cramped) but then when I take a step back then I guess it is cosy, lived in and homely.

I would still prefer less dog hair though!

I think this is the first time ever that I've read a MN thread and recognised things I do!

I have an only daughter and a girl dog
My furniture is "vintage," some of it Victorian, all from junk shops
I knit, sew, crochet, cook, bake, have a huge store of jam and chutney, home made wine and blackberry vinegar
All my pots and pans are 50s upwards, my plates and so on are 20s-70s
I have a George 3 silver teaspoon that I use for measuring spices because I think it likes it
Colourful and disorganised house
Flowers in jars and bottles and old cut glass vases

I love things like this and everything else on this thread.

Huge fleecy blanket on the sofa for snuggling under.
A glass of scotch or full bodied red wine.
Moleskine notebooks.
Fountain pens.
When your hat, scarf and gloves match (very rare for me!)
Objects on display that have a deep personal backstory.
A dog warming the end of the bed.
Waking up to a cat lying on your chest. In fact anytime a cat deigns to use me as a bed I feel greatly honoured!
The little bush outside my kitchen window that seems to have a different single flower on it all year round.

Gingham kitchen window curtains. So charming!

I hand-knit my own socks, I save four or five pairs to handwash at the same time, I absolutely love seeing them hanging on the clothes horse to dry.

The wee frying pan for 1 egg makes me 😁 smile

Oh, I love all this!

Proper shabby chic: old and loved furniture or carpets, showing their wear. Faded chintz curtains.
Completely mismatched frames with family snaps, not posed photos.
Women who manage to put up their hair using a pen or chopstick.
Small children in colourful wellies, whatever the weather.

Mismatched vintage china/crockery in regular use
Vintage enamel things
Heavy old household linens
Old brick or flagstone floors
Weekend papers and coffee cups all over the kitchen table

And, ideally: a gaggle of adult offspring plus their friends/partners hanging out in the kitchen making tea/coffee/breakfast while chatting and laughing. I don't even mind the mess. 😍

Inspired by this thread, my two best friends and I discussed this, and we ended up sharing the things we find charming/chic about each other. The things they found charming/chic about me were:

Always having everything I need to just casually make a range of sophisticated cocktails for guests at any time, including things like bitters, triple sec, maraschino cherries etc, and also a proper cocktail set with with a shaker, muddler, stirrers, jiggers etc and a range of (preferably mid-century vintage) different glasses to cater for any request.

Using a good quality fountain pen and a Leuchtturm notebook to jot things down.

The fact that my DP and I always meet in town after work on the one day we go into our offices and have a little date in a wine bar.

The things we found charming/chic about the other two are:

Friend 1:

Pops out for a croissant from a posh local bakery and a newspaper every morning

Wears beautiful lightweight cotton pyjamas with gorgeous prints

Always smells incredible and can also analyse any fragrance with a couple of sniffs, eg, 'Oh, that's a nice perfume you're wearing. I like the cool musk base notes and the white flower top notes, is there some vetiver in there too?' etc

Friend 2:

Speaks fluent French in a really nonchalant, non-performative manner

Will turn up in a really nice little jacket / top / dress and when you ask where it's from, it transpires that she sewed it herself, probably out of fabric she just had lying around somehow

Has incredibly lovely, witty, curious, independent teenagers and trusts them to do things like interrailing around Europe alone

cut flowers but somewhere not showy - like in the loo.

Having a cup of herbal tea when I come home
I'm not being virtuous or smug I promise; I eat enough chocolate for England. But just something about the ritual feels cosy and 'huggy' after being outside in the cold running around doing various jobs all day.