Looking for the perfect dresser

My home is a place for me and my hubs to display everything that means something to us. I don't do minimal, I need a little bit of clutter to make it feel lived in and personal. It doesn't mean I like a messy home - I really don't, and I spend most my mornings straightening things up and I can't help but tidy things away as I go along, particularly now Ethan is here and his pile of toys is growing at an alarming rate (seriously, the playroom isn't enough to contain them all, and he's only six months old!).

We have photos and pictures and canvases on every wall in every room. I have a soft spot for Next homeware and anything with a vintage or kitch twist. Every time we go anywhere, I have to go to the gift shop to bring a memento home with me. It's all about nesting. Our home is our castle and I want to be surrounded by memories and beautiful things. Yes, I really do need 11 cushions in the lounge alone!

I've always regretted not keeping any of my grandparent's furniture when my Grandad passed away, or my dad's Welsh dressers when he moved house. I just didn't have anywhere to store things at the time. My mum used to display her plate and Chinese dinner service collection on two Welsh dressers in our house and it was a centrepiece that our family lives revolved around.

Having bought a vintage bureau via the site Preloved a few months back, I've had a real thing for upcycled furniture. It doesn't suit our lounge, bedroom or spare room, which is decorated predominantly in fab, functional Ikea furniture, but my dining room is the perfect spot. We have a fold-away dining table, as we never used the six seater we used to have, plus a small sofa and now the bureau in one of the alcoves to the side of the fireplace. The dining room is my favourite room in the house as it looks onto the garden, gets a lot of light in the morning and it has a really nice feel to it. We decorated it almost two years ago, opting for white walls but bright red in the two alcoves, to add depth and a flash of colour. I keep my Starbucks mug collection on display in there, as well as some of my favourite Oliver Jeffers picture books, plus it has a comic book / London theme thanks to the canvases and accessories, including a telephone box candle lantern. I know it sounds a little mad, but I love it! The fireplace looks a little rustic, as does the old small terracotta tiled floor we uncovered a while ago.

When I read Charlotte's Welsh dresser post, over at Write Like No One's Watching, I decided I needed one in my life again, starting my hunt on eBay for the perfect dresser. After losing one auction on a dresser I thought would be perfect (I didn't take defeat very well), I found this beauty and the weekend before last, I brought it home.

The previous owner had painted it in Annie Sloan chalk paint, in a versatile putty shade, leaving the top in the natural wood finish. They'd said it was 36 inches wide, but when we brought it home, it wouldn't fit, as there's a bit of skirting finish at the bottom of the dresser they hadn't accounted for. Never fear, my hubs was here to save the day. We had a sliding glass door to the left of the alcove which had always driven us mad so now was the perfect excuse to take it down once and for all.

Once in place, it didn't take me long to get to dressing the dresser up. And here it is - I have no doubt I will be playing with the arrangements for a while yet, particularly when Christmas arrives, and I may try and buff the paint off the handles so it matches the bureau or perhaps line the back of the display shelves with patterned paper, but for now, this is how our beautiful Welsh dresser has taken pride of place in our home...