All Posts

Buying antique and vintage art doesn't have to be intimidating. From choosing original paintings to understanding frames and discovering where to shop, this beginner's guide will help you build a collection you'll love for years to come. There was a moment this week that caught me completely off guard. Not a major disaster. Not bad news. Not a dramatic event. Just a bowl of blackcurrant pulp.

Thoughts on resilience and overwhelm. When Even the Jam Doesn't Get Made. There was a moment this week that caught me completely off guard. Not a major disaster. Not bad news. Not a dramatic event. Just a bowl of blackcurrant pulp.

Chaos Cottage Blackcurrant Jam - There are some recipes I experiment with every year, and then there are the ones I keep coming back to. This is one of them.

Why Old Houses Keep Their Cool (and Why We Still Love Them). As temperatures have climbed, newspapers and broadcasters have been filled with stories of modern homes and flats becoming uncomfortably hot, leaving many people struggling to keep cool. With climate scientists warning that heatwaves are likely to become more frequent and more intense, it's becoming clear that this isn't simply an unusually warm summer—it's part of a changing climate that we're all learning to live

There comes a point every summer when everything seems to ripen at once. One day you're wondering whether the beans will ever flower or the tomatoes turn red, and the next you're standing in the kitchen with baskets of vegetables, bowls of fruit and a quiet sense that you've somehow grown enough food to feed the entire village. It's one of my favourite times of year.

Long before coffee table books and colour-coordinated bookshelves became fashionable, beautifully bound books were among the most treasured possessions in a home. They sat beside the fire, filled libraries and drawing rooms, travelled from house to house and were handed down through generations. They were read, certainly, but they were also admired.

Create a home that's collected, not decorated. Explore 7 antique and vintage finds that bring character, history and lasting style to any space.

From rented flats to period cottages, younger buyers are embracing antiques for their character, craftsmanship, sustainability and versatility. Discover why old furniture is finding a new audience.

When a childhood friend working in Hollywood asked why Chaos Cottage wasn't listed on a location database, it sparked an unexpected journey. From antiques and spaniels to gardens, ponds and a 1980s Land Rover, discover why our Yorkshire home has joined Screen Yorkshire as a filming and photography location.

Recently, we were delighted to be featured by Wildflower Magazine, who described Chaos Cottage as a business dedicated to reviving conscious craftsmanship. It is a phrase that perfectly captures what we have been trying to build here over the last few years, although when we first started, we probably wouldn't have called it that.

A reflective Monday’s Musings from Chaos Cottage on caring for ageing parents, family loss, late spring gardening chaos and the strange balancing act many Gen X families now find themselves navigating — all accompanied by a polytunnel full of increasingly impatient plants.

Why Buying from Small Businesses Isn’t the Same as Amazon (And Why It Matters). Etiquette - how and why to buy from independents despite what the T and TikTok might tell you!

A guide to choosing antique and vintage items for the garden specifically.

There are Easter weekends that involve chocolate eggs, family gatherings and gentle pottering… and then there are Easter weekends at Chaos Cottage!

the essence of a modern heirloom: something chosen today, used daily, and still worthy of passing on tomorrow. Not something precious locked in a cabinet, but useful in daily life – a desk where ideas begin, a chair that’s sat in at the end of a long, a plate that’s hung, moved, and rehung as the mood and decor shifts.

Creating a living wreath using spring bulbs and primroses. Celebrate Spring!

Expanding and deepening our orchard pond in Yorkshire as a natural solution to garden flooding. A practical guide to wildlife pond creation, moving frogspawn, planting around a pond and building climate resilience in a UK cottage garden.

The Future of Work, Ownership and a Slower Life: Climate, Resilience and Life at Chaos Cottage Mornings are early here at Chaos Cottage, the dogs tumble out and the kettle sings, there is chaos from the moment we wake but it’s our casual, enjoyable chaos made up of excitable spaniels – it’s the start of another day and there’s breakfast, right?! Once the coffee and tea are made there’s time for a breath or two, and everything calms down. This year though, calm has come with w

We have always had dogs except for a brief time when we returned to the UK from New Zealand. Given the nature of our return (we had lost everything - house and belongings - in the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011) we were at a low point, to say the least. One of the hardest decisions we'd had to make was rehoming our pair of Golden Retrievers, George and Mildred. At the time Christchurch was still being rocked by aftershocks (more than 12 per day) and all of us were suffering

Chaos Cottage is a home, a smallholding and a way of life tucked away in a quiet part of British countryside.