Inside Swansea Homes September

Page 1

Expert Advice From a Local Architect

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highly qualified and experienced architect who will be giving us the insider tips on how to create added value to your homes. We’ll also be exploring some unusual European trends as we scavenge some Scandinavian design inspiration, and, of course, our regular feature of a sneek peek inside a Swansea home (well, technically Llanelli!)

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the third edition of Inside Swansea Homes, the magazine that brings home-lovers the inside scoop on the Swansea property market, from sneak-peaks of reader’s homes to what’s-on-trend in the world of interiors. It’s been a glorious summer where we have enjoyed hot weather, far too much ice cream, and plenty of relaxation time down at the coast. The sun is still shining even as I’m writing this! But as the unreliable British weather begins to shift and the trees turn golden brown , this issue I’ll be delving into Autumn trends and explore how to make the most of your space during these transitional months. In this issue of Inside Swansea Homes we have some fantastic expert advice from a

And just like I promised, this issue I will be showing you the renovation work that is currently being undertaken in my own house since I have recently moved into what is, essentially, a building site! And I’ll be keeping you up to date with our progress (or lack of it!) over the next few issues so you can see how I’m getting on. I don’t mind telling you that cooking without a kitchen is every bit the nuisance that it sounds. Can anyone recommend a good takeaway? :) I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing you trends and stories over these first three issues, but if you do have anything at all that you would like me to include - property and interiors related, of course! - then I urge you to get in touch. Simply drop me a line at emily@insideswanseahomes. co.uk I would absolutely love to hear from you. You can also Tweet, Facebook or follow me on Pinterest for everything interiors related, all the info you need is listed below. Hope you enjoy the third issue! Emily x Editor InsideSwanseaHomes/ EmilyMayInteriors @SwanseaHomesMag EmilyMayDesign

Disclaimer: Any copy, images and design work found within this publication are subject to copyright. Any and all unauthorised duplication is prohibited. Any artwork herein is used upon the condition that permission has been given by relevant parties for use in this publication. Content: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of content in this publication, the editor can accept no responsibility for the legitimacy of the claims made by its contributers. Inside Swansea Homes is the property of Emily Black.


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Expert Advice

from the highly qualified and experienced architect, Stephen Waldron. Stephen walks us through a selection of key features and benefits of a few simple products that can make the world of difference to your internal residential spaces. Any architect worth his salt in the private residential market must keep abreast of new products and ideas: but to be really good one has to thrive on this! I get passionate about whatever I do, however modest, and since much of what we do in life is modest that means constantly offering ‘added value’ to our clients assimilated from hours of reading magazines, web-surfing and visiting exhibitions and properties. I know that I must watch every ‘Grand Design’ project on TV if I am to be able to understand what my clients want (or hate!). One can do ‘what the neighbours have done’ ( I am constantly shocked by how many clients are scared to do something a little different!) or one can ‘think outside the box’ and supply a twist of design thought and ingenuity. Many people think ‘added value’ means added cost. They think only of the initial financial cost but not about ‘value’ or ‘whole life’ costings. As someone once said “Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing”. The same people also tend to think that all an architect does is produce drawings. But a good architect has a rare gift: they can ‘see’ the finished product in 3D before it is drawn or built, explore every nook and cranny, and make changes, all without lifting a finger or spending their clients’ hard-earned money. Like a duck, below the waterline we’re paddling furiously! A myriad of ideas are being synthesised and processed for each space that I am commissioned to design. The one-off private homeowner commissioning an architect for the first time rarely understands this. In a market where

the basic currency is WYSIWYG (what you see if what you get) this is hard to value; and so we struggle to persuade people to pay us for this service until wads of drawings start to appear. So I want to share with you a few innovations that I find are making a real difference to even the most simple schemes.

Pocket Doors

The traditional side-hung door is so well established that it’s hard to shift. But in tight spaces it sterilises the space in front of it and perhaps to one side. Sliding doors use a metre of wall on one side for the open position. The ‘pocket door’ is a kit-based system that is housed within the depth of the wall. Since many internal walls today are stud (timber framed) it is easy to fit such a door within a standard 4”/100mm thick wall. A popular product is the ‘Eclisse’ shown below. The great thing about this idea is that you can insert any door at all, and are not restricted to bland designs. I am using this on many rear extensions where people want an open ‘family room’ with a utility or wc off it and yet want as much wall space as possible to hang pictures, or to place furniture. Or where they don’t want a door opening into the face of someone passing by!


Glass Manifestation

This sounds very spiritual! In fact it’s the technical word for placing a mark or pattern on glass to stop people walking through it by mistake. We’ve all seen it on glass, and many of us have accidentally walked into those beautiful, lush glass walls that are being installed on many extensions or new houses. Its all very well having that folding/sliding full height, almost frameless screen until one’s neighbours child walks into it and ends up in the local hospital casualty department! Or with thousands of small, toughened glass fragments littering the floor.…… What people perhaps don’t realise is the wonderful potential there is! Traditionally, glass was acid-etched or sand-blasted to give these patterns. Now you can look on the web and find a wide range of films for glass. A few specialist firms also print directly onto glass, and it’s not as expensive as you might think.

Micro venetian blinds

Since glass is a major theme nowadays, dealing with the challenges it offers is foremost in my mind. A number of companies offer micro venetian blinds (I love the ones with tiny perforations as well so that even ‘closed’ a diffuse light comes through) fixed within standard sealed double-glazing units. The controls are generally magnetic. This too can act as a ‘manifestation’ as well as reduce thermal gain (excess heat coming through the glass). Furthermore, it provides privacy and differing intensities of light.

Polished Concrete Kitchen Worktops

I love polished granite and marble. Hard smooth, durable and superbly cold for rolling out pastry! But expensive, even if sourced via dodgy websites in East Europe! My in-thing at the moment is polished concrete. Women, is your partner constantly boasting of his DIY skills and outdoing his neighbours in brick barbecues and complicated wall-tiling? Challenge him to make you a concrete worktop! If not let me sort one for you via a S. Wales specialist. I am currently making my own polished concrete worktop incorporating brilliant coloured glass chips in addition to a pigment and selected aggregate so that as the LEDs under the wall units blast down they sparkle with iridescent light.


So before you plan your next house modification or new home, make sure you engage an architect who is au-fait with the latest workable ideas, and how to use them to make your resources go further! Stephen Waldron is Director of Stephen Waldron Architects in Hirwaun, in the Neath Valley, and lives nearby in the Brecon Beacons National Park in a 17th century barn he is gradually converting ‘self-build’. In the USA, the whole concrete worktop thing He specialises in the residential market, esis huge and many people are making their own pecially extensions and new homes for local as well as having specialist bespoke manufac- clients. turers in every town. You can watch endless YouTube DIY videos on the subject (as I have!). Tel: 01685 647618 The emergence of glass fibre reinforcement www.stephenwaldronarchitects.com and super-plastercisers for concrete has rev- enquiries@stephenwaldronarchitects.com olutionised concreteAdenabling stronger thinner 781 SWA 1/2Pge2 14/8/14 16:22 Page 1 worktops (35mm).

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Trending

We’re now seeing more and more of these beautiful plantation shutters popping up in homes of all styles and sizes, both old and new. They are perfectly suited to period properties, and even though they’re not technically an original feature of the styles of homes that they are fitted into, they can add an abundance character all the same. Shutters can work in virtually any room in your home. As we can see here, they have been used in a clean and modern kitchen and they really compliment the decor. Shutters are, in effect, timeless and work with so many styles and periods.

Window Shutters

One of my favourite uses of shutters is in bay windows. If you really want to make a statement about the outside of your home, shutters are absolutely the way to go about it. Even with just a couple you can become the envy of every home owner in your street. Soft, yet smart, shutters can be tailored to any decorating scheme and add a beautifully homely feel to every room that they are installed in. Chic Blinds are your local expert for shutters, and you can rest assured that you will be getting top-quality advice, full measuring & installation, and after service support from them. With a wealth of experience in the industry, Chic Blinds are absolutely your one-stop-shop for shutters in the area.


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Sneek Peak

Inside a Swansea Home

I would challenge anyone who says they wouldn’t want to wake up to this spectacular view every morning - it is breathtaking. This is the portal from the stunning four-bedroom house that belongs to Chris Prescott, situated on the Llanelli waterfront and adjoining the serene coastal path, with views across Carmarthen bay and the Gower Peninsula.


It’s made immediately obvious that Chris’s passion and hobby are his cars. Since moving into the house just last year, most of the decorating focus to date has been on the garage. Chris’ aim here was to make his already-not-unpleasant residential garage into dazzling car showroom with jaw-dropping wow factor. And all this for just one car! The wall of mirrors is a statement of intent: “This is where my Aston lives”. The only other items to be found here are Chris’s VAST collection of model cars which will soon, he promises, be housed on tasteful shelves.


One of my particular favourite features in Chris’s home (and there are many!) is the tasteful abundance of solid wood that follows your eyeline wherever you turn. From solid oak floors and doors to an impressive wooden staircase that leads you from the lounge upstairs to the bedrooms in the basement – the modern house is reverse plan – reams of stylish wood are everywhere. Signs of another hobby are tucked neatly away, where Chris keeps a contingent of guitars hidden under the staircase. The natural materials and colours can be seen throughout the expanse of the property, which leads your gaze from every room in the house to the achingly stunning sea-view outside. At the back of the house, the elegant decking is an especially social feature, and Chris has enjoyed his first summer relaxing on it and cooking on the firepit with friends on the garden patio.


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Get the Look

Stretch out and put your feet up on one of these professional loafing machines.

Chaises for schnugglers I’ve recently come across a few products from Loaf, and fell in love immediately! They are on trend, easy to live with and oh so stylish! If you’re not sure how to use a pop of colour in your scheme, then take your inspiration from this, swoon! This perfect mix of colour, neutrals and texture makes for the perfect living room scheme, and it’s on my wish list, that’s for sure.


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Trending

Paint it Black


There are so many people that are afraid to use colour when creating a new scheme for decorating their home. I would certainly encourage any movement away from a severe pet hate of mine - magnolia paint! Learn to be brave and bold with your decorating schemes and you will be surprised at the finished effect.

This now on-trend black paint is an absolute favourite of mine and creates such a dramatic effect. Be careful how you use dark paint though! If you have a room that has limited amounts of light, then don’t go painting the four walls black. You will need to keep it light to reflect as might light as possible around the room. In this case, choose accent pieces such as this bath tub. You can create a dramatic effect without making a room gloomy and un-inviting. If you do however, have a large and open room that is full of natural light, take the plunge and be brave! Just take this full heigh bookcase as an example, there’s still plenty of light in the room and with a white ceiling and array of colourful books it really helps to lift the scheme. It is the perfect combination and creates the desired dramatic effect.

Left: Farrow & Ball Interior Photography Bookcase: Railings, No 31. Estate Eggshell. The Marazion Cast Iron Bath £912 castironbath.co.uk. Paint: Farrow & Ball Photography Railings, No 31


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UNO have recently launched their website at www.unogifts.com so you can now shop from the comfort of your own home! You will find all the UNO Lene Bjerre products on the site, as well as their other core ranges which include: Yankee Candle, Lampe Berger, Spaceform, PaperBlanks and their beautiful ranges of silver and gold jewellery. There is a gift wrap option too, so you can have your beautifully wrapped gift purchases sent directly to the recipient. Orders over £35 qualify for free delivery by the Parcelforce 24 hour service or you can select the option to collect in store at no cost in Mumbles or Carmarthen. To celebrate the launch of www.unogifts.com, UNO are offering Inside Swansea Homes readers 10% of all purchases made via the website until October 31st! Simply enter the discount code MISSHUNO14 at checkout and the 10% discount will be applied automatically to your purchases across all ranges. You can also use the "Create an Account" option on the home page to sign up for regular e-mails with news, special offers and discounts.

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Purchases made via the website automatically accrue Customer Loyalty Points which are added to the customer’s personal account at 1 point per £1 spent. When a customers points reach 200 a £10 voucher for use on-line or in-store is printed automatically, effectively giving a 5% discount. When shopping in-store, points will also be credited to customers on the same basis as long as the cashier is notified prior to purchase. As an additional incentive to our readers UNO are also offering a very generous 20% discount on all Lene Bjerre products purchased in store until the end of October. To take advantage of this offer simply present this voucher at the till at the time of purchase!

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Home Renovation

As promised, here is the beginning of my renovation project that I’ve been so excited to share with you! I’m sure that many of you will recognise some of the period (and not so period!) features of the property and will also love and probably hate some aspects of it. I personally despise (too strong a word?) the tiled fire places. Thankfully, they’re not an original feature of the turn-of-the-20th-century style of the house and were added later in the 1930’s. They were a popular addition to so many properties around that time. But if anyone out there does have a special love these kinds of fireplace then I urge you to get in touch quickly before we smash them to bits - we have 5 of them! Where we’ve been incredibly lucky is that so many of the house’s original features have been left intact, and weren’t hacked to pieces during the ruthless 70’s. The staircase is one of my absolute favourite features, and I cannot wait to strip it down and restore it back to its original beauty. I will also be trying to save the Lincrusta wallpaper that runs up the entire staircase and upstairs hallway. Unfortunately it’s badly damaged in the downstairs hall and will have to be removed - along with a tonne of plaster that’s coming off with it!


As a self-confessed property nerd and a DIY enthusiast, I am really looking forward to getting stuck in to the renovation work. The most challenging part to date – outside the missing kitchen – has been living with the mess. It’s everywhere and infects every room of the house. And as enthusiastic as I am to get my hands dirty with the workload, there are a few jobs that I won’t be tackling. To open up the kitchen-diner there’s a chimney breast wall that needs to be completely knocked through. There’s also plenty of plumbing and electrical work to get through, so I think I’ll leave that to the experts. As you can see in the photos, we’ve made a start by rolling up all of the carpets only to discover that there are beautiful original floorboards running throughout the whole house, both downstairs and up. This will be a hugely labour intensive job when we eventually have to sand the floorboards throughout. I can’t begin to image how much dust there will be, but I’ve been re-assured many times that it is positively horrendous. But I do love taking wood back to its natural state and restoring it to life. It has such a beautiful tactile quality and is a good neutral grounding for any decoration work.


This is the part of the house that needs to most work doing to it: the kitchen - if you can even call it that! In the 67 years that the previous owner had lived in the house, she never put a kitchen in. The mind boggles. This area is where the range would have been kept, and the only other items in the room are a Belfast sink and a drying rack that’s still hanging from the ceiling.

This is the chimney breast wall that we will be taking out to create an ample kitchen-diner that will be of suitable size for the house. Removing this wall will allow us to still keep the pantry at the back of the house as a utility room (which I was very keen on doing) and to bring the outside toilet into the house by creating a new entrance through the pantry and blocking it up on the outside. In a house this size, two toilets are an absolute must. Living in the house while this support wall comes down is going to be quite a challenge! With all that black mortar hiding in the walls, it is inevitably going to find its way through every nook and cranny and settle itself over everything in reach. I really would love to be able to keep the Belfast sink in its original place, but it will probably have to be moved out in to the garden and be used as a flower pot. I will, however, be replacing it with a sink of similar style to retain as much character in the house as possible. Anyway, this is all for now. I’ll update you with my progress in the next issue. If you’ve been through similar renovation work in your own home, I would sincerely love to hear from you to compare stories. Especially from those if you who undertook the challenge of living in the house whilst doing the work!

Shortlisted! For the Women in Business awards. In the New Business category.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported me in my new venture and for making this possible. www.emilymayinteriors.co.uk

t: 07852 906 265 emily@emilymayinteriors.co.uk 5 Glenalla Road, Llanelli, SA15 1E E


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Cosy up!

Snuggle up for winter with a log burner! As we enter September and the season changes, our Summer habits turn towards digging out winter blankets, reaching for wool blends instead of lightweight linens, and decorating the house with candles instead of fresh flowers. Log burners are all the rage right now. There are some trends that come and go, but I think this one is probably here to stay - for the foreseeable future anyway. Not so long ago, the fashion of the time would see folks blocking up their fireplaces, but now we’re seeing them opened up again, rebuilding character into homes ,and uncovering original features wherever possible, or otherwise imitating those original features with replicas that evoke that classic-era charm. A recent hobby I’ve developed has been to scour reclamation yards for trinkets and treasures, and there are so many old fireplaces of incredibly quality readily available that a trip to your local centre can pay dividends. If you’re thinking of getting a log burner, you may be able to expose old brickwork in your home to create a hearth. If not, there are plenty of other options available to add vintage character and charm, ready to seat your new log burner. As the weather turns colder, more and more of us are looking at cost effective solutions for our heating and energy requirements. There are so many practical reasons for installing a wood burner that you can completely justify getting one – even if you only really want one because they look really pretty! If you know where to look, getting hold of excess wood to recycle is easy. There are plenty of pallets that are readily available for use as kindling. As for starting the fire, recycling household items like newspapers and cardboard is a great way of getting free fuel. Of course, there is the upfront cost of the log burner, as well as the installation costs and the

cost of cleaning out of the chimney. There’s no getting around these issues. But there are such huge benefits in the long term that, over time, the positives really do outweigh the negatives. Used effectively, the log burner reduces other heating costs significantly. And really, who wouldn’t want to be snuggled around a real fire in their home? They are mesmerising things, and, as a true pyromaniac, I absolutely love the sensation of stoking the crisp fire, adding extra fuel to keep it alive, and watching it dance before my eyes. There really isn’t anything like it. On the other hand, if you like easy, low-effort living then this probably isn’t for you. There is plenty of upkeep involved in keeping the area clean, emptying the ash that collects underneath the log burner, and in the collecting and chopping of wood if you’re the sort that wants to maximise cost effectiveness. Make no mistake, there is plenty of work if you own a log burner. But even if you’re up the challenge, unfortunately we don’t all have the opportunity to install a fire in a style like the one on the opposite page. But a modest log burner in a regular hearth with a Victorian-style surround is easily achievable for most. So bring out your wool throws - or go get some if you don’t have them stashed away already – and snuggle up on the sofa with a hot drink in hand with the fire crackling in the background. It sounds to me like the perfect winter’s night indoors!

Oh, and speaking of, if you’re looking for some cosy new blankets to hunker down with, check out these on-trend check recycled blankets from www.ellieellie.co.uk - they’re fabulous! Emily, Editor. Interior Designer & Owner of Emily May


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Thinking of Selling?

Property expert Jonathan Morgan gives us his advice on how to prepare your home for sale and how to conduct your viewings. Making sure your home is prepared properly for when the Estate Agent arrives is essential. First impressions count when selling your property, and your first impression is no longer when the potential buyers walk through your front door. Its much sooner from the comfort of their own home. That’s right, your home is being weighed up, scrutinized and talked about before a viewing is even booked... My name is Jonathan Morgan, I am responsible for the marketing of my six office Estate & Letting Agency, the social media advertising and the design of our new website. For me property has been a way of life, and it’s something I am very passionate about. These articles over the coming months will give you an insight into the housing market from a local point of view, be filled with useful information on how to improve your home for sale, top tips for homes struggling to sell and answer general questions about housing. I am looking forward to developing a relationship with you, the readers. At the beginning of this article, I wrote that people are viewing your home before actually stepping over the door. So what did I mean? Buyers now have a routine that they stick too, whether it’s searching through a search engine or going to find those major property portals. Rightmove is the 8th busiest website in the UK now, up there with the likes of eBay and Amazon for the number of visits each month. Property portals changed the way that we as agents have prepared properties for sale.

Traditionally, buyers would call into the offices and check the papers to see a small selection of properties that were on offer, a front photo used to suffice. Not anymore, as I sit here typing this I have just finished a listing that boasts 32 HD photographs, a 3D floorplan, a link to social media showing off some fancy panoramic photos, along with a detailed description and EPC. Why have we done all this? Your property will now be placed onto a database and will be presented side by side with 100‘s of other properties in your area with a similar size and possibly a lower price. So how does this effect your property and what you have to do now to prepare for Sale? Having your property staged for photographs is the first thing we must do to ensure that your property gets selected before all of the competition. Something us Agents concentrate on is Click-Thru rates, these measure the success of our stock and how your home is performing on the major portals and our own websites. Let’s start from the front and we will run through the common errors made when getting your house ready for listing and photographs. As I said, first impressions count so let’s look at the old “Curb Appeal” idea. It’s still here and in force but now it’s Click Appeal. Making sure your front photograph looks as good as it possibly can, so mow the grass, trim the hedge, add some colour in there with hanging baskets or potted plants by the door, if the house needs a lick of paint, make sure its finished before we take that front shot, no one wants a half painted house, it gives the impression of work needed, and we are already then on the back foot when trying to sell.


The hallway, do you have nice parquet or tiled floors, lets show them off! Lift up the muddy welcome mat and take the coats off the hooks so we can see those original features that buyers love.

shoot the photographs. Lastly in the bedrooms are personal items on top of the drawers, dressing tables and bedside tables, these small items often catch peoples eye and can hint at clutter.

The living room, if you have two reception room or one, make sure that its clutter free from brightly coloured toys, computer stands, ornaments or trinkets. When photographing these rooms, we want people to see the fireplaces, the wooden floorboards, the bay window or any other features. We need to show an open space that’s free from clutter. The difference this can make is noticeable, on my website the most visited picture is often the living room.

Last but not least the rear garden, if it’s grass make sure its mown, if you have patio, weeded. Decking? You guessed it, looking freshly varnished.

Moving onto the kitchen. Whether it’s a new modern kitchen or a traditional kitchen the rule is the same. Simple and Empty. Make sure there are no utensils or mug tree’s cluttering the worktop, no brightly coloured bottles and dishes in the sink. Buyers like to see the kitchen to have an idea what they may be living with for a while once they move in.

It is vital that you stand out from the competition and having great photographs will do that for you, and should put you at the top of the wish list for prospective buyers.

Swiftly onto the bathroom, pretty much the same goes for the bathroom as it did the kitchen. If you have brightly coloured towels thats great, neatly fold them into squares and place them on top of the toilet seat, add a splash of colour, but with that remove the floor mat and brightly coloured odd shaped bottles if they are lurking in the shower, make sure the mirror and shower screens are wiped down as the camera flash shows smudges. In the bedrooms, clutter free is important, make sure the beds are made, anything thats precariously balanced on the top of the wardrobe bring them down pop them on the landing when we are photographing the bedrooms, these items placed high will often create shadows and the impression of a lower ceiling, we want the bedrooms to look full of natural light, so if there is anything obscuring the window or making shadows lets remove it before we

Whilst I appreciate most people live in their home when they are selling it, and its not always easy to make sure it’s like a “show” home these simple steps will ensure that the photographs will be the absolute best they can be.

Jonathan Morgan Peter Morgan Estate Agents. Check in next time for more top tips from property expert Jonathan Morgan. He will be bringing us fantastic advice on property in every issue.

www.twitter.com/PeterMorganEA www.facebook.com/PeterMorganEstateAgent

www.petermorgan.net


Clean Eating Recipes With Tara Hammett Tara Hammett is Swansea’s most infamous health and fitness guru. If you don’t follow her yet, you need to! Tara runs the most amazing 7 day detox online programme as well as her 21 day ‘Taransformation’ online programme. These aren’t quick fixes, they are lifestyle changing choices. Tara will be bringing us one of her amazing clean eating recipes every issue but you can also keep up to date with her daily inspirational emails and videos by signing up on her website at taransformation.com I will absolutely be testing out this Chocolate Protein Bar as a clean eating treat! And I urge you to try it too, every recipe I’ve tried so far from my recipe e-book from Tara has been delicious (and healthy!)

Recipe - Chocolate Protein Bar First Mix all your ingredients together and form into any shape you want. Ball, Bar, Heart..whatever. Then You can either eat is immediately, or put it in the freezer for 10 mins. Enjoy with a cup of green tea (Biggest gingerbread fan ever)


INGREDIENTS 1 tbspn coconut flour 1 tbspn whey protein 1 tspn 100% cocoa 1 tspn cocoa nibs 1 tbspn water

Approx Macros: 150 kCals 10g Protein 8g Carbs 5g Fibre (So 3g net carbs) 8g Fat



Thank you... for reading Inside Swansea Homes. Thank you for your continued support! I am continuing to enjoy sharing stories with you on property and interiors, I’m just a complete property nerd really! I very much welcome any feedback, stories and commments from you, so please get in touch with the details below. I continue to look forward to growing and developing Inside Swansea homes, so please keep an eye out for the November/December issue coming through your letter boxes. If you are interested in advertising with Inside Swansea Homes, please contact me to discuss on 07852 906 265 or drop a line to emily@insideswanseahomes.co.uk I love working with like-minded, local companies. If you would like to share insider news or give feedback, I’d love to hear from you! All comments and suggestions are welcome. Just email: emily@insideswanseahomes.co.uk Thanks again for reading, Emily x


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