The best design giveaway? Elle Deco's ace anniversary competition

Have you heard about the rather enticing Elle Deco 25th anniversary competition – where six winners will bag the contents of one of six rooms created by the magazine? 

Here are three of them (my favourites).


It's all tied into the mag's October issue, which marks its quarter of a century of existence.

Each room set is worth around £16,500, and winning a competition is the only way I'd ever

Competition winners: kitschness wins prizes

Hello and merry 12th day. Great to be back at work? Broken any resolutions yet? Mourning your Christmas tree? Distract yourself with these photos sent in by entrants to a competition I ran at the end of last year.

The prize was a limited edition lava lamp and so, naturally, I asked people to send in photos of the most kitsch things they had in their homes. Here are my favourites...



This

Competition: win a limited edition lava lamp in time for Christmas

While we're on the Christmas present tip (I've been posting a different, affordable gift idea a day all month in case you've missed them), this could be the solution for that teenage niece, just-out-of-home-er, or godson on the list. 

A lava lamp: what do you think?



While I probably wouldn't have a lava lamp at home myself these days, I do have a very soft spot for the things, as illustrated

Matt Sewell does Mini Moderns – competition!

Do you know Matt Sewell's birds? I first discovered the artist/ ornithologist through Pedlars, who were selling prints of his beautiful garden birds illustration.

That, alas, was a limited edition, though you can still buy his lovely individual drawings in the same style (scroll down to see one). But today we're all about his charming, Charley Harper-ish wooden birds, below. And this new set of