THE LIVING INFLUENCE

RED’S HOMES CONTENT DIRECTOR PIP MCCORMAC ON THE THINGS HE LOVES THIS MONTH…

CHOCS AWAY

I’ve been stockpiling

Pip & Nut Limited Edition Chocolate, Coconut and Hazelnut Butter since I first spotted it last year. It’s like a grown-up Nutella – rich, smooth and dairy-free. I drizzle it over ice cream, into porridge, and next month it’s disappearing, supposedly for ever. Bulk-buy while you can. £3.25, available nationwide

HEART AND SOUL

I met Lorraine Aaron, the founder of homeware shop Curious Egg, for coffee. ‘I’m interested in creating soulful homes, full of pieces that bear the mark of the maker,’ she told me. I’d not thought of decorating as soulful before

– as a way to soothe, yes, but not to add soul. Yet it feels quite wonderful to live with quirky curiosities – pieces by people, not brands, anyone from craftsmen to the children in your life. A true way to make a house a home. Wall lamp, £175, curiousegg.com

COUNTRY LIVING

Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, south-west London, is so much more than a garden centre. It’s a bucolic wonderland full of little treasures. And now it’s launched an online shop selling rustic homeware that’s assorted but easy on the eye.

Jug, £29, wine glass, £15; carafe, £25, all petershamnurseries.com

GOING GREENER

Sage has been my shade for a while – I’ve covered my living room walls in it and chosen curtains and cabinets in this greying version of green. But Zoffany’s Poison paint (on the front wall, with Serpentine on the back) is inspiring me to be a little bolder. I’m going to start with some cushions (John Lewis does good emerald ones) and layer up from there. Sophisticatedly modern. Paint, £46 for 2.5L, stylelibrary.com/zoffany