The Solo and its big brother the Huddle bean bag are available from Toy Tidy which has a stylish collection of children’s furniture, toy boxes and creative toy storage, plus modular units that can be personalised for unique storage solutions, to brighten any room your home.

Toy Tidy are offering 4 lucky readers the chance to win a Big Hug Bean Bag, simply send your name, address and telephone number on a postcard to the address on page 7 marked ‘Big Hug Solo Giveaway’ along with your preferred colour choice, and the first four entries drawn on 30th September will win!

For further information visit, www.toytidy.com or telephone 01223 291430.

Our winner will be able to decide whether to choose a romantic getaway for two or put the prize allocation towards a relaxing family break.

Even if you are not our lucky winner, you can still save 15%** on a self-catering holiday at Trefanny Hill.

Prices for a one-week stay range from £277.00 to £637.00 for a one-bedroom cottage, from £326.00 to £1,371.00 for two bedrooms and from £384.00 to £1,844.00 for three bedrooms. Prices for a three-night short break start at £176.00 (details on request).

You’ll have a choice of beautiful climberclad cottages, all with their own private lawn and garden, adjacent, individual parking areas and fabulous views.

The individually-designed properties are warm, welcoming and beautifully furnished, with many character features, including oak beams, country fireplaces with either wood burners or coal and log fires and four posters and genuine antique brass beds.

Their old world charm is combined with superb facilities, including colour TV and VHS recorder/DVD player in the cosy lounges and fully-equipped kitchens with electric oven, hob and grill, fridge or fridge/ freezer, microwave, dishwasher, washer/drier and a comprehensive range of utensils and cutlery.

Guests are greeted with a welcome tray laid with flowers, tea, coffee, and biscuits and in the romantically furnished bedrooms you will find comfortable beds made up for your arrival with crisp, white, top and bottom cotton sheets and pillow cases and duvets or blankets if preferred.

Trefanny Hill has its own tiny inn, offering the opportunity for an evening out within walking distance, or you might opt for the Coombe Kitchen Meal Service and dine in the comfort of your cottage on the finest seasonally-available local produce.

The leisure facilities include an open air swimming pool, heated to the mid 80s F and open from Easter until the end of October, a grass badminton court, a hard surface tennis court, golf practice net, games room and children’s play area.

Trefanny Hill is set in among rolling fields and meadows with its own lake and wonderful woodland walks and also provides a perfect base for exploring the area’s many attractions, including the picturesque fishing ports of Looe and Polperro, the Eden Project and the stunning Cornish coastline.

For more details or to book, please call 01503 220622 quoting Traditional Homes & Interiors. For further information about Trefanny Hill, please visit: www.trefanny.co.uk

For a chance to win this super prize*, simply answer the following question:

Q: Name one of the many attractions you can explore whilst staying in Cornwall?

Send your answer on a postacard (one entry per household), plus your name, address and telephone number, to: Traditional Homes & Interiors Competition, c/o Trefanny Hill, Duloe, Nr Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 4QF, by 30th September 2011, and the first correct entry drawn will win. Please state if you do not wish to receive further information from Trefanny Hill Cottages. *Prize valid until 30th April 2012, subject to availability. **Offer valid until 30th April 2012, subject to availability. Bookings must be made by 31st October 2011.

Back for the 6th year at the NEC in Birmingham, Grand Designs Live is set to be bigger and better than ever before! Running from the 7th to 9th October 2011, the three day show will play host to some fantastic ideas that are both inspirational and innovative.

Grand Designs Live is an ideal consumer show for both home owners looking for new ideas to renovate their homes, and for selfbuilders on the lookout for companies where they can enquire and purchase products to build their very own grand design. Self-builders and consumers can also gain free advice in Ask an Expert sponsored by VELUX (located in the heart of Grand Build); this unique service is designed to answer all your project and self-build questions.

With over 500 exhibitors the show will be split into six sections so consumers can easily navigate their way through it. The sections include Grand Build sponsored by VELUX, Grand Interiors sponsored by Dulux, Grand Kitchens sponsored by Miele, Grand Bathrooms, Grand Village, Grand Gardens and Grand Technology sponsored by Virgin Media.

Amongst all the amazing products and cutting-edge design ideas on show, visitors can expect to bump into the show’s ambassadors Kevin McCloud and George Clarke. Both Kevin and George will be at the event to host inspirational debates in the Grand Seminar Theatre as well as meet their fans.

The Birmingham show will also include the all-new VIP Experience which allows VIP ticket holders to take a rest bite from the crowd in a stylish ‘lounge’. Visitors can expect all of this and so much more at this year’s exciting show.

Traditional Homes & Interiors has teamed up with Grand Designs Live Birmingham to offer fifty readers the chance to win a pair of tickets. To be in with a chance of winning, simply send a SAE to the address on page 7 marked ‘Grand Designs Live Ticket Giveaway’ and the fi rst fi fty entries received will win a pair of tickets to the show.

Grand Designs Live Birmingham takes place from 7th to 9th October 2011 at Birmingham’s NEC. If you are not lucky enough to win tickets, make sure that you book yours in advance to save £££s. To order your tickets online visit www. granddesignslive.com or call the booking hotline on 0844 854 1348. Children under 15 years old can get in for free.

Ticket Information: Tickets In Advance On the Door Adult £14 £18 Child Free Free (require a ticket) Show Opening Times Friday 7th October & Saturday 8th October – 10am – 6pm Sunday 9th October 10am – 5pm Group Discounts Bring your friends and save even more, with great discounts available for groups of 10 or more. Call 0844 412 4650 for further details on group discounts.

Terms and conditions 1. This offer is only open to UK residents. 2. Competition winners tickets are valid for any one day of the show between the 7th–9th October 2011, to Grand Designs Live at the NEC. 3. Tickets are non transferable. 4. Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated. 5. All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show. 6. The first fifty self addressed envelopes received will be sent tickets to the show.

Perrin & Rowe is the largest independent manufacturer of British Brassware in the UK with globally renowned, beautiful, and hand-crafted product range. With an unbeatable reputation for luxury and quality, many of Perrin & Rowe’s products have been installed in the most lavish hotels,resorts and spas around the world.

Offering exquisite collections of brassware for the kitchen and bathroom including innovative filtration taps as well as premium sanitaryware, Perrin & Rowes commitment to producing only the highest quality products is evident. Spanning traditional and contemporary styles for both the kitchen and bathroom, Perrin & Rowe is the clear choice for those who wish to inject a sense of luxury into the home.

Manufactured only in the UK by a skilled team of engineers trained on Perrin & Rowe apprentice schemes, all of the company’s brassware is manufactures on site at it’s factories in Wolverhampton and Rainham. To ensure engineering excellence all Perrin & Rowe products are tested up to 25 years of use in the home, making Perrin & Rowe a practical as well as stylish choice.

The striking Phoenecian kitchen filtration tap is sure to make a statement as well as using innovative Triflow technology to deliver hot, cold and filtered water. This technology also filters away impurities present in the water to provide pure drinking water, free of harmful substances. This amazing process does not affect the presence of beneficial minerals such as flouride, magnesium and calcium. Rigorously tested and developed in order to meet Perrin & Rowes famously high standards, all filtration taps are of the highest quality.

To Complement the Phoenician tap, the Country basin filtration tap offers all of the same benefits of the Perrin & Rowe Triflow technology for the bathroom. Providing a constant source of deliciously pure drinking water in your bathroom, the Country basin filtration tap’s elegant styling is gauranteed to inject a sense of luxury.

Boasting exquisite detailing, both filtration taps were lovingly crafted in the UK. Worth a combined £12750, both of these beautiful products in a striking chrome finish can be yours by simply answering the below question. Sen your answer on a postcard marked ‘Perrin & Rowe Givaway’ to the address on page 7, along with your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address.

Q. In which country are Perrin & Rowe brassware products manufactured?

Closing date: 30th September 2011

For further information telephone 01708 526 361 or visit www.perrinandrowe.co.uk

The Nation’s most loved home event is launching its first ever Ideal Home Show at Christmas at London’s Earls Court, this November 2011 and we’ve got 50 pairs of tickets for you to WIN!

For 5 days from the 16^th to 20^th November 2011, the Ideal Home Show will be bringing more home ideas, DIY advice and interior inspiration to make every aspect of your home perfect this winter.

Based on the same format as the earlier London and Scotland events, the Ideal Home Show at Christmas is will include six dedicated sections that include; Ideal Home Improvements, Ideal Interiors, Christmas Gadgets, Christmas Food & Drink, Christmas Gifts & Decorations and Christmas Health & Beauty all with a Christmas twist and with more Gadgets, shopping and gifts for all the family, in time for the festive season.

There will also be a series of themed room sets that offer style and advice on how to dress your home. Top tips to create the ultimate Christmas table setting, the latest trends in home decorations, and help with those last minute DIY projects in time for the festive season. If that wasn’t enough there will also be a variety of seasonal recipes from the Ideal Food area from a range of highly acclaimed chefs, and more shopping and gadgets than ever before.

With over 400 exhibitor’s offering an unrivalled range of products, the Ideal Home Show at Christmas will offer all the inspiration you need to make your home feel welcoming and inviting this Christmas.

TICKET OFFER

Ideal Home Show  at Christmas has teamed up with Traditional Homes & Interiors to give you the chance to WIN one of 50 pairs of tickets.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the question below, sending your answer to the address on page 7, along with your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, along with a SAE (Self Addressed Envelope) and the first 50 entries received will win!

Q: How many Ideal Home Show’s are there a year?

Tickets can be either booked online or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 209 7330end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or for further information about the show visit the website http://www.idealhomeshowchristmas.co.uk/. 50p per ticket sold goes to the Ideal Homes For Heroes appeal supporting ABF The Soldiers’ Charity – see www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/ideal-homes-for-heroes/ for details.

Follow the Ideal Home Show on Twitter http://twitter.com/ideal_home_show

Ticket Information:

On Door          In Advance

Weekday Adult                                    £16                             £11
Weekend Adult                                    £18                             £13
Weekday Concession (Over 60′s)        £12                             £10
Weekend Concession (Over 60′s)        £14                             £12
Children Under 15                              Free*                           Free*
Late Night Thursday Open until 9pm                         £5 after 5pm     £5 after 5pm

*Children under 15 are admitted free, but do require a ticket which should be requested at the time of booking, or at the box office on the day of your visit. Must be accompanied by a paying adult (maximum of 2 children per paying adult).

Please note that Free of Charge tickets do not qualify for a free showguide.

Opening times:

Opening Day – 16^th November                                   10am – 6pm

Weekdays & Weekends                                              10am – 6pm

Thursday – late night                                                 10am – 9pm

Our winner and a guest will enjoy two nights’ in a Classic room, full English breakfast each morning and a table d’hote dinner each evening in the award-winning Armada Restaurant.

Even if you are not our lucky winner, you can still save £50.00 per room per night on a relaxing break at Rhinefield House with our special offer.

You and a partner will pay just £89.50** per person per night for sumptuous accommodation, a three-course Taste of Hampshire table d’hote dinner in the fine dining Armada Restaurant and full English breakfast cooked to order.

This imposing four-star hotel, known as the ‘Jewel in the Forest’, stands at the end of a long sweeping drive, shadowed by Canadian redwood and copper beech trees and lined with rhododendrons, making it the ideal retreat for a romantic break.

Rhinefield House, a member of the exclusive Hand Picked Hotels, provides elegant accommodation, hung with fine paintings and furnished with exquisite antiques, and guests enjoy attentive but discreet service.

All its 50 comfortable and stylish bedrooms are named after different places in the New Forest and the excellent facilities include indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a health club, offering a range of luxury treatments ranging from facials to massage.

Guests can dine al fresco on the terrace overlooking the ornamental pond and grounds or choose from either the award-winning Armada Restaurant or the Brasserie, offering contemporary dining in stylish surroundings overlooking the ornamental ponds.

Rhinefield House is the ideal location for a relaxing and indulgent stay, but it also provides a perfect base for touring the New Forest National Park and the area’s many other attractions, including the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

For more details or to book, please contact Hotel Reservations on 01590 622922, quoting Traditional Homes & Interiors. For further hotel details visit:  www.handpickedhotels.co.uk

For a chance to win this super prize*, simply answer the following question:

Q: How many acres of secluded gardens does Rhinefeild House sit in?

Send your answer (one entry per household), plus your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address to: THI Competition, Marketing Department, Rhinefield House, Rhinefield Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7QB, by 30^th October 2011. Please state if you do not wish to receive further information from Rhinefield House.

*Prize (based on two sharing a Classic king/twin room) valid Monday-Friday inclusive until 1^st March 2012, excluding Bank Holidays, Christmas and New Year and subject to availability.

**Offer (based on two sharing a Classic king/twin room) valid Monday-Friday inclusive until 1^st March 2012, excluding Bank Holidays, Christmas and New Year and subject to availability of allocated rooms. A single supplement applies. Executive rooms are available for a supplement.

£500 Worth of Gift Vouchers to be Won!

At Christmas put a smile on the face of your nearest and dearest by giving them a gift that lasts long after the festive season is over. National Garden Gift Vouchers let you give friends and family the freedom to choose the gift they really want. They can be bought and redeemed at over 2,000 leading garden centres and gardening outlets throughout the UK, with more than 90,000 garden plants and products on offer.

National Garden Gift Vouchers have teamed up with Traditional Homes & Interiors to offer five lucky readers the chance to each win £100 worth of gift vouchers.

Simply answer the following question, sending your answer on a postcard marked ‘Gift Voucher Giveaway’ to the address on page 7, along with your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, and the first five correct entries drawn on 30^th October will win!

Q:  How many garden centres and gardening outlets can the National Gift Vouchers be redeemed at?

(See below for rules of entry).

For further information visit www.thevouchergarden.co.uk or call 0871 384 3237.

The Country Living Magazine Christmas Fairs take place in London and Scotland in November. The joyful events put the merry into Christmas, and are sure to get you into the mood for the coming yuletide celebrations.  Preparation is part of the fun, everything from stocking fillers to decorations; tasty treats and party accessories.  In addition to fabulous presents and festive fare, take home some tips from the experts to make distinctive wreaths, hand-made cards and transform your parcels with beautiful gift-wrapping.  There are 12 days of Christmas to enjoy and you can prepare for all of them with just one magical visit to Country Living Christmas Fair.

London at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1 from 9^th to 13^th November 2011

Glasgow at the SECC, Glasgow, G3 8YW from 17^th to 20^th November 2011

Traditional Homes & Interiors have 10 pairs of tickets up for grabs, worth £32.00 per pair, five pairs are for the London show and the other  five are for the show in Scotland.  To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address on a postcard marked ‘Country Living Christmas Fair Ticket Giveaway’ to the address on page 7, along with your preferred admission, i.e. London or Scotland, and the first 5 entries drawn for each event on 31^st October will win.

However, if you are not lucky enough to win, Traditional Homes & Interiors Readers can take advantage of specially reduced price tickets – saving over 25%.

Glasgow tickets £8.50 (instead of £12.00 on the door)  QUOTE: CLXS 2  www.countrylivingfair.com/scotland/tickets

London tickets £11.50 (instead of £16 on the door)  QUOTE:  CLXL 2 www.countrylivingfair.com/xmas/tickets

Tickets must be booked no later than 1pm on the day before the due visit.

TELEPHONE: 0844 848 0160 or visit www.countrylivingfair.com

It’s that time of the year when darkness falls early, the perfect chance for an opportunistic thief on the take. To help, Sterling is offering an autumn starter security pack for doors and windows to protect your property with high-performance products. The pack includes security products for doors and windows. Each pack is worth £70.00 and includes Multi-purpose Door Bolt and Heavy Duty Door Chain, to prevent uninvited guests from helping themselves to your possessions. It also includes Locking Window Lock and Key, Window Handle and Sterling’s flexible Combination Locking Bolt. The prize will be tailored to either UPVC or Wooden doors or windows. Five lucky winners will leave their worries behind this winter and let Sterling take the strain!

Simply send your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address on a postcard marked ‘Security Lock Giveaway’ and the first five entries drawn on 30^th October will win!

(See page 7 for rules of entry).

For further information contact Sterling on, Tel: 0113 250 3603

Don McLean, the singer songwriter of ‘American Pie’ fame, lives in Maine, with his wife Patrisha and their two children. They live in a 15,000 square foot Gilded Aged Victorian Estate. The property, named Lakeview, sits on 175 acres in the Camden Hills just outside of Camden, Maine, USA. The house was built in 1907 and has spectacular views of Mt Battie and Lake Megunticook. “Apart from my music, there are many other interests I have and decorating this house is one of them,” recounts Don.

Don Mclean was born on 2^nd October 1945 in a small house in New Rochelle, NY. Don, now 60, had developed an interest in all forms of music by the age of five. He has been writing and performing for more than 35 years. “I’ve got to the point now where I’m very thankful that there is a continuing interest in me for whatever reason. I’ve had a very successful career around the world, I’ve played the game my way and I’ve ended up owning all my songs and recordings. I’ve come out a winner.”

Generally regarded as his masterpiece, “American Pie” was released in 1971 and charted within a month, “It is probably the best song I ever wrote. It creates an indefinable environment and story that really is the story of America and American music, which is what I tried to do without being pedantic and didactic.”

Time and time again every line of the song has been analysed to find interpretations. The great ‘American Pie Debate’ continues today. When people ask Don what “American Pie” means, he tells them, “it means I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.”

Don Mclean approaches interior design and decoration with the same passion and intuition he displays in his music. Don, self-professed American Troubadour, loves a story. His lyrics tell a story as does his home. His decorative choices reflect his love for the narrative.

Don has indulged his interest in interior design and the decorative arts for the past 30 years. He has previously had homes in Garrison NY and in Castine Maine (that he still owns). Both these homes were tastefully decorated with elegant antiques and carefully chosen artefacts.

Don Mclean describes Lakeview, which he bought in 1990 as a “grand mansion of a place, it’s got about 15 rooms.  There is also a coach house with three bedrooms, caretaker’s house with two bedrooms and a farmhouse with about 11 rooms. The barn with about eight stalls in it house his 4 horses. There are 40 acres of blueberry fields, 60 or 70 acres of hard timber, regular fields for horses, regular scrub woods, rivers, streams, fish ponds and a massive man made pool which I designed and had put in, on top of a mountain, about three years ago”.

Of his current home, Don says, “I decorated the entire house my wife had nothing to do with it. I am nuts about antiques and architecture and I do everything, all the painting and the colours. I have been doing it (this house) for over 15 years, it is endless…”

The living room is decorated with simple classic antiques “I like elegant antiques,” and the ability to differentiate, Don claims, “comes with training your eye. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on these things”.

There are two important antiques in the living room; the Chippendale Highboy and the Governor Winthrop Desk. Of the highboy, Don says, “I had to have one, the large dimensions of the room, 20 foot by 40 foot required that sort of large impressive piece.”

Don discovered both these pieces while visiting a local family run store in Brewer Maine. He says he was strangely drawn to the store that day. “I had a premonition. I just lucked out that day. I bought both of those.”

Don admires President Lincoln and behind the desk there is a “Life Mask” of the President. “It was actually taken from his face” Don proclaimed. In the corner of this room there is another image of the dead president. On a table sits a bust of President Lincoln made by the artist Zenos Frudakis, a friend of the McLean’s.  Don’s interest in Lincoln stems from a facination and admiration of that time in American history, the Lyceum Period. “Lincoln gave his famous Gettysberg Address at the opening of the Gettysberg Cemetary. The cemetery was designed in the Greek tradition, as a place to contemplate the meaning of life among the dead. I love the period.  I like the way America was. It is only an image now, it doesn’t really exist any more but, if you live here you can feel like you were there.”

Don’s respect for the Native American heritage of the region is evident in some of his decorative choices. Don felt the masculine feel of the den would be a perfect background for some of the Native American artefacts he has collected.  In the den, there is an Indian Arrow and Quiver Outfit that Don bought in Rapid City North Dakota when he played at the Cheyenne Frontier Day a few years ago. “I am really fascinated with Indian things and with Indian culture. Most of the places I’ve lived were actually, at one point, Indian burial grounds or Indian spiritual areas of some sort. The Indian wars were a travesty; we should be ashamed of what we did.”

More evidence of this fascination is on the grounds, “The Penobscot Indian Totem Pole is another thing I felt I needed here. This tribe is native to Maine and again I had a premonition. I had to go to this guy that I know, I had been looking for a totem pole forever and he had just got this one. I thought it would look great just as you were coming up the driveway.”

Don has taken his inspiration from all over the world. On a trip to France with his wife, Don visited Napoleon’s apartments in the Louver in Paris. “You go in and it’s unbelievable, there are these massive chandeliers.  There are four rooms in a row and so you see these four massive chandeliers and you know, I said to myself, you can’t have enough chandeliers. So I went back home and decided that the dining room was going to have a massive chandelier, no point pussy footing around.  I had a lot of fun checking them out. You can get crystal but you can also get cut glass, which is a lot cheaper and looks just the same. I think it looks great.”

Don keeps most of the evidence of his long and successful career in his office.

The walls in Don’s office are decorated with some of his 4O or more gold and platinum records. “I gave a lot of them away, I gave them to girlfriends, and actually I used to give a lot of stuff away to people. I still have this impulse to be generous from time to time.”

There are also a lot of pictures on the walls, “there are these pictures of me with a lot of people, and a nice picture of Madonna from American Pie sheet music which I framed.  She’s very Madonna-ish in that picture.”

Six years ago, Don took part in the Millenium Celebration in Washington. “I guess the powers that be consider me to be an important influence of the 20^th century. It was probably the biggest Gala in Washington ever. I sang “American Pie” looking at the Washington Monument with 600 000 people on all sides of the wading pool there, with all the dignitaries and government in front of me, and SWAT team under the stage in case of terrorists. The moment I sang, the monument lit up and the number 2000 was emblazoned on the tip.”

The coach house and the grounds of the estate are Patrisha’s domain. Don describes his wife, as a wonderful photographer and something of a rose expert. “Landscaping is where Patrisha’s influence comes into play. She designed the massive gardens that are all around the property”.

In the past 15 years Don has restored the house, which was destined to be torn down at one point, to its former glory. “I’ve brought it back to what it was in its heyday.”

For Don Mclean this house is it, “this is the end of the trail for me, no more painting no more nothing. I have satisfied these urges fully. If I ever do have another house it will have to require zero upkeep, but I did love the experience. I have really loved doing it. I’ve never regretted a penny I’ve spent on this place. Isn’t that a nice feeling, you know, it is better than money.”

Don McLean continues on his journey to live with integrity and truth. ‘I am an artist. I’ve tried to become a better person throughout my life. You’re either going in the right direction or the wrong direction. I tell my kids, perfection is a direction.”

Don McLean is about to release a new album entitled “Addicted to Black.”

His biography, “Killing Me Softly With His Song, The Don McLean Story” is also about to be released.

Find out more at www.don-mclean.com or www.americanpie.com

For information about Patrisha McLean’s photography; www.patrishamclean.com