Habitat have taken their spring/summer collection to the seaside for their latest magazine shoot. A wonderful array of brights have been imaginatively styled against a 'perfect' seaside backdrop, situated on an all together more quintessentially British beach (i.e. grey, cloudy and cold!). The juxtaposition works a treat; the tongue in cheek approach serves to humanise the brand, making it more accessible than in previous years. Split into three key themes - Tapas in the Med, A Trip to the Seaside and Afternoon Tea - there's bound to be something for most taste and price points here. What catches your eye?

Habitat is to Europe like West Elm is to America: A brand that offers contemporary and accessible designs for those of us who are just starting out through to the high flyers of this world, with city crash pads and weekend country escapes. Habitat's Christmas offering is one of their strongest from the past two years. Expect to find a mix of modernist ornaments in the form of porcelain owls, ice blue baubles and sleek, matt white decorations. Mixed in amongst their their red, white and blue ranges are some fantastic folksy designs (I used some of them in my Rue Christmas shoot) and they have a charming, timeless quality to them. Let's dive in and check out the fab festive looks the brand has created for us this year.

I love this time of year; the summer sales are nearly over and so the stores start to invest in their visual merchandising to highlight their new collections. Habitat's doing just this as I write; the first pieces from their autumn/winter range launched online on Monday and more is being added every day. Having worked for the brand as a Sales Associate during my university days I remember the effort we would put in to getting our store looking top dollar for each season (think: 2am finishes after laying floor tiles for our Christmas set up in 2006!), so I appreciate it when stores put time and effort into their visual merchandising. After all, this - along with great product assortments and good service - is what makes a retail experience stand out from the crowd. Later today, I'm going to a preview of their Christmas 2010 collection, 'Footprints through the Forest', so now seems the perfect time to share some of my picks from their autumn/winter collection. You can put money on one of their Persia lampshades and Richard the Lion being in my new apartment before the month is out! What pieces do you like from their new range?

I woke up to find that my friend Gavin Mackie sent me this image of the Habitat alarm clock he won in my birthday giveaway. Don't you think it looks fun?