I was lucky enough to be invited down to Arighi Bianchi one Saturday to have lunch and look around the store. I have heard of Arighi Bianchi before, I think everyone in the North has heard of it. But despite my mum living so close and being only 30 minutes away, I had never stepped foot inside. For some reason I had pre expectations that it was expensive and old fashioned and probably not my scene. How WRONG was I!!!
I brought my good friend Marisa along as she has just recently purchased her first home and was looking for inspiration for the few final pieces that would bring the house together. First up we headed straight for lunch as we had a table booked. The cafe was packed and there's no surprise why. The menu was full of choice and I had food envy looking at everyone's plates.
I chose the lamb focaccia burger and my friend went for soup and a salad. All three were delicious!
After lunch we wandered into the maze that is the grade II listed building, we went wherever our eyes took us and headed for whatever caught our attention. One of my favourite pieces was this Panache 3 seater sofa in the most beautiful deep green. This colour is 100% on trend at the minute and if I were to do my living room again, I would build the scheme around this stunner!
The perfect accessory for the Panache sofa is this gorgeous botanical print cushion. I love the dark hues in this, perfect for the dark botanical trend which shows no signs of going anywhere fast.
Another piece which caught both our eyes was the Big Bang Pendant light which would make a stunning showstopper statement above a dining room table. It's one of those one of a kind pieces that would last forever.
Of course I was drawn to the plants, I can't resist! Instead of buying a cushion every time I leave the house, I now buy plants. The Flower House concession stand is a plant lovers paradise. The ladies were really helpful and knowledgeable and their wares are beautiful. Lots of little pots and trinkets to create gorgeous botanical displays at home. We both left with two plants each although I could have easily taken more!
A few other key pieces that I love include the Blake Bookcase because of it's sleek black lines and industrial feel and I am certainly going back for these wine glasses as soon as possible!
The thing I learnt about Arighi Bianchi is there is something for everyone's tastes. It's a beautiful well presented store, full of hidden treasures with the amazing character of the building as the backdrop. There are trends, classic pieces and the quirky and unusual. My friend bought this cute little stool and it looks perfect in her living room alongside a statement accent chair.
We had a lovely afternoon wandering round and admiring all the fantastic pieces. Check out the Arighi Bianchi brochure for my key pieces feature and head down to store between 27th - 30th September for their Home Edit Autumn event where I will be taking part in a Blogger Q&A session!
