Keeping Cool In The Summer

Paid partnership with Princess Home

The Princess Home fan in living room setting.

I don’t do well in extreme temperatures. I’m much more suited to the stable grey climate of Manchester than the tropics or Antarctica, which is why I’ve probably never left my home city for longer than 2 weeks at a time. The recent heatwave in the UK made me miserable if I’m being honest. Sweaty commutes, even sweatier offices and then sweaty sleep is not my kind of fun! Luckily Princess Home had sent me a fan the week previous to review and it was a LIFE SAVER!

Sleek design and 3 wind modes make this Princess Home Fan a winner.

Ever since I’ve been a teenager, hay fever has plagued me especially in the evenings so I have always had a fan in the house. Although he did the job well enough, he was hardly Instagram worthy! So when Princess Home promised me a really good fan with a sleek design, I went for it wholeheartedly.

Close up detail of the control panel.

Features of the fan include being able to control it from your phone or your smart speaker, set timers and change between 3 different wind settings. The natural mode is designed to mimic a breeze from the beach and it is definitely my favourite one - quick blasts of wind every now and again help to channel my inner Beyoncé.

Looks great in the bedroom too!

And it looks good! The tall, slim design means I can slot in anywhere it the house where needed. It pretty much spends the daytime in the lounge and then we take him to bed in the evenings! I would highly recommend this product and you can get one for yourself by clicking here.

There is also a competition currently running on my Instagram account to win one for free. The winner will be announced on 9th August 2019.

Fits in anywhere with its tall, thin design.

How To Dress Shelves For An Instant Refresh

Some people think updating their homes means spending lots of money on repainting or buying a new sofa. I find that simply moving objects around really helps the home feel fresh. I have updated my shelves in the dining room and I’m going to show you a few simple tricks and tips without spending a penny. I have just used items already in my house, had a little faff and found the room looked instantly new!

Before

There’s nothing wrong with the shelves how they were, they have just been like that since January and I decided to change them up a little bit.

First things first - strip the shelves completely. Sometimes I do just swap one object here and there so it’s not necessary to strip it every time but I really wanted to go different so all clutter had to be moved away. I didn’t take a shot of the dining table during this but it’s not for the fainthearted!

During

The main reason for updating the shelves was to make a feature out of some of the prints we’ve collected from our holidays recently. The Bull print is from Malaga 2018 and the Pinxtos print is from our very fabulous weekend in San Sebastian at the beginning of June.

The diagonal line in which I’ve laid these prints out is intentional, it spreads out the bulkier elements so the unit doesn’t feel too heavy. I’ve added in my little plant that my best friend gave to me - he’s growing so so slowly but he’s still alive which is good news!

Next I wanted to move a plant from the kitchen shelves to be more focal here and also to keep adding pops of green. Plants really help bring a space to life and if you can keep them alive then I would highly recommend having them in your home. It’s not secret about the well-being and health benefits plants give us too.

As a rule of thumb, objects look better in groups of threes. I’ve brought in my Chemex and Ikea coffee pot for no other reason than I love these as objects and shapes. The green vase kindly gifted from The Flower Lounge also helps the continue the “green theme” and the bulbous shape also goes with that of the Chemex.

Next comes the books. Mixing in cookbooks and normal books help tie the dining room and kitchen together. Are you even an ‘Instagrammer’ if you don’t have the pages facing forward?!? I love the neutral tones it brings to the shelves instead of the colourful spines but it’s also to hide all the dodgy books I read -twilight anyone?!?

You can see I’ve add my wooden Nkuku star on the top shelf here too, I love this star but it is really big so by putting on the top shelf, it doesn’t dominate the whole unit.

Time to bring in a few more finishing touches. These Denby bowls tie in the blue/grey feature and also add an eclectic feel. You don’t have to match everything if that’s not your bag, you can just go with whatever you like and it really brings out your personality. Don’t be afraid!

I also love this menu print which was here before, the brown against the blue, for some reason just makes me happy so I decided to bring it back. Framing menus is one of easy ways to create artwork and you can read other tips here.

After

The finished article. A couple more books, a photo of me and Ben, and my beloved dried hydrangeas fill in the gaps. Also bringing my Jasmine plant from the other side of the fireplace gives the sense that it’s always been this way.

My 1986 print from Toodle And Pip now sits on the mantle and voila it’s done!

My Top Tips

1. Dress one shelf at a time but constantly take a step back to view the unit as a whole so everything looks balanced.

2. Use the rule of threes as base. Objects always look better in threes but don’t be afraid to occasionally break it as I have done on the 2nd shelf.

3. Choose objects that you like as well as functional objects. Add in prints, pictures and books to give your shelves a touch of your personality.

4. Have fun re-homing the other objects that were here before. That’s the great thing about refreshing one area, most other areas get a mini refresh too!

Styling Flowers Through The Seasons

The flatlay that won me the competition

In September 2018 I entered The Flower Lounge’s competition to win six months of flowers. The competition was open to anyone local who could pop in to pick up some free flowers and take them home to style. I actually found out I had won on holiday in Crete where I had also just gotten engaged so September was a fabulous month for me! I thought I’d show you how I styled the bouquets through the seasons.

The Flower Lounge, Didsbury. Featuring board design from Indigo Impressions.

The Flower Lounge is a gorgeous award winning florist which is round the corner from my house. Ran by Siân and her wonderful team, I have bought various flowers from them in the past from my Dad’s funeral flowers to my upcoming wedding. They do regular workshops and sell other little trinkets such as vases, plants and candles so it’s the perfect “one stop shop” for presents. I love this little shop and was delighted when I won the competition. Who doesn’t like free flowers every month?

October

Amaranthus

October is all about pumpkins, deep oranges and reds with pops of green. It’s my favourite month, and the month I will be saying “I do” this year.

November

Ilex Berries

The long winter nights call for candlelight and hearty dinners. A bouquet on the table is my perfect centrepiece all year round whether we eat at the table or not.

December

Ranunculus

Fairylights, candles and mini wreaths spell Christmas in our house. In the winter we retreat more into the lounge as it’s a smaller space and feels more cosy especially with the fire going. Bringing the bouquet into the space with us and curling up with blankets whilst the weather rages outside is my perfect way to hibernate.

January

Alstromeria

Christmas is over and it’s a time for fresh starts. All the decorations have gone and the house feels a lot simpler. I never normally have flowers in the bedroom but they were lovely to wake up to each morning.

February

Pussy Willow

The month of love! I love creating photos of flowers in the belfast sink. Something about the crisp white ceramic and the gorgeous colours of the bouquet make me imagine living in a gorgeous countryside property having foraged flowers from the my massive garden!

So those were my take on styling flowers through the seasons. If you are local to Manchester or just passing through, I would highly recommend The Flower Lounge for all your floral needs.

This content was not sponsored in any way, all thoughts are my own although Siân helped me with the naming of the flowers!