I’m a little late with my roundup of all the goings-on behind the scenes here at Swoon Worthy HQ for the last month but I hope you forgive me for that one! I’ve had a busy month with my brother visiting from the US who is using our home as a sort of ‘base’ to do a bit of travelling in Europe, prepping the house to put it on the market and a bit of travel thrown in the mix as well!

It’s funny when you have someone living with you that you are not used to! I love my brother dearly of course and I’ve been enjoying his visit but it sort of throws everything slightly out of whack for my day-to-day. He’s currently using my office as his bedroom which means working from the dining room table for some of my day and the office part of the other, he eats differently from us (veggie) so I’ve been preparing slightly adapted meals for him so we can all eat together and of course, we want to catch up as well. So it means I’m getting slightly less work done on my blog with someone around all day!

We’re also trying to get the house prepared to put it on the market. I have been donating things and purging our belongings and we’ve also been working on the hallway as it’s the last neglected space in our home. It’s taking every fibre of my being not to decorate it the way I would love to but simply to refresh it but I’ll still share the ‘before and after’ with you in an upcoming post so stay tuned for that once we’ve completed it!

Travel

We travelled to Worcester for the day a couple weeks ago and we sort of fell in love with the area. Some of the architecture dates back a thousand years!

The River Severn runs through this small historic city and sets the tone for it’s laid back but beautiful surroundings.

The two most important men in my life – Wayne (my other half on the right) and my big brother, Mike (on the left)! I’ll share more of my trip in a future post perhaps and our reasons for being there!

I also travelled to London for a night to take part in the Amara Interior Blog Awards judging day which was really insightful and good fun. This is where I did my little photoshoot for my last fashion blog post!

Once I got back from London, I got hit with a monster of a cold so I took it easy for a few days but had a lot of catching up to do once I felt a bit better!

Events

I was also lucky enough to attend the launch of Yuva Medispa in Alderly Edge (the most expensive place to live in the UK outside of London, doncha know) which combines a beauty and aesthetic clinic under the most gloriously decorated surroundings of soft taupes, greys and gold. Honestly, the decor was enough for me, nevermind the amazing work Dr Raj Acquilla and his staff are doing there.

I mean, that bathroom! Dear god, that is going to be the inspiration for the next bathroom redesign I do for sure! The treatments they offer are top-notch as well so I am hoping to do a future post to share more with you on this incredible treatment facility in the local area.

News

I was thrilled to be featured in Vuelio’s Top 10 Interior Design Blogs for the second year in a row – truly an honour.

I’m also going to be a judge for the Indian Blog Awards in the DIY category which is super exciting! Looking forward to checking a lot of new-to-me blogs out as it’s a huge award for this country and I was so thrilled and flattered they asked me to judge for that one.

Features

I always like to share and thank those sites that featured me over the last one so do have a look when you get a chance.

If you are looking to up your Instagram game, check out In the White Room’s blog Interior Insights and their post Instagram Secrets of Success where they interviewed a number of bloggers and Instagrammers (me included) for getting the best out of your Instagram account.

Over on Casa Seven, they named Swoon Worthy as one of the 5 Best Interior Design Blogs which was such an honour and I’m in really excellent company alongside some of my favourite blogs (to be honest, I’m not even sure why I’m there, the other blogs are like HUGE accounts and then there’s little ol’ me! Ha!).

As I mentioned in my last post, I also guest blogged on Mad About the House which is definitely another favourite blog of mine. Kate is so knowledgeable and shares such gorgeous, well-written content that I’m a bit of a fangirl! So when she asked if she could include my blog post on the Interior Trends for 2018 over on her blog, I was thrilled.

I was also included on Plantation Shutter’s Top 10 Interior Design Blogs to Follow This Autumn – another huge honour! I was thrilled to be included on that one alongside some of my good friends and fellow bloggers in the UK.

I also took part in a little ‘blogger challenge’ over on Sweetpea & Willow to take a few of their items and style them in my own home. You can check out all the amazing bloggers who took part in their blog post here. I love how everyone’s style is so different! Some really gorgeous inspiration for getting your home ready for Autumn.

And finally, if you love podcasts like I do and you love home interior chats, then do check out Little Yellow Couch’s Style Matters podcast. I was interviewed by them last year and in their latest podcast, they actually talk about some of the things I said – eeek! How nice is that?! Karen and Zandra are amazing interviewers and you will fall in love with them, I promise!

 

What Else I’ve Been Writing

So this is the part of the post when I share where I’ve been chatting about interiors for various websites over the past month! I’m rounding them up to make it easy for you to have a look when you get some time this weekend and fancy a bit of light reading! Of course, I wouldn’t expect anyone to read ALL of these but if something catches your eye, then I’d love for you to have a little look. Each link opens in a new window so you can just click the ones you like the look of and go back to it later!

Trends

The Best Interior Design Trends of 2017 (SlateYard Manchester – guest blog post!)

How to Create a Scandi Style Kitchen in 5 Easy Steps (Tile Mountain)

Creating Reading Nooks (Oak Furnitureland US)

How to Create a Coastal Look in Your Home (Oak Furnitureland UK)

Inspiration

Our Favourite Interior Design Instagram Accounts (Tile Mountain)

Inspiration for an Organized Craft Room (Oak Furnitureland US)

5 Great Ways to Use Geometric Tiles (Tile Mountain)

Styling Your Bedroom: How to Decorate with Blue (Oak Furnitureland UK)

 

Advice

Take Your Seat: Dining Room Benches or Seats? (Oak Furnitureland UK)

Decorating Your Bathroom with Mosaics (Tile Mountain)

How to Make a Mosaic Mural for Your Bathroom (Tile Mountain)

How to Create Sumptuous Rooms Without Breaking the Bank (Tile Mountain)

What’s Coming Up In October

So hopefully I’ll be sharing our refreshed hallway this month! It’s the last area of the house that’s never been touched (!) and it really needs some love and TLC. So some fresh paint, a few new accessories and a new carpet on the stairs should see it looking much better.

I’m also super excited as I’ll be spending 4 jam-packed days in Skåne, Sweden on a really amazing press trip put together by the Scandinavian Tourist Board as well as the mega website Trendenser. I’m sure I’ll be sharing loads over on Instagram so be sure you are following me there so you can see lots of behind-the-scenes in this incredibly beautiful part of the country. I’ll of course then be sharing all the incredible design-inspired stops, restaurants and hotels when I return.

At the end of the month, I’ll be attending the Amara Awards Ceremony so that’s sure to be an amazing night of glamour and I can’t wait! They always throw the best award parties so I need to sort out a frock for that one ;)

What will you be up to this month? Anything exciting happening in your world? Do let me know in the comments!