I’m not entirely sure how it’s happened but here we are at the end of July and summer is going by far too quick for my liking. To be fair, considering Manchester doesn’t get the best weather in general, summer has been pretty kind to us. We’ve had lots of evenings hanging out in our garden with a drink, plenty of sunny days where I’ve had the back door open all day to let the animals wander in and out and the odd occasion where I’ve decided to ‘down tools’ a little early to get a bit of gardening done rather than sit at my laptop. I’m keeping my fingers crossed after the past rainy week that we’ve not yet had our full quota of sunshine!

This past month, I’ve also been trying to work out a new schedule for myself where I have specific days every week that I dedicate solely to my own blog. I realised the way I was working before (prioritising client work and trying to fit the blog around it) was stressing me out and I needed to actually dedicate time to writing and shooting my own content. So far, it’s been working really well and I find myself looking forward to ‘Swoon Worthy only’ days! Hopefully, that means more regular content and a less stressed-out me with the ultimate goal eventually of actually having a whole weekend without having to work – the dream! Ha!

For those who are unaware, my Something for the Weekend series has been going on for quite a long time now! It’s where I round up what I’ve been up to over the last month and what’s been happening behind the scenes at Swoon Worthy HQ. I also like to share where I’ve been featured and all the blog posts I write for my clients and let you know what’s going to be happening over the following month. So grab yourself a cuppa and put your feet up while I catch you up on my news!

Staycations

Grand Pacific’s beautiful stairwell as taken by Alex from The Interior DIYer

While I didn’t do any travelling, I did get to start off the month with a long weekend of fun and frolics with two of my best friends, Alex & Maria. On Saturday, I got to show them some of my favourite haunts in Manchester. We hit The Refuge, The Botanist, Oliver Bonas and finally, Grand Pacific. Quite a lot of interior porn, amazing food and plenty of cocktails throughout the afternoon but we headed home once the ‘out out crowd’ (Micky Flanagan reference) arrived and suddenly, in our sandals and jeans, we felt rather inadequately dressed amongst the Glamazons in 6″ heels and big hair. By around 9:30 pm, we were settled in front of the telly with hot cups of tea watching Bridesmaids. Because that is just how rock n’ roll we are. You can read Alex’s rather hilarious account of our weekend on her blog.

News

Now, I know I said I wouldn’t ask for votes this year seeing as I am a judge for the Amara Interior Blog Awards but then this happened! It seems I’ve been nominated for a new award by the magazine Essential Kitchens Bathrooms Bedrooms (more snappily known as EKBB) in the Best Interior Design Blog category. So I’m having to go back on my word here but I promise I won’t bang on about it! I’ve been so privileged to be awarded a few accolades over the years and if I don’t win this one, well, there are no hard feelings. Especially as the ladies who are in the category with me are powerhouses of the blogging community and I’m feeling pretty damn special to be even mentioned in the same breath as them! That said, if you fancy throwing a vote my way, I’d be ever so appreciative. You can vote here.

Features

I had a new writing commission this month with peer-to-peer lending giant Zopa and completed a Kitchen Renovation Guide as well as 3 blog posts all around getting a beautiful kitchen, even if you’re on a budget. I’ve listed the articles down below so do check those out!

I also seem to have had quite a few interviews this month! My bedroom was featured on Topology, I was interviewed about my freelance career over on To Work or Play and I had a little kitchen chat with Fi over on Fiffy McGee. So if you wanted to find out a little more about me, head on over to those, they are all fabulous blogs.

West Elm also featured my garden makeover on their blog, Front + Main which was lovely and Ascent Properties – a local-to-me letting agency – shared my blog with their readers in their article on Home Decor Inspiration in Manchester – thanks guys!

A few little accolades this month as well: The FlowerCard named Swoon Worthy in their list of the 25 Best Home Interior Bloggers to Follow in 2017, Open Plan Living included me in their Top 10 UK Interior Design Blogs to Follow and iVisa named my blog as one of the Top Global Bloggers in the design category – thank you so much! I’m always honoured to appear on lists like these!

Lastly, I was so thrilled to see my kitchen makeover shared over on Buzzfeed! There’s a whole host of before and afters on that post so do check that out for lots of inspiration!

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!

Seasonal Trends

The 2017 Kitchen Trends Worth Investing In (Zopa)

Light & Breezy Lounge Looks for Summer (Tile Mountain)

7 Ways to Dress Your Summer Porch (Oak Furnitureland US)

Holiday-Inspired Interiors (Oak Furnitureland)

US Tile Style: The Biggest Trends Stateside (Tile Mountain)

Design Advice

How to Create a Chaos-Free Multifunctional Room (Oak Furnitureland)

8 Design Lessons You’ll Learn in Your 30s (Avant Homes)

5 Ways to Make a Small Kitchen Look Bigger (Zopa)

4 Questions to Ask Before Deciding What to Keep When Moving (Oak Furnitureland)

Tips for Choosing Shower Tiles (Tile Mountain)

Inspiration

10 Kitchen Renovation Ideas to Help You Stay on Budget (Zopa)

5 Tips for Awesome Utility Rooms (Tile Mountain)

Red White and Blue Interior Inspiration (Oak Furnitureland US)

What’s Planned for Next Month

So we’re a little behind on the Glam Cave reveal but that’s only because I decided I really needed to wait for the last piece of furniture to come in which had a really long lead time unfortunately! But you can see a sneak peek above – WORTH THE WAIT. So now that the last piece is in, we’ll be finishing up our ‘snag list’ and it just needs some dressing (you can see that shelf above is bare) and it’ll be done! So expect the reveal to be very soon! Eeek!

I’m also going to be sharing another makeover – my Mother-in-Law’s flat! It’s come such a long way and I’ve partnered with the lovely folks at Oak Furnitureland who’ve generously provided so many lovely things for her. We’ll be getting everything finished up in August so I’ll be sharing that before and after with you later in the month!

And lastly, I’m going to be announcing a new category wherein I’ll be expanding my content just a little here on Swoon Worthy. It’s a small change to the status quo around here but I’m really hoping you’re going to love it. More on that one next week!

How’s your month been? Got anything special planned for your weekend? Do tell!