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July – a review

July has been a funny month for me. I am so used to July being a ‘wind down’ month, having been a teacher, so it came as quite a shock, in this my first year of freelance work, that I have had to up my tempo rather than slow down. The result was a couple of weeks of paralysis – you know when you have so much to do so you do nothing at all?! I watched Wimbledon, enjoyed spending time outside and became fascinated with which flowers were blooming on my balcony, went on a couple of lovely weekends away and soaked up the sun at the beginning of the month. However, reality struck in the last couple of weeks, as did the rain and miserable weather, and I have come to terms with the fact that the summers will no longer be work-free zones for me.

Saying all that, I wouldn’t swap working freelance for anything now and I do realise how lucky I am. I have loved the flexibility to choose when to work and when not to; getting up extra early on big Wimbledon match days so I could spend the afternoon watching tennis guilt free, working into the evening so I could have an extra long walk with Otto when the sun was beaming, having a proper lunch break on our roof terrace with Jules and just adding an extra hour of work at the end of the day.

Never before have I been so aware of the seasons as I have this year and as summer has arrived I can not stop myself from inspecting every front garden that I pass and absorbing the changes in my local park. I’ve spent two wonderful weekends away this month in Norfolk and then Malvern and Warwickshire and both places had vegetable gardens that I loved foraging around in and asking questions about. I’m so grateful that Styling the Seasons has brought this awareness, something I have always lacked having lived in London all my life and never reallly encouraged to think about nature. I have asked “what is seasonal this month?” far too many times this year – I can’t want for next year when I will have so much more knowledge.

It has been far too difficult to pick my favourite shot for this month; I have loved them all in one way or another. I loved the way Emma captured the essence of summer, Esther’s first beautiful and thoughtful contribution to STS, the joy and excitement behind Kate’s post and the mental image of Rachel’s boys helping her with her gorgeous styling. I could go on and on.

In the end I chose this shot by Julia, whose beautiful blog Humphrey and Grace is fast becoming one of my favourites. The reason I chose this styled surface is the fact that it reflects how I have been feeling this month – a bit lost in quiet, calm contemplation. Such a beauitful image.

Styling the Seasons July review | Apartment Apothecary

Do visit the other blog posts that were written this month for lots of lovely stories and beautiful styling. Don’t forget to search the #StylingTheSeasons hashtag on Instagram for hundreds more images from this month alone (5 000 in total now!).

Camellia Rose / A Quiet Style / Borrowed Light / The Villa on Mount Pleasant / The Lovely Drawer / Janice Issit Lifestyle / Really Pretty Useful / The Ordinary Lovely / Beauitful Simplicity / Humphrey and Grace / Tea with Ruby / Beak Up Crafts / Inside Out and About / The Vintage Good Life / Something I Made / thevintagehousethatcould / The Cabinet Maker’s Love Tale / Under The Plum Blossom Tree / Growing Spaces / Lotts and Lots / Cate St. Hill / Apartment Apothecary

I will be back on Monday with August’s post. Thank you to everybody who made July a bit more beautiful.

Katy x

 

Styling the seasons – July

This is the first month since we started Styling the Seasons in September 2014 that I have had a complete block and have had no idea which surface in my home to refresh and style. In fact, my block goes a bit further than that as I’ve been struggling to be productive at all and last week was almost a complete write-off. Ideas have been lacking, motivation is almost non-existent and there has been a lot of procrastination and faffing.

What do you do when you have a creative block like this? I’ve realised two things help for me: a little bit of time off and buying myself a few new lovely things, which help ideas to flow again. To help clear my mind and think about what to do for this month’s Styling the Seasons I have tried to go back to what really attracted me to the project; the conscious decision to clear a dumping ground in my home and taking time to sit and think about what the coming month means to me and try to show that in my styling.

All that being said, I decided to clear this dumping ground in my home office that is the first thing I see to my right as I walk in the door to the room. This month isn’t about making a surface look beautiful, it’s about making it more practical…

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

In theory I wanted to leave the top of this chest of drawers in my home office clear for ongoing craft projects but in practice it has become a dumping ground.

I completely cleared the top of these drawers where I store my crafty bits and bobs and found new homes for everything. I decided to buy a wall cupboard to store some of my props that I use in blog posts. It is not a deep cupboard so it doesn’t encroach on the space or feel too dominant; this is especially important because it is the first thing I see as I enter the room. I also put a file box and some metal baskets (much prefer these to storage boxes as you can see exactly what is in them and they don’t look or feel as heavy) on top of the drawers to corral the clutter (my new favourite phrase!). Here is my refreshed surface for July…

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

Wall cupboard from Dirty Pretty Vintage.

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

The plant is a String of Hearts vine or Rosary vine.

Styling the Seasons - July | Apartment Apothecary

So super proud of these roses that I have grown this year on my balcony. They smell divine!

What I have realised, as I struggled to think about what July means to me, is that this has always been the month that I start to unwind and slow down – I have been a student or a teacher all of my life and the coming of the summer holidays is obviously very deeply engrained. I think I have needed a bit of time off to gather new inspiration and new ideas. Hopefully, with my freshly stocked props cupboard and better organised work space, my creative block will clear.

Do pop over to see Charlotte’s gorgeous post this month; it is definitely one of my all time favourite STS posts. Also, search the #StylingTheSeasons hashtag over on Instagram for inspiration, as well as hopping over to our Pinterest board with the hundreds of blog posts that have been styled and written since last September. We would love for you to join us this month and style a surface in your home to show what this month means to you. Blog about it or post a picture on your favourite social media platform and tag us in so we can see! I wrote up a few of my photo-styling tips this week just in case you are new to the styling game and want a bit of guidance.

Katy x

 

June – a review

I know I say this most months but where on earth has June gone? It really has flown, probably because I have been really busy. However, I have made a very concerted effort this month to spend more time outside, to see more of my friends and to try to enjoy the passing days a bit more. I have re-planted my balcony and have spent every morning sitting with a cup of tea just taking in the morning light and calm of the early hours (probably my favourite time of day). We have had our first few gatherings of the year up on our roof terrace and I spent such a happy weekend in Norfolk this weekend just gone. It’s been a good month and I hope it has been for you, too.

What has been really difficult this month is choosing our favourite styled suface to win the £50 Loaf voucher. Charlotte and I have loved seeing so many beautiful entries overflowing with seasonal flowers, wonderful props and carefully chosen words to decribe the meaning of June. All that being said, this shot by Rowena immediately caught my eye because of the clever use of nature, colour, variety of textures, heights and that homemade wreath! Just beautiful styling. Congratulations, Rowena, you are the winner of the £50 Loaf voucher (I’d recommend the pink linen scrunch cushion!).

Styling the Seasons - June review | Apartment Apothecary

I had many other favourites this month that I shared over on Instagram throughout the month and these four gorgeous shots really sum up June for me – light, colour, sweet smelling flowers and nature.

Styling the Seasons - June review | Apartment Apothecary

Top left: @lewesmap on Instagram, Top right: Cate St. Hill blog, Bottom left: @theqpmama on Instagram, Bottom right: @keepingwiththetimes on Instagram

There were lots of inspirational blog posts styled and written this month that you should take a look at, too:

The Villa on Mount Pleasant / Borrowed-light.com / Humphrey and Grace / KT Robbins Ceramics / The Vintage Good Life / A Quiet Style / Geoffrey and Grace / Sprunting / Tea with Ruby / Beak Up Crafts / The Lovely Drawer / Suzy Homemaker / Beautiful Simplicity / AFKES / Camellia Rose / thevintagehousethatcould / little maldod / Cate St. Hill / Under the Blossom Tree / Lobster and Swan / Janice Issitt Lifestyle / Littlegreenshed / Really Pretty Useful/ Made by Molu / Growing Spaces / The Cabinet Maker’s Love Tale / Lotts and Lots / Apartment Apothecary

I usually post my new Styling the Seasons posts on the 1st of each month but I still haven’t made up my mind which surface in my home I want to style. Also, I would like to wait a bit this month to see how July unfolds – sometimes I feel that if I style my surface too far in advance I fail to capture the month as much as I’d like to. I hope to be zapped with inspiration soon so watch this space! In the mean time, I look forward to seeing your July shots and blog posts.

Katy x

Styling the Seasons – June

June is a lovely month, isn’t it? Hot days, bright sun, warm light and time spent outside, in water, roaming the countryside, picnicking and evenings in the garden. The humidity and heaviness that can build up in London doesn’t arrive until July and August so June is my favourite summer month. Yes, it’s actually summer!

Charlotte and I have teamed up with Loaf for this month’s Styling the Seasons and we have set ourselves a little challenge to style up one of Loaf’s Perch stools each – we haven’t told each other what our styling will involve so I’m looking forward to comparing! You can see Charlotte’s styling over on Lotts and Lots.

Loaf have also kindly offered a £50 voucher to our favourite Styling the Seasons shot or blog post this month! More about that later, but first I would like to show you my June styling…

Styling the Seasons with @loafhome | Apartment Apothecary

Perch stool from Loaf.

I wanted my styled stool to represent outdoor living: Sun bathing or swimming with my hammam towel, eating yummy summer food on our roof terrace, visits to the coast or the countryside with a basket full of picnic food or evening drinks on our balcony with my storm lantern burning – blissful!

Styling the Seasons - June | Apartment Apothecary

You can buy this vintage Minor Goods vase in my shop.

Peony season could not be more welcome at this time of year. These blousy blooms really are joyful.

White peonies | Apartment Apothecary

White peonies.

I love the recipes in the Kinfolk cookery books and the whole ethos behind Kinfolk that involves simplifying life, slowing things down and spending more time with family and friends, which is what I am going to strive towards this month. Friends – expect lots of invites for lunches and suppers on our roof terrace!

I have kept the colours of this month’s styling really simple and used my favourite aqua colour that perfectly represents the connection I make between June and being near and in water and enjoying the freshness of this summer month compared to July and August, which are much balmier and more yellow in my mind. I have wanted some shaker peg hooks in my hallway for ages but they were all far too pricey. I bought a few strips of cheap pine ones from Homebase and painted them with Fired Earth’s Ultramarine Ashes.

Styling the Seasons - June | Apartment Apothecary

Storm Lantern from Sparrow and Co.

There’s nothing better than finally being able to sit out on our balcony or roof terrace late in to the night with lanterns. Love this storm lantern that reminds me of lighthouses for some reason – another connection with the sea.

White peonies | Apartment Apothecary

Beautiful blousy blooms.

The nautical stripes of my hammam towel instantly make me think of summers by the coast and boat trips – I MUST move to the sea!

Styling the Seasons with @loafhome | Apartment Apothecary

House of Rym towel. Buy similar from my shop.

What does June mean to you?

If you would like to show us, post a shot of your styled surface on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or blog about it. If you’d like a chance to win a £50 Loaf voucher tag in @loafhome and don’t forget the #StylingTheSeasons hashtag! We will announce our favourite on June 30th so you have the whole month to get styling. The winner must be UK based. If you need a bit of inspiration we have created a Pinterest board of styled surfaces that we will be adding to throughout the month so that should give you lots of ideas.

Happy styling!

Katy x

P.S. Here are a few lovely things from my shop if you like the props I have used in today’s post. Hover over the item, click ‘view’ for more details or ‘buy’ to add it to your cart and buy it right here on my blog. To see the full shop click here.

May – a review

I am currently with some of the most amazing women on a wondrous adventure that you can read more about on the Toast blog here. However, I had to drop by to show you my favourite Styling the Seasons shots from this month.

One of the things that Charlotte and I wanted to capture when we began Styling the Seasons was time to stop and reflect on the passing of time. It is far too easy, especially if you live in a city, to see a month fly by without noticing the change in light, weather, flowers growing and fading, colours changing. What I have loved about May is seeing the truly seasonal flowers of the month appearing in so many of your beautiful Styling the Seasons shots and blog posts.

I am not a massive fan of purple but the Lilacs of May make me fall in love with it just for this month! All three of my favourite styled surfaces this month have purple, simplicity and stillness in common – they all look like works of art and I love them.

Styling the Seasons - May | Apartment Apothecary

Amazing Lilacs by @rin__san on Instagram.

Styling the Seasons - Borrowed-light.com| Apartment Apothecary

Catherine’s stunning styled shot on Borrowed-Light.

Styling the Seasons - May | Apartment Apothecary

Beautiful stillness by Hannah over at Hannah in the House.

Thank you to everybody this month who took some time to reflect, look around, appreciate and take in the changing of the seasons and passing of time. I hope that by styling a surface at home it has refreshed a forgotten space or cleared a dumping ground. We would love for you to join in next month, too!

Here is some inspiration from the gorgeous blog posts that were styled and written this month:

A Quiet Corner / Tea with Ruby / Lapin Blu / KT Robbins Ceramics / We Made This Home / The Cabinet Maker’s Love Tale / thevintagehousethatcould / Really Pretty Useful / Camellia Rose / A Quiet Style / Hannah in the House / Borrowed-Light / Growing Spaces / Fall For DIY / Janice Issitt Lifestyle / The Lovely Drawer / Gathered Cheer / The Villa On Mount Pleasant / The Vintage Good Life / Sew Simone / The Ordinary Lovely / Little Maldod / AFKES / Living in London / Beak Up Crafts / ling yeung b / Lotts and Lots / Apartment Apothecary

What does June mean to you? Charlotte and I will be styling up the same stool next month and we have no idea what the other is going to do with it so I’m excited to see the results. We are also lucky to have Loaf on board next month and our favourite June shot will win a £50 Loaf voucher. Find out more on Monday 1st June!

Katy x