Taking Back The Summer & Discovering Domu

Finally Summer has arrived!  Sure, it’s muggy, and we’re expecting a thunderstorm any minute now, but it’s most certainly the most tropical it’s felt all year. Speaking of which, on one particularly nondescript Wednesday evening in June, I was invited to a #TakeBackTheSummer event hosted by the brand, Domu.

Always up for a catchup with some of the North’s finest bloggers, I popped my brolly in my bag (it’s England after all you guys) and off I went with my work chums who are also blogger babes – Sarah (from Sequin This) and Katie (from Frankies Weekend)

For those who aren’t familiar with Domu – as I wasn’t beforehand – they are an online retailer of kitchen and home products. The brand had hired out an apartment in Manchester’s Northern Quarter in order to show us their latest and greatest when it comes to cooking and hosting guests over the summer, with a barbeque on the balcony, and cocktails on the go in the industrial-inspired space.

Well, they sure have good taste. The venue was gorgeous. Calling all interiors geeks…

Rustic metal lighting? Tick.
Bright eclectic patterned cushions? Tick.
Plants on the windowsill? Tick.
Monochrome textiles on a rustic country dining table? Tick.
Curved exposed brick wall that was giving me absolute LIFE? Tick.

I mean, it was Pinterest porn, let’s be honest. But the stars of the evening for me were 3 of Domu’s products: The Electric Teppanyaki Grill, the VonShef Stand Mixer, and the VonShef Fondue set.

Joe and I made a BIG deal about our kichen renovation a few years ago– on the blog and in real actual life. It was expensive, it was stressful, and it meant sacrificing things like fancy holidays and branded food shopping in order to afford it.

So whenever we’ve had guests around since, we have to use mis-matched dinner sets, and odd bowls because honestly, kitchen essentials mount up in cost when you’re starting from scratch.

So I’m gutted it’s taken me this long to discover the brand – they’re really affordable.

This mixer which you can see in a lovely pastel pistachio colour above– we played “guess how much it is”. My guess was around the £400 mark based on similar models I’ve seen from other brands. This one is £80 and comes in loads of colours including the trend that keeps on going, copper. Such a good price!

As the rain had scuppered any BBQ plans (told you I’d need that brolly) the Teppynyaki grill was used instead for chicken skewers and sausages. The food was LUSH and you’d never know it was made on what is essentially an electric plate. And it’s only £22, with the largest size around the £30 mark. I WISH we’d have known about these when we were renovating and living off Pot Noodles with no cooking facilities.

And then there was the Fondue set. Now let me tell you, it turns out it’s totally possible to be completely rubbish at doing Fondue. We were served the most gorgeous Comte Cheese to which I spent about 5 minutes fishing out my dropped food in it. FACEPALM. But, it got us all laughing and chatting and was a great conversation starter – at £25, it’s a must for anyone who likes to play host.

It was such a lovely evening, and hopefully the summer will stick around long enough to enjoy them a little longer.

Thanks to Domu for the invite – it was a blast. I’m hoping Summer sticks around long enough for me to finish off some seriously overdue garden projects. I’ve so much to show you!