Hi chums. It’s been a busy few weeks around these parts as we are STILL trying to find a house but last Wednesday I got some much needed light relief in the form of a blogger supperclub.
I was invited by the lovely team at Made – home of fabulous furnishings if you’re not familiar with the brand – who have been working with a letting company called UNCLE LIVING, to fully furnish a new block of flats in Manchester’s city centre.
Orient House, the building in question, is a Grade II listed building and it’s crackin’ to see that the renovations are doing their best to retain so much of that Mancunian heritage that the building is oozing in.
I often think that renters get a bit of a bum deal. You can’t always make drastic changes to your home without particular permissions, if at all and I wonder if this is why so many rented spaces can look a bit void of personality or style. This was definitely the case in my old rented flat but if you’re a young city professional and an actual interiors company furnishes your home, I mean, it doesn’t get better than that really does it? Not to mention that as UNCLE are both the owners and the landlord, it costs less to actually rent than a standard agreement.
From the original tiles restored in the entranceway and using period-favourite inky blues in the hallway (Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue in fact) rather than the “show every mark” manilla walls you so often get in rented accommodation – it was clear to see why they’d invited a bunch of interiors bloggers to the table.
(Above images courtesy of Ian Thraves BTW including the picture of me literally bending over backwards to get a good shot of that cute table, and also of the incredible food we were treated to by Grape and Grain)
So let’s check out some of my favourite interior spots of the visit! Our starting point was a fully set-up apartment, which I’ve gotta say, made a really good use of the space, incorporating work areas throughout – a good pull for us laptop obsessives. Potted plants and warm lights helped to make the room feel cosy from the get go, and I loved that you could see across the Manchester skyline through a generous amount of windows. Cushions were non-matching and artwork was fun and personal to our city which I thought was a great touch.
But my favourite parts of the apartment weren’t necessarily the rooms, fabulous as they were…they had a gym. And a yoga room. And an ART STUDIO! Essentially paying attention to what this generation wants to have on their doorstep (not to mention the gym membership you’d probably save if there is one in your building).
On the bottom floor was a spread of velvet greens and leather browns which paired beautifully with the brickwork, with nods back to the origins of the building – with decorative features borrowed from leftovers of the industrial revolution.
Also, hallway goals AMIRIGHT? This is part of the post room and that mix of panelled dark blue and gold lighting against original teal tiles AND neon lights gives me all the feels. You might even notice some nods to the fact that it was once a cotton factory. When can I move in?
(This part isn’t curated by Made.com but how lovely that they are aligned with the designs already in place of the UNCLE building?)
Following our tour, we sat down to a candlelit dinner to talk life, blogging and design. It was one of the nicest meals I’ve had in YEARS and I can never say no to catching up with my local interiors chums.
We settled in – to a cocktail or two – as the city skyline lit up and whilst you may not think you can have a dinner party for 10 or so people in a Manchester city centre apartment, rest assured we completely nailed it, complete with beautiful candles and gold cutlery. Not your average plastic dinner plate kind of affair!
If you’d like to check out the other fabulous bloggers who attended, take a gander:
Antonia from #TidyLife | Lisa Dawson from Lisa Dawson Styling | Clare from I Like Tweet | Karen from Karen Barlow Styling | Kate from Fabric Of My Life | Susie from Old Fashioned Susie | Kimberly from Swoonworthy
What a line up right! Thank you to the Made.com team who made us feel so at home. If you’re after a city center home, I’m sure you will too!
i
