A Seaside Themed Summer Party

As the mercury rises and the temperatures too, why not venture outside to create a little seaside in your backyard? It's a great time of year to invite your friends over and party all afternoon long under the heat of the summer sun. Even if you're not by the seaside you can recreate the look and feel of a nautical escape with the right buys. Start by creating a palette of red and blue hues as these colours alone are a nod to all things nautical. Next, mix in some anchor motifs and fish-shaped plates to really create that seaside feel. Pull the look together with strong pattern, perhaps in an outdoor rug laden with pillows or even a stripe parasol. Then all that's left to do is invite over your best friends and party 'till sundown! Which of these nautical picks do you like best?
// Lifestyle image by West Elm | Market picks: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Vernazza Plates: A New Tabletop Crush!

The weather in London for the past few days has been scorching, hotter than many Mediterranean countries even! Did you just fall off your chair? London and scorching hot weather in the same sentence? I know, it turns out pigs do fly! Well, this beautiful weather we've been lucky to have has left me dreaming of visiting a seaside escape to cool down next to the soothing sound of the crashing waves. As the seaside escape remains a dream for now, I'm happy to serve up some tapas treats on my new Vernazza plates. I love their hand painted and colourful nature - those blue hues are seriously my thing! What little tabletop treats make you happy?
// Vernazza plates | Coastal scene

West Elm: Modern Meets Rustic-Industrial Kitchen

The kitchen is one of my favourite places to be when I'm at home. Actually, scrap that. It's the favourite place for me to hang out when I'm at home. Whenever I have a party, or it seems attend a party, the kitchen seems to be the beating heart of the event. I think there's a juxtaposition of both drama and serenity to kitchens; a sense of theatre as a meal comes together with pots bubbling and pans searing hot, then the calm of clearing away plates and glasses under the soft glow of the hob light once guests have departed. The hum of the dish washer. The sound of a kettle boiling. The smell of pastries warming in the oven on a Saturday morning. All these things awaken or soothe the senses and I often find myself appreciating these quieter moments when relaxing in my apartment. That said, I'm renting at the moment, and as much as I love my apartment let's just say the kitchen isn't to my taste! So I found myself cooing out loud at my Macbook (enter confused fellow coffee drinkers in Starbucks from stage right) when these inspiring snaps of West Elm's rustic kitchen collection landed in my inbox. Likening the acacia wood pieces to a casual, New England oyster bar, the brand have kicked off 2012 by adding a bistro table, prep counter and dining table, to the island and dining chair that made up the original collection. I may not have space for the lovely set of dining table and chairs in my current place but I have the perfect little spot for the industrial stool. What inspires you about this rustic kitchen range?

Mr. Bazaar's West Elm Gift Picks & Interview

Last week the friendly folks over at West Elm invited Mr. Bazaar to share his gift picks for the holidays from their store. Of course, given my slight addiction to browsing (and often shopping!) home accessory and furniture stores, I was more than happy to dive in head first and choose my favourites. Want to know what I'd buy my auntie? Or perhaps you're after the perfect hostess-meets-housewarming gift? Read my ideas for these gifts and a whole bunch of others over here. Plus, if you'd like to read about my route to starting Bright.Bazaar, where I discovered my love for prop styling, my inspirations and much more, then you can read this interview on West Elm's new blog. Do you have your eye on anything from West Elm at the moment?

West Elm's Colourful Holiday and Party Decor

For some folks it takes a hit of something strong (and illegal!) to get them high. For me? Holiday decorating. No joke, to say I totally love it would be an understatement. That's not to say I'm one of the kooky types who keeps their decorations up all year long or turns their house into the Blackpool illuminations come September! Far from it: my first decorations go up on the first of December and come down after New Years Eve. That said, as soon as Halloween has past, I like to spend November sourcing the market for festive ideas and great value buys to add to my collection. I find it so exciting to wonder my favourite high street stores, independent market sellers and festive stalls to see their collections - and the imaginative ways they choose to display them. When I was younger we decorated the family cottage with decorations handed down from generations well before my time, but each year we added a few new ornaments to the ensemble. This year, I know I'll be adding something to my holiday arsenal from West Elm. The problem is, what to choose? Perhaps I'll go for the Hearts for Haiti Ornaments to hang on my tree, or maybe a dash of modern festivity with a Lacquered Elf, or even a graceful Papier-Mache Reindeer? It's decision time: what would you pick from West Elm to add to your holiday decorating collection?

West Elm: Thanksgiving Entertaining Ideas

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Oh, I do love it when West Elm release a new collection. Following on from their main fall 2011 collection, the brand is set to release their Thanksgiving pieces next week, and we're lucky enough to have a sneak peek today! A versatile product assortment means many of the pieces can be used before, during and after the Thanksgiving holiday - I like the idea of working them into a Halloween tabletop. As per West Elm's usual style, the range has been beautifully styled, providing countless ideas and inspirations for fall entertaining. This year sees a collaboration with Brooklyn-based graphic designer Mary Matson, whose designs are my favourite of the whole collection. Her graphic and playful designs for the 'Gobble' and 'Thanks' serveware really made me smile. And the good news? They now ship to the UK! Do you entertain during the fall season? How do you like to lay the table at this time of year?

West Elm: Fall 2011 Collection

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

I love this time of year when retail brands big and small begin to release their fall collections. West Elm's collection went live today and I was inspired by the product assortment for the new season. Bold yellow and blue brights sit comfortably alongside calmer, more subdued shades, and both graphic and delicate patterns appear across much of the collection's textile offering. As ever the products have been beautifully styled; the quirky Menswear trays and the trio of glass jar pendants really caught my eye. Given they now ship to the UK, this could be dangerous...! What's catching your eye from West Elm's fall collection?

Happy Weekend

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We made it to the weekend, folks! Next week we move out of our friend's spare room and into our own place, so this weekend I'm going to be planning paint schemes - I love the calming, restful palette of this kitchen space by west elm. What do you have planned for your weekend?

West Elm - High Summer Collection 2011

Hurrah! The summer 2011 collection from west elm is finally here and includes a divine mix of tabletop and textiles, as well as a newly launched west elm Kitchen range. The collection features three collaborators including David Stark (Mediterranean inspired entertaining), Lourdes Sanchez (pillows and prints) and Stray Dog Designs (paper-mache accessories and lighting). Whilst I do love their new kitchen range and Sanchez's sea life inspired pillows, especially the whale design, it's David Stark's work that stands out for me. I like Stark's philosophy of taking ordinary items and turning them into extraordinary pieces and was interested to learn that he is a classically trained painter. This skill is apparent in his watercolour tableware, which sits alongside the flowers he made from canvas. What stands out for you from west elm's summer 2011 collection?

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