We Love: Catchpole & Rye
24 Nov 2017
We all want a luxurious bathroom, right? Something a bit different, something a bit glam and something to luxuriate in – well it doesn’t come much more glam than a bathroom from Catchpole & Rye. High end and glorious, which is not always the case with high end, sometimes it doesn’t look any different from your bog standard, maybe just better quality, but these beauties are the stuff of dreams. I have spent a happy hour planning out my new bathrooms – in my dreams!
As an old and respected manufacturing company they also do bespoke work to give you that truly unique bathroom. All the metal work comes in a range of 6 finishes which is very rare; silver nickel, chrome plate, brushed nickel, polished brass, aged brass and aged copper. Quite often the style you want doesn’t come in the finish you want but Catchpole & Rye have got it all sussed. You can even have a coat of arms, or emblem, embossed on your sanitary wear. Fancy huh?
Audenza were delighted to be asked to attend the launch of a new interiors events company last week in Leeds, and boy what a bash it was! No House Rules is the brainchild of two Instagrammers – Katie, known as Peach @comedowntothewoods and Amy AKA Rocks @thisstyle_rocks , who share a passion for Interiors and wanted to create a business together organising events for interiors obsessives up north.
The event was held at the Peach Palace (Katie’s home) with a feast of delicious food provided by @forisoutsidecatering , ice cream to follow by @northernbloc and copious quantities of gin cocktails by @SlingsbySocial, to wash it all down. What more could you want? Well, there was a fabulous raffle, with prizes from top interiors companies (ourselves included, of course).
Interior styling I love doing, but interior design, well that’s a whole different ball game. Many years ago, I started a City & Guilds interior design course, and wow did I have a shock – all that talk of scale drawing finished me off and, needless to say, I gave it up and moved onto an Art Foundation course, with relief – no talk of rulers and maths! So, when I was offered an interior design workshop day with MartinMark Design, I was intrigued to find out how you cover such a vast subject in a day. With a great deal of fun, food and charisma, is the answer.
The day is run by Martin Holland (him off the telly who won series 2 of the Great Interior Design Challenge series on BBC2) and Mark Walters (a set designer for theatre and telly), and what a great pair of guys they are. So welcoming, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, with a great attitude to interior design; in that your style is yours and don’t worry about what everybody else thinks, which is my feelings exactly – nobody should be dictated to as to what’s acceptable and what isn’t. Nothing exciting or innovative would ever be achieved if we all stuck to the safe, and supposed, ‘good taste’.
I’ve always loved gold décor – for its warmth, vibrancy and luxuriousness – but it’s a tricky one to pull off. The key to going gold and bold without being brassy or boring is texture and contrast! The interiors world is awash with gold furniture and home accessories this year, and rightly so to my mind. It never goes out of fashion, it’s just subtle changes that create a new vibe which move onto all out gold luxe. The luxe look is a backlash to the world’s problems whereby we all want to create that haven of peace and serenity in our homes and nestle down. So, think gold, texture, pattern and colour, all mixed up for warmth and richness but, above all, be playful.
1. Drama! Create drama with full-on gold luxe vibe in a dramatic with a statement piece as in a palm tree floor lamp. I love it when traditional interior accessories get jazzed up and they don’t get more jazzed up than a standard lamp in the shape of a gold palm tree, do they? Dramatic pieces need dramatic contrast to bring out the richness. Hang a feather Juju hat on the wall for the perfect complement.
October is shaping up to be a pretty big deal in our calendars, not least because our new website launched on October 3rd, but also because yesterday was our 5th birthday since we launched. It’s gone both exceedingly quickly, whilst in a way, also feeling like a lifetime. Life before Audenza seems so long ago, yet I can’t quite believe we’re already celebrating 5 years.
Anyway, aside from giving you a special birthday offer of 15% off (we’ll get to that at the end!), I thought I’d take the opportunity to share 3 lessons I’ve learned over the last 5 years.
Living Room Makeover- Banish the Bland
11 Oct 2017
Each to his own, as they say, of which I’m a very firm believer, but I can sympathise with Jess of Gold is a Neutral blog on her thoughts on living with her white box of a living room. Soulless is the first word to come to mind, and frighteningly devoid of character, so it’s exciting to see how Jess has transformed her white box with this before and after living room reveal. I love the blog name as gold is definitely a neutral must have for us Audenza ladies.
We asked Jess a few questions about herself and her makeover:
Hello! My name’s Jess. I’m a former showbiz journalist and I have an interiors blog called Gold Is A Neutral which I launched in April this year. The blog covers all aspects of interiors, from my own journey renovating our Victorian terrace in South East London, to trends, house tours, expert advice and a bit of stylish travel as well. I’m loving it and am excited for what the future holds. I’m married to David and have two children Rafferty, 5, and Nellie, 1. They are both full of beans, stubborn as hell (like their mama) and are the reason I gave up the 9-5 and never looked back. I’m proud to be a working mum, though sometimes the juggle is a struggle.
How to Choose the Right Chair for your Room
5 Oct 2017
How do you go about choosing the right chair for your room? It’s a daunting prospect for many, more so than the sofa. You know the sofa is going to dominate the room and going to be the costliest item, but the right chairs are the finishing touch. Gone are the days of a matching three-piece suite – oh so simple were those days. And, of course, not just the sitting room benefits from a chair, the hallway, the bedroom, the home office, all spaces where a chair makes a feature with colour and texture.
The biggest consideration should be what do you want from a chair? To curl up and read or watch TV, upright and firm for back support, an occasional chair for family gatherings, or are you looking for that statement piece to give your décor wow factor? Is it going to be well used, or as a style statement for show, as in a hallway or bedroom?
Goodbye MiaFleur, Hello Audenza…
26 Sep 2017
Ladies and gentleman, today is the day. We have been drip feeding you information on social media for months, and finally, it’s time. It is with great excitement and a hint of apprehension that we reveal our NEW NAME!
A name which we feel perfectly encapsulates what we do. A name that evokes images of unique, stylish and bold pieces, which ooze character and scream fearless style.
MiaFleur is Changing it’s Name!
15 Sep 2017
OK, so we’ve got some fairly big news to tell you. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s like, THE biggest news we will probably EVER tell you.
You see, we’re saying goodbye to MiaFleur….
No, we’re not going anywhere, it’s just that the name MiaFleur is. Why? Well, we’ll get to that. But firstly, let me just say that this was not an easy decision. It’s not one we’ve taken lightly, and we know that many of you love the name, but in the end, we just felt that it was the right decision.
What a delight we have for you today with a stunning before and after living room transformation of the ‘Peach Palace’. The 80’s was definitely the era of peach (although this house perhaps takes it a bit far), and swags and tails were the in thing. I should know, I even made a few myself! To cut a long story short, Katie (Mrs Peach) has devoted a blog, Come Down To The Woods about her trials with eradicating the colour to create a vibrant, eclectic home for her family.
Katie was a self-confessed neutral décor woman at heart, so this is her first foray into the wonderful world of colour and eclecticism, and her blog shines through with her new-found love of colour and pattern. The first room to get the treatment is their glorious family living room, so we wanted to share it with you and hear a little more from Katie about designing the room.
