#iba16

[humboldtartdept]

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[reginasturrockdesign]

Celebrating Words - The Amara Interior Blog Awards

What a lovely event it was at London’s Ham Yard Hotel. 

On October the 20th, in the midst of Soho and the exuberant high-style interiors of British designer, Kit Kemp, we celebrated the words of the industry’s top interior bloggers. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

It was the 2016 Amara Interior Blog Awards ceremony. The sparkling gala evening was filled with emotion, inspiration, and plenty of bubbly in tall flutes.

Photo Credit: John Nassari 

Let me tell you a bit about the awards. Inaugurated in 2013, The Amara Interior Blog Awards engages and celebrates the worldwide interior blogging community. From the first phases of nominations and voting to shortlisting and on to the final judging by an expert panel, the four-month process culminates in an annual ceremony that awards top talents for their inspirational work. It’s a wonderful way to give back to those who passionately dedicate their time and creativity to communicate all things design.

Now on to the evening that had many counting down the sleeps, myself included. I was honoured to be a 2016 shortlister representing one of five in my category for Best International Interior Blog. With 750 blogs having battled it out for a top-five position within each of the thirteen categories, this was a big deal. 

The sixty-five shortlisted bloggers, together with the judging panel and sponsors, were all invited to the awards ceremony.  

Looking down from the mezzanine level, I can tell you that this was one lively and creative crowd. The energy was fearless and colourful where the bold fashion and style of an artsy guest list blended in with the spirited and quirky interior details of Ham Yard’s Dive Bar. A perfectly eclectic scene.  

Photo Credit: Regina Sturrock

The 40-foot high space was theatrical and wonderfully tangible from floor to ceiling. A giant orange juicer spiraled down to a neon-lit bar and the Rick-Rack wall fabric presented a dynamic backdrop for one extraordinary African chandelier made of mud beads. This was our fantasy setting for the evening!

The cocktails and canapés were circulating, and so was the buzz on social media.  Excited comments and images of the goings-on were animated in large scale onto the bar’s wall. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

After the mingling, it was time to enter the adjoining Ham Yard Theatre with its orange leather seats and blue velvet walls. The room was electric with colour and anticipation. The winners of this year’s blog awards would soon be announced, and a live-stream crew would film every ceremonious moment. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

“Tonight is all about celebrating our passion for interiors, great design for the spaces we choose to live in, and the stuff we put in them.” These were the buoyant opening words of celebrity interior designer and our host for the evening, Sophie Robinson. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

She went on to say, “ I’m honoured and delighted to be part of tonight’s special occasion and what a rich and diverse bunch we are!” 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

The words resonated through the room. I looked around and, with faces gleaming, it was all clear that the passion for design has the power to do some glorious things. Yes, we are diverse, and our inspirations come from different places, but at the pulse is the unanimous joy for beauty and the sincere desire to share our stories around it. Just days before the awards, the Amara team asked the question, “What inspired you to launch an interior blog?” It was lovely to read the answers to Amara’s shortlister interview and to understand what sparked each creative vehicle. 

Tonight, I was proud to be sitting among this positively talented group who love to chronicle the arts and inspire new ideas. Our witty host, Sophie, continued with pure enthusiasm, “…colour, pattern, art, objets all jostling together in a big maximus jamboree…I absolutely love it.” If that’s not bona fide zeal for the craft, then I don’t know what is!

Photo Credit: John Nassari

And so the music rang with each announcement, the smiles were big and genuine, and the winners took the stage with hearts pumping. The grand finale announcement was for the coveted Bloggers’ Choice Award. Kimberly Duran and her fittingly ‘Swoon Worthy’ blog graciously accepted the top honour. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

The evening celebrations continued in style with more cocktails, desert canapés, and instant and lovely connections with like-minded guests. 

Photo Credit: John Nassari

To cap off the glittering event, we each left with the most elegant black and cream Amara gift bag filled with luxury items from a host of leading interior & lifestyle brands. I wondered how I might fit it all into my suitcase. The goody bag was heavy, but I managed just fine! 

Photo Credit: Regina Sturrock

Thank you, Amara, for this memorable journey of celebrating words! It goes far beyond the stellar evening. New friendships were forged, and a treasure trove of new inspirations has followed me home.

I’ll  be sharing it all on my blog that continues to blossom in tandem with my new insights and the ever-evolving stories around beauty. 

[martynwhitelondon]

Amara Interior Blog Awards! What a fantastic evening! #IBA16 #Amara #Awards

[kateyoungdesign]

This is the last time I mention the fact that I have been nominated in the Amara Interior Blogging Awards #iba16 and if you want to you can vote for me and you would make me a very very happy person 😊 direct link click here @kateyoungdesign Happy Friday!😘

[septemberedit]

So... BIG NEWS! My blog is nominated as "Best European interior blog", at #IBA16 and I need you to vote! (Link in bio) #thankyou #forevergrateful

[cassiefairy]

I was SO chuffed when I heard that I’d been nominated as best DIY & Craft Blog in the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2016! I can’t believe that my lovely readers took the time to nominate me for one of the most prestigious awards in the country – I hope that this means you’ve been enjoying my crafts and have been inspired by some of the projects I’ve been DIYing! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be included in the awards this year and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll help me reach the finals by voting for me. The voting for the awards opened last week (if you’ve been following my Instagram stories you’ll know that I’ve been visit the lovely Kent coast) so this is the first chance I’ve had to share the great news with you! I’ve actually got my own profile page on the Amara Interior Blog Awards website and I’m thrilled to be included alongside hundreds of other fantastic interior design blogs – I’m totally inspired by them all!

The competition is really stiff, with over 30 fantastic blogs included in my category, so I’d be SO grateful for if you’d vote for my little blog here. I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to be a finalist! And please let me know if you do vote by tweeting me @Cassiefairy so that I can say thanks!

Since I was nominated for the Amara Awards I’ve had a look back over the DIY interior projects that I did in my little bungalow. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of those blog posts today, just in case you need any encouragement to believe I’m a thrifty DIYer!My last summer holiday was spent painting my tiny kitchen in a rich duck egg blue colour and I gave it a thrifty DIY makeover with secondhand storage, a repurposed bathroom cabinet and lots of magnetic chalkboard paint! I stitched up a peg bag and a carrier bag dispenser using the same striped fabric as my tiny blackout blind. It was a fun makeover that only took a day to finish but made the kitchen look a whole lot better.My bedroom decorating project was probably the cheapest DIY I’ve ever done! I invested a whole £2 in a sachet of wallpaper paste and started slapping book pages on the walls. My feature wall behind the headboard is made up of a Marilyn Monroe biography, a horticultural book about roses and sheet music and a few vintage postcards. It was so simple yet really made a difference to the room, in only about an hour’s worth of decorating. I’ve always loved mid-century design and I set about making my own 60s/70s inspired living room. Taking inspiration from some old record boxes, I used orange, olive green and bright blue hues to decorate my living room. I photographed the floral pattern of the boxes and printed it onto fabric in order to make some brightly coloured matching cushions to dress my basic leather sofa. When I needed a desk to do all my blogging from, I found a £5 set of drawers and added a piece of wood (painted in 70s orange, of course) to turn the top shelf into a desktop. An old telephone table got the same spray-paint treatment and is the ideal space to store my pens and thingmebobs.

The bathroom was a big project for us; it needed a new bath so my husband and I watched some YouTube tutorials before attempting to do the work ourselves. Thankfully, everything went well and we continued the project by using pressure-treated wood that we rescued from a skip to make a bath panel, clad the walls and create a storage unit. And to top it all off my little bathroom project has since been featured in Style at Home magazine – so proud!

 You can read more about my garden makeover, caravan renovation and DIY projects through my home inspirations page so please have a browse around and let me know if you find any of it helpful.

I hope you can spare a minute to vote for me in the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2015 – it really would be a dream come true to be a finalist! My voting page is here and I am eternally grateful for every single vote, thank you!

I’ve been nominated! Please vote for me in the Interior Blog Awards 2016! I was SO chuffed when I heard that I’d been nominated as best DIY & Craft Blog in the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2016!

[agentofstyle]

VOTE for ME: BEST INTERIOR DESIGNER or STYLIST BLOG at the AMARA INTERIOR BLOG AWARDS 2016

VOTE for ME: BEST INTERIOR DESIGNER or STYLIST BLOG at the AMARA INTERIOR BLOG AWARDS 2016

  A-Gent of Style is thrilled and flattered to announce his nomination as Best Interior Designer or Stylist Blog at the Amara Interior Blog Award 2016.  Only the top 5 bloggers with the most votes for each category will make the shortlist and get an invite to the awards, so if you would like to vote for me and A-Gent of Style to win, click on the link below and enter your vote. Voting closes on…

[mrjasongrant]

Excited to be a nominee in the @amaraibas for best Australian blog - vote for me (pretty please) http://www.interiorblogawards.com/vote/mr-jason-grant/ #iba16 link in profile #mrjasongrant

[humboldtartdept]

via Twitter https://twitter.com/Humboldtartdept

[martynwhitelondon]

Huge congratulations to @theinteriorstylehunter for winning an @amaraibas this evening! #IBA16 #Awards #Amara #Interiors

[martynwhitelondon]

We all knew!! Congratulations @2lovelygays for winning an @amaraibas! - #IBA16 #Awards #Amara

[martynwhitelondon]

Congratulations to @forwardfeatures for winning at the @amaraibas this evening! - #IBA16 #Amara #Interiors #Awards

[martynwhitelondon]

Congratulations to @seasonsincolour for winning at the @amaraibas! - #IBA16 #Awards #Amara

[martynwhitelondon]

Arrived at the @amaraibas awards with this lovely lady! @natasha_nuttall - #IBA16 #Amara #AmaraIBA #Awards #InteriorDesign

[septemberedit]

September edit is nominated at ‪#‎IBA16‬ in the category "Best European Interior Blog", if you think i should win, please vote. Click on the image to vote! ‪#‎voteseptemberedit‬