Design Dilemmas
Episode 6: This week, read on for my top tips for creating a gallery wall, wine glasses for people who tend to smash them, garden kitchens, worktop ideas and an excellent budget midweek meal.
Happy Sunday lovely readers and today’s Design Dilemmas is a veritable melting pot of quandaries. I have been trying really hard to keep my posts short and sweet on this new Substack but, predictably, I am failing miserably. I seem incapable of swift answers as I always (as in real life) have lots to say on almost every subject under the sun, it seems. Every week I plan to keep to a ten minute read but I ALWAYS go over. Sigh. Well done to all of you who read for stoically sticking at it - it is hugely appreciated.
Today’s dilemmas include gallery walls which, as long time readers will know, is one of my all time favourite subjects. Many Instagram years ago - I would hazard a guess at 2017 - I painted my hallway white and on a whim, starting hanging pictures from the top of the stairs. I’d finally got around to getting some prints framed and I had seen a photograph on Apartment Therapy (back then this was my decor bible and still is) of a wall filled with art. Joe and the kids had gone to football so I had the house to myself and decided to hang the art right from the top of the stairs all the way down to the bottom. I had no plan, only that I wanted to French hang. Random fact of the day: the French hang dates back to the 17th Century where struggling graduates would hang their artworks in small cafes for display, using every inch of space from floor to ceiling.
So I started with a largish picture, on the bottom left of the space, working my way up, fitting them as I went. By the time my family returned two hours later from their football match, the hall was transformed. I posted it on Instagram as I was quite pleased with it and today it remains my most engaged post of all time. Note: when I took it all down a few years ago to swap it up for some large pieces, there was a LOT of filling and painting to do. But I tell you, it brought me so much joy and it was super therapeutic to do.
Okay, so back to the subject and today on Design Dilemmas I’ve not only listed my top gallery wall hanging tips but I’m also answering questions on bathroom worktop ideas and planning a garden kitchen. And in addition, I’ve found some excellent hardy wine glasses for those of you like myself who are prone to breaking them in the dishwasher, plus a good budget mid week recipe that will please all the family and take no time at all.
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