[Your] Place, Your Rules...: entertaining

Sunday, 12 January 2014

[Our] Place; NY Sunday Brunch

I don’t know if it’s my age, genetics or the things I learned from watching my parents but I love homemaking.

I think it’s telling that my Christmas list this year was exclusively kitchen gadgets, prints, and accessories for the house and I was thrilled to receive them.

I read recently that your home should be a retreat, somewhere to relax and that having a hobby at home can help your home feel like your sanctuary.

My constant ‘home-hobby’ is entertaining, I love having a house full of people

Last Sunday was a New Year Brunch with my nearest and dearest from school and it gave me the perfect opportunity to test out the new food mixer and bread maker.

NY Brunch Menu

Baked dippy eggs with Parmesan

Bacon wrapped asparagus

Chipolatas

Homemade brioche and sour dough soldiers

The above was served with tea, fresh coffee & Virgin Pomegranate Mojitos and drop scones brought by two good friends

In my opinion every Brunch needs a sweet treat to round it off and this zingy fruity cake went down a storm. In fact several of my friends asked for the recipe so I thought I’d share with everyone.

Passion fruit drizzle cake [for 12]

Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Cooking time: 30 Minutes
Cooling Time: 60

Sponge Ingredients
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g golden caster sugar
3 medium eggs
150ml milk
225g self-raising flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Drizzle Ingredients
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
3 passion fruit, pulp only
100g golden granulated sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Spray or Butter a 30 x 23cm baking tin, approx. 4 cm deep.

Put the butter and caster sugar in the bowl of a food processor and mix together until pale and fluffy, or use a large bowl and an electric hand whisk.

Add the eggs one at a time, then add the milk- Don’t worry if the mixture appears curdled at this point.

Gradually add the flour and baking powder through the funnel with the motor running, finally adding the orange zest.

Transfer the mixture to the baking tin, smoothing the surface, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and shrinking slightly from the sides, and a skewer comes out clean from the centre.

Run a knife around the edge of the tin and prick the cake with a skewer all over the surface at about 2cm intervals.

Combine the orange and lemon juice, passion fruit pulp and granulated sugar in a bowl, then spoon this over the top of the warm cake.

Leave it to cool, allowing the juice to sink into the cake. Once cool, cut into squares.

Note: To make this gluten free, use 225g polenta instead of the flour and 2½ teaspoons baking powder.

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

VICTORIA HALE: A PLACE TO ENTERTAIN

OPEN PLAN LIVING:

Victoria is a born [and professional] events planner. A social butterfly, there is never a weekend when she is not hosting or attending a fabulous event [read about them here].

Whether its dinner parties, afternoon tea or full blown Halloween and New Years Eve Parties she does everything with up to the minute finesse, so when designing her open plan living area, creating a flexible venue for entertaining was key to the brief.

Victoria is into all things current and lifestyle, and already had some strong concepts for the design. The desired tone was neutral but sophisticated with a touch of glamour.

Through discussion we agreed that a tonal scheme with a high end New York loft-vibe would provide the perfect base for Victoria's quirky colour pop and vintage inspired accessories.

The space planning concept was developed to emphasise the strongest aspects of the existing spaces and draw together influences to visually link three living areas. Each area planned according to function [the Living Room, Dining Area and Conservatory] remain distinct but can also become a single space for entertaining on a larger scale.

Conceptual Mood Board for Victoria

The positive qualities and flow of the existing space inspired the selection of finishes, furniture and layout of the lounge/ diner and conservatory. The scheme is focused on accentuating the length of the open floor plan and good natural light that spills into the space from either end.

The conservatory at the rear of the lounge-diner room creates a diffused white light which draws the eye to the end of the space. To replicate and echo this effect in the lounge and dining room we used large white light fittings from Next to create the same diffused white light.

The size of the light fittings, which are half a metre in width, work in the proportions room. The height of the fixture, fitted close to the ceiling, exaggerate the height of the space.

View from the Lounge Area through to the dining room and conservatory

A neutral palette with a sense of opulent texture and a hint of metallic sheen was selected as the perfect backdrop to Victoria’s strong sense of style and love for vintage inspired and colour pop accessories.

The finishes were kept to a simple palette of complementary tones, with textured and gloss finishes selected to add depth and a sense of opulence.

The paint colour is from the Dulux heritage range and matches the darker tone of the wall paper, Laura Ashley Lille Truffle Stripe Wall Paper, exactly. The tone is muted and warm and provides a subtle and crisp contrast to the white, skirting, ceilings and storage furniture.

The laminate floor, the same tone and shade as the dining table, provides a continuous finish throughout the room and draws the eye down the space making it appear more spacious.

Dining furniture and accessories and the lighting used throughout the scheme

The subtle metallic tones of the Laura-Ashley wallpaper were reflected in the satin silk curtains hung in the dining room. The stripes provide interest to the walls and the broad pattern is modern take on a classic style.

The neutral stripes are carried through, from the lounge, to the dining room with a table runner to create aesthetic flow.

The dining room side board [Ikea Besta; System] perfectly accessorised by Victoria

Lighting is crucial to good interior design, clever placement of floor and table lamps can make a room appear larger when brightly lit and create an intimate atmosphere when low level lighting is required for entertaining.

Lighting can have a great effect on the mood of a space so we included a selection of lighting in the scheme to allow variety in the atmosphere created. Lamps and lighting are a great way to introduce ornamentation with function.

White gloss storage furniture in both the lounge and dining room keep clutter to a minimum and provide light reflective surfaces reflect light and display accessories and lighting. The TV stand was sourced by Victoria from Dwell and the dining room sideboard is from the Besta range in Ikea

The chairs, Tobias from Ikea, add a modern edge to a classic dining table. The transparent seat means that they can be regularly updated with cushions and fabrics if required. They are comfortable, well designed and very good value and may be featuring in our dining room update very soon.

View of the lighting in the lounge and dining room and the conservatory furniture and accessories.

The conservatory has been finished all in white to maintain and increase its luminance. White sofas and a pale floor finish make you feel as though you are stepping out into a white winter morning after a fresh snowfall. Victoria has finished this room with soft white throws which makes afternoons in the conservatory feel like wiling away the afternoon in the clouds.

The hot pink feature colour which has been used sparingly throughout makes a final appearance in this room to draw all the spaces together.

This scheme is an excellent example of how a high end look can be achieved with high street furniture and finishes when a scheme is considered, in its entirety, from the outset.

At YPYR we believe that no matter what the budget or the list of requirements with a little bit of thought your home or business can work as hard as you to improve your quality of life.