It’s no secret that I love Bristol, the place which I’ve called home ever since moving here to start university in 2001. It’s a city like no other – edgy yet elegant, cosmopolitan yet laid-back, forward-thinking yet firmly rooted in its past, and with a creative, independent streak that has spawned everything from Brunel’s industrial icons to Banksy’s street art. Call me biased, but for me it’s easy to see why it’s been voted the UK’s best place to live several times over!
One of my aims when I started These Four Walls was to show off some of the amazing style we have in Bristol and, although I blog about things far and wide, I’m always particularly excited when I get the chance to feature interiors and businesses close to home. So, when independent estate agency Elephant asked me to help them produce a look book celebrating some of the beautiful properties which they’ve sold in the city, I leapt at the chance.
Elephant has listed hundreds of envy-inducing homes since it was founded in 2011, so choosing which to include was a tricky task. But, after a lot of deliberation, the look book is now finished and ready to share with the world. It covers everything from arty apartments to creative family houses, all located in and around the city’s famous Gloucester Road, and it’s packed with stunning photography that I hope will provide plenty of design inspiration – whether you live in Bristol yourself or not.
Although all the properties showcased are different, there are some common threads which made them stand out. Firstly, they’re all immensely personal spaces that reflect the lifestyles and interests of their owners. Secondly, they all display a fusion of old and new; most of the area’s housing is Georgian and Victorian, and the places featured demonstrate how old buildings can be transformed to fit contemporary living without losing any of their period charm. Finally, the owners’ love for Bristol shines through on every page, proving that a home is as much about a sense of place as it is the bricks and mortar.
I’ll be sharing peeks into some of the properties in the look book over the coming weeks, but if you want to get hold of a full copy just pop into Elephant’s office at 2 The Promenade, Gloucester Road, or fellow Gloucester Road businesses Grape & Grind, Reason Interiors, Iota and Cake. And, for those outside Bristol, there’s an online version here!
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