The Swelle Life

Interiors & Exteriors: Saltburn-by-the-Sea

  

Now I love our beach, the aptly named Longsands that spans Tynemouth to Cullercoats, and the neighbouring idyllic King Edwards Bay with the Priory Castle overlooking the North Sea from its beautiful, craggy cliff. But last weekend I really fell hard for the beach and seaside community of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire. We were visiting our lovely friends in their new home in Yarm for the first time and they spoiled us in all kinds of ways, and one of them was taking us to their local beach to share the beauty.

Not only was the beach gorgeous and expansive with an impressive look-out pier, there were all kinds of charming little shops, restaurants and ice cream stands, and of course anything one needed to surf (no, I didn't, that would look ridiculous).  It was a clear, sunny day and people from all over had come to pretend it was spring. I have never seen a queue so long for fish and chips, and in England that's saying a lot.  (It was worth the wait!)

This post  is for this week's Interiors & Exteriors feature and it's long enough sticking to the theme, so I'll post the beach shots separately. Are you craving fish and chips now? I am.

In the town, just a quick uphill walk from the beach, there were some great shops. I was already lagging behind and we needed to eat lunch so I didn't go in, but I wanted some photos of the wonderful window displays of Northern Lights Interiors

As I was snapping away I saw a woman smiling from inside - you can see her below! and I smiled and waved. As I headed down the road she came out after me and asked if I'd take photos of the storefront, they'd been having trouble getting them without cars in the way and I was happy to oblige. I even had a man ham it up for me!

 

We passed a random rusted-out door that appeared to lead to nowhere with a keypad right in the middle. I'll bet if you pushed the right numbers it would transport you to another dimension. Prove me wrong!

  This photo would have been so much cooler if I'd waited just 10 more seconds...

 

On display at Arts Bank were lamps and tables in vibrant patchwork by Jane Atkinson and a metal sculpture by Ray Lonsdale. Each contains a 'secret meaning' in the form of an object placed in the head. Now, if I'd read the brief beside this life-size contemplative man instead of taking a photo and reading at home, I would have looked and been able to tell you what was in his head! 

 
   

Photos by Denise Grayson

The Painted Houses Project: Around the World

Capetown, South Africa

Thanks to a quick response to the call for photo submissions to the Painted Houses Project which only launched five days ago, we've already got our first feature! These great photos sent in by readers are from cities all over the world which is what I was hoping the project would offer. In addition to seeing how colour dramatically enhances the landscape, we get a look into the diversity of aesthetics as they range from country to country, city to city.

Zendra has given us an intriguing look at Lesoto, Capetown and Norway:

Lesota, Africa. This appears to be a street scene with vibrant murals and people to match, one of the most beautiful things about Africa. I've never seen adornments on the ankles like this.

These brick red boat houses in Norway look especially striking against the backdrop of fresh greenery and blue, open skies:

 

Amy from Real Life Amy is originally from England and now lives in Australia. She took these lovely photos on her travels. Beautiful painted doors are part of the charm of Bath, England:

The buildings in Trier, Germany are so uniquely detailed and here we see a use of soft and earthy colour to create an warm, inviting feel in what appears to be the city centre. It would be enough to get me to sit down and have a beer, and I hate beer!

Angela Hooker contributed a photo as well, she's the talented textile designer for Felder Felder.  You can see her gorgeous work here. This building is near Marseilles in the south of France and Angela tells us that the house opposite was the same yet all painted green, with a green bike parked in front. Hearing that you do have to wonder if they painted their bikes to match the shutters, or vice versa!

A big thank you to Zendra, Amy and Angela for their fantastic contributions. If you have a photo you'd like to share you can email it using the Contact tab in the banner menu.  Tell us where you took it and anything else we might like to know about it!

For more about the Painted Houses Project you can have a look here

Introducing the Painted Houses Project!

If you've been to The Swelle Life before you've surely noticed things look a little different around here! This is a very visual, colourful blog and I wanted to present it in a way that makes the most of that look and feel while giving profile and easy access to my favourite features, many of which are new as you can see in the far sidebar.

One of these new features is the Painted Houses Project. It's a collaborative project that relies on your submissions, so I'm calling on fellow colour lovers to send in photos of beautiful, out of the ordinary hues in their world, whether it be in your neighbourhood or from your travels. It can include houses, doors, buildings, shops, cars, whatever you may find outside in a public place that has been made special with extraordinary colour.

Colour is not something to be afraid of, it's to be celebrated!

My new banner image is based on a photo I took in Bristol last April, shown below. I played with the hues to get the pinks, blues and purples. And yes, I know, it's very colourful! You know how I love my blues. Following are other photos taken around Bristol, a vibrant, beautiful city with so many gorgeous pastel painted houses in the Clifton area. I posted most of these last year but am including them again to kick off this project.

To submit your photo to the Painted Houses Project you can email me by clicking the Contact button in the banner menu, and be sure to tell us where in the world it is! Original photos are preferred and they will be posted as they come in.

Feel free to spread the word so we can put a great collection of 'street colour' together!

Mr. Swelle would never go for it, but how I would love to live in a pink house!

 

 

What a difference a little bit of pink can make on a street!

 

Pretty painted doors are wonderful!

What a difference this bold red door (in Bath) makes on this very old stone building:

 

An adorably bright restaurant or boutique counts for the project!

Seing an old car with a perfect retro paint job in the street will brighten anyone's day:

I hope that inspires you to submit your own photo!