Waking up to the 1st September was never going to be a good feeling for me, but today's press trip to the new
Shoreham-on-sea Next superstore certainly made the official end of Summer a lot more bearable!
In fact, today could well have been the very height of British Summer as the sun shone more than it has done for the whole of August - making the brand new array of Next branded plants and flowers seem even more appealing! For the first time ever, Next have merged Home and Fashion,
with the addition of
DIY & gardening - which is introduced to the customer in a fabulously styled shopping experience.
Moving the indoors outside has never seemed so easy, as garden retreats offer the perfect solution to that spare room, you've been meaning to get planning permission for. Meanwhile, garden sheds have never seemed so attractive - from
decorative tool organisers to printed watering cans, being
green fingered seems almost
glamorous! Garden walls need no longer be plain either as outdoor decorations take on a
rustic feel, with wrought iron planters and bird baths; cut work lanterns look too good to keep outside.
For me, the ultra girly patio set has to be my favourite. With the pastel coloured bunting and sorbet paint shades (a range which Next have also extended, especially for the store) - this is surely the right kind of look for a garden by the sea!
Of course, there's plenty more I could write about the whole venture - however, I'll leave this to the professional bloggers (all of which came armed with more than just their Iphone to take snapshots!)
Having spent the afternoon with some of our key press - including
Elle Decoration,
House Beautiful,
Good Homes and many more inspirational titles, freelances and bloggers, the response to the store (along with our four course lunch at Brighton's Pub Du Vin) was outstanding and so, fingers crossed, there'll be plenty more where this one came from!
