Maxinebradystyling

14/06/2026

How to Choose Wall Art For Your Home: An Interior Stylist’s Guide To Buying Art With Personality & Style

Everything you need to know about choosing artwork for your home...

Not sure how to choose wall art for your home? Interior stylist Maxine Brady shares her expert guide to scale, finish and buying art with real personality — plus top picks from UK brand JP Designs.

10/06/2026

Your next budget holiday destination is…Istanbul 📌 Save this post

Money has been tight lately but that won’t stop me travelling 😂 I’d heard Istanbul was expensive but with a bit of research I had one of the cheapest trips I’ve done. Here’s my budget guide:

🚕 Trams and buses are around 50p, Uber are cheap. But Istanbul is best explored on foot.

🏨 Stay in the Karaköy area. Our hotel was £50 each a night WITH a rooftop pool

🛁 Try Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı. We spent a dreamy morning this 16th century building £50

🚶‍♀️ Walk the waterfront. We stumbled across a Parkour Championship, street sculpture & markets at Galata Port Promenade

🎵 Snoop around the hipster area of Cihangir with its’ record shops. Have a Turkish breakfast at Van Kahvaltı Evi (£12.50)

🐱 Visit the cat museum. Free entry

⛴️ Take the local ferry to Kadıköy for £2 and explore the coffee culture and independent shops. We stumbled across a block party at a chicken shop 😂

🌶️ Skip the Grand Bazaar & go to the Egyptian Spice Market instead. Sample all the free sweets and teas.

🏝️ Princes’ Islands make the most incredible day trip. £3.50 by ferry and we went to Değirmen Plajı beach club for £12 (we asked for a discount 🥰)

🍽️ Eat local. We LOVED Bülce Kebap, £12 for a vegetarian mezze for two, and ask for “apple juice” = 🍺 😉. And Galata Meyhanesi was £54 each for a 4-course set menu with wine, live Turkish music and dancing locals .meyhanesi

🚢 Do the Bosphorus boat tour with the free audio guide. £13 for 2 hours and the views are unreal

🎶 Theodosius Cistern for £20. We saw an all-female choir perform in this incredible Roman underground setting.

🎨 Cihangir and Karaköy are covered in the most incredible street art and murals and it won’t cost you a penny.

Top tips:
✅ Avoid tourist traps & the high entrance fees
✅ Don’t eat dinner in the old city 💸
✅ Walk around the Blue Mosque area at night for a free water and light show
✅ Hunt out rooftop bars for the most insane sunset views
✅ Try the San Sebastián cheesecake and stuffed flatbreads 🤤

Are you tempted to visit Istanbul now?

27/05/2026

Interior Design Trends 2026: 6 To Try And 3 To Avoid!

If you want to know which interior design trends 2026 is going to be celebrating, and are genuinely worth your time and money then you're in the right place! As professional interior stylist and homes editor, I write about trends for magazines, and I style them on shoots, I see them coming through at press shows and events. So when I talk trends, this is not just Pinterest scrolling (although I do plenty of that too), I know exactly which ones are hot and which ones are not....

Discover the 6 biggest interior design trends 2026, plus 3 to avoid. From Laced Up to Nocturnal Botanica, interior stylist Maxine Brady shares what's actually worth trying in your home this year.