At Printed.com, we’re dedicated to supporting small businesses. That’s why we’re proudly supporting the Best Written Blog at the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2018 (#IBA18).  We got in touch with one of the shortlisted bloggers for the Best Written Blog 2018, Come Down To The Woods, and asked Katie Woods to tell us a bit about her journey and how she finds being a blogger in today’s competitive industry. Whether you blog for business or as an added extra to boost your engagement and online presence, take a read through what she had to say and get inspired right here with us!

Tell us a bit about your blog and how you got started/set up

I was heavily pregnant with my 4th child when I decided it was time to up sticks and move. Clearly the hormones were to blame because looking back it was a truly crazy idea but we very quickly found this house and fell in love with it. That was where it started, the house was floor to ceiling peach and thus the renovation of the Peach Palace began. I turned to Instagram for inspiration and the creative flood gates opened. The blog started soon after as a tribute to this fabulous house, a way to document it’s progress. Think of it as a baby journal for a new home. I’ve always loved interior design but this mammoth project gave me the confidence to really go wild.

How do you balance blogging with work, life and your other priorities?

I think truth be told there is never really balance. When one part of your life is going well, naturally other parts become tricky, its all about managing the guilt! I have four small children so there is a lot of that! I also still practice as a Dentist so it’s a lot to juggle but if you are doing what you love it isn’t hard.

What makes your blog unique?

My blog is first and foremost honest. Nothing is sugar coated, it gives a genuine account of a renovation project. The highs are pretty high, the lows are so low if you don’t laugh you’ll cry. This blog has been a journey, one full of colour and chaos and a whole lot of laughter and there’s a little piece of me on every page you’ll read.

Do you have any advice for anyone looking to start their own blog? What are your three tips for success?

• Write about what makes your heart sing. You’ll never find it hard if the subject is what makes you happy.
• Write from the heart. Always be you, smear yourself all over those pages.
• Write because it makes you feel good, and certainly not for the wonga. The opportunities will come in time.

What would winning an Amara Award mean to you?

I’ve always loved writing but before I started the blog I realised that all I actually wrote were clinical notes and shopping lists. Writing has become a way to unwind, a way to free myself from the madness. I am genuinely thrilled to have been shortlisted, the other bloggers in my category are all kinds of awesome. To win would be a big fat cherry on top of a wonderful year. Oh yes and it would be amazing to know that my G.C.S.E. English teacher Mr Thirlby would be looking down on me from somewhere a very proud man.

Get involved in Katie’s (peach-hued) world…

Head to Come Down To The Woods