pretty pretty things

Some lovely things I have spotted recently.  Loving these soft colours, the mix of textures, the muted metallics, the sense of calm they create.  Perhaps its the rough ride that my day job has given me these past few months but I find I am needing the feeling of calm in at least one space in my home.  Enjoy...

Images from top: 

1. Bedroom detail from The Veda House Blog.  Veda House is a new find for me, a gorgeous blog of shoots by photographer and stylist Cassie.  Well worth stopping by.  This bedroom was from a collaboration with Caitlin Wilson textiles.  See more detail of the gorgeous pillow below.

2. Detail of a flower shoot on the West Elm blog.  A gorgeous post on how to take photo's of flowers, and you know how much I love flowers!  Worth a visit to see the rest of the pics too.

3. Love this kitchen via kk living, photo by All Over Press Norway.  Clean white cupboards, a gorgeous old table, wooden floors, a bit of crystal and a kilim rug.  All my favourite things...

4. At left a detail of a gorgeous kitchen styled by Home Beautiful Magazine, designed by architects Robson Rak.  Textures again, marble and wood, I love this space.  At right a pretty as can be nursery with colour swatch rug.  I love this space, pink but not too pink, neutral but not boring.  In a crazy instance of synchronicity this is a detail of a different house designed by Robson Rak, with design by Made by Cohen.

5. And lastly below another look at those gorgeous fabrics by Caitlin Wilson that feature in the bedroom detail.  I would love to add them to my bedroom scheme.  And at right a rather amazing gold finish cow hide available from Citta Designs.  Pricey but pretty pretty!

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get this look...a little bit industrial, a little bit country

I love this kitchen with its mix of country and industrial.  What a really like is that this look could be created, quite realistically, on a small budget.  See below for what I would pick to create this look in your own home.

Replica Eames chairs, 6 for $390 
Yes I know replica is a little touchy but at $65 or less a chair they are a super classic bargain.

Tranetorp extendable table $299
Black or white would both work well, you could use a trestle table too.

Tom Dixon Lustre Black Ceramic Pendants, from $135
A little less used than the ones in the original picture, and I prefer the shapes too.

Subway tiles from $65 a metre, around $350 for a normal size back splash.

Glass vases and flowers (these Iceland poppies were photographed by Leslie at A Creative Mint), lots of white crockery, and the occasional collectible finish it of.
You can get similar industrial look cupboards and shelves at Ikea, but plain white would work just as well.

A really achievable look, and the main elements will cost you less than $1500.
(Top photo via Blood and Champagne, I can't find the original unfortunately.)

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kitchen candy...smoked and grey

Some kitchen candy to kick of the day, I hope its a good one for all of us.
I love my wooden floors, smoked and black oak from Royal Oak Floors, absolutely the first thing I would do again in my own home.  Smoked oak seems to be having a moment on counter tops and cabinets too.  Pretty pretty...

Gorgeous cabinetry and such pretty restrained styling.

Never thought I would meet a herringbone floor I liked but turns out I was wrong.

French oak in pale grey with an industrial feel. 

A smoked wood cabinet from West Elm, love the round handles.

And finally grey and great art in this lovely extension to a period home.  That painting reminds me of the Tretchikoff's of my childhood, in a good way.  And I love the niche for the statue in the fire wall.

|  Line Klein on CocoCozy  |  Birgitta Wolfgang Dreyer via Remodelista  |  
| Lee Harper Design at Royal Oak Floors  |  West Elm  |   Home Designing  |

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colour inspiration for a traditional home

I was asked to make some colour suggestions for a beautiful Victorian home that is in bad need of an update.  At the moment the living rooms are an unfortunate custard and maroon which detracts from the superb high ceilings and lovely period details.  The owners recently had lounge curtains made up in the lovely Morris trellis fabric (below).  This traditional print has a lovely fresh colour palette which ties in with other green touches in the home, a perfect starting point.

If you have the luxury of traditional high ceilings I love rooms painted in two colours.   A darker colour below the picture rail, and white above the rail, onto the ceiling and for skirting's and window frames.   This scheme is traditional without feeling old fashioned and shows the volume and period mouldings at their best.

Recommendation for lounge area paint colours:
- below picture rail porters paints herd
- above picture rail, ceiling and trim porters paints chalk nsw

Taking the fabric as a base, white and grey seems the perfect solution, a classic combination that mixes beautifully with different accent colours and won't date like the maroon and custard combo has.  The warm grey will really show off a collection of inherited bird prints, other pieces of art and furniture, and the gorgeous original fireplace complete with ornate mirror.

The kitchen is also getting an update to create more practical work areas and storage.  It is separate from the lounge but linked visually and has its own challenges: yellow stained pine cabinets (to be changed) and light pink terracotta tiles throughout (to stay).

Recommendation for kitchen update: 
- continue the white of the ceiling from the lounge area throughout this area
- paint base and tall pantry cabinets in a warm olive green (see inspiration board above)
- remove all above counter cabinets and replace with thick white shelves (same colour as wall paint) that return around the corners (see below)

The olive cabinets will tone in with the terracotta tiles and the grey in the living room, and set off the rustic wooden kitchen table and sideboard.

Open above counter shelves create lots of storage without enclosing the space, but they do need to be packed judiciously.  Lots of white crockery, stacks of glasses and collections by colour as in the examples above.  Coordinated rather than cluttered.

I can't wait to see the results.  Simple changes that will set this lovely home up for her next 100 years.

| Ralph Lauren Home | Paint details from Ellis House |  Unknown source  |  Detail of Josephine House  |  House & Home  |

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kitchen eye candy

Now I love blogging, but mostly its lots of hard work and wondering if anybody except your mother and your facebook friends are reading what you post.  But every now and then it is a whole lot of fun.  Last week I was invited to the Best Home Chef finale at the new Winning Appliances showroom in Redfern.  Good food, lots of lovely people, celeb chefs and some serious kitchen eye candy made the event a memorable one.  
But it's the kitchen candy I want to talk about.  The new Winnings showroom is gorgeous, light and bright, with at least 5 dream show kitchens for you to drool over.  If you are thinking of a kitchen upgrade and want some ideas, its a good place to start, I wish it had been built when I was doing my planning.  And its pretty handy that you can look at appliances at the same time.

In the past parking has been a bit of a nightmare in Dank Street but, with parking at the new Aldi and Coles on the corner of Dank and Bourke, it's a whole lot easier now.  If you can't get to the showroom, have a look at the great project gallery on the Winnings website.   I am loving the combination of white and wood in the Bondi kitchen, which is your dream design?

I loved the industrial touches in the show kitchen that Mark Best (bottom right above) cooked in, rusted Tolix stools, gorgeous metal crates hanging above the counter which didn't photograph well, and a collection of industrial pendant lights.   I will have to go back and take some more photo's, it was just to busy to get good shots on the night, and the other kitchens were lovely.


I like that Winnings see themselves as more than a showroom, more than just a retailer, they see themselves as the hub for a community of real home cooks, real people cooking in real kitchens, enjoying food with family and friends.  Sounds good doesn't it.  Pop in and see for yourselves.

This post was not paid for and all opinions (and photographs) are genuine and entirely my own.

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