Interior design and styling, homewares, furniture, home appliances and the personalities behind them
The new issue of belle is in shops today and it’s a great one, not JUST because Interiors Addict gets a mention on page 28 and because it has a fab fucshia cover, but it also has the finalists of the belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards, being announced later this month.
I love this very masculine bedroom belonging to visual merchandiser Aaron Bourne, who runs a homewares store. What do you think?
Aaron, 23, from Toowoomba, runs Harold’s Finishing Touches and admits he doesn’t have room on that bedside for a glass of water, but who cares about practicalities?! Many of the gorgeous items he sources for his shop end up in his home before they have a chance to be sold!
“I was a visual merchandiser for Freedom for five years but wanted to get more out of design, and more out of life. I opened up my store, Harolds Finishing Touches, early last year, providing Toowoomba and its surrounds with gorgeous, unique homewares and furniture and, more importantly, inspiration,” he says.
“My bedroom is a constant evolution of my absolute favourite pieces, many from the store that don’t make it onto the shelf! It’s where I can express my total style and individuality. I would describe my style as ethnic, masculine, luxe, maximalist… sorry but I am by no means a minimalist!
“I love collections and curiosities. I have always said if I didn’t own the shop I would love to be curator in a museum, so the framed butterflies, specimens, coral and tribal artefacts are my way of solving that issue! The map above the bed was a British ebay find which I sliced up to create a larger statement.
“I love lamps, as you can probably tell and, yes, I do use them all, just not all at once. The bemboka linen and most of the accessories are from the shop.”
Do you love/hate this room? Would you do anything differently? Please share your (constructive) comments below. If you’d like to submit a room to Interiors Addict, contact Jen.
Half the reason I’ve been hibernating on the couch this weekend trying to kick my long-running cold and wisdom tooth infection is because I NEED to be better for this coming week! I’ve been invited to so many fun events and I’m going to be on the pages of two of my favoutite mags.
Tomorrow I’m going to the Camilla show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia thanks to HP, who look after the event’s technology.
Then on Tuesday, I’m excited to be attending the launch of Ilsa Crawford’s stunning new homewares collection for Georg Jensen at an event co-hosted by Vogue Living. It can’t fail to be fabulous really, can it? Check out some of the Ilse range below…
Then on Thursday I’m off to Koskela for the launch of the book Shibori Recreated. Can’t wait. Love the Shibori girls’ work!
And then the Hong Kong Style event at Fashion Week to round it all off on Friday. The big question is, of course, what’s a girl to wear?!
And to top it all off, the new issues of belle and Luxury Home Design, both of which I’m lucky enough to be featured in (oh, the honour!) are both out this week. Make sure you pick up a copy!
Of course, I’ll be telling you all about it here and sharing photos, so come back soon.
The winners of the Australian Interior Design Awards were announced last night at Doltone House in Sydney’s Pyrmont.
The 2012 Premier Award for Interior Design Excellence and Innovation went to Billard Leece Partnership and Bates Smart for the Royal Children’s Hospital. A full list of winners can be found here.
The awards are run by a partnership of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), designEX and ARTICHOKE Magazine.
Interior, homewares and fashion designers as well as magazine publishers. Life is very busy and wonderfully creative for Elizabeth Raptis and Melanie Parker, the friends behind the Ivy & Piper brand.
And if ever there was a case of studio envy it is now. Just check out the pictures of their colourful Brisbane HQ and it is immediately obvious Melanie once worked under Queensland design legend Anna Spiro.
The pair met at design college where they were always being split up for talking in class! They headed off on separate career paths, remaining close friends. Elizabeth started her own design business Raptis Creative and Melanie worked for renowned Brisbane designers Nikki Parris and then, for over three years, Anna Spiro. “Our business partnership came later over one of our regular coffee catch ups,” says Elizabeth. “We were discussing our passion for interiors. Pretty soon we realised our dreams were identical so we decided to pair up.”
They often joke that Ivy & Piper are their aliases. “The name of our business represents our style. We wanted something that was classic as we love traditional details and classic lines in our interiors and this is where Ivy came from,” says Melanie. “The Piper part of our business name is where the young, fresh and modern twist comes in. We always like to mix up the classic with a bold dose of colour or vibrant pattern to take the look to a new dimension.”
Melanie admits that with so much on their plate, life does get crazy. “But all our projects are based on our common love of interior design and firmly rooted in our distinctive aesthetic. We set out with a product focus. We wanted to create a line of gorgeous, glamorous and affordable homewares for ‘a fashionable life’. We found soon enough the people that loved our products wanted to take us home to put the look together for them, so we run a design consultancy. Naturally, from both of these, the fabrics have come to fruition. Stay tuned as we have more stunning designs and wallpapers coming!”
Their homewares collection was born out of wanting to meet the gap in the market for gorgeous designer homewares at an affordable price. “We have worked really hard to design and manufacture a unique collection of versatile fabrics, cushions, candles and lighting so far,” says Melanie. “We are inspired by colour, glamour, classicism, Chinoiserie, pattern and bold passion. We feel the collection brings all of this to our clients.”
Ivy & Piper the online magazine came as the result of a business coaching session where they were discussing the lack of local publications featuring interiors with a classic, glamorous and vibrant aesthetic. They published the first issue in late 2010 after months of planning. “It is great to see the progression of our magazine and as with any project, it is an ever evolving beauty full of our blood, sweat and tears,” says Elizabeth.
The pair believe working where they do gives them a special kind of freedom. “Brisbane has a vibrant and fresh take on interiors which in part is due to our fab climate but mostly we think it is because Brisbane is still emerging as a large city compared to our southern counterparts,” says Melanie. “This means we don’t take ourselves too seriously and as we aren’t tied to tradition. We are not afraid to have some fun with our homes.”
And as if they didn’t have their fingers in enough pies, the girls were recently asked to collaborate with Australian sleepwear label Jasmine & Will to create some pyjamas. “We used our ‘Don’t Fret’ trellis print in pink on white background and are ecstatic with the result. They are so stylish and possibly the most comfortable pyjamas ever!”
Melanie says she learnt a lot from her time working with Spiro. “She is a very creative woman and perhaps my most important lesson was to trust in my style and be bold with it. At a time when there was a lot of neutral around, Anna encouraged me to embrace my love of colour and pattern and be confident to use it in my work. These common interests in design are why Black and Spiro was the perfect match for me for so many years.”
With several new fabric designs in the pipeline and plans to grow and expand their product lines, client portfolio and magazine, these two won’t be resting on their fashionable laurels any time soon.
The Ivy & Piper HQ feauturing Ivy & Piper cushions, fabric and light
Ivy & Piper collaborated with sleepwear label Jasmine & Will.
Keep an eye on the girls’ blog for the latest news.
Not that I’m suggesting any of my conscientious readers slack off at work on a Friday afternoon, but here is a little retail therapy for you in the homewares department!
First, Georg Jensen is having a three-day online sale. I’m seriously tempted by this award-winning Quack water jug at $69.95. It also comes in black.
Then check out the Kronbali sale at Dalani where you can pick up a juju feather hat on sale for as little as $120. But move quickly as some colours are already sold out.
Then there’s 20% off everything by Xavier & Me at Gallop Lifestyle but it ends at midnight TONIGHT. This indigo limited edition cushion is my pick.
And as a heads up, there’s a Pony Rider (one of my fave homewares brands) sale starting at Temple & Webster on Monday.
Don’t say I never give you anything and don’t accuse me of being a bad influence, I am simply helping you SAVE money! Jen x
It seems no sooner than I “discovered” Dunlin while searching for metallics for a magazine article, I started seeing them EVERYWHERE. A fabulous homewares secret does not stay secret for long in this industry! But I wanted to know more, and was delighted to find a lovely story behind Australia’s latest online offering.
Alexandra Bond and Nicholas Barber studied architecture at the University of Sydney and always dreamed of moving to New York, so they did. “It is such a wonderful city to live in as a designer,” says Nicholas. “It’s an old cliche but so true that you learn so much just walking around New York streets. We lived in New York for six years, during which time we started our own firm and designed a number of projects in New York City, Latin America and Australia. It was while we were working as architects in New York that the genesis for Dunlin emerged. We were working with wonderful firms, suppliers and craftspeople whose work we thought would really suit Australian style.”
So, less than a year ago, they started selling the best of New York to Australia, through their online store. “Dunlin really is informed by our design work and our design work is very much informed by Dunlin, they complement each really well. It’s amazing how quickly it has grown and we have loved every minute of it.”
US brands Matteo, West Third, Original BTC and Davey Lighting are all exclusive to Dunlin in Australia and the pair have loved seeing local architects and interior designers get excited by the range. “What has become a real joy has been seeing projects open where interior designers and architects have specified Dunlin pieces,” says Nicholas.
Rather than trying to recreate their Tribeca home on moving back to Sydney, the couple have gone for the complete opposite, settling near the beach in Avalon on the Northern Beaches. They’re also renovating a terrace in Surry Hills which “needs a lot of love”. They continue to work as interior architects as well. They recently finished the Jekyll & Hyde restaurant in Sydney’s Darlinghurst and a new Lisa Ho store in Brisbane that opened last week.
“Being overseas actually made both Alix and I realise just how incredible Australian residential architecture is, it is practised here at such a high level. The interiors world is maturing as well,” says Nicholas, who thinks Australian interior designers are perhaps underrated. “There are some amazing talented designers and stylists here, they desire more opportunities than they are afforded. The local homewares world has also really changed for the better. Everyone seems far more focused on quality, integrity and the story of the pieces in their homes. I think this has been informed by what we have seen in fashion with heritage brands over the last few years, it’s a great and welcome change!”
A huge fan of New York myself (it’s about time I visited again), I am in love with everything for sale on Dunlin, and the $9.90 flat rate shipping rates a mention too.
Interiors Addict was mentioned in The Australian’s Media Machine blog in a post about the Best Australian Blog Competition finalists, of which I was one.
What a delightful surprise to learn today that Interiors Addict is a finalist in the personal/lifestyle category of the Best Australian Blogs Competition 2012 run by Sydney Writers’ Centre. I am so happy! The blog only turned one last week and I feel it has come so far already. I am really honoured to be one of eight finalists in the category. More than 1,000 blogs entered! Wowsers!
A big congratulations to my fellow lifestyle finalists All Consuming, Edenland, In Search of a Life Less Ordinary, Magento Bold too!, Not Quite Nigella, Taste Explorer and Tune into Radio Carly. They’re all so talented I’ve got no chance!
The finalists were chosen by the judges but public voting is still open in the People’s Choice category and I would love you to vote for me. Just click on the big blue and yellow button on the right or click here. It really does only take a few seconds. Thanks in advance for your support, Jen x
I received this divine blog first birthday gift from the Life InStyle and Maison InStyle teams last week. I think it’s such a great alternative to flowers and lasts so much longer. Also easy to transport home (who else has battled, slightly embarrassed, home on the bus with a bunch of flowers?) and will last for ages! The packaging design is really cute and the grey pot will go with everything. PLUS you could send this to a guy (not that I don’t know plenty of men who wouldn’t mind receiving flowers but maybe that’s indicative of the interiors industry!). I’ll definitely be considering Say It With Succulents next time I need to send a gift. What do you like sending as a gift instead of flowers? I think cupcakes have had their day! Check out Say It With Succulents today! They have a Mothers Day competition running on their site at the moment.
