Interior design and styling, homewares, furniture, home appliances and the personalities behind them
I’ve put together some of my favourite products from West Elm for you, all available to buy online from the Australian website.
(Clockwise from top left, above)
I don’t even need to tell you why this gold cutlery set is awesome, do I? And despite its prettiness, it’s sturdy enough for everyday use and yes, it is dishwasher safe. $34 for a 5-piece set. [Read more...]
I was flattered to be asked by Temple & Webster to curate their first guest edit this week. I picked some great linen by AURA, my long time favourite Murchison Hume products, some vintage style glassware, kids’ bed linen, a great rug and more. You may notice most of it is navy or fuchsia. What a surprise!
Why not have a little online window shop and see if anything takes your fancy? Enabler? Moi?!
The sale is on for the next 3 days.
They also interviewed me about my home, how my fiancé and I agree (or not) on interiors, who inspires me and more. Read that here.
I’m excited to share an exclusive first behind the scenes look at the photoshoot for kaftan queen Camilla Franks’ collection for Designer Rugs, not available until May.
Of course, being by Camilla, they’re full of colour and plenty of floral. The rugs are handmade and inspired by Camilla’s archive and current fashion collections.
The shoot for the new collection took place at a stunning private residence in Sydney’s Vaucluse yesterday. [Read more...]
I’m really excited about these new Boucherouite rugs from Morocco, available in Australia with free shipping from Fossik. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some really unique rugs at this price point.
Boucherouite, (pronounced boo-shay-reet), is a rug style specific to rural tribes of Morocco. Hand-loomed by Berber women from recycled remnants including cotton, synthetic fibres, Nylon, Lurex and occasionally wool and plastic, they’re colourful, one-of-a-kind creations.
Unlike most European techniques, the boucherouite, also known as the rag rug, is not based on a predetermined pattern or design. Rather, it is created at the whim of its weaver. It would be equally at home on a wall as it is underfoot.
Known for its collaborations with high profile fashion designers like Akira Isogowa, interior designers like Greg Natale and brands like Dinosaur Designs, the grass roots creative force behind Designer Rugs is very much behind the scenes.
Lia (left) and Christine, senior designers at Designer Rugs
The company’s senior designers, Christine McDonald and Lia Pielli, have both been at Designer Rugs for more than a decade, give or take some short breaks to recharge their batteries, like all good artists. It is Christine and Lia who work with the often glamorous collaborators to bring their ideas to life and make sure, however beautiful they are, that they are actually likely to sell.
Around 80 percent of the company’s rugs are custom made and every design is available in different sizes and colour ways, meaning you really can create the perfect piece for your home or commercial space. “We have to feed off the industry,” says Lia. “We work with so many interior designers, we have a good nose for what’s coming up or what’s going to be popular.” Christine adds that people have really started to embrace colour again and she’s happy to see the back of a more safe pallete. “We’re always looking to fashion and overseas for inspiration too,” she adds.
One of Akira Isogowa’s designs
While interior trends don’t move as fast as fashion, the internet has certainly sped up the creative process.
One of the biggest challenges when collaborating, is persuading designers to design off the rugs, so that the pattern ‘falls off’ the edges so to speak. Many see the rug as a piece of paper or a canvas and try to create a pattern within it, which never works in the context of a rug.
Christine and Lia take it in turns working with the guest designers and the process can be very different, depending on their brand. “We generally let them come to us with what they want to do and then we translate it into a design that works for a rug and that we think will sell. We might change the scale or colour. Some designs translate really easily, others don’t,” says Christine. “And some designers want more input than others.” The whole process of bringing a new collection to market takes between a year and two years.
Christine’s New York design
The next collaboration is with fashion designer Camilla Franks and is due out early this year. The majority of the time, people approach Designer Rugs and ask to work with them, rather than the other way around. “For us the designs need to work as rugs. Some are beautiful but more appropriate for walls or fabric,” says Lia. [Read more...]
With up 50% off RRP, the Cadrys Sydney rug sale is not to be missed. It started yesterday, for 3 weeks.
Cadrys’ classic and contemporary showrooms are in Edgecliff. For more information, see their website.
You know how I love a little (okay, a lot of) typography in my life. So these rugs by Linus Dean immediately appealed to me.
After spending 15 years in the graphic design and advertising industries in Sydney, New Zealander Linus Dean has gone out on his own to design typographical rugs. While they look super modern, the high quality silk and wool rugs are made by hand using traditional techniques, in Nepal. Linus recently spent five there, getting to know how the local weaving industry works. [Read more...]
How unexpected is this rug in this modern bathroom? Love it!
