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      Australiaโ€™s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
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Abigail Ahern to open a shop in Sydney

February 11, 2013

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Last week I had the great pleasure of interviewing British interior designerย Abigail Ahern while she was in Sydney for Decoration + Design. Despite travelling across the globe to be in Australia for a mere three days and having flu, she delighted audiences with her passionate, quirky and rule-breaking approach to interiors. She also revealed to me, to my great excitement, that opening a shop in Sydney in on her to-do list. I know! How exciting is that?

abigail-ahern1

Australians have really embraced Abigail and she is as surprised as the next person. She gets more overseas sales from her London shop (Atelier Abigail Ahern), hits on her blog and Facebook fans from Australia than anywhere else. โ€œI don’t understand it and I’m blown away by it,โ€ says Abigail, who has never had PR representation here or deliberately gone after an Australian audience. โ€œMy popularity here knocks my socks off! It’s overwhelming.โ€ As she told me in a previous interview, Abigail believes Australians are more into interiors than any other country, even America. โ€œI would love to open a shop here. I love Sydney so I think it would have to be here. It’s definitely on my to-do list.โ€

Abigail’s new book, Decorating with Style, was released here last week, eight weeks ahead of its release anywhere else in the world (the benefits of being her biggest fans!) and she is really excited about it. While her first book, A Girl’s Guide to Decorating, was a bestseller, it wasn’t her concept, and she feels she has grown with experience. โ€œThe first book was more practical. This one’s more about breaking down barriers and showing that anyone can do it, that you don’t need to be an A list interior designer or have loads of money to have a great interior. I was lucky that I was given the freedom to really write this book in my own voice.โ€

Decorating with Style Abigail Ahern

Having confidence in your own style is something she really encourages, while acknowledging a lack of it is what holds many people back from experimenting. โ€œPeople always ask themselves ‘what if it doesn’t work?’ or ‘what if I don’t like it?’ but I don’t approach decorating that way. It doesn’t actually hold me back. People are too scared of making mistakes. When people let go and don’t have rules, that’s when they create the most tantalising interiors. I’d like to inspire people to be more confident.โ€

A big part of this is only buying what you truly love, rather than following trends. โ€œI’m aware of trends but I never let them influence me when buying for my shop or my home. If it resonates with me on an emotional level, I buy it, it’s that simple. Interiors aren’t like fashion, they shouldn’t only be with us for a season. If I buy something I really love I expect to keep hold of it until I’m 90!โ€

Listening to Abigail speak was inspiring. She really and truly believes in her style of decorating and speaks about it with that kind of confidence we would all love to have in our own aesthetic. As a fellow Pom, I also love the way she “yabbers” on, using words like shenanigans and preaching the brilliance of being a bit oddball! Us Brits pride ourselves on being quirky and yes, perhaps a little bit mad. In a good way!

Of course there are so many other beautiful interiors coffee table books being published every month at the moment, so what makes hers different? โ€œI think it is the fact I’m trying to demystify the whole snooty interior design thing and make interiors more accessible to everyone.โ€

Unlike many designers, Abigail often shares photos of her own London home (or pad, as she calls it), and the book is no exception. โ€œIt’s something I want to showcase,โ€ she says. โ€œSometimes I read things on blogs, like people saying what a horrible dark space, but I just ignore it.โ€ Dark interiors with walls and ceilings โ€œpainted outโ€ are her trademark and despite the difference in weather and natural light between England and Australia, she thinks this style can work just as well here. โ€œI love the contrast between a bright exterior and an inky, sludgy interior that wraps you up in a blanket! Sometimes I prefer my home when it’s sunny outside. But it’s really personal and it’s what appeals to you. While I’d secretly like everyone to go dark, what’s more important is that you love your home. For me, I can’t feel that cocooning effect in a space with white walls.โ€

With beautiful photography and great, practical tips, like covering cheap roller blinds in wallpaper and painting your own chevron floor, it really is a great read. Look out for a full review of the book on Interiors Addict soon.

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Want to try a different tipple this weekend? Toda Want to try a different tipple this weekend?

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Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping ALL the character!

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The patient has very much bounced back! Letterbox The patient has very much bounced back!

Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

Thanks for all your care and messages/comments for this tired and shaken up mama! Now very relieved and grateful ๐Ÿ™
Before & after It's not just the award winning de Before & after

It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love ๐Ÿค—

@inspiredspacesaus helped her clients with teenage kids transform this house in Sydney's Hills District inside and out, making it their forever home. 

Due to the nature of the block they could only extend sideways and then gave it street appeal with render, new windows and doors.

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Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps ๐Ÿค•

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (๐Ÿคช) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a ๐Ÿท

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!

UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
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And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! ๐Ÿ’ง 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!๐Ÿค—

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap ๐Ÿฅด) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon ๐Ÿ˜†

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too ๐Ÿ˜‰

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
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About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarSam says

    February 11, 2013 at 9:31 am

    Love your article, I’m a huge fan of Abigail’s her work and design beliefs are amazing. Look forward to your book review. I have a couple more weeks to wait for it here in the uk x x

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 9:34 am

      Thanks Sam!

  2. AvatarLaura says

    February 11, 2013 at 10:12 am

    What a great read! Thank you Jen. I’m a HUGE fan of AA and feel exactly the same about dark colours – I can’t escape and snuggle into bright, white interiors like I can dark ones. And a shop down under??? Woohoo!!!

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 10:19 pm

      Thanks Laura ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. AvatarElle says

    February 11, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    I love a little insider knowledge on interiors and design! Thanks for a great article! Looking forward to going shopping at her shop in Sydney! Woohoo!
    Elle – http://www.facebook.com/designformfunction

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 10:19 pm

      Thanks Elle ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Avatarleanne says

    February 11, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    My favourite article about my favourite designer by my favourite blogger… Come back soon Abi!!! Good work Jen!!!

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 10:19 pm

      Thank you Leanne! x

  5. AvatarLouise says

    February 11, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    My favourite article from Interiors Addict. Love the insight and the familiarity that came across in your article/interview. Looks as though I’ll be adding to my bookshelf.
    Thank you.

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 10:18 pm

      Glad you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. AvatarLouise says

    February 11, 2013 at 10:14 pm

    PS had an issue with the Decorating with Style hyperlink. Received a broken link message.

    • AvatarJen Bishop says

      February 11, 2013 at 10:18 pm

      Thanks for mentioning. Try again now and let me know if it doesn’t work? ๐Ÿ™‚

      • AvatarLouise says

        February 11, 2013 at 10:35 pm

        Nope still getting the error message (happy to send through the specific url/screengrab to a separate email address if that’s of any assistance). Instead of the Hardie Grant website it’s trying to go somewhere else (I think it was a wine site – big brother is clearly watching me and knows I like to read about interiors while I enjoy a nice glass of wine!). Did a google search and found this url was good.
        http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/books/books/book?isbn=9781849492720

        • AvatarJen Bishop says

          February 11, 2013 at 10:36 pm

          That is so weird because when I click on that link it goes to Hardie Grant! confused.com!

          • AvatarLouise says

            February 11, 2013 at 10:42 pm

            Hmmm it’s late and it’s clearly just me. Please ignore now as it was Chrome giving me a warning message and saying I shouldn’t click through as the url didn’t match and something about a wine site! When you said it was fine I did risk it and I was taken exactly where you would have expected. Feel free to delete this stream of emails so that I don’t confuse you’re other readers and sorry for the red herring x

          • AvatarJen Bishop says

            February 11, 2013 at 10:43 pm

            Hey, that’s okay, thanks for bringing it to my attention anyway. i like helpful readers ๐Ÿ™‚

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