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Custom joinery and a fireplace: a winning combo!

May 19, 2020 Leave a Comment

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When it comes to creating a focal point in a space, a fireplace is usually a real winner. Add to that, surrounding custom joinery with built-in storage and suddenly you’ve made the beautiful blend of form and function. Interior designer Sarah Yarrow tells all…

The fireplace is often located in our lounge rooms which means, for these modern days we live in, we’re also contending with the placement of a TV, sound equipment and a myriad of additional accessories. Using the fireplace as the starting point and evolving the design of joinery around that is the way to go.

Here are my tips for creating an impactful space using a fireplace and joinery:

Plan! Work out exactly what you need from the space – do you need loads of storage to hide kids toys, photo albums, AV equipment etc? Or, do you prefer a more minimal clean line approach with little to no closed storage with the focus being to highlight the wall texture and materials used? Can the TV sit above the fireplace or do you prefer it off to the side? Once you know what you realistically need from a functional perspective, the design of the joinery will naturally have a direction to follow.

The fireplace Decide on the type of fireplace you’d like (or can have in your home). Consider your lifestyle, budget and longevity. For example, the nostalgic idea of a wood burning fireplace might conquer up warm fuzzy feelings and images of cold nights with a red wine in hand, however, the reality of that also means the clean up and maintenance that comes with a wood burner along with the smoky smell which can linger in your fabrics and safety for young children. That’s not to say you shouldn’t install one though (I’m personally a huge fan of the tradition of a wood burning fireplace, in the right situation). The goal should always be about carefully considering what is going to work for YOU! Maybe a gas or electric fireplace will be a better option.

Materials & colour Here’s where you can have some fun! Once you’ve decided on the actual fireplace, you can take those plans from step 1 and start to create the surrounding joinery. Go custom! As opposed to trying to buy off the shelf, adhoc individual furniture pieces or shelving. Custom allows you to maximise every inch available based on your design goals and will ultimately always deliver a better result. Regardless of the style you’re trying to achieve, whether it be traditional and of period or contemporary, you can still inject your personality into the design via colour and material choice. This might be coloured cabinetry, textured wall panelling, an ornate marble surround or classic heritage tiles. Whatever speaks to your style and the architecture of your home. A good designer can help you visualise this with drawings and suggest the most appropriate material choice.

Finishing touches Time to personalise! It’s your home and styling it so it’s representative of you and your loved ones is essential. Displaying accessories which are meaningful to you is what makes a space feel lived in, welcoming and interesting. Depending on the design of your fireplace, you may have lots of open shelving to display books and collectables; or it might be a mantle only to show off a special framed photograph and a sculptural vase. The important thing here is to showcase what you love. A few guidelines to help; less is often more, display only what you really love and store away the rest knowing you can always change the accessories up every few months or when you tire of seeing the same ones. Consider scale and proportion and try to keep a colour palette which is relevant to the other spaces within the home. If you’re opting for a minimal look, displaying something ornate and sculptural is a perfect way to highlight the architecture of the fireplace and joinery and allows that accessory to be the hero – for example, a vase or urn, artwork or vintage artefact. Remember, the finishing touches can always evolve as your life changes and interests grow. Life is dynamic so there isn’t necessarily a ‘finished’ utopia for our interiors either; I suggest to keep evolving your home, just as you do yourself. Allow it to grow with you and it will always feel relevant.

See more of the project where Sarah designed the custom cabinetry with fireplace pictured above.

A Melbourne home where custom joinery worked wonders

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
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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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