West Elm

Isn't West Elm the greatest shop?! I don't know how many times I've seen a piece of furniture on Pinterest, loved it, only to find it's from West Elm. Unfortunately their larger furniture items can't be shipped to us here in New Zealand. But the great news is that a lot of their products can be shipped internationally. So go and do a spot of window shopping and see what you can find. These are just a few of my favourite things...

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The Home & Office of Ariel Gordon

Ariel Gordon is a Los Angeles based jewellery designer whose home and office are just as gorgeous as her jewellery line. Ariel and her husband, Alex, didn't set out to decorate their home in an eclectic style, they simply filled their home with things that they loved and had meaning to them.

My favourite item is the huge tufted pink ottoman in the living room, it looks incredible on the black & white Ikea rug. Ariel knew she wanted this, but couldn't find quite what she was after, despite hunting high and low. So she had this one custom made, and although expensive, it was worth it, as it's also her favourite piece in their home.

Ariel's first office was in her living room, but she now has a gorgeous office in downtown LA.

Photos from The Glitter Guide

Her jewellery is pretty and feminine and favoured by lots of celebrities. I've got my eye on several items myself!

Nate Berkus

That Oprah Winfrey!... she's pretty awesome! It's been a long time since I've watched daytime TV, but I remember 10 years ago seeing this lovely (and really cute) guy designing these great rooms on her show. Oprah introduced Nate Berkus to the world back in 2002, and he became the design expert for the show - the perfect platform to launch the talented interior designer's amazing career. He's since featured in countless top magazines, hosted his own TV talk show, has his own line of home products, published two books, and even had the role of executive producer on the film, The Help. His firm, Nate Berkus Associates, based in Chicago, continues to design interiors across the country and around the world.

I had to use this photo from Apartment Therapy - you know I love pod chairs!

I can't believe I haven't featured him sooner on the blog, I love his style. Lots of beautiful furniture pieces, layers of texture and interesting treasures, a mix of new and vintage, and personality plus! This first dining room is my favourite - divine dining!

Minakani Lab Wall Coverings

Wallpaper... I love it! If you haven't got any in your home yet, maybe these amazing designs will inspire you. Minakani Lab is the partnership of French designers, Cécile Figuette and Frédéric Bonnin. Guided by their passion for motifs and colours they have created a fabulous collection of wall coverings. As well as the standard range, you can also order from their bespoke collection, which can be adapted to whatever size and surface you require.

And a quick note to say, make sure you pick up the latest copy of Homestyle magazine,
out in the shops today. It's chocka-block full of inspiration, as usual, and there are a couple of gorgeous homes that I've written about - belonging to the lovely and talented artist,
Evie Kemp; and the awesome creative manager of Redcurrent, Emma Holden.

Art for Art's Sake

I have a great love for abstract art, and would really love a large piece over our bed. My problem is Mark (the Mr) doesn't share my love for it. It would be so much easier if he didn't have an opinion! ;) That's a direct quote from Dale (off The Block Australia) aimed at Sophie. Dale & Soph are my favourite couple, and I know it's all finished in Australia, but we don't know the outcome yet in New Zealand, so please nobody spoil it for me.

Anyway, how do you feel about abstract art, are you a lover? If so, what do you say to those people that say "I could do that!" - you know they really can't. Here are a few of my picks...

Big Navy Petal Other Half by Rachel Castle

Scholar by Claire Desjardins

Over Oceans by Zoe Pawlak

Winter in the Bay by Zoe Pawlak

Asking for Directions by Emily Rickard
I'm going to buy this for my daughter's room - she loves abstract art!

And this is the piece, by Andrew O'Brien, that I fell in love with when I first saw it on the cover of Real Living magazine. Andrew supplied a couple of his pieces to contestants on The Block, and now you can buy Artist Edition Prints as well as his Original work. This is brilliant, as it makes his work accessible to everyone. Now, if only I could convince Mark!

On The Cover Of A Magazine

You know the old saying "don't judge a book by it's cover". And, yes, that's true in so many ways. But I have a weakness for beautiful magazine covers. Many of them are like works of art, and are too pretty to store away with only their spine showing. I want to have them out on display.

Models.com posted a feature recently on their favourite covers for 2012, the ones with maximum visual impact. "The wealth of inventiveness has pushed magazine covers to new levels of creativity"...

My favourites for 2012 were the four individual covers created for Vs Magazine. They featured an all star cast of Liv Tyler, Amanda Seyfried, Coco Rocha, and Rachel McAdams. I'd like to frame these and hang them in my daughter's bedroom. They remind me of David Bromley's nude series.

Framing and hanging magazine covers on the wall is a great way to have you favourites permanently on display...

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These vintage Vogues are perfect for a dressing room...

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Or, for a more casual look, you can do what I did as a kid, and wallpaper your entire wall...

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