Madder & Rouge Style

Now and then you find a home that resonates with you and calls out your name. That's what happened when I first saw the home of Erin O'Malley in the Aug/Sept 2014 issue of Homestyle magazine. It's everything I love in a home - fresh white walls, gorgeous colour and pattern, lots of Moroccan and Indian influences.  It looks relaxed and inviting and super cool. I love, love, love it!

Photography by Chris Sisarich

Erin is the owner of Auckland design store, Madder & Rouge, and it too is full of really beautiful and interesting pieces from around the world. I was exploring their website this morning and have my eye on quite a few of them. Pop in to their Newmarket store, or visit them online.

An Exotic Santa Barbara Beach Home

I've found a beautiful beach abode in Santa Barbara, Southern California, that I would happily call home. It's owner, Gina Tolleson (Miss World 1990), has filled it with gorgeous treasure that she's collected on her travels to India, Morocco, South America, Bali and Africa. She shares the home with her three sons - Carter, 16 years old, Luca, 8 years, and Tiago, 7 years.

I love the exotic, relaxed vibe this home exudes. The white walls and floors are the perfect backdrop for the layers of pattern and colour. Now that the boys are a bit older, interior designer Amanda Masters has been helping Gina make a few changes. They successfully mix Gina's global finds with modern and mid century pieces that tie in with the home's architecture.

A bird's-nest tower that's visible from the beach is Gina's special space to meditate, enjoy a glass of wine, and look at the ocean - no kids allowed! I think all parents should have a tower room like that ;)

Luca and Tiago's room is a really fun space that continues the global theme.

Gina's favourite space (and mine) is an outdoor room that open onto the courtyard. A 40th birthday trip to Rajasthan inspired her to paint the wall hot pink. Along with a bamboo lounger laden with cushions, and Balinese umbrellas, the vibrant colour creates a fabulous setting for a dinner party or cocktail evening.

I love the mix of the wooden outdoor table from India with the new wire chairs. To me this home is the perfect blend of beauty and tranquility, that's what I love!

photos by Nancy Neil

Inspired by Marrakech

Marrakech is a city that knows how to work colour and pattern! I would love to travel there one day and see for myself what has already inspired me in photographs. Americans, Caitlin and Samuel Dowe-Sandes, and their young daughter, Gigi, loved Marrakech so much they made it their home and filled their Moroccan bungalow with glorious colour and pattern.

The tiled floors throughout are quite spectacular, and the walls are various shades of fresh blue or white.

There's an eclectic mix of furniture and lights - all quite beautiful and sculptural. The artwork is also impressive, and often nature inspired.

Bold stripes lead you down the hallway and into pattern-packed bedrooms. Bursts of vibrant orange contrast the blue beautifully.

The kitchen steps away from the blues and orange, but the geometric tiled splash back links nicely to the rest of the house. Green and white is one of my favourite kitchen colour combos, it's lovely and fresh.

photographer: Richard Powers | designer: Caitlin & Samuel Dowe-Sandes of Popham Design

I love the personality of this home. As with all the homes I feature on my blog, I hope it's inspired you to embrace colour, and push the boundaries to create a home unique to you.

Urban Chic Manhattan Loft

I absolutely love the glamorous, cool style known as urban chic, so it's easy to see why I was gushing over this gorgeous Manhattan loft when I came across it on Domino. It's owner is Rita Hazan, the colourist famous for giving Beyoncé her divine shade of golden honey hair. When Rita moved into her new loft in Manhattan's NoHo neighbourhood, she enlisted the help of her friend, Nate Berkus (oh to have such friends!) and his interior design partner, Jeremiah Brent to help her decorate.

Rita wasn't sure what to do with the space and had only bought a white bed, but Nate knew straight away that he could match her personality to her home. "I know who you are", he said "you're black, white, neutral, art deco, urban chic". She hired him on the spot!

Working with Rita's favoured neutral colour palette, Nate and Jeremiah layered texture upon texture - which is the key to working with neutrals. Ivory Mongolian lamb's wool with off-white linen, black velvet with brass, rough-hewn wood with crystal - oh yes, divine, divine!

Nate describes Rita as a soft-spoken, thoughtful person with a rock-and-roll quality. He and Jeremiah (who is not only Nate's business partner, but also his fiancée) have nailed her style, I think -  not that I know Rita :) but you can just see it by looking at her. It's beautiful, sophisticated and glamorous with a bit of an edge.

Read more about the design process over on Domino. And for a similar vibe here are a few yummy products all available in New Zealand.

Milo Baughman Flat Bar Armchairs | Vintage 1970's Leather Chaise | Armadillo Twine Weave Rug (available to purchase through me) | Moroccan Wedding Blanket | French Industrial Stool | Folding Brass Stool

The Girls in Marrakech

I very happily stumbled across a website called The Glamourai today. It's a blog by
Kelly Framel, a Brooklyn based stylist, and covers all the things we girls love - fashion, shopping, beauty and, of course, gorgeous home decor. 


There is a series of blog postings that I spent quite some time pouring over, about a trip Kelly took with her good friend and photographer, Jamie Beck, to Marrakech, Morocco.
I have always wanted to go to Morocco, and am so inspired by Kelly and Jamie's photographs and story. The richness of the colour, textiles and pattern, the people and their culture, the architecture... it's all so gorgeous!

Kelly tries out the rug Jamie chose for her studio

Jamie looks stunning in red amongst all that gorgeous pattern

Shopping in the souk

My kind of heaven!

The local pharmacy

Beautiful lanterns

Traditional Moroccan mint tea

Exploring the Agafay desert - very 'Carrie and the girls'!

I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon than relaxing in a tent in the Moroccan desert
sipping rosé with my best friend.