Contrast & Harmony

Did you see, in the latest issue (June/July) of Homestyle magazine, the fabulous spread called "Contrast & Harmony"? It's all about mixing patterns to make a statement in your home, and some tips on how to achieve this look. You know what a massive fan of colour and pattern I am, so this is my kind of article, especially as it features two products that I hold dear...

Photography by Melanie Jenkins and styling by Alice Lines for Homestyle

I am the exclusive New Zealand stockist of the stunning Neon Vintage cushions, pictured on the chair in the Homestyle shoot. Neon Vintage was founded by Brisbane designer, Kirsten Millbank. The bold, edgy homewares are inspired by African safaris and tribal textiles, with a touch of vintage 80's design. Kirsten has collaborated with several international artists to create her collection.

On the floor in the Homestyle shoot you'll notice a gorgeous rug on the floor. Many of you will know that I am a big advocate of the Armadillo&Co rugs, I have one in my own home and we often use them in our Bibby + Brady client's homes. They are such fabulous quality, and the range of patterns and colours available is vast.

The rug featured is Pilgrim in the granite/fern/ecru colourway from the new Latitude Collection. Pilgrim comes in a range of colours and three different sizes.

If you're interested in purchasing an Armadillo&Co rug, I recommend you spend some time exploring the different designs available - their "I Love My Rug" site is a great place to get inspired. And when you're ready to purchase, contact me, I can help you place an order.

Mixing patterns takes some skill, pick up your copy of Homestyle for some excellent tips on how to rock it!

Scandi Soft

Step inside this beautiful Stockholm home where the layers of colour and pattern found in the rugs and artwork soften the clean Scandinavian lines.

Both the high impact pieces in the living room - the rug and painting - contain the same tones, so as not to fight with each other.

I love the curtains, so soft and subtle. If you have high windows I highly recommend using a little more fabric and starting your curtains from the roofline. It adds height and elegance to the room.

Layering rugs adds drama, and is a great trick if your rug isn't big enough for the space.

One of my favourite elements is the simple marble shelf that creates a desk in the corner of the bedroom. The leather stool is a gorgeous partner to the marble.

The lovely clean lines, with subtle colour and texture, continue into the bathroom. The introduction of all those gorgeous warm tones throughout the house balance the distinctly Scandi black and white base. Divine!

A Starting Point

To create a welcoming and cohesive living room you need to have a starting point and work from there. Choose a piece of art, a rug, or a favourite piece of furniture and let that determine the style and colour palette. 

These first three images have a strong piece of art as the focal point, and everything works around it. Pick two or three colours from the art to use in furniture and accessories. This will create a common thread to tie it all together.

1 | 2 | 3

A rug is another excellent starting point, and is like a work of art in itself. If, like me, you love a patterned rug, then let that be the 'hero' and everything else should compliment it. Using the same rule as the artwork, let the rug dictate your colour palette working with three main tones.

1 | 2 | 3

You'll often find that you unconsciously create a common thread with your colour palette as you're drawn to certain colours. Mine is blue with accents of pink and yellow. That doesn't mean you can't have the odd splash of green, or a touch of black, but keep your top three consistent and you'll have a harmonious room.

Armadillo&Co | New Rugs

I've just received images of the latest releases from Armadillo&Co, my favourite rug designer and supplier, and I love them all. Let me introduce you...

'Sierra Weave' is a beautiful wool rich blend available in the delicious natural colours of pumice, silt, and chalk. Reminiscent of a soft, cosy jumper, it will bring warmth and fabulous texture into your room.

One of the first Flower Weave designs, 'Zinnia', is back better than ever. Available in natural and pewter, it's 5ft (1.55m) in diameter.

A new member of the Flower Weave family is 'Geranium', woven from 100% soft Bangladeshi hemp. Bringing personality and earthy charm to any space, Geranium is a generous 6ft (1.8m) in diameter. You'll be pleasantly surprised how soft these Flower Weave rugs are, they're simple gorgeous!

The Junior Collection is so delightful and it just keeps getting better. These four new designs combine muted, natural backgrounds with eye-catching colour. Available in two sizes - 1.4x2m and 1.7x2.4m.

Caterpillar

Rainbow

Rainbow

Confetti

Confetti

Bunting

If you want any further information, or would like to purchase any Armadillo rugs, send me an email. A rug is such an important part of your room, and adds such great impact. An Armadillo rug will be a welcome investment for your home.

A Designer's Home Renovation

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend and a well deserved break. Mine was very productive, with some long overdue work done on zhushing up our twins' bedroom (more on that later). I also got the chance to catch up on some of my favourite magazines and blogs - all in the name of research! I loved this article on Domino about the Virginia home of designer, Lauren Liess, and her family. They made some fantastic changes to the original 1970's home, I love the light, airy feel it has coupled with lots of warm tones and textures.

Lauren had layered rugs in the living area very effectively. A large seagrass mat anchors the living area (and remember when it comes to rugs, size DOES matter), and a smaller vintage rug connects the two sofas and adds some gorgeous subtle pattern to the neutral colour palette.

A Lucite coffee table allows the rug to shine, and the incredible chandelier is another stand-out piece.

A wall was removed from the kitchen and a large island was added. Lauren chose to remove the large overhead cabinets in favour of open shelving to display their everyday tableware.

I love this collection of paintings over the kitchen sink, largely because it's so unexpected. It's things like this that add personality and life to a home.

In the breakfast room the window on the right was added to create a sense of symmetry and bring more light into the space.

The dining room, on the other hand, was the darkest room in the house, but because they couldn't change that, Lauren embraced it instead. She added a cedar ceiling which now gives the room an intimate, cosy feel.

This is one of my favourite photos, I love the little area under the stairs. The ironworker who custom made the stair railing left it out in the rain to get a vintage, tarnished look. It's beautiful with the wood and white.

This cosy loft serves as the library, media room, and Lauren's evening work room. Enveloped in books, they sit on shelves made from Ikea butcher-block countertops.

Lauren's favourite piece in the house is their brass bed that her husband found on the side of the road. Which just goes to show, that someone's trash really is someone else's treasure.

photos by Brittany Ambridge

Consistent with the colour palette of black, white and warm caramels, the bathroom features a vintage dresser as the vanity. Wood is great in bathrooms for bringing in some warmth and texture.

To see more photos make sure you pop over to Domino.

Bibby + Brady Interior Process

Some of you may know that Dael & I offer a Bibby + Brady 'e-decorating service'. It means you don't have to live in Hawke's Bay to work with us. All you need is a phone to chat with us, a computer to email us, and a camera to snap some photos of your chosen space. 

I thought I'd show you an example of the process. The following photos are the 'before' photos of Angie and Ryan's entranceway. It really was a blank canvas! Our brief was to create a 'wow' factor with a console or bench seat for Angie to display fresh flowers, a statement piece of art or a mirror, and a great pendant light. They didn't need storage for shoes or bags, as there was a cupboard around the corner for these things. Ryan liked bright green, and although Angie wasn't so sure, she was open to our ideas.

This is the concept board we produced. We used Ryan's green on the ceiling. It brings the outside in, looks really fresh with white walls, and adds some 'wow' without being too overwhelming. The black and white runner leads your eye into the home. We wanted the console table to have simple, clean lines so that it didn't 'fight' with the statement art piece. We chose a gorgeous pendant light, but because it was quite pricey we also included a more affordable alternative - our save and splurge.

This is the finished entranceway. Once of the reasons we love working with Angie and Ryan is that they trust us, and follow our concepts very closely. We recommended an Armadillo runner, but because there were a couple of special 'wow' pieces in this entranceway, the budget dictated a smaller runner for now, which still looks great.

We found this a-ma-zing vintage brass console table from Mid Century Swag and knew it would be perfect (thank goodness Angie & Ryan agreed).

I'm a big fan of Andrew O'Brien's artwork, and love how this piece picks up the green in the ceiling.

Angie and Ryan didn't end up choosing either of our original lights, although they loved the 'splurge'. But we found these cute beaker pendants from Lighting Plus that look great hung at different levels.

So that's our process from concept to reality. It's only a tiny space, but your entranceway is very important for creating first impressions. We're currently working with several clients from Hawke's Bay and beyond, and will keep you updated with progress. If you'd like some help with your space/s, maybe your home, or your workplace, please get in touch.