Simple Interior Design Tips

When we're working with our Bibby + Brady interior clients, there are some basic tips and tricks that we use again and again. It seems many Kiwis own black leather sofas. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but they can dominate a room with their heaviness. If that is the case, cushions and throws are your best friend.

Layering throws, sheepskins and cushions will help to soften your dark sofa, as well as adding great texture.

1 | 2

If there was one item of furniture I would recommend you invest in and don't scrimp on, it's your sofa (and your bed). You spend a lot of time on it, so you want it to be comfy, and you want it to last. With a more expensive sofa you're paying for quality - instead of foam cushions, which will wear out more quickly, you get feather and down cushions. A cheap sofa may have a plywood frame stapled together that just won't last as long as one made from hardwood and held together with glue and dowels, or tongue-and-groove joints. Effectively you will have to replace a cheap sofa a lot quicker than a quality sofa, so my argument is that in the end you're saving money.

We often look to use a light neutral coloured sofa in our interiors. If you do invest in a quality sofa, a neutral colour will not date and works with so many different looks. A new selection of cushions will transform it when you're ready for a change.

But, of course, we do love our colour at Bibby + Brady. This stunning soft pink sofa with wooden buttons is a winner. It's still quite a neutral tone, adding lovely warmth, and would work in a quiet Scandi room just as well as a more colourful space. It's also available in grey if you prefer.

If you do want to be a bit more dramatic and sophisticated, you can't go past this divine blue velvet sofa with elegant brass legs. It's a darker colour, but the velvet fabric means it's softer than leather. All four of these sofas are available to purchase through us at Bibby + Brady, contact me for more details.

Another of our favourite tips is to take your curtains right up to the ceiling. It will create the illusion of height, and will add instant sophistication.

Often people will hang their curtains just above the window, but you can see from the pic below what a difference it can make hanging them as high as possible.  It's an optical illusion, the window on the right looks bigger when in fact they are both the same size. As well as the height, make sure your tracks are wide enough so that when you pull the curtains back you're getting maximum light. This also makes your window look larger, and we all love natural light in our homes.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

My final tip for this post has to be about vignettes - my favourite thing in the home. A good vignette will tell a story, as well as make a room look beautifully styled, lived in and loved. The most basic thing to know when you're creating a vignette is to use different heights, shapes and textures.

Lamps, flowers and foliage are great for adding height to your vignette. Books are brilliant for grounding smaller objects. As well as books and vases, use more unusual or quirky pieces to express your personality - a camera, a spool of cotton... whatever makes you happy.

Don't just layer from the base upwards, you should also layer from front to back to add depth. Artwork hung or propped up on the wall behind is the best way to do this. Nature always adds amazing life and texture to a display. Sometimes the most beautiful is the most simple, like some branches in a jar.

Remember the space underneath. If it's a console table you can place a basket or a small stool below it. Some side tables have a lower shelf great for a stack of books topped with a bowl or dish. I love the repetition of orange in this vignette (below), it draws your eye up and down over the entire scene.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

These are just three tips to help create a stylish home, there are many more. If you want help with your home or workspace, we're here for you. You can send us photos of the area/s you want our advice and we can put together individual tips and tricks especially for you. Of course we can also help you source and purchase the perfect pieces for your home too, be it furniture, fabric, art or homewares. Drop us a line, we'd love to hear from you.

Stormy Seas

I spent many hours and days of my childhood playing in the surf at Wainui Beach. As I grew older I became a little intimidated by the ocean and it's strength, but I've never stopped admiring it's beauty. I am drawn to the colours - the glittering turquoise of a calm sea, and the emerald greens and deep teals of a stormy sea.

It's this rich, dark, and moody palette that I'm really loving right now. I love the drama and the sophistication it brings to a room. I would recommend using these colours in a room with plenty of natural light, because you get the most beautiful effect as the light moves and changes in the room. If the room lacks natural light the colour may just appear a bit flat.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Despite the fact that my school uniform was green and blue, I still love this combination in an outfit. Choose shades with some depth for maximum impact.

1 | 2

If you're not sure about using these deeper colours on your wall, start by introducing them in smaller doses. Whenever you're working with colour, whether it's in your home or your wardrobe, make sure it moves you (in a good way). What colours are you drawn to when you enter a shop? What pages stop you in your tracks in a magazine? These are the colours you should be surrounding yourself with.

Girl in Sea Print: Bibby + Brady | Deadly Ponies Handbag: Superette | Resin Bowl: Dinosaur Designs | Monmouth Tumbler: Mekka | Essie Nail Polish: Farmers | Ceramic Whale: Bibby + Brady | Burberry Prorsum Jacket: Sohelee Tahmina | Luxembourg Bar Trolley: Jardin | Blue Velvet Sofa: order via Bibby + Brady

What Will This Year Bring?...

Are you a 'New Year resolution' kind of gal (or guy), or do you roll your eyes at the very idea? I totally understand why people set goals at this time of year when they feel refreshed and ready to kick butt. Just make sure your goals are realistic, and if you want something badly enough, make it happen no matter how hard it is. Focus!

2015 was a big year for Bibby + Brady. It was this time last year that we moved from our home office into our wee studio/office in Ahuriri, Napier. A lot of the year was focussed on growing the business, getting our name know, and building relationships with a lot of other amazing creatives and suppliers in our industry. We were thrilled to have the home of our clients, Angie and Ryan, in the September issue of Your Home & Garden magazine, not only as a feature, but on the cover too (photos by Helen Bankers). We hope to feature more of our work in 2016 issues, and will start by styling and writing the story for another cool Hawke's Bay home next week.

In October last year Dael & I were part of a fabulous fundraiser for Te Awanga Kindy. The venue was the incredibly rustic backdrop of a working shearing station, which was filled with flowers, fairy lights and 100 beautiful ladies. They came to watch as Dael & I styled a console table three different ways while we talked them through the process.

We also demonstrated how to mix colour and pattern with the use of cushions, and shared our top tips on developing your own interior style. It was a great evening with local wine, delicious canapés, spot prizes, goodie bags, and products for sale at the end of the night. We also shared the stage with the talented Chloe from Peggy Lane who gave tips and a demonstration on creating a floral display. The night was such a success and Dael & I hope to hold similar evenings throughout 2016 (photos by Under the Kowhai Tree - Christall Lowe).

Another of our goals for this year is to find a way to showcase more of the incredible furniture and homewares available to purchase through Bibby + Brady. Of course our interior clients have access to them, but we want you to know that you can all come to us to source and buy furniture, whether you're a client of ours or not. We love working on complete room designs, but if you're happy with your room and are just trying to find that killer coffee table, or the perfect dining chairs to finish the look, we can help.

I'm also really keen to source one-off vintage or antique pieces to add to our shop. I love mixing older pieces with more contemporary ones, so if we find a beautiful old table, or a great chair that we can have re-covered, then that will help our clients and customers to create the unique spaces that we adore.

table | chair

As well as furniture, I love to hunt down gorgeous and quirky decorative items for my own home. There's only so many I can fit on my coffee table and shelves, so I will be adding future finds into the shop for you to buy.

Last year a lot of you followed me on my kitchen reno adventure. Our home is a work in progress, and this year I hope to finish off a few projects before I put it forward for a magazine feature. Be sure to keep following the blog to get some sneak peeks. We're also working with some lovely clients on exciting new interior projects, and can't wait to see what else 2016 will bring.

One more thing that will be happening is we're going to change this blog and the Facebook page into the Bibby + Brady name. Those were the first things I started all those years ago when I was still a graphic designer trying to express my love of interior design. Now they're the last of my social media to hold onto that name. We keep hearing time and again that people are confused by the two names and don't realise that Cush & Nooks is a part of the Bibby + Brady brand. It's a little sad for me as Cush & Nooks was my baby, but I'm so excited about the future of Bibby + Brady, we have so much more to offer, so it makes sense to unite everything. I have such a fabulous and loyal following, so I want you to know that other than the name, everything else will remain the same. Our Facebook page and Pinterest boards will continue to be a place of inspiration; our Instagram feed will show behind the scene sneak peeks and snippets of my life; and this blog will bring you inspirational and informative interior design content. We have some great new ideas for the blog this year, including a new series where we will share the favourite space of some of our favourite creatives.

Please come and visit us as often as you like and remember we love to hear your feedback. In this busy world we live in it's much easier to click on a "like" button than sign into your Google account to leave a comment. But we do love hearing from you. What do you think about our ideas for 2016? If there's anything you would like to see on the blog, run it past us; if you want to collaborate with Dael & I on something, get in touch. Let's make 2016 the best year ever!

Pod Chairs and Picnic Rugs

Summer is here, and our Bibby + Brady shop stocks two of the coolest products for relaxing in style. Super popular, our Middle Eastern picnic rugs have been re-stocked with some brand new designs. The traditional patterns are in a hardwearing polyester material, together with the tarpaulin base, these rugs will last you many years. Choose between a massive 2 x 3m or an even bigger 2 x 4m size to comfortable fit two families (or more) on, then roll up and throw in the back of your car for the next picnic.

photo: Sarah Horn

Our hanging pod chairs come in five different styles and are made from synthetic rattan, making them suitable for outdoor as well as indoor use. They are the most comfortable chairs, and once you're in, you may find it hard to leave.

Let me inspire you...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

If you love the look of these two amazing products, get in quick to ensure delivery before the big day. I have one of each, and they are two of my most favourite, and most used pieces. You can find our contact details here.

Hawke's Bay Boutique Shopping Tours

Dael and I hosted our first Bibby + Brady Boutique Shopping Tour recently, and it was a great success. We had an awesome group of ladies who really enjoyed meeting and spending the day with other like-minded people, as well as all the amazing shopping.

The day started at our tiny studio at 9.30am with coffee and food provided by F.G. Smith and an introduction to our work. We have a few bits and pieces for sale, and we also had a small collection of beautiful Mekka products available.

We then headed down the road to Aroha where owner Melaina Newport talked to us about their work, and let us have a sneak peek behind the scenes where artist and co-owner Rakai Karaitiana was hard at work.

Everyone piled into the mini van and we began our road trip heading up the hill to Homebase Collections. The Culy house is one of Napier's heritage homes and is absolutely beautiful. Billie Culy was there to greet us, as Leanne was away that day, and she was delightful, telling the girls all about the artwork and homewares on offer.

Martin and Megan Poppellwell kicked off Fizzy Friday for us in their cool gallery SPA_CE, with a glass of bubbly (sparkling water for me - the downside of being the driver!). Martin's artwork and pottery is so impressive, and Megan talked to us about all of his work as well collaborations, such as rugs and furniture he's worked on.

We then headed out of Napier and over to David Trubridge's studio. It always makes me smile, this amazing building nestled into the rural/industrial setting. David's business manager, Josh Lynch, gave us a really insightful talk about David's background and how the business grew from something small to an internationally renowned brand.

All this shopping makes a girl hungry, so there were much approval when we took everyone into the private conservatory at Birdwoods Gallery in Havelock North. The room was decorated with green palms, pink flamingo sculptures, and tiered plates filled with tiny sandwiches, savouries, and sweets. There was more bubbly to wash everything down, and the gallery and sweet shop provided more shopping opportunities.

The drive from Birdwoods to So Vintage in Te Awanga is such a lovely, scenic one. French-born owner, Mehdi Sanssar had just returned from France where he filled a container with more amazing vintage and antique pieces. He was able to talk to everyone about the pieces they had in-stock, their background, and what was due to arrive in their new shipment.

The tour ended back at the Bibby + Brady studio where last minute shopping and mingling was done. All in all a super fun day and we can't wait for the next one - check the website for upcoming tour dates. Each of our destinations provided something special, including some great discounts exclusive to our shoppers. Everyone felt very special (which is our aim) and each shopper leaves with a guide to "discovering your interior style" and styling tips, so they can put that into practice at home with all their new purchases. 

Why not get a few of your friends together and book one of our upcoming tours - you're guaranteed to have a blast, and a group booking discount applies.