Clubber

This is another of my favourite finds from the recent Furniture fair in Sydney. This is the Clubber sofa and armchair designed by Per Weiss for Innovation. I sat on both and they were very comfortable - often sofas that look good aren't quite right in the comfort stakes. Ideal for apartment living the sofa converts into a sofa bed and if you buy an armchair without the arms, you can fold it flat to make a chaise. And they are very competitively priced to boot !

Images: Innovation

Repeating (myself)

I am really hoping not to drop the ball completely on my blog this year. I started my diploma in Colour Design three weeks ago and since then have delivered a paltry total of four posts - none of them with very much text - hmm not looking good. And my pile of inspiring things to post about is growing by the day. So please excuse the sporadic nature of things at present.

I nabbed this kitchen shot from Desire to Inspire as I love a little repetition in an interior. Sets of three windows and lights and the cupboard drawers almost line up as well.

Image: Stuart McIntyre via Desire to Inspire

Pocket litter

I heard this term 'pocket litter' for the first time yesterday and how true it is in our house. In addition to keys, phones and sunnies I find little piles of change, cufflinks, collar stiffeners, headphones this list goes on. I think the only strategy is to embrace the pocket litter and buy it a beautiful tray like this one from By nord.

Images: By nord

Pappelina rugs

Outdoor rugs are all the rage. These rugs are made from recycled plastic and can be used inside and out. The beauty of them is that they can be hosed down and the smaller ones can even go on the washing machine making them ideal for high traffic areas and as a sand trap. This is just a snippet of the styles and colours from Pappelina, available from Nordic Fusion here in Australia.

Images: Nordic Fusion

Happy Valentine's day

Image: via Black Eiffel

Step One

We are at the concept stage of planning to extend our home - we live in a bungalow, a very common house style here in Sydney. As the houses are old and the ceilings are high attention to detail is the key I think to getting stairs in that look good and fit with the older part of the house. So I am getting into photos now of panelling, balustrades, handrails and whatever you call the post at the end of the stairs . . .

Image: Tine K

Back to school

I am back to school today starting my diploma in Colour Design so I imagine this will be the first of many colour decks I will be perusing in the coming months. Some companies are so creative. Perch in NYC make gorgeous ceramic bird feeders, pendant lights and planters and these are their colour chips which they sell for $5. Even if you didn't want to buy anything else I think the colour chips would be nice to own in themselves.

Image: Perch

I could do that . . .

Recently I actually made something with a sewing machine - not a big thing for most people but a first for me and I was very proud of myself. A friend kindly trusted me with her machine and with some practice runs and a lot of referring to the troubleshooting section of the handbook I made a blind for my kitchen door.

So, now I have new category in my folder of ideas - the 'I could do that' category, all of which so far are rectangular because of current level of sewing skills. I think I might be able to manage a cool cushion like this one - and so much more practical than pile of different sized pillows.

Image: Lucy Berridge via Desire to Inspire

Striking stripes

These provide food for thought I think. The mix between matt and texture in the bathroom and living room is very effective. The living room below belongs to Tina di Lorenzo of Di Lorenzo Tiles and I like her style here a lot. In the accompanying interview she reveals that the striped wall was achieved using Dulux Fauna in satin and gloss ! Time-consuming she says but great style I think without breaking the bank.

Images: Living etc, House & Garden, Lonny

Not for the faint hearted - this geometric pattern is also painted on to the wall. There is an interesting article on Nina Freudenbeger in the last issue of Lonny here - she has painted her shop walls and parts of the floor in a fabulous zig zag. I also identify with many of her quotes:

"Make sure your home reflects your own style and comfort level; your space should not be designed only to be 'photo ready'. The chair you sit in to drink your morning coffee and read the paper should be just as comfortable as it is attractive. Make no compromises. "

My problem is the 'make no compromises' bit can make progress pretty slow on the home project front.

Tip for Valentine's Day

We don't normally go for what I call 'Hallmark' holidays in a big way in our house but I have wanted to post of about Rachel Castle's prints for some time and thought I'd would get these limited edition prints posted now while there are still shopping days left between now and Feb 14th. I am planning on leaving this post in plain view on the screen of the family computer - you never know - the penny may drop with him indoors !!

Most Australian readers will be familiar with Rachel Castle who is now Sydney based I believe. Her range of bed linen is fresh and interesting and her constantly evolving range of limited edition prints is well worth checking out and she ships worldwide.

Images: Rachel Castle

All the fun of the fair

I went to the Decoration and Design trade fair today and this is one of my personal picks of the day. This stool from d-Bodhi also comes in a bar stool and is just gorgeous in real life. The top is reclaimed teak - you can read d-Bodhi's old wood story here - and the contrast to the Tolix-esque metal base works beautifully. I had a perch on the bar stool for a few minutes between stands and found it very comfortable indeed.

Image: d-Bodhi