Inviting guest bedroom

Lots that is clever about this serene guest bedroom.  The shared central bedside table saves on space but what pulls the scheme all together is the size and layout of the six prints over the beds.  Plenty of reading material in the bottom of the bedside too.

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Image: Antonio Martins

On Air by Penny Farthing Design House

This is the ideal gift for a busy mother - I would love one myself.  Imagine firing up your On Air sign when you are talking on the phone to discourage your offspring from interrupting you.  Or for outside a study when you really need to finish something when working from home.  Or, of less benefit, for your husband to light up while pretending to be on a conference call but really watching the cricket.  Designed by Penny Farthing Design House.

Image: Penny Farthing Design House

All good things will be yours . . .

Its been a long time between drinks here at Folder of Ideas but I am back now from my hols, finished my studies, no more homework so much more to time to read blogs and write posts.

A long way back there was a picture of this room on Desire to Inspire in the pets on furniture section but you could only see part of the board. I emailed Linda Roberts, the owner of the dog and the image to ask her for the full wording and its provenance. She had seen it written up her brother's sailboat and did not know here it came from but sent me back this lovely image of her home.

Good old google confirmed that this is indeed an old Swedish proverb. Wise words I thought for the new year - especially the eat less and talk less sections for yours truly. Happy new year to all and looking forward to another inspiring year. Sheila xx

Images: Linda Roberts, Mooch

Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta

This is a scheme I designed for the son of a friend of mine, he is just six but the brief was to choose furnishings that he would grow in to rather than outgrow. The print is a perfect artwork for a boys room - it has both the NATO and nautical flag alphabets and is very reasonably priced from my long time favourite Keep Calm Gallery in London (who will mail prints to Australia)

Click to enlarge

Images: Keep Calm Gallery, La Maison, Sheridan

Perpetual Motion

So I am now back home in Sydney and have just about stopped nodding off in corners - must be my advancing years - have not been quite so jet lagged in some time. I am so lucky to be able to call two countries home and I had a truly fantastic few weeks in Ireland.

I have a massive volume of material to get on the blog and the usual time limitations but here goes. This sculpture 'Perpetual Motion' is by one of my favourite public artists in Ireland - Rachel Joynt. As you know when you are visiting family one is in perpetual motion and I sped past this milestone on the motorway west of Dublin many times during my trip.


It also got me thinking about black, white and yellow - a colour scheme that has been around for a while with Mimosa yellow being last year's colour of the year. This fetching apartment was featured in The Gloss - an Irish newspaper magazine. Love the fact that the accent colour comes from the National Geographic magazine and the original shelving for the china collection.

Images: Rachel Joynt, The Gloss

Books of art

My book club meets on the first Tuesday of each month and from time to time I post something about books on the first Tuesday also. Most of you will know uber-blog Desire to Inspire and the two authors Kim and Jo. These fabulous multi-media artworks are by Jo - the Brisbane based half of the duo. Jo shops around for vintage penguin books, keeps the collectables and makes artworks with those that are in poor repair. It is no surprise that her exhibition sold out completely.

Image: Desire to Inspire

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

Galerie Monmartre

Regular readers of The Design Files will be familiar with Melbourne's Galerie Monmartre as there is usually some lovely vintage poster winking at you in the sidebar of Lucy's blog. This is my pick from their current selection. I met my husband in Zurich and we spent three years working there and walked past the big Bally shop on Bahnhofstrasse many many times.

Image: Galerie Monmartre

the shoppers

As always I had a number of favourites at this year's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. This lovely blue and white pattern was on a large shopping bag, part of 'the shoppers' by Jie Qian. That's one of my little co-explorers with the blue hat to the left. 'the shoppers' had lots of small women figures scaling the bag on the sides - the artist asking the question will we gain satisfaction through material goods or end up lost in a life of luxury ?

Image: Folder of Ideas

The China Syndrome

I can't really explain it but I get a great kick out of all the recent projects reusing china and plates like the immense wall of plates at Milan Design Week and the 're-purposed' plates and cutlery at Eat Green Design. The recycled old saucer butterflies by Lightly are so more-ish I just want to buy them all whenever I see them.

So this photo caught my eye as I am a committed utensil rail person and what better way to get with the trend than to hang some pretty china from my existing rails ? I could actually do with a nice sauce boat as last weekend we ended up serving a sauce directly from the pyrex jug it was made in due to lack of suitable equipment . . .

Images: Emma Mitchell via Desire to Inspire, Lightly, Megan Morton via the Design Files

Andrea Byrne Flowers

Some friends of mine introduced me to Andrea Byrne's paintings about 5 years ago when I was living in London. Her paintings are pretty dramatic and vibrant - often large scale - and I would love to own one sometime. Andrea is both an artist and fashion illustrator and there is lots more of her work to look at here.

Images: Andrea Byrne, Clapham Art Gallery, Hicks Gallery

Still life

Claire Stening is a Brisbane based artist and as a fan of still life I really like her work. I love art in a kitchen - pictures of fish, fruit, cutlery (Claire has some lovely paintings of spoons in her portfolio) and so on. This lemons are fantastic and would give a great splash of colour but I also really like her work in more muted colours like the fish and bone handled carving set below. You can see lots more of her work at www.clairestening,com and www.edwinacorlette.com.

Images: Claire Stening

Tall poppies

Playing with scale in interiors is interesting and can produce fabulous results. Too often we go out looking for an artwork that is the 'right' size for a space when, like in the picture below, you can achieve a great look with something oversized or unusually shaped. Its a hard thing to get right but I think it works here because the top lines up with the line of the beam and the bottom and the green cabinet are close to the line of the white panelling.

Image: Carrier and Co via Little Green Notebook

Colour atlas

These pictures were featured on Apartment Therapy recently - I absolutely love the painting - its scale, colours, concept, all of it. From the write up it was painted about 40 years ago. I am studying for a diploma in interior design at the moment and this term we have done a lot of work like this - albeit on 2 cm x 5 cm chips of paper. But still its got me thinking . . .

Images: Apartment Therapy

Stefan Dunlop

I had bookmarked Stefan Dunlop's site some time ago as I liked the Explorers painting at the bottom. For no real reason ( I am not a mountain climber ) I devour books about Everest and those who attempt and fail to climb it and so am familiar with the photo Explorers is based on.

Anyway the first painting 'T-bonecup' below was featured in Inside Out this issue and I went back for another look and have picked out a few favourites. I love the greys, the splashes of red and green and the deep purple background the the third painting which is entitled 'Capcupbottle'.

Images: Stefan Dunlop

Irisdesign

It is St. Patrick's day today and being Irish I thought I would share something from my home town to mark the occasion. Now, for most Irish people being Irish has very little to do with the global frenzy of green beer and diddly-i-music that takes hold in most major cities on St. Patricks day so I hope the lack of leprechaun hats and green type does not disappoint.

These 'altered book pages' as she calls them are by Iris O'Connor who is based in Dublin. She works in mixed media and saves and reworks old book pages. I think they are very original and would look great in a study or library or anywhere at all really. There is lots more of her work in her Etsy shop here.

Images: Irisdesign

In / Out

I am working in sequence this week. Going through Sam McAdams portfolio yesterday I spotted this shot which includes two things I had bookmarked for inclusion here.

Image: Sam McAdam

When you look at my home from the end of the garden there is one area of blank wall which is crying out for some sort of adornment. Plants of course are an option but I like outdoor art and have my eye out for something along the lines of this beautiful Ginko screen by Kif + Katast. The screens are made from laser cut steel and rusted 'on purpose'. They can be hung both indoors and out.

The second thing is the bench. This zinc bench is the In/Out bench by JF Dors. It can be used as a planter as shown or for a little outdoor water pool, or if you are really not into gardening at all as an icebucket for parties !! In Sydney you can get the In / Out bench from Parterre.

Image: Domani

Happy Australia Day

Image: Rene Kulitja, Walkatjaar Art Uluru

Leah Gilberson

I didn't write a lot for this blog over the Christmas period but I did spend some time browsing around the blog world. I came across Leah Gilberson via A Studio with a View who I found via the Desire to Inspire holiday reading lists.

These prints and paintings really caught my eye. Leah Gilberson is based in Boston works with digital photos, paint and mixed media to get the effects below. I like the work she is currently showing in her Etsy shop, the major themes being architecture and streetscapes, chairs and swimming pools.

Images: Leah Gilberson

Thoughts for the New Year

I have written before about the Keep Calm Gallery and their lovely prints. I think this is a great print for a girls bedroom. There is so much pressure on all of us these days to look good sometimes we need a gentle reminder that there's no point looking great if you don't feel great or aren't treating your family and friends as well as you could be. So aside from all my annual resolutions to eat less, drink less and exercise more I am also going to try to improve myself on the inside !! Happy new year from sunny Sydney and every good wish for 2009.

Image: Keep Calm Gallery