Back to the future

Who says yellow and grey is dated? Just look at the way it looks here. So sophisticated. So serene. So subtly Scandinavian. Love it.

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All covered up, part 2

I've been totally distracted all day by textured and grasscloth wallpaper. Found these images in my travels. None of them really represent the look I'm after but they are a source of inspiration. Gawd... I really hope our wallpapering skills are up to the job! Will soon find out. We've been Googling like mad to try and upskill ourselves. Thankfully for me, Stu has so far proven himself a dab hand at DIY. I shall just put him in charge! It can't be that difficult can it? No obvious patterns to match up? Oh dear...

Source: Bill Barr

Source: DelBene Interiors

Source: Belle Vivir

Source: Belle Vivir

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All covered up

We spent the weekend wallpaper stripping. Not an activity I'd recommend but needs must. We're getting to the pointy end of the budget (our remaining funds are now pointing down towards us being broke) and we can't afford to get it done professionally. We're also going to have to learn how to wallpaper pretty quickly because we've also ditched the professional wallpaper hanger. We've chosen a gorgeous range of grasscloth Vision wallpapers, available through Resenes Colour Shops, which will give the walls a lovely natural texture. The whole house is being wallpapered; the only painted walls are in the ensuite and bathroom. Have even gone for a grunty black/chocolate brown in the bedroom we're poshly naming our 'media room' (really just a room with our TV in it). Fingers crossed our wallpaper skills are equal to our wallpaper stripping ones...

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A kind of blue

Blue is one of those interior colours that make you feel that all is well with the world. Best suited, I think, to a bedroom, blue is subtle, calming and surprisingly zen. These are all from Laura Ashley's new Shades of Blue homewares collection.

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Going green

Green is such a happy colour. Used well, it's fresh and contemporary. It also works in just about any decor style. Take a look at these.



Loving ombre...



Looks amazing at these windows.



Soft and sweet in a bedroom.



Gold and green glam in a kitchen.

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Not so nana...

Floral wallpapers don't have to be old-fashioned. Mix them with crisp white, add a leafy plant or two and some painted furniture and you have a look that's both timeless and modern. Instant character too. These are from Sandberg's Gabriel collection, available in New Zealand through Decortex.

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Let there be light...

We have new window frames. We have glass. And yesterday I spent three hours – and what seems like a fortune – sorting out locks and handles and other window hardware so that we can open them. Everywhere we turn there's a new challenge; a topsy-turvy floor (not necessarily a huge problem unless you're tiling it, which of course we are), a rotted window frame, the need for new safety glass for an existing window, an unreliable tile supplier, quotes we thought set in stone turning out to be incredibly fluid, things we imagined to be cheap turning out to be expensive... There are budget blowouts and time overruns. Welcome to a renovation! But we've become so bogged down in the day-to-day stuff that we've almost forgotten to look at the bigger picture: our builders are courteous, helpful and tidy (believe me it helps), ditto all the tradespeople on site. What was once an odd-shaped, dated, kitchen is now a huge and light-filled space thanks, in part, to the addition of floor-to-ceiling windows. We have insulation and a new hot-water cylinder. The house has been completely rewired and enough data cables installed to future proof it so we can keep up with new technology. (When we're finally able to afford speakers we'll be able to change a CD from any room in the house with our Smartphones.) Tomorrow, hopefully, the Gib goes up and Friday I get to see how our new kitchen is shaping up out at KitchenWorks. And I'm currently looking out of the window watching the light-play on the kauris and ferns and I'm not regretting the decision we made to turn our lives upside down one bit.

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Ring the bells

For me, Christmas is a year-long event. I love it. And, since I tend to start thinking about shooting Christmas features from about now, I'm constantly on the hunt for new Xmas stuff. My new love is paper decorations – especially honeycomb ones. They remind me of my English childhood. My latest go-to place is Papier d'Amour, a high-end shop owned by Sydney-based designer Phoebe Gazal specialising in gorgeous stationery and paper products. Check it out here, www.papierdamour.com.au

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Midcentury Melinkt

Bold graphic patterns such as those found in Scion’s debut Melinkt fabric and wallpaper range are currently big news. Drawn both from mid-century design archives and modern Scandinavian design, Scion’s patterns are contemporary but still lush enough to be welcoming. Curtains in Rosehip, chair in Lace, wallpaper in Flight, all from Melinkt Two. Available in New Zealand from Malcolm Fabrics.

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White is right

A little while ago I posted on an all-white interior that I didn't think worked. Here's a few that do. I've reblogged them from annaleenashem.blogspot.com, the blog of Swedish interiors stylist Annaleena Karlsson.

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Pedestrian pile

Oprah has re-listed her huge Chicago apartment for US$2.8m, less than half of the US$6m she wanted for it when she first put it on the market in 2008. Global recessions aside, I can't say I'm surprised. Fab views of Lake Michigan notwithstanding, it's hardly spectacular from an interiors point of view. (And I can't even begin to guess how much she would have paid an interior designer.) Only room I'd like to hang out in is the wood-paneled TV room. And even a dinner conversation with Oprah herself wouldn't make the dining room interesting. Unlike the person who owns it, it's all a bit blah.

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'Kitchenzilla'

These are the images that have inspired our new kitchen. They are all very sleek and minimalist; quite unlike anything I've ever chosen before but somehow right for the house. Their simplicity puts a huge emphasis on detail – one of the reasons why I found myself almost having a complete meltdown at Kitchenworks a week or so ago. There to finalise the kitchen plans, we were told that although the inners of our  cupboards and drawers are going to be black, the hardware required to make the drawers close properly (we're not having handles, just touch latches) only comes in grey and white. This meant I would be looking into a black drawer with contrasting white/grey plastic panels on the side. I suspect I may be the only woman in the world to care, but care I do. Problem was, at that stage (all the materials had already been purchased) there appeared to be no other option. It took a few deep breaths and the steadying influence of Stu to get me to accept it all and move on. I resigned myself to covering the black drawer bottoms with grey non-slip mats and mentally crossed my fingers it would look ok. And, then, a few days later I get a call from Tony, the Kitchen Guy. They had managed to source a new brand of drawer hardware that – joy –  actually comes in black (and had done some clever wrangling to ensure it didn't cost any more). By now, a little over my 'Kitchenzilla' moment, I felt vaguely embarrassed. But very grateful; I know I shall appreciate our kitchen-maker's willingness to go that extra mile every time I reach into the drawer for a knife and fork.

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Nerves are natural... I think!

Our lovely kitchen (not) is no more and the wall between it and the dining room has been knocked out. This gives us a chance to actually see the space – rather than imagine it through an architect's eye – and work out whether our kitchen will look any good. I'm really excited that it will. One of the things I'm learning is that no matter how developed your eye is, when it's your own project nerves are natural. If I'm styling a cover, consulting on an interior or helping someone with their wardrobe, I'm always confident that what I'm recommending will turn out well. (I guess that's just as well since it's my occupation!) But when it comes to our home – or my own wardrobe for that matter – there's always a degree of anxiety. It's probably cos I'm a control freak... I didn't actually design or draw up the space myself... but one of the things I'm learning from all of this is how much creative buzz you can get out of a project like a renovation or house build even if the design itself is essentially in the hands of someone else. The guy who remodeled our home is an architect called Dean Mackenzie, and the process of how he approached it was illuminating. It was (unexpectedly) connective and very reassuring. He caught hold of our vision and reflected it back to us perfectly. I guess it's all in the communication: 'how to speak to your architect/builder etc so it doesn't all turn to custard'. But more on that later...

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