HomeMADE: Final Post

I feel dreadful I left updating this poor little blog so long: I was going so well whilst HomeMADE was on, it's left a rather large hole in my viewing schedule! To wrap that particular issue up (in case anyone was sitting on the edge of their seat to find out what I thought?!) I am very happy Jason won. He consistently created beautiful rooms throughout the whole HomeMADE competition. If I were a betting woman, I would have probably put my money on Richie, but I think, in reflection, Jason was a more consistent candidate and was just such a gentleman throughout. The room Chontelle and Richie put together in week seven was just fabulous - all black and white French chic, and I loved it.







If you are looking around for some interior decorating inspiration, flicking through the picture galleries on the HomeMADE website is a great way to get some ideas for simple design concepts and how to really pull together a room with accessories and styling. I know I walked away from watching the entire series with lots of ideas for decorating our own home and I honestly learned quite a lot about the decorating process in general. I tuned in to this series with great interest as generally, I don't watch a lot of television and I was excited to see something relating to serious interior design made by an Australian network. I hope this is the first of a few more shows like it.

The big news, in a non-television front, is that two exciting things have happened to my little business over the past month and I will be elaborating on these over the next few days, but thought my blog in desperate need for an update!

More regular blogging from now on, it's a promise!

HomeMADE Week 5

Week 5 eh? Yikes! I think everyone saw it coming this week re: elimination episode. Oh well. On with the rooms highlights (there's only a few this week)!



Jason put together a GORGEOUS bathroom (which actually involved a bathroom/study room swap, which was ambitious but worked out to be a great idea). I love the dark walls, the clean white details, the gold mirror above the sink. It was really really lovely.



Leonie's kitchen was amazing - a risk that really paid off - it was this dark dark charcoal/black on one side, paired with lots of clean white and grey. The chalkboard was such cute idea. Leonie's style is distinctive, very modern, even artistic with a few feminine touches - and more often than not, it works SO well.



Richie's guest bedroom was funky - I liked the over-saturated cream/champagne and blue, I think it worked against the white of the furniture. The little nook near the window was lovely too.

2 designers against 3 next week and the show will now only be shown on Tuesdays (well, I THINK, after last time, well, I will tune in Sunday just in case!). I think poor Darren will cop it this week. Seems hard to come up against the cool kids of Chontelle, Leonie, Richie and Jason. Will be sad to see this show finish in a few weeks time!

Working out your Interior Design Style

At Sproost.com, you can find a Furniture and Interior Design Style Quiz, which I actually did a few months back and found to be pretty spot-on in terms of a style that I knew I tended toward, but had no idea what it was called! The quiz takes you through a series of photos, of which you rate, either that you love, like, feel neutral about, dislike or hate, and narrows down your taste accordingly.

I just did the quiz again, for fun, and this was my result: My style is a combination of French Eclectic, Classic and Modern Elegance.



French Eclectic: "Parlez-vous français? Even if the answer is no, you can confidently say your home does! French Eclectic somehow manages to be both formal and casual, classy and unassuming at the same time. You like your spaces to feel inviting from the moment you (or your guest) opens the front door and this feeling should continue even after you've entered your most formal room. Even though there are French antiques here and gold details there, the rustic country elements provide a balance and warmth that seems to say, "come in, relax and stay a while." Your love of antiques leads you to flea markets, garage sales and hours of eBay hunting."
(Source of image above: Sproost.com and http://www.sunset.com/)



Classic: "What's old is new again! The beauty of Classic style is how well it takes all of the beautiful forms, colors and textures of the past and reinvents them in a way that feels both fresh and inspired. The style itself is a mix of European influences and French, English and Italian antiques and replicas are often used together. Furniture is well proportioned and comfortable and the rooms give off an air of sophistication and grace. Oil paintings depicting still-life or nature scenes and emphasizing symmetry of pairs helps maintain the traditional nature of the room. Windows are often covered with opulent fabric shades and/or drapery.
Traditional rooms give off an air of history that seems to say "I was here long before you, and will remain long after you've gone." And yet, even with this level of sophistication, the rooms are soft and inviting."
(Source of image above: Sproost.com and http://www.traditionalhome.com/)



Modern Elegance: "Variety is the spice of life! And nowhere is this truer than in the design of your home... You either love contemporary but wish it wasn't quite so cold and austere; or perhaps you've always been drawn to more traditional rooms but are now at a point in your life where you'd like to pair down a bit or want to create a less cluttered and busy space. Transitional Style is here to marry those apparent contradicting designs. And guess what — it's the contradictions that make the mix of contemporary and traditional so successful. The result is an elegant room that appeals to young and old alike. A sofa with modern lines blends seamlessly with a pair of traditional chairs. New fabrics work so well on antique pieces. It turns out that modern art looks even more exciting above a collection of traditional pieces. The room feels simple and sophisticated, elegant and hip."
(Source of image above: Sproost.com)

Try this quiz and see what your style is, it may guide you through future design endeavors!

PS. Feeling a little disgruntled about the way HomeMADE has been advertised on television over the past week. Promos had seemed to have said that the show would only be "now on Tuesday nights" from last week onwards, so when I happened upon the show last night (Sunday night) by chance, I had missed ten minutes! I wonder if anyone else did the same thing?

HomeMADE Week 2

As you may have guessed, I'm really loving HomeMADE, which is currently airing on Australian television, both shows have become regular viewing. Here are some highlights from last night's show that I really liked and will use as inspiration into my own home:



Chontelle's dark kitchen and Annie's choice of wallpaper - just gorgeous and worked really well side by side! I can't say I'm a huge fan of either, but I think they made great choices for their rooms this week. For those interested, the wallpaper is ‘Lace’ by Catherine Martin, from Porter's Paint.



I really liked Leonie's bathroom renovation - it looks bright and airy thanks to putting in a skylight (a great idea for any dark spots). Leonie is a favorite of mine as she seems to keep her head well during the stressful moments of the show.



Jason's canvas artwork above the bed - such a simple idea but really well executed and the red looks great amongst the grey, white and champagne. I love the palette of this room!



Richie's room made my heart sing for that amazing wallpaper (something that I'm sure many viewers also hated!) and also the wall of photos of the homeowner's homeland of Ireland - such a lovely touch! Richie is proving to be a favourite of mine for his amazing style and that lovely Queensland drawl of his!

It should be interesting to watch the show as it progresses, I think there is going to be a lot more competition, less 'We all get on great!' behind the scenes!

Confession: I Obsess over Oprah Guest Decorators

I was having lunch with my lovely friend Leah today when the conversation, as it often does, got onto the topic of home decorating. Leah's facing the exciting/daunting prospect of decorating her new house a bit later this year, and when we were talking about choosing colour schemes, I launched into a rant about how much I love Nate Berkus (of Oprah fame) and his style of decorating, in particular, a re-decorate he did of his small NYC apartment that featured black doors as a design accent - such a cool and classy look and one I intend to do one day when we have a 'grown up' house.



Pictures above © Small Place Style and William Waldron - I'm so pleased to find pictures of these doors as they were haunting my dreams!

I realized that I really do get fixated on Oprah's guest stars, so much so that I openly hope, when switching on the TV at around 1pm, that it will be a special that features the work of Nate or organization expert Peter Walsh... I even kind of find Dr. Oz charming. And don't even get me started on Colin Cowie - the day I came home on a lunch break and realised he was talking for a WHOLE. SHOW. about event design, I don't think I breathed for 40 minutes.

I don't know why I love these shows so much. They use products I can't buy because I'm in the wrong hemisphere and wage bracket. But I've always been intrigued by the notion that with a little inspiration, know-how, and enough plastic containers, you can transform any space into something beautiful and organised (my two favourite ideals).

I caught a little of a segment the other day where Peter and interior decorator Candice Olson (who does these incredible before/after sketches... please tell me she doesn't ACTUALLY predict the room that accurately?) were called in to de-clutter and makeover the space of a girl called Marin who was a little bit messy. I could actually relate to the state of her wardrobe, so I was keen to see what magic they could work.

BEFORE:



Pictures above © Oprah.com

And I'm totally in love with the AFTER:




Pictures above © Oprah.com

The wardrobe was set up like a clothing store's shelves. The lounge room was funky and sharp and looked like a great place to hang out. Her study space was beautifully organized, and I think I remember they moved her bed from one end of the apartment to the other and it completely opened it up. The result was this hip, lovely space - complete with wall decals by Blik (another addition to the Lyndsay & James dream house).

I wonder how one lands such a job - I doubt I could be one of Oprah's designer/decorator types as Peter Walsh is probably the token Australian, but I can always dream!