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 4

It's that time of the week again - how quickly it rolls around - I happened to miss HomeMADE when it screened Tuesday night as I was out of town at a client meeting, but made up for it on the BigPond site the next day. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of much of the work this week - not sure why that was, I just couldn't imagine it in my own space, but I think it worked well in the identical homes. Here's a handful of highlights:



I really liked Darren's remake of a study space - the Audrey panels and the lush rug.



Matt's bedroom makeover for little Sophie was a great one: very bright, fun, lots of attention to the little details. The surfboard above the bed looked really cute too. I'm sure she'll love her new room. I was sad to see him go this week, he seemed to be an earnest and hardworking designer who perhaps just got a bit of a case of the nerves.



Chontelle's bedroom makeover was another highlight: very soft, romantic and restful. Candles above bed were really lovely. Chontelle is very consistent in her rooms and always does a great job, she's leading the pack in terms of delivering beautiful rooms every week.



Jason's kitchen was immaculate, another leader. I'm starting to think that he's a bit of a dark horse to win - most seem to discredit him based on the fact he's been designing for 10 months but he's proved he should be in the competition over and over and over...



It's no secret I'd like Richie to win - he's lovely and a great designer - and I think I am including his bathroom as I like him as a designer, even if I don't absolutely love his room this week. A touch of green always looks lovely with that colour scheme. I actually just read on the HomeMADE website that Richie is an interior decorator with a degree in graphic design AND a landscape artist! Pretty impressive.

I guess it's getting down to the business end - three designers each team - it seems apparent that Annie will get voted out of the competition at some point soon as no one wants to work with her, but I believe they'll probably keep her in for entertainment value!

HomeMADE Week 3

I keep hearing mixed reviews of how the Australian viewers are enjoying "HomeMADE", I hope it doesn't get canceled due to poor viewing statistics! Another week, another episode, here are my highlights:



Jason's becoming quite a dark horse, another beautiful bedroom makeover pictured above, I think if it were me I could have gone crazy in that room with greenery, palms, etc. I love what he did with the picture frames (painting gold frames white to match the room) and also the cushions were a great choice that really paid off. He also did a wonderful job in his living area, by placing two blue-striped wicker chairs which just popped - I agreed with the judges, they were a great choice.



Here you can see Jason's living area and part of Richie's dining area. I wasn't a huge fan of Richie's room this week (which feels bad considering I love all of his work so far) but I think turning a little room into a scullery was a great idea!



Chontelle's crisp bathroom makeover - such an improvement on the small lavender bathroom originally! Chontelle used really large glossy tiles which she said gave the illusion of making the space bigger - which was a good tip.



Annie re-designed the kitchen, which made the space very big and stylish. I think a kitchen island in the middle would have finished it off and made the space more practical, but she did a great job. Also, the wall colour was more of a rich brown on screen, which I adored against the clean white.



Leonie's 'white on white' bedroom makeover was another highlight. She re-arranged the bed on David's suggestion and it vastly improved the room.

It was a shame to see Stacey go - although I wasn't crazy about either of her rooms this week, I think she acted with a lot of dignity and professionalism during the show. She seemed to speak from experience a lot of the time, and really focused on working as part of a team, rather than an individual designer. She also wore really cute dresses to each of the elimination shows! I'm sure she'll go on to great things.

Looking forward to the next episode, as always. This is becoming such an interesting show to watch in that I'm learning a lot about interior decorating. It would be lovely to have a $50,000 budget to work with, but even the little tips in re-using what they've already got are appreciated.

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!

HomeMADE

The first episode of HomeMADE, a new series about a weekly suburban home makeover challenge for 10 aspiring interior designers, was on tonight and I loved it. There was lots of cute, trendy designers, stress at not meeting deadlines (a lot of "We're running out of time" type lines were said, which is fair enough under such tight deadlines:2 days for bedrooms, 3 for kitchens, lounges, bathrooms...), unusual room makeovers and the crucial tell-it-like-it-is designer host, David Heimann, who did a great job of convincing me that any home can be made over with a limited budget. His best line, and I paraphrase, was something along the lines of, "A good designer can get the effect of silk on a canvas budget" and even though our current home decorating budget is more akin to sandwich bags rather than canvas, I still found the show inspiring.

I wish I had thought to apply!

For a sneak peak at the rooms these guys made over, you can check out the current issue of Real Living magazine.

Dorm Decor

I kind of feel like I'd like this book - just from the cover - is that a bad thing?



""Dorm Decor" combines interior design and craft with more than 35 projects that help students add personality, organization, and comfort to their otherwise unadorned dorm rooms. Straightforward instructions and ready-to-use patterns make it fun and easy to create bold rugs and lampshades, oversize floor pillows, custom bedding, curtains, laptop cozy, and much more. Inspiring photos of fully decorated dream rooms, how-to illustrations, step-by-step directions, and small-space floor plans make it simple to pull off, all before the semester starts."

I don't think I ever grew out of wanting the coolest bedroom around - even as a kid, I was constantly rearranging and reassembling my little living space with the eye of a future designer (or so I thought!). This project in particular grabbed my attention as a way of making your space your own, without spending a whole heap of cash. And to be honest, well, this book excerpt had me at "deer templates".

Link via How About Orange.

Green Is Good

I've noticed this on quite a few of my daily blog reads, and, well, green plus a cute bird is a winner with me!

Bird on Log Pillow by Matte Stephens from Urban Outfitters.



Image © Urban Outfitters.

See also: Baby Bird Pillow.

Pattern Inspiration, Home Design & Paper Flowers

Some of my favorite Apartment Therapy images from this week (images are linked to their articles):

Shawna's wallpapered stairs
Such a simple idea but beautifully executed.



Chanel 2009 Haute Couture
Paper flowers = love. This is on such a massive scale it makes my hands ache in sympathy!









Images © Apartment Therapy.

Plates from Anthropologie

Whitney at Brown Sugar Design (which is one of my new favourite blogs) posted these amazing plates that are available from Anthropologie, and I immediately fell in love.


Image above © Anthropologie.

Also, for a bit of a laugh (or cry): Murphy's Law: Graphic Design.

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!

I Do Not Like the Hot Weather

Today it was 40 degrees in Bendigo. Quite normal for this part of Australia during summer but no more bearable, despite experiencing 26 summers worth of it. I think James, Oscar and I would have happily boarded the next plane to Iceland, if given the opportunity.

One thing I did find cool (oh, yes, that pun was intended) was spotting my favourite actress/songstress, the lovely (and soon to be Mrs. Ben Gibbard) Zooey Deschanel on the cover of Domino Magazine, which features a tour of her home.



Apart from usually being snapped impeccably dressed in a way it seems only she can get away with, Ms. Deschanel also seems to have fabulous taste when it comes to her colourful home (some girls are just blessed with all the right types of creativity...)



I always dreamed of having a room dedicated to music, and I could see myself quite happily pottering around in a cute vintage sundress, crooning away (badly). Domino mentions "bright blue walls, stripes and hounds tooth nod to '60s Brit rock, while vintage furniture and crisp paneling keep things ladylike." I like the sound of that!

Dear Santa, I'm getting in early, but I'd really like: a) blue walls b) a fringe and c) to be Zooey Deschanel when I grow up. Kthnx.

Photos above by Stewart Shining for Domino Magazine
February 2009
Image copyright Domino magazine, Conde Nast publications, New York, NY.