AMazing Interiors: 2011

Saturday 24 December 2011

Holiday Feasting

An eye-catching tablecloth and fresh flowers - what more do you need?

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Yesterday I paid a visit to one of my favourite stores, Sibella Court's The Society inc. in Paddington. Overflowing with delightful handmade treasures from all over, I always find the shop so inspiring.

Full of Christmas cheer, there were glitter origami, felted unicorn, paper flowers and other gorgeous bits and pieces to give this festive season a much-needed injection of sparkle and colour in the face of the awful weather Sydney has been experiencing.

Sunday 18 December 2011

Red: A DIY Story

Recently I wrote about the power of the colour red. This time I wanted to share with you how to seamlessly thread this strong hue into your decor.

I like to follow the 60:30:10 rule: when choosing colours for a room, stick to three because this is enough to make it interesting without clashing or confusing. Then, rather than using equal amounts of each colour, divide them into 60%, 30% and 10%. The main colour should cover around 60% of the space i.e. the walls, add 30% of the second colour i.e. major furniture pieces and flooring, and the final 10% is a third colour that brings the whole scheme together and creates accents where you want them. In my case, that colour is red.

There are a lot of ways to introduce the accent colour into your existing decor. You can start slowly, on a small scale with maybe just a photo frame on your nightstand and then add a little more in the form of decorative boxes stacked beside it.

Fresh flowers are the most obvious and easiest way to bringing colour into your home.

But, if you're a little more adventurous and into DIYs, here are a few projects of mine in which I used red.

When my daughter requested extra room for her ever-growing book collection, I thought I'd go for something other than the traditional bookshelf. What I ended up buying is a leaning bathroom storage unit from BednBath that was originally white. By painting it a vermillion colour and adding some little treasures for a personal touches, the shelf not only provides some much-needed storage but also makes a point of interest out of an otherwise utilitarian landing space.

This project was born when we bought this funky sculpture made by a friend of ours, Toni Pinkus. The challenge here was to find the perfect stand that was in the step with the sculpture, would be a statement piece on its own but not overpowering the artwork, thereby achieving harmony between the two pieces. Consideration had to be given to the proportion, colour and style of the stand. Finally, everything had to be in sync with the existing decor of the living room space.

After unsuccessfully browsing the net for hours, I decided to go with a design of my own. As I wanted to involve my husband in the project, I had to come up with something that could be created by somebody who wasn’t a handyman by trade but did know his way around a hammer and nail. I chose a U-shape and determined the size of the vertical part of the structure by applying that centuries-old nugget loved by artists of all times, the golden ratio, 1:3.

As for the colour, using the same 60:30:10 rule, I chose red again so as to add contrast to the room’s otherwise neutral colour palette and to create a focal point.

Armed with measurements and a sketch, we made a trip to our local timber yard where we purchased cut-to-measure wood, strong glue and nails. Next stop was the art and craft supplies store where I purchased red acrylic paint and a roller brush. The rest, as they say, is history.

These bowls were bought over numerous trips to South Africa, at Greenmarket Square in Cape Town. Made by people from the township, the bowls are papier-mache using a variety of wrappers from sardines, matchboxes etc. Because they’re made out of paper, the bowls don’t have much use other than as receptacles for peanut, which nobody in my family likes anyway. But, remembering the quip from the Freedom Furniture ads, “think outside the square you live in”, I was inspired to mount the bowls on a blank canvas that I had lying around in the storage room. Lacking red paint, I instead covered the canvas in red tissue paper saved from a Mother’s Day present. Then I simply glued the bowls on top of the papered canvas and hung it on the wall. The result was more interesting and effective than I had expected; the contrast between the red, yellow and blue and the repetition of the sardines and other fish draws the eye every time. I can't help but smile when as I watch guests trying to figure out what they're actually looking that.

When it comes to being creative, anything and everything goes!

Thursday 15 December 2011

Who Framed Who?

Hi All,

You may have noticed that I changed the picture in my header. I really like this arrangement and wanted to share it with you.

As promised, this post is about a recent DIY project of mine: framing and hanging a photo gallery. There are two things that led me to this idea: 1) I recently completed a graphic design course where I learnt my way around Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Some of you might smile and think, “Where has this person been in the last 10 years and how has she survived without using these tools?” Well, finally equipped and dangerous, I decided to put my newly-acquired skills to the test. And, when it comes to interior decorating, there’s no better guinea pig than your own home; 2) my home is split into two levels with both walls leading up the staircase blank except for one painting hung at the bottom of the stairs.

So, I decided to create a photo gallery on one of the walls. I have to be up front – this is not an easy task. It takes time and patience to put together a collection of images that are not only interesting but also complement the existing décor.

I started with only six frames so that if it worked out well, I could add more as I went along and became more adventurous.

The one painting already hanging on the wall is monochromatic with a yellow accent. Applying the elements and principles of design, I took inspiration from this colour scheme and chose white paint for the frames with a matching grey mat (or mount). I should mention to you that I love picture frames and strongly believe you can frame almost anything, transforming the most trivial everyday object into a statement piece. But that’s a topic for another post.

Original wall

I also wanted to add some character and texture to the frames. I achieved this by giving them a light scrub with sand paper and slapping some grey paint here and there.

Next, I selected the pictures my family and our guests wouldn’t mind seeing as often as they climb up and down the stairs. Family photos were my original idea but I decided against it because: a) these are already displayed enough in our bedrooms; b) both my husband and I think such photos are a private affair and c) I wanted to be able to utilise Photoshop tools. After screening hundreds of saved images, I settled on those that highlighted the places we’d visited over the years and dream of seeing again.

Despite being an absolute Photoshop amateur, I had a lot of fun adjusting the pictures, mostly using the Image and Filter tools. To my surprise, the effects were quite stunning, my favourite being one of the Brooklyn Bridge with the colours inverted.

The last part of the project proved to be the trickiest: positioning the frames. I strongly recommend cutting a newspaper to the same size as your frame and using something like Blu-Tack (that’s a removable adhesive for you non-Antipodeans) to attach it the wall. Take a step back, take a photo and walk away. The following day, have another look at the arrangement with fresh, focused eyes. I also suggest viewing the photos on your computer so that you can have a closer look without losing perspective nor having to crane your neck!

Work in Progress

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So please take a look and I would love to know what you think!

Job's done!

Saturday 3 December 2011

From Riches to rags

Hi All,

I have done it again, I have completely neglected my faithful readers and for that I apologise.

On the other hand, I have been busy with a few projects that I will share with you in my next post, and it is not an empty promise, truly.

But for now, I would like to continue to share with you some more photos from my trip to the US of A. This lot represents some very funny and some downright crazy shop fronts and signs.