“Please contact me if you would like a consultation or further information about any of the products you see here at Decorum.”Archive for September 2010
Colour in Echuca
Greetings from Australia’s Paddlesteamer Capital – Echuca.
Paddlesteamer Canberra
I’ve just dropped in to show you a few of the buildings in this river town that have caught my eye.
Local house painted in grey
Cute house with wide verandahs
Now an office in Echuca
Echuca Post Office now a cafe
I loved seeing all these old buildings with clever colour placement on their exteriors.
If you would like assistance in choosing the colours for your home, contact us to arrange a consultation.
On the road again
Tomorrow we’re heading off for our annual holiday.
We have tickets for Mary Poppins and Hairspray stage shows in Melbourne so decided to incorporate a detour and make the most of the break.
We visit Melbourne annually, as many of the trade shows are held there, so we thought we’d take a look at the countryside between Sydney and Melbourne this time.
Sydney, Echuca, Daylesford, Melbourne, Sydney
Back in the ’70′s my family would drive from Brisbane to Melbourne every other year to visit friends. We would take a different route each time and see different parts of the country. In 1975 we visited Mt Macedon and tasted mineral water direct from a spring in the ground. This was way before people were espousing it’s virtues and everyone carried a bottle of water with them wherever they went. We thought it tasted like rusty batteries!
Tasting Mineral Water at Mt Macedon in 1975
I haven’t been back to this are since, and as my husband is an Irish import, he’s never been at all! I’m looking forward to seeing what has changed.
Apparently, a lot! I’ve been scouring every magazine and blog for the past 6 months building a little black book of places to visit and things to see.
I’m looking forward to visiting Shed 4 courtesy of The Design Files.
David Bromely artwork via dailyserving.com
There are now heaps of holiday rentals in and around Daylesford including Comma which look very stylish but a bit too big for the three of us.
Studio Suite at Comma
We have rented a cute little cottage for a few days and will visit the Farmers’ Markets and Food and Wine Fair as well as check out the towns in the vicinity. I might even have a massage.
Our first stop tomorrow evening is the town of Echuca. If you were in Australia in the ’80′s surely you remember the television series, All The Rivers Run? It starred John Waters and Sigrid Thornton and was set in Echuca on a paddle steamer on the Murray River.
All The Rivers Run
So think of us as we cruise down the highway winding our way from Sydney to Melbourne and back again.
Image via www.dailyserving.com
Before and After
You may remember I mentioned last week that I had spent a day photographing some of the houses I have been working on.
Original Front Gable
Each year, or thereabouts, I book a day with the lovely Lyn Johnston and we do a circuit of my recent projects. It’s so much fun to revisit these homes and see how the family is enjoying their new spaces.
Freshly Painted Front Gable
In most cases, I take a number of happy snaps on my first visit. This is mainly to help me remember the layout, colours, styles and features of the home which we may want to change or that need attention.
Original Back of House
It’s always alot of fun going back through these initial photos and comparing them to the end results.
Freshly painted back of house
One thing that makes a HUGE difference is a lick of paint. Of course, choosing a colour that sits harmoniously with the surroundings, architecture and family is imperative and creates a really individual family home.
Original Window
If you would like assistance choosing paint colours for your home, contact us to enquire about our colour consulting services.
Freshly painted window
All A Flutter
Many years ago, when we lived in Hong Kong, one of the places I liked taking guests to visit, was the Bird Market. It is a park in the middle of Hong Kong with stall holders selling birds and all the accessories including boxes of live crickets!
Hong Kong Bird Market
Apart from tourists, the park was full of men taking their birds for a “walk”.They would bring their charges in their cages and hang them on branches next to other birds in cages for their social outing. A bit like us taking our dogs to the dog park.
Bird Walking In Hong Kong
The timber cages are very elaborate and many of the expats would buy a cage or two as a souvenir. One lady I knew had about 10 cages hanging from the ceiling in her kitchen. I bought a cage and cute little ceramic feeders.
Bought in Hong Kong
I have it sitting on the shelf in my kitchen and it reminds me, each of day, of our time in Hong Kong.
My Kitchen
Lately I have been noticing many interiors with bird cages used in the decor.
via Design Shimmer
Comma, a holiday home in Daylesford,Victoria has used bird cages as light fittings.
Comma in Daylesford via The Design Files
I visited a client the other day and noticed she had two cages on the top of her book cases.
Birdcages belonging to a client
And at the Gift Fair last week, they were everywhere. They were used in displays for cosmetics and also as decor items at a number of suppliers.
Trade Display by Perfect Pieces
Bird Cages from DWBH Homewares
I think they make an interesting feature in a room, even without a bird to sing to you.
Photographer Gentl & Hyers
Or outdoors above a beautifully set table.
via Weddings on the French Riviera
Or just sitting on the sideboard.
Meg Adams via House of Turquoise
Wherever you put them, I think they look tweet!
If you would like assistance, creating your harmonious environment, contact us for an online or in person consultation.
What a week
Do you know all those colloquial Australian sayings about flies and chickens? Well that’s what I feel like this week.
Blue A@#% Fly by Nutmeg 66 via Flickr
It’s been HUGE and I can’t believe it’s Friday, yet again!
The week started with a full day with my lovely photographer, Lyn Johnston, visiting 5 of my past clients and photographing their homes. I can’t wait to see the shots and put them up on my website.
Lyn Johnston hard at work outdoors
Lyn Johnston Photography
Then I turned another year older. Uugghh!
Photo via picsicio.us
I had a day at the Gift and Homewares fair checking out all the new things. (More on that next week)
Reed Gift and Homewares Fair
And then I had a full day at business seminar, which was wonderful to take the time out of the office but now I have massive paperwork to do.
And then there was the Spring Launch Party at Strand Agencies with all their suppliers and stock.
Strand Agencies Showroom
Hamptons Style Furniture by Xavier Furniture
Today is our 16th wedding anniversary and tomorrow I’m heading to Brisbane for the weekend to help a friend celebrate his 50th birthday.
via en.fotolia.com
I do hope you’ve all had a productive and enjoyable week and I look forward to getting back to regular posts next week.
via Getty Images
I will be sending out my monthly newsletter too. If you would like to receive a copy, full of tips and trends, advice on where to shop and how to use colour in your home, sign up here.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Flowers, flowers everywhere
I don’t venture into the heart of the city very much. However, I do like to have a trip in each year in early Spring to see the David Jones floral display.
Each September, our eminent department store, David Jones holds a floral display in their Elizabeth Street store in Sydney. In amongst the perfume and make-up counters and ladies accessories, you will find the most stunning floral arrangements.
For the past 7 years, I’ve been reminding myself that “next year” I’ll get in early and book into the guided tour but each year I forget and they are well and truly booked out come September.
My Dad is a big flower lover. He did the table decorations for my wedding. His photo albums are full of photos of flower arrangements he’s taken across the world.
So these photos are for you, Dad. Seeing you’re not here in Sydney to join me in the city, I hope you enjoy and have a very Happy Father’s Day.
And a very Happy Father’s Day to all the dads.
If you would like assistance in creating YOUR harmonious environment, contact us for an online or in person consultation.
Do we labour too much?
I have been working on a colour scheme for an Aged Care facility for the past two weeks.
It’s tricky. There are so many things to consider as there are so many areas to the building and they all need some colour for one reason or another.
I’ve been calling on my colour psychology knowledge and choosing orange (friendly) for activity spaces, red (stimulates the appetite) for dining areas, green (calm) for sensory rooms, yellow (uplifting) for contemplative spaces.
I have had to make sure the tones work with the existing floor coverings and powder coated window frames.
So as you can imagine, I’ve had paint chips spread all over the place.
Finally today, I settled on a number of colours for one of the buildings and put them all together. I was pretty pleased with the result.
And then I found these sitting on my daughter’s desk.
She’d spent five minutes at Bunnings on the weekend, pulling out the colours she liked from the paint section.
Maybe I’ve spent too much time labouring on this job and in future should just get my 10 year old to randomly select the colours. You must admit, they’re pretty close!
And welcome to Spring. I’m so pleased to see you. My favourite, colourful season.
If you would like assistance in creating YOUR harmonious environment, contact us for an online or in person consultation.
