Decorum » Bathrooms

The Wash Up

Jennifer — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:53:10 +0000

Remember at the beginning of the week I was racing off to check out a bathroom we’d been working on?

Ensuite ready to be tiled

It looked fabulous and the client is so happy with the extra room they now have.

Shower area in esuite ready for tiling

You see, there was a spare bedroom next to the master bedroom that had become the family dump-all. We all have those, right? And next to that was a long walk in linen closet.

Floor plan of proposed alterations

As you can see, the spare bedroom was home to drum kits, extra clothes, bench press and husband’s paraphenalia.

Spare Bedroom Before

So we decided to convert the two areas into a walk-in wardrobe and ensuite bathroom. This involved knocking holes in walls, relocating the access door to the master bedroom and creating a new linen cupboard.

New walk in wardrobe

Then, seeing we were giving the home an ensuite, we decided the existing upstairs bathroom needed updating too.

New Ensuite

Ensuite Shower

The shower was under the window, which wasn’t ideal, so we moved things around and gave the room a more streamlined look by getting rid of the feature tiles and installing a frameless shower screen.

Bathroom Before

New Bathroom

New bathroom vanity

The family home has a separate toilet next to the bathroom so we updated it with a back-to-wall suite and lay new tiles the same as in the bathroom.

New toilet

The end result is a better use of space for this family as well as giving everything a fresh new look.

If you would like assistance with your family home renovation, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.

Bathroom Niches

Jennifer — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:46:50 +0000

Morning!

Just racing out the door to visit a client who has finally finished their second floor alterations. We changed a bedroom to a dressing room and ensuite, gave the original bathroom a makeover and had new carpet laid.

One thing I love in a bathroom is a bit of display space. A niche where you can display lovely bottles of perfume or some fluffy towels just seems to soften the room that is usually full of hard surfaces.

What about you? Do you like open shelving or do all those dust collectors bother you?

If you would like assistance creating a new look for your bathroom, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.

PS. I’m afraid I have had these in my folder of tear sheets for ages and so have no idea where they are from. Most likely, I’ve ripped them out of House and Garden, Home Beautiful, Inside Out or Queensland Homes magazines over the last 10 years. I do apologise.

Cool Things

Jennifer — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:06:17 +0000

I received an email last week with a load of photos of cool things for interiors.

I love Pacman

I thought a few of them were actually quite cool. Have a look, what do you think?

Nice to have an option

Me thinks this might be nightmare material

All the morning rituals

New look sunken lounge

Space saving bookcase

Would you like assistance creating a cool interior in your home? Contact us for an on-line or in person design consultation.

Seven Top Tips For Bathroom Renovating

Jennifer — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:07:29 +0000

I’m currently working on three bathrooms for three clients, so seem to be dreaming about bathrooms lately.

I thought I’d share my seven top tips worth considering when you are renovating your bathroom

To make the floor area look larger, lay square floor tiles on the diagonal.
To make the ceiling feel higher lay rectangular wall tiles upright.
Bathroom by Inside Out Colour and Design Photography by Lyn Johnston
To make the room feel wider, lay rectangular wall tiles on their side.
For ease of cleaning and neatness of the room, choose a Back To Wall toilet.
The ideal ighting is either side of the mirror at head height. It casts a warm healthy glow on your face and makes applying makeup or shaving easier.
Bathroom at Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver
Wall hung vanities make the room look bigger and the floor easier to clean.
If you are not tiling to the ceiling, keep the horizontal line of the room the same – shower screen, door, window, mirror and tile height should be the same.
Bathroom by Lewin Wertheimer via desire2inspire

If you would like assistance renovating your bathroom, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.

Saturday in Design 2011

Jennifer — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:58:03 +0000

Well after a wet and miserable Friday, the sun came out shining on Saturday for Saturday in Design 2011.

We started our day at Reece who always serve a fabulous breakfast. Orange juice, Bircher muesli and Brushetta with smoked salmon. All while checking out the new range of toilets and basins.

via Reece website

Next door to Reece at Surry Hills is Poliform. They have my dream wardrobes as well as other furniture items. Their Miele display kitchen was getting a workout and we were able to give our stamp of approval to the egg and prosciutto rolls that had just come out of the oven. Mmm mmm!

A short courtesy bus ride delivered us to Great Dane at Redfern. The showroom was full as guest designer Benjamin Hubert was about to explain his design process.

Great Dane

Tait Outdoor is right next door to Great Dane. I love their outdoor range. I’m not sure if it was coming out of a cold wet winter that made me think everything was so colourful or whether it was more colourful than past releases.

Colourful umbrellas

The street outside these showrooms was set up like a market with stalls providing an array of food options.

Market stalls

We then ventured further south to a specially leased warehouse that housed a number of displays. I love it when I find a new supplier or one I hadn’t used for a while. Giati Designs were showcasing their range of outdoor fabrics. 100% solution-dyed acrylics are guaranteed sunfast, durable, scrubbable, stain and mildew resistant. I hadn’t seen them before.

Range of outdoor fabrics

Also in the same venue was Bloom with their wonderful lit planter pots. These make spectacular talking pieces on a deck or in a courtyard with their warm glow in various colours. And they’ve recently released cubes in various sizes which make great outdoor seats.

Bloom Pots and other shapes

And next to Bloom was Wallcandy with a great range of wallpapers. I loved the shoe wallpaper.

Wallcandy Wallpapers

We left Waterloo and headed to Chippendale to Insitu. They have a great range of chairs for all occasions. Insitu had a lovely lunch set out so naturally we had to oblige. We enjoyed the atmosphere of the showroom for a while as we ate and planned our next port of call.

Lunch at Insitu

Hub Furniture was the place to be by the looks of the crowds in the showroom. A selection of rugs, lamps, sofas and chairs were on display as well as some funky homewares.

Favourite light fitting from Hub Furniture

Our last stop of the day was at Alexandria where we looked at Cosh Living, Ke-zu, Splash and Space before we headed home foot-sore and weary.

It was a great day, as usual, and fabulous to be able to see so many design precincts and showrooms all on the one day. Thanks to the organisers for arranging such a wonderful day.

What do you think of wallpaper?

Jennifer — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:40:17 +0000

I stumbled across a forum the other day where the topic of discussion was wallpaper. I was surprised to read that a number of people in the forum STRONGLY disliked wallpaper.

via superstock.com

However, I think many people are confusing today’s wallpaper with the papers that were most probably in their childhood homes. Those patterns were very busy in strong colours and the paper was difficult to both instal and remove. And the trend was to have just as much pattern on the soft furnishings and flooring as there was on the walls and curtains. No wonder we all had to have a Bex and a good lie down!

via decodir.com

Todays papers are much more elegant in their colour and design and are used in moderation.

A wall behind a bed that has been wallpapered looks fabulous.

Interior by Inside Out Colour and Design

Wallpaper under glass in the kitchen splashback creates interest and texture.

via Inside Out Magazine

Adventurous homeowners can even wallpaper the ceiling.

via cocokelleyblogspot.com

By using the wallpaper in moderation, it’s not that onerous a task to change it when required.

Wallpaper in the smallest room of the house via Pinkwallpaper.blogspot.com

So have I convinced you? Do you like today’s wallpapers or have you been scarred for life by the wallpapers of the 60′s and 70′s?

If you would like assistance choosing wallpaper for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.

Spoilt for choice

Jennifer — Tue, 17 May 2011 19:59:58 +0000

Wednesday, half way through the week and time to think about the weekend. And what a weekend it is too. Look at all the events, sales and shows that are on. Great for those planning to renovate or decorate their home.

First, there is the HIA Sydney Home Show at Darling Harbour which starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday. It’s a great place to wander around and gather some ideas and see what products are available.

via www.sydneyhomeshow.com.au

Or if you are in the midst of renovating or building and need some tiles or stone slabs, Aeria Country Floors is holding a Warehouse Sale at their factory in Frenchs Forest. The sale will get under way at 8.30am tomorrow morning at 2 Aquatic Drive, French’s Forest and will be open each day between 8.30 and 3.30 finishing on Sunday.

Stone Basin and Tiles form Aeria Country Floors

Read and Bell are having a Trunk Sale at Newtown. If you are looking for a touch of ethnicism for your wardrobe or decor, you must take a look.

Quilts from recycled saris via Read and Bell

Markets? Finders Keepers is on again in Sydney at Eveleigh on Friday night and all day Saturday.

Click Image for Source

Need new bedding? KAS Australia is holding a Warehouse Sale at their factory, 78 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria from 9 – 5 on Sautrday and Sunday. Items start from $5.

KAS Australia Faraday Bedding

If art is more your thang and you are in Melbourne, head over to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton for Art Melbourne. Over 80 galleries and 600 artists will be displaying their work and you could pick up a new piece for your home starting from $500.

via Art Melbourne website

And if you’re a US reader and happen to be in New York this weekend, Jonathan Adler is holding a Warehouse Sale at 513 Irving Ave, Bushwick, Brooklyn. You can expect 70% off furniture, rugs, lighting and homewares. Wish I was there. I just love his OTT style.

Jonathan Adler Interior Design

And if you are about to build or renovate but are overwhelmed with all the choices available and decisions to make, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.

Build A Room From Scratch

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 03:01:06 +0000

Live House Bathroom

Did you manage to venture over to the Hordern Pavilion during the past week? The Live House of the 30 Days of Home, Food and Entertaining was there for 7 days.

Live House Dining Room

I managed to squeeze in a couple of visits and took these photos of the “rooms” to show you.

Live House Family Dining Table

Girl's Bedroom

Boy's Bedroom

The lounge room came to life before my very eyes as I attended the Build A Room From Scratch workshop with Real Living Magazine Editor Deb Bibby and Senior Stylist Sarah Ellison.

Deb Bibby and Sarah Ellison before the transformations

They put together two rooms with completely different looks using all items from Freedom Furniture. As Deb said, ordinarily she wouldn’t recommend purchasing everything from the one place as it can end up looking too matchy, matchy with not much personality. However, Freedom have extended their range considerably over the years and now stock items from many different styles including industrial, provincial, modern, retro, and contemporary. Putting a little bit of everything into one room is challenging but does create a unique space.

Metropolitan Sofa from Freedom

Starting with a black leather sofa and 2 white leather swivel chairs, Sarah created a comfortable living room for adults.

Completed Room

The “other” room was to become the children’s TV room or fun family area. The swivel chairs were turned around to sit adjacent to the limited edition Digital Sofa which would become the main furniture piece in the room. The end result was a bright, fun space for relaxing and watching television or playing games.

Digital Sofa and side tables

Sarah layered items into the room keeping in mind proportion, colour and height of objects to give an interesting result.

Completed Fun Family Room

There’s still time to check out the remaining events of 30 Days of Home, Food and Entertaining before the end of the month.

If you would like assistance, building a room from scratch, or just layering some more pieces to give it that unique look, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.

Under or Over

Jennifer — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 07:35:59 +0000

I’m currently working on a number of bathrooms and one of the questions that keeps on cropping up is “What sort of basin should we have? One on top or one underneath?”

via Australian House and Garden Photographer Andrew Lehmann

The two most popular options at the moment seem to be basins that sit on top of the benchtop or basins that sit completely under the benchtop. I must admit the ones on top look pretty good in photographs but then I’m not convinced that they are practical. And being a Virgo, I’m all for practicality! So here’s my take on bathroom basins.

via Australian House and Garden Photographer Simon Kenny

The basins that sit on top of the vanity unit are called Vessel Basins. If you are going to have these then you need to have them deep enough so water won’t splash out when the tap is inadvertently turned on a little too hard. They require taps to be either wall mounted or a rather tall tap mounted on the benchtop. Both of these options will result in water being dripped on the benchtop when the tap is turned off with wet hands. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and depths so the world of vessel basins is really your oyster.

Parisi Basin

Undermount basins are the ones that seem to be suspended UNDER the benchtop. They are mainly square, round or oval in shape. Most require the taps to be mounted on the benchtop allowing for water to drip down when turning the tap off. The beauty with undermount sinks is that the water and dirt can be swept straight into the bowl making cleaning up a little bit easier.

via Molly Frey Design

I have managed to find a few of both undermounted and vessel basins that incorporate a tap shelf which alleviates all the dripping problems. Music to my ears, as not only are Virgos practical, they hate mess, too. Especially when they have to clean it up.

via Australain House and Garden Photographer Dan Magree

I’m often asked “Will vessel basins still be popular in 5 years time?” And unfortunately I have no idea. However, I have just received an email advertising the new Laufen range of basins designed by Alessi and the vessel basin is 40cm deep.

II Bagno Alessi One Half Tam Tam

So what basin would you choose, vessel or undermount?

If you would like assistance in creating your perfect bathroom, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.

Federation Style on Australia Day

Jennifer — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:13:23 +0000

One of the most popular style of houses around my area, is the Federation House. It was an early style of Australian architecture and consists of a sprawling, assymetrical structure. It often will have a verandah that encircles the house and roofs with gables, turrets and dormer windows.

via Domain

There are often unlikely angles, bay windows and towers at corners. It was developed to meet the demands of the prosperous middle classes who wanted to show off their new-found wealth that coincided with Federation itself in 1901. The Federation House borrowed styles from many countries and eras which is fitting for this melting pot of a nation, we call home.

via Domain

Inside the house, colours were muted but decoration was ornate. Australian motifs abound with flora and fauna both displayed in the plaster ceilings or used in fabrics, wallpaper or tiles.

from "The Federation House" by Hugh Fraser and Ray Joyce

Coloured glass or lead-light was used throughout Federation homes and the top panels of the front door often featured panels of colour in soft pastels with Art Nouveau or Australian motifs. Round bulls-eye windows as well as bay windows were popular. The bay window would often house a window seat which is such a versatile design.

Colour choice by Inside Out Colour and Design

Fortunately today, these houses are being remodelled (rather than bulldozed) to include many of the period details but with an emphasis on more contemporary living. The dark, muted tones of the turn of the century are gone and the window coverings are more streamlined and suited to today’s busy lifestyles.

Modern take on a Federation Living room by Inside Out Colour and Design

The verandahs are sought after and have often been extended to create an outdoor living space adjacent to the modern kitchen.

Wide verandah

The bathrooms have been updated but still include that old world charm.

Bathroom Design by Inside Out Colour and Design

I love working with these houses. Not just because they are iconic Australian houses but they lend so well to being enhanced and modified to suit today’s families. If you require assistance with colour or decor for your Federation Home, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.

Happy Australia Day