“Please contact me if you would like a consultation or further information about any of the products you see here at Decorum.”Dining Rooms
Florence is coming to a store near you
I’m a HUGE fan of the fabrics and wallpapers of Florence Broadhurst.
I read the book on this amazing woman about 8 years ago and was fascinated by her life. She was a Queenslander and had the ability to turn her hand at whatever career she chose while travelling the world. One year she was a singer and dancer in China and the next she was a French clothier in London. And all this was back in the ’30′s and 40′s when women didn’t do things like that. She was so ahead of her time! And then she met an untimely death when she was murdered in her studio at Paddington in Sydney. The murder remains unsolved.
When she returned to Australia she set up shop and created hand printed wallpapers. These wallpapers and their patterns are still popular today. Her artworks have been recreated as rugs, clothing, homewares and fabrics.
And in June this year, you will be able to add those very same patterns to your home in soft furnishings. Australian home textile label, Rapee will release The Broadhurst Collection which will be available in five stories and a number of colourways.
These exceptional designs will be printed on premium fabrics using various techniques including: 100% silk jacquards, embroideries on 100% cottons, foil prints on 100% linens and prints on cotton linen blends. The palette extends to bolts of blue; tranquil sea foam, denim and periwinkle; as well as punchy coral and flamingo fuchsia. The collection also welcomes shades of yellow and high-wattage metallic which will help to create richness and playful elegance while putting a fresh spin on timeless designs.
The Florence Broadhurst collection will be sold initially through department stores and boutique homeware retailers, and will arrive in store from June 2013. Prices start from $99 for embroideries, through to $120 for 100% silk scatter cushions.
I can’t wait!
If you would like assistance adding a touch of Florence to your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Is the Dining Room Dead?
I don’t believe so! I love a dedicated dining room especially in older homes.
Back in the mid 1980′s I bought my first home in an outer Brisbane suburb. It had a combined dining and lounge room and for a few years I had a pine round table with 4 rattan and metal cantilevered chairs as the dining table. Then one day, one of my colleagues at work asked out loud if anyone was interested in a Rosenstengel dining suite. He had been appointed Executor of a Monseigneur’s Estate and apparently there was a silky oak dining table and 6 chairs to offload. The asking price was $200. With all my income going in to my house repayments I said, “No”. Besides I didn’t want some old table and what was Rosenstengel anyway?
Rosenstengel Dining Suite
I was telling my Mum about it a few days later and she said, “Grab it.” She knew all about Ed Rosenstengel and his furniture making and knew it would be a great buy as well as owning a piece of Queensland history. So I purchased the table and it is still serving me to this day. Although right now it’s in storage as we renovate our home.
When I moved to the Gold Coast in the ’90′s I decided to have the dining suite refurbished. A furniture restorer cleaned down the table and applied a new coat of shellac which gave it a rich glow. I had the chairs reupholstered in a plain pink fabric to co-ordinate with the curtains and sofa.
Dining suite after polishing and upholstery
When I moved back to Brisbane we renovated a little Workers Cottage on the northside and we created a formal dining room in the old sleep-out.
Sleep-out being transformed to the Dining Room
This time the upholstery on the chairs dictated what colour the walls would be.
Pink Dining Room
When we moved to Sydney and bought our Californian Bungalow the dining suite suited the period of the house and the existing curtains.
Inherited Dining Room
However, after a few years, I was ready to ditch the curtains and I replaced them with gold silk and repainted the walls in the warm earthy tones of the time.
New paint, curtains and light fitting
Now we are renovating, I have decided to keep the formal dining room. We’ve closed off two of the three doorways into the room and I’ve decided to be a little bit adventurous in choosing the paint colour.
Latest reincarnation of the dining room
I’m a firm believer that the formal lounge room is mainly used at night time so why not make it dramatic? But alas the existing upholstery will not suit the new look room. The question is, will I keep the suite and have it reupholstered, or is it time for a complete new dining suite?
Dramatic dining room
Do you have a formal dining room or a dining suite with provenance?
If you would like assistance choosing colour or furniture for your dining room, contact us for an online or in-person consultation. Or visit my Pinterest board for Dining Room inspiration.
Don’t Put It Down
Put It AWAY!
That’s one of my favourite sayings. I’m a bit of a neat freak and love being organised. I think it comes from being born under the sign of Virgo. No matter how hard I try I just can’t train the rest of the family to be neat AND organised.
Hamblin Chest – we had one like this in our daughter’s bedroom. Great for all the toys and she could put everything away in a basket when she was finished.
Not putting things back where they belong really drives me insane. At the moment someone (who will remain un-named) did not put the balcony key back where it belongs and we are unable to access the balcony at the moment. Drives me CRAZY!
So it’s no wonder I got very excited when I saw this collection of storage solutions from our friends at Whiteport.
Nantucket Buffet – fabulous for the dining room
And they are all so stylish and reasonably priced. Hop on to their website and check it out. Go, get organised.
Hampden Bedside Chest – love dual purpose storage
I’m going back to look for the lost key. When I find it, I think I’ll put an oversized something on it, like they do at garage and cafe toilets!
If you need assistance choosing storage furniture for your family home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
All Blues Go Together
I love this room designed Mabley Handler by for the Hamptons Designer Showhouse.
via Pinterest
I’ve always liked blue and been a firm believer of the adage that all blues go together.
I’m not so sure it works for all colours though. Apparently all greens also go together, but I’m not so sure I could use olive and lime in the one scheme.
Dulux Greens
What do you think, could you be just as comfortable immersed in a green room as a blue room?
via Pinterest
If you would like assistance choosing the right colours for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Sneak Peak
I thought I’d share a couple of jobs I am currently working on.
The first is to find fabric to recover these chairs.
Chairs to be reupholtered
The clients have ordered a new sofa and two comfortable armchairs in this leather.
Leather samples
So we need to find a fabric that will co-ordinate with the colour of the leather, not look too heavy and give a new lease of life to these chairs.
Chair Fabric Options
The other aspect is these chairs may not necessarily reside in the same room for the rest of their life so we need a fabric that will work in the other rooms of the house, like a bedroom, for instance.
By choosing a colour scheme for the whole house allows furniture to move around the house as needed.
Formal Room
Another client I am working with, is gradually putting their stamp on the house they bought a year or so ago. We are now looking at the formal rooms at the front of the Federation Style home.
I am convinced that buying a house is always a compromise and there are many things the new home owner will want to change but equally there are many things that should not be touched as that is why the house was purchased in the first place.
The curtains in this room are way too stuffy for my clients. They are in good condition so with a little tweaking we are retaining them instead of starting over. We’ve chosen a new wall colour and the painters move in next week.
Original Curtains
The lounge suite that came from their previous home is in near perfect condition so we are going to leave that and work it in to the scheme.
Formal Room
The dining chairs need recovering so my task has been to source some wallpaper for a feature wall in the dining room as well as fabric to recover the dining chairs.
Dining Chairs to be recovered
I’ve come up with a number of colour ways that will all work back to the goldish sofas, the cream silk curtains and the new paint colours.
Navy Blue Scheme with Wallpaper and fabrics
It’s always interesting to see which scheme appeals to the client. They often ask me what would I choose, and I can’t honestly answer.
Duck Egg Blue Scheme with Wallpaper and Fabrics
I like them all (remember I’ve chosen them) but at the end of the day I go home to my house and my client stays with the new decor, so it has to be their choice. My job is to narrow down the search and make sure everything works together and my clients end up with a comfortable home that oozes their personality and preferences.
Black Scheme with white and cream
Often clients are quick to dismiss the options they DON’T like which makes the decision that much easier. I always say it’s just as important to identify what you don’t like as well as what you do.
Aubergine Fabrics
If you would like assistance with colour and decor for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Beaded Chandeliers
Turquoise Basket Chandelier via Pinterest
I’ve been Ooohing and Aaahing over the basket chandelier for a while now. I’ve only seen images of them in overseas magazines and online.
Scalloped Wooden Beaded Chandelier via Pinterest
They certainly make a statement.
That Turquoise Beaded Chandelier again, via Pinterest
So I was delighted to find that one of our suppliers has just started stocking a version here in Australia.
Small Green Beaded Chandelier available at Inside Out Colour and Design $605 plus delivery 23cm diam x 36cm height
They would look great in a bedroom, over a dining table or in an entry. I can’t wait to use one in a project.
What do you think? Do you like this look?
Large White Beaded Chandelier available at Inside Out Colour and Design $1150 plus delivery 46cm diam x 59cm height
Contact us if you would like to purchase one of these new light fittings or if you need assistance finding the perfect light fitting for your home.
Dining Room Lights
I am currently working with clients who are renovating their home by adding a new extension. It will be the new hub of the house containing the kitchen, dining and living areas.
Simple drum shade
The electrician has been in this week so our attention has moved to light placement and fittings.
Two lights work beautifully in this dining nook by Windsor Smith
Most of the area will have downlights installed but the dining table deserves a feature light. In a wide open space, it’s always good to define the areas. The kitchen will be a galley style, so a bench will separate it from the rest of the area. Placement of the sofa will define the living area and a large light fixture will define the dining area.
Oversized Ikea Maskros Light
An oversized light fitting creates drama in a dining room. When the table is set ready for a meal, the crockery, cutlery and napery add interest to the room but when the table is not in use, it’s usually the light fitting that becomes the focal point.
via Sherrill Canet Interiors
The light fitting in an open plan dining room doesn’t need to be the sole source of light so it’s not necessary to swamp the room with maximum wattage. Often times, the table will be decorated with candles and there will be lamps on in the adjacent living room and a light on in the kitchen.
Nelson Bubble Light hung low over the dining room table
My advice in choosing a dining room light fitting is to choose more for aesthetics than pracitcalities – form over function!
Gorgeous lantern light
You can find these images and more on my Dining Room Pinterest Board.
Dining Room Pendant with adjacent kitchen downlights
If you require assistance with choosing light fittings for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
MIA
I’m so sorry I’ve been Missing In Action this past week and a half. The time is just flying bye and I can’t believe I’ve missed so many posts.
It’s such a hectic time for everyone. Apart from finishing off the Christmas shopping, we have a number of December birthdays and I have been helping to celebrate and trying out four new restaurants in Sydney.
The first was The Winery in Crown Street. I’d been there earlier in the year for lunch and although it’s been around for a while thought the family might like to see the quirky decor.
We also went to a new local Italian restaurant. The decor there was very sleek, which in my mind doesn’t really suit the Italian food. I imagine Italian food to be more comfort food and therefore want the decor to be more cosy and homey. The red and black glass mosaics on the stark white walls were out of keeping for me.
I tried Pony Dining at Neutral Bay too. What a great space! And the food and service were excellent. Lots of use of timber on the inside made the decor very warm but it still had an air of sophistication.
Then one last birthday was celebrated at Felix in the city. It’s a little spot of Paris right in the heart of Sydney. Food and service were great and the decor was so very authentic.
I’m still helping clients with Colour Consultations before Christmas as they have painters lined up for early in the New Year and I have been buying bed linen for another client.
But the highlight of the past ten days would have to be my darling daughter being appointed as girl School Captain for 2012. We are all so proud of you sweetheart.
I’m going to now, officially, take a few weeks off to celebrate Christmas and New Year and recharge the batteries after a very busy year. I trust you have an enjoyable holiday season. I thank you for joining me throughout 2011 and look forward to your company again in 2012.
See you soon.
If you would like assistance with colour or decor for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
The C Word
I really don’t want to say it. Not yet anyway. But it would appear I can’t avoid it any longer.
Christmas is just around the corner.
via Pottery Barn
But there’s still time to create some beautiful linen for your Christmas table.
Very talented Brisbane lady, Jacqueline has created a range of designs for you to decorate your own Christmas tablecloth, runner or napkins.
Take a look and create something stunning that will be passed down through the generations.
If you would like assistance getting your home ready for Christmas, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Fashion Colours for Spring
I managed to take some time out last week and have a stroll around my local shopping centre checking out the new season fashions. I love the change of seasons and seeing the new colours gracing the shop windows and soon to be our wardrobes and then of course our home decor.
Many of the shops were featuring the classic black and white stripes.
Jessica Stripe Dress from Queenspark
Black and white has been gracing our lives for the longest time. It looks very modern yet can be at home in any decor. And no matter what decorator colour you add, your room is going to look fabulous.
via Decorpad
Coloured jeans are also this season’s “must haves”. Watermelon, Steel and Desert are the colours of one particular fashion store.
Sportscraft Coloured Jeans
Those colours sound a bit better than red, blue and brown, don’t they? But watermelon is softer than red and much easier to live with as decor pieces in the home.
Jonathan Adler via Elle Decor
Steel is like a washed out navy and is ideal for a more relaxed room. You could even paint a wall or two in steel rather than the stronger navy blue.
Steel Blue Dining Room
We’ve all been through the browns over the past decade or so. Many of our houses (and wardrobes) still have remnants of chocolate, latte, cappuccino and mocha so Desert is a way to add depth without having to start all over again. It can be teamed with a wide variety of colours too!
Bianca Bed Linen from KAS Australia
And then I saw this stunning colour combination.
via Kookai
The zing of the orange is balanced beautifully with the depth of the cranberry.
Orange and Cranberry for Warwick Fabrics
So what colours are you wearing or decorating with this Spring?
If you would like assistance choosing the right colours for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
