“Please contact me if you would like a consultation or further information about any of the products you see here at Decorum.”Sydney
What’s on
Friday again! Yikes the time is flying. How’s your Christmas shopping? All done and wrapped?
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If not, you will love this. The wonderful people at Have You Met Miss Jones are having a clearance sale. I’ve been coveting her Christmas decorations this year and will be hoping to get my hands on three (remember, things look better in odd numbers) of the Woodland Deer. Sale starts at 9am today and continues tomorrow too.
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And while you’re in the area, pop in next door to KAS Australia to stock up on new bedlinen and other soft furnishings for all those rellies coming for Christmas.
KAS Bedlinen
There, that’s sorted a few more presents for you. Have a fabulous weekend.
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If you would like assistance creating a harmonious environment in your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Is Cork back in style?
When I was out and about last weekend at Saturday In Design I came across a couple of cork products and was wondering if cork is making a comeback.
Our house has cork flooring in the kitchen and living room and personally, I can’t wait to rip it up. It was very popular in the 1970′s and is warm in winter and soft underfoot. It’s also great for camouflaging any dust and dirt.
Our cork floor
Cork comes from a medium-sized evergreen oak tree that forms a thick bark. This bark can be harvested every 9 years or so to produce cork. As no trees are destroyed to produce cork, it is a very sustainable product.
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Most of us will be familiar with cork flooring and of course the stoppers used in wine bottles. Although these days corks rarely appear in wine with the advent of screw top bottles. French monk, Dom Pierre Perignon was the first to use cork to seal his champagne in 1680.
Cork stopper
Cork is also used in noticeboards, table tennis rackets, buoys, dart boards and shoes.
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And last weekend I saw cork lights from Benjamin Hubert. These lights look great hung in a cluster.
Cork Jewellery Making and Float Lights at Great Dane
Later in the day I noticed this cute little side table made from cork, at Space. It is by Jasper Morrison and comes in a range of shapes and sizes.
Vitra Side Table at Space
So, do you think cork is making a comeback or is it just a case of being attuned to something and then noticing it everywhere?
Weekend Wrap Up
Looks like another busy weekend in Sydney coming up.
Firstly there is the launch of the Boutique Markets. These markets originated in Brisbane and are gradually taking over all the capital cities. The offerings look great.
Markets in Sydney
Then in conjunction with the Boutique Markets is Mathildas Market aimed especially at babies and kids. Both of these markets are being held at The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park.
And if you’re looking for some new bedlinen to set you up for spring, you must head to the KAS Australia Warehouse sale.
Winchester from KAS Australia
So what are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you have a good one.
Saturday in Design 2011
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.
Buying Quality
Many years ago, I bought my very first lounge suite. It consisted of two two seaters and a matching armchair. It was in my blue phase and the fabric was called Windsurfers Denim. It had little tiny pink and cream triangles all over it that were meant to represent windsurfers. The proportions were good for the lounge room in my very first house in Brisbane and it suited my budget too.
New lounge suite with hand-me-down buffet
I then sold that house and moved to a brand new house on Queensland’s Gold Coast. As the house was still under construction when I bought it, I was able to choose the colour scheme throughout of tiles, carpet and paint. Knowing that I had my lounge suite, I chose a soft grey colour which worked well with the lounge. I had roman blinds in rose pink and off white stripes installed on the windows and the lounge suite looked like it had been bought for that house.
Window coverings to match the lounge suite
A few years later, I moved back to Brisbane and bought a workers cottage in Nundah. Again the lounge suite moved into the new house and the room was decorated around the lounge. This time I chose barely pink walls with a darker pink for the trim.
Barely pink walls
We then moved to the Solomon Islands and the lounge suite went into storage for four years before being shipped to Hong Kong. Again the living room was decorated around the lounge suite and I chose sheer white curtains with a blue valance for the window coverings.
Sofa with precious cargo in Hong Kong
Back to Australia and into a rental property in Sydney, the lounge suite again just fitted perfectly into the space.
Ming didn't mind where in the world he was as long as he had his sofa
Twelve months on, and we purchased our own home and moved the lounge suite one more time. Only this time, it was clashing with the existing curtains in the home. Time had finally come almost twenty years later, to upgrade the lounge suite.
Sofa and curtains collide
We looked around at other styles of sofas but couldn’t find anything we liked. I called in my upholsterer who thought we were mad to throw away a perfectly good suite. So the search for fabric started and eventually I chose an off-white embossed fabric and had the sofas reupholstered. The sofas looked like new and I’m sure will last another twenty (well maybe ten) years.
Reupholstered sofa has a new lease on life
So the moral of the story is to buy good quality in the first place and give it a facelift when it doens’t work anymore. It works out much more cost effective in the long run.
If you would like assistance sourcing lounge furniture for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Spring already?
Last week I posted this photo on my Facebook page with the comment – “I see signs of Spring.”
Early Spring Blossoms
Never a truer word was spoken with Sydney enjoying a run of 20+C days. So it was no trouble at all to sit and take in the view and the food yesterday at Quay Restaurant on Sydney Harbour.
My friends at Electrolux have just released their new range of premium barbecues and world renowned chef Peter Gilmore was putting them through their paces. I’d never been to Quay before so was delighted to be a guest at this esteemed restaurant and sit in the front row of an intimate masterclass with Peter Gilmore.
View from Quay Restaurant
Peter cooked four different cuts of Angus Sirloin Beef – grass fed and air aged for six weeks, grain fed, F1 and Wagyu. Peter likes to preheat the barbecue for ten minutes with the hood down on a very high heat. He then seasons the meat with salt and pepper before turning the burners to medium and sealing the meat. He then turns the barbecue off and lets the meat rest with lid closed for about 40 mins.
Dished Up
The Electrolux barbecues have inbuilt sealed grills with drip trays so the fat drips down and there is no spitting and flames. You don’t get any burnt bits of meat that way which is good when you’re cooking Wagyu which is in excess of $110 per kilo!
My meal - 4 types of Sirloin steak with Wasabi Butter and Barbecued Vegetable Salad
The En:tice Barbecue comes in two different sizes, 600mm and 900mm. They not only look smart and would be welcome in any outdoor entertaining area, but are made of easy cleaning materials like cast iron and stainless steel.
Finishing touches
Peter also cooked a vegetable salad on the barbecue with purple carrots!
Barbecued Vegies
I found his tale of the history of carrots very interesting. Apparently carrots originated in Asia and were purple and orange. The Dutch bred the purple out of the carrots as their national colour is orange. So now when we see a carrot other than an orange one, it looks kinda weird. But oh, what a beautiful colour scheme!
Carrots every colour of the rainbow!
Thank you Electrolux and Quay Restaurant for a lovely afternoon.
If you would like assistance with furnishing or design for your outdoor entertaining area, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Counting Down
Remember a couple of years ago I did a series of posts on Saturday in Design? Here, here and here.
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Well it’s on in Sydney again this year and the countdown has begun. I have registered and crossed out the day in the diary. Can’t wait. It’s always so much fun checking out all the showrooms and products and characters you meet on the way.
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And I’m also on the countdown for holidays. I’m heading to Brisbane this weekend to visit friends and family and celebrate my daughter’s birthday.
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Have a great weekend, a fabulous week and I’ll see you all the week after next.
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If you would like assistance with colour and design for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Now this looks like fun
If French Provincial or Industrial decor is you style, then you should take a look at this.
Check out the details here.
Vivid Sydney 2011
Ominous rain men
On Saturday evening we rugged up and headed into the city for the annual light, music and ideas festival known as Vivid Sydney.
Lights on the ceiling
The historic Rocks area and Circular Quay are swathed in light. The surrounding highrise buildings have coloured lights projected on to them and the Sydney Opera House is aglow with a magnificent light show projected on to those iconic sails.
Opera House aglow
The building that we loved the most this year was the Customs House which constantly changed and at one stage looked like it was crumbling to the ground. All done with lights! Amazing.
Customs House feeling rather blue
As my daughter said, “They took a very ordinary building and turned it into something spectacular.”
I had fun making my first movie and uploading it to You Tube. Click on the Customs House photo to have a look.
Vivid Sydney is on until 13 June.
