“Please contact me if you would like a consultation or further information about any of the products you see here at Decorum.”Posts Tagged ‘Sydney Events’
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.
Masterclass in Masterkitchen
On Wednesday night I had the very delightful pleasure to be invited into Tetsuya’s Masterkitchen for a Masterclass. The evening was hosted by Electrolux. It was a small select group of design bloggers and Electrolux personnel who gathered around the magnificent island bench to watch Tetsuya put the Electrolux induction cooktop through it’s paces.
Tetsuya's Master Kitchen
The kitchen is amazing. Apparently Tetsuya along with Electrolux designers, hand picked the piece of Calacutta marble that covers the island bench. I love this marble with it’s mixture of warm and cool colours.
Another design feature of the kitchen is the tap-less sinks. There are leather knee pads which can be leant on to bring water into the undermount sinks. This all helps in setting the stage. Because this kitchen IS a stage and nothing blocks your view.
Knee pads and tap-less sink
During the masterclass the room was filled with wonderful aromas of lobster, foie gras, garlic, ginger, chilli and sesame oil but we were so disappointed that the custom designed and built, Electrolux overhead exhaust worked so well.
Delightful aromas wafting straight to the exhaust
The nominal smoke and sumptuous fragrance was quickly sucked away. The exhaust is hidden behind smoked glass which hangs above the island bench.
Hidden exhaust above the island bench
Tetsuya talked and cooked his way through five dishes. He has been using Electrolux kitchen appliances for over 20 years and has nothing but high praise for them.
The Maestro at work
He loves the immediacy of induction cooking as well the ability to maintain the same temperature over the entire pan.
Wagu Beef with a touch of Wasabi
He demonstrated this by searing Wagu steak before popping it in the oven at 70C whilst he cooked the other dishes including Chilli Crab, an amazing lobster dish and a colourful chicken dish with couscous.
Chicken and Couscous
We then moved into the working kitchen and sat down to an 11 course degustation menu with accompanying wines.
Tetsuya's kitchen
The food was absolutely delicious and included Tetsuya’s signature dish Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Celery and Apple.
Tetsuya's Signature Dish
In between oohing and aahing over the food, the wine and the busy 7 chefs in the kitchen, we had time to talk amongst ourselves.
I was delighted to be seated next to three lovely fellow bloggers, Jo, Lisa and Camilla. We chatted about all things blogging and it was so much fun to put faces behind names.
Blogfest
The two polite gentlemen from Electrolux, that were seated with us, probably wondered what on earth they had struck. But they regaled us with their knowledge on current kitchen trends and the making of a fridge. Did you know that Electrolux manufactures fridges in New South Wales and Ovens in South Australia? And did you know that an energy efficient fridge uses about the same, if not less, power than a 40 watt bulb?
It was a wonderful night and we left singing the praises of Electrolux and Tetsuya, swinging our sample bags.
Contents of the goodies bag
Thank you Electrolux!
Spoilt for choice
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
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.
A Conversation with Easton Pearson
Last night I attended an event at Designer Rugs showroom in Edgecliffe with fashion designers Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson of Easton Pearson fame.
Lets chat
These girls have been designing fashion for over 20 years and gave us an insight into what inspires and drives them and how they keep on turning out much sought after designs.
Design by Easton Pearson
Both Lydia and Pamela are Brisbane girls and love anything with colour and decoration. Funnily enough, that is who buys their fashions, too. They supply to over 100 stores in 24 countries worldwide.
Pamela and Lydia in the Designer Rugs Showroom
Much of their fabrics are commissioned in India where embroidery is a specialised art and this intricate detail inspires the girls to create wonderful patterns and designs.
Equisite embroideries from Easton Pearson
Pamela and Lydia briefly discussed the shock they felt in seeing their designs on rugs for Designer Rugs. I’ve heard other designers say the same thing, that the scale of floor rugs is so different from working on the scale of fabric, so when they actually see it made up, it is overwhelming. The Easton Pearson range of rugs depicts everything the designers hold close – great colour combinations with intricate design details.
Rug by Easton Pearson
Both Lydia and Pamela were a delight to listen to and made it very obvious that they love what they do.
If you would like assistance with colour and decoration in your home, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.
Here comes the bride
Union Jack
Union Jacks were HUGE at the three Sydney trade shows last week.
Trinket Box from CAM
I wonder if the forthcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton are the inspiration of the latest wave of Union Jack decor?
Prince William and Kate Middleton
They are bright and colourful and look very smart with their straight lines and angles.
Boxes and cushions from Universal Enterprises
Would you put a Union Jack in your home?
Union Jack soft furnishings by Lakeland
If you would like assistance in decorating your home, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.
Colourful, Quirky Style
Yesterday I spent the day roaming the aisles at the Life In Style trade fair here in Sydney.
Life In Style
If you’ve been following my blog, you will know that I LOVE colour. So it’s not surprising the following items grabbed my attention. We are stocking these items at Inside Out Colour and Design at great on-line prices. If you are interested in any, send me an email.
These watches are designed in Sweden and are made from polyurethane, leather, acetate and German rubber.They are water resistant and have a 2 year warranty but the best news is that they come in a variety of fabulous colours.
Funky watches in a myriad of colours from $160 each
And look at these cute little chairs. Wouldn’t you love one of these in the bedroom.
Fabulous, affordable feature chairs from $370
But my favourite were these quirky, colourful dining chair slip covers. They are made in France and imported into Australia.
Quirky dining chair slip covers from $180 each
The bright colours and versatility make them a great buy for an easy update of your dining furniture.
Retro Kitchen Chair on a slip cover
If you would like to add some colour and a little quirkiness to your decor, contact us for an online or in person consultation.
Colour, Furniture and Coffee
The beginning of the year marks the start of the Trade Show season. It kicks off here in Sydney with the Australian International Furniture Fair incorporating Decoration and Design.
A group of girls with whom I studied Interior Decorating and Colour Consulting, make a day of it and we head on in to the fair, wander around and look at all the new products, meet up with some of our suppliers, stop for coffee, attend a seminar or two, stop for lunch and look some more.
This year we have booked seminars with Janice Lindsay and Mary Shaw both of whom I quite excited to hear. I remember reading a post on Maria Killam’s blog, Colour me Happy, ages ago about Janice Lindsay and it stuck in my mind. So when I saw that Janice was scheduled to speak in Sydney, I had to be there. Mary Shaw is creator of textile and furniture company Sequana and will talk about ambiance and its creation through texture, colour and comfort. We thought that sounded interesting too!
But it won’t all be fun and games. I have a list of items I trying to find for various clients so will be on the lookout for lamps, a mirror with a shelf, a comfortable sofabed, a coffee table and matching side table and a couple of armless chairs. I always shoot myself in the foot by coming up with a great idea for a particular client and then having a devil of a job trying to find the perfect the piece.
If you need some help sourcing the right item for your home, contact us and I’ll keep an eye out for you too.
Mirazozo
I ventured down to the Opera House forecourt this week to check out the giant inflatable sculpture that is Mirazozo.
It is a labyrinth of tunnels and domes filled with a kaliedoscope of colour and sound.
The multi-roomed inflatable has been inspired by Islamic architecture and is meant to be a place in which one connect with their inner self and take respite from the world.
Once you enter the sculpture, you are surrounded by light of varying colours. One area may be red, whilst another is green. It’s fascinating just sitting and be surrounded by such intense colour.
The sculpture will be at the Opera House until 27 January and you can pre-book your $10 tickets here. All photos have been taken by me!
If you would like a house full of colour, contact us to arrange on on-line or in-person consultation.
A Confession
I have a confession to make. I have NEVER watched an episode of Oprah.
I’ve just never had the opportunity. The only things I know about her are snippets I read in the magazines at the doctor’s (and they are usually out of date) and things that make the news. Oh, and I did see “The Color Purple” many, many years ago.
But I must say I am bursting with pride at the way Australia has taken to her and the wonderful work she has done for putting us on the map.
The whole country is talking about her visit and right now she is filming show number 2 at the Sydney Opera Oprah House.
Showcasing Australia’s natural beauty and home-grown talent can only lead to good things.
Click on any of the photos to be taken to their source and see what others are saying about her visit.
Onya Oprah!
