“Please contact me if you would like a consultation or further information about any of the products you see here at Decorum.”Posts Tagged ‘Trends’
Walkin’ the ‘hood
Whilst I am technically back at work, many of my clients and some of my suppliers are still on holidays so I can enjoy a slower pace. However, I am enjoying my walks around the suburb each afternoon and watching the houses changing colours.
I live amongst Californian Bungalows and Federation homes in Sydney’s North Shore and many of them have undergone renovations over the last few years to accommodate the families that have moved into the area.
It’s interesting to see the colour palette moving towards grey rather than brown which is what the colour forecasters have been predicting.
Most of the houses subscribe to my 3 colour formula and I must say, I think the homes look smart with a light, medium and dark colour.
It’s a shame this homeowner hasn’t read my blog or decided to spend a nominal outlay on a Colour Consultant to get the overall look just right.
This was the house before via Google Street View and I really think it would’ve benefitted from a dark colour on the barge boards (they’re the wide boards at the top of the gable). Alternatively, the shingles could’ve been painted a colour between the dark grey and the white.
Remember a Colour Consultation is the cheapest part of repainting your home but will make all the difference.
If your home is brick then the brickwork is considered a colour so you only need to choose two colours. What do you think – two colours or three?
If you would like assistance choosing exterior paint colours for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
Colour Trends for 2012
St Ives Shopping Village is a local shopping centre on Sydney’s North Shore. For the past few years I have been writing the Home article in their bi-monthly magazine, Village Life.
Lady Gaga epitomises bold and flashy
The latest issue has just been published and the article is on Colour Trends for 2012. The article was compiled with the help of Dulux and Resene colour predictions.
Greens from Nature
The magazine promotes the stores in the shopping centre and I’m always keen to see what illustrations they have used to go with my article. They add some great visuals to my words.
All blues go together
If you would like assistance choosing colours for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
It’s not orange
Supre Skinny Jeans in Sunset
Rusty Hyper Walkshorts in Fluro Orange
As I tear through the shopping centres on my quest to complete lists before Christmas, I have been noticing a plethora of orange.
Cotton Dress in Orange by Sportscraft
Blazer Short Sleeve Casual Shirt in Orange
It seems just about every shop window features an orange item of one shade or another.
Sandals by Witchery in Ginger
Corban and Blair iPhone Cover
Pumpkin, Amber, Coral, Clay, Tangerine, Peach, Melon, Splice, call it what you will, but it’s all out there.
Marmot Two Man Tent
I know that once a colour appears en masse in the fashion industry, we can expect to see it in the home industry very soon thereafter.
Sarah Story Design
I don’t mind touches of orange in the home, in soft furnishings, feature walls or even wallpaper, as long as it is in moderation.
However, I am really worried that we may return to that time in the ’90′s when everyone was giving their home a Tuscan makeover by laying terracotta tiles and painting the walls apricot.
Frances Mayes has a lot to answer for!
Authentic Tuscan Interiors
What about you? Are you a fan of orange and it’s many tints and shades?
If you would like assistance choosing colours for your home, contact us for an online or in-person consultation.
What’s new?
Last week I was invited to see the new fabric collections at TWO of the showrooms, here in Sydney.
The first was at Crowson who have released a range of new fabrics from a number of houses they have in their collection. Waverley had some great colours and patterns but the one that caught my eye, was the Equinox collection by Crowson.
Equinox Collection by Crowson
I love the fun, colourful combination of hot pink and lime green.
Equinox
The other collection was the new embroidery range from Holland and Sherry.
Designed to add a highlight to soft furnishings and drapery, the embroidered border collection is truly exquisite.
Embroidery from Holland and Skerry
Limited only by your imagination, you get to choose from the range of fine base cloths such as silk, linen, cashmere or wool and design your own pattern from embroidery or applique or choose from the many templates available.
If you would like to add an exquisite or playful air to your home, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.
Which Way Now?
As I mentioned last week, I went to a talk at the Australian International Furniture Fair given by Janice Lindsay. She is a fabulous speaker and I resonated with much of what she had to say. She was asked to speak on Colour Direction for 2011-2012.
via punchstock.com
Firstly, her mantra was
Janice likened good design to Roger Federer playing a game of tennis. He just does it without thinking as he has been playing for so long, returning a serve has become second nature. Good design, should be second nature.
Janice explained that Home is not a place but a feeling, and my by-line of “creating harmonious environments”, says just that. I endeavour to create a feeling for my clients when they walk in the door. One of the first questions I will ask a new client, is “How do you want to feel in this space? What mood do you wish to create?”
Uplifting interior via pidesignhouse.com
That’s one of the things I love about my job, no two clients are the same and I get to create beautiful spaces based on what the client believes to be harmonious or beautiful to them. It is important for a space to be personal and relevant.
Calm interior via Norm Architects
Janice also talked about colour and how there is no white in nature just like there are no colour mistakes in nature. If you are having difficulty coming up with a colour scheme, take a closer look at nature. That is something we all wish to do with our indoor outdoor living spaces too. By connecting with nature, we will find our way Home. We were born colour smart, but we GET colour stupid.
Colourful Cats via Dreamstime.com
Her predictions for future style and colour included animals, birds, made not manufactured goods and things to do with farm because farming suggests a more simple life. Do include texture like in nature and use more curves than straight lines, just like in nature. Use more pattern but co-ordinate it rather than match it to other things.
Texture and Curves in Nature
I thoroughly enjoyed the hour I had with Janice and loved her quote “Colour is a conversation, so make it interesting!”
Colourful beach house
If you would like assistance with the colours for your home, contact us for an on-line or in-person consultation.
Hunted
Last week I received an email newsletter from one of my shoe shops of choice, Sambag and thought how cute the animal print loafers were.
Autumn Winter Shoes form Sambag
Within an hour, I received an email from another of my favourite shoe shops, Wittner which featured these shoes.
Shoes from Wittner
Then yesterday I was walking past a Sportscraft store and they had this outfit in the window.
Autumn Fashion from Sportscraft
So it looks like Animal Print fabrics are on trend for Autumn Winter here in Australia.
It made me think of this room, which I cut from a Queensland Homes magazine many years ago.
from Queensland Homes Magazine
I have used this image to inspire a client (who had a wood panelled sun room) to go with the architecture and create a room that enhances the panelling (which she hated) rather than covering it over with plasterboard.
Sun room by Inside Out Colour and Design
Vicki Archer of French Essence has also been on the hunt. She spotted these stairs in a shop in Melbourne.
via French Essence
If you would like to introduce a little animal into your home, you could add these scatter cushions and throws.
Masi Cushion and Throw from Rapee
Or contact us for some assistance.
I’m off to the Furniture Fair today, so I’ve packed my pith helmet and stun gun in case the place is swarming with animals. I’ll be back on Friday to show you my catch.
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.
Do Your Duty
I seem to have been noticing a sudden influx of Copper, lately.
London Bobby via Flickr
No not that one, the metal one.
via Axolotl
It seems weird to me that for the past eight years or so, we’ve been putting shades of brown on our walls, sofas and floors yet all of our metals have been stainless steel. Think refrigerators, range hoods, dishwashers etc.
via House and Garden Photographer Phillip Castelton
Now we are moving into a grey era and the metals turn to Copper.
I have lived with a copper range hood for the past seven years. I vowed and declared the day I moved in, that that range hood HAD to go. Alas, my new kitchen is still coming and now I’m wondering if I should be keeping the range hood and working the kitchen around it.
My kitchen range hood
These are some of the copper items I’ve spied of late.
Tom Dixon's Copper Shades
Boyd Copper Side Table
Bandhini Copper Coin Cushion
What do you think, is it a fad or is Copper here to stay?
Wall colours selected by Inside Out Colour & Design
We can help you create a harmonious environment in your home, whether you like copper or steel. Contact us to arrange an appointment.
Mixing Old and New
On Wednesday I was invited to Patina Antiques to hear Alexandra Gordon from Vogue Living share her insights from the 2010 Maison et Objet which is held in Paris.
Patina Antiques specialises in 18th and 19th Century French furniture and it was very sumptuous to sit there for an hour or so, sipping champagne and hearing of the new trends and releases from Paris.
19th Century French Canape from Patina Antiques
Some of the trends Alex noticed included continued use of metallics. I thought this might be coming to an end after the GFC when metallics could be seen to represent wealth, but apparently not.
Metallic fabrics from Westbury
Florals were popular especially in fabrics and no-one does florals quite as good as Sanderson.
Roslyn from Sanderson
Blue was around in all items from furniture to light fittings. The other designers present discussed whether blue was popular because Pantone had announced Turquoise as the Colour Of The Year of whether blue represented the melting ice and lack of water the planet is experiencing. Blue is the most popular colour of the spectrum so maybe it was just safe to present items in Blue.
Blue Touches from Marriott Interiors
The other interesting trend Alexandra reported on was the influence of Asian motifs. We felt this wasn’t such a “new” trend in Australia as Asia is so close and we have been taking our decorating (especially our indoor/outdoor) inspiration from Indonesia, Thailand and China for many years.
Orissa from Jim Thompson
It was fascinating to look at images of a number of new furniture pieces which were released at the fair but we had difficulty trying to place them in the homes here in Sydney.
Bite Me chair by XO
Textured Sideboard by Dust Deluxe
I’m heading to Designex today to see what new products and trends are being released onto the Australian market. Have a good weekend and check back next week for my wrap up.
Alex Perry & Electrolux at Saturday in Design
Alex Perry, Australian Dress Designer to the stars, was guest speaker at Electrolux during Saturday in Design. What a fabulous bloke. It was just as if he was sitting down having a chat to us all. Alex was espousing the virtues of the Electrolux Drier amongst other things. I was amazed to learn that he had trialed it for a weekend prior to accepting the alignment offer and threw in a $10,000 evening gown. The gown was on display still in one piece and still with feathers and sequins attached!
Alex also spoke of the design of the laundry and how it should not look like a utility room. I’d have to agree with him there. We spend thousands and thousands of dollars on our kitchens making them somewhere we like to be yet the laundry is forgotten. We can spend many hours there so why not include a TV to watch while we iron. Alex also spoke of the similarities between fashion designers and interior designers and architects. People often get comfortable in what they know. It is the role of the designer to push them out of their comfort zone, they should take people to another place. Designers tend to know ideas and different ways of thinking to keep new and alive.
Electrolux Shiny black kitchen
The Electrolux showroom was full of wonderful products that make life easier. They have just launched a new black fridge and had it set in an all black kitchen. This is a result of the predominance of black at Maison et Objet earlier this year. My photo of the black kitchen didn’t come out very well as it was looking into the light. Sorry about that!
Electrolux and Jamie Durie Outdoor Kitchen
Whilst we’re on the subject of kitchens, this outdoor kitchen had everything a man (and woman) could want. Burners, barbeque plates, wok space, and even a cooktop at the table. The advertising blurb says it’s not just a piece of furniture or a utilitarian space – it’s a new concept in outdoor living. The little pots at the front could be used for herbs so the man of the house can add a bit of flavour to his piece of meat.
Tetsuya was about to demonstrate the Electroluc Induction Cooktops but our bus arrived and we whisked away to our next stop.
