What a Month

   

 December really is one of my favourite months, I love seeing the street busy. I noticed this year people where putting a lot of thought into their gift buying, it was all about wanting the recipient to know they where thought of and it wasn't purchased for the sake of buying something. Lots of you went mad for the enamel tree decorations.

 

 

 We had a busy few days working with The Queensland Times styling the cover and some inside features of Decembers City Heart Magazine, I love the ritual of setting the table for Christmas so it was fun playing with the girls doing the shoot.

 

We discovered a new homewares range which tied in perfectly with our Christmas colour theme. The Louie Teacup and saucer flew out the door - I'm pretty sure a few of you had these under your tree this year. We have sold out entirely of the Louie range but we will have something new and exciting soon.

 

 We start planning Christmas in Province not long after the Easter bunny has been and this year our theme was completely Australian. Hot summer days, prawns, mangos, trifle etc etc. That was the basis for the colour scheme, I wanted bold brights with not a hint of snow, antlers or anything Northern hemisphere....well until I saw these origami snowflakes and only because they where bold pink and orange did they make it in store!

 

Always looking for something new and creative to do so the rosemary from our herb tub was put to good use -  snip of garden twine and hey presto, a fragrant organic wreath!

 

So here we are, the end of 2013 - may your night be filled with joy and laughter with a nod to how we want the new year to be.

x

Christmas In Province

 

Sunday saw us launch Christmas in Province as well as the start of Sunday trade!

 

I am a natural girl at heart so there will always be hessian, linen, nature in general but this year we accompanied these organic elements with bright bold colours! So of course it was hot pink ribbon to secure the hessian to the lillypilly christmas trees.

  

But really nature itself provides a perfect example of how to bring colour into your my earthy palette...

 

We have an abundance of these great paper origami decorations, various shapes and colours. I really like the green & white with the black & white ones piled high in this brass jar.

 

Our simple understated Christmas windows this year are all about the colour. I love the way bursts of colour can make you feel, and going off  all your comments and purchases I think it's safe to say I'm not alone in my new found appreciation of bold brights.  Fianlly a B I G shout out to Brad from Plants Plus Raceview - he supplied us with these healthy lillypilly trees  - thanks Brad!

 Have a great week.

x

Industrial Strength

 

image: Grytsberg

image: modern interior design

 

image: industrial danish home interior design

We have in our hot little hands a old school locker painted a really appealing appalling beige. 

I have been contemplating the future of this locker, shall it remain faithful to it's heritage and the industrial revolution....Or do I go down another trend path of c o l o u r . . . . . 

The colour craze is everywhere on everything, small friends of the forest are no longer shades of browns & creams, pfft, not when you can spray paint them fluro orange and pink. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying the colour being used in interiors, which is why I have been in a quandary over what colour to paint the locker!!

I thought a vibrant tangerine would look really cool in a kids room or study, you know for the ever sought after "pop".

However after doing some serious thinking, I will be staying true to the roots of the industrial movement...I think.

x

 

Alice May Diamond

Mortality....something we are all very aware of yet at the same time has the ability to take you by surprise.

Such a force, smothers you in a fog...people don't know what to do or say, but how can they when you're not sure yourself what to do or say?

I have spent the past few days preparing for the loss of my Gran, I say preparing but in hindsight I was merely waiting for the call.

The call came, she has gone, no more angst, no more pain.

Precious memories I now try to preserve as I fear the loss of them along with the loss of her.

In  a world so busy and pressurised it really is hard to be able to stop and allow yourself the time to process emotions - with so much technological advancement why do I feel so hindered?

Time to surround yourself with love, to take time to absorb the little things, those little things that so easily go unnoticed.  

Time for good food, good wine, family and friends.

Alice May Diamond - love you.

x

Harvest time

We have started our annual harvest, lots of savings to be had so if you have had you're eye on something, now is the time to act!

x

Fabulous faux

 

silk hydrangeas beside fresh magnolia leaves

  

flowers and friand are real, the lemons are faux

 

some beautiful roses - fresh and fragrant

The old silk flowers have come a long way since the early 1980's and our new selection of faux flowers will take your breath away as well as leaving your guests wondering how you manage to always have your rooms looking fresh and vibrant.

The trick of the trade, I think, is to mix them with fresh flowers / foliage. Grab some branches of mock orange or gardenia and stick them in a vase. Magnolia leaves are to die for just as they are.
A big bunch of orientals will deliver fragrance and elegance. Roses scream romance and opulence.
Look at what's in season and have a fresh display each week and move your faux's around the house.

Don't underestimate the power of the vessel either, it's all in the presentation. Mix it up and have fun, it will engage your senses and create curiosity.

x

Simply put

 

 

Morning, I was just reading my many the design files emails to come across this gorgeous bedroom.

I L O V E  the striking simplicity of it all. Y U M 

Here is the link to check out the entire article on  Hannah Tribe and her studio. Enjoy.

X

Away for a bit...

 

 

 

Thursday and a few big days ahead! We are off to Noosa for a couple of days for a family gathering....good times. Unfortunately this means the store will be closed from 2pm today until 10am Monday. Before I go here are some scrummy dark images to fan the desire to be creative.

As you can see, going dark doesn't mean you have to start wearing black overcoats and two shades lighter foundation and listening to gothic metal bands.  It can be as little as some divine porcelain dishes for serving blanched green beans, roasted carrots, what ever the stomach desires with an alluring dark tablecloth. Banish the crisp clean white tablecloth, we all know it only stays white for a nano second before someone drips the gravy!

The two interior images show how to bring in lighter elements to lift the depth, notice how everything against the darker colours really comes to life and has a real impact in the room.

Next week will touch on the lighting to enhance such drama and mood. Til then enjoy your week end.

x

the dark side

I am totally enjoying dark inky tones at the moment. This photo from Petrina Tinslay interior portfolio shows how luxurious and inviting it can be. We have painted the walls in store PortersPaints thoroughbred,  I'm not running the main lights, all lighting is via the lamps and our chandelier cluster. Not only does it look so calm and luring it tricks you into thinking it's 5 degrees cooler. It really has been a little sanctuary from the explosive heat of late. Abigail Ahern always advocates to go the dark side - she does it so well!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher so grab a brush and get painting. 

Sorry about the lack of images - images wouldn't load....L O V E technology!

 

new year inspiration

Welcome 2013

                          This time of year it is all about people's New Year Resolution's.

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to not make any resolutions ;

     resolution
noun
1 a firm decision to do or not to do something : she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more | a New Year's resolution.
• a formal expression of opinion or intention agreed on by a legislative body, committee, or other formal meeting, typically after taking a vote : the conference passed two resolutions.
• the quality of being determined or resolute : he handled the last French actions of the war with resolution.

All so formal and quite frankly for me, I feel very unmotivated.

Instead I am going down the inspiration path. As I am now 40 and old wise I am of the belief that if I am inspired I will achieve. I also think lots of gorgeous images / quotes are much nicer to look at each day rather than a hard edged "TO DO" list, just thinking about it makes me uptight.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the short week end 'to do' list - nothing like crossing those chores off - especially with a big fat nikko pen, right through the guts of it....time to move on.

So to kick it off I have started with a gorgeous shot from the amazing blog the food dept   I discovered the food dept this morning on The Design Files As soon as I saw the little deer that we stocked leading up to Christmas I thought that's it - this is my starting point.

   So be warned I will be bombarding you with lots of gorgeous and hopefully inspiring images.

   X