Spring has sprung!

OK so I know technically Spring is still a few days away but with the sunny, warm weather we're having I decided to declare it's arrival now!

Spring is definitely my favourite time of year and you can't help but notice the beautiful flowers popping up everywhere. I try to keep fresh flowers in our home all year round but this time of year definitely provides the most colourful choices. 

You would need to go a long way before you'd find an interior designer that doesn't use fresh flowers in their own home and for client projects and the reason is simple - they provide a beautiful, natural, lovely addition to any home. Psychologists have also conducted testing that proves the human brain actually get pleasure from looking at flowers.

There is a common misconception that having fresh flowers in your home will basically send you broke within weeks. There are tricks to buying your fresh flowers - firstly never buy them at the beginning of the week, this is when the retailer purchases them and they are at their most expensive. Buying them from Thursday onward significantly reduces their price as many of the buds will have started to open. Take the lilies I have posted above, if you were to buy them from my local green grocer on a Monday you would pay $19.95 for this bunch. Purchasing them on a Thursday or Friday reduces their cost to $9.95! As long as you cut the stems and replace the water every few days (don't forget to add a drop of bleach & some sugar) then they will last you almost a fortnight. Remember to keep your water level as low as possible, removing any additional leaves that will sit and rot in the water - no one likes that rotting vegetation smell in their home!

Another tip is to buy a bunch of the same flower. This of course isn't to everyone's taste, some people like the mismatch feel of a variety of flowers in their bouquet, but for a classic look it's best to keep the bunch simple with just one variety of flower.

So there are some positive reasons to add fresh flowers to your home this week!

Saturday In Design

I spent Saturday in Sydney at the trade event Saturday In Design and what a fantastic day we had! Here are some photos I took (sorry about the quality they are from my iPhone).
Those of you who know me know that I LOVE Coco Republic so of course the first photos are from their Designer Showroom in Alexandria, mostly from their Outdoor Collection.

I love this nest table (middle) and the daybed is pretty fantastic too

The wheels on the Tiera Coffee Table make it easy to move from place to place and the stainless steel bucket can either be used for a plant or as in the photo above to chill some champagne. I know which I'd prefer! (Let's just say I don't exactly have a green thumb)

Basket tables & chairs seem to be a huge trend at the moment

These great stools are designed by Keith Melbourne for Zenith. They are light weight, durable, UV stable & come in a lovely 'gelato' range of colours. Though designed with the Commercial market in mind, I think they would look great in any backyard used for outdoor entertaining

In this Spence & Lyda display Missoni Home fabrics were cleverly used in lighting, as wall art and in the stools

This great lighting display was also in Spence & Lyda, unfortunately the photograph does not do it justice

The first time I saw this pretty Warwick Fabric my mind was filled with different ways I'd love to use it. At SID they had a simple white bamboo chair with cushions upholstered in it and I think it looks so lovely, such a great Summer fabric

And the winner of the best sample bag of the day definitely went to Tongue n Groove. Not necessarily because of the contents (though it did contain jellybeans so hey who can complain), but because it was just such a nice looking bag. It ended up being quite the "must-have" item of SID 2011.

So there were just a few of the many products I loved from the day. I wish I had more photographs but as the day progressed the crowds got too big for me to be whipping out my phone every 5 seconds! Anyway I'm now looking forward to SID 2012 with great anticipation...



Saturday In Design

Tomorrow I will be heading to Sydney for Saturday In Design! Looking forward to seeing all the participating showrooms and their new products. Will share what I discover at SID on my blog soon... 

http://saturdayindesign.com.au/



Turquoise & Aqua Kitchens

One of the projects I am currently working on is to update an old fisherman's cottage. Over the years it has had some strange additions but the bones of the old house are great. When we began talking about the kitchen renovation it was decided that we would keep the current kitchen as it was very good quality and refinish it. As the house is located very close to the water a light, airy, coastal style was the perfect choice. I started searching through the various kitchen images that I have saved over the years and thought I would share some that I have used as inspiration for this project. Before and After photos of the kitchen project will follow shortly!

House of Turquoise

Style At Home

BHG