Wow Factor

One of the judges on The Block, Neale Whittaker (who is also the editor of Belle magazine) likes rooms to have a "wow" factor. So far on The Block, not many rooms have managed to receive this accolade. But this apartment in New York has the "wow" factor in spades. It was designed by Christina Murphy. 

 The herringbone wallpaper behind the bookshelves is genius. It adds so much depth to the lounge.

 The homeowner is not afraid of mixing patterns together and the result is that the lounge is not overly "done" which is great. 

 This kitchen looks so happy. Christina Murphy described her thoughts on the kitchen, "We did soft gray, with pops of yellow in the room for a little color. I also put a fun geometric wallpaper on the ceiling. It's just a simple wallpaper, and it really adds a lot. But for whatever reason, that's something people don't usually think of doing in a kitchen."

The peacock wallpaper in the powder room is by Florence Broadhurst. There's even "wow" factor in the loo.
(All photos via house beautiful)

Wallpaper @ Black and Spiro

 Last night I went to Black and Spiro for the launch of Anna's wallpaper range for Porter's Paints. It was a fabulous night. I caught up with a few friends who I hadn't seen for a while, I did some people watching (everyone wore fabulous necklaces), admired the huge bunches of flowers and spotted a few celebrity bloggers (including Faux Fuchsia). Of course, I spent a lot of time looking at the wallpaper too. And it's gorgeous.

 This is my favourite colourway. It's Rosey Posey Trellis in Green.

 This is is the Higgledy Piggledy Stripe which features in the back room of the shop. Anna had hung a huge painting over the wallpaper and it looked amazing. I thought the painting looked even better on the wallpaper than it would have on a simple white wall. The wallpaper made the painting pop. It was more vibrant.

This picture shows another room at the shop. It feautres the 'round and round the garden' wallpaper. The wallpaper reminded me of an antique tile. I loved it. Can you see those toile lamps on the bedside table? They are magnificent but luckily (for my Amex) they had a sold sticker on them. The wallpaper is lovely and you can see the full range and different colourways on-line at Porters Paints. Congratulations Anna!
P.S. I wore my black sequin harem pants from J Crew.
(Photos 1 & 2 by AJ Hawkins for spots and stripes; Photos 2 and 3 via porters paints)

The Real Block - Part 2

This is my daughter and I at the Block this week. We love stomping about in our Wellingtons. 

 

Anyway, I thought it was time that I did an update on the "Real Block". The slab has been laid and it's perfect. That sounds silly, I know. But the slab's edges have a precision to them. I had no idea that building was so precise and clean! There was not a spare bit of rubbish or debris anywhere. I think I have the tidiest builder around. 

I met with the builder on-site and we made a few changes to room sizes (luckily these changes are being made on the plan as no walls have been built yet). My laundry needed a little extra space so we put that in. The void above the staircase wasn't quite right so we re-sized that. We also changed a few doors and windows around. We now have a window in the laundry rather than a door and this has provided more bench space. I've changed my plans around quite a bit so these changes are the absolute last changes I can make as the walls are about to be built. At the beginning of this project I was worried about changing my mind a lot (much to my husband's chagrin) but after reading Steve Job's biography, I don't worry at all. He changed the design of his products right up until it was time to ship them! So now if something has to be changed, I do it.  

I aIso also had a chat with Bob, our pool tiler. He's doing a great job on the pool. The pool tile is called "Lime Punch" (from Traditional Tiles). Isn't that a great name? I'm still working on the pool house. It's a bit tricky as I'm desperate to keep my Pride of India tree so I'm trying to work out how to build the pool house around the tree.
(Photos by AJ Hawkins for Spots and Stripes)
(Related article: The Real Block - Part 1)

Herringbone - Sale

 Regular readers know that I love herringbone. And this lounge suite combines two of my favourite furniture styles - herringbone and vintage cane. The suite is an original pretzel suite and comprises a 2 seater plus two 1 seaters. It has recently been reupholstered in herringbone fabric (imported from the US) and is ready for a new home. Since being re-upholstered it has been in storage so it's in pristine condition.

 It's a one of a kind piece and can be purchased through ebay here. 

The Block - Room Reveal - Week 3

 There were a few surprises this week on The Block which meant that the rooms became more interesting. Dan and Dani delivered a guest bedroom which had lots of drama. Navy blue walls added glamour, a designer knock-off pendant light added sophistication, whilst the artwork and linen looked expensive. And they were. Dan calculates that the bed linen cost around $3,000. Is this money well spent? We'll have to see as the show progresses.  

 Dan and Dani have won the lions share of the prize money, about $18k so far, so they've got more to spend than everyone else. Personally, I loved the bold choice of paint and thought their room was the best by far (even though they won by default using their bonus point). 

 Brad and Lara are still developing on the design front. But I'll give them a bouquet for their fresh looking bedroom. A brick bat for the powder room though, where functionality trumped design. The hand basin on top of the toilet seemed odd to me.

 Dale and Sophie showed so much promise with their dining room in the first week but I've been disappointed ever since. Their Guest Bedroom didn't work (photo above). The twigs on top of the bed head looked like they'd been left there by Big Bird. The school desk was too small to be useful. The curtains were an unusual length. Would anyone actually use that skinny built in bench? Overall, a room that didn't function well.

 But I liked their powder room the best. Their choice of basin was both stylish and practical (photo above). 

 The brothers, Andrew and Mike, won on points this week for their kids bedroom (photo above). This room would no doubt appeal to young brothers. From my point of view, the linen was too matchy-matchy. Less striped pillows and a print may have worked better. 

I really liked the height ruler on the wall. It was designed by Mike and Andrew and created by sign-a-rama. Do you think this series is as good as the last one?

Desperately Seeking Sofa

 I'm desperately seeking the perfect sofa. The problem is I want something that's modern with a traditional feel. It also has to look good and be able to withstand the vagaries of small children. As you can imagine I've been looking for a long time. Let me know if you've found the perfect sofa.

(Photo 1 and 2 via fy2k.com.au; photo 3 via ozdesignfurniture.com.au)

Girl Time

Recently, I had a weekend away with four girlfriends at Kyneton near Bendigo in Victoria. There were a few ground rules: no kids, no husbands and no cooking. The plan was that we would try the renowned restaurants in Kyneton as well as visit the Grace Kelly frock fest in Bendigo. What can I say? It was a fabulous weekend. We did a lot of eating including at the bistro of  Annie Smithers (who is a protege of the great Stephanie Alexander), the turkish cuisine at Mr Carsisi and the Indian at Dhaba at the Mill.

You won't be surprised to know that my girlfriends are shoppers who could compete at the Olympic level, so we spent a lovely morning wandering around the Kyneton shops. It was lovely to find things you can't find anywhere else. 

We also admired, a gorgeous florist called Prunella (photos above), where we found this table with garden pot feet. Isn't it great?  We bought provisions from this French patisserie, Monsieur Pierre. 

 The result was that we didn't need to use our fabulously equipped kitchen back at our cottage (see the first photo at the top of this post plus photos below). The cottage is called, Eat Sleep Kyneton. And that's exactly what we did all weekend.

I thought these scrabble tiles in the bathroom were added a whimsical feeling to the cottage. Book at weekend away with your girlfriends, you'll have a blast. We did.

The Block - Week 2 - Room Reveal

I've been slow to post about The Block this week, mainly because all the action around here this week has been on the "Real Block"  (our renovation). In an exciting development, the slab was poured today. I feel as though we've started the real work now. And the pool will be tiled next week, so I'll post some photos then. 
So back to Channel 9's TV Program, The Block. Are you feeling disappointed? I am. Even though I enjoy the show, the room reveals seem very bland. This week Sophie and Dale's master bedroom came in third place (photo above). Personally, I liked it the best as it continued their vintage style. And they used long, flowing curtains which upped the glamour. To be truthful, even though I love vintage and antique items, I felt the door bed head wasn't a good enough piece for a million dollar property. What did you think? Was it your cup of tea? I certainly liked the bird wall mural and thought that the french settee beneath it, added a glamorous touch (photo below). 

But the winner this week were brothers, Mike and Andrew (photo below) . I've started to call their interior design style "Hilton Hotel". The "Hilton Hotel" style  is where every stick of furniture looks like it came straight out of a standard room at the Hilton. There's lots of neutral colours, everything works, and there's nothing offensive to anyone. In short, a perfect room for the attendees of the annual Accountants Convention. But is it inspiring interior design? Not to me. I'd love to know what you think. I'm not going to comment on the other contestants this week as there wasn't much to say. What was your favourite room this week?

The Block - Week 1

 If you're watching The Block, you know that the first rooms were revealed this week. Don't worry if  you missed it, you haven't missed much. The rooms were pretty ordinary but it's the first week so let's give them time to develop a style. The brothers incorporated a  flip out bed into their office so it can convert into a guest bedroom (first picture above). It was in the style of Maxwell Smart. So I guess other guys will think it's a cool idea but for the family who eventually buy the Terrace House I don't imagine it's a big drawcard.

 Brad and Lara have not sorted out their design style yet (picture above). So this week their sitting room looked like they went down to their nearest furniture store and asked for one standard coffee table, one standard couch, an armchair and a light to add some interest. The result was a one-way ticket to Snoresville. But I haven't given up on this couple, I think they could pull a rabbit out of a hat. I liked how they kept the period features of the room.

 Dan and Dani presented a guest bedroom (picture above and below). And amazingly it won the room of the week. Personally, I thought it lacked personality. And I'm not a big fan of mirrored doors. They're so 80's. And it's curtains on the curtains I'm afraid. These curtains are like wearing a dress mid-calf. It doesn't work. They need to use full length curtains and place the rod well above the top of the window. Long, flowing curtains will add some elegance.

 And finally, we have Dale and Sophie's Dining Room (picture above and below). This was my favouite room as it had a sense of style about it. I love the restored fire place (although I would have used marble on the hearth). The mirrors above look great. They also made a good choice with the dining table. Sadly, the chairs are the real low point in this room. They look like they found them in a skip from the building site next door. They really have to go. Probably a modern set of chairs would look good.  I also liked the light that Sophie made. It reminded me of the ceiling of Mrs G's in Potts Point which was designed by Sibella Court.

What can I say about the curtains? Well, nothing really, except see my comments above. I hope that all the couples take a few more risks this week.