Tag: design inspiration

master bedroom styling

  • 25 October 2023

One of the biggest problems I come across is over decorating, there is a dangerous tendency to keep adding MORE.   In fact adding more does the opposite, it confuses your mind and doesn’t give your eyes a place to land and rest.  Simplicity is critical when designing a bedroom, this space is your sanctuary away from the noise of the house.

A paired back well considered space instinctively feels comfortable, here are the key elements that make it happen …

Dark walls recede creating depth, custom made headboard, cushions and quilt enabled specific fabric combinations. Custom bedside cabinets and lighting enable functional proportions, double track curtains control light and privacy.

Layering details of proportion, colour and texture are what makes a space instinctively feel right.

Less is always more.

Oast houses

  • 29 May 2020

Comprised of a series of 5 tile clad towers this family home by London based ACME Architects is quite magical. Set in rural Kent the concept was inspired by 18th-century Oast Houses – buildings used for drying beer brewing hops, the construction and detailing are mindblowing.

A central triple-height space connects the 4 outer towers and serves as the entrance and family hub.

Plywood curved stairwells access Bedrooms on the upper floors

Plywood shingle ceilings echo the exterior cladding

Discover more about the project here at Dwell

Incredible images by Jim Stephenson.

tips on exterior colour combinations for your house

  • 7 April 2020

Working on a new build project the first job on the to-do list is to decide on the exterior colours, most clients find this really difficult.

We all know the value of street appeal and, if we are honest, the desire to own the best looking house on the street is within us all. The exterior is the first impression of your home and is comprised of products that will last the lifetime of your build, the colour combination also sets the style of the interior, ….. so much PRESSURE and you haven’t set foot inside yet!!

Don’t panic, there is just one easy rule to follow; aim to use a maximum of 3 colours – simple right?

Try to package together the elements, most homes will use more than one type of cladding, for example, brick + cedar so already you have used 2 colours now combine the roof, window joinery and garage door as the 3rd colour.

Villa style homes offer an opportunity to highlight features without breaking the 3 colour rule, below I have used Resene Double Linen on the weatherboards with Resene Half Sea Fog for the trims, Pearl White window joinery and garage door, topped with a colorsteel Flax Pod roof

Templeton Architecture

  • 7 November 2018

Take a browse through the project gallery of Melbourne based Templeton Architecture and you will see refined sophistication. Their bio describes an ethos of focusing on light, colour and proportion whilst respecting the Architectural history of each project.

The Matilda project is a weekend getaway built on the clients childhood land Northeast of Victoria. The layered rawness of the Rammed Earth construction is breathtaking, it appears to hold history.  While the product was chosen for its thermal properties for me the solid timeless beauty of the earth surpasses any technical advantage!

 

Aptly described by Templeton Architecture as “The honest warmth of the material, and the depth of its construction, grounded the project into the natural contours of the land”

Templeton’s  homage to history can clearly been seen here in the Delatite Station  project as well

Beautifully elegant!

 

Clarke & Clarke collaborate with Emma J Shipley

  • 5 July 2018

Late last year Clarke & Clarke collaborated with designer Emma J Shipley releasing  the stunning  Animalia fabric and wallpaper collection … I have to admit pawing over the samples for the first time resulting in foot tapping excitement oh my goodness how I LOVE this!

Inspired by a recent trip to the Amazon Jungle the collection features the foliage and creatures Emma observed whilst there.  Mixing creature sketches, a fascination with mathematical symmetry and the human skeleton Animila explores the link between all living things. Printed on super soft tactile velvet’s and flat 100% cottons the detail in the upholstery weight fabric is stunning.

BUT wait it doesn’t stop there, Clarke & Clarke have launched a range of upholstered furniture showcasing the Animilia collection.

Villa Textiles are the New Zealand agents for Clarke & Clarke.

Timorous Beasties

  • 13 June 2018

Its always exciting to discover a new resource, my first few hours wandering around the super user friendly  Patternsnap site has been like opening Pandora’s box! To share all of the new discoveries at once would risk sensory overload so you will need to stay tuned as I drip feed the goodies.

First up my favorite discovery is Timorous Beasties the multi award winning  studio of Alistair Mcauley and Paul Simmons based in Glasgow offers a stunning collection of fabric, wallcoverings, furniture, lampshades and ceramics.

The collections are diverse, ranging from designs based on traditional copperplate engraving techniques to designs that playfully combine time honored motifs of plants and animals with a modern spin …. and a scrumptious colour pallet.

From the intricate repeat pattern of  White Moth Allover Fabric.

White Moth Allover fabric

To the pure colour explosion of Chic Blotch fabric

Chic Blotch fabric

Kaleido Bee Custom Velvet Fabric on this foot stool is incrediable

Superwide Iguana Wallpaper is a crazy combination of birds, thistles,  iguanas, and bugs

Superwide Iguana wallpaper

I love the tiny details that stop you in your tracks and force you to take another look.

Ultimate Homes Mount Maunganui Show Home

  • 23 March 2018

Working on show homes is a perfect opportunity to try something a little bit different.  The challenge to the Architect, JMAC  Architecture, the Designer – me  and the Builder Ultimate Homes is to stretch the imagination of the savvy show home punters by presenting something just outside the visitors comfort zone, something not see before but at the same time a home that is very livable.

Feedback to date on Ultimate Homes show home at The Coast Papamoa has ticked these boxes, it has become a memorable talking point in a sea of beige show homes.

The cathedral ceilings of the living area are enhanced by  Dulux Rangatiki River a deliciously deep stormy blue green, daylight floods the open plan living space and the pure White ceilings compensate for the dark paint choice.

Mount Maunganui Show Home Interior Design Mount Maunganui Show Home Interior Design

Arent & Pyke

  • 8 November 2017

I’m a long time fan of  the work of Sydney Design Studio Arent & Pyke, I love their clean aesthetic, eye for detail and their use of colour.

Barcom Terrace project is a sympathetic modernization of an 1800’s boarding house all of the images are gorgeous but the 3 that catch my eye are below…

The unexpected use of concrete to create bench seating that then cleverly flows into the fire hearth grounds the room, the squab and cushion combination on the bench seat is again thoughtful. Default decision (as discussed on my previous blog) would be to have the squab full length with a multitude of cushions … I love the thoughtful detail of the short squab and the combination of cushion shapes the over-sized wall mounted lamp adds an intimacy to the space.

The kitchen sits majestically at the other end of this open-plan space, the steel framed joinery housing the Scullery not only visually separates the space but entices you into a space that is traditionally hidden

The industrial mix of the concrete plinth and black fittings with elegant wispy white fabric and marble  ……

Superbly Photographed by Tom Ferguson

Australian heritage house reinvented by tenfifyfive

  • 8 August 2017

Tenfifiyfive web site has me on the first page “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”  William Morris’s quote is one of my favorites and definitely  the basis of my own design ethos.

There is lots to admire in the studios gallery of work, I particularly like the combination of materials and attention to detail in the Park House project, rustic red bricks, warm timber, harsh raw concrete with super fine back steel and elegant Statuario marble all wrapped up in a family home.

I’m a bit obsessed with window seats at the moment  I like to communal gathering space they offer, love the depth of this window seat and how the joinery wraps around the window, the depth detail is nicely repeated in the desk area.

As creatures of habit we make auto pilot decisions without considering alternatives, glass shower screens are always designed to disappear right?  Think again ….. glass framed in super fine black joinery is stunning. Auto pilot #2 cabinetry stops at the window .. not necessarily!

Layer upon layer of texture and detail … love it

Park House images by Christine Francis, first seen on Contemporist

New build villa style

  • 24 May 2017

Every now and again a special project comes along,  without a doubt this is one of those. I was lucky enough to work with some extra- ordinary clients who had a very clear vision and buckets of bravery, digging deeply into my bag of tricks we created something pretty special together.

Hours of deliberation over tiny details, lots of excited clapping (mostly from me), and Harwood Homes amazing team of builders and subcontractors, produced this new build which is oozing with character and intricate detail.

Client brief was to recreate the essence of a traditional Villa with a modern twist.

Inky depths of Resene Nocturnal in the entrance set the mood for the rest of the home, traditional Wainscoting panels were custom made for the entrance hall along with metal screens through which you catch a glimpse of what lays beyond. Crystal chandeliers in the dining room cast delicate shadows on rich Black Marie solid timber flooring. Suspended shelving displays collected  treasurers, touches of brass continue through out the Interior adding warmth.

Images by the very talented Amanda Aitken.