Favourite Space | Hayden Borrie

January 29, 2019

We’re starting 2019 with one of our “Favourite Space” blog posts, where we introduce you to another one of our clever and creative friends, and show you the space they most love to hang out in. Last year we had a meeting with Hayden Borrie after several people suggested we should meet. And they were so right… you see, Hayden is this super talented guy with an engineering and design background, and he was busy developing a range of beautiful products suitable for both residential and commercial environments. It wasn’t long after our first meeting that we employed his services to help us create a stunning black steel shower frame for a client of ours (we hope to have photos of this soon for our portfolio). Since then we’ve worked on other projects with Hayden and look forward to many more.

For this shoot Dael and I headed out to Hayden’s home with our photographer Florence in tow to photograph his family room. Hayden shares his home in the Esk Hills with his wife, Megan and their two children Roman, 6 yrs, and Fern, 3 yrs. Hayden and Megan bought the section after returning from London, and proceeded to do a huge amount of work on it themselves. They hired architect, Andrew Young, and local construction firm, Robinson Built, but also had a lot of input into the design process. Megan managed the project and all the tradies, and the couple designed the kitchen, installing the island bench themselves, as well as tackling all of the painting and landscaping.

Hayden’s range of self-designed shelving and storage is called smpl. - born out of the desire to create a shelving system for his own home. Longevity was an important factor so they are built to last with powdercoated steel frames and shelves; and wanting a sense of cohesiveness throughout his home, the range also includes bathroom accessories.

Not restricted to residential, the smpl. range is great for commercial settings as well. Hayden designed and installed the shelving at our favourite local coffee establishment, Crazy Good (see below).

Right Hayden, time for a few questions so we can get to know you a bit better…

B+B - What is your favourite space?

HB - It’s what we call our 'family' room, but it’s really just all one big space including the family room, kitchen, dining and lounge.

What do you love most about your space?

The 'openness' of the view out to the north west, while being hunkered into the hill to the east; and it feels like the heart of the house.

What do you love about what you’ve created for Crazy Good?

Modularity and 'the system' (you'll probably hear me say that a lot). It's going to need a bit of customer learning, but the system in CG would equally be at home in a commercial environment or residential housing.

What’s your favourite time if the day?

Late evening. That's when the gears start turning, and can easily go into the wee smalls :) No distractions (I love my family, really), and you can just get on with it.

Who or what inspires you?

Simplifying unnecessarily complicated products and processes. I’m not a big fan of superfluous details, rather I prefer basic 'functional aesthetics'. I love modularity and re-use of components through a design.

George Nelson would be one of my main influences. He's one of the originators of American Modernism, and I love the simplicity in his products, particularly during his time at Herman Miller. Yes, he may have taken credit for a few too many designs of others (!), but there's no doubt he pushed design into places it hadn't been before.

What are you reading/listening to?

I’ve been listening to 'The Roots' lately for designing, and 'Royal Blood' for hard work! Reading even for fun is usually pretty technical. :)

Sweet or savoury?

Definitely savoury!

Favourite drink?

Pour-over Chemex coffee, black.

Favourite item you own?

My Chemex pour-over 6 cup. I like the precise process of it, and that it’s the same every single time.

What are your goals for 2019?

To develop my smpl. product range further, and to continue to provide 'fresh' solutions for custom interiors (mainly from a manufacturing perspective).

Oh and do more mountain biking and fishing!

Thank you so much Hayden for allowing us into your home. To all our readers, make sure you go and check out Hayden’s website to learn more about his smpl. range, and follow him on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with all his new work and product design.

Jen Sievers | Greenhouse Interiors

June 11, 2018

Before interior design became my life, what seems like a lifetime ago, I was a graphic designer. I was lucky enough to work with a variety of clever and talented people, and one of those people was the beautiful Jen Sievers. We were both working as graphic designers in a small marketing firm, but, as often happens, after the birth of our children we both changed direction slightly - me to interiors and she to fine art.

Jen has been going from strength to strength since she started painting again three years ago, and I have really enjoyed seeing her become so successful doing something she loves. Her latest achievement is so exciting, as she and I have both been huge fans of the two women Jen has recently collaborated with - Julia Green and Armelle Habib.

Julia Green is an incredibly talented stylist and writer and the founder of Greenhouse Interiors, an online destination for boutiques textiles, homewares, and fine art. Julia contacted Jen earlier this year interested in selling her work. Of course this was a no-brainer for Jen, who, like me, was a big fan of Julia's work. "So I painted a collection for her. It's been a whirlwind of work and excitement", Jen explains. "Being a part of her (Julia's) gang has been an impossible dream since the start. Life is full of incredible surprises!"

Julia worked her magic with Jen's new collection, styling each piece in a room setting which compliments and highlights the artwork. The settings were then photographed by another of our idols, Armelle Habib, who captures them so beautifully.

You can view all of Jen's latest collection here on the Greenhouse Interiors website. I'm sure you'll agree with me, the collaboration between Jen, Julia and Armelle is a winner!

Introducing Briana to Team Bibby + Brady

May 14, 2018

One of the best pieces of business advice I've had is to hire your weaknesses. Bibby + Brady has always worked well with just the two of us because Dael and I compliment each other with our strengths. But as we've got busier and started taking on bigger projects, we wanted to be able to offer our clients a more complete interior design service. So we're thrilled to have a new member of Bibby + Brady to help us do just that. Meet interior architect, Briana Joll...

Briana emailed us at the end of last year when she and her husband were getting ready to relocate from Auckland to Hawke's Bay. We caught up for a coffee earlier this year once she had made the move down. With a Bachelor's degree in Spacial Design, certificates in ArchiCAD and CAD Draughting, and a working background in commercial interior design, we knew she'd be a valuable addition to our team. Being able to offer both our commercial and residential clients 3D visuals, along with documenting, draughting, and elevation drawings meant we could offer the best possible service to our clients.

We got straight to work getting Briana to create 3D visuals for a clients' laundry and kitchen renovation. These are so valuable when your client wants to see their space before starting on the construction stage.

It's an optional service we now offer, and it's a great tool for visualising how things fit and how different colours and materials will look. It's much better to spend a bit of time at this planning stage, tweaking the design until you're happy, than making changes at the construction stage or after installation.

In this particular laundry, the doors and the room are existing, and we're getting the cabinetry made and installed by our joiner. Briana can also do the elevation drawings if necessary.

Below are examples of elevation drawings Briana has done for some commercial jobs. Elevations show the fronts or sides of something, as opposed to a floor plan which shows a space from above. They're intended for use as a guide for construction, and as well as commercial projects, elevations are also great for residential kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, or anywhere that requires built-in joinery, such as bookshelves or an office.

Space planning is another of Briana's fortes, as you can see from this commercial office project below. Dael and I are also adept at this, but Briana's experience in spatial design and CAD software definitely enhances our services now.

So you see, the addition of Briana to our team means that Bibby + Brady can be your one stop interior design shop, cliché as that may be. Whether your project is residential or commercial, we can take it from the concept to the finished interior, project managing it along the way, and including submitting plans to Council (when necessary). You don't need to go to a number of different professionals, we can handle it all for you and take away much of the stress. We love having Briana as part of our team, and if you work with us you will definitely benefit from her too. Visit our 'Design Service' tab to find out more about working with us, and make sure you download our "work with us" pdf to learn more about our services and processes.