Rocking Colour on a Dark Background

Over the last six months Dael & I have addressed the question about "how to find your interior style" at several workshops. One of the things we suggest is to look to your wardrobe to see what colours, patterns and even style of clothing you're attracted to - relaxed, Boho, tailored... I was in Auckland this weekend with three girlfriends and we know each other so well we can virtually pick the clothes our friends are going to make a bee-line for. "Oh, that is so you, try it on", we'd say. Your home should be the same. When your friends come over they should instantly be able to see that it's a reflection of your style, taste and lifestyle.

While shopping with my friends this weekend I tried on this gorgeous shirt (above) from Stolen Girlfriends Club. It is a classic example of my taste in fashion mirroring my taste in interiors. I love the drama of colour against a dark background, whether it's a fabric, a wallpaper, a piece of art, or a room. The dark base is deep and moody, and any colour layered on top just seems to jump out at you. I couldn't stop thinking about that shirt and I'm very happy to say that it's now hanging happily in my wardrobe.

A couple of my favourite James Dunlop fabrics display the same qualities - love them!

Of course metallics look stunning on a dark background. The gold pineapples on this black wallpaper by Rifle Paper Co create a look that is both fun and glamorous.

I've recently painted my living room a deep, inky blue and I love how my brass and light wood accents are dramatically lifted by the dark colour. Artwork, cushions, flowers and greenery all look amazing against a dark base.

If you want some ideas about working with, and mixing colours in your home or wardrobe, one of my favourite websites is Design Seeds. Here you'll find thousands of beautiful colour palettes mostly inspired by nature. Browse the latest or search by 'colour' or 'collection'.

Does your home look anything like your wardrobe, can you see a common thread? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave me a message below.

Arranging Furniture in Rooms with Little Wall Space

Last week Dael & I were thrilled to be part of an interactive interior workshop in Auckland run by Farmers, in conjunction with Your Home & Garden, using their new homewares range. Editor of Your Home & Garden magazine, Shelley Ferguson, worked together with the Farmers buyers to create this fantastic range inspired by the latest trends and our New Zealand lifestyle.

At the workshop guests had the opportunity to ask us questions about interior design, and time and time again the topic of furniture placement came up. It seems many of us have open plan spaces and multiple doors and windows, which is great for letting in natural light and creating spacious homes, but it can be tricky to know where to place your furniture when you don't have a lot of solid walls. Never fear, there is a solution...

It's seems to be a common mistake for people to think they have to push all their furniture up against the walls of a room. In fact pulling your furniture into the room can create a much cosier arrangement. This works particularly well when there are a lot of doors and windows that you don't want to block. To help ground the arrangement place a large rug under your furniture, it will suddenly feel less like it's floating in the middle of the room.

If you don't have a lot of extra room, simply pulling your furniture a small distance away from the windows, creating some breathing room, will do the trick.

Natural light is immensely favourable in your room, so try not to block it with your sofa. If, by moving your sofa away from the window, it means the back becomes a feature, consider placing a low table or storage unit in front of it to deflect the attention.

You could also try looking to your other rooms. A dining table is more than happy to sit in the centre of a room, so the lack of a solid wall is less of an issue. Can you swap your living and dining rooms around? A pendant light hung over the centre of your dining table will help to define the space.

We're heading down to Wellington and Christchurch this week for two more workshops, so I look forward to reporting back on more solutions for tricky interior spaces. If you have a question you would like us to help you with, drop us an email, it may make a great blog post.

Decorate without blowing the budget

With the change of seasons often comes the desire to refresh and update your interiors, but there's also that new pair of boots you have your eye on, or that amazing coat! There are plenty of ways you can breathe new life into your home without blowing the budget, and I'm going to share a few of my faves.

Bring the outdoors in. Flowers and foliage always looks beautiful in your home, adding life and texture. You don't need to spend a lot of money at a florist, just look to your garden. Sometimes the simplest arrangements are the best.

Clean and declutter. It goes without saying that the easiest way to make your home look good is to clean and declutter it. I love knick knacks and ornaments, but I'm careful to only have pieces that I absolutely love. Look around your house at the things you have on display, if they're not beautiful, sentimental, or functional, let them go. Once you've done this, rearrange your shelves and table tops to create new vignettes with your favourite possessions. Your home will look and feel lighter as well as tidier.

Change your layout. Regularly changing the vignettes around my home keeps things fresh and interesting. The same applies to furniture. Changing the layout of your room can transform your space. Pull your sofa out from the wall, swap pieces from another room, move pieces around, it's fun creating a new look using your existing furniture.

Get out your paintbrush. Paint is one of the simplest ways to transform a room, and is much cheaper than new furniture. You may want to freshen everything with a crisp white, or get brave and introduce colour. If you're not sure about which colour to choose, talk to us, we love working on colour palettes for our clients.

Display your kids' art. Kids often create the best art - they're not afraid to go crazy and they have a certain freedom about their creations. One of my favourite pieces I've seen online is a bedhead made by a teenager and her friends on a simple canvas drop-cloth.

Get crafty. Don't leave it all to the kids, get in touch with your own inner artist and crafter. Are there any pieces of furniture that you can repurpose or breathe new life into? I love this simple side table created by a stack of magazines on a piece of wood with caster wheels. What a great use of all those magazines you have lying around.

Here are a couple of cool DIY projects that I came across recently (click on the image to see how to make them)... I love the wall hangings and they will add great texture to a room.

The pressed flowers hark back to my first suggestion to bring the outdoors in. You take the glass from two equal size frames, place your pressed flower or foliage between the two and tape together with strong white tape creating a frame - love that!

I hope you find at least one thing in this post that you want to try. Remember, it's your home, the choices you make should reflect you, and make you happy when you walk through the door. Change is as good as a holiday.