Entrances | where first impressions count

March 31, 2020

If you haven’t already, hop over to our Instagram page or our IGTV channel to watch Dael’s video with tips for creating a beautiful entrance into your home. To help illustrate some of Dael’s tips I’ve put together this blog post for you. An entrance is vital for creating a good first impression and giving your visitors a taste of what’s to come, and we also like it to have some practical solutions to make our lives easier.

The most important piece of furniture in your entry is a console table. These are designed to be tall enough for you to drop your keys, mail etc as you walk in, and narrow enough so as not to take up too much valuable walking space. A console with drawers is handy for storing items you don’t want on display, but another option is to add storage baskets underneath. The image above is a great example of style and practicality coming together - a lamp to greet your visitors at night; a purely decorative piece for interest; a lidded box to store your keys; a vase of flowers for texture, interest and a beautiful scent; a mirror to bounce light and let you check yourself before heading out; and baskets for storing the dog’s lead, the kids’ shoes etc.

Get creative and playful with your entrance table. Art is a great alternative to a mirror, and remember not to hang it too high, you want it to have a connection to the table and vignette below it. In the image above they’ve hung the artwork off-centre and balanced it with the large clam shell and branches. Simple branches or greenery from your garden can be used instead of fresh flowers and will likely last a lot longer while still adding texture and life. In place of a lamp, if you don’t have a power point handy, add a candle.

I love the image above! The styling is deliberately simple allowing the beautiful pieces to shine. Instead of a console table, a small cabinet has plenty of hidden storage within. The artwork is hung off-centre and anchored below by the small black table, which would be handy for dropping keys on as you enter. The vases are in a group of three (the magic number when styling), and create a simple but interesting grouping of varying shapes and sizes. The touches of black add depth and lead your eye around from the table to the lamp and back across to the artwork. This is a simple but clever way to link everything together.

If you’re lucky enough to have the space for a piece of furniture with storage, you should definitely take that option. Just think of all the things you could hide in there, and the first impression your visitors will have is how tidy and organised you are. This piece (above) has been custom made and built in to the alcove. Talk to your local cabinet maker, joiner or interior designer if you want a custom piece for your entrance.

Dael and I sometimes look to use wallpaper in our clients’ entranceways when we want to create a real impact. It’s a space that you pass through rather than sit and spend time in, so you can afford to be a bit brave if you want to. Don’t be afraid to hang artwork on top of your wallpaper, it looks amazing and breaks up the pattern, helping to create a focal point around the console table.

Bold colour also creates a sense of “wow”. Use the space to express your personality. I love the mix of traditional, pretty pieces with textural tribal masks in the image below.

If you have stairs in your entrance take advantage of the wall under the stairs to create ‘a moment’. A bench seat works really well, and then follow the sloping line of the stairs with artwork and/or a floral or greenery arrangement.

If you have room a row of hooks in your entrance way is super handy for hanging coats, hats etc. Just make sure it doesn’t look too messy, that’s not a great first impression. Dael has hers tucked away behind the door on the opposite side from her console table. That way your eye is drawn to the table and not the hooks.

Don’t worry if your entranceway is small, there are still things you can do to create something fabulous. With the space below they’ve kept it simple with the the largely white artwork and small white, leggy table not taking up too much visual space. There’s enough room to drop your bag and throw your keys on that table.

Even a tiny floating shelf will do the trick, and mirrors are always great for bouncing light around and creating the illusion of space.

My dream house would have a large, welcoming entrance, and in this case you can have fun with the scale of your furniture and lighting. Dael and I both love a large, round table a few metres inside the door. Style the top with flowers or greenery, a tray for your keys and favourite decor pieces.

If not centring the table in the entrance, but it’s still a large space, make sure you play with the scale of your pieces. In the image below a large entry rug welcomes you with a large statement chandelier filling the space above. The console table is chunky and wider than a conventional one and the pieces on top are also substantial in size.

Finally, it’s not unusual to have a home where you walk straight into a living room or perhaps a kitchen. In this situation we try to create a sense of an entry by having a table or surface where you can still pop your keys etc. The image below has a long console behind the sofa. This creates a seperate hall like space between the living room and entrance.

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration, and now that we all have a bit more time on our hands with the Covid-19 lockdown in place, you can have a play with yours. Again, make sure you watch Dael’s video on our Instagram page. Stay safe, stay home and make that home an awesome place to be!

image source: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17

One Bed Three Ways | with Foxtrot Linen

February 7, 2020

There’s something about a freshly made bed. Climbing in after a long day and sinking down into beautiful linen sheets straight off the line. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures. To be honest, there are no hard and fast rules about how to make your bed, but we wanted to show you how we like to make ours, and show you three variations using the same bed and duvet and just swapping out the pillows and throw.

We start with a classic white linen duvet cover. We always go one size bigger than the bed to ensure the duvet hangs down nicely and covers the mattress. This is a king size bed and a super king size duvet. Whenever possible we have a headboard to anchor the bed. We had this fluted headboard custom made using a super luxe blue velvet leopard print.

Next add a throw to the bottom third of the bed to add some weight and balance the bed.

We like to fold the duvet down over the throw to add an extra layer, which adds interest and will make the bed look cosy and inviting.

Place your first set of pillows. We’ve used a soft grey pillowcase and sheet set to differentiate slightly from the white duvet.

The second set of pillows are the same fresh white as the duvet.

Next come the Euro pillows. Once again, it’s about layering and having varying heights to make it look extra comfy, and who doesn’t like a Euro pillow for sitting up in bed to read.

And to finish, one long 90x35 lumbar cushion. One of our favourite cushion sizes, they’re perfect on a bed to add impact while keeping it simple and unfussy. In this look we’ve kept the bedding colours all soft and quiet so as not to compete with the hero pieces - the headboard and lumbar cushions, both in varying sizes of navy leopard print.

For the next two bed examples we worked with our friends from Foxtrot Home. The duvet cover, sheets and pillow cases on the first bed set up are all from Foxtrot Home, and then we borrowed a few more pieces to create our other looks.

So the base is the same - light grey sheets and brilliant white duvet.

These lightweight linen quilts are amazing and we can highly recommend them. We chose the ochre colour to contrast and complement the blue headboard. With the crazy, hot weather we’ve been having recently, these quilts are the perfect weight on their own with a sheet set.

Again, fold the duvet down over the quilt. Doesn’t the quilt look great with the gorgeous hand blown Monmouth lights.

Pillows, two…

Pillows, four.

Again, add the Euro pillows. You could put the Euros at the back, but I find they cover too much of the headboard that way, and the smaller pillows at the front with the throw pillows create a busier look.

To finish the look this time we used two 50x50 cushions that pick up colours and tie everything together in a nice, bold figurative ribbon.

Our final look uses a more earthy, muted colour palette, and shows you another way to display your cushions.

Step 1, white duvet, and if you look closely you can see that the sheets are the olive green stripes.

Here we’ve used the natural quilt. All of the quilts feature the grey stripe on the reverse, which we love.

Add the natural pillowcases, and this time we’ve propped them up vertically, just because we can.

Now the white pillowcases. It looks nice, but a bit too safe.

To spice things up we’ve added one rosewood Euro pillow and one 50x50 cushion. The cushion has a natural linen base with thin stripes in pink and blue.

To tie the two bigger cushions together we’ve finished with a small 30x50 lumbar in front. The solid checks work well with the thin striped checks and the solid colour of the rosewood pillow.

I just couldn’t help myself, I had to pull the quilt down to show off those cute striped sheets.

So there you have it. A few different ideas to try if you haven’t already. I love having a collection of bedding so that I can switch things out and create different looks from time to time. Visit our friends at Foxtrot Home to help get you started. Their linen is so beautiful to sleep on, and being a natural fibre they breath and get better with washing. They’re definitely my pick for these hot nights as they’re much cooler than cotton sheets, but also keep you snug and warm in winter.

Bluff Hill Kitchen, Laundry, Dining Nook & Entrance

January 15, 2020

At the end of 2019 we finished a renovation project that we had spent a good part of the year working on. Our clients, a young family of seven (dad and the two boys not pictured below), live in a beautiful big historic home on Napier hill. The house had amazing bones and character but was definitely in need of an update. Nicki and Scott hired us initially to design their kitchen, and when we realised there needed to be a lot of structural work we called in our friends at Architecture HDT.

As is common with houses of this era, there were a lot of smaller rooms, and the kitchen was tucked away at the back. With a busy household of five children, Nicki and Scott wanted to take out a wall to create a large open plan space so that there was a connection between the kitchen, dining and living rooms.

The windows above the old kitchen bench were replaced with French doors out to the courtyard and the kitchen was completely removed and a new one was placed perpendicular to the original one.

The floor plan below gives you an idea of the final layout, although it did change slightly. The main difference was the pushing out of the external wall beyond the end of the fridge to make room for a small day pantry. Nicki and Scott’s builder, Brendan Grant of Grant Property & Construction Ltd, worked tirelessly on the renovation throughout the year.

It’s normal for there to be a few tweaks and changes to our initial design, but on the whole the finished kitchen has stayed pretty true to it. We wanted the kitchen to have a classic feel to be in keeping with the traditional home, but with a modern, sleek twist. Navy and white are classic and timeless, and we were so thrilled that Nicki and Scott went with the herringbone floors. A patterned tile in the laundry/butlers pantry helps to zone it as a seperate space whilst still complementing the wooden floor.

So much time and thought went into the layout, storage and practicality of the kitchen. The huge island houses the dishwasher, rubbish bins, plenty of drawers and cupboard space as well as room at one end for barstools. At the other end the bench top waterfalls down creating a beautiful feature from the living and main dining area.

The butlers sink and tap are a nod to the traditional style of the house. We chose a brushed nickel finish for the taps and handles - timeless yet again and so elegant.

The day pantry is one of my favourite features. When closed it’s very discreet and the pocket doors open and slide back into the wall so as not to block the access into the laundry. It’s the perfect space for tea, coffee and breakfast foods.

We kept the top cabinetry handleless for a cleaner, less fussy look. All of the joinery is by Sydaz Joinery.

The wall between the old kitchen and the living room was removed to allow more space, more light and much better flow. Because the ceiling heights were different in these two areas, it was really important to keep the flooring consistent throughout. The old kitchen had cork tiles on the floor and trying to match the existing living room floor boards was near impossible. We are totally in love with the new herringbone flooring that replaced the old floors, so happy days!

Those of you who have followed us for a while will know we are big fans of dining nooks and banquette seating, and this corner next to the new kitchen was crying out for one. It’s used for casual dining, whereas a large formal dining table is being custom made to fit in between the kitchen and living room.

The laundry also has extra storage for kitchen overflow, like larger appliances. It’s essentially in the same position, but that’s the only similarity with the old laundry. The access to it has changed and we completely redesigned the layout and fitted it out with custom joinery, tiled the floor and splash back.

The entrance to this beautiful old house got a makeover too. The concrete shelf (below) was removed and the wall opposite the front door was extended. A gorgeous new window was fitted to let in more natural light and provide a view from the dining nook, and a large custom door replaced the old door.

The new wall is just waiting for a beautiful console and either a mirror or a large piece of art - the perfect welcome into this amazing home.

Your front door and entrance creates the first impression for your guests, so this newly renovated home needed a special entrance. The doorway was enlarged for a new, very smart custom door painted in glossy black. The brushed nickel hardware echoes the hardware in the kitchen and laundry, and new exterior wall lights continue the modern traditional theme. The front door step is a work-in-progress and will be looking fabulous very soon.

Thank you so much Nicki and Scott for allowing us to share your stunning home. We are so happy with the outcome and wish you many happy times in the new space.