Covid-19 and what lies ahead

May 6, 2020

2020 started out as our best year to date. We had some amazing clients and projects on the go, as well as in our pipeline. We were really excited about the year ahead. Then along came Covid-19 and threw one mighty large spanner in the works! Yes, we had to postpone several consultations with new clients, and push out finishing dates of some existing projects, but we’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to continue working from our homes to some extent. Design work continues and Dael has been able to talk to clients and suppliers on the phone and via Zoom meetings. And one benefit of being at home and having a bit more time is that we finally started our IGTV channel, posting short videos with design tips to Instagram and Facebook. Something we’ve been meaning to do for a while now.

Living in Lockdown has been a massive adjustment for all of us, but it’s been so cool to see the innovative ways individuals and businesses have been coping. Our hearts go out to all those who have experienced heartbreak and stress, I can’t even imagine how tough that has been. As an eternal optimist I like to find a silver lining, and for me there have been a few…

Slowing down, literally smelling the roses, spending quality time as a family, regular exercise and creating new rituals, not to mention that the planet has been given the opportunity to ‘breathe’ and recalibrate. It kinda makes you wonder! It’s given us all time to realise what is most important in our lives, and one thing that Dael and I know, but we hope that you are all realising now too (if you hadn’t already), is how important your home is.

We’ve all been spending more time in our homes than we probably ever have before, and if you love your home, that will have made this time so much better. People who don’t value beautiful interiors may think it’s just superficial and shallow, but whether you realise it or not you are greatly affected by your surroundings. A good design not only transforms the interior, it transforms the lives of the people living there. If our designs are contributing to more happy, content people in this world, then how cool is that?!

There are a few simple things you can do right now to make your home more enjoyable. Start by decluttering and editing. Piles of clutter can cause you stress. Look to see if there are certain areas that are constantly being used as a dumping ground. Can you add a basket to collect the abandoned shoes, or a pretty box for mail and paperwork? Make sure that items on display that have a practical use look good too.

Create vignettes around your house made up of things you love, maybe they have a memory or story attached. It’s amazing how they’ll make you happy when you see them. Start with just one surface and have a play, when you feel more confident try another surface. Move pieces around regularly to keep your home feeling fresh. We give you lots of tips in our videos, so check them out if you haven’t already.

Add greenery. We talk about this a lot, but it’s a really simple way to inject life, texture and interest into your home. You don’t even need to go to a florist (although we’re all for supporting your local florist, especially now), you can just take you secateurs into your own garden and cut off a few branches.

Paint is one of the simplest ways to transform a room, it can literally change the mood of a space. We have an online colour course that you can download and do at home anytime. It teaches you how to choose a colour palette that will be just right for your home. Whilst in Level 3 (and 4 before) we’re offering a 20% discount, so go check it out.

As we head towards Alert Levels 2 and then 1, I hope that we will all adopt a new normal. Take whatever positives you found whilst in Lockdown - slow down, spend more time with loved ones, exercise more, get creative, whatever you discovered (or re-discovered) that is going to enhance your life. Travelling overseas won’t be happening in the near future, but why not see more of our own country, support local tourism, and support local businesses as much as possible.

At Bibby + Brady we work with some incredible local businesses and NZ furniture manufacturers (the sofa above is a great example of one of our NZ made creations). This means we will be able to continue to create beautiful spaces, no matter what. If you decide that you want to spend that money you had put aside for overseas travel on a new kitchen, or a complete house renovation, maybe even a new build, then get in touch with us so we can put you into our calendar, or you can fill in this form. We can work with you right from the planning stage, through to the install. We can project manage the entire reno if you want us to, we have some fantastic tradies and suppliers so you can rest assured that the job will be done to our high standards.

Wishing you all the best, and remember better times are yet to come. Stay safe, stay healthy, and for now, stay home. Vic + Dael x

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.