Green Living Life Better

Home » Home Build

Showing posts with label Home Build. Show all posts

Adore Magazine | Home Feature

A couple of weeks ago we had our home photographed for the gorgeous Australian online magazine Adore Home. That issue, the Christmas Edition went live on the 1st of December, and I'm very excited to be able to share the article with you today!

The editor, talented creative Loni Parker was so lovely to work with, as was the NZ-based photographer Helen Bankers, who specialises in advertising and editorial imagery, working across many leading magazines, shooting covers for the likes of Your Home & Garden, and Fashion Quarterly Entertaining. We had a lot of fun on the day of the shoot, and when Loni gave me a look at the photos I was blown away! I didn't know for sure if one had made the cover (Loni thought she'd surprise me) so when I saw it, I was over the moon! A lovely start to Christmas!!

Pop over here to read the article, and be sure to check out the whole issue. It's brimming with interior inspiration, including beautiful homes, Christmas gift guides, gorgeous summer styling and so much more. I'm sure like me, you'll get to the end feeling uplifted and ready to embrace this exciting time of year!

Instagram | Ideas & Inspiration

In case you missed it, I posted the first of this Instagram series about a week ago, as a way of sharing my own feed, as well as those of some of my favourite instagrammers. I loved receiving feedback from those of you who are on Instagram, and I hope that it may encourage those of who aren't to hop on board!

Images via my Instagram

While I got the house ready for a shoot last Friday, I took advantage of the fresh flowers and gorgeous Hexagon Blush Bed Linen from Thread Design to take snaps for my IG feed! We received more beautiful flowers from friends on the weekend, and you can also see a glimpse of our washi-tape Christmas tree which has been a big hit with the boys! Our home will appear in the next issue of Adore Home, the gorgeous Australian online magazine, due out on December 1st. See a sneak peek over on the Adore Home blog.

In yesterday's Monday Mix Up post, I introduced you to Maaike Koster of My Deer. Based in the Netherlands, Maaike is a multi-talented graphic designer and interior stylist, and proud mum to two boys. A recent discovery, her IG feed is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Filled with monochrome loveliness (the family dog included), my heart literally melts at the photos of her home and family.

If you're on Instagram, and you haven't yet discovered Stephanie Somebody, then it's time to climb out from under your rock! Somewhat of a legend in the world of Instagram, Stephanie has close to 129 thousand followers, which in the words of Megan Morton is "more followers than Kylie Minogue". A teacher at Megan's The School, Stephanie recently visited Auckland and from what I've heard, wowed all those who attended her class, Instagram Debunked. Her feed is pure magic, making it very hard to pick just a few photos, so I went with a 'kitchen' theme as a way of narrowing it down. It also showcases Stephanie's beautifully natural, organic style. For those not yet on Instagram, you can check out her website here.

Knowing how big a fan I am of Weekday Carnival, the blog by Finnish photographer and designer Riikka Kantinkosk, it will come as no surprise that I find her Instagram feed to be up there with the best. What I love about Instagram is that it provides another layer and further inspiration from those whose blogs you follow. It's easy to 'like' and comment, making interaction easy and fun. Riikka's lovely styling and eye for detail is shown in these pictures which include her home and also a cute cafe. I love the combination of white with black and pink, as well as the addition of natural wood and metallic touches.

Home Build Update | Diamond Lights

In the big scheme of things, today's Home Build update features a small step in the journey. But to me, it's a really exciting one! Long before we even moved into our new home, I decided I wanted some Swedish Eric Therner Diamond Lights. I'd only ever seen them on the web, but they looked so pretty. I've always loved the look of simple hanging pendants, and although I wanted something a little bit different for our living room, I didn't want them to compete with the Muuto Unfold Pendants hanging over the dining table.

Having tracked them down from a shop in Australia, Fat Shack Vintage, I had to arrange my own shipping and hope that the very delicate glass bulbs would arrive safely. Luckily they did, and when I opened the boxes I knew I'd made the right choice.

At some point along the way, I had the idea of leaving the cords long, and hooking them up to the ceiling. I'm not sure if I'd seen it somewhere, but since then I have seen some cool examples. Here's a moodboard to demonstrate the sort of ideas that were swimming around in my head!

Images via my Pinterest

Fortunately Dean was right on board with my vision! Because we couldn't find the right screw-in lampholders for the Diamond Lights, we just left the cords tied up, with normal bulbs in. We finally tracked down the lampholders just last week (more on that later) so finally let down the cords. I was a little disappointed with the length, as I thought we had a bit more to play with, but when we sorted out the position of each, and put the hooks up, the results were amazing!

I absolutely love the clean lines that this creates, especially in our open, high-ceiling space. Minimalist, yet interesting, it suits my design aesthetic perfectly!

I had my heart set on gold metal lamp fittings, but I wanted just a touch of gold, nothing too heavy or overly industrial. Dean (bless him) found the right E27 lampholders at Kiwi Living, and at just $15 each, with free shipping, we couldn't believe how easy it was after waiting for so long to put them up! They also come in a silver finish.

Before I go, I just want to share with you an amazing project by Inadesignerhome (IDH), one of my favourite Australian online stores that I first introduced you to here. IDH are incredibly supportive of the blogging community, and to celebrate their online relationships with bloggers, they have dedicated the month of November to 30 Days of Bloggers. Everyday they have been showcasing a different 'social media guru' with a questionnaire, including their top picks from the IDH store. With a focus on my favourite season Summer, I was thrilled to participate. Pop over here to read my answers and see my Summer edit from the store, for which you'll receive a 15% discount, all day today!

Home Build Update

There hasn't been a lot of progress on the home front lately, although hubby did finally mow the lawns on Sunday! I'd love to get a landscape designer in to give some advice, however there's no money leftover for such luxuries! We have a large pohutukawa tree over our deck, which I'm really hoping will flower in time for Christmas. Next on the interior to-do list, is to finish off my eldest son's room, by choosing some bedding, and ordering a few more cushions and wall decals. I have some new shelves for both my youngest son and the downstairs living room, but it's just a matter of finding time to put them up!

I had been waiting patiently for my LET LIV rug to arrive for under the dining table, but it was touch and go as to whether I could get the right size - they come in three sizes but sell like hotcakes! I considered the cool grey and milk colour, which is also gorgeous, but I really felt that the black and milk would be ideal. I had envisaged how it would look for such a long time, and my heart was set on it! LET LIV director Natalie Sorensen, being the absolute gem that she is, came to the rescue and I was very excited when it arrived this morning. I immediately got it set up and took some photos to show you!

I now feel like the dining area is complete! You're probably wondering what I did with the smaller rug, and I have to say that was an easy decision. My office was calling out for it!

I love the look of layered rugs, so I've overlapped my calf skin hide from Koko Classics.

There are another couple of new things in my office. The cute little Skyscraper Tealight Holder on the top shelf above was a goodie bag gift from the Bo Concept pop up store opening I attended last week. Located down at Britomart (Australis House, 36 Customs street East), if you're in Auckland you must visit. The 2014 collection has also just been launched, so grab yourself a catalogue and a cuppa - loads of eyecandy! Or check it out here.

Citta Design, another favourite, has also popped up down at Britomart, right next to Bo Concept. I scored an amazing deal on a couple of their products recently, over on ONCE'IT. If you haven't yet joined up to this site you should! They have a constant stream of designer homewares, accessories and fashion sales. I've written about my love of felt over in this Felt Homewares & Accessories post, especially when it comes to storage boxes, which I don't think you can ever have enough of! This grey pair is fantastic. Currently making good use in my office, they may end up storing kids toys once I have that area of the home sorted. Another thing on the to-do list!

When I saw these Citta Design striped plates I had to have them. Great for use as lunch plates, they are almost too pretty to store away.

Lastly, I'm now the proud owner of my very first Stendig Calendar, which I first introduced you to in this post last year. The iconic wall hanging had been on my wishlist for our new house, so when LET LIV announced they were bringing them in I felt like it was meant to be! Get in quick as there is only a limited supply, and I have a feeling they won't last long. Still in its box here, I can't wait to put ours up, so I don't think I'll be holding off till January. Although I still need to decide on where it's going to go. Watch this space!

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday with another gorgeous giveaway!

Monday Mix Up

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I managed to have the house to myself for a bit which was very peaceful, especially after having the kids home for two weeks on school holidays! I did a big tidy up and rearranged the String shelf (yet again) to make way for my beautiful new print from Nynne Rosenvinge, who I recently featured here.

I'm so in love with our new Aura Crosses Throw from Superette. I actually think that she and the sofa are made for each other!

You'll notice a bit of cushion shuffling going on in the images above! Every piece I choose for our home fits into the colour scheme and Scandi-style aesthetic I set out to achieve from the start. I love that this means I can change pieces around as the mood takes me.

Because Nynne's print took the place of my Circles Print which I also love, I moved that one into my office. I have to say it looks right at home there, and I love seeing it out the corner of my eye while I'm working!

I even managed a sleep-in, some exercise, great coffee (always) and to finish off, dinner and a show with my Mum and sister last night! I hope you got some time out over the weekend too...

Mood board images via my Pinterest boards.

I'm back to posting Monday to Friday this week, so I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Home Build | Kidsroom + TDC Style Map

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I'd been working on a new blog-related interiors venture, and I'm happy to report that it's coming together, albeit a bit slowly. I'm going to be providing an interior styling service called TDC Style. TDC being the abbreviations for The Design Chaser. As you know I like to keep things simple around here!

I'm currently setting up some styling options and pricing etc, and will let you know about those in due course. In the meantime, I thought I'd share one of my ideas with you, the TDC Style Map, so that you can get an idea of what to expect. Style Map is a room moodboard, which brings together ideas for a particular space. It includes a colour palette, furniture and accessories, together with a breakdown of items and where they can be sourced.

This little project here is a personal one, in that it's the Style Map for my eldest son's bedroom in our new home. While we will be incorporating some of his existing pieces, I had no trouble substituting these with some cool new online finds to create the moodboard. Both the boys rooms are quite small, but they have very good built-in wardrobes, so we've done away with the dresser which worked well in previous homes. The monochrome palette will provide a great base for some bright pops of colour, in this case turquoise and yellow.

1 Ikea Ekby Hemnes/Ekby Valter Wall Shelf
Triangle Artwork by Jane Denton
Wooden Monkey by Kay Bojesen
Normann Copenhagen Toy Plane from Design Denmark
Ikea Fas Clamp Spotlight

2 Triangle Wall Art Stickers in Silver from Good Regards
Don't Grow Up Print from The Minimalist
The Black Deer Print by Ruben Ireland from Pop Motif
Batboy Print by Ragdoll Illustrations from Paper Plane

3 Ikea Flaxa Bedframe with Storage
Hello Milky Single Doona Cover (grey + black spots)
Ikea Eivor Throw (black + white stripe)
GE Triangle Cushion from Jamie Kay (blue + grey)
Black Swiss Cross Throw Cushion from Zana Products
Neon Cross Throw Pillow Cover from Pencil Me In
Black and White Triangle Throw Pillow by Pencil Me In

4 Lego Storage from Design Denmark

5 Post Box 2 from Mocka

6 LET LIV Striped Rug in Cool Grey & Milk

7 Six Cube Storage Unit from Mocka
Lego Yellow Storage Head Boy from Design Denmark
Varpunen Storage Sack from The Minimalist

I'll be sure to show you some photos once the room is ready! I'm also looking forward to doing a lot more Style Maps, so if you're already interested, or have any questions, please get in touch!

Home Build | Office Update

Recently I wrote a post on Workspace Storage Ideas and included in the roundup were some open shelves by Ikea. I have in fact had shelves like these on my wishlist ever since this Home Build Workspace Inspiration post, so I'm very happy to report that they finally come to fruition on the weekend!

Living Concepts, who I introduced you to here, shipped in the Ekby Valter brackets (in birch) for me, and the shelves were cheap finds from Bunnings. The shelves come in various lengths, so I had a play around with different configurations including one long, one short, one long on its own, and two offset. In the end, I decided on two short shelves stacked, and have kept the long shelf for my son's room, which will be matched with black brackets.

I placed the shelves to one side so that I still have room for a moodboard, and positioned them high enough to allow for the Apple iMac widescreen computer that I hope to one day own!!

Simple yet stylish, I love that the shelves provide extra storage, and a place to display pretty objects, pictures and fresh flowers. They also help keep my desk tidy and uncluttered!

For those who are interested, here's a list of some of the other key pieces in my office:

Trestle Table from The Trestle Union
Flip Clock, Leitmotiv Lamp and Cushion from LET LIV
Tom Dixon Etch Candle Holder from ECC
Hay Boxes from Present & Correct

Enjoy your day! I'll be back with another blog post on Friday.

Black & White Basics from Ikea

I recently purchased a couple of Ikea basics that had been on my wishlist for ages, the Stockholm Cushion and the Eivor Throw. Fun, versatile pieces that are suited to both living spaces and bedrooms, the simple yet bold black and white graphics work beautifully with our monochrome palette.

Shown here on our sofa, these items will no doubt find their way to other areas of the home in due course. The bedrooms are definitely calling out to them!

As with many of my interior choices, inspiration was gained from the Scandi-style blogs that I follow. Here are some examples. I'm sure you'll be able to spot the two Ikea products. The cushion is very popular!

Images: 1-2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

As we wait and wonder if Ikea will ever make its way to NZ, there are more and more local companies taking matters in to their own hands, shipping products across for resale. I've done my research, and there's one company that I've started using who are fantastic. Living Concepts have a Ponsonby showroom and bring in a shipment every three to four weeks, based on customer orders (taken from the Australian website). The best part is there are no huge mark-ups, and their customer service is fantastic. Tell Teresa I sent you!