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Showing posts with label Moodboards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moodboards. Show all posts

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to pop by quickly with a moodboard and wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope that you've been enjoying the festive season, and that you are as excited as I am about the year ahead. I have a great feeling about 2014...

Images via Pinterest

I'll be back to posting regularly on the blog as best I can from next week. If I miss a day here and there during the month of January please forgive me. Like many of you, I'll be doing the school holiday shuffle and attempting to sneak off to the beach as much as possible with the kids, while the sun shines! 

12 Days of Christmas | Winners + Moodboards

As promised, I have put together a list of the 12 Days of Christmas winners. I was blown away by all the entries! Special thanks to those who left lovely messages in their emails and sorry I couldn't reply personally to all of them. Of course I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful companies who participated, along with their generous contributions. I'm sure you'll agree the prizes were all fabulous and I hope that those who were lucky enough to win, gain lots of enjoyment from them!   


Kauniste - Sophie Abell, Tracey Currington, Rebecca Barrow
Superette - Tracy Kavanagh
Paper Plane Store - Julia Paraha
The Fairy Light Shop - Fleur Maggs, Angela Smith
MintSix - Saralaya Frost 

Tessuti - Lorena Barnes
The Wooden Horse - Emily Burn
Perch Home - Tania Hitchcock 
Pencil and Hammer - Kristina Martin
George Art - Mary Rodgers
Indie Home Collective - Jacqueline Johnson
Good Regards - Sharon King, Gretchen Rowe, Frances Sandford 
Tuturu Home - Tonya Drabble, Anna Mantell, Mel love
George & Willy - Savanah Ganly
Jamie Kay - Rose Dowall
Koko Classics - Jaimee Viner


I also want to thank my friend, graphic designer Heather Mason, who created the gorgeous 12 Days of Christmas artwork, and to those companies who provided exclusive reader discounts during the series. Remember that the special offers from Paper Plane Store, LET LIV, Pencil and Hammer and Jamie Kay run right through to the 31st of December.

I have a couple of Pinterest moodboards for you today, both of which include pins of our home. It's been pretty cool to see them popping up around the web, via blogs that have shared the Adore Home feature. The level of excitement is growing in our household, with the kids finishing up school and kindy, and we're off to visit Santa today.



I'm looking forward to winding down, spending time with the family and recharging the batteries but I'm also really excited about 2014. This moodboard features my favourite colour palette.




I'll be back tomorrow with some Instagram love!

Monday Mix Up

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was pretty packed, but lots of fun. Our home was being photographed for an online magazine on Friday, following on from a really busy week, so today I'm playing catch up with a Monday Mix Up post. 

If you follow a lot of Scandinavian blogs like I do, you may have come across 101 Karakters, a very cool competition running in the Netherlands. Legendary designer Piet Hein Eek designed a cabinet for Histor, and they called for people to submit ideas of how they would personally customise it, using Histor paint. From 2000 submissions, 101 were chosen and invited to Piet Hein Eek's workshop to create their designs.


The cabinet above shows how it looked prior to being painted, by Desiree of Vosges Paris. Her finished cabinet and impeccably cool styling below, makes it one of my favourites. Black paint, leather handles and studded corners gives it Desiree's signature edgy vibe and the rock 'n' roll feel she wanted. 



Here is another customised design I came across via Bloesem that I really love. It was created by Maaike from My Deer, a company that specialises in branding, interior design and styling, 


True to Maaike's lovely clean design aesthetic, she has left the cabinet bare, apart from the white dipped legs, and then artfully applied simple yet striking black typography. Her gorgeous styling sets it off perfectly. 

In keeping with the monochrome theme, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of moodboards curated from my Pinterest boards. You may have seen this one last Friday on my Facebook page or Instagram... 


And for today, I thought I'd kick-start the week with some positive thinking and a bit of sparkle... 


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!

Pinterest | Picks & Peeks

We've just had Labour weekend here in NZ, and although I had some work to do, it was mixed in with visits to the beach with the boys, a couple of runs, dinner out and catching up with friends. All in all, it was a lovely long weekend, with sunshine and some much needed rest and relaxation. I also got in a good dose of Pinterest and discovered some amazing homes. Here are three that really stood out for me. 


A repin from Deborah Gordon of the blog Ollie & Sebs Haus, the dining area above with its white painted floorboards and gorgeous mix of chairs had me clicking over to Deborah's post to find out more. There I discovered that the home, currently on the market in Sweden, belongs to Elin Kickén, a freelance interior stylist, and assistant to Sarah Widman, whose work I also love. You can seen many more images over at Västanhem Mäkleri & Interiör where the home is listed, but these are some of my favourites. 




I love Elin's beautiful pared-back style. White and bright, the interior features cool framed prints, and simple hanging lights. The bedroom has a relaxed vibe with Muuto dots, gold accents and a casually-styled side table. 


This next image was repinned from Catherine Lazure-Guinard, who featured this stunning home on her fabulous blog Nordic Design. 


Catherine describes the the interior style of this Stockholm apartment as Nordic meets Ethnic. This can be seen in the bedroom, which has a gorgeous mix of pieces including a reindeer hide, Thonet chair, simple brass pendant and statement wall feature. 


An incredible warehouse conversion in Melbourne, this next repin was thanks to Est Magazine, who featured the home here. Owner Lynda Newton, a fashion designer, has used her eye for colour and texture to transform the factory. Dark floors, white walls and black joinery creates a striking monochrome palette, perfect for showcasing an amazing collection of vintage furniture, bold artworks, and vibrant rugs.




Finishing off with my latest Pinterest moodboard, I curated this for the long weekend, but also to provide inspiration for the week ahead. 


Before I go, I'm thrilled to announce the winner of the Lahood Giveaway. Congratulations to Jeanette Sweet!! Thanks to Lahood for their generosity and to everyone who entered. 

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!

Pinterest | Picks & Peeks

I can't believe we're already at the end of the first week of school holidays. We've had the most beautiful weather the last two days, so there's been a lot of time spent outdoors both here at home, and at the park. My boys have have become bike-crazy lately so we're about to head off to the park again today, along with hubby who's taken the day off!

I thought I'd end the week with some Pinterest eye candy. The October image below actually came from the lovely Sarah at Coco Lapine's instagram feed and as soon as I saw it, I wanted to create a moodboard to kick off the month. Like Pinterest, I'm incredibly inspired by what I see on Instagram, and in fact I'm thinking about starting a regular blog post on that too! All other images are from my Pinterest boards.


There are a couple of things I'm loving right now, and therefore pinning lots of. The first is fashion. I've been so focused on the house and buying new homewares, my wardrobe has been completely neglected! Now that the weather is warming up and summer is on the way, I'm hankering for some new threads and accessories. Here are some of my fave picks of late, from my Pinterest Fashion board.


My Flowers board is the other one I wanted to share a peek of today. Spring screams fresh flowers, and I'm finding that right now I want them in every room of the home! With that, comes the need for lots of vases, and you really can't go past the simple use of glass jars and bottles. Here are some gorgeous examples.


To finish off, a Pinterest moodboard to inspire your Friday. Enjoy!


Musings & Moodboards

Is it just me, or does everyone feel a bit jaded, and in need of a holiday at this time of year? Schools break up on Friday here in NZ, and I'm looking forward to a rest from all the rushing around. Like the rest of the country, I'm hoping by then we'll have won the America's Cup race! Currently being sailed in San Francisco, Emirates Team New Zealand are racing Oracle Team USA, and with one race left to win, we are so close. Fingers crossed our boys bring the cup home! 

I'm actually thinking about taking a bit of time off over the school holidays, so that I can spend more time with my boys. You'll still see me online everyday, on either Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest (that's a given) but the blog posts may cut down to three a week. I'll let you know what I decide by the end of this week, so you know what to expect!

Once back from the holidays, I'll be coming at you with lots of exciting new content that I'm working on, including giveaways and interviews. I'm also doing some public relations work for a beautiful new store, and in the early stages of setting up a little interior-related side venture. Lastly, I'm thrilled to have locked in a magazine shoot early next year to have our new home featured. 

Because of all this busy-ness, I just have a couple of moodboards to share with you today. The first features that exquisite combo of black, white and neutrals together with a few things I'm loving right now such as DIY bookshelves and black interior walls. It also includes some of my fashion must-haves like hats, sunnies and leopard print!


This next one was inspired by the arrival of spring and features blush tones, bright airy interiors and beautiful flowers. Enjoy!


All images via my Pinterest Boards. 

Monday Mix Up | Colour Down Under

As you know I tend to favour monochrome interiors and homewares. I find neutral palettes calming and I'm especially drawn to looking at images of them when I want to unwind. I've noticed this more and more lately, especially when using Pinterest. Even though experts advise against staring at a computer right before bed, I find pinning to be really relaxing, especially at the end of a hectic day. 

While some people like to pour a glass of wine and put their feet up after putting the kids to bed (and good on them) I'm more inclined to sit down and check in on my favourite Scandi blogs. I literally feel a sense of calmness wash over me. Do you ever get that when reading blogs or being on Pinterest? While I could go on all day about my love of simple Scandi style, black, white and grey palettes, soft pastels and layers of texture etc etc, there's no denying that colourful interiors can be incredibly uplifting. While I have a soft spot for Scandinavian design, I love showcasing talent from NZ and Australia, and it has to be said that there is always plenty of incredible and colourful design Down Under. Today's finds are from talented Australian designers that have recently caught my eye. 



I'm loving these gorgeous customised, hand-painted pots from Alana Langan's new online store Hunt & Bow that I discovered via Adore Home Magazine. Based in Melbourne, Alana is an interior stylist who regularly works on editorial projects for Australia's leading lifestyle magazines including Inside Out, Real Living and Home Beautiful. Suitable for indoor and outdoor usage, the pots can be chosen from a range of sizes, colours and patterns. I don't think the Fiddle Leaf Fig has ever looked so good! 


Next up, I'm thrilled to announce that NZ online store LET LIV is now selling the bright and beautiful range of bedding from the Australian brand Kip & Co. Inspired by art, nature, backpacking adventures around the globe and flea markets down the road, Kip & Co is the brainchild of three Melbourne girls Alex, Kate and Hayley. Fun, vibrant and unique, it's hard not to fall in love with their distinctive designs. Shop the full range, including duvet covers, sheets, pillowcases and towels here.




Liv Mac is a gorgeous new range of colourful screen prints created by interior stylist and art lover, Olivia Macdonald. A self-confessed all-round creative type, Olivia lovingly designs and creates all of the original and limited edition prints by hand in her Adelaide Hills studio. 

With small quantities (generally no greater than 20), every print is truly unique and vibrant in colour and texture. Designed for both children's and adult spaces, I've added several of these to my wishlist for the boys' bedrooms and downstairs living room! Pop over to the Liv Mac site to see the full range and to shop online. International shipping is also available.








I thought I'd leave you with a moodboard today. Inspired by the words 'let life surprise you' and a stunning profile image of British model Cara Delevingne, it started out as black and white, like many of my moodboards. Somewhere along the way I began adding small pops of colour, as bright as I could find, and I love how it turned out. Even in tiny doses, colour can add an element of surprise. 


Images via my Pinterest boards