Today’s coffee table (technically side table!) belongs to Robyn Holt. While many of you will know her as a past judge on TV show The Renovators, Robyn has an impressive background with roles including previous head of Vogue and Monocle magazines, Colette Dinnigan and the Yves Saint Laurent beauty division. Robyn is a business advisor to several Australian interior designers and a regular on Instagram and 7 Vignettes.
The rear of Robyn’s house faces north east and the sun pours in in the mornings, making this a favourite corner of hers. “I moved a 19th Century drop side card table with original felt top, given to me by a great friend, to sit in front of the bookshelves and to be slightly on the edge of the seating area. It’s something for my guests to look at when they’re on the sofa. I have it open all the time and on it rests a series memories but always room for a cup of coffee.”
The silver dishes are from Asprey’s in London and were given to Robyn and her daughter for special birthdays. The crab is Japanese and was bought at a market for $15. “Then there’s my Hermes note pad with soft unstructured cover and my Richard Avedon book (he is my hero). Books say a lot to me and almost every surface in my house is stacked with them. Part of this group is a book about Edith Head, a reminder of her creative ways with wardrobe, and Peter Beard, whose adventures in Africa reflect another time.”
The striking coral, bought from the late Paul Bruce, is one of Robyn’s most treasured possessions. The table sits with a view into the bookshelf, where two early Dinosaur Designs vases sit on piles of books. “Punctuated between the books sit an icon (a memory from Russia) and some glass objects found in my father’s tool box! Fresh poppies work well in my newest auction room buy: a blackened bronze cup with classic scenes.
“I believe that beauty comes from layers and patina and this corner has many layers and many memories.”
If you’d like to tap into some of Robyn’s experience and talent, she is running small business makeover workshops with Megan Morton’s The School. Find out more here. Read our previous interview with Robyn here.
Watch all five episodes of our Diary of a Reno video series as we take you through a real life renovation, from purchase to sale and $25,000 profit six weeks later! Our expert Naomi Findlay, an experienced property developer (and busy mum of four!) owns successful business SILK Home Staging & Styling and teaches others how to stage for sale and set up their own styling businesses through her International Institute of Home Staging. Former Block winners Alisa and Lysandra are just some of her students!
Watch videos 1 through to 5 to follow the whole story of this project in Newcastle, NSW.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
We hope our warts and all, keeping it real advice has inspired and helped you. If you have any questions for Naomi, please put them in the comments below.
Today’s coffee table comes to you from the home of stylist and TV presenter Juliet Love of Love Style, and her husband Charlie Albone, landscape gardener and star of Selling Houses Australia.
Earlier this year, they moved with their young son Leo to a new family home in country NSW, with plenty of gardens to keep Charlie busy!
“Every item on our table has special meaning, from the silver Christofle tray which was a wedding gift and is engraved with our names and wedding date, to the turquoise egg in the nest which I gave to the guests at my baby shower for Leo, to the driftwood which my parents found on the beach when they were married,” Juliet explains.
“We have an acre of gardens on our property so the book about rural gardens provides some inspiration for that. Also, Charlie worked with the author Myles Baldwin, at the Australian Garden Show last year. The bonsai is just because I like to have living plants in the house, and I’m particularly into bonsai at the moment — I love their architectural shape. The mini ornamental ashtray with the horse is from Zara Home from a recent trip to Hong Kong.
“Our coffee table is constantly changing (I can’t help myself, most flat surfaces in our home have some kind of ever-evolving display!) but this is how it is at the moment.”
Here at Interiors Addict, we just don’t buy into the idea that rental homes have to look bland or lacking in style and personality. Rent My Style is dedicated to showcasing the best of our readers’ rental home decorating efforts. They’re not show homes, they’re real homes!
As a freelance photographic stylist and the owner of an interior decorating and styling business, it’s perhaps no surprise that Jo-Anne Pabst‘s home is absolutely gorgeous. Jam-packed full of character, this unique old house is a two-minute walk from one of Perth’s finest beaches and is referred to, rather fondly by Jo’s family, as the Beach Shack. But it takes a certain eye to disguise leaning walls and peeling paint this well, in a home which is most likely destined to be knocked down.
“I think we appreciate the Beach Shack more than a lot of other people might,” explains Jo. “There aren’t any modern features (no dishwasher or second toilet here). It is not very big and all the rooms lead off each other, but we love what it offers us as a family.”
Home to Jo, her husband and their two young boys, they have lived here for the last two years. Having moved from London, they decided to rent so they could keep their property in the UK; a decision that hasn’t compromised the homeliness of the property. “It was all very neutral when we moved in. Great floorboards and plain walls,” says Jo. “ There’s a feature fireplace and mantle which I change regularly and all of our furniture just seemed to work with a tweak.”
As an avid collector, Jo has furniture and homewares from all over the world. Loving everything antique or vintage, she has found these character pieces to be the key ingredients for creating changes that aren’t permanent and giving the place a great feel. “I love having all of our furniture and art from our time in London. It all has a story of where it was bought or found,” explains Kate. “For that reason, I really love the lounge room. It has an open fire, which we are enjoying in the very short winter in Perth and it also has all of our favorite furniture, art and things we have collected from our travels. It is amazing how these can take me back to times gone by in an instant.”
Unfortunately for Jo and her family, the Beach Shack will most likely be knocked down, but that does mean the landlords don’t mind what they do to the property… within reason. “Most of the things we have done are in the outside area,” says Jo. “Vegetable and herb gardens, sand pits and chicken houses. I think we fancy ourselves as suburban farmers! The boys have lots of room for adventure, trees to climb and swing from, a cubby house (from Gumtree) and even a pirates’ lair up in the back corner.”
While the outside has got a lot of love and care, the inside of the property has not remained untouched either, with some quick DIY fixes, fresh coats of paint and the addition of IKEA cupboards. The interiors also presented Jo with her biggest rental decorating challenge: “The two rooms on the side of the house have a definite lean to them,” she explains. “One room is my office and then the kids’ playroom. We definitely have to position our furniture to lean the right way! I have also covered the walls in these rooms with my moodboards, photos and kids’ artwork; much cheerier than the peeling paint!”
While it may be tired in places, Jo sees this as a benefit: “ I don’t have to be precious about the sandy feet or the hand prints!” Loved by her family and all those that come to visit, Jo is very glad to call the Beach Shack home. “We have a bit of fun with it, lots of barbecues and themed kids parties. Most people say it has a really good vibe, which is what I am most proud of.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally excited when the courier arrived with my goodies from Typo’s new homewares brand, The Hall. He came bearing an absolutely huge box, which involved a two-man effort to get through the door. But boy, was it worth it!
Here at Interiors Addict, we were gifted a selection from The Hall’s yellow capsule collection, and encouraged to style it in our own home. With Jen overseas, this left the job to me (it’s a tough gig, but someone had to do it!).
The range featured everything from candlesticks to dining sets, and while I was a bit hesitant about getting so many homewares in yellow (I’ve been scarred by the colour ever since I was eight and decided to paint my room fluro yellow and green!) it wasn’t OTT. In fact, because they’re made from many different textures, prints and materials, it actually felt quite the opposite, with the pieces giving my home that eclectic feel that makes it seem like you’ve scoured the whole world for your homewares over many years, rather than just the one shop!
As a lover of all things Typo, for both their quirky designs and affordable prices, I am now hooked on The Hall for the exact same reasons, and with prices starting as low at $6.95, there’s really no reason not to add something new to your home.
The Hall’s first collection is available online and in selected Typo stores across Australia.
It’s hard to sum up Alex’s talents, but stylist, designer and events genius will just have to do (read more about AZB Creative’s work here).
“I love my coffee table clusters! I always mix metals, natural coral, old ceramics and tumbled silver balls and sculptures, kind of like curated clutter but with a gentleman’s retreat aesthetic,” he says. “I travel a lot for work and pleasure, so every surface in my apartment becomes the home to some form of collection of treasures.”
The table itself is 1970s, made from Italian brass, glass and lucite and was bought from Ken Neale 20th Century Modern in Sydney.
“The large white elephant ceramic was a gift from a dear friend, lovingly held all the way from Hong Kong in my arms. The bowl and plate were an antique market find from a recent trip to Tokyo and the silver objects are a collective from friends and finds from around the world.”
The coffee table sits on a hand loomed Moroccan Beni Ouarain rug from Becker Minty (I’m noticing a serious trend for people we feature in Covet My Coffee Table shopping there! Jen).
If you like what you see, follow Alex on Tumblr and Instagram.
Here at Interiors Addict, we just don’t buy into the idea that rental homes have to look bland or lacking in style and personality. Rent My Style is dedicated to showcasing the best of our readers’ rental home decorating efforts. They’re not show homes, they’re real homes!
With an artist mother, Bonnie Muir grew up in homes bursting with colour, pattern and paintings. “To me, the little touches and objects wherever you look that show the personality of the people that live in the space, are what make a house a home,”she says.
The 22 year old lives here with her boyfriend Samuel, and it’s their first home since leaving their parents’ nests! They’re both students, so can’t splash the cash on furniture and homewares, but they’ve certainly put their stamp on the place in just five months! “I have always loved interiors,”said Bonnie, who’d like to work in the industry one day. “It was really important to me to create a space I love to be in. The thing I worried about with renting, was that I would not be able to create a homely feeling, and that our house would end up stark and bare. I definitely think I had nothing to worry about!”
Bonnie had a decent art collection thanks to her mum’s efforts which helped fill the walls. “She paints on incredibly lightweight canvases, so they hang on removable 3M Command Hooks, which makes life incredibly easy! The majority of the pictures hanging in the bedroom are bargains that I picked up in secondhand shops. I have always loved dogs and flowers, and so I have been building up a collection over the past few years whenever I see something I like.”
Gallery wall in the bedroom
The map collection in her study was one big bargain. “The large ones are wrapping paper prints and were only $8.95 each. The small ones all come from an old mini desk calendar that I pulled apart and put into op-shop frames, all painted white. Again, Command Hooks are the saviour here! I did a similar thing with pages from an old diary in the kitchen. The diary featured images of ads from the 20th century, and I just picked a few favourites and put them in some IKEA frames.”
The couple, who live in South Australia, are lucky to have friendly landlords (they even said yes to a kitten!). “There have been two things that I have actually had to put nails into the walls for (the pegboard for my jewellery, and the large map in the bedroom), but I checked with them first, and they gave me the all-clear, so long as I patch them up when it comes time to leave.”
In the living room, Bonnie swapped the existing curtains (putting them away safely to return when she moves out) for a cheap fresh white pair from Spotlight. “It has really made the space a lot lighter and brighter!” When it came to furniture, the students bought their TV unit, dining table and couch from good old IKEA. “We managed to get the couch as an ex-demo for only $500 because of a tiny scratch on the arm. Our dining chair are just fold-up chairs we got from Officeworks for $12 each, but the colours match perfectly and they’re all we need.”
There are pre-loved Gumtree finds in the mix too. Bonnie’s bedside table is an old meat safe with the legs cut off. “It did take some patience: I was compulsively checking the listings every hour for about two weeks each time, but it definitely paid off!”
Her main tip for renters is that it doesn’t have to be expensive to put your personality into your home. “Be inventive! Use bits of interesting wrapping paper in a cheap frame to create some artwork, go trawling through junk stores to find things you can update, or even just do something as simple as getting bedding that makes you happy and gives an injection of colour into the room!
“Customise anything you can to get the feeling you want your house to have. The lamp on my bedside table was only about $50 from a lighting shop, and it came with a boring, basic white shade. I had met a woman at a market who made lampshades and pillowcases, and so I got her to make something funky for me. Bargain shops and secondhand shops will become your best friends if you let them.”
Bonnie’s been surprised at how easy it’s been to make her places hers (even though, technically, it isn’t). “I honestly thought it would look a lot barer than it does, and that it would also take me a lot longer to get it looking how I wanted it to. The only real challenge I have had was trying to convince Samuel that it would all actually look good together! Because I have quite eclectic and colourful taste, in the moving van it all looked like a hot mess! He has really let me take the reins on decorating here (which I am very thankful for), but I think I’ve managed to create a space that we can both share and enjoy. I’m very proud of the home I have created.”
We think you should be, Bonnie! Thanks for showing us around and sharing your tips!
It’s no secret: Steve Cordony is my favourite stylist in Australia. There are so many great ones whose work I love, but Steve, who is now a freelance interiors and event stylist as well as contributing interior design editor for Belle, just blows me away with his talent. I’m delighted that he is sharing his beautiful coffee table (or should I say vintage Louis Vuitton trunk?) with us today.
“I think your home should represent not only your personal style but be a 3-dimensional scrapbook of your life,” says Steve. “The little vignettes around our home are collected over time from travels or gifts and represent a certain memory.
“The potted orchid is a lovely ‘new office’ present from my friend Jac at Murchison Hume, I bought the bronze tray on a trip to India last year and the candles are Chabaud and Tom Dixon.
“The spotted gold bowl is Waylande Gregory from Becker Minty and the porcelain and gold bowl was bought on a trip to New York. The Japanese painting brushes are from Bali (look for similar from Orient House) and the gold tray is also from India.”
And don’t forget your book stack (or two). “Books — every table needs books!”
Here at Interiors Addict, we just don’t buy into the idea that rental homes have to look bland or lacking in style and personality. Rent My Style is dedicated to showcasing the best of our readers’ rental home decorating efforts.
Today, we’re sharing Laura Koomen’s cute balcony makeover in Melbourne. Her one-bedroom apartment has been home for three years. “One of the best things I did was put a floating wooden base covered in AstroTurf down on my balcony,” she explained. “The floating base was important as it is one of those old concrete tub style balconies that fill with puddles when it rains! Also, I had a wooden bar built that sits atop the balcony edge.
“It’s been transformed from concrete box to my little oasis! The rest of my apartment is lovely too and I think the key for me has been about getting the right size furniture for the right space, not overcrowding and keeping a consistency to every room.”
We love how Laura’s inexpensive additions have made all the difference, and everything can be easily removed when she moves out (although we think her landlord should pay her to keep them!).
This week’s Covet My Coffee Table is one I hope you’ll all be very excited about. It’s none other than Belle Coco Republic Interior Designer of the Year Greg Natale’s. Not only that, but this is an exclusive sneak peek at photos from Greg’s home, which you’ll be able to see more of in his forthcoming book, The Tailored Interior.
You’ll find plenty of tips on decorating your own home in the book. Isn’t Greg’s living room divine?
So, what’s on his coffee table?
Clockwise from top left: Pink orchids from Grandiflora, Blue Hello Industry candle holders from Paul Smith (purchased in Paris), Fractured Marbled Box by Kelly Wearstler, Paul Smith for Stelton bowl from Space Furniture, Memphis box by Kelly Wearstler, Missoni dish from Spence and Lyda, and Little Black Jacket book by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld underneath Andy Warhol Portraits by Phaidon. The coffee table itself is the Bond by Jonathan Adler.
Check out all our previous Covet My Coffee Tables here.
This week’s coffee table comes to you from the child and pet-friendly, yet ever so stylish home, of interior designer and Block judge Darren Palmer!
Every coffee table needs a tray, of course, and a bit of plant life (gum nuts from the Sydney Flower Market and roses from Thomas Dux). The books change often and the Belle magazine came courtesy of the recent Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards goodie bag.
The coffee table itself came from Boyd Blue and was chosen because it’s low enough for his son to play lego on (much lego can also be found stored underneath!)
“You can also see two of our three dogs and our cat,” Darren says. Read more about his tips for a child and pet-friendly home and see photos of his home in our previous interview.
This photo by Jacqui Turk
Check out all our other Covet my Coffee Tables here.
“I actually salvaged my coffee table from an old day bed (yes, it was covered in old fabric and a mattress which I pulled off totally to reveal a low frame with hessian as the base)! It’s the perfect large coffee table and this is just half of it! Most of the things on it were sourced from my shop, Empire Vintage.
I have two large wooden trays that I sourced via my shop (in Melbourne’s Albert Park) quite a few years ago and have a collection of old books piled on top (which I can source any time). On top of one of the piles of books is a collection of old vintage postcards just randomly placed.
On the other pile of books I have a yellow ruler that was found at a flea market. Next to the books is a tarnished silver tray and old goblets that I have collected over the years. The two metal peacocks were sourced from a flea market in Amsterdam.
You are only seeing half the coffee table, as it’s a big one. On the other side there are interior magazines and coffee table books piled very high with a collection of butterflies in boxes I sourced at a market in Berlin.”
Lynda Gardener and her dog Jack
Thank you lovely Lyn, for sharing this glimpse into your gorgeous home with us!
Coming soon on Interiors Addict: A look inside Lynda’s new Fitzroy boutique accommodation, The White Room, the little sister to her well known Daylesford accommodation The White House.
Fellow blogger Clare Hillier from Checks and Spots has made a cool video about how to update your living room for winter. I love a bit of seasonal decorating, me! Any excuse!
You can read more about how Clare teamed up with Freedom to create the warm, layered look below, and in the video, in her post.
Styling: Clare Hillier and Sally Singline
Photography: Fiona Storey
Video directing and editing: Alec McCloskey.
Everyone loves a sticky beak, and when you’re getting a glimpse into a stylist’s home, well you know you’re in for a treat!
Sophie Gunnersen, creative director of Stamp Interiors, is the owner of this beautiful South Melbourne terrace. Sharing it with her husband and son, she’s a lover of mixing the old with the new, keeping the bare bones of the home and instead adding a modern feel through the soft furnishings and finishes.
“My house is a total collection of my worldly travels,” says Sophie. “It’s an organic, user-friendly space that is very welcoming and homely. I lived in Italy and Argentina for some years and so I have shipped some of my favourite pieces home that are very special. This gorgeous terrace is old and I love that character. The pieces inside are modern and fresh and I think this is a great combination.”
With an eclectic and somewhat quirky style, Sophie is a fan of anything bright and fun. A self-confessed bowerbird, her love of colour can be seen through her favourite space in the house; the open plan living, dining and kitchen area.
“We love to entertain so the open plan space works incredibly well for us and the gorgeous AGA is always ticking along with something slow cooked simmering away inside,” explains Sophie. “It’s the one room I think everyone gravitates to, it has a very warm, friendly feel.”
Also a feature is her custom-made dining table, with custom joinery being a signature in her work. “I design a lot of furniture and my stepfather makes most of the stuff I design. I have custom made pieces such as the dining table, wooden drawers and shelving. We love recycled timber and I am in the middle of getting my little boy Kip’s new bed made from recycled oak.”
Sophie’s approach to designing her own home was very organic: “It wasn’t a very thought out process. I just throw things together and they seem to work. It’s not contrived at all, I actually strung all the pieces together in a very easy fashion.”
While Sophie takes a more regimented approach to her professional design work, having to work to clients’ briefs, she still likes to mix old and new and create something that won’t date too soon.
“For Stamp Interiors it’s not so much about what’s in and modern and happening. Rather, we use a lot of older pieces; antiques mixed with modern finds. I think our stuff is quite timeless and that’s the look I wanted to create in my home.”
If you love this blog and you love Frankie magazine, get excited, because they’re about to publish volume two of their interiors book, Spaces, full of more all-Aussie homes belonging to local creative types. It’s been four years since the first book, which of course sits in my own extensive collection! Volume two is available for pre-order now and you can learn more by watching this short video.
You can expect lived in homes and work spaces which are decidedly not fancy! “With a focus on resourcefulness and individual style, Spaces celebrates the importance of home to a creative bunch of Australians.”
To coincide with the upcoming exhibition of Iconic Australian Houses at the Museum of Sydney, Karen McCartney’s bestselling book 50/60/70 Iconic Australian Houses has been re-released in paperback.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy, which contains a carefully curated collection of 15 of the finest examples of homes from the period. Each designed by a different architect; they’re all designed with a timeless integrity that has a seamless connection to the landscape.
More than anything, this link to the outdoors seems to define the period, with the end of the war breaking down boundaries and bringing about an engagement with the surrounding environment. Think flowing spaces and large glass areas with none of the boxed rooms and corridors that were present in earlier architecture.
The Rosenburg/Hills House designed by Neville Gruzman in 1966
The work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, strongly influences the young Australian architects seen in this book, with the economic boom of the time heralding a new approach to domestic design and modernist principles.
For those unfamiliar with Karen McCartney’s impressive resume, she was founding editor of Inside Out magazine for 10 years, has also written 70/80/90 Iconic Australian Houses and currently works as an editorial consultant to online brands including Temple & Webster.
Call it a first world problem, but I’m devastated to be missing this year’s Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards (on account of being in Europe) as it’s always such a great event and celebration. My excitement always starts on receiving the year’s finalists and I’m delighted to share with you sideshows of five homes shortlisted in the residential category. I must disclose my own personal bias towards my friend Greg Natale (whose forthcoming book I was lucky enough to work on with him). He has not one but two houses in this category! My favourite is the Croydon House.
Clearly each one of these homes is exceptional though. Enjoy the house porn!
The East Brisbane House by Greg Natale Design
The Croydon House by Greg Natale Design
The Avenue by Arent & Pyke
Arthouse by Sarah Davison Interior Design
Flinders House by Susi Leeton
The Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards, now in their fourth year, acknowledge excellence in Australian interior design and decoration and celebrate the best of the best in this ever-progressive industry. Awards are given in categories spanning the residential, commercial, corporate and hospitality sectors.
This year’s judging panel includes Coco Republic executive director Anthony Spon-Smith, Belle editor-in-chief Neale Whitaker and interior designer and blogger Dana Tomic-Hughes. The awards’ international judge is celebrated New York-based designer and retailer Jonathan Adler. Impressive stuff!
In the ultimate Belle Coco Republic Interior Designer of the Year category, finalists have been selected based upon careful consideration of the overall body of work submitted. The finalists for the big prize are:
I must say it’s fantastic to see so many women represented this year.
The announcement of all the award finalists, accompanied by images of their work, will be revealed in Belle’s new May issue, which goes on sale today (Monday 7 April).
Belle Editor-in-chief Neale Whitaker said: “The quality of work in this year’s awards is exceptional. It’s the most exciting year yet. Every year it seems Australian interior designers are getting more innovative, more creative and more willing to push the envelope.”
The winners will be announced on 14 May at a champagne reception held at Coco Republic’s Sydney showroom. The winner of the Belle Coco Republic Interior Designer of the Year will receive two return flights to Maison et Objet, Paris, plus Parisi bathroom products to the value of $6000 and a $3000 Cadrys rug voucher. Prize packages in all categories include a $1,000 Coco Republic voucher, a $1,000 Cadrys rug voucher and a $1,000 Parisi voucher.
Editorial assistant Olivia Shead did a little detective work last month and found this video by the agent selling the twins’ apartment. We decided not to share it with you and spoil any surprises until the full reveals of the apartments.
Watch the twins take you around and talk about the apartment’s features. Olivia and I have made no secret of the girls being our favourites. We wish them all the best for auction next week!
