Tag: blog

Categories
House Tours The Block

Dan and Dani sell first property since The Block

Dani and Dan

Two-time Blockheads Dan Reilly and Dani Wales know a lot when it comes to renovating and selling homes. But this time there are no TV cameras and they’re selling their very own apartment.

Dan and Dani in Apartment

Situated in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, it is the first property they have renovated since being on 2012’s The Block and 2013’s The Block All Stars.

Outside

The pair purchased the one-bed apartment just before they had their TV debut, which saw them juggle renovating The Block house and moving in. “It was such a hectic week as we were working on the master bedroom and en suite on The Block whilst trying to move into our apartment at the same time,” explained Dan.

Continue reading “Dan and Dani sell first property since The Block”

Categories
Travel

Exciting news: Interiors Addict is off to Europe for 6 months!

I wanted to share some exciting news with you. In just under 2 months, my husband and I will be taking off to Europe for 6 whole months! Before you panic, first things first, the blogging will continue as usual! Interiors Addict will still be your one stop shop for everything about Australian interiors, homewares and personalities. But, in addition to this, I’ll be bringing you inspiration and finds from all over Europe, and especially the UK, too.

paris 2010

As most of you know, I recently married Damian and I’m originally from the UK. Before we settle into domestic bliss, a mortgage and parenthood, we’ve decided (after much deliberation) that now is our last chance to do something just for us and get the travel bug out of our system while it’s easy (of course you can travel with kids but it’s definitely easier and cheaper when it’s just you!). Added to this the fact that I can technically work from anywhere with a good internet connection, and it seems to be a no-brainer! I’ve employed my new assistant Olivia Shead to be my eyes and ears here in Sydney though, just to cover all bases!

Continue reading “Exciting news: Interiors Addict is off to Europe for 6 months!”

Categories
Kitchens

Giving your kitchen a new look on the cheap

Coordinated by Nuffnang

While we’d all love a brand new kitchen, we can’t all afford one. Patience is a virtue and all that! This week, on the realestate.com.au blog, I’m sharing some top tips for affordable facelifts in this much-used space, from new doors and handles to tile paint transformations and chalkboard paint features.

blackboard_Doors

Read the full article.

Categories
Interiors Addict

My new partnership with Bloggerati by Nuffnang

It’s been just over a year of full-time blogging and I’ve never been happier! In what’s a very nice way to end 2013, I’m very excited to have just signed with Bloggerati by Nuffnang.

Bloggerati is the talent agency division of Nuffnang Australia. They work with the top bloggers from their community of thousands, and closely manage their successful brand partnerships, media relations and professional development. I’m flattered to be in great company alongside some of the country’s most established bloggers.

HS3 Media will continue to look after my advertising sales.

Here’s to my second year of full-time blogging! I really never ever thought I’d be saying that! Thanks, as ever, for all your support and for reading.

Categories
The Block

The Block’s Bec starts new fashion blog and online store

She won many hearts as one half of the likeable Bec and George on The Block Sky High and her latest venture is an online one.

_MG_3026

Like Dani Wales, who started The Home Journal after being on the show, Bec Duros has started a blog, Bec Marks The Spot, offering fans an insight into her latest fashion, beauty and lifestyle tips and trends.

Continue reading “The Block’s Bec starts new fashion blog and online store”

Categories
Interiors Addict

10 secrets to striking gold when op shopping for your home

Peep My Style blogger and op shopper extraordinaire, Claudia Stephenson

By Claudia Stephenson

Previously on Interiors Addict, I shared my top op shop finds. People often ask me what my secret is, so I thought it could be useful to give you my top 10 tips:

1. Don’t limit yourself to one area. Of course I have my favourite stores that usually deliver some kind of delight each visit, but when I have time, I travel all over Sydney, to the Blue Mountains and up to the Central Coast. Just because it’s in a nice area doesn’t mean there will be better stuff: cast your net wide!

2. Keep going back. The reason I tend to find great stuff is because I keep going back. Don’t be put off if you go somewhere and find nothing the first go, chances are you will if you are persistent. I tend to visit at least one store per week, even if it’s on my way home from work, I always find time to pop in.

3. Take your time. I took a girlfriend once and she scanned the room once and gave up, whereas I always scour every shelf and corner. I once found (and bought) an Hermes ashtray tucked up at the back of a bottom shelf amongst some cheap white plates. I paid $3…

Continue reading “10 secrets to striking gold when op shopping for your home”
Categories
Furniture

Peep My Style’s best op shop furniture finds

By Claudia Stephenson

Firstly, thank you for having me on Interiors Addict, Jen! For those of you who have visited me at Peep My Style, you’ll know I’ve been an avid op shopper for about 10 years. In that time, I have come across the most incredible finds, like this dining set complete with 6 Chippendale chairs (they were selling the whole lot for $160), but unfortunately I got there one minute too late! 

1

But that same day I found my pride and joy: this gold dining table base. It originally came with a big hexagonal smoked glass top (you will be glad to know I left it at the shop) and I eventually found a large slab of marble to top it off, which works perfectly with it. 

2

Continue reading “Peep My Style’s best op shop furniture finds”

Categories
Kids Rooms

Product picks for an eco-friendly kids room

By Emma McDonald

With the rise of the more conscious, sustainable consumer — think fair trade, organic and environmentally friendly — some talented interior designers have been busy turning their creative minds to designing products with this ethos in mind. There are some truly beautiful homeware products available today, created by designers who place sustainability and fabulous design on equal footing.

We decided to go shopping, and style an eco-friendly kids bedroom. By sourcing sustainable products, not only are you purchasing a beautiful and often unique piece, but you’re purchasing their story, and we love our products having good ones. So happy shopping, conscious shopper. Your kids’ bedroom will look amazing!

For the floor

Armadillo & Co are an Australian rug company who create wonderful floor coverings. Their artisan weavers are seen as integral part of their design process, using generations old, hand weaving techniques. As well as providing fair trade working conditions for their weavers, they also support education programs for the children in the villages. The Armadillo & Co Junior Collection comes in a range of bright, wonderful colours.

Armadillo-kids

Junior Collection Carnival Stripe in Orange and Junior Collection Braid Weave in Pink

Continue reading “Product picks for an eco-friendly kids room”

Categories
Interiors Addict

3 real rooms with heart

By Meghan McTavish

Home styling is much like fashion, in the sense that it’s not really healthy to fall all over yourself trying to emulate every picture perfect look featured within the pages of the glossy mags. Mags do envy-inducing escapism oh so well but we love blogs like Interiors Addict for Jen’s personal tips. It’s like getting advice from a friend – which we know is sometimes the best place to go if you’re in a bind.

There’s also gold to be found in real homes and we think there’s really nowhere that sums up a person’s personality more than in their living room. Here are 3 difference spaces that we’ve shot for Citizens of the World that have proved to be some of our most inspirational.

Jewellery designer Alex Smyth-Kirk of Vera Xane

CitizensoftheWorld_alex_smyth_kirk_DominicLoneraganPhotography__MeghanMcTavish_FashionPhotography_070813_0027

Alex seems to feel very comfortable with colour, which is always fun to shoot. We love how her couch and chair are very muted but make an excellent base for all her incredible art and bright cushions.

Continue reading “3 real rooms with heart”
Categories
Interiors Addict

Celebrating my first year of full-time blogging

This week marks a year since I was made redundant from my magazine job and decided to give blogging a go as a job. I’ll be honest with you; I wasn’t confident it would work out and be sustainable long-term but I knew I had to give it a go. It was a now or never moment. All the usual clichés, like at least I could say I tried, even if it didn’t work out. I think having a wedding to pay for (which was on Saturday and was the best day of my life so far WITHOUT A DOUBT) spurred me on, as did my usual steely determination and my supportive fiance (now husband), friends and family. It has been hard work but boy, has it been enjoyable and a brilliant, challenging, rewarding learning curve. Today I am so proud of how well Interiors Addict is doing as a one-year-old business and I want to thank you all, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, for reading it, because without you I’d be nowhere!

Here’s to many more years of full-time blogging!

Jen x

Categories
Interiors Addict

Meet Lorna, my trusted blog-sitter while I’m on honeymoon!

As you probably know, I’m getting married on Saturday and then I’ll be off on honeymoon for the best part of a month. Oh my goodness, I can’t wait! It’s been a big year!

But I couldn’t just leave the blog unattended, could I?! So as well as planning the finer details of my wedding, I’ve been busy scheduling plenty of content for you over the next few weeks. Thanks to a bevy of guest posters I have some really great stuff to share with you. There have been so many great contributions in fact, it’s made me decide to open up the blog to guest posts long term, so if you’re interested, check out the guidelines here.

lorna brett

I’ve asked my good friend and former colleague Lorna Brett, who has HEAPS of social media and community management experience under her belt, as well as a serious love of all things interiors and a delightful personality, to blog-sit for me and look after the social media side of keeping you guys entertained! There’s nobody I’d trust more for the job.

Continue reading “Meet Lorna, my trusted blog-sitter while I’m on honeymoon!”
Categories
Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict is a finalist in the 2013 Blogster Awards, Please vote for me?

I’m very flattered to be a finalist in the lifestyle category of this year’s Ultrabook Pedestrian Blogster Awards. The only way to win now is to get the most votes, so this is where you guys come in! I would love you to please vote for me. Winning would certainly top off my first year of full-time blogging, the anniversary of which is, conveniently, next month!

BlogstersBadge2

All you have to do is go here and click on the Facebook like button next to where it says YEAH BLOG! (I’m not sure it’s very obvious, hence spelling it out!) I would really appreciate your vote and, even better, if you can share it on your social media pages that would be awesome. Thanks so much in advance.

Jen x

Categories
Interiors Addict

Screen printed wall hangings to make you smile

These cheerful wall hangings are by Simone Duckworth, who writes the Honey and Fizz blog. I think they’re just lovely.

Make today ridiculously.. (1)

Some people think having positive affirmations hanging on your walls is a bit cliché, but personally, I’m all for it, always have been, and if they look this pretty, even better! I’ve always loved art made from words too and am a longterm typography nerd (perhaps my fascination started as a newspaper reporter?).

Continue reading “Screen printed wall hangings to make you smile”
Categories
Interiors Addict

The winner of 7 Vignettes July is…

Erika Rax!

It’s always tough, but this month’s judge, Kate Reeves Robertson from The Story of Us, chose @erikarax as our sixth 7 Vignettes champion.

“It was a gorgeous week of sublime hues, fab framing and organised chaos, but it was the elegantly restrained frames by Erika that caught my eye and inspired my imagination every day,” said Kate. “Clean, refined and simply beautiful.”

I loved the simplicity of Erika’s pictures too, and discovering her lovely blog was an added bonus.

july-7vignettes

Congratulations, Erika! You get to work with Kate to create your own custom stationery set. I have to admit, I’m jealous!

Continue reading “The winner of 7 Vignettes July is…”
Categories
Interiors Addict

Abigail Ahern’s blog has a new look and a forum

Abigail Ahern’s blog is a favourite of mine. It amazes me how often she posts with everything else she has going on. And now she’s updated it, given it a new look and added a new chat forum. Check it out.

Categories
Interiors Addict

How I got my dream job (that’s this one)

Sonia at Life Love & Hiccups blog asked me to share my story with her readers today. If you’re interested, you can read about how I came to be a full-time blogger and why I absolutely LOVE it here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all glamour (come to think of it, hardly any of it is!) and it’s bloody hard work (more on that in the post) but I have never enjoyed a “job” more, warts and all!

Happy long weekend, lovely readers! Jen x

Categories
Interiors Addict

Introducing my new blog, Appliance Addict

Appliance-Addict-Logo_LowRes

I’ve been (annoyingly) hinting at it for a little while and today I’m delighted to reveal that my new blog is all about home appliances. A sister site to this one, for those of you who are also interested in the latest gadgetry for your lifestyle (and to save annoying those who aren’t by keeping it separate), you now have Appliance Addict too. We have a great launch competition to win a Bodum BISTRO stand mixer in a colour of your choice.

I’ve been wanting to launch a new site for some time, it just took a little while to work out the perfect little sister for Interiors Addict (exteriors definitely aren’t my forté!). That’s the beauty of the online world and indeed self-employment; if you have an idea you can just go for it and move quickly. I’ve had some wonderful support from my friends and my web developer behind the scenes, for which I’d like to thank them. They know who they are. When you work on your own it’s great to have people to bounce ideas off and to get excited with you.

Continue reading “Introducing my new blog, Appliance Addict”
Categories
Interiors Addict

BabyMac’s Beth knows there’s no place like home

Beth MacDonald (aka BabyMac) is a super popular mummy blogger who moved to the country and created the most cosy looking home for her family. Here she shares a look inside and explains juggling motherhood with being a neat freak.

Baby Mac house 1

This Southern Highlands house has a huge open plan living space, plenty of lovely natural light, a colourful mix of old and new furniture and a wonderful fire, perfect for snuggling up by with a glass of red. Jealous.

Baby Mac house exterior

“Home is so important to me,” says Beth. “It’s everything. While it’s not all about ‘stuff’ or an exact place, it’s about being totally comfortable and at peace and happy. It’s being with people that you love, and who love you. It’s about pottering about and doing things that make you happy and it’s where all my very favourite things in the world happen: the first sip of a hot coffee, the crackling start of the fire being lit, a champagne bottle popping with friends over, serving a meal to people that I love and care for, reading a quiet magazine, gardening or watching the sunset out on the verandah with a drink in hand and (husband) Rob by my side.”

Continue reading “BabyMac’s Beth knows there’s no place like home”