Tag: furniture

Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma opening on 2 May

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date April 15, 2013
3 Comments on Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma opening on 2 May

Williams-Sonoma, Inc today officially announced that its iconic brands Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm will open to the public on Thursday 2 May 2013 at the newly constructed Exchange Building in Bondi Junction. I may have mentioned the news of these stores coming to Australia a ‘few’ times already…

An artist’s impression of how the stores will look when they open in just 17 days’ time

“We are excited to announce we will open our first Australian retail stores on May 2nd,” said Laura Alber, president and chief executive officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “The location at Bondi Junction gives us the opportunity to showcase all four brands together in a truly unique way. We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings along with unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with Australian customers who want to decorate, entertain and live well.”

Tags bondi junction, furniture, homewares, laura alber, pottery barn, pottery barn kids, the exchange building, west elm, williams sonoma inc, williams-sonoma

Designers Furniture

Interior designer Blainey North’s latest furniture

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date April 12, 2013

It’s really no surprise that interior designer Blainey North’s furniture designs are as glamorous as she is and as luxurious as the five-star interiors she is famous for.

Established in 2001, Blainey North & Associates is a studio specialising in the interior architecture and design of luxury environments for five star hotels, exclusive residences and bespoke commercial and retail projects in Australia and abroad. Blainey North Collection was was established established as an extra arm to the business, specialising in custom designed furniture and specialty lighting.

The Passos swivel chair is one of a kind. On a concealed swivel base, encased in high gloss timber and edged in polished metal, this armchair is alluring from every angle.

It has always made sense to me that interior designers should design their own pieces. An ‘atelier for interiors’, Blainey is passionate about connecting ideas from the different design disciplines of fashion, film and the visual arts to create a unique language and ageless aesthetic.

Tags Becker minty, blainey north, blainey north and associates, furniture, hotel design, interior design, interior designer

Interiors Addict

Blu Dot launches Sydney showroom, its first outside America

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date April 4, 2013
4 Comments on Blu Dot launches Sydney showroom, its first outside America

Pottery Barn and West Elm are not the only American furniture brands coming to Australia. Blu Dot has just opened its first showroom in Sydney, its first outside the States.

With a background in architecture and 10 years of logistics experience, Brett Conroy is the man responsible for bringing the popular brand to these shores. Following a trip to America, Brett discovered Blu Dot and decided to combine his appreciation for design and knowledge of logistics to open here. After several months of negotiations with the Blu Dot team, he launched the Australian Blu Dot website in October 2012 and then went on to open the showroom in Sydney’s design district of Alexandria.

Blu Dot’s colourful collection of furniture for the home and office features contemporary and playful pieces. The brand was the brainchild of three designers in college who found they couldn’t afford much of the furniture they liked. Realising that there was likely to be a whole market of people out there in the same position, Blu Dot was born, providing a range of beautifully designed products that were also useful and affordable.

Tags alexandria, american furniture, blu dot, brett conroy, furniture, interiors, pottery barn, west elm

Interiors Addict

The coffee table that doubles as a dolls house

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date April 1, 2013
3 Comments on The coffee table that doubles as a dolls house

Qubis Haus is a dual purpose coffee table/dolls house. Could this solve the problem of clearing toys OFF the coffee table because they’re already IN it?!

The coffee table transforms into a dolls house with the simple addition of sliding panels made from wood and perspex, enabling the ‘designer’ to create different room layouts. Designer Amy Whitworth says: “The table is made in solid birch plywood and has clean modern lines, making it a beautiful piece of living room furniture as well as a centre for children to play. The table can live permanently in the living room so the children can play with it whenever they want.

“They don’t have to put it away and you don’t have to put up with it when grown ups want the room again, just slide out the walls. And once the children have grown up it remains a modern table with happy memories, if they/you do ever stop playing with it!”

Tags amy whitworth, coffee table, design, dolls house, dolls house coffee table, furniture, qubis design

Furniture

Max Sparrow wants to shake up the Aussie online furniture market

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date April 1, 2013
13 Comments on Max Sparrow wants to shake up the Aussie online furniture market

The intriguingly named Max Sparrow is a new independent company started by some seasoned furniture lovers to cater to time-poor, tech-savvy, 20, 30, and 40-somethings looking for something different and tired of what’s currently being offered in Australia. The catch is you have to wait 2-to-3 months for great pieces at great prices.

Max-Sparrow_Styled_American-Contemporary — Max groups/selects product that will fit together and style well, making it easy for customers to put a room together

The brand clearly has a sense of humour. The website is full of it and written in the first person by ‘Max’. A spokesman told me: “Max knows and loves furniture, he’s spent his life travelling the world searching for it. He knows that everyone uses the internet for everything these days and that traditional retail models mean that products are more expensive than they should be. Online is the easy way to shop and get the best price.

Tags buy furniture online, furniture, homewares, max sparrow

Interiors Addict

Danish brand Skovby now available in Australia

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date March 29, 2013

Skovby Furniture, a 75 year-old Danish brand, is available in Australia for the first time through Melbourne’s Danish Red.

Tags danish, danish furniture, danish red, furniture, scandi, skovby

Furniture Interviews

Turning pre-loved secondhand furniture into fabulous one-offs

Post author By Jacqui Greig
Post date March 22, 2013
5 Comments on Turning pre-loved secondhand furniture into fabulous one-offs

Kristin Pfannenschmidt of Revived Furniture believes that upcycling reflects the mood of the moment: people are preferring to save things rather than throw them away, as well as liking the idea of owning a one-off piece. “Something that allows them to express their individuality,” she says.

Expressing her individuality with interior design is a trait that German-born Kristin has been honing for many years. At the age of 11, she spent hours poring over IKEA catalogues, curating themes for the different rooms in her family home. “I picked furniture and accessories to go with my themes, presented it to my parents and was very disappointed when they refused to buy what I had ‘sourced’!”

Tags chairs, furniture, ikea, kristin pfannenschmidt, recycling, revived furniture, secondhand furniture, upcycling

Interiors Addict

I’m in store at Freedom! See if you spot me!

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date March 11, 2013

Freedom’s new collection is now in store and they asked me to pick some of my favourites.

You can see them in stores nationally, along with these posters of yours truly! Next time you’re in there, see if you spot me!

I didn’t pick the chair or the side table but I’m a big fan of the vases and the cushions!

Tags freedom, furniture, interiors addict, jen bishop

Interiors Addict

Zuster is coming to Sydney!

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date March 6, 2013

If you’ve heard the rumours, it’s true. Melbourne furniture and homewares store Zuster, which makes the most beautiful Australian designed and manufactured pieces, is opening a second store in Surry Hills in April.

The store will be at 247 Devonshire Street. Exact opening date to be announced.

Tags furniture, sydney, zuster

Interiors Addict

Interiors, colour and styling workshops at PAD

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date March 3, 2013

One of my favourite Sydney stores, PAD, is hosting some great styling and interiors workshops over the next three months. And where better to play stylist than the beautiful treasure trove of furniture and homewares? If you felt like doing a little shopping while you were there, I wouldn’t blame you…

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Tags furniture, homewares, interiors, pad, passionate about design, waterloo, workshops

Furniture

Massive 3-day sale on designer furniture, open to the public for the first time this weekend

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date February 28, 2013

Everything must go! Dining tables, chairs, stools, sofas, lighting, lounge chairs, outdoor furniture and more, all at never to be repeated prices!

Importer and wholesaler Obodo usually only sells to the trade but this weekend, for the first time ever, their warehouse sale will be open to the public too. There’ll be new, ex-display and discontinued stock at amazing prices.

Tags designer furniture, furniture, obodo, sale, warehouse sale

Homewares Interviews

West Elm’s Aussie, Vanessa Holden, reveals the brand is coming to Melbourne this year too

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date February 26, 2013
2 Comments on West Elm’s Aussie, Vanessa Holden, reveals the brand is coming to Melbourne this year too

Yesterday I had the very great pleasure of interviewing Vanessa Holden, senior vice president of West Elm, one of the four American super brands (with Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams Sonoma) opening in Australia this May. She’s an Aussie now living in New York, with a seriously impressive career behind her and a passion for her job which can’t be faked.

In early May, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams Sonoma will all open in Bondi’s Exchange Building in Sydney. It’s the most hyped retail import since Zara. And for Sydney girl Vanessa, bringing West Elm, where she’s worked since 2011, to her old stomping ground, is a dream. Not surprisingly she has been a great cheerleader for Australia and expanding the West Elm brand to the Southern Hemisphere, but says she can’t claim all the credit.

“We began selling online here 18 months ago and Australians very quickly embraced us. There’s a really nice fit between the Australian lifestyle and the West Elm brand. It’s really exciting to be bringing it to Bondi, especially for me, being an Eastern Suburbs girl, it’s amazing.”

Vanessa, who revealed the brand will also open in Melbourne by the end of the year (no dates or locations have been revealed yet but they’re recruiting now), said Sydney’s always had some great homewares inspiration but West Elm in particular will offer great design at great prices and a store and customer service experience like no other.

Tags bondi, donna hay, exchange building, furniture, homewares, magazines, martha stewart weddings, melbourne, pottery barn, pottery barn kids, publishing, real simple, vanessa holden, west elm, williams-sonoma

Interiors Addict

The book shelf in the shape of a book!

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date February 25, 2013
2 Comments on The book shelf in the shape of a book!

How cool is the award-wining design of The Book Shelf? Yes, it’s a moveable bookshelf in the shape of a giant classic book. It’s also sustainable, made in Australia and on castors, which makes it easy to move, even when full of heavy books.

Winner of a Sydney Design Award last year, it has a dark brown recycled mahogany cover, chiseled sides to represent the pages and two page-like sides painted in milk paint to give it the authentic touch. The two ’pages’ are connected with a flexible hinge so that the angle of the open book is adjustable to fit into any corner.

Tags aline durr, books, bookshelf, furniture, giant book, interiors, sustainable, sydney design awards, the book shelf

Furniture

Christian Cole, making furniture with love

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date February 15, 2013
2 Comments on Christian Cole, making furniture with love

When he met a woman who was into tools, restoring furniture and rescuing interesting pieces, designer, joiner and cabinet-maker Christian Cole knew he was onto something.

Last year another dream was fulfilled with Fiona, now his wife, and Christian, winning the 2012 Australian Furniture of the Year Best of the Best Award.

They won the Best of the Best for their Coupled Curve Bedroom Suite (above), commissioned by clients from Caulfield and created using recycled Messmate sourced from a disused Victorian brickworks and 500-year-old and fossilised Redgum retrieved from a stone quarry!

Christian Cole, a member of the Australian Furniture Association, designs and hand makes solid timber furniture and architectural joinery using recycled timber or timber sourced from sustainable plantations. Fiona often researches the history of the recycled timbers so the timber character customers buy is not only in the timber patina and hue but in the stories of its past.

A country girl, Fiona’s grandfather and father instilled in her their love of native timber and taught her its special features. She would travel to clearing sales with her father and help restore and rebuild the treasures they found together. She continued with this as a hobby, so knew what Christian, a qualified cabinet and furniture maker, was talking about when he spoke of his passion for his work.

Tags christian cole, christian cole furniture, fiona cole, furniture, sustainable furniture, timber

Interiors Addict

Boyd Blue to open new showroom

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date February 6, 2013

Wholesaler Boyd Blue will open a new Melbourne showroom on Monday (11 February). Its home furniture and decor showroom is at at 1390 High Street in Malvern.

With wholesale showrooms in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast, Melbourne was the obvious next step. “We are growing our business to reach new heights in superior product and beautiful customer service – 2013 will be the year that sets Boyd Blue apart,” says owner and director, Shelley Boyd.

Tags boyd blue, decor, furniture, homewards, malvern, melbourne, shelley boyd, wholesaler

Interiors Addict

Emerging trends in decor from Echo Chic

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date January 30, 2013

Will 2013 bring terrible trends in décor, will it break new ground or will it just be more of the same? Here’s what Eco Chic founders Cris Bucknall and Paula Breckman are predicting will be big this year.

Manly swagger – we have seen a lot of fondant shades, delicate touches and feminine finishes over the last three years, so it’s not surprising the pendulum is swinging in favour of the men in our lives, who probably prefer leather to lace. Expect pinstripes on walls and on fabric, dark leather making a return, and a gentlemen’s club flavour emerging for lounge rooms and libraries. Check out our Darcy range of sofas and armchairs.

Golden sunshine – yellow and gold will be prominent tones, used especially for accents and accessories, sometimes even for large items such as sofas. Gilding on wallpaper and for details on pictures and mirrors will be especially popular. Eco Chic’s sunshine inspired outdoor rugs are the perfect accent homewares in golden shades.

Feathered friends – animals, birds and feathers will still feature prominently. It’s amazing how long this bird trend has lasted! This year it’s hello to gaudy parrots and peacocks and goodbye to owls and ostriches. Feather details are tipped for the top and elephants forecast to be big!

Tags eco chic, furniture, homewares, interiors, parrots, rugs, sustainable, suzani

Interiors Addict

Temple & Webster launches ‘We ♥ Australian Design’ week

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date January 21, 2013

Online homewares retailer Temple & Webster today launched ‘We ♥ Australian Design’ week to find the next Marc Newson

It’s all about supporting local talent and finding the next international design stars. This week, their sale events will showcase products created by the 10 up and coming designers nominated in its Emerging Designer Award, for which voting closes on Australia Day. The winner, who will be selected from the top 3 finalists by a panel of industry experts, will receive a $5,000 cash prize.

“The rest of the world has already realised the creative talent we have in Australia,” says co-founder Adam McWhinney. “Several of these designers have exhibited their work internationally, including at the London Design Festival, the Milan Fair and Dwell on Design in LA. Temple & Webster wants to make them household names in Australia. We’re incredibly proud to support the future of Australia’s design heritage in this way.”

Tags ausralian design, emerging designer award, furniture, homewares, interiors, marc newson, online retail, temple & webster

Furniture

King Furniture’s latest lounge: Neo

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date December 28, 2012

There’s no doubt King Furniture’s Jasper has been a big success but it’s great to see a new design at last!

The new Neo continues in King’s tradition of flexibility through an entirely new type of customisation. Neo is available in either the original or deluxe models, with the latter offering additional customisation options.

Tags baby jasper, couch, furniture, jasper, king furniture, lounge, neo, sofa