Launched early this year, Five Fables furniture collection is not only fabulously bold but it’s competitively priced and can be delivered free to your door within just ten days if you live in metropolitan Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. What’s not to love?
Gun for Hire armchair, $1245
“The objective of Five Fables is to design directional, yet timeless pieces that can be produced using amazing materials with a high regard for quality, whilst still being affordable,” says the brand’s founder Pravesh Datt.
Shakedown bar cart, $995
“Five Fables is aware of the trend for ‘fast food furniture’ whereby people sacrifice quality and originality for something quick and easy to fill their spaces – often due to the inflated prices of original, designer pieces. This led us down the path to look at ways to offer beautifully designed pieces at affordable prices without the pain and hassle of waiting up to 12 weeks for delivery and paying through the nose for these items,” says Pravesh who explains that they offer white glove delivery also. “We want to offer the easiest way to buy beautiful furniture, have it hand delivered, assembled and set up for you,” says Pravesh.
Rum Runners wine cabinet, $2795
With a background in architectural computing and many years spent working for an iconic Australian interiors brand, Pravesh is pleased to be flexing his creative muscle. “Five Fables has provided me with a much-needed creative outlet to complement my e-commerce expertise,” says Pravesh who works closely with a manufacturer in Shenzhen (China) who makes each piece by hand. “Some pieces are designed by myself from the ground up whilst others are modifications and adaptions of existing designs,” says Pravesh.
Dahlia sofa, $2695
And while many of the pieces have a strong Hollywood Regency vibe and there’s a solid mid-century sensibility underpinning the collection too, it’s the bold use of colour that caught my eye. “Five Fables is a brand for the brave. We want people to express themselves through beautiful, colourful, original pieces rather than settle for something safe. I have a passion for the timeless, classic style of Hollywood Regency, with its rich bold colours and luxe materials like gold leaf, brass and marble. To keep with this theme, each piece has been named after an old Hollywood film,” says Pravesh.
Babette side table, $595
“I’m so proud of each piece but my favourites are definitely the Orpheus sectional sofa and the Babette side table, these are two of the most striking pieces in the range,” says Pravesh.
Conjuring the glamour and sophistication of Hollywood’s heyday, the Hollywood Regency aesthetic is one of the most sumptuous around, but it’s also one that can be tricky to master (ie. its hallmark bold prints, colour and accessories aren’t always that easy to pull together). We caught up with interior designer Bethany James-Best of James Said, a luxury online purveyor of Hollywood Regency wares, who brought us up to speed on the aesthetic and how to use it in your home.
“Hollywood Regency is known for its bold colours, such as dramatic black and white, yellow, red and magenta. Geometric patterns, Chinoiserie, large stripes and over the top florals are another big part of the Hollywood Regency look,” says Bethany who does warn that using too many bold patterns can make a room feel cluttered or chaotic however. “I would treat patterns as I do colour and limit them both to three per room,” says Bethany.
And rather than just simply replicating the past, Hollywood Regency is about mixing old with new and giving classic pieces a modern twist. “For example, you can have a modern sofa but regency styled armchairs. The perfect finishes, glossy lacquer and mirrored furniture is perfect for this era and instantly infuses Hollywood Regency glamour into a room. Shiny surfaces and accessories are also a key component of the style,” says Bethany who believes the aesthetic is no trend, and is here to stay.
“This beautiful style is timeless and the perfect way to add a touch of glamour to any space. It’s a modern day classic, it allows you to fuse old-world and new and will continue to be part of the design language for years to come,” says Bethany.
It’s also an aesthetic that can be dabbled in, and doesn’t require full-blown adherence. “Committing to the full Hollywood Regency style isn’t for everyone as we all have our own tastes. But we do believe adding a few elements of this style can enhance all spaces – this can be as simple as a beautiful velvet arm chair with Deco lines paired with a contemporary style sofa or a bold geometric rug,” says Bethany.
An interior designer by trade and based in Perth, Bethany started her company after becoming frustrated with the lack of Hollywood Regency pieces available in Australia. “I couldn’t source the beautiful pieces I wanted to complete the look I desired – you simply couldn’t find them. This started my journey into locating the most beautiful brands in the world and bringing them to the Australian market. I Frequent High Point in the US and the Maison Objet show in Paris, among others, to find pieces that inspire me with the hope that others will fall in love with them the same way I do,” says Bethany.
We all love a house tour but I think we particularly like a look behind the front door of an interior designer’s home, don’t we?! Well, I have a treat for you today with Ioanna Lennox’s 1879 Inner West Sydney terrace.
Ioanna Lennox
While it’s still a work in progress (aren’t all homes, really?), Ioanna, who left her corporate job to follow her passion and work in interiors, has done plenty to transform it. The painted striped runner on the staircase was a project she had been dying to attempt and thought she’d better try it out on her home before attempting the look for clients! She is thrilled with the result and we agree it looks spectacular.
Being her own client was an interesting experience: “The brief kept changing but some things remained the same: it had to be classic, beautiful and elegant, without being over the top; glamorous but in a modern, contemporary way; respectful of the terrace’s original features such as the high ceilings, cornices and fireplaces, but make these work in today’s living environment.
“I started out resonating with the modern French style, then switched to Hollywood Regency, where for a while, everything that I gravitated towards was shiny, shimmery, plush or mirrored! I think the end end result will end up being a nice mix of the two. The colours changed too. Initially, it was going to be all black and white – I wanted drama, lots of contrast and typical Parisian chic. I remember doing a concept board with the “client” being very happy, but six months later, it went out of the window.
“I came across my favourite Bromley nude at an art auction and I begged, begged, begged my husband for us to get it. When we found ourselves the last ones to hold up the little auction card, I almost screamed! I’ve loved and admired David Bromley’s nudes for years and to finally own one was a dream come true. When we brought ‘Chayenne’ home with her striking aqua blue palette, I fell in love with blue. So started my blue phase, which I have to say I’m still in. This meant the formal lounge and dining rooms now had to have an injection of blues.”
Somewhere in all this, Ioanna had to consider her husband, although he was generally happy to leave her to it, so long as it wasn’t too frou-frou or feminine. “I started coming up with the original concept for the front terrace at least three years ago. Finances, Bromley purchases, leaving the corporate world and my mum’s death all played a part in the snail’s pace that things have progressed at.
“To be your own client as an interior designer has be the hardest job ever – I found it frustrating, painful and creatively thwarting. As the designer, I often had days when I just wanted to kill my client! As the client, I just thought the designer was too out there at times for this regular, Inner West family of four. I feel like we got there in the end and even though we’re not yet finished, every detail is nutted out, all the fabric has been bought for the sofa and soft furnishings so nothing else is changing!”
The French wall panelling, which makes such an impact, was at times a nightmare. “I decided to take this on myself just after my mum died. I had my cousin here from Germany, who’s a tradesman but not a carpenter. He called my bluff and said if I was serious about panelling the front rooms, he’d help me. I measured everything up and drew detailed diagrams of the panels to the millimetre, then ordered over 150 metres of timber for the chair rails and panels. Over the next week, my cousin and I worked around the clock.
“When we started putting up the chair rail, we realised there wasn’t one straight wall in the house! This made it all the more entertaining as we couldn’t always rely on the trusted spirit level to hang the panels. In the middle of our little project, my cousin had to return home, so that left me with a very unfinished project. Out of sheer pity or insanity, my husband eventually stepped in and helped. That put him in my awesome husband books for at least 6 months!”
Ioanna selected a duck egg blue/green for the inside of the panels (Dulux Georgian Silver), which interplays with the soft grey background . “I’m beyond thrilled with the results, but knowing what I know now, I’m not so sure I’d take it all on again.”
The entire front of the terrace — formal living and dining rooms, hallway and stairs – have been overhauled. The existing traditional yellow wallpaper, which had over the years become one with the render, was removed, parts of the rooms had to be re-rendered, and the cracked ceiling and ceiling roses reconditioned. Ioanna then chose a warm grey throughout and a dark charcoal above the fireplaces to turn these into a feature.
She kept some of the original furniture (“I had our old mango wood dining table stained a dark walnut with a French polish finish. So too with the dining chairs – I had them reupholstered in a soft blue velvet with nail trim detail. This kept the budget down and it looks like a whole new dining setting anyway.”) Keeping the budget under control meant she could splash out on a Moooi chandelier for the dining room.
Every visitor comments on the wall panelling, which is Ioanna’s favourite element. “It gives the room such presence and grandness, pushes the 3.5-metre ceilings even higher and makes the decorating effortless. Between that and the Bromley hanging on the wall, there’s not much else the room needs – ok, maybe just a nice comfy chair to sip a cocktail in!
“So, is the client content? Yes, she’s happy. But I’d probably never want to work with her again!”
See more of Ioanna’s interior design work on her website. Photography by Stan Ngo and Susan Papazian.
It’s a big change from Bandhini Homewear Design’s usual mix of neutrals and textures but this latest collection is no less beautiful. I saw the cushions for myself last month and they really are stunning.
Designer Tai Schaffler admits she was nervous about the change. “But it was time for us to get out there and positively surprise our clients. We still have some beautiful classic black and beiges this year (we wouldn’t be Bandhini if we didn’t). The response so far has been incredible. There has been a lot of love for our yellow and velvet cushions.”
The collection, which was shot at the Mary McDonald-designed LUXE Hotel in LA, has been inspired by the cultural differences between America, where the products have been sold since 2010, Australia, where everything is designed, and India, where it is made.
I’m not usually one to gush about furniture but this stuff? Wow. Love. It. All.
Regency Distribution is exclusively importing US interiors brand Worlds Away to the Australian market. Founded in Memphis, Tennessee, it has been a hit brand Stateside in the interior design industry for more than 20 years.
