Categories
Homewares

Urban Road’s first rugs will have you wishing it was summer already!

If you weren’t missing summer enough already, these gorgeous designer rugs by Urban Road and Emma Blomfield of Nest Designs, will make you incredibly envious of anyone currently enjoying the summer months (I’m talking to you, Jen!).

Room_2

Urban Road are an Australian brand known for their original canvas art prints and cushions. The Emma Blomfield x Urban Road Designer Rug Collection is their first foray into art for your floor, collaborating with interior stylist Emma, who is passionate about making stylish interiors affordable.

Room_9

Room_8

Inspired by the cool, salty ocean breeze of a coastal Australian summer with a Palm Springs Californian twist, the collection is full of summery colours, tones and textures. With nine to choose from, there’s a rug to suit every home, with each rug telling its own unique story. “We wanted the range to be bold and bright with a sense of fun thrown in for good measure,” explains Emma. “After all, a rug is really a piece of artwork for your floor and each of the rugs in this collection tells its own artistic story.”

Emma Blomfield (left) of Nest Designs and Suzie Atkin of Urban Road
Emma Blomfield (seated) of Nest Designs and Suzie Atkin of Urban Road

Room_6

Made from a low pile, acrylic-based Chenille, using fade resistant, eco-friendly inks, the reverse of the rug features a dotted non-woven backing with anti-slip dots to keep the rug in place. Clever!

Room_7

Measuring 2m x 3m, the rugs retail for $749 and will be officially launched to the trade in Melbourne at Life Instyle next week. The public can pre-order them from 4 August on the Urban Road website, making them the perfect accessory to add colour, scale and character to your space as we head into spring.

Categories
House Tours

Take a look inside Guy Sebastian’s holiday home

Today we take a look inside singer Guy Sebastian’s holiday home on the NSW South Coast. I interviewed his wife, Jules, about creating a family hideaway as well as somewhere perfect for entertaining.

guy sebastian 3

The couple had been looking for a holiday home when Guy fell in love with the headland in Gerroa and was determined to find something to buy in the area. “This house came up for sale a couple of months later and we grabbed it while we could,” said Jules, a fashion stylist. “In terms of location it was exactly what we were looking for, but we wanted to renovate to make it into the dream home.”

The renovation meant gutting half of the top floor and starting again. Guy got stuck in himself, as walls were knocked out to really open up the view of the ocean, before all the bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens were renovated. “It was a lot of work,” says Jules, who recently announced she is pregnant with the couple’s second child. “Guy was like Bob the Builder!

Jules Sebastian
Jules Sebastian

Categories
House Tours Styling

Photos: The finished Palm Beach Apartment!

We put the finishing touches to the Interiors Addict/Nest Designs apartment project we’ve been working on last Thursday night to host opening drinks and reveal the transformation. Here are the photos you’ve been waiting for! We know many of you have been following its progress and the reality behind the scenes of a reno, but what everyone really wants to see are the after shots, let’s face it!

The living area

Emma Blomfield from Nest Designs did a fantastic job furnishing and styling the apartment and I think this living area shows how she nailed a coastal holiday apartment vibe without falling into dodgy, overly-beachy territory (I think we’ve all seen that on a weekend away)!

Palm beach nest designs - low res-4

While there it was great to reference the stunning Palm Beach location here and there, she definitely got the balance just right. Do you agree?

Categories
Styling

The reality of a reno: The Interiors Addict & Nest Designs Palm Beach apartment project

By Emma Blomfield

As we prepare to reveal the finished Palm Beach Apartment project (a joint project between Interiors Addict and Nest Designs) this Thursday, stylist Emma Blomfield tells us about the less glamorous reality behind the scenes of a top-to-bottom reno.

The Palm Beach Project hasn’t been without drama. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you will have seen a few of the issues that have arisen!

Firstly, the tenants in the apartment when it sold weren’t the tidiest, so the kitchen, bathroom and carpets had seen a lot of wear and tear. We got to work repainting and giving the apartment a bit of a facelift; that was relatively drama-free apart from the fact that the light switch cover plates were apparently imported from Europe so there were none anywhere in the country that would fit for us to replace them! We also soon realised once the tenants’ furniture was removed, that the carpets would need more than a steam clean so they were ripped up and replaced with gorgeous sisal in a chocolatey colour.

Categories
Expert Tips Renting

What to consider when furnishing and decorating a holiday rental

As we prepare for the unveiling of our Palm Beach apartment project at the end of the month, I asked Emma Blomfield of Nest Designs what special considerations need to be made when furnishing a holiday rental.

Screen Shot 2013-09-11 at 4.46.55 PM

Durability and being easy to clean are 2 of the top, and less pretty and creative priorities when embarking on your holiday rental. “You never know who will be renting the apartment and when you might have families with children there for summer holidays, you can’t be sure how it will withstand a visit from sticky fingers or what will happen during a game of hide and seek,” says Emma. “Materials that should be avoided are things like glass top tables that aren’t secured, veneers — they are soft, dent easily and don’t withstand heavy duty cleaning agents that the cleaning company might use – and high gloss MDF as it scratches easily and ages faster.”

When it comes to flooring, hardwearing is key. Tiles, sisal carpet and timber floors are best. “There are loads of wool carpet options too that are commercial grade and come in a huge range of colours to suit your decor.”

flooring apartment

Emma also had to think about easy and regular cleaning between guests. “I’ve chosen bench tops that have flecks of taupe and brown so any scratches or spills won’t be obvious. The sofa is scotch guarded to prevent spills staining and the rug is a jute material, making it easy to shake out to clean. Sisal carpet is good for disguising sandy footprints.”

Categories
Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict teams up with Nest Designs to bring you the Palm Beach apartment project

I have an exciting new project to share with you today and I’ll be sharing it with you from start to finish over the next few weeks! A few months ago, I was approached by Judith Webster, who had just bought an investment property on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, to help her style and decorate it and share the process with my readers.

I loved the idea of course, but with a wedding to organise and not actually being a stylist or interior designer, I thought I decided to pass this project on to my friend Emma Blomfield at Nest Designs, knowing what a great job she’d do. One of you will get the chance to win a weekend away at the apartment once it’s finished! Sound good? Yes, I thought so!

Work has just begun, with a a thorough clearout and paint job and plans for a new kitchen and flooring. Today I’m sharing Emma’s moodboards for each room with you.

Palm Beach Apartment Project - Lounge

Judith, who first met me when she came to my blogging course at the Australian Writers Centre in Sydney, said: “Earlier this year I bought a two-bedroom apartment at Palm Beach. It is in a small, resort style complex that was developed about 10 years ago for holiday stays. It’s right in the heart of Palm Beach with the beach, restaurants, boutiques and ferry all within walking distance.

Categories
Interiors Addict

Nest Designs pops up in Paddington with a florist and a fashion designer

Stylist Emma Blomfield of Nest Designs is having a one-day-only pop-up shop this Saturday with florist Willow and Dune and fashion designer Katie Perry. Emma’s launching her new cushion line and selling other pretties, Willow and Dune are selling beautiful floral arrangements and Katie is selling her fashion. So why not pop along and treat yourself?

nest popup

Categories
Interiors Addict

Zanui first birthday event with Shaynna Blaze

Yesterday I attended the first birthday celebration event for online furniture store Zanui in Sydney, where Shaynna Blaze was special guest.

zanui

It really doesn’t seem a whole 12 months since I was at Zanui’s launch event! The vast warehouse-style space of Simmer on the Bay in Sydney was decked out in products available to buy on the site, all beautifully styled. Guests included media and suppliers, as well as X-Factor winner Samantha-Jade Gibbs and Guy Sebastian’s wife Jules, both of whose homes have recently been furnished by Zanui with a little styling help from my good friend Emma Blomfield at Nest Designs (pictured with Shaynna and I in the photo above).

Categories
Interiors Addict

Nest Designs opens online pop-up store

My good friend and stylist Emma Blomfield at Nest Designs has just opened a fab online pop-up store full of treasures. I guess the idea would be to buy people Christmas presents from it but I want everything for myself!

I may or may not have already nabbed myself one of these uber cute ring dishes. I keep it by the kitchen sink so I always know where I’ve left my engagement ring when I take it off to do cleaning (all those heart-in-mouth panic moments were getting too much).

Categories
Interiors Addict

Flower bombing at Megan Morton’s School

On Sunday I did something I haven’t done in ages. I made something, with my own two hands. There were flowers, tea, cake, laughs and a room full of lovely ladies. I am talking, of course, about Holly Hipwell’s legendary flower bomb class at The School.

The School, if you didn’t know, belongs to one of Australia’s best stylists, Megan Morton. It runs all manner of classes for kids and big kids, where you can learn to make beautiful things. She also runs workshops where she shares her interior styling and property staging wisdom.

Categories
Interiors Addict

Please say hi if you see me at decoration + design!

I’m off to Melbourne tomorrow night and will be doing the rounds of decoration + design on Thursday afternoon and a lot of Friday (as well as doing my talk with Darren Palmer). Loads of you have told me you’re going so can I please ask a favour? If you see me, grab me, and say hi! I’ll most likely be with my friend Emma from Nest Designs. Much as I love chatting to you all on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, that’s a lot of thumbnails to keep track of, and I’m bad with faces (and names for that matter) to start with. You have an advantage in that my photo is on here and you know what I look like. If I make eye contact and give you a half-smile like “I think I recognise you but I’m not quite sure,” don’t mistake it for craziness, just say “hi Jen, I’m so-and-so!” Did I mention I’m also  shortsighted and I never wear my specs? Ok, you get the idea. But I love meeting Interiors Addict readers so again, please don’t be shy!

I hope you enjoy the trade fair and get lots of inspiration! Jen x

 

Categories
Interiors Addict

What Nest Designs’ Emma is loving right now

Emma Blomfield runs Nest Designs, providing affordable interior styling services both in person and via the wonders of the world wide web, wherever you are in Australia. Right now she’s loving…
Categories
Interiors Addict

Replicas suit a new generation of nesters

Interior stylist Emma Blomfield owns Nest Designs, a business that specialises in affordable decorating for everyone. Her innovative online service means she works with clients all over Australia. Here Emma shares her thoughts on the popularity of replica furniture.
“Replica furniture fits the bill for style and budget conscious home decorators. For these buyers, purchasing an original piece is not a practical option, whether that’s due to young children with sticky fingers, monetary constraints or simply the desire for more flexibility in their decorating style in years to come. 
 
Australia is not known as an elitist society but rather one that embraces inclusiveness, so whether you be a first home buyer, a young person setting up your first rental, or a busy family with competing financial demands, everybody is entitled to the look and feel that inspires them and this ideal has been central to Nest’s philosophy. 
 
Whilst replicas are largely produced in Asia, for the most part they are distributed by Australian companies therefore their purchase supports local businesses rather than large multi-national furniture retailers.  
 
By law, retailers must use the original designer’s name along with the word ‘replica’ to avoid confusion. Additionally, if the patent has expired then replicas can legitimately be created, as in other industries. 
 
Replicas allow a new generation of home decorators to discover and appreciate the innovative designers of the past. For practical reasons a replica might be the answer today, but this may lead to an aspiration to own an original piece in the future.”
Categories
Interiors Addict

New homewares shop alert: I Like Birds, Paddington, Sydney While I was in Paddington yesterday for t

New homewares shop alert: I Like Birds, Paddington, Sydney

While I was in Paddington yesterday for the opening of the Dearwood showroom with my stylist friend Emma from Nest Designs, we stumbled across the most gorgeous new homewares shop called I Like Birds. You know when you feel a shop and its contents were created just for you? That’s how this felt! It sells new and vintage homewares with a great range of old glass bottles, jars and flasks (my favourite), retro kitchenware, cowhide rugs, cool cushions, glass cloches and more. There’s even a lovely little garden out back selling plants, pots and the odd deckchair. The ladies running it (who happen to be florists!) are just lovely and their prices are really reasonable. I will definitely be back for more after payday!

  • I Like Birds, 14 William Street, Paddington, Sydney. Open Tuesday to Sunday. (02) 9331 5501.
Categories
Interiors Addict

Some photos from Saturday in Design in Sydney yesterday, where I had a great time with Emma from Nes

Some photos from Saturday in Design in Sydney yesterday, where I had a great time with Emma from Nest Designs and Naomi from Silk Staging.

Categories
Interviews

Nest Designs gives Australians affordable interior design services over the internet

“The online decorating service details specific pieces of furniture and decor and provides clients with the direct links to purchase the suggested pieces online which means my clients can quickly make their dreams a reality or can purchase the pieces in their own time and on their own terms. This service is available for a fraction of the cost of a full interior design fit out,” says owner Emma Blomfield.

With a degree in marketing and a diploma in interior design, she noticed a large e-decorating market in the United States and decided to bring it to Australia. She believes good design should be available to everyone, whether or not they have the talent for it themselves or indeed a big budget. 

“Interior decorating needn’t be an expensive luxury relegated only to the wealthy,” she says. “A stylish home, for a fraction of the cost, is something everyone can enjoy. That’s the reasoning behind Nest. My service is much more affordable, detailed and accessible to home owners decorating on a budget and definitely offers value for money.”

So how does it work? Emma sends the client a questionnaire to give her an overview of their style and furniture preferences and the room or rooms they wish to have redecorated. Then they complete it and send through measurements and photographs. Emma gets started on creating a digital mood board (like those above) including images of suggested pieces of furniture, hyperlinks to make the purchases, inspirational images and a suggested furniture layout. “It’s all delivered directly to my client’s inboxes and takes approximately two-to-three weeks. Rates are from $120.”

Nest Designs also offers ‘in real life’ services in the Sydney metro area.