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House Tours Interviews Travel

Illustrator Kerrie Hess shares her Paris apartment and tips for style on a shoestring

I’ve been to Paris an impressive 14 times and have always dreamed of living in a Paris apartment. Talented illustrator Kerrie Hess has lived this dream. Luckily for Australia, she has recently returned home to Queensland, but she generously shared some photos from her stylish pied-à-terre with us.

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It’s a brave person who moves to the other side of the world to a country with a different culture, where they speak another language, but for Kerrie, it was a bit of a case of now or never. “I had been learning French for many years and a lot of my clients were in Paris, so, while my son Marcel was still only two, it seemed a great time to move to France.” They spent 18 months there before returning to settle in Brisbane’s Hawthorne, in time for Marcel to start school.

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The stylish Miss Hess (and yes she is the sister of fellow illustrator Megan Hess) works for such huge names as Chanel, Kate Spade New York and Louise Vuitton, so it seems most appropriate for her to have been creating her beautiful drawings in one of the most romantic and fashionable cities in Europe.

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Competitions

Win 4 original Bentwood chairs in your choice of colour plus table linen

How’s this for an awesome Christmas giveaway? Here’s your chance to win 4 Bentwood chairs (European made originals) AND your choice of table cloth and napkins in time for Christmas.

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Your Christmas entertaining table will look better than ever thanks to our friends at RelaxHouse and The Brown Trading Co. 

relaxhouse brown trading co

This competition allows you to truly mix and match. Will you go for everything coordinating, 4 chairs in 4 different colours, mismatching table cloth and napkins? The choice is yours! All delivered to your door in time for Christmas Day!

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Interiors Addict

Hot new lacquerware at The Brown Trading Co.

Who needs a hot pink, high gloss coffee table in their life? Me! I’d never get it past the fiance (and I’ve promised him a more neutral and unisex home post-marriage) but I’ve always thought it would be a really cool idea, since I saw one on the cover of Abigail Ahern’s book The Girl’s Guide to Decorating! A simple and very effective punch of colour. Pow!

abigail ahern a girl's guide to decorating

Keren Brown from the Brown Trading Co, who seems to have a great knack for spotting trends and things which will sell like hotcakes, has come to the rescue with her new range of lacquerware coffee and side tables (like the pink one above), hexagonal stools (which would work as side tables) and boxes, all made by hand in her hometown of Brisbane.

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Interiors Addict

Seriously chic cushions by Australian fashion illustrator Kerrie Hess

Just when I thought I really had conquered my cushion habit, along comes Miss Lou Lou, a collaboration between designer Keren Brown of The Brown Trading Co, and fashion illustrator Kerrie Hess.

Miss Lou Lou cushions by Kerrie Hess for Brown Trading CoTalented Kerrie counts Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Vogue and Collette Dinnigan among her clients and yes, she’s the sister of fellow illustrator Megan Hess, whose beautiful home you may have seen on this blog before!

Miss Lou Lou jets off to four of Keren’s favourite cities – London (V&A Museum), Paris (Bon Marche), New York (Tiffany & Co.) and Rome (riding a Vespa) in the limited edition, 100% silk cushions with gold plated zippers. Suitable to be framed as art if you wish, they come exquisitely boxed with a numbered, limited edition gift card. Cushions just got fancy!

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Homewares Interviews

Talking pineapples with The Brown Trading Co’s Keren Brown

I’m a big fan of The Brown Trading Co’s colourful, sunny homewares. If you didn’t know they were Queensland based you could probably guess, with their tropical designs featuring pineapples and cockatoos and their bright yet sophisticated, on-trend collections. Once I knew they were about to release navy pineapple cushions (a combination of three of my favourite things!) I decided we were kindred spirits and decided I needed to find out more.