I’m so excited to announce the winner of this month’s 7 Vignettes, not just because it’s our biggest prize ever (a $1,000 voucher for Life Interiors) but because it was such a gorgeous seven days of creativity, stretching over the long Easter weekend. Sigh…
But there can only be one winner and the guest judges from our sponsors Life Interiors have had the tough job of choosing @design_social, aka Flyn Roberts. Congratulations! And if you had your eye on some goodies from Life Interiors, read on for your special reader discount.
Flyn’s winning series of vignettes
“We loved the way her vignettes came together,” said Nicole Arvela from Life Interiors. “We loved the simplicity, colours and composition of the seven as a whole.”
Flyn’s blush vignette which was one of my favourites tooFlyn’s light vignette
A huge thank you to Life Interiors, not just for the generous prizes but for getting so involved in the contest and Nicole even styling beautiful images for each daily theme.
READER DISCOUNT
Life Interiors are offering all our readers 10% off everything until next Friday 17 April using the promo code INTERIORSADDICT10OFF Shop online.
Flyn, please contact us with your telephone number and address to claim your prize.
It’s our biggest 7 Vignettes prize ever: thanks to next month’s sponsor, Life Interiors, the overall winner of our monthly Instagram competition will win a $1,000 voucher to spend with them in store or online. Not only that, but each day, someone will win a $100 voucher for the entry judged the best. So even if you don’t manage all seven, you could still win something. I think you’re probably running out of reasons not to take part!
Life Interiors sell some of our favourite Australian brands — including Kip & Co, mexsii and Kate & Kate — and a fantastic range of Australian made and imported furniture and homewares. These new gold and copper pieces recently caught my eye. Gorgeous!
“We are extremely excited to sponsor 7 Vignettes for the month of April,” said Life Interiors’ Nicole Arvela, who will be the guest judge. “We love the competition and the way it inspires individuals to be creative and to share their style within the 7 Vignettes community. We can’t wait to see what everybody will create out of this month’s themes!”
Please share these themes with your friends and followers
You could put your winnings towards a mexsii bedhead!
Plenty of goodies you could blow $1,000 on at Life Interiors!
If you’re new to the challenge, find out how to take part here. And if you need inspiration, or are not quite sure what a vignette is, simply check out the #7vignettes hashtag, where you’ll find more than 55,000 images!
Don’t forget to tag us (@interiorsaddict) and @lifeinteriors. The fun starts a week today on Wednesday 1 April 2015. We regret that only Australian residents are eligible to win prizes but welcome your entries from all over the world!
Life Interiors is at Unit A3, 35-39 Bourke Rd (entrance via 46-62 Maddox Street) Alexandria, NSW 2015. We recommend you hop over to The Grounds for a coffee or something yummy after you’ve shopped up a storm…
Congratulations to this month’s overall winner Lauren Storey, as chosen by our sponsor and guest judge OZ Design Furniture! You win a $500 voucher and we can see why.
Group marketing manager Iarni Harvey says: “Congratulations to the February 7 Vignettes overall winner. We selected Lauren as her daily vignettes were styled to perfection with a fresh take on each day’s theme. Here at OZ Design Furniture, we have throughly enjoyed reviewing all the creative entries and sponsoring such a fabulous initiative.”
Lauren’s entry for ‘living’
Our seven daily winners, who each get $100 vouchers were:
January 2014 winner @picturedthoughts. Click for details
This month’s 7 Vignettes round on Instagram was something special with loads of you starting the New Year by having a go for the first time and doing brilliantly! So we’re really looking forward to the February round, starting on Sunday and sponsored by our guest judges OZ Design Furniture. They have generously donated a $500 voucher for the overall winner but we’ll keep things interesting with daily $100 voucher prizes too! So even if you don’t do all seven, you could still win a daily prize! Here are the themes.
Please feel free to share the above list image with your networks and get more people on board!
Iarni Harvey, OZ Design Furniture’s group marketing manager, says: “We love watching the creativity and sense of community on 7 Vignettes each month and were very keen to support it. We will be noting all our favourites for the daily and overall prizes and know how tough the judging is with so much great talent! Good luck to everyone and our advice is to just have a go, enjoy it and not over think it too much.” We couldn’t agree more!
January 2014 winner @picturedthoughts. Click for details
This month, you must tag all your images #7vignettes and tag @interiorsaddict and @ozdesignfurniture.
For all the details of how to take part, go here, and please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and we’ll get back to you. There are no silly questions! If you’re doubting yourself, read this post.
See you on Instagram!
Please note, only Australian reisdents can win prizes but everyone is welcome to take part just for fun!
I’ve been pondering this post for a really long time. I am completely in love with our 7 Vignettes community on Instagram and it gives me so much joy to see what people get out of the experience and how supportive everyone is of each other. I’m also blown away by the beautiful images but that almost comes second! It genuinely makes me feel sad and frustrated when I hear people saying they’re too intimidated to take part because the standard is so high, or that they don’t have time, or the right props. I wanted to debunk all these myths and encourage you to give it a go, just once, then come back and tell me you didn’t love it! Please read on for my roundup of the most common excuses and why they’re nonsense!
1. I don’t have enough cool stuff. Pft! Nonsense! Some of our best images contain seashells, hairy string, flowers from the garden, a corner of a textured rug, pieces of fruit, a cuppa or a chubby baby’s hand! It’s not about owning lots of designer homewares, it’s about how you put the stuff together, the natural light, the composition, even the Instagram filter. And sometimes (often) simple is best. As they say, it’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it that counts!
@ofheartandhome
By @milburt
2. I’m intimidated by how good everyone else is.This is probably the biggest issue people have. I draw your attention to these recent comments…
I totally get it though. We have some super talented participants. It blows me away every month! But the absolute BEST thing about the 7 Vignettes community — even better than the beautiful feed of images — is the sense of community and all the lovely encouraging and friendly words for each other’s efforts. Take part and get to know them. You might even make a few new friends. I can promise you I have never ever heard of an incidence of anyone telling someone else theirs wasn’t up to scratch! And think what you can learn from these clever and inspiring people! Any doubts are in your own head only.
4. My home isn’t stylish enough. Again, 7 Vignettes isn’t about showcasing cool or expensive stuff or even your home. Interiors Addict’s motto is, after all, style without the snobbery! You don’t even have to show us any of your home if you don’t want to. Most people don’t. It’s less about interiors and more about creativity, fun and enjoyment.
5. I feel guilty taking part in something so self-indulgent when I should be hanging out with my kids. Enough with the mother guilt already (let’s face it, the overwhelming majority of participants are female, this is not me being sexist)! I’ve heard comments to this effect a few times and it really bothers me. Why not take a little time out for yourself to do something creative for a few minutes for seven days of the month? It doesn’t have to be every month. If you’re stuck in a job that you don’t love, this could be one of your only creative outlets. Your kids may want to join in too and be inspired by watching your creativity in action. This happens all the time and sometimes we get to see the little ones’ vignette attempts too (super cute)! We love seeing little hands in parents’ vignettes too. And we laugh when we hear the stories of husbands who just don’t get it. Share the outtakes and the funny stories with us. Most of all, keep it real!
Vignette by school girl @indiakitty
And, if you truly believe 7 Vignettes is too self-indulgent a pastime for a mother that’s fine, but please keep it to yourself and don’t make others feel guilty, okay? Thanks!
6. I just don’t have time. My biggest advice here is not to over think it. And I hear time and time again that the most spontaneous vignettes can be the best. You can even set yourself a timer to make it more fun and challenging! Don’t just take it from me though…
So, I really hope that hearing from readers who may have felt you once upon a time and are now hooked on 7 Vignettes and loving it, will encourage you to have a go yourself! I dare you to come and join Instagram’s friendliest community! We even have events throughout the year where you can meet each other.
The next 7 Vignettes challenge starts on 1 February 2015. To be first to receive the themes list, make sure you sign up to our newsletter. For step by step instructions, go here and please ask any questions in the comments below.
Hooray, hooray, it’s almost time! 7 Vignettes starts again on Saturday and our guest judge this month is Jacqui Scruby from The Wedding Nest. The lucky winner will get two of these gorgeous lights!
Next month’s themes, chosen by Jacqui, are spring racing themed! Nice huh?! I fully expect you to embrace them, as you always seem to! Remember, don’t take them too literally! Unless, of course, you want to!
We’d love you to share this list!
The fun starts on Saturday 1 November. Newbies, find all the details of how to take part here.
The Wedding Nest is an online wedding registry which Damian and I happened to use for our wedding last year. Our home has many stylish new things because of it!
Hooray! 7 Vignettes starts a week today and we have a great sponsor and guest judge on board in the form of stylish new online store, Resident GP Homewares. You could win a $200 voucher to spend with them. The hardest thing will be deciding what to spend it on! I’ve shared a few of my favourites.
Resident GP is run by young Melbourne couple Gabi and Pawel. It’s fuelled by their love of design and craftsmanship and wanting to share their discoveries with anyone who is intrigued by unique and special goods for the home. Pawel is an engineer who has a high regard for all things practical and functional. Gabi studied architecture and has worked within the furniture and homewares industry for many years. She’s not so practical and tends to get carried away with the creative side of things!
“The name Resident GP was established as a union of our desire to help resolve your home décor and styling ailments along with the brains and brawn (Pawel’s also good at lifting boxes) behind this adventure,” Gabi says.
Here are the themes for next week, based on the sections of Resident GP’s online store. They’re a little broader than usual but very much open to interpretation. Will this make your task easier or harder, I wonder?!
We’d love you to save this to your desktop/phone and share it with your networks!
Newbies, please read all about how to take part in our monthly Instagram challenge here and if you have any questions, please pop them in the comments below and we’ll get back to you!
I really enjoyed this month’s 7 Vignettes and felt there was a lot of feeling and love behind all the images. With themes like nostalgia, family and four-legged friend, chosen by our guest judge Mr Jason Grant, it was perhaps no surprise. I sometimes like the stories behind the images as much, if not more than, the images themselves!
I won’t keep you dangling any longer. The winner, as chosen by stylist Jason, was Helen Hamilton, aka @overgrown_garden. Congratulations, Helen! “I love the thought that has gone into these images and that they have been shot as a series,” Jason said. “I love the timber background, the simple and relaxed styling and of course the pop of yellow — beautiful!”
Helen wins a signed copy of Jason’s just launched second book, Holiday at Home. Here’s Jason and I at his book signing at West Elm in Melbourne at the weekend.
Not only it is the first day of Spring, it’s also day 1 of September 7 Vignettes and there’s plenty of time to get involved. If you’ve been thinking about doing your first one, jump on board and experience our friendly and supportive Instagram community for yourself. You won’t regret it. It’s full of the warm and fuzzies over there, I’m telling you!
So there’s your list and the guest judge is stylist Mr Jason Grant, who is giving a signed copy of his new book, Holiday at Home, to the winner.
Holiday at Home, out in September, published by Hardie Grant
Goodness me, in my jet lagged haze this week, I almost forgot that 7 Vignettes starts on Monday and I hadn’t announced the themes yet! Apologies to all of you who like lots of time to get prepared! Here are the themes, chosen by stylist Jason Grant, in celebration of his second book, Holiday at Home. Jason will also be the guest judge next week and the winner gets a signed copy of his book.
Please tag @interiorsaddict and @mr_jason_grant and use the hashtag #7vignettes, as usual. New people, feel free to ask questions in the comments below. Please do share the themes above with all your social networks!
Holiday at Home, out in September, published by Hardie Grant
Sydneysiders are very welcome to join us at the new West Elm in Chatswood Chase tomorrow (Saturday), from 12 noon until 2pm, where I’ll be doing a Q&A with Jason and he’ll be signing copies of the book. See you there!
Oh my giddy aunt, what a week! More gorgeousness than you could shake a stick at! And it was all the more overwhelming because I was in Berlin with the most pitiful wifi for four days (think standing on one leg in the corner of a bedroom that wasn’t mine at the right time of day and I might get lucky enough to refresh my Instagram feed)! When I got back to London, I caught up on the visual feast and seeing it all there in one place made me realise just how talented and amazing you all are!
Bronwpaperlemon: Vintage
Anyway, there must be a winner, and this month Chantal Brady, social media manager for Williams Sonoma Australia, did the honours. Hand on heart, I would have chosen exactly the same person this time around: brownpaperlemon. Nikki wins the $300 West Elm voucher. Aren’t these images just stunning? They’re so beautiful they make me feel a bit emotional!
Brownpaperlemon: Unique
Chantal said: “This collection of vignettes really stood out for me because of the way it captured movement. Each vignette appears as if it’s been caught in motion – just beautiful!”
Brownpaperlemon: Craft
West Elm sponsored this month’s challenge to celebrate the upcoming opening of their second Sydney store in Chatswood Chase. They were generous enough to also offer two $100 vouchers for runners-up and those lucky people are madebyciel (“I loved the simplicity of these vignettes and the confident use of negative space.”) and sarahjanehenry (“At West Elm, we’re all suckers for furry friends, so these vignettes definitely caught my attention – not just the cute face but the consistency in tone and texture across each photo.”).
I am never (I repeat never) judging 7 Vignettes again. It is too hard and I get too emotionally involved! I want everyone to win. Well, not everyone, but several very worthy participants! Trying to pick a winner this week has been making me so anxious and it’s time to rip off the bandaid. The winner is…
Angela Steyn (@angelasteynandco). Some might find it easy to look past the subtlety of Angela’s pics, but it’s their softness and simplicity which appeals to me, month after month, but especially this month.
Canada was not an easy theme but I loved Angela’s entry (above).
This is a woman who knows how to make things — any things — look good. Great, in fact. There’s often some lovely personal stories behind her images too. Like her Grandma’s lipstick (top) and this entry for the ‘home’ theme.
For me, these pictures are the perfect compromise between styled and real. Effortlessly. Or so it appears!
Angela’s entry for coffee
There’s no runner-up prize this month, but I have to give notable mentions to…
… because you ladies made it so hard to pick! There were more I loved, but I have to stop somewhere right?!
Go follow these creative types if you know what’s good for you!
I really loved judging, hard as it was when it came to the choosing part. It was even more special because it was my birthday week and I self indulgently made the themes all about the things I love, like lipstick, coffee and bathtime. Why not, eh?! It was so fun looking through the feed and I felt like you were all celebrating with me. Talk about feel good factor!
On the subject of the warm and fuzzies, I must say again just how heartwarming it is, when looking through the pictures, to see all your supportive, encouraging, kind (and sometimes downright funny) comments on each other’s efforts. This lovely, positive community, doesn’t get old and it doesn’t lose its sparkle; if anything, it gets better with age! I am so grateful that this little monthly Instagram challenge still brings so much joy. Thank you to Shani (aka @rarepearstudio) for blogging about it this month. If you blog about your 7 Vignettes experience, please send me the link so I don’t miss it!
I would say that it is really helpful when everyone puts their week’s efforts together in collage format when it comes to judging. I looked at everyone’s entries, whether they did or not, but I’d suggest you all do to give yourself the best chance of standing out to the guest judges.
Until next month (when we are likely to hit 40k images on the hashtag!),
I can’t possibly start this post without mentioning the ridiculously gorgeous feline, Pixel, distracting from everything else in this photo! He, and this coffee table, belong to stylist, designer and Real Living columnist Jacinta Preston, who is inviting us into her gorgeous north shore Sydney home this week.
When is a coffee table not a coffee table? When it’s a vintage luggage trolley! Although you can get faux vintage coffee tables in this genre everywhere these days, Jacinta purchased this one about 20 years ago from Adelaide Antique Auctions. “Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was often in a bidding war with David Bromley and Khai Liew. The serious dealers, only half-jokingly, referred to my purchases as ‘firewood’.” With a house full of boys and pets, Jacinta finds furniture with some patina works well!
“A coffee table always holds my favourite everyday things: Books, mags, flowers, and candles. Oh, and Pixel the cat! And it’s often the first landing position for new finds… this is my own little vignette station. The coffee table is a natural stage so fill it with things that mean something to you — ‘good things’ that you like to use or see everyday. The antique marble chess board adds a lovely graphic element and doubles as a tray!
“It’s no secret Tom Dixon is one of my all time design heroes and his scented candles are beyond perfection, with totally universal appeal. The Cire Trudon Ernesto room spray is in a gorgeous, handcrafted glass bottle with a classic gold poire atomiser. A lot like Tom’s candles, it’s simultaneously perfume and decoration!”
The Tom Dixon copper cast shoe is supposed to be a door stop but we agree with Jacinta in that it’s far too beautiful to be used as such. “It’s a little work of art!”
Where from?
The Tom Dixon Scented Candles ($95 each) and Tom Dixon Copper Cast Shoe ($253) are available from Jacinta’s own online store. The Cire Trudon Room Spray ($235) is from The Country Trader, the miniature carved bone skull on stand is from recent holiday in Bali.
I’m happy to announce the winners, as judged by me, of the Freedom Moore Park vignette styling challenge in store last week. They are:
First place: @imandhedhi wins a $300 Freedom voucher for this entry:
Second place: @nicsrecast wins a $200 Freedom voucher for this entry:
Third place: @christinasunario wins a $100 Freedom voucher for this entry:
A huge thank you to everyone who came along to the styling workshop on Thursday night and met our editorial assistant Olivia Shead and the Freedom team. And well done to all those who entered their vignettes in the competition.
Winners, please contact us with your mailing address to claim your prize.
7 Vignettes starts again on 1 July, my birthday! Details here. Jen x
It’s no secret: Steve Cordony is my favourite stylist in Australia. There are so many great ones whose work I love, but Steve, who is now a freelance interiors and event stylist as well as contributing interior design editor for Belle, just blows me away with his talent. I’m delighted that he is sharing his beautiful coffee table (or should I say vintage Louis Vuitton trunk?) with us today.
“I think your home should represent not only your personal style but be a 3-dimensional scrapbook of your life,” says Steve. “The little vignettes around our home are collected over time from travels or gifts and represent a certain memory.
“The potted orchid is a lovely ‘new office’ present from my friend Jac at Murchison Hume, I bought the bronze tray on a trip to India last year and the candles are Chabaud and Tom Dixon.
“The spotted gold bowl is Waylande Gregory from Becker Minty and the porcelain and gold bowl was bought on a trip to New York. The Japanese painting brushes are from Bali (look for similar from Orient House) and the gold tray is also from India.”
And don’t forget your book stack (or two). “Books — every table needs books!”
Get your styling hands at the ready, readers! We’ve teamed up with Freedom Moore Park on a whole lot of exciting events tomorrow and Friday.
On Thursday 19 and Friday 20 June, all MyFreedom members will get an extra 10% off the Absolutely Everything’s On Sale Sale (if you’re not a member yet, sign up here or in store for year round rewards. Joining fee applies.).
On both days, and open to everyone, whether they’re MyFreedom members or not, take part and style a vignette for your chance to win one of three Freedom giftcards ($300, $200 and $100)! I’ll be picking the winners (although I won’t be there in person as I’m on my travels!) with the most creative and stylish entries. To enter, make your way to the Vignette Styling Station at Freedom Moore Park, style your own vignette, take a photo to post on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag @freedom_australia and @interiorsaddict and hashtag #myfreedomstyle and #7vignettes. Enter any time tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday in store.
That’s not all…
Tomorrow evening (Thursday) 19 June (free and open to everyone):
From 6pm: Enjoy a glass of bubbles and other refreshments while you browse the savings.
From 6.30pm: Join one of the Freedom ID interiors experts for a masterclass on styling a vignette to make any corner of your home a work of art. A great place to start if you’re entering our Vignette Styling Competition! Or as practice for next month’s 7 Vignettes! You can also meet Interiors Addict editorial assistant Olivia Shead.
Where: Freedom Moore Park, Supa Centa Moore Park, Corner of Todman Avenue and South Dowling Street.
Have fun, lovelies! Wish I could come (but I’ll be in Chicago…) Jen x
A man, that’s who! I am so delighted to announce that, for the first time ever, a man has won 7 Vignettes. And not because he’s a man either. This isn’t one of those positive discrimination situations. @kraig_at_the_warehouse, from SA, won because his striking images really stood out for guest judge Greg Natale and I, and many others as well.
Greg picked Craig, whose wife Sarah is also a regular in 7 Vignettes, because he loved his images and the way they worked together so well as a series. Being an interior designer, Greg’s big on cohesion, you see!
Those dirty hands really stood out amongst all the much prettier vignettes, but Craig’s were no less creative or well put together.
Craig wins a signed copy of Greg’s book, The Tailored Interior (that’s the first time I’ve been allowed to share the title with you!), which will be published by Hardie Grant later this year. You’ll be first to know when it’s available, readers!
Greg also decided to kindly give a second book to @brownpaperlemon as a runner up prize.
Brownpaperlemon’s entries
A huge thanks to Greg, who spent a lot of time commenting on people’s entries and really getting involved. Until next month…
And, if you truly believe 7 Vignettes is too self-indulgent a pastime for a mother that’s fine, but please keep it to yourself and don’t make others feel guilty, okay? Thanks!
