I’m dotty about this new wallpaper from Porter’s Paints. It’s simple but I can’t resist a random polkadot.
Their latest collection of has both classic Porter’s designs, updated with fresh new colours, and some elegant new designs. Each of the 14 wallpaper designs come in a unique selection of colourways.
I’ve always loved wallpaper, and even more so since I became immersed in the wonderful world of interiors and realised how much gorgeous stuff is out there in Australia alone.
I have always rented since I’ve been in this country so I always thought, sadly, wallpaper was going to be a no-no with the real estate agents. Until Publisher Textiles told me about their removable wallpaper, that is. And it really is wallpaper proper, not the vinyl kind (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I was intrigued and I had to give it a go, not least because if it was true, I needed to share it with my renting readers!
Launched last week by Quercus & Co, these colour charts are based on original illustrations by colour theory pioneers like Philipp Otto Runge and Johannes Itten. A must for design nerds if you ask me!
They feature large scale diagrams handpainted in their own “washy-watercolour” style with handwritten traditional colour descriptions including beauties like Heliotrope, Cochineal, Duck Egg, Celeste, Amaranth, Madder Lake, Paris Green to name a few.
By Kristie Castagna
There has been some debate lately about the use of ‘feature walls’ and if we should be considering treating the entire room to the feature and not just one lonely wall. A bit of a designer “go hard or go home” type attitude or what I like to call full design commitment.
Personally, as a designer I have always used features as a way of giving clients a little bit of a gentle shove into those design ideas they never thought they would have previously considered. So I am not sure I could let go of the single feature wall for my clients’ sake, as many of them, like many of you, are still to dip their toes in the wallpaper, bright colour or alternative wall covering type options.
With all that being said, I thought I would bring to you my top 10 favorite feature wall ideas:
By Jeanette Del Zio
London is filled with culture, history and great designers to be discovered. It is perceived as one of the most influential cities, setting the tone for the global design scene. It is especially known for its large retail, gift and vintage markets, where you can find many treasures.
A designer that is known for participating in some of London’s most prestigious gift fairs is a very unique wallpaper designer. I recently discovered Londonite Claire Coles when I stumbled across her embroidered wallpaper and was instantly intrigued by their unique composition.
Building on their collection of unique pieces for the home, Shibori’s Pepa Martin and Karen Davis have now added some stunning wallpaper designs to their offering. I’m in love!
British tile and wallpaper designer Dominic Crinson has just launched Alchemy, inspired by medieval motifs and damasks.
He has reworked medieval patterns and 14-to-15th century Damasks in paint and ink and transformed them by digitising and overworking the patterns with a burnished texture.
Luxurious wallpapers, eclectic art, flamboyant fashion: Florence Broadhurst is the name behind some of the boldest and most well known designs to come out of Australia. Now you can own a piece of entry-level ‘FloBro’ with one of Circa Home’s new range of scented candles and diffusers in iconic prints. And we all know we like our candles to look as good as they smell!
Spanning her creative life, Circa Home relives the many incarnations of Florence Broadhurst with these new fragrances: the young performer in Shanghai, a European fashion designer and a household Australian name with her iconic wallpaper and artworks. Florence Broadhurst for Circa Home captures her life through her iconic prints with uplifting fragrances.
When I still lived in the UK, I often coveted the clothes by British fashion designer Matthew Williamson. So I was delighted to hear (and see!) his work is now available as wallpaper and textiles in Australia. How stunning is this?!
This month sees Osborne & Little launch EDEN, the debut collection of fabrics and wallpapers created exclusively for Osborne & Little by Williamson.
Wallpaper: it’s everywhere right now and whatever pattern you choose, covering a wall, or all your walls, makes a great statement; any kind of statement you like! If you’ve ever dreamed of an industrial chic warehouse conversion but have no such architectural features in reality, online store shelf/life have started stocking some wallpapers which could help!
“One of the more recent trends we’ve seen in interiors is that of faux texture wallpaper,” says owner Jess Ibbett. “The main reason for this is probably due to new technology allowing companies to print photorealistic images onto paper, opening up a huge amount of options when it comes to decorating your home.
“All these options can sometimes create rather scary outcomes as companies go crazy thinking of unusual things to slap onto their wallpaper. For instance, I’m not sure I could live in a house covered head to toe with giant realistic bugs. But done well, I think these digitally printed wallpapers definitely have a place in modern interiors and can easily add a point of interest to your home.”
When interior designer Kim Pearson asked if I might be interested in a recent project involving a wall of giant sequins, you can imagine my enthusiastic response! And here it is, readers!
This fabulous space is the Blow Dry & Beauty Bar in the old Rose Hotel in North Fremantle, WA. The client, a surgeon, wanted to develop it as part of her cutting edge Rose Medical and Aesthetic Centre. The space used to include the hotel’s men’s bathrooms and showers, so, as Kim says: “a radical transformation was obviously required!”
So, a little bird told me some Australian stylists are collaborating with an Australian wallpaper brand on a pretty fabulous collection. Who do you reckon it is? Announcement coming next week apparently. So the little bird told me anyway 😉
I’ve been chatting about my new home office wallpaper for a while now. I even asked you to help me choose the final design as I was so overwhelmed by the amazing choices from Publisher Textiles! So today I thought I’d show you behind the scenes of my paper (Bugsey in Duck Egg) being handmade in Sydney. There’s nothing like it to make you appreciate the process and the work involved.
I’ve always loved all things Art Deco but the imminent release of THAT Great Gatsby movie (have you seen the trailers? It looks magnificent in every way!) has me loving it even more. And no doubt we’ll see a resurgence of all things Art Deco in fashion and homewares very soon.
The latest Grace Garrett Deco Glamour collection at Emily Zizz is positively swoon-worthy! This is just a small selection from the huge range of patterns and colourways available in wallpaper, fabric, cushions and lampshades, and, eventually, rugs. Geometric shapes and patterns are already being seen everywhere in interiors this year, so the Art Deco look fits very nicely. Maybe it’s time to bring back symmetry? Are you a fan of these patterns?
Ever since I’ve written this blog, I’ve wished Anna Spiro had a website. Because I can’t get enough of her gorgeous work. And last night it finally happened! What has been a holding page, ‘coming soon’ for far too long, became a wonderful thing!
Looking at images of Anna’s work always makes me feel happy. It’s a riot of colour and pattern and she is undoubtedly the QUEEN of mixing and matching. She makes it look so easy! One of the things I like about her is that she’s not much of a self publicist (not that there’s anything wrong with being one). She lets her work speak for itself. There’s her popular blog Absolutely Beautiful Things of course, but the fact she hasn’t had a website for years and has still remained so busy and well known is testament to her talent. The Queensland designer is also a great reminder that not all fabulous design happens in Sydney and Melbourne!
Perhaps even more exciting is the news Anna is working on a book with Penguin. Cannot wait for that one! And she’s also onto her second wallpaper range with Porter’s Paints (I love the first one so much that samples of it cover my fridge!). Hooray!
If you live in Sydney and you’d love a feature wall in your home, wallpapered for free, you could just be in luck. Boutique wallpaper brand Moore & Moore would like to do the honours, in return for photographing the room for marketing purposes.
You must live in Sydney and the wall must be papered in the Flannel Flower Damask design shown here, BUT it must be in the white on sage colourway as shown below.
If you would like to be considered to have a feature wall hung for free, please email a photo of your room to [email protected] by Friday 12 April. Good luck!
The new Adore Home magazine came out yesterday and it’s probably my favourite issue yet.
It’s a fashion special and among the treats are a look inside interior designer Greg Natale’s and illustrator Megan Hess’s wardrobes. I wrote the feature about the home featured on the cover, which was the work of Greg Natale Design. The wallpaper in this family home, belonging to fashion boutique owner Angela Perikic, will blow your mind!
If you have an open plan space which you want to section off, or some thing (or some mess!) you’d like to hide, a screen can be a great thing!
