It’s been almost six months since we returned from our trip of a lifetime to Europe and America but I still get to re-live it by writing my regular travel pieces for Expedia’s blog. Today, I’ve shared five must-visit destinations in the big smoke for interiors lovers. Most of you know I’m a Pom and I love the UK, but I’m more of a country girl than a city slicker (despite having lived in London for five years). But you can’t deny how amazing this city is, especially when you go back as a tourist.
I have a bit of everything for you, from Abigail Ahern’s fabulous little shop (above) to the legendary Liberty of London, West Elm (where they have coffee) and the surrounding homewares stores of Tottenham Court Road, the Design Museum and more.
We had a lovely time at our latest reader event with Darren Palmer at West Elm Bondi last week. Please click on the below images to see them larger.
There was a large queue of people getting The Block judge’s book, Easy Luxury, signed by the author himself. Some kept theirs while others put them aside for Christmas presents! We then had our usual vignette styling challenge, with one reader, Jess, winning a box of goodies from West Elm.
Huge thanks to Darren and Murdoch Books, the team at West Elm, Williams-Sonoma for the catering (especially the legendary peppermint bark and chilled mulled wine!) and all the readers who attended.
This time next week, US retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc will open four stores in Chadstone Shopping Centre for iconic kitchen and home furnishings brands Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm. Just in time for Christmas, and we all know nobody makes as big of a deal of the holiday season as the Americans!
They’ll be the first Melbourne-based stores for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, and the second for West Elm. The stores will sit side-by-side on the lower level in the west mall. In a global first, they will be interconnected, allowing shoppers to move easily between stores and shop across all four brands. An interiors addict’s dream!
Occupying a total of 2,505 square metres of retail space, this will be the company’s biggest retail footprint in Australia. The four stores will employ 140 full-time and part-time staff.
“Melbourne’s vibrant culinary and design culture is globally recognised and we are excited to continue our global expansion by opening four stores in this thriving city in time for the Christmas season,” said Ron Young, senior vice president of Global, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings, unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with local shoppers.”
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates all four brands at Bondi Junction and Chatswood Chase in Sydney and Chadstone Shopping Centre, a standalone West Elm store on Chapel Street, Melbourne, and a multi-brand store in Canberra Outlet Centre. All four brands ship across Australia via eCommerce sites: williams-sonoma.com.au, potterybarn.com.au, potterybarnkids.com.au and westelm.com.au.
A variety of events will take place from 10am on opening day (18 November) with appearances by The Block’s Michael and Carlene, Chyka Keebaugh from Real Housewives of Melbourne and Sally Obermeder from The Daily Edition. From 6 to 10pm, all shoppers are invited to an opening day Christmas party with fare from the Williams-Sonoma kitchen including mulled wine and peppermint bark candy. Shoppers will receive an exclusive discount card for Christmas shopping valid between November 22 and December 31, 2014.
The following weekend, the stores are teaming up with Gelato Messina to create a limited-edition gelato collection. The Home-Sweet-Home Signature Series features four bespoke creations designed to match the individual personalities of each iconic brand and celebrate the Christmas season. The individually handcrafted gelato will be offered between 12pm and 3pm on Saturday 22 November and Sunday 23 November to shoppers who sign up to receive special offers and information about new arrivals from the brands via email. The gelato will be distributed from the Williams-Sonoma Christmas Gelato Garden outside David Jones on the lower level while stocks last.
Darren Palmer, Photo by Jacqui Turk for Interiors Addict
I’m delighted to announce that we have one more Sydney reader event before Christmas with Block judge, interior designer and most recently author, our friend Darren Palmer. The event will take place on the evening of Wednesday 19 November at West Elm Bondi Junction.
Darren at home, as seen on Interiors Addict
Register quick for this one as places are limited and we expect it to be popular!
I’ll be interviewing Darren about his book, Easy Luxury, The Block, and his design work. Then we’ll set you loose on the store to style, arrange and rearrange to your heart’s content. You can photograph and share your vignettes on Instagram with one person taking home a prize on the night.
There’ll also be refreshments by Williams-Sonoma, drinks, a chance to meet fellow interiors addicts and, if you’re interested, yours truly! And you can buy and get your copy of Easy Luxury signed by Darren too.
We respectfully ask that you’re sure you can attend before you register as last minute cancellations result in wasted spaces which could have been offered to someone else. Sadly, people often let us know when it is too late to offer their place to someone on the wait list.
When: 7-9pm, Wednesday 19 November 2014
Where: West Elm, The Exchange Building, 472 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, Sydney 2022.
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!
As a north of the bridge girl and West Elm’s biggest fan (or so I tell myself) I am beyond excited that West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma all opened their doors in Sydney’s Chatswood Chase yesterday and I have some of the very first photos to share with you.
West Elm:
Pottery Barn:
I chatted to Michelle Hummel, vice president of global merchandising for the Pottery Barn brands, who was over from the States for the opening. She told me Australians have well and truly embraced the mega brands, owned by Williams-Sonoma Inc: “There’s a lot of similarity between the American and Australian lifestyle in that we all love to entertain and decorate our homes. Australians have really embraced our stores and our products, which are designed in house and exclusive to us, and this has certainly impacted our decision to open more stores.”
The first four stores opened in Bondi Junction, followed by Chapel Street in Melbourne and now Chatswood. All four will also open at the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne later this year.
Michelle said it was exciting to see the brands living and breathing so far from home. “We spent a lot of time learning the local market before we opened and we are thrilled to be a part of the energy and style this area is so well known for. We are always exploring opportunities to expand our business further in Australia. Our Chadstone stores will be especially unique in that they are the first store globally where all the brands are inter-connected, allowing shoppers to move freely between stores without having to exit into the mall.”
Pottery Barn’s Michelle Hummel
While a lot of research has gone into the Australian market, the shopping experience has not been too “Australianised” with the goal to provide similar products to the American stores but on a seasonally relevant timetable. “We aim to recreate the high level of customer service and inspiring in-store experience we are known for in North America,” Michelle says. “We also love connecting with what’s culturally relevant to our Australian customers through collaborating with local brands and artists. For example, when we opened our West Elm store in Bondi Junction, we worked with artists Maricor and Maricar Manolo to design a bespoke tote bag. We did the same with Bonnie and Neil when we opened the West Elm store in Chapel Street.”
They’re partnering with Gelato Messina at this week’s openings, with celebrations and free ice cream continuing into the weekend.
In terms of what the retailers are offering our marketplace that wasn’t here before, Michelle says their exclusive product is what makes them unique. “Almost all of our products for Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm are designed in house by our product development teams who travel the world in search of inspiration and trends. At Williams-Sonoma, we offer a mix of carefully curated and exclusive products that bring people together around food. Our service offering is very compelling too with special resources like free design services.
“Store experience is another point of differentiation. From inspiring displays to hiring associates who are truly excited by interior design and entertaining at home, we’re able to deliver a great level of service to customers. We’re also able to offer shoppers depth and variety by situating all four brands near each other in Chatswood Chase and under the same roof at Bondi Junction. There’s something for everyone!”
I’m doing a Q&A with stylist Jason Grant at his book signing at West Elm Chatswood this Saturday from 12 noon until 2pm. Come along and say hi! More details.
I am so, so excited! Not only are West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams Sonoma opening their second Sydney stores (on “my” side of the bridge!) in just over a week, but I’ll also be there helping stylist Mr Jason Grant celebrate the launch of his second book, Holiday at Home. We’d love you to come and join us for a book signing and I’ll be doing a Q&A with Jason too. Did I mention there’ll be ice cream? More on that later…
Stylist and author Jason Grant
As part of its global expansion, America’s Williams-Sonoma Inc is opening stores for all four brands in Chatswood Chase on Thursday 28 August. Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will be located on level one of the shopping centre, with Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm located on level two. The four stores will occupy a combined retail space of 1,716 square metres and employ more than 100 full-time, part-time and casual staff.
“We are excited to continue our global expansion in Australia at Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings along with unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with customers on Sydney’s North Shore who want to decorate, entertain and live well.”
I can’t believe it’s been more than a year since Williams-Sonoma, Inc. opened its first Australian stores in Bondi Junction in May 2013. A Melbourne West Elm store followed in Chapel Street, South Yarra in September 2013. A further four stores for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm will open in Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne later this year. Watch this space for more details on that opening!
While the Chatswood Chase stores open a week tomorrow on Thursday 28 August, there’ll be plenty of special events taking part over the first weekend of trading, Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August:
Mr Jason Grant book signing and interview
Holiday at Home, out in September, published by Hardie Grant
Come and meet well-known stylist and blogger Mr Jason Grant when he unveils his second coffee table book Holiday at Home. I will be interviewing him about the book and would love to see you there! There’ll also be a chance to buy the book and get it signed by Jason. All are welcome to this free event.
When: 12pm to 2pm on Saturday 30 August.
Where: West Elm store on level two, Chatswood Chase.
Gelato Messina collaboration
In celebration of the Chatswood Chase store openings, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has collaborated with Gelato Messina to create a limited edition gelato collection. The ‘Welcome Home’ collection features four bespoke creations designed to match the individual personalities of each iconic brand:
Williams-Sonoma Choc-Chuck Cone Reminiscent of Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck-Williams’ favourite flavour, this handmade waffle cone is filled with creamy Madagascan vanilla gelato then dipped in berry callebaut and 70% cacao chocolate.
West Elm NY Ice Cream Sandwich Brooklyn-inspired Fair Trade espresso coffee gelato sandwiched between chewy white chocolate and macadamia cookies
Pottery Barn Welcome Home Gelato Warming and comforting, this lightly spiced apple gelato is fused with an almond crunch and butterscotch swirl
Pottery Barn Kids Fairy Bread Popsicles Velvety bread and butter gelato is coated in white chocolate ganache then dipped in hundreds and thousands
The individually handcrafted gelatos will be offered to customers as a gift with purchase (while stocks last) on Saturday 30 August, distributed from the Williams-Sonoma Gelato Cart outside the Williams-Sonoma store on level one.
Golden ticket giveaway
A Golden Ticket will be hidden in a shopping bag at each of the new Chatswood Chase stores. Simply be one of the first 200 people to make a purchase in any store for your chance to find one. Golden Ticket winners will receive a $100 gift voucher to spend at Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm or Williams-Sonoma. One of these Golden Tickets will also grant access to a cooking class for two at the Williams-Sonoma Sydney Cooking School in Bondi Junction.
Room makeover competition
To celebrate the opening of the new stores in Chatswood Chase, one lucky shopper will win $2,000 to spend at Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma. For your chance to win, head online. Competition ends on 30 September 2014.
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.”).
Just one week today, it will be time for another round of our fun Instagram styling challenge 7 Vignettes and this month, West Elm are on board to celebrate the upcoming opening of their new Chatswood Chase store in Sydney. As a north-of-the-bridge girl, I’m pretty excited about this! Here are the themes for those of you who like to get prepared in advance! This round, the winner gets a $300 West Elm voucher to be spent in store or online.
Our guest judge is Williams Sonoma Australia’s social media manager, Chantal Brady. Make sure you tag her @westelmaus and us @interiorsaddict and use the hashtag #7vignettes. All the basics on how to take part can be found here.
In other exciting news, we are so close to reaching 40,000 images shared on the hastag that I’m confident it could happen this round. Exciting!
For those with weddings on the horizon, here’s one reason to get excited (aside from your impending marriage!): West Elm have introduced a wedding and gift registry.
With online access, you can manage your registry from wherever and whenever you want. Plus guests can purchase gifts for delivery anywhere in Australia. You can also enjoy the exclusive benefit of having an extended return date for exchanges, meaning there’s no need to rush back to the shops after you’ve tied the knot.
More so, and I think this is the most exciting part, West Elm’s free home stylist can meet you at your home or in the store, and help you pick items for your registry and to style your space.
You can also register with the rest of the Williams-Sonoma family: Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma, with all of them having their own wedding and gift registries as well.
Here at Interiors Addict we LOVE West Elm and Etsy, so we are pretty darn excited about them joining forces later this month! Get your diaries out now!
In an Australian first, West Elm will have their Sydney and Melbourne stores transformed into Etsy pop-up shops, giving customers the chance to track down and purchase unique and one of a kind pieces from local artisans. On Saturday 21 June from 1-to-6pm, a huge variety of products will be on offer from repurposed timber homewares, to skincare and paper goods.
One of the Etsy sellers: House of OriginOne of the Etsy sellers: Plant Skincare
West Elm and Etsy have been collaborating with one another in the US since 2010, a venture that was pioneered by West Elm president Jim Brett. Identifying the demand for less mass-market products, he had a vision to inject authenticity and integrity into the West Elm product offering.
For Jim and the West Elm team, expanding the partnership to Australia was the obvious next step: “There’s this incredible crafts movement happening,” he says. “It’s the symbolisation of wanting to get back to a simpler time when you knew your shopkeeper and knew how and where your goods were made.”
The pop-up shops will be held at both West Elm Sydney: 472 Oxford St, Bondi Junction and West Elm Melbourne: 464 Chapel Street, South Yarra.
When West Elm UK asked me if I’d like to come and visit their first store in my motherland while I was in London, what do you reckon I said? YES! I went for my tour with the associate marketing manager Jessica Sims last week, where we argued about who was the bigger West Elm addict.
West Elm London, which opened a few months after Australia’s first Bondi store, is housed in a great old building on Tottenham Court Road, conveniently opposite Goodge Street tube. It’s perhaps competitively close to established UK homewares brands like Heal’s (it has a great cafe, incidentally) and Habitat, in what is an excellent part of town for an interiors addict after a spot of retail therapy.
This fabulous window display brightened up the store on the grey and drizzly day I visited
The store, on two floors and with a huge green wall of living plants, is brilliantly styled (or merchandised as they say in the business). I love the Bondi store but this was something else. AND it has a cafe. Hello, two of my favourite things (West Elm and coffee) in the same place! There are plenty of friendly staff everywhere, including an in-house stylist ready to help customers in the Design Lab. No doubt this level of service is shaking things up in the UK homewares market.
This fab marble coffee table is available in Australia too, for $699
I of course wanted to walk out with one of everything. Especially this divine navy (of course) velvet couch (sadly not available in Australia). Yes, you should buy big ticket items in neutrals, but… And the herringbone coffee table is clearly magnificent! A side table version is available in Oz, if you’d like a piece of that mirrored action.
I have already started making a shopping list ready for when I’m back in Australia and looking for my next home, and can visit the new Chatswood store. Hoorah!
This visit reminded me just how much I heart West Elm. I remember once telling someone, if I was a brand, I’d be West Elm. (No really, Jess, I am the bigger West Elm addict…)
I also found out that West Elm are now doing wedding registries, in Australia too. I so would have considered that last year (but I used The Wedding Nest and they were amazing).
As I’m in Marrakech this week, I thought I’d share with you some Moroccan-inspired homewares from West Elm and Freedom which you might fancy for your own home.
I look forward to sharing some photos from Marrakech with you next week. Unfortunately, airline baggage allowances will prevent me from coming home laden with carpets and trinkets but I’m sure I’ll find space for some souk purchases…
It’s been on the rumour mill for ages but now it’s official. Williams Somoma Inc is opening its four super brands north of the bridge in Sydney’s Chatswood Chase this August, following on from the Bondi stores last year. Hooray!
All four stores will also open in Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre in late 2014/early 2015.
“We are excited to continue our global expansion in Australia,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “When we opened our stores in Bondi Junction last year, it was the first time we had showcased all four brands together side-by-side. We plan to replicate this in Chadstone shopping centre, where all four stores will also be inter-connected, the first time we have done this anywhere in the world.
“All four brands will also have stores in Chatswood Chase, making it easier for our customers to shop and mix and match products to create a complete home.
“We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings along with unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with more Australian customers who want to decorate, entertain and live well.”
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. opened its first Australian stores for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm in Oxford Street Mall, Bondi Junction in May 2013 and another West Elm store at 464 Chapel Street, South Yarra in September 2013. All four brands ship across Australia via their e-commerce sites.
Meet interiors heavyweights Sibella Court, Megan Morton, Robyn Holt, Cameron Kimber and Marco Meneguzzi and learn their secrets to seasonal styling and entertaining at a free event in Bondi Junction this Saturday 29 March.
Megan Morton
You can ask your favourite expert stylemakers for their secrets to creating the perfect Easter table or seasonal vignette! The top Australian designers and stylists will use their unique flair to transform a corner of Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Williams-Sonoma and West Elm.
3pm to 3.30pm: Megan Morton styles Pottery Barn Kids
Each session will be hosted by the wonderful Robyn Holt.
Enjoy light refreshments and Easter-themed treats in store and view the Easter and new-season Autumn collections. All four stores are next to each other in The Exchange Building, Bondi Junction.
I haven’t done much for Easter since I was a young child, when egg hunts and chocolate food comas were the activities of the day. Yet after seeing these Easter collections, I’m pretty keen for an Easter tea party (adults can do them too, right?) and if you have a child with a birthday coming up, please make this their party theme!
The collections aren’t just full of Easter goodies; West Elm in particular has some beautiful Autumn pieces ready to brighten up your home in preparation for the impending winter season. Timber furniture, chunky knit throws, wool rugs and plush cushions are very much a theme and one must not forget my all time favourite West Elm piece, the rose gold cutlery set. So good.
West Elm Melbourne officially opens on Chapel Street this morning and last night they threw a celebration party. I couldn’t make it but I sent along Kathryn Bamford, who took a few snaps for us.
The who’s who of the design zoo were out in numbers last night at the West Elm South Yarra opening party. Melbourne certainly pulled out its finest weather (not) and decided a last minute downpour of rain would add to the excitement of the new store on Chapel Street.
When you first walk in, there is the most stunning green wall by GSky Plant Systems. Stylist Mr Jason Grant said the store looked great and was definitely bigger than the Bondi one.
Who better than the lovely store manager Dimitri, to give me the low down on the new store and all things West Elm? Funnily enough, he used to manage one of my other favourite Melbourne stores, Meizai. He was excited to see the store buzzing with the 350+ people and explained that the turnaround for furniture items purchased is 5 days (which in my opinion is much better than the usual 6-8 weeks most stores quote you).
My favourite of Kate's vignettes was day 2's for 'folded'
It was another amazing month and I was so glad to have Jacinta Preston on board as guest judge. She really got into the spirit of the thing and got involved. She also had the hard job of choosing the winner and runners-up which is something I try and avoid because I want everyone to win!
Kate’s winning vignettes
Anyway, without further ado, the overall winner is
I also found out that West Elm are now doing 
