Ideas Blog
Creating Storage out of Empty Space – Magic!
At a time when many people are working from home, it's become apparent that productivity requires your home spaces to be better organized. It can simply be that you now have more "stuff" in general because you have work stuff as well as personal, or the reality that...
Street Appeal – Plants Instead of a Fence
Defining the front boundary of your property with plants is a great way to give its street appeal a lift. Some people like the starkness of modern design, but for most people the visual bulk can be overwhelming. Breaking up the facade of the building with planting is...
Sensational Sofa Cushions – Part 2
Cushions are a great way to add style, texture, colour and more to any room. In part 1 we looked at deciding on what size cushion to use and how many. Now you've got some cushions, it's time to focus on how to group them on your sofa. 1. Minimalist This is one for the...
Street Appeal – Welcome to our Home!
A lot of people talk about the importance of your home having street appeal, but what does that actually mean? Essentially, it means that when a stranger approaches your home, it should be saying "Welcome! Come in!" rather than "Grrrrrrr. Go away, I don't want...
With Complements – Your Colour Scheme, That Is!
If you're ready to redesign your space, then it's time to start scheming - the colour scheme kind of scheming, not the mwahahaha! evil villain kind. When it comes to choosing a colour scheme, one of the simplest is to use complementary colours from the colour wheel....
Get Your Junk Drawer Under Control
There's one in every house. The Junk Drawer. The place where all those assorted bits and pieces get thrown because you can't think where else to put them. Usually it's in the kitchen, sometimes in the study or workshop, but wherever it's located, it's a mess. It's the...
Let’s Talk About Bins, Baby
I know it's a taboo subject, and involves the use of four-letter words, but I'm going to talk about it anyway... Bins. There, that wasn't so bad! More specifically, the importance of thinking about bins when you're designing a building.Currently, most Victorian...
Sensational Sofa Cushions – Part 1
Your sofa is one of the main pieces in your living space, so inevitably it draws the eye. It's a great opportunity to set the tone for the style and feel of your space, and cushions are a wonderful way to achieve that goal. Let's delve into how to use them...
3 Magical Tips for Tidy Toys
I look at pictures like the one above and think "ahh, if only!" It would be great to think kids could maintain such a neat and organised space to play in. But the reality when my kids were small was that expecting them to achieve that level of tidiness had about as...
The Temperature of Colours Demystified
It's quite common to hear colours described as having temperatures. Warm whites vs. cool whites is a classic example. But what does it actually mean? And how can you use colour temperature in your interior design? Time to pull out the colour wheel again - kind of!...
Reclaiming Your Wardrobe – Part 2
In part 1, I covered the first step of reclaiming your wardrobe - decluttering. Now comes the next step - organising what's left! 1. Remove Get started by looking at what's in your wardrobe, and pulling out anything you only wear occasionally. This is any form of...
Street Appeal – Your Fence
When it comes to property, "street appeal" is a very common term. Essentially it means what people see when they drive past your property - the fence, the garden, the letter box and the driveway. All of these things lead the eye to the main attraction - the house. So...
Vignettes – Beyond the Basics
In our last blog, I talked about the basics of styling a vignette. To recap, that involved using an odd number of items, consistency of theme and colour, and varying heights or sizes. Once you've mastered the basics, it's time to move on and get a little more...
Reclaiming Your Wardrobe – Part 1
If you've spent time online, you've probably seen pictures of those incredible wardrobes belonging to the super rich - huge amounts of space, plenty of hanging bars, shelves and drawers for everything. I know it gives me a massive case of wardrobe envy. But the...
Letterboxes – Getting It Right
When you're selling your home, street appeal is crucial. Many buyers will do a drive past, and if they don't like what they see, won't even bother going inside the house to take a look. But even if you're not planning to sell, it's a great feeling coming home to a...