Live Breathe Decor

May 10

Time-worn and beautiful

Posted in country style, french style, rustic style, using antiques

This is how the country home of my dreams would be: dark walls, loads of books, squishy, comfy sofas, walls covered in paintings, and rooms filled with antiques, pieces of nature and junk-shop finds.

Love this wall of simple botanicals – or are they pressed flowers? It reminds me of the wall of botanical prints at Sally Wheat’s house:

What could be better than this: an old stone wall, a battered leather chair, some books and a Louis Vuitton trunk?

Annie Brahler at euro trash

This is the stuff dreams are made of!

Have a great day,

Naomi xx

comments: 1 » tags: annie brahler, antiques, botanical prints, french antiques, french style, leather books, louis vuitton luggage, sally wheat, stone cottage

May 9

It’s all about stripes and blue and white

Posted in blue and white, country style, foyers, Hamptons style, Ralph Lauren, Uncategorized

I’m still thinking about that apartment I missed out on, and how I would have decorated it. (I’m aware this is a pretty fruitless activity but this is just what I do – I have fun planning layouts and room schemes – and whether it will ever be put into practice is completely immaterial!) Lots of blue and white and really pale floors – I’m thinking bleached timber and sisal, but I also love the subtle leopard-print carpet above. My storage shed is full of pairs of French chairs – another hobby – and a pair painted chalky white and recovered in stripes on either side of an antique commode would have been great for the little entryway!

Tangerine or shades of citrus yellow work so well as an accent to blue and white. But the thing that makes this room work is the layering; throws, trays, books, ornaments, cushions – it’s all about the accessories!

I love this moody hallway (above) because it shows how key lighting is when you don’t have any natural light. Picture and wall lights are usually so much nicer in classic spaces than downlights, and the lighting in the two rooms at the end of the hallway really draws you in. Plus I’m just such a fan of club-like dark timber panelling and walls covered in pictures.

These pics (above and below) are from a Ralph Lauren showroom – lots of lovely blue and white, some dark walls and lots of texture in wicker baskets and furniture.

When I think of that apartment I think along the lines of this style (above and below). Pale flooring and white paintwork as a foil for blue and white fabrics and ceramics.

I think these rooms come from Australian magazine ‘Country Homes’. This is a warmer, more ‘country house’ take on the colour scheme; Creams and neutrals dominate instead of pure white. I just adore dark blue/grey walls covered in artwork, and the balcony off the bedroom overlooking trees.

Naomi xx

comments: 1 » tags: blue and white, French chair, Hamptons style, stripes

May 8

A little shopping and florals

Posted in bedheads, ebay, fabrics, french style, my home, projects/ my work, Shopping

Today we have a pupil-free day at our school, so I took Mum and the kids to the local shopping centre for a rare treat (it’s actually a treat for me as I rarely brave the malls on weekends and never have all three children with me during the week). It was really nice to not be on a rushed shopping mission, and to be able to have a good look through the shops. At Target (our Target, unlike the one in the U.S., is usually bereft of great homewares) I was pleasantly surprised to see these side tables:

They had a great shape and a hexagonal top. These could actually look fantastic in the right room- I could picture the larger one as a bedside table for a kids room.

I’ve also had a chance to do some ebay shopping, and also a chance to get myself organised enough to list some of my ‘extra’ pieces of furniture, fabric and lamps.

I keep holding on to so many things for ‘the next house’, but sometimes I have to do a bit of a cull to make room for new pieces. Ebay is also a great source for pieces for clients- old chairs for recovering and the occasional antique in particular.

A couple of weeks ago I was showing fabrics to some clients for one of their rooms, one of which was this colourful floral:

We ended up going with another fabric, also in bright gorgeous colours, but I do like the green geometric against the floral upholstery here. This is a great example of what you can do with an old armchair bought on ebay!

And speaking of greens and florals, here are a few others that have caught my eye this week:

Again, we can see how great a subtle geometric pattern (here, the wallpaper) can look with a floral (the green toile pattern on the chairs). I like the freshness of this office area.

This is such a gorgeous feminine, French-style bedroom! I love the shape of the floral bedhead.

I like the simplicity of this scheme, with the use of just the one tropical leaf-patterned fabric. That banquette seating for the dining area is fantastic!

Naomi x

comments: 1 » tags: ebay, floral fabric, french bedroom, french style, geometrics, Target tables, wallpaper

May 7

Weekend Happenings and a Dream Destination

Posted in Architecture, house hunting, Uncategorized

As has become my usual practice over the past few months, part of Saturday was devoted to looking at properties. I’m looking at all options these days- houses near the school, apartments in the city, potential investment units and of course, land and houses in various lovely country destinations outside Melbourne. I guess I’m not quite sure what our next move will be, but the country property is the one that actually excites me.

My 7 year-old son and I visited a large but quite depressingly run-down house a few suburbs further out from the city – it has the right space but was so uninspiring, and so far from the trees and character that I dream of (no pics posted here but trust me, it was not an option!). After that I decided to take a look at the slightly more rural properties close to my sister’s place, which I posted about last week. And what do you know? I found my dream weekender (or maybe even permanent house!):

It had everything: English-style stone construction (my dream), trees, privacy, the circular gravel driveway, space, and was even within budget. There’s a lot that I’d change about the interiors, but I love the L-shaped layout with a deck in between and kids’ rooms upstairs, and it had a good feel about it, you know?

I immediately fell in love and rang the agent and starting planning what furniture I’d need to furnish it. Sadly, when I heard back this morning, the house has already sold. I know I should stop getting so attached to properties, and I’m trying to tell myself that it just wasn’t meant to be, but I can’t help but kick myself that I didn’t look in this area sooner! I would have snapped this beautiful cottage up so fast!

So, once again it’s back to the drawing board. To cheer myself up last night I got out some of my ‘inspiration files’ and starting looking through old clippings. I came across a room I had cut out of a magazine a few years ago:

This room (above) had always inspired me. Whenever I looked at it I imagined finding a little weekend cottage somewhere, using the front rooms for bedrooms, then adding on one big room just like this. The central area under the peaked ceiling would be the living area, and the ‘wings’ off to the sides would house the dining areas and kitchen. I love the idea of walking down a hallway into a big open room and everything being relatively symmetrical – you’d walk in and face a sofa table, with the sofa on the other side facing a central fireplace, and armchairs on both sides.

Anyway, when I read the fine print on the clipping I discovered the room comes from Huka Lodge in New Zealand – so I looked it up, and Wow! What a beautiful place:

To me this place is that perfect blend of Hamptons style (especially the iron lantern lights and the pitched ceilings with white beams), Ralph Lauren (classic style, dark enveloping colours), and English country house (fireplaces, antlers on the wall, warmth and comfort). And it’s not just the interiors that I’ve fallen in love with; take a look at the exterior and gardens:

New Zealand is such a beautiful place! And what a great place to celebrate a wedding anniversary! (Husband please take note)

It cheered me up no end

Naomi xx

comments: 3 » tags: country houses, English country house, Hamptons style, house hunting, Huka Lodge, stone cottage

Apr 30

Today in fabrics

Posted in fabrics, green, musings, Ralph Lauren

Am I the only one who feels that the days are already noticeably shorter? Weekdays for me lately are slightly manic, as I try to get everything done before school pickup time, after which it seems there is no daylight left between the homework/dinner routine. In between phone calls and emails this morning I started putting together a scheme in sage greens and creams for a new client’s sitting room. I think I might need to throw a bit of stripe in there somewhere.. You can see the chaos of fabric cuttings that is my desk at the moment! I dream of a bigger office with a giant wall of organised storage!

I’ve also swapped most of the blue and white cushions in our house for some more ‘winter’ colours. I have to say I’m not that motivated at the moment in terms of decorating my own house – mainly because I’m ready to move on to the next project, and I want to try completely different things like wallpaper, new curtain fabrics, newly recovered furniture etc. I really am ready to sell everything and start from scratch in the next house. But the very least I can do is have season-appropriate cushions, right? The Ralph Lauren paisley in the front is actually one I won’t get sick of – I’m thinking of covering walls in that pattern somewhere in the fabled Country House – maybe a library?

Have a great day,

Naomi x

comments: 6 » tags: green fabrics, ralph lauren, winter

Apr 26

Latest ebay find and Mother Nature

Posted in ebay, fabrics, Gardens, Ralph Lauren, Uncategorized

It’s been another beautiful and mainly rainy day here in Melbourne. This morning I had to go and pick up my latest ebay buy in the hills outside of town, which took me right by my sister’s country property:

I’ve shown bits of my sister and brother-in-law’s property before; they are renovating a former country retirement home, and the much older weatherboard cottage that’s on the same property. They were blessed to inherit a lot of wonderful established trees, but have also replaced a large field with a newly-planted orchard of various fruit trees.

This is one of their veggie gardens, with various types of lemon trees heavy with fruit behind. Lucky I have my own lemon tree or I would have snaffled a lot of those lemons! Is there anything better than a really tart lemon pie?

The driveway enters on one side of the property, circles around and exits on the other side, giving you a full tour through oaks, pines, elms, birches and agapanthas.

Can you tell I’m just a weeny bit jealous? I just love visiting. Then it was off to collect the chairs:

I’ve been looking around at wing back chairs for a little while now, but haven’t been in a rush to purchase them (as they are, of course, for the future country property!). I’m also pretty fussy about the shape and style. I didn’t want any that were too tall, too wide, or with wings that were either too large or too wimpy. I sound a bit hard to please don’t I!? And most importantly, they couldn’t have queen anne-style legs – straight, open legs with a central cross-bar were essential. So when I saw these ones on ebay I snapped them up.

And look at the beautiful scenery I got to enjoy on the way to collect them:

So I had pictured these chairs as being recovered in a dark charcoal grey wool or felt, with the backs in a co-ordinating tweed. The existing fabric isn’t actually all that bad- it’s quite an interesting kilim-patterned velvet in reds, blues and greys. I could easily make it work as is if I needed to hold off on the reupholstery, but I’m envisioning either the dark grey or maybe a scheme of reds or raspberry in velvet and chintzes (I still do love chintz in the right setting).

But on the topic of tweeds, have you seen the new Greenwich Linen collection from Ralph Lauren? I’m such a big fan of these classic designs and warm neutrals:

Very English country house! Can you imagine them paired with some timber beams and old battered leather suitcases? Lovely.

Naomi xx

comments: 5 » tags: country properties, ebay chairs, ralph lauren fabrics, tweed fabrics, wingback armchairs

Apr 24

A Gothic country property

Posted in Architecture, house hunting, Ralph Lauren, Uncategorized

On the weekend my parents-in-law and I went to take a look at a beautiful old house that has come up for sale in the area outside Melbourne that we are hoping to buy in. When I’d seen it on the internet it seemed to tick all the boxes; a reasonably large block of land (4000 sq metres) for a residential area, loads of character, and beautiful established trees.

On arrival it has these beautiful iron gates and an impressive view through them up to the house. Doesn’t it look beautiful? Even the weather suited the house – all dark and rainy and gloomy – my absolute favourite kind of day.

The garden was full of mature English trees, with lots of gorgeous autumnal colour – reds, oranges and yellows. Can you see the twisted brick chimneys on the house?

And lovely views of the garden through all of the windows. I didn’t take any interiors photos simply because of the number of people at the inspection. The property must be some sort of local landmark because it seemed half of country Victoria was there taking a look!

Unfortunately this house didn’t tick the boxes for me. Though beautiful, the property is surrounded by modern new-builds, and I dream of not having any close neighbours. It also needed more work than we would realistically be prepared to take on, including lots of rising damp. But the main problem for me was it just didn’t give me ‘that feeling’; I felt no connection with the spaces and couldn’t really imagine spending time there.

My dream country house would have one large communal living space (this house didn’t have that):