My better half and I have been invited to a close friends wedding in Byron Bay early next year which we are very excited about! Long weekends are pretty special to us as they are few and far between and I was determined to find an abode that would encapsulate the atmosphere I need to create my vision of three day marital bliss! Unfortunately, my search for boutique accommodation in the area kept turning up rundown 1980’s floral disaster at the most extraordinary price points. After much bemoaning of the situation to many a customer in store, I found a recurring theme in their recommendations. The Atlantic Guesthouses Byron Bay are a unique compound of renovated demountables, guesthouses and one absolutely gorgeously retro airstream trailer very conveniently located in the centre of Byron Bay.
 








The owner’s have done an outstanding job with the fit out, think classic island luxe. A crisp colour palette of charcoal, grey and white has been combined with accents of mint, azure blue and candy pink to bring a hint of the carribean chic to this hippy-fied seaside village. ’m quite partial to the palm frond prints used throughout the upholstery – Thomas Magnum anyone? Breathing life back into select pieces, each room features beautifully up-cycled vintage furniture pieces, making eye catching statements in what are refined and sophisticated spaces to rest your head. We simply cannot wait to stay! It may be our first visit but I’m sure it won’t be our last!

 

The girls behind jewellery and accessories label, Polli are not only super talented but incredibly gorgeous to deal with.  Foundation designers for the store, Tess Lloyd and Maya Rose's creations are whimsical, laser cut designs and have long been a favourite with WR customers. They initially met whilst studying Industrial Design in 1999 and forged a strong friendship on their love quirky design and product sustainability. Beginning with a compact range of stainless steel earrings and necklaces, the range has grown to include brass and stainless steel, injection pieces featuring colourful weaves and leather, acrylic jewelery stands and dainty colourful wooden brooches. It’s rare in this game to deal with such down to earth and delightful people but Tess and Maya are always ready for a chat and a giggle when you call the studio and can never do enough to help their retailers - an absolutely pleasure they are! We can't wait to see their Summer 2011 release in a few weeks at Life in Style!

The hubby and I are off for a romantic sourjourn to Fiji to celebrate our second wedding anniversary in September. I’m super excited and on the hunt for tres chic ensembles for a fabulously resort ready lifestyle of poolside lazing and pina colada sunsets! I often waxed lyrically about Trina Turk’s use of vibrant colour and sassy prints in her outdoor fabrics – our customers love them, as do we! She’s just released her latest range of Casablanca Caftans in similar prints which I think will be just perfect for the task at hand. The most difficult thing will be choosing one – here’s my top three! Decisions decisions - which do you think?

At the store, we are soooo excited about our new lighting delivery from home grown talent Who Did That? Ex-Queenslander now turned Tassie Devil designer Loz Abberton makes the most glorious laser cut timber lights, Grandeliers. These multi functional lights (you can use them as either a pendant or a table lamp - we can't decide which we prefer best!) are hand made from sustainable Plywood and carbonised Bamboo and each light comes flat packed for light weight transport to create the smallest wee little footprint on our delicate earth as possible!










It's not often we see great design tick all the boxes - affordable + local + beautiful + ecological = SENSATIONAL! There's currently a selection in our Coolum Beach store but for the full range, sizes and variations please look to order through the online emporium http://www.watermelonred.com.au/living

This week I'm swooning over all things Peacock!  Wall art, soft furnishings, fabrics and flooring are all inspired by the motifs, colour and pattern of these magnificent creatures! Electric blues and emerald greens add a pop of colour to a room whilst still remaining as sophisticated and majestic as the creature themselves.Below I thought I'd share some of my inspiration hoping to kick start you all on my peacock fascination too!


Florence Broadhurst Limited Edition Original Print


Custom made sofa using Mokum Textiles Ficus in Peacock


Florence Broadhurst Peacock Feather wallpaper


Equator Homewares new release Peacock chair and side table


Mokum Textiles Star Tile hand loomed floor rug


Custom upholstered daybed using Trina Turk Peacock Feather outdoor fabric 

** All fabrics, wallpapers and products available through Watermelon Red






 

Today I'm swooning over the latest release from Designer Rugs by famed interior designer Greg Natale. The New Regency Collection showcases bold geometric prints in a rainbow of hues including electric blue, hot hot hot pink, sparkling oyster, earthy olive green and black are divine! To me, the structure and sophistication of these rugs lend themselves to a more formal environment with luxe velvet, silk and metallic finishes. Perfectly suited to bring warmth, dimension and visual delight to living spaces now that the cold weather has settled in for the next few months - they are so soft under foot! My picks from the collection are Oxford, Manhattan and South Beach.

 

 

All rugs are made from 100% New Zealand wool, can be customised in size and colour. Price on application at Watermelon Red.

I've had a large stack of magazines from the past month staring back at me, unread, from the entertainment unit for some time now, just waiting for a couple of hours on the weekend where I can sit, be still and take all the imagery and insightful stories of designers, renovators and crazy builders! Sorting through this pile last weekend I was transfixed with an article in the July/August edition of Inside Out magazine. The cover shot instantly grabbed me and I quickly turned to page 108 to delve into the story behind such an amazing living space filled with colour, style and playfulness.



The instant attraction was quickly understood as it was by one of my favourite interior designers Patricia Urquiola. She is an amazing spanish interior designer who break the mould constantly whilst still remaining accessible and realistic in her designs. Her signature style of bold colour, print and texture sings to me!










What I love about this house, apart from the obvious design savvy and strong use of colour (I'm in love with that vintage teal settee!) is the story behind how Patricia came to design this house for close friend Patrizia Moroso of famed Italian furniture makers Moroso. After Patrizia had stumbled across an overgrown, rambling shack in Udine she rang her good friend and said ' you simply must come and see '. As all best buddies would, she jumped in the car, drove four hours and the dream home began! Now that's what friends are for (if only we all had them in such high places!)

I've recently been spending time trying to arrange the thousands of designers, suppliers, artists and manufacturers that I source from into a compact and easy to access reference file. I figure my referencing is of the utmost importance and it's about time I gave it a little tender love and care. Recently I had the delightful task of sourcing some high end artworks for a client that wanted us to include 4 investment pieces in her project. Hours were spent scouring the galleries and artist websites in the quest to find the perfect pieces for each space. Website addresses, postcards, magazine tearouts and random pieces of paper are stuffed into boxes and manila folders picture me frantically flicking through in my quest. It was at this point the necessity for an orderly reference file was made apparent! We preach to our clients to get started with a file and mood board right from the very beginning of their decorating experience so the hypocrite in me need to get this sorted! I suppose the problem is that it is a constantly morphing and growing entity that is starting to spew forth from every cupboard,  filing cabinet and shed at our home and in the shops back room - NO EXCUSES! Mind you it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon......Not with the discovery of Craig Waddell and his must have oil paintings that are more KAPOW on a canvas than delicate petal. I wish wish wish we had of seen these for the previous project! His botanical pieces are raw and edgy not precious and feature scarring of bold colour. Each piece literally jumps off the canvas and screams look at me I'm gorgeous! Visiting Craig's website I find his selection of work is varied but truly grounded in inspiration from his rural upbringing : native flora; roosters and tractors! His latest exhibition Heavenly Dreams is on at the Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane until June 11. I think a visit is a must!

  A moment like this

  All for love

   Hold me close

 

At least one afternoon of my week is devoted to research and scrolling through the myriad of emails  on the hunt to find the latest and greatest, new and fantastic for the store. Mind you, all too often my mind wanders and my quest to find the perfect annual holiday begins. I can get lost and transformed into another world, delving deeper and deeper into the internet looking at tropical locations, mind blowing contemporary cities and vast expansive country escapes. Trawling through my inbox, I've realised I know longer need to feel guilty and can disguise one research for another whilst scouring the pages of DesignHotels.com an international accommodation website directed at the discerning, design savvy traveller who can appreciate the finer details of life.











DesignHotels applauds the highest echelons of commercial design and celebrates that daring yet luxurious interiors found in each property. Each and every location I explored offered satisfaction in my dreams for a long languid break along with inspiration and intrigue whilst checking out the unbelievable and incredibly unique design and styling of each property. I have literally FOUND. heaven!!! Mai Tai anyone?

In this industry a reference book is worth a million dollars. The inspiration that you draw from each page as you turn is priceless and my husband often reprimands me for traipsing home from work with another design, architecture, landscaping or cookery book. I love to sit with a steaming hot cup of tea and trawl through the pages gathering ideas from around the world for our next interior project or to update the merchandising in the store. One of my all time favourite stylists would have to be Sibella Court (you may know her as the female judge on HomeMade). Although our styles don't often overlap, her sheer attention to detail and tenacity at sourcing the beautiful or obscure has to be commended. Her books are masterpiece illustrations of styling and decorating, often taking a few overviews to completely take in all that is seen in the space. Her latest release Stylists Guide to NYC is out this month and I have just ordered my signed copy on her site www.thesocietyinc.com.au

After spending over 15 years in the top echillons of design and interior styling in New York City, who better to bestow her grand knowledge of the best haunts and hang outs in the Big Apple?



While she steps us through the ultra fabulous with deliriously gorgeous image, you can't help questioning why with the strong Australian dollar, we aren't all booking a flight and utilising this book to it's fullest!