Earlier this week I came across the work of NZ designer Melanie Craig, while in Timaru. I'm sure it is old news now - but look at this kitchen she designed for clients in Wanaka that won her the 2011 NZ Designer of the Year.  Amazing.

Blue Rooms

I'm a big fan of a blue room.  It would have to be one of my favourite colours for an interior.  It just always seems to work.  I've used a lot of blue so far in this house - and there's more to come! Why not when nature provides such brilliant inspiration?
So because I'm just a teensy bit snowed under lately, the lovely Joanna of design blog Design Shuffle, was kind enough to guest blog today and give you a tour of some of her favourite Blue Rooms:

Hi, my name is Joanna. I’m a writer for Design Shuffle, a terrific portal for interior designers to showcase their work and an excellent source for interior design inspiration. I’ve been writing about home décor, furnishings, architecture and art for years. I love being able to write guest posts such as this one for lovely sites like the SD Interiors’ blog. Blue rooms come in many forms, from elegant and stately to fun and eclectic. Here I've collected a mix of interior design styles (and hues) to inspire you. I have to say my favorite is the navy and pink sitting area. Which is your favorite? Thanks for allowing me to share!



This vibrant blue room boasts a lovely mix of modern and vintage. The tulip chairs play nicely with a collection of Wedgewood plates hung sporadically above an Asian inspired table.



An antique desk in peacock blue sets center stage in amongst a grouping of art and books. The soft blue panels hanging at the windows add another touch of blue to the room.



A stately table for ten is accompanied by tailored blue upholstered dining chairs. Striated blue walls provide the canvas for a collection of prints and ceramics.



This rustic blue-gray room achieves a successful mix of handmade and modern. The crocheted pouf and foot stool are especially pretty set atop a needle point rug.



This formal room in blue and white has quite a bit going on with its architectural detailing and numerous collections of ceramics and pictures. This space is a source for many ideas on living room designs.



Navy and pink are the order of the day in this striking bed room sitting area. A blue velvet ottoman doubles as a table set between a formal settee and a chaise lounge.



Deep blue at the windows and floor offer a rich canvas for a mix of cream and white furnishings. The ambient light from the windows keeps this space from being too dark.



This palest blue-green bedroom design is crisp and brilliant with silk panels at the window and velvet on an upholstered side chair.
Images | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

Thank you to SD Interiors for allowing me to visit today! If you love interior design, check out Design Shuffle where you can learn all about the history of interior design, or connect with other interior designers and much more!

Thanks Joanna - loved peeking at all these rooms!

Apparantly it's almost Christmas

In the past week I've travelled more than 13,000km (8000km of those with a 2 year old), worked on numerous design projects and left the country for the summer.  I'm a bit time poor, so this month for my Broome Advertiser column, I cheated and brazenly stole some contemporary Christmas decorating ideas from around the interweb (with the authors' permission of course).  

In the process, I came across this:

originally from http://blog.alltheluckintheworld. 

I'm not a big fan of traditional Christmas decorations (or Christmas in general) - so much chaos, excess and sparkly tinsel.  But I thought this was quite a sweet take on a traditional Christmas tree and could easily be personalised with trinkets or photos from travels, flea markets etc.

Stripes

I'm loving striped walls right now.

via Elle Decor

via here

via here

via Elle Decor

via here

via Pinterest

What do you think? The possibilities are endless.

Crazy with a side of bonkers

It's crazy around here at the moment.  This is my life right now - lots and lots of lists:

The beauty about my job though is that crazy = creativity, and I've been so blessed with some really great work projects lately, including some I'll be able to share in a few months time.

But it's all being squeezed into a very small time frame as I leave town next week for a couple of months and I'm desperately trying to get all my work to a point where it can be managed from across the Tasman.


I'll still keep the blog updated over the next couple of months - but it might be more about pretty things I find on our travels and client schemes I'm working on (it's all coming across the ditch with me!), as well as a few guest posts from other designers.  The renovations will have to wait until we return.

PS: I'm heading to Perth later this week to shop for a client - and I'm planning on filling a container with a house lot of furniture in 2 days.  See? Crazy.

PPS: I love this cute print I was given for my birthday last month, "Wahine" by Emma Louise Butler.  Kiwiana will take over the world one day.