Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2015 i Australian Home Beautiful

Whenever I talk about Home Beautiful’s readers (and I talk about you a lot), aside from all the obvious traits – such as, “our readers are incredibly stylish, intelligent people who know what they like” – I talk about the fact we HB-ers have made what I call the “shoes to sofas” transition. To dispel any doubts, I always make it clear this does not mean we no longer buy and love new shoes (just in case my husband is reading this), it’s that as we have matured, our “style footprint” now covers a larger area – namely, our whole home. How we live in our home is a much more rounded picture of who we are. For us, it’s pretty much a case of “I love your home” being…

ENMESHED IN AN ESTABLISHED design business, Sophie Tatlow and Bruce Slorach were creating branding and design work for corporate clients when they embarked on a venture that would give them creative control and focus on one of their great passions. “We decided to build a textiles and soft furnishings company centred on Australian natives,” explains Sophie, a graduate in object design. “We wanted to honour them because, well, they’re exotic and unique.” And so their new venture, Utopia Goods, was born. Since the company’s launch in December 2012, the partners in life and work – who became inspired by natives while doing heritage research for their other business, Deuce Design – have produced a range of graphic and colourful fabrics inspired by some of our land’s most other-worldly flora and…

“These cheeky homewares will bring a sense of fun into any home” ~ Rachel Peters, HB stylist…

The marriage of old and new is a romantic notion – timeworn timber juxtaposed against contemporary colour, sophisticated furniture sitting alongside treasures from yesteryear – but not always easy to put into practice. Homeowner Cat spent years dreaming of an old house into which she could breathe new life; a sanctuary to share with her seven-year-old son Leroy that would reflect her classicmeets-modern style. Blessed by Cat’s touch, this late 19th-century cottage in an eastern Sydney suburb now illustrates how old and new elements can be successfully drawn together, even on a tight budget. As soon as Cat saw the little stone house, she knew it had potential, despite describing it as “a total wreck”. Its corner position and northfacing backyard allowed her to open up the property’s rear while…

WHILE YOU MAY be in love with your lounge, having an affair with your kitchen or even flirting with a feature wall, you’ll only ever sleep with your bed. Which is why it’s important to choose one that lets you rest easy – in more ways than one. From tailor-made snooze solutions and environment-love to convenience and community good, there’s a lot going on in the land of nod. PERFECT MATCH Testing out mattresses in store can be awkward at best – and at worst, something you want to get over and done with, fast. It’s not the best decision-making headspace for an item you will spend thousands of hours on. Snooze’s bedMATCH system may be all over the shop when it comes to typography, but it is precise about…

CEMENTED STYLE Caesarstone has extended its concrete-look range to include ‘Raw Concrete’ (above). Its soft, natural grey and grainy texture makes it a classic aesthetic match for an industrialstyle kitchen – and it’s available in slabs as thick as 30mm for those wanting a robust look. From $500/sqm (installed); caesarstone.com.au. One in five Aussies would feel uncomfortable if a friend peeked into their kitchen, claims Ikea’s Life At Home report. Would you? Bath bliss You’ll fall in love with the ‘Cupid’ collection of bathroomware from Caroma. The centrepiece is this deep, 170cm-long freestanding bath, $2089, with graceful, smooth lines that are instantly inviting. It’s complemented by an elegant curved basin, available in either 50cm or 70cm widths and starting at $579, which taps into the current trend for above-counter styles;…

THOUGH YOU MAY covet a stylish, adults-only outdoor retreat, a gleaming lap pool and a lawn like a bowling green, chances are you’ll be sharing your garden with your children and their friends. Thus your garden dreams must bow to the challenge of keeping every member of the clan happy. “A garden for a range of age groups needs careful planning, to cater for the variety of uses that all members of the family require,” says Mark Curtis, landscape designer at Secret Gardens in Sydney. Turn the page and read our expert tips for making your outdoor zone truly family friendly. > call in the professionals Unless you’re a green-thumbed expert, it can be well worth enlisting the services of a professional who will help you make the most of…

16 We love: “This is the stuff of dreams,” says Home Beautiful editor Wendy. “The location, choice of materials and accessories all make this room special – the posts wrapped with sheer curtains feel instantly luxurious. I love it!” Get the look: A four-poster bed swathed in fine fabric, dark flooring and earth-toned walls tie in this sanctuary with the landscape. The owners designed the fabric touches but similar styles can be ordered from No Chintz. Try Mark Tuckey’s ‘Simple 4 Poster’ for an equally spectacular bed, and Sheridan’s ‘Haden’ chunky knit throw to complete this luxe picture. “White wooden windows frame this space beautifully and create two distinct areas, inside and out. It’s a clever design alternative to bi-folds or doors that would have otherwise blended the two zones”…

“This pretty ceramic plate will make afternoon tea even sweeter” ~ Rachel Peters, HB stylist…

“I love having this massive space to cook in. The kitchen is the focus of the entire house” ~ Nicky Creating a warm and whimsical home for her active, growing family came naturally to Nicky, a graphic designer and budding ceramist from Sydney’s north who finds joy in crafting and collating beautiful pieces. After rising to the challenge of transforming her clan’s poky, run-down cottage into an expansive oasis that showcases her eclectic, organic style, she is living the dream. “I did so much research on what I wanted the house to look like that I do feel as though I’m walking into my own Pinterest page when I’m in the kitchen and living room,” laughs Nicky, who shares the home with her husband Pat, sons Levi, 12, and Fletcher,…

Skiers whizz smoothly down the slopes to this postcard-pretty village near St Moritz, Switzerland. It’s a fairytale image that Francesca and Giulio couldn’t resist, particularly when they found the charming cottage that would become their home away from home, a chalet drenched in history and nostalgia. However, anyone who says you can’t improve on perfection has never met Francesca. An interior designer, she was bursting with ideas on how she could enhance the old chalet while modernising it to share with children Claudia, 15, and Filippo, 13. A large part of the renovation involved preserving and enhancing the home’s character by adding 150-year-old timbers salvaged from other local chalets. However, the run-down lodge was also ripe for a touch of modern styling to make it more functional for the present.…

NO LONGER AN AFTERTHOUGHT, breakfast bars are now a must-have feature to increase your kitchen’s functionality and make it the social hub of your home. The island bench has evolved from a purely utilitarian work surface to the nerve centre around which daily life revolves. A must-have breakfast bar now serves myriad functions; it’s a place for drinks, a quick bite or a relaxed dinner, a servery when entertaining, and often doubles as a home office and homework hangout. Follow our expert steps to lift the bar in your kitchen. one CONSIDER TRAFFIC FLOW Think about how your family will walk around the planned seating area, advises Petrina Turner of Petrina Turner Design in Melbourne. “It’s not just about the space when the stools are pushed underneath,” she says. “Leave…

BEFORE HOLIDAY HOME House Rules 1. Revitalise this Queenslander with charm and character. 2. Inspire with patterns and colours. 3. Build a magical children’s hideaway in the backyard. 4. Add touches of luxury inside and out. 5. Deliver the ultimate dream family home. RENOVATING A QUEENSLANDER is almost a universal decorating dream, but in seven days? That’s what Channel Seven’s House Rules contestants were faced with when they stood on a property in Queensland’s stunning Hervey Bay, watching two halves of an old iconic Queenslander roll around the corner on the backs of a couple of very large trucks. The teams were given a surprise brief to return this very original home back to its former glory and tasked with creating a beautiful, airy holiday home for one lucky family…

Fabulous fare for every day and every occasion simple joys This month, we’re taking culinary cues from Italy, where cooking and sharing good food is a way of life. Serve up crusty bread, high-quality olive oil and a drop of prosecco – and welcome la dolce vita. spaghetti alla norma See recipe on page 225 SPAGHETTI ALLA NORMA Serves 4 2 medium eggplants (900g), cut into 2cm cubes Sea salt 300g spaghetti 1/3 cup olive oil 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved 400g can chopped tomatoes 2/ ³ cup white wine 1 tsp dried chilli flakes Cracked black pepper Torn basil leaves, to serve Grated ricotta salata or Romano cheese, to serve 1. Place eggplant in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and toss to combine. Let…

There’s something about the watery afternoon sunshine in winter that makes sitting outdoors even more inviting. So snuggle up in a wicker sofa bulging with comfy cushions and soft throws, and grab a good book and a delicious glass of red. For a similar sofa, try the ‘Cebu’ outdoor sofa, $1995 (includes seat cushion), Equator Homewares. For a similar table, try the ‘Button’ rattan coffee table, $515, Milan Direct. For a similar armchair, try the ‘Boracay’ dining carver in Tabacco Brown, $649 (includes seat cushion), Naturally Cane. On sofa: For similar vintage Japanese silk cushions (far left and far right) and green velvet cushion, try Planet. For a similar floral cushion, try the Designers Guild ‘Mokuren’ linen cushion, $227, No Chintz. For similar back cushions, try ‘Hallo’ polyester back cushions…

Louella: “Nature is a massive inspiration for us – not just the form, but also the experience. We live by the ocean and I walk along the water almost every day. I find it balances and centres me. A photographer friend used to tell me about this beach [in England] with massive pebbles that he called The Egg Factory Beach. I came to work one day and there was this huge pebble [below] waiting for me. It just had a piece of string and a label that read ‘I promised you a pebble’ and nothing else. It’s beautiful and I brought it with me from England. Nature is incredible.” “Nature is such a mysterious thing and we’re part of it, so I guess ultimately everything is about nature” ~ Mark…

cool change As smooth as porcelain and as visually arresting as marble, strong and durable resin is the material of the moment. Enter these hand-sculpted homewares from Keep Resin, ethereal yet timeless in grey.…

“Sculptural and graphic, these stands provide an instant modern vibe” ~ Rachel Peters, HB stylist…

BARGAIN BUYS MID-RANGE SPLASH OUT…

The daughter of serial renovators, Perth-based photographer Jody D’Arcy – a regular contributor to Home Beautiful – relished the opportunity to carry on her family tradition and transform the 1920sera bungalow she shares with her husband Dave and their children Samson, six, and Luella, four. “Mum and Dad are renovators from way back and they do everything themselves – nothing’s too big a job,” explains Jody. “I knew that, with their input, we’d be able to problem-solve the whole way through.” Jody’s brother Ryan, a construction project manager, was also pivotal in the design process, helping her to conceptualise ideas and drawing up plans for the draftsman. “He’s got an amazing eye,” says Jody. “He and I had many tos and fros, throwing around our ideas.” Dave, who works in…

home lessons A hardworking office should seamlessly combine your home and work style to create a space where creativity thrives and organisation is a breeze. Read on for expert advice that really works. THE DEDICATED HOME OFFICE When working from home, you need a space that feels professional and free of domestic chaos style savvy A home office can complement the decor in the rest of the house or stand alone, says Caro Toledo of Indigo Jungle Interior Styling in Brisbane. “Materials, colour and texture can help reinforce this distinction,” she says. Colour demarcates a space, so introducing a different scheme in the office will help you switch from home to business mode. furniture focus The workspace must suit the person who’ll use it most. “The height of the desk…

TRADITIONALLY, taps have been the runner-up to a bathroom’s style heroes – feature tiles, with their kaleidoscopic range of colours and textures, and large-scale items such as baths and vanities. Not anymore. The previously limited range of styles and hues – in other words, chrome, chrome and more chrome – has gone. Tapware now comprises an array of exciting designs, whether you’re after a rustic vibe (below right) or to put the exclamation point on a sexy modern masterpiece, as with the Milli ‘Axon’ basin mixer from Reece in this sultry contemporary bathroom (above right). This new diversity has elevated taps from functional also-ran to potential star feature. They’ve become the jewels in the crown of a beautiful space. FASHION-FORWARD FABULOUSNESS The majority of innovations in tapware used to take…

A About Space aboutspace.net.au. Academic Built-in Wardrobes (08) 9622 9777, academicwardrobes.com. Academy Tiles academytiles.com.au. Adairs 1300 783 005, adairs.com.au. AH Beard 1300 654 000, ahbeard.com.au. Al + Em alandem.com.au. Alan Jones [represented by Olsen Irwin Gallery] (02) 9327 3922, olsenirwin.com. Amalfi (03) 9474 1300, amalfihomewares.com.au. Amara 1800 021 109, au.amara.com. Amber Tiles 1300 139 868, ambertiles.com.au. Anaca Studio 0407 159 893, anacastudio.com.au. Apaiser (03) 9421 5722, apaiser.com.au. Armadillo & Co (02) 9698 4043, armadillo-co.com. Art2Muse 0424 809 849, art2muse.com.au. Ashleigh Manley ashleighmanley.com. Astra Walker (02) 8838 5100, astrawalker.com.au. Avanti 1800 209 999. B Baker & Shuhandler Interiors (08) 9227 9027, bakershuhandler.com.au. Barrenjoey Timber (02) 9997 8444, barrenjoeytimber.com.au. BCI Furniture (03) 9707 4433, bcifurniture.com.au. Beacon Lighting 1300 232 266, beaconlighting.com.au. Beaumont Tiles (08) 8292 4444, beaumont-tiles.com.au. Bed Bath N’ Table (03)…

FABULOUS FLOORS Experience the real warmth and natural beauty of wood with a Quick-Step timber floor in your house. The oil and lacquer finishes make these stylish wooden floors highly resistant to wear, stains, and scratches, so they're ideal for kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms or kids' playrooms. They also come with up to a 25 year warranty. Find your dream floor at quick-step.com.au. ADD A TOUCH OF COLOUR Silky soft underfoot, this patterned rug from Temple and Webster is a practical way to bring life to bare floors. It’s available in a variety of sizes. From $69.95. For information, visit templeandwebster.com.au. SHOWER POWER The Axor overhead shower by Front features a unique iconic design by an all female design team from Scandinavia. With two spray modes: Rain and RainAir, the…