As promised, in a blog a few months ago, I have completed the first design in a new series of architectural miniatures. The French Chateau. Many years ago, as some of you will remember, I produced a range of handcrafted Architectural Miniatures, decorative Dolls Houses and collectable objet d'art. I am excited to announce, I have decided to recreate a selection of the original range. Hand crafted and hand painted, in the style of the original designs, these one off pieces will be available online… See our online store for more details.
Encaustic tiles
Encaustic cement tiles have been around for centuries and I have been coveting them for years.
As a child, I remember my parents designing a patterned mosaic for our front hall. The result was beautiful. It is an image that has remained with me and I'm delighted to be reinventing it in a current project.
Cement tiles are decorative, colorful tiles used primarily as floor coverings. Floors or walls covered with these tiles are noted for their multi-color patterns, durability and sophisticated look. These tiles are widely used in Latin America and Europe. Their popularity spread to the US, primarily in California and Florida through the 1930s and 40s.
The tiles' colorful patterns, durability and versatility have been attracting the attention of architects and designers for large commercial projects such as restaurants and hotels. I have seen them used to great effect during my recent travels through South East Asia.
Styles of interior design # 3
Eclectic Interior Design
Eclectic interior design is the ultimate ‘combinations’ of interior design styles –
it is also absolutely your best opportunity to make your very own, absolutely
personal, unique personality stamp
As it applies to the world of design, eclecticism is a blend of furnishing styles from a
mixture of sources and time periods. An eclectic room should feature pieces with
commonalities to create harmony within the design. It is a planned, deliberate design.
A shared theme or component should tie everything together.
The color schemes used can be diverse, but as a general rule, neutral colors are important both as a backdrop and for large furniture pieces. Perfect colors for this style include white, cream, gray, black, brown, taupe and putty. Contrast is an important element for colors, and materials in eclectic style interior design.
Other eclectic elements include:
Collections and sets of similar pieces
‘One of a kind’ items
Global pieces from around the world
Contrast in color or finish
Traditional and modern elements together
Rough fabrics mixed with elegant textiles
Worn surfaces combined with refined surfaces
When combining various furniture pieces, assemble complementary items based on
their shapes, fabrics, or finish. A curvy, French sofa can be paired with a modern
chaise lounge when the materials have some commonalities – perhaps coordinating
fabrics are used on each piece. An eclectic room's fabrics should harmonize with each
other. Combining different finishes can also increase the feel of eclecticism in a
room. For example, gray walls accentuate a silver statue, which contrasts nicely in
front of an antique tapestry. The idea is to mix and match furnishings by their finishes
and textures while keeping an eye on their relationship to each other in the overall
room design. The main thing is a controlled contrast of diverse elements.
Sydney favourites QT Designer Hotel and Gowings Bar & Grill
This week, while on a three day styling project in Sydney, I revisited one of my favourite city locations. A place I had dropped into frequently when I lived there many years ago... Gowings department store in George Street.
I had known it as a Sydney landmark, a menswear institution for hundreds of thousands of men and their families who had been flocking through its doors since the stores opening in 1912. It was the place to buy menswear clothing essentials, iconic Australian brands such as Bonds and RM Williams (I bought my first pair of RM boots there when I was 21) Australian soldiers were clothed there during the war years. There was even a barber shop where a 'short back and sides' cut was the order of the day.
Sadly, in January 2006, after three years of successive losses, Gowings closed it's doors for the last time, taking with it generations of memories for Sydney shoppers.
In recent years, however, the Gowings building has been transformed. The Design Hotel group has opened QT DesIgn Hotel Sydney - and I was fortunate to stay there on my stay this week.
An article in The Australian newspaper by Christine Mcabb explains it all...
"The scene is set by a streamlined art deco sign above bustling Market Street where dapper porters, sporting berets and jeans, wait on the pavement.
This is hotel as theatre. Staff have been cast not recruited, and all front of house personnel, from the bowtie-clad concierge to the red wigged “Directors of Chaos” visit hair and make up each morning before clocking on.
And “uniforms” are courtesy costume designer Janet Hine (the woman behind Dame Edna’s final frock).
The hotel’s 200 guestrooms occupy the building above the State Theatre and the old Gowings department store linked through the first floor lobby. Entrance is via the glittering former State Theatre shopping arcade where even the lifts get in on the act, kitted out with LED digital art (a feature throughout the hotel) and adjusting muzak according to the number of passengers on board (solo travellers might be serenaded with ‘Are you Lonesome tonight?’).
Local designers Nic Graham and Shelley Indyk have teamed up to deliver playful, stylish but eminently comfortable interiors that incorporate many of the buildings original features (a century old urinal in the men’s loo for example) and take into account the specific idiosyncrasies of each individually styled guest room.
The low ceilinged lobby is scattered with bespoke furniture and dominated by an installation of vintage luggage. The guest lounge is dotted with large velvet ottomans and the wall lined with artfully stuffed cabinets of curiosities (in fact the hotel shop selling all sorts of stylish objets d’art).
Each design-focused guestroom is different (in the Gowings building the original department store floor boards have been retained), decorated in rich reds, oranges, yellows and white, but all share certain features: an incredibly comfy ‘Gel’ bed, cleverly curated ‘artefacts’, quirky bedside lamps (in the guise of top or bowler hats, book binders or vases), an excellent mini bar (stocked with healthy snacks), Nespresso machine and a welcoming martini tray.
Where to eat
Under director Robert Marchetti and executive chef Paul Easson (ex Mebourne’s Rockpool Bar & Grill), food will be a feature at QT. On the ground floor the Parlour Lane Roasters café morphs into a wine bar after dark. Upstairs, the all-day dining Gowings Bar & Grill is the antithesis of your usual hotel eatery, a buffet free zone (in the mornings bar staff front to mix smoothies) featuring a huge open kitchen fitted with wood fired ovens and an impressive glass fronted seafood room where a giant yellow fin tuna (delivered weekly) hangs to be cut as needed. Room service is equally innovative, served in a bento style box for easy, in-bed dining."
Living minimally
While I am known for creating rich, layered textural interiors, I try to use restraint with certain design elements. Colour, for example. A richly layered room can be sublime if a sense of order, and control is applied by using a simple monochromatic colour scheme. Similarly, a harmonious result can be achieved in an interior when, a commonality is observed between collections of objects, using style, texture or tone.
The extreme of this aesthetic, of course, is minimalist design and there is a true art to creating the perfect minimal, yet warm and visually interesting interior. It takes skill to create a flawless balance between what is not enough and what is way too much, aka, clutter. We often use the term “less is more” in design, but it isn’t necessarily about going cheap on your furnishings and accessories, it is about attaining better design through simplicity. It is about how you can get the most impact through careful editing and restraint. The less is more theory is more about how the eye visualizes a space, which is all a personal preference.
Most people forget when designing a space to add personality through texture, color, materials and patterns when attempting to add less to a space, which ultimately gives the room an unfinished appearance. It is also about harmonizing and creating a perfect balance of leaving certain spaces in a room void of furnishings and accessories. The key to creating the perfect minimal room is to create a serene and uncluttered atmosphere, not cold and sterile. Be sure to let objects have some breathing room so they are more appreciated. There is an art to creating spaces that do not have excess, but rather exude warmth and attractiveness.
Wolfgang Behnken, the creative director of Young & Rubican, has recently renovated his appartment in Hamburg, using a mix of historical pieces, a perfect off white and authentic timber tones. We love the result.
Compassionate Voices an exhibition
Compassionate Voices is a unique collaboration between Voiceless, the animal protection institute; Koskela – Australian furniture and homeware designers, and a collection of 31 innovative Australian artists and designers united by their vision of a world where animals are treated with compassion and respect.
Opening night of Compassionate Voices will be a special evening of art, advocacy and creativity in support of Voiceless. Held on 14 August, the gala evening will feature Dr Charlie Teo AM as master of ceremonies, Christie's auctioneer Ronan Sulich, live entertainment and delicious cuisine from Kitchen by Mike.
Curated by Liane Rossler, and part of Sydney Design, a cutting-edge design festival produced and managed by the Powerhouse Museum, the exhibition will feature artwork and design objects spanning multiple disciplines and a specially commissioned centrepiece by sculptor, Anna-Wili Highfield. All works are available for purchase and will be displayed from 9 August to 7 September at Koskela’s Rosebery exhibition space.
Roos 2013 by Anna-Wili Highfield