Meet my new best friend

Two of my favourite things in life: simplicity and speed!  Any task that can be done quickly and simply will always be first on (and off) my list and any tool, trick, method, software, app or system that makes my life simpler and moves me onto the next thing faster - I'm buying!

So no secret I already LOVE my iPad for this exact reason, and not (just) because I can play Words for Friends and Draw Something on a much bigger screen!  I'm generally not too fast on the uptake with apps though, and it's taking me a while to discover the full potential of my little buddy in his folding orange jacket. 

But for all you iPad users out there who also - like me - love throwing together the odd design scheme or two and - most importantly - changing it a gazillion times, then you simply MUST meet my new bestie ....

It's called Moodboard and for a mere $10.49 US, you can create as many boards as you like by grabbing photos from your camera roll or from the internet, creating colour swatches, adding text and moving everything around to your heart's content.

This is me playing around with some ideas for my lounge room - there's a small wall behind the Tessa chair & ottoman just crying out for a bit of wallpaper, but I want to work with what's already in the room, i.e. the Ikea rug & sofa, and the Tessa.

You can create and change schemes with this app in the blink of an eye, and just screenshot your board as you go to keep track of the options as your ideas progress.  Here's what happened to the scheme when I:  1. received a delicious red orange throw from a lovely & generous visitor (aka M the Masterchef) and 2. realised I wanted to keep my yummy teal side table in the room as well ....

Any ideas which is my favourite?
Which is yours?

Nothing quite like technology when it just works!  This has made a massive difference to the way I put schemes together, and it works a treat for clients too - pretty impressive to be able to build a scheme right there in front of their eyes!

Hope all is well in your worlds and wishing you a hassle-free weekend that moves at whatever pace you want it to.


Til next time,
Nx

Giddy up!

I know I should be packing, but just a quick post before I go!  Just time to declare my latest crush ...

Now you all know how much I love wallpaper, but these days I'm pretty good at, and even enjoy, coveting without owning, appreciating without purchasing, admiring from afar, or just plain salivating over beautiful objects and interior decoration that take my breath away without needing to have them. (It's just as well, really, given the amount of magazine and blog ogling I do - I'd be broke and/or forever moving house, knocking down walls and rearranging furniture if I were to try and accommodate every latest object/interior of my desire.)

But there are times when I just know, when I see something that - if it's still on the market when I get back into a house I can really call my own - I will definitely make space for  ....

Horses warm grey on white paper by dearwood

I think this paper is a bit paler in real life - I've had to increase the contrast on the photograph, so you can actually see the horses.  What a perfect, perfect backdrop in a room where I might decide against colour on the walls and go for colour in the furniture and accessories instead.

I just love it - it does the same for me as colour does - the movement in the pattern creates energy, which I love to feel in any space I call home.  It's handprinted, so each repeat might be subtly different and I really don't mind if it goes on a big wall, or a tiny wall - it just draws me in and I get lost in it. 

It's a childhood thing too though.  I love horses and was lucky enough to have my own when I was growing up ....

A couple of companions I've picked up along the way

They are the most amazing creatures if you get to know them - they're smart, strong, and they have such personality.  You can easily end up loving them like a friend ....

My Kikki-K Dala horses enjoying some fresh air yesterday ...

And the term 'workhorse' didn't happen by accident either.  We humans have relied on their strength and stamina for as long we've both existed, and they've proved again and again to be the most loyal and reliable of companions.

I am not prone to shoplifting, but there's a giant red Dala horse in the Ikea food shop in Brisbane that I'd love to take home.  Do you think anyone would notice?
(photos from balticproducts)

As a child, I was thrown off a horse more times than I care to recall.  I was dragged through tree branches, stood on and kicked, and the awards I usually got at the events I entered were for worst-behaved horse or most spectacular fall ....

Mustangi fabric by Marimekko

But I also got to jump gates and ditches, to feel the grace and poise of taking a horse through its paces in the dressage ring, to get nice and muddy and smelly along the way and, best of all, to race as fast as my horse would take me along deserted beaches and through miles and miles of beautiful forest without a care in the world ...

Horses Stampede by Florence Broadhurst, shown here as a rug by Cadrys (via rugdesignblog)

The very best of childhood memories.

Chinese Horse by Aurore de la Morinerie (allposters)

Til next time, Nx

Wonder walls

A little detective story (more of that in a moment) got me thinking about wallpaper this week.  In particular it got me wondering when and why we fell out of love with it.  I'm a child of the '60s and in the modest 3 bedroom bungalow where I grew up, we had wallpaper in every single room, even the bathroom.  Now, I'm not saying it was all that attractive - I seem to remember some velvety flock and some badly-drawn utensils and jars repeating around the kitchen walls - but there was certainly a good dose of colour, pattern and texture in our otherwise ordinary house in a little village in Scotland.

Did it become cheaper to paint?  Did it become too hard to rip off wallpaper when we inevitably changed our minds?  Or did we all lose our confidence and start playing it safe?  Were my parents, in fact, brave and daring decorators?

Whatever the answers, with the seemingly never-ending range of stunning wallpapers out there today, there are no more excuses (and I'm talking to myself here, probably more than anyone!) for not splashing some colour and pattern on our poor Hog-Bristled walls.  Of course I could dedicate a whole blog to wallpaper, but here are a few that caught my eye this week that I hope you'll enjoy ...

First up, some hand-painted heaven from the fabulous Fromental:

Embroidered Nonsuch in (custom) Glacier

Paradiso in Kelly

Sylvaner in Bolero

Blue/green wins me over again with another gorgeous and luxurious hand-painted paper, this time from DeGournay:

Earlham design in part custom colours on Emerald Green painted silk

While I'm on a roll (pardon the pun) with botanicals & birds, what about some Lorikeets from the always interesting Sixhands:

Lorikeet in Emerald City

Or some striking colour and shape combinations from Nama Rococo:

Chateau 66 in Hot (via Little Willow - no longer appears on Nama Rococo website)

Chateau 66 in Kraft (photo by K Kennefick)

Bring the 30s bang up-to-date with this from Graham & Brown:

Soprano in Teal

And of course I couldn't do a post about wallpaper without including Sandersons 50s collection:

Wrappings in Kingfisher/Red

More funky, modern shapes from missprint:

Saplings in Sunflower Yellow with White

Little Trees in English Grey and Cotton Trees in Snapdragon Red

And I just love Lizzie Allen's sense of fun:

You can even create some cool clutter without taking up any floor space with Ella Doran's Stacks and Stripes:

And talking about texture, go 3D with this beautiful Bramble wallpaper from Catherine Hammerton:

And finally, to a classic I return to again and again - the remarkable and fascinating William Morris:

via Historic Style

I got so carried away with all these amazing wallpapers, I nearly forgot to tell you what started all this in the first place!  It was the Ikea Family Live catalogue, would you believe, and in particular, this picture:

I just fell in love with this wallpaper and had to know what it was.  I did some fairly random and aimless internet searching, then had the brainwave to email the editor, whose kitchen happened to be the one featured.  Needless to say, I am sure Lotta is extremely busy and I appreciate that a question about the only thing in the whole catalogue that is not an Ikea product is not quite top of her list.  So I resigned myself to never finding out, but was already inspired to write a post about wallpaper.

In my research for this post, I was leafing through a gorgeous book I have - Wallpaper: The Ultimate Guide by Charlotte Abrahams - and what do I find?  This fresh, colourful and joyful wallpaper that makes me think of spring is by Josef Frank and is called Varklockor.  No wonder I love it ...  

Varklockor wallpaper designed by Josef Frank in the 1940s

Funny how you find what you need when you stop looking. 

Have a great weekend, everyone. Nx

P.S. Just noticed a bit of a bias to UK websites/companies - completely unintentional!