Decoration + Design

Written by Jennifer Sargent of Zing Interiors


Image via Recycled Crafts

What can you save from a trip to the tip?

As part of this new `up cycling’ aesthetic, some of our furniture and home furnishings are being fashioned from what was once regarded as waste. The phenomenon of upcycling even precedes the decorating stage and there are literally loads of options for sourcing suppliers/product relevant in the build/renovation process.

For example:

• Ceiling insulation made from waste paper
• Use carpet underlay made from old tyres

How can you funk up your junk?

I am not suggesting that everyones lounge room should reflect the latest garage sale. Rather, I suggest that you look for opportunities to salvage and reintroduce something in a creative, novel or meaningful way. This will enable the piece to represent value to you. Through the sheer ingenuity of it, it will also manage to catch people’s eye and stimulate thought or conversation from others.

Be proud to see things from a different angle. Don’t just give an old table a facelift with a touch of paint. It is still a desk. Revamping, though great is not upcycling. I mean, make a hanging vase out of a used light bulb. Challenge convention starting with ideas inspired by the bottom of your cupboards or the depths of your garage.

Don’t forget to pit it against the swankiest new piece in the room and enjoy the contrast!

Here’s a short list I’ve compiled of upcycled things that have been rescued from destination landfill:

• Surfboard chalkboard
• Transform old crockery set into a lamp shade base of course!
• Bike spoke clock
• TV aquarium
• Convert old maps or street directory into a collage or bunting
• Convert old music books or Xmas tree/table decorations
• Make driftwood/off cuts into hook racks
• Make a mobile for a kids room out of coloured pencils
• Use kids matchbox cars in shadow box displays
• Use haberdashery items
• Use children’s book illustrations to make personalised artworks/picture frames

Read Jennifer Sargent’s debut feature article `The Delectability of Juxtaposition and Upcycling’ in the upcoming edition of Furniture Online out next Thursday.

Traveling through Europe is inspiring in itself, traversing the historic landmarks and cities steeped in tradition, but what if you could learn first hand from an experienced host just how these majestic designs were created all those years ago?

Fifty Degrees North Sales and Business Development Manager, Leila Myllymaeki-Hay decided to share her personal passion for Scandinavian design and architecture by devising a once-in-a-lifetime 14-day tour of the Nordic region. Leila is passionate about Nordic Design having operated her own Scandinavian Design Store fine by nature in the Yarra Valley for the last ten years.

Not only will you visit interesting architectural sites and admire the clean lines of the Nordic design, you will also stay in amazing design hotels and enjoy the tastes of the ‘New Nordic Cuisine’ in restaurants with intriguing interior design. You will experience the natural beauty of the Nordic countries and learn how important the environment is for the new generation of Nordic designers and architects.

Decoration + Design Blog took five with the lovely Leila to chat further on her passion for Nordic design; why this region inspires her more than any other; and what her personal favourite stops are along the way.

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Sally Campbell’s home via The Design Files

Gazing upon the handmade textiles with their intricate stitching and exquisite homage to tradition and detail, it’s hard not to become consumed by their beauty. Sally Campbell must have the exact sentiment when putting her textile collection together, for each of these pieces warrant being displayed in a very public fashion for all to admire and enjoy. After 25 years as a film designer, during which she made many trips to India collecting fabrics, Sally finally decided to produce her own collection.

“My desire is to create beautiful handcrafted textiles and give them a contempary edge to suit modern environments. All my quilts, throws and cushions are either ‘hand-dyed’, ‘hand-stiched’, ‘hand-woven’ or ‘hand block-printed’. Unlike machine-made products, they fade naturally and imperfections are part of their beauty and uniqueness.”

Oh how we love that.

Sally travels to many remote communities, working closely with the artisans. Different areas in India specialise in different crafts and she works with women who create exquisite applique work in the desert near Pakistan, natural dye block printers in Rajasthan, village weavers in Bengal and Hyderabad, and women who do intricate hand embroidery in Lucknow. Like other Western designers working in India, she is hoping to keep these ancient crafts alive as they compete with the manic rush to modernisation. Another great reason to invest in SC textiles is that they are carbon neutral, eco-friendly and a percentage of the sale price goes back to the rural communities which makes them – wow, now that is truly inspiring.

Just as incredible as her textile talents is her beautiful home recently featured on The Design Files.

Read more about Sally and her incredible journeys to India on her website; www.sallycampbell.com.au

Wallpaper by Concrete Wall via New Black Global Trends

Brutal? Cold? Boring? Not at all! Concrete is the new material of choice for creative designers and is being seen in everything from fashion to furniture. Tints and treatments vary dramatically and challenge old notions of the material as harsh and uninviting.

Genty Marshall represents a new generation in design trend analysis and forecasting. Within this age of trend-watchers the editing of information to provide a basis for action is a specialised skill. The careful selection of relevant and actionable trends for a diverse range of clients was the guiding principle for Genty to start her own international consultancy, New Black Global Trends.

The pieces that work the best are those that surprise us in the context of the material, for example the concrete fashion accessories by Ivanka, or those with enticing contrasts in the design such as the new lighting by Innermost. And for those wanting the industrial aesthetics of a concrete interior without the retrofit, look out for the stunning wallpapers from Norwegian company, Concrete Wall.

Concrete Lace by Doreen Westphal


Lighting by Innermost


Kitchen by Steininger


Homewares by Ivanka


Handbag by Ivanka

Design Futures at Decoration + Design has provided an inspirational jumping point for many interior designers and architects, providing an inspired look at the future; how that future influences the way we live, interact, socialise and work; and how that in turn affects design.
Design Futures returns to Melbourne at Decoration + Design from 19 – 22 July 2012 – registrations are now open so you can register to visit and witness Genty’s fourth installment of this inspiring trend platform.

Visit www.decorationdesign.com.au

“Spending long days hiking over the indigo covered hills of Sapa, moving through the bustling alleys of Cuzco and marvelling at Rajasthani palaces that hark back to an era of opulence and fairytales…these little bowerbirds would collect treasured fabrics of all kinds and colours to bring back to their Sydney nests.”

Reading this introduction to the Walter G brand, it’s hard not to be drawn into the unique spirit of adventure that co-founders Genevieve Fennel and Lauren Bennett share. We wrote about their journey at Decoration + Design Blog last year during their trip through India where they documented the handmade process of creating textiles using the traditional dying process with vegetables.

“Men were beating long strings of hot pink lahariya cloth against slabs of marble, whilst others squatted over large copper saucers, elbow deep in hot pink dye, sloshing around luminescent strings of beaded cloth to the beat of the mad Indian tune blaring from the crackly wireless radio.”

So of course when we received the latest look book from the Walter G girls, we couldn’t wait to share it with you. Please let us know what you think. Personally, we’re going giddy for this range!

Images via Luchetti Krelle

Have you heard about Zumbo Patisserie at The Star in Sydney? Well prepare to step inside the wonderful candy-coated world of Willy Wonka, and in case you are already thinking that this is just a computer generated image, you’re wrong. This is the new-look dessert bar from the sultan of sweet, the king of the macaron, Adriano Zumbo. According to an article in the latest Artichoke magazine, `Zumbo’s creative quirkiness and zest for life were the starting point for Luchetti Krelle, the interior designer’s of the new Zumbo at Star’.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the first reference. Adriano’s known as Willy Wonka,” explains Stuart Krelle. “He’s got a Wonka tattoo. So we went with the idea of a factory – the idea of movement.”

The other key piece of inspiration comes from the board game Mouse Trap, in which a ball is sent along various conveyor belts, booted and hoisted along a plastic obstacle course until the mouse is trapped. “Mouse Trap – the board game – gelled well, so rather than looking like a straight factory, there’s a bathtub, and the actual mouse trap,” says Krelle.

It’s a fascinating read, and there isn’t one person in the D+D office who doesn’t want to hark back to their childhood and revel in this kitschy and cool space while indulging on Zumbo’s decadent delicacies.

Grab a copy of the latest Artichoke magazine for the full article.

Melbourne is considered a contemporary design city that appreciates food and wine, shopping, art and ideas. Often playing host to international events, both sporting and cultural, Melbourne offers great restaurants, theatres and lane ways full of treasures and shopping. Melbourne is actually a Mecca of sorts for shoppers. That all said, it should be of little surprise that Melbourne is home to the first ever Oly showroom outside the USA.

Oly is the vision of the design partnership of Kate McIntyre and Brad Huntzinger to provide great designs at affordable prices. Offering dining and occasional chairs and tables, beds and case goods, mirrors, shelving, sconces chandeliers, plus a large collection of resin-cast home décor objects, Oly is a marriage of the traditional and contemporary. Its namesake Olivia (Kate’s daughter) is credited as the inspiration for the business, which has been providing retailers and designers with a style that works well in a wide range of environments. On a perfect Melbourne summer’s evening a larger than expected crowd had gathered to celebrate and officially welcome Oly to Melbourne and be amongst the first to see all that is on offer at its home of 488 Church St, Richmond.

Coco Republic’s Paul Spon-Smith welcomed all those gathered telling the story of Oly coming to Melbourne. Two years of planning, negotiation, meetings and back and forth trips to the USA was now being toasted on this February night in the most deserved and perfect of settings. David Clark, Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Living was on hand to provide further introduction to the brand and the collection asking the questions everyone wanted the answers to from Oly’s Sean McIntyre. Everyone had a favourite piece. David’s a light fitting inspired by a fingerprint, Sean the Astrid mirror and mine a floor rug made from hides burnt orange in colour.

A great night, fitting for this great brand which I know will be popping up in more and more homes and spaces in Melbourne as much as throughout Australia. At Decoration + Design in Sydney recently Martyn Lawrence Bullard told packed audiences that design should be enjoyed as much as it is admired. Some were shocked, others horrified. A few in the audience could even be seen thinking and coming around to this school of thought. Leaving Oly and making tracks home that night – budgeting as I did, running sums in my head to find a way to have my burnt orange hide floor covering – I noticed a glass of Veuve Cliquot resting on one of the showroom floor pieces. Usually a sight that would horrify me, walking out of Oly that night it did anything but. What it did was remind me of my initial thinking hearing Martyn speak and a smile crept over my face. I smiled as I saw first-hand this great design, this amazing brand being enjoyed and used so naturally. Testament not only to great design, but an indicator that Oly’s offerings are as functional as they are beautiful and can truly be enjoyed as much as it is admired.

Written by Rade Cosic, Decoration + Design Business Development Manager. Seen below with Janet Maafta at the Oly Melbourne launch night.

Enjoy these stunning images and social pics from the Oly opening below:

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