3 Ways to Future Proof your Home
Future proofing is essential when building your Forever Home as your needs will change as your family grows. To ensure your home can adapt to your changing needs over time,…
Top 3 Interior Trends for 2020
What trends are making their way into 2020, and what trends from 2019 are sticking around for a while longer? Read on to find out more and about the top…
Working from Home – Creating the Ideal environment
In the current environment of many people needing to work from home, it’s important to create a working environment that is both healthy, but also conducive to productivity, and makes…
HOW TO BUDGET FOR YOUR NEW HOME OR RENOVATION
Creating a budget for a large project can feel daunting and challenging, especially if the budget you’re creating is for your Forever Home! Doing your homework, to create reasonable expectations…
A Quiet Life with Noise Mitigation
Unwanted noise in your home can interfere with daily life, and your ability to feel relaxed and calm is affected, let alone being able to sleep or have a normal…
Top 5 Mistakes You Can Make Decorating Your Home
After running my Decorating Masterclass (more to come), I realised that many people come up against similar issues when decorating their home. It could be you want to inject…
Using Green in Your Home and Why It’s So Good!
Green is such a calming and soothing colour, and it’s personally one of my favourites and has been used in every house I have lived in. You can’t beat the…
From Concept to Completion – A Case Study
It’s such a joy to be on the photoshoot of a home you have been so involved with. I was on a shoot just like that recently, for a…
Injecting New Life Into Your Home
Over the last few months I’ve been presenting at various Rotary Clubs across Melbourne and Victoria discussing sustainability and downsizing. I have frequently been sharing my views on using what…
Amsterdam Influences
A recent trip to Europe allowed me to retrace the steps of my family history in Amsterdam, as well as retrace my own steps of living in London and Amsterdam…
Trend Predictions for 2019
It’s been trade show mania over the last couple of months. Two of the largest interior design trade shows, Denfair and Décor & Design, open their doors in the winter…
How to Decorate a Console Table
It’s so lovely to walk into a home and be welcomed by a decorative piece that is inviting and sets the scene for the rest of the home. Not only…
How an Interior Designer can Mitigate Mistakes
There are many benefits to speaking to different consultants early on in the process of building or renovating your home to mitigate mistakes. Think landscape designers, sustainability consultants, and also…
How to Create a Brief for Your Home
Creating a brief is not something that everyone thinks of when about to build a home or engage any number of experts they may need to create the home of…
3 Steps to Creating a Home You Love
We often move into a new home, or have the same feeling in our current home – that is – it doesn’t quite feel right. It’s not that comfortable, inviting,…
Creating ‘Forever Home’ Floorplans and Getting Them Right
When you’re building your ‘Forever Home’ – or at least a home you believe you’ll be living in for 10-15 years, you can expect that your requirements will change as…
Incorporating Sustainable Money Savers into Your Home
Sustainable, energy-efficient design principles can save money and the environment, so why wouldn’t you want to incorporate them into your Forever Home? A few reasons why sustainable principles are worth…
How to Choose the Right Benchtop
There are many things to consider when choosing a benchtop for your kitchen or bathroom. There’s obvious thoughts about aesthetics, yet you also need to think about functionality. Expectations have…
The Five Building Stages
Building a new home? Are you aware that there are many stages in the build process that are signed off by a building surveyor throughout the build phase? I work…
What You Need to Know Before You Build
There are lots of things to consider before actually starting your build process. In fact, the research component should be factored in to ensure you’re going to end up with…
The Difference Between Passive House and Passive Solar Design
There is a lot of talk recently about creating homes that are energy efficient. Two approaches to create energy efficient homes are Passive Solar or Passive House design. However, these…
Christmas Decorating
It’s that time of year again when Christmas will be upon us in a matter of weeks, so with that I thought I’d run through some decorating tips. Work out…
Why Engage An Interior Designer Early?
An interior designer will look at key areas of your home for functionality as well as aesthetics. Here are some examples of what an interior designer will review early on,…
Want to Create a Comfortable Home?
I’m hearing more and more from clients about wanting to create homes that perform well energy- wise. When we opened our home for Sustainable House Day this year, it was…
How to ‘Future Proof’ your Lighting Design
When thinking about lighting your home, there is so much more to light than downlights, which is often the ‘go-to’ solution, but certainly not the most ideal choice for creating…
Designing with Sustainable Materials
When you are building a new home, it’s also the best time to consider what materials you are using, as many things are unable to be retro-fitted, replaced easily, or…
Trends for 2018 – Part 2
Following on from my previous blog where I spoke about predictions for 2018 trends, here I’ll outline the other areas that are coming to the fore in the upcoming year.…
Trends for 2018 – Part 1
The end of July saw one of the largest Australian interior design trade shows hit Melbourne – Décor and Design. Not only did I get the opportunity to present on…
Build new or Renovate?
You may have a current home, or plan on buying something that you intend to renovate, or you may desire a new home so that you can start afresh and…
Finding an Architect or Draftsperson
As I work with many clients who are building their ‘Forever Home’ I get asked a lot about whether to engage an architect or draftsman. I thought it may be…
Downsizing Effectively
There comes a time when we may need to downsize. Our current home is too large, or we just need less. So what’s the best way to do this? Look…
Decorating for Winter
It’s that time of year again when we need extra layers, and it’s also when I feel like I need extra comfort in my living spaces. I decided to incorporate…
The Building Stages and What to Expect
Building a new home? Are you aware that there are many stages in the build process that are signed off by a building surveyor throughout the build phase? I work…
Book Launch Fever
The last few weeks have been one incredible ride, to say the least. I officially launched my book ‘Your Forever Home’ at Domo Furniture on the 3rd May and…
Briefing Made Easy
Creating a brief is not something that everyone thinks of when about to build a home or engage any number of experts they may need to create the home…
Future proofing your home
When you’re building a home that you anticipate being in for 15 year or more, you can expect that your requirements will change as your family changes and grows, and…
Window Treatments – Plan Them Before You Build
When you’re in the process of preparing to build a new home it’s hard to imagine that before you even start to build, it pays to think about the window…
Sustainable Money Savers
With the cost of energy constantly increasing, it makes sense to build a home that will use less energy, yet be comfortable year-round, which is exactly what a sustainable home…
Things to Consider Before You Build
When thinking about building a new home, or renovating or extending, there are plenty of things you can do to prepare yourself for the journey. Frequently I have clients come…
Sustainable House Day – Giving Back
We had great privilege to open our home, the White Pebble House, to the public on Sustainable House Day on September 11 2016. Sustainable House Day is run across…
Bringing the outside in
Varying the colour palette in your home as we move into a different season is a lovely way to ‘prepare’ for winter. It’s common in Northern European countries to have…
Top 5 tips to add impact to your walls
Wallpaper – this can be used in similar tones to other walls in the room, but the potential to add texture can create interest and layers. This may be ideal…
Decorating in Autumn
Autumn is a great time to reinvent your living and bedroom spaces as the cooler months settle in. Consider using different scatter cushions, heavier weight throws, perhaps even changing your…
Christmas themes
It’s that time of year again when Christmas will be upon us in a matter of weeks (did I really write that!) and we wonder where the year has gone.…
Australian House & Garden Top 50 Rooms Award
I’m so pleased to be announce that I have a room included in Australian House & Garden Top 50 Rooms for 2015. This is the first year I have entered,…
Top 5 tips for hanging artwork
Avoid hanging in direct light – sunlight can fade photos & artwork really quickly, so hang out of direct sunlight – particularly harsh afternoon sunlight. Hang similar styles together –…
Top 5 tips for decorating to sell
Use Lamps – Table and floor lamps create mood lighting, add additional light where required and create balance with other items in a room. Move the TV – Left or…
Top 5 tips for creating the wow factor
Install the best floor you can – it takes up so much surface area in a home so it’s worth the investment. It’s also difficult to replace, so get it…
Top 5 tips for selecting benchtops
Think budget and investigate options – natural stone Vs composite stone Vs laminate Vs solid acrylic. Composite stone will not always be cheaper than natural stone, but it may require…
Top 5 tips for lighting
Avoid casting shadows – downlights create shadow if not placed in the right location. It’s best not to rely on downlights alone but also use additional lighting. Think about task…
Top 5 tips for selecting a floor
Budget – Always buy the best you can avoid. A floor is difficult to replace & generally one of the most costly items in your home. It has the most…
Top 5 tips for window treatments
What’s the objective – to create privacy, insulation or blackout for sleeping? The best way to achieve all three is with curtains, which have made a great comeback as people…
Top 5 ways to make best use of your floorplan
Flow – look at how each area flows to the next. Ensure there is a good route to outside & enough space to do so. You don’t want an obstacle…
Top 5 Tips for Renovating
Spend money where it counts – hire an expert if you need to for advice on where best to splurge and where to save. There are plenty of ways to…
Top 5 tips for creating romantic bedrooms
Decide whether you prefer calm soft colours or deep dark colours. Both can create a sense of romance, it’s more a personal preference on which you prefer. Soft colours are…
Top 5 tips for decorating on a budget
Scatter cushions – the cheapest & fastest way to change colour & themes in a room. You can pick up some great cushions from Spotlight, Target and Adairs which work…