Interior styling II

To continue from the previous post on house styling/fluffing/decorating/staging's HOW TOs: The hallway.

What to do with it? Hmm... too hard basket?

Often forgotten or neglected, adored or hated but we must all pass this entryway on the way to the interior cave that is our living sanctuary. What does it look like? Barren, shoes everywhere? Too many family portraits? Trip over the dog or cat? Only a ceiling light? Space to hang coats or would you rather choose a closet for that? Wallpaper or paint? Furniture or no, mirror? Carpet or tiles? Again; smell-check, you'll be surprised with how scents influence what we think and feel.

Right: after having made an assessment of the hallway we can change it if we feel that is necessary. One way to make a hallway interesting is lighting. It gives a surprise which I think is always a good idea for the hallway as these usually tend to be predictable and 'safe'. Art is great, I wouldn't suggest you smother the hallway with it as this can feel as being to forceful and can give an overbearing impression. The idea is to create an ambiance that is welcoming, warm and safe. So scrap the idea of having your daughter's fav goth pop group in there.

The hallway my dears is like the gossip alley: what to expect after this? It gives the first impression of your tastes and personality after visitors have seen the front of your house. (Of course you decorate for your own comfort and bearing in mind what a visitor would say helps pick up on hidden and forgotten aspects.)

So! Get to work:

1. make a list of your observations
2. make a sketch or ground floor plan.
3. make notes of what you would like to see there:

furniture, lighting how and wall preference.

I found this company on the net Fun on the floors. Isn't that cheerful? Reminds me very much of Marimekko. I wouldn't expect everyone to like it but it definititely makes a statement and they have done well with the white as that creates a counterbalance for all the zingyness.

Now: depending on size of hallway:

Choose: small hallway? A wallpaper with a pattern can make it look smaller so stay away from that. Plain wallpaper or paint would be preferable, choose an artwork or designer light to get the wow factor. Larger entry? Wallpaper is fine but then choose a timeless light and I always prefer a table lamp somewhere which softens unless you have a very attractive chandelier...

Don't forget practical stuff as that comes first: where is the floor mat if you like one and where does everyone leave there jackets? keys? is there a mirror so visitors can check their appearance? Note: don't hang this opposite the entrance preferably as people don't like to be confronted with their own image unexpectedly (and apparently the feng shui is not improved by it either. Something about the energy entering the house doing a U-turn and dashing out again.)

So to sum it up: there's no 1 cure solution for the hallway but the essentials are:

• clean
• smell good
• mirror to bounce light if needed + handy for visitors (on wall left/right)
• solution for jackets & keys
• inviting> have adequate lighting but soft preferably
• don't use a standard ceiling light! (chandeliers are the 1 exception)

The one thing that creates the all-in-one-spot-on-effect unfortunately only comes with experience... that's how you learn what works and doesn't, but this will give you an enormous head start. Good luck and feel free to email me how you get on.

jewellery and design trade fair in Queenstown

The new jewellery designs are in and they are stunning! I'm very pleased with how the kiwi and the pukeko have turned out, but most of all the pieces are in nz plywood which I think will do better then the acrylics. I'm keen to develop and grow in the eco/organic market of the niche of high end sustainable new zealand design. More about that in the next few days...

Through twitter I've met the lovely musician and jewellery designer Boh Runga who's been kind in recommending a wholesaler to me for chains. I decided to visit her stockist Kapa Design Gallery in Queenstown and see whether my work would appeal to them to sell, as I was there for the day yesterday. Jackie and Mark turned out to be incredibely nice and we hit it off. They got excited about my designs and we agreed I'm going to supply them with my work. Yay! I'm confident they will sell well there. Their gallery Kapa Design is located in Rees street and -of course- beautiful. I'm very proud to have my work on display there.

As you can imagine I'm quite the bouncy fluff bunny today and Nico had to laugh as I'm still fizzing. He joined me for the day to Queenstown to visit Furnatex which is a furniture/interior design tradefair held once a year there. It was wonderful to see the new fabrics and furniture designs. We were particularly taken with a clever coffeetable Davies Furniture came up with that transforms in a small desk/table. Very handy for lofts and small appartments. Today I've been busy with clients coming in who require furniture or solutions for their interior with drapery and wallpaper. It's all good and I'm happy.

Wallpaper by Harlequin

furniture and accesories by Kovacs

More new furniture by Montreux

interior styling

You are probably an avid reader of the online game as much as me. I read anything worth reading pretty much. Bottom line? It's too much to read! What to choose? Hmm.

I'm happy to share interior styling suggestions to you and am in the process of developing free E- downloads that will help shape your children's bedrooms and improve the look of your humble abode in general. My experience in interior styling and designing helps to create flowing atmospheres so why not help you in creating the room you long for? You don't have to pay any hourly fees. Fancy indeed.

During my house staging antics I learned the absolute value of:

• clean entrance & de-cluttering inside


• color rules/balance/textures


• importance of lighting


• proportions and most of all


• common sense

So today we start off with you going outside and looking at the place where you live. We don't often do this consciously and it might surprise you what you pick up once you pay attention. What would visitors see when they come to your house? Is there lighting? What does the driveway look like? Is your house number clearly visible? Where's the letterbox placed? What does it smell like outside? Is it nice? Does it look inviting? Hedges? State of the lawn?

Hmm, maybe it needs some work. Give it some thought and let me know how you get on. If you pick up on something that you feel could do with a change then it's worthwhile thinking what can be done to improve it.

Interior fluffing doesn't start inside; it all begins at the gate. Have fun!

(above pictures are from houses I worked on in Dunedin)

counting to 10

Our kune kune pig Spunky is a very in-your-face-type-of-girl. I think she's convinced she's a Diva and needs to be treated as such. Food! Now! Right.... she's also capable of apologizing and making amends which to me shows signs of intelligence. Why do I like her? She's such a personality and clear as a bell in saying what she wants. I guess I envy her. I'm still finding my way.

What to do with Divas? Counting to 10 seems to help. Divas have benefits in the sense that they help you identify where your boundaries are. Quickly. Their demands leave nothing to be questioned. They can be very entertaining and colorful. I'm not a Diva even though I can be a handful. I guess I'm still too nice. (Bugger!)

I both appreciate Divas and find them tiring. It's a funny combo, I guess that 2 sides of the coin comes into play. With Spunky it's easier to handle. She can't hop over the fence (!) but just protest from the other side. Loudly. With humans though that's another story. Battlestar Diva-galactica is stressfull... Sometimes I wonder whether giving in is easier, but that must be the feeling that tired mums have when their kids start screaming. I think the best way to tackle Divas is to stand my ground and not to give into their antics, otherwise you're utterly stuffed (as they say here). Once a Diva knows she can play you, you're toast. Counting to 10 is definitely a trait I need to practise on... even with the pig. Sigh.

short and sweet

I was reading Seth Godin's blog on the effects of positive and negative thinking. Really it's what we do and how, that ends up being the result of what we think. On the one hand we like to wallow occasionally but eventually we realize that nothing comes of it. Our state of mind determines our happiness and our success levels.

The fact is that even though stuff happens (or not) it's not helping to continue to mope. A lovely weekend helps to change perspective. But a few minutes can achieve the same result once we know how to. Having a rest helps too. And being dosed with vitamin A by the sun. So too is the growing necessity to keep things short and sweet. People do not have the patience anymore to listen to long stories. No wonder twitter is 140 characters.

I needed to get the goats hooves done and also needed to inoculate and drench them last weekend. It's like a work out for me, as some are not keen on pedicures so I have to chase them in a pen a bit to hold them. Picture holding a wriggling goat with one arm and shortening 4 hooves at the same time. As we do not have a goat race yet we work with what we have. It's our forte. I don't mind it but try to do the work while keeping the intelligent animals happy. The trick is to do the work decisively and quickly.

Focus and get things off the list, say what you want and treat others well, take notice of your surroundings: yes I think that'll do nicely.

Picture by Daisy Janie

Transcending culture

Yesterday I was having an interesting conversation over coffees. There is much to be said for our cultural heritage as it's got rich stories and flavours which makes us identify with where we're from. I mean that in a fun way, not something that should limit us. I wondered out loud whether the European nations are better off as one big melting pot (economically obviously yes) where not only borders have ceased having any meaning. Is it a good thing or bad to lose our individual culture as a nation, in the way of stories and traditions that will be lost more and more, or are all of us on this planet quite happy with becoming one culture as eventually all our unique aspects will dissolve naturally? My coffee companion was pointing out that favoring such a thing as 'cultural heritage' can in fact get us stuck in a time warp and create more headaches and problems that are good for us as human beings. My feeling was that he was also referring to dictatorships and harsh ruling in the name of good ol' tradition. Excellent point.

More and more we find that the world is becoming a smaller place in the way of communication and perception. At the same time the need for making connections in Real-time in Real-life are still valued. There are Twitter evenings where people who live in the same area meet up, the same goes for Flickr, Facebook groups and other online congregations. The need for seeing each other face to face remains evident.

So what will our own identity become once it becomes quite meaningless where we are from? I can see for myself that Nico and I have stopped using Dutch traditions already, probably to the bafflement of our dear family. We feel it doesn't feel right to keep up things from our past when we live in a different culture in the present. Only a few things we really like will remain, which are more habits then anything else.

Most likely all of us will start using different points of reference once previous 'anchor' points have gone. It probably doesn't matter except what it does to us, what meaning we need for ourselves. As humans we do have the need to bounce off other people to recognize and evaluate where we are in the world of today. As everything becomes more of the same, what will stand out? Will globalization mean that we are all just Earth folk or will the desire come to the forefront to create smaller communities again as, let's face it: it's hard to really get to know everyone we meet globally. We do like to go back to our essentials as more and more people stop watching the news on television and spend time with their loved ones instead.

The more able we are to adapt and integrate those cultural values we like, the easier it is to move around and talk to others in order to get to know them. Will we really need any place to hold on to as our identity and stories reside in ourselves? It most likely will make us flexible and more open to change.

the R word

We are still in the recession. I think it's also the one R word that people now hate the most. Mars has come up with a way to help. The real Chocolate relief act. (Found through Cowgirls.) They say: "times are tough and we at Mars want to help".

It is known that chocolate contains alkaloids which make us feel oh so nice. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Dark chocolate is the best, as it has a substantial amount of antioxidants which reduce the levels of free radicals. So one could argue that Mars is keen on influencing the whole of the USA with the oozing happy effects of the dark liquid. It will have a positive effect on Americans. God knows what good things will happen next?

Dunedin based chocolate manufacturing company Cadbury recently had a battle on their hands: Dunnies were up in arms regarding the unexpected replacer Palm oil that was found in their beloved milk chocolate. The rainforests would suffer! The taste was crappoli! Oh dear, absolute turmoil broke out, aside from the occasional couch burning by students we never saw anything worse. Cadbury had to go on their knees and solemny promise to not make boo boos like that again. Or else! They obviously bit off more then they could chew. But they too, mention that especially in tough economic times, their customers desire to find the best value in chocolate.

One thing is certain, chocolate manufacturers are sitting pretty: they have got a product that will survive these times: chocolate is recession proof.

springtime

With spring officially starting next week I can see it's effect already. There are more and more people about, everyone in Dunedin is getting out of careful hibernation. I see more excitement in peoples faces and cheerful smiles. Lams and calfs jump through the paddocks. Our goatie girls are getting rounder and rounder and generally things are looking up. The weather has been increasingly pleasant.

I was reading an interesting article about design (here, through DesignDroplets). Should we be more critical about what we make? Where we set the bar, scutinize our level of competence? Interesting stuff. Mostly it's about the usefulness of Design and its merit in the world. Hm. I can see where the writer John Barratt is getting at. We can certainly muddle along and 'just do our thing' but to compare and understand our evolutionary growth you need a benchmarker to set it off to. The hilarious thing to me is that the purpose of Design is questioned and whether innovation is usefull? Oh oh. It's like saying to an overexcited toddler: no you can't run before you learn you can't run everywhere. See what I mean?

So too is the life of the wee lambs. They just get up and rush around. They might lose their mum in the process. Ofcourse monitoring and understanding is valuable. When do we know if design actually progresses in a span of a few years? Still, let the benchmark not become a governmental guideline to stop designers going forward as innovation depends hugely on the opinion and results of the one carying out the study. Design becomes excellent by thinking outside the box. It may be far harder to determine what the rules will be to judge design, then to just observe it's evolution.

the things we do

Do you think as well sometimes: hey isn't it awesome how things work out? I do. And yes sometimes in the most interesting ways. I'm always mightily impressed with how they seem to organize things upstairs.

My dearest and nearest, Nico, is doing a propagation course this year. After the beekeepers one last year he's on a roll to get the farm all snazzied up with eco stuff, being self-sufficient and sustainable. The thing is that he's had his eye on having a glasshouse since before we shifted to the farm. As you know, stuff always takes time and usually a lot longer then one is comfortable with. About a month ago he showed me an advertisement in the local newspaper. It showed a section of 580 m2 and it also showed having these mega glasshouses on it. I said you're joking! He said: no, not really. So off we went to have a look...

After looking, we (ofcourse) ended up seeing our lawyer and doing all the homework stuff a common sense person is able to. After having done that it's now officially ours. Now the work begins. (Did I mention we have enough to do already? Never mind eh. All in the spirit of fun and growth!)

So there you have it: never stand in the way of a Dreamer, they usually end up getting what they want. And to be honest I quite like the beaming smile on his face.

necessities

Every day we may be running around trying to all on our 'to do list' and by the end we always feel we have forgotten something still. We collapse in a chair, either with wine in hand, watching some funny sitcom or falling asleep.



Tonight though I will be doing something different: I will be trimming Harry's hooves again (pic above). They have grown so quickly that he's been having some troubles. Aside the fact that I know how to trim goat hooves (yes all the things you don't think of when getting on a lifestyle block but eventually get the hang of anyway) it's good to have a 'refreshing course' on it. It's actually not always so simple to clip them right back as the goat may have developed a funny shape hoof over time, so it's better to get the right shape back by continuing to clip them with a few weeks in between the pedicures.

So too after winter I think, looking at my physique and squeezing some extra bits around the middle. I had started running again in the weekend. The next day I was so sore I could hardly walk properly and Nico was making fun of me. Of course our sheepdog Glennie who had accompanied me was fine and keen to go again!

The necessity of maintaining both hooves and my shape made me realize the importance of keeping up with things regularly which is not my strong suit. There for I have been scribbling things on a board in our hallway and in my diary to ensure I keep more consistent tabs on re occurring activities. Because if I don't it creates more hassle and soreness...