Product love | Twiggargerie

A month or so ago I discovered these adorable little decorating items by Twiggargerie. At the time I was looking at some images styled by an interior stylist I love - Julia Green of Greenhouse Interiors - and saw these cute little items in situ. It isn't often that I stumble across products that I know nothing at all about and as soon as I saw these beautiful bright, um, twigs (!!) I knew I had to have some of my own. And I knew exactly the spot I would hang them. 

So after a month or so of waiting for them to be handcrafted to perfection, my little twig houses arrived today. As you can see they are looking right at home already. I just love them and the pop of colour that they bring to my otherwise monochrome lounge room.

The shot below features another of the other products in Twiggargerie's range - the cube. This shot, kindly provided to my by Julia Green to use in this post, also includes products by some of the other artists that she works closely with (including the gorgeous "Mauve your ass" print by Pru Caroline). Check them all at Greenhouse Interiors website if you get a chance!

And finally, some more shots of the gorgeous products on offer at Twiggargerie. 

If you are keen to get your hands on some of these gorgeous little products, contact Julia and her team. Details here. 

Have a great day!

Clare x

Modern kids furniture | RaFa-kids

Well it's been more than a month since I've written on the blog. Lots of people have made contact during this time asking where I've been and whether I'm still doing the blog - sorry for not being around and thank you for making contact! The truth is with 3 young boys, a (sensible and time consuming) job on the side, a looming house renovation, a 6 year old who has just changed schools and gone gluten/dairy/sugar free and the ups and downs of day to day of life - there just hasn't been enough hours in the day to devote to this blog. In some ways it's silly I haven't kept up with it as all my spare time has been spent researching our renovation and along the way I've discovered a whole bunch of new stores and products that I'm now totally obsessed with. I also have a backlog of renovation tips and tricks that I think people would find helpful. So I'm planning to put together some of these things in new posts over coming weeks.

But for now I'm back and ready to get things happening again. And today I'm really excited to be kicking things off with a company I discovered a few weeks ago via my Pinterest feed when I was searching for modern kids furniture. They are called RaFa-kids and they are AWESOME! I was looking around for modern kids furniture, including desks and bunk beds as we are looking at how to maximise the space in the boys' bedrooms once we have renovated. But I was also trying to find a bed that is flexible and can be used as a day bed in the playroom but also as a guest bed for when we have unexpected people over.

I was so thrilled to find these products by RaFa-kids. Based in The Netherlands they are team of (husband and wife) architects who have a serious eye for design and who started their business once they had kids as they wanted "to make good and affordable quality design objects for children". I'm in love! Luckily for everyone they ship worldwide and their prices are quite reasonable.

Tonight I have ordered "a teen bed" and I cannot wait for it to arrive. Here it is in the different colour options - dark chocolate, whitewash and natural (I went for whitewash):

Although I have been a pain back and forth about pricing and delivery costs, co-owner of the company, Agata, has been an absolute pleasure to deal with and nothing has been too much trouble. It will take pride of place in our new den/study/playroom and will look great with the black and white theme I'm planning for the room. Stay tuned for photos when I get it set up :)

Here are a few more pictures of the bed. It's sleek modern lines would look great in almost any home.

Now I'm waiting for our renovations to be finished as I'm totally obsessed with their furniture and have decided I also need the adorable toddler bed for when our 2 year old moves from his cot:

And also want this amazing bunk bed for my 6 year old - that can either take the toddler bed, teen bed or no bed at all underneath it. How incredibly flexible, playful and well designed is that! It is furniture designed with both kids and adults in mind.

But don't worry, if you're not in the market for new beds or large pieces of furniture, they now also make this amazing desk with a lift-up lid, perfect for kids to hide all their bits and pieces in (and out of our sight!)

And if you really want something smaller, they also stock a really great range of affordable bedding and other accessories (check out the adorable swing they make!). It would almost be impossible to not find something you absolutely want or need!

So visit RaFa-kids to get shopping...and have a wonderful day.... xx

Moodboard Monday | Black and white

Happy Monday! I've got a big week coming up on the blog with some great posts ahead. I have the second in my Mum's in Design series coming mid-week, with a fantastic Australian architect and Mum. In addition I've been working on an DIY Easter gift project that I'll pop up in the next few days. Last week I also came across an amazing Australian furniture designer and I'll be featuring his work during the week as well.

But for today I thought a bit of moodboard inspiration might be a nice start to the week. 

Have a great day! x

Interior styling | My favourite IKEA hacks

A few weeks ago I did a post on how to upgrade the IKEA Besta storage unit (read it here) and it proved to be very popular! So today I thought I would bring you some more IKEA hack inspiration. 

I'm the only one in my family who likes to visit IKEA and my husband really objects to the flat packs (actually I would go so far as to say hates them) - so I sometimes sneak out there while the kids are at school just to walk around and take in the ideas - and I often have to assemble the stuff myself. I always love a bit of IKEA inspiration and there are some super creative people out there doing some pretty awesome things - so today I'm bringing you 15 of my favourite IKEA hacks. 

First is this IKEA Malm bedframe, which has been added to with some stick on wood. I'm not sure if it would look quite as good in person as it doesn't in this picture, but it has a pretty effective look here. Perfectly styled with a Pia Wallen blanket (look alike I think?). You can read all about the Pia Wallen Crux blanket here. 

1

Next are these coffee table hacks with concrete tops. These are pretty serious DIY projects that involve casting concrete and making casting moulds out of timber etc. - way beyond my skills that's for sure. But they look pretty great if you have a handy person around you who could help with this. 

2

3

More in keeping with my DIY abilities would be this marble coffee table using the Klubbo. Would you believe this has been done using marble adhesive paper. Again, not sure if it would have the same effect in person, but it has a pretty great effect in these pictures. 

4

Next is the PS metal cabinets. These have been an IKEA classic over the past few years, and although I own two of them, I'm getting a bit sick of them. But how good do they look painted matte black with a wood top? I am seriously tempted to try this with ours and see if I can bring some new life to them. 

5

Or a different idea for the PS cabinets. 

6

And what about these ideas for the kids? First the Malm drawers with adhesive wall dots. I love the look of these and these are a really cheap way of bringing some fun to your child's room. 

7

Or how about this dolls house made from very inexpensive Lack shelves?

8

Next is this little person's desk made from Linnmon table top and Frosta legs. Really clever and cheered up with the bright wall paper and mini Panton chair. You could even take this a step further and paint the legs in a bright colour. 

9

A painted blind and step ladder, both from IKEA

10

The Vikare bed frame - turned Jeep - complete with custom number plates! My son would just love this! A definite thought for my littlest bub who will soon be moving from his cot. 

11

Or how about cutting out a cute cloud shape from an inexpensive IKEA doormat?

12

And the final idea are these pendants hung from IKEA shelf brackets. This is a great idea for renters who might want to hang a pendant light, or for people who don't want to spend money on electricians to get a pendant hung. They also make really modern looking wall fittings, which can often be tricky to find. 

13

14

15

I hope you've enjoyed today's IKEA inspiration. If you enjoyed this, don't forget to subscribe to the blog for daily inspiration to your inbox. 

Have a great day! x

Interior styling | IKEA Besta unit hacks

This week I've been working with two design clients who have both asked me to find inexpensive storage options for the spaces we are working on. One of them didn't want to build in anything too expensive as she isn't sure whether she will do a full renovation in the near future. The other is on a tight budget for restyling the bedroom for her two adorable girls. The latter wants a storage solution that can hold the girls' (already large!) shoe collection as well some toys. For both clients I immediately thought of IKEA's Besta storage solution, which can be custom designed to fit a variety of styles and spaces. I love how much inspiration there is for how Besta can be 'hacked' by adding custom tops or shapes, and today I thought I would bring you some examples of this. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I show you the before and after shots of the two design clients and how we end up using Besta in their homes.

How beautiful does this marble top look (above). You wouldn't even guess this unit had come from IKEA. 

For a less expensive version of the same look, try styling a vignette on top of a slab of marble. Country Road currently have great marble platters in black and white that would work really well for this.

I really love how this Besta has been customised using different depths of the cabinets. It has such a dramatic look that appears far more expensive than it really would be to create.

Simple and effective black and white styling - I love the look of these spaces (above and below)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

So if you need to find a relatively inexpensive storage solution that can be customised to suit your style and space, then you can't go past IKEA's Besta (they even have a planner on the website so you can design before you go and battle the IKEA store!). Once you've designed your system you can go to town with the styling to really customise it to your tastes. Below are some of the products I would choose if I were styling the Besta in my home. Would love to hear what you think!

01 Tom Ford book
02 Tinto platter by Country Road
03 Pia Wallen tray
04 Little concrete house by Bloomingville | available from Jamie kay
05 Milk Lamp | available from Great Dane Furniture
06 Paper bag vase from Have you met miss jones
07 New York vintage style poster from GeoArtShed on Etsy
08 Coffee poster from LatteDesign on Etsy
09 Bloomingville vase