All images taken from my Pinterest boards
Showing posts with label Styling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Styling. Show all posts
Monday, 11 August 2014
Little people | Modern Kids rooms inspiration
Don't forget they won't be little forever. Something to remember in those moments when they drive you mad! Some lovely ideas below for modern, black and white kids bedrooms and playrooms too.
All images taken from my Pinterest boards
All images taken from my Pinterest boards
My home | Archie's black and white room
Over the weekend I put the final touches to Archie's black and white big boy room and thought I would share some photos.
I've wanted to put a reading corner in the boys' bedrooms for years and I've finally found the perfect space for it. Already I can see how much better it is for promoting reading as Archie can see the front covers of the books easily and choose something that he likes - rather than just the book spines which mean very little to a 2 year old!
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The cute little batman car is from a new range put out by Duplo Lego - a present for Archie's 2nd birthday. The industrial arrow is from Typo. Componibili side table from Matt Blatt.
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The picture ledges are Ribba from Ikea. Bean bag is from La De Dah kids. The chalkboard spot is from Cotton On Kids.
I've had a few goes at styling the room, mainly because we painted it in between - the walls are now not yellow which is nice :)
The gorgeous bed is from Rafa Kids - you might recall it from the post I wrote about it here. The lovely cloud light is from Little Letter Lights Co. and Archie loves having that on at night. It's great for kids who are a bit scared of the dark and they have heaps of other styles (I also have the lightening bolt for Caleb's room, which I'll be posting about soon). Tree cushion by Fine Little Day. Round cushion by Lucky Boy Sunday and I got this one from My Messy Room - a shop full of divine things for little people. Bed linen is the "pegboard" style from Rachel Castle. Blanket in the first shot is from IKEA.
The apple print is by Miniwilla, which I also got from My Messy Room. Moose head is from Typo and star garland from Cotton On Kids. Rug is from Designer Rugs. I made the batman print myself as I was running out of money by this point but love the batman theme around at the moment!
The flying bat cutouts were an accidental find on etsy when I was looking for something else (get them from angieheartsjared). I just stuck these up with washi tape and I'm really happy with how they look.
The cute little batman car is from a new range put out by Duplo Lego - a present for Archie's 2nd birthday. The industrial arrow is from Typo. Componibili side table from Matt Blatt.
Caleb drew Archie a special drawing to hang up in his new reading space. Very sweet!
The cheery yellow print was a hand painted 1st birthday present from a good friend - made for Caleb 5 years ago now. It, along with the books, bring some colour to the otherwise black and white room.
Overall I'm really pleased with how it's all come together and more importantly Archie loves it! Would love to hear what you think :)
In the next few weeks I'll also be showing the changes I've made to Caleb's room along with some other styling updates around the house that I've been doing in preparation for a magazine photoshoot I have coming up - exciting!!
Have a great day!
Clare x
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
7 tips for renovating your house on a budget
Over the past 3-4 months my husband and I have been up and down and round and round about the renovation we want to do on our house. We have limited funds for it and a house with a small footprint to try and fit everything we want in. We have learned a great deal about the renovation process and today I thought I would pass on a few tips.
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1. Don't engage an architect before you really know what you are doing
We moved in to our house over a year ago now. About one month after we moved in I knew I wanted to renovate and fix some things up. I wanted to add a new bedroom so each of our three boys would have a room of their own. We only had one bathroom and I wanted to add an ensuite and there were some other styling things I wanted to fix up as well. But so far it has taken me more than a year to try and work out exactly what we need and how best we can achieve this for our limited budget. About 3 months ago we engaged an architect and to be honest with you it was about 3 months too early. So far we have spent quite a lot of money on going back and forth with the architect, largely because my husband and I hadn't been clear on what we really wanted, or how much we really wanted to spend.
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It can be exciting to renovate and you can easily get caught up in the process. But architects are a big and expensive step in the process and I advise to not rush in to who you choose and how fast you get going. If practical it is always best to try and live in a space for a while before you renovate, especially if this is a house you are planning on renovating and living in for the longer term (3 years +). It is hugely beneficial to see how a space works for you and your family before you start renovating. You would be surprised at what you learn about it - where you might want your laundry room, how much storage you need, where the bedrooms should be placed, how the sun comes in and lights the house over the day. What kind of flooring do you want? Will carpet or floorboards be better in the bedrooms? Is the house warm in winter and cool in summer? If not, how might you approach cooling/heating? These are all the types of things you might want to consider as you plan your renovation. Getting these things wrong can cost you more money in the long run.
1. Don't engage an architect before you really know what you are doing
We moved in to our house over a year ago now. About one month after we moved in I knew I wanted to renovate and fix some things up. I wanted to add a new bedroom so each of our three boys would have a room of their own. We only had one bathroom and I wanted to add an ensuite and there were some other styling things I wanted to fix up as well. But so far it has taken me more than a year to try and work out exactly what we need and how best we can achieve this for our limited budget. About 3 months ago we engaged an architect and to be honest with you it was about 3 months too early. So far we have spent quite a lot of money on going back and forth with the architect, largely because my husband and I hadn't been clear on what we really wanted, or how much we really wanted to spend.
It can be exciting to renovate and you can easily get caught up in the process. But architects are a big and expensive step in the process and I advise to not rush in to who you choose and how fast you get going. If practical it is always best to try and live in a space for a while before you renovate, especially if this is a house you are planning on renovating and living in for the longer term (3 years +). It is hugely beneficial to see how a space works for you and your family before you start renovating. You would be surprised at what you learn about it - where you might want your laundry room, how much storage you need, where the bedrooms should be placed, how the sun comes in and lights the house over the day. What kind of flooring do you want? Will carpet or floorboards be better in the bedrooms? Is the house warm in winter and cool in summer? If not, how might you approach cooling/heating? These are all the types of things you might want to consider as you plan your renovation. Getting these things wrong can cost you more money in the long run.
2. Think about your future potential buyers
Are you trying to design a family house? Or a house for young couples with no children? Are you worried about resale value and how much your house will be worth post-renovation (if not, you should be!).
When you are renovating a house for you and your family it can be easy to get caught up in the here and now. This is where so many people go wrong with renovations. They spend too much money on things they love that end up alienating their target market when they go to sell. What then happens is their house sits on the market for far longer than it should. Make sure that when you renovate you think of who you will be selling to down the track. Don't paint pink feature walls if you love pink. Instead, buy some pink throw cushions or a great artwork with splashes of pink. Not only can you take these things with you to your next house, you won't alienate half the people who might buy from you (i.e. the people who don't really want to have pink feature walls in their bedrooms!).For maximum appeal and profit down the track, keep the big things in a renovation neutral. That means kitchens, bathrooms, paint colour choice, flooring. Go crazy on your accessories though. Not only can you spend more on these as you can take them anywhere you ever move to, but they won't put buyers off and won't impact on your sale value down the track.
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3. You can achieve a lot with styling
This leads to styling. So much can be done on a budget with styling choices. If you aren't that interested in current styling trends an easy way to achieve a current look in your renovation is to copy trends you see in magazines and online (Houzz, Pinterest and Instagram). I always find looking through online house sale websites (e.g. Domain or RealEstate.com in Australia) can be great sources of inspiration for latest ideas and trends. You will get a feeling for what others are doing in their houses and no doubt find tips and tricks you can use in your own house. Check out the board I've set up on pinterest where I collect all the images and ideas for my own home renovation - like this bathroom styling that I love!
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I also use the floor plans on house sale websites to try and find good ideas for storage options, floor plan ideas and the sorts of sizes bedrooms and other rooms in the house should be. Not sure what size a main bedroom should be? Take a look at similar houses to yours online and see what kind of floor plans they have. Can you take any tips from this for your own renovation?
4. Draw your floor plan - then plan it out and see what you have
I've replanned my home renovation about 5-6 times now. I've been working on it for over year. The reason it is tricky is because we are working to a serious budget and we have a difficult floor plan to start. We also want to try and make the most of the space we have - I don't want to waste any area so I'm trying to minimise corridor/wasted space and make the house be as efficient as it can. But this is harder than it seems. I have probably drawn about 25 floor plans now. I do them up on grid paper and draw them to scale. When I think I'm getting close to a good design I cut out all my large furniture pieces to scale on the same size grid paper and I move these around the rooms. This can be a really helpful way of seeing whether my furniture will fit in the rooms/spaces I have drawn. About 20 of the designs I have drawn have been discarded at this point because I have seen that in reality the floor plans just won't work. Once the big furniture items are in (e.g. beds, couch) I can clearly see if doors don't open well, whether you can get around the foot of the bed easily etc. It's a very effective method. It can be time consuming though. In fact in the past few months most of my spare time has been taken up with drawing my little floor plans (you may have noticed my lack of posts on this blog as a result!!!).
Once you have done those steps and you feel you are getting close to a design the next recommendation is for you to mark out the new spaces with masking tape on the floor. This is particularly helpful for bathrooms as you can see whether the toilet and sink will work in the spaces you have planned or whether you need more/less space. You can see an attempt at this below where I was seeing whether I could fit a master and ensuite in to my second living area. I was convinced this would work but when I taped it out and walked through the space I could clearly see the bedroom area was just going to be too small, so I discarded this plan as well.
5. Steal ideas from everywhere
Obsess over Pinterst, Instagram, interior design blogs, and published magazines. You don't have to be a design genius to copy ideas you see and make them in your own homes. Get a feel for current trends and see what the fashionable architects and designers are doing with their houses and copy their ideas. Keep a notes list open on your phone and write down any ideas you see of products, paint colours, etc. when you're out and about. You might see a great pendant light that you love - jot down where you found it and take a photo of it to refer back to later. Trust me, you will forget all about it otherwise!
Here are a few pictures I've collected of ideas for my new entry hall, for example.
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It can be a good idea to keep a book of photos you like so that when you get to the point of engaging an architect you have some shots you can show them of things you like and the look you are going for. This can be done by cutting out clippings from magazines and keeping them in a folder, or I set up a pinterest board just for my renovation to keep all the ideas and pictures I like together in one place. Check it out here if you're interested.
6. Source products yourself
Don't fall in the trap of getting builders or trades people to source products for you. With so many online suppliers these days you can make significant savings by shopping around for products you like and buying them yourself. This might be for fixtures and fittings (e.g. taps, shower heads etc.) or appliances or furniture. The biggest retailers don't always have the cheapest prices and if you do a bit of online searching for products you love, you will be sure to find them online cheaper elsewhere.
7. Enjoy the process!
The most important thing is to try and enjoy the process of renovating. It can be a stressful time, but it doesn't need to be. If you plan well, make good design choices that will appeal to the widest possible group of people and source products yourself you are sure to end up with a great result that will not only be great to live in but will improve the value of your home over the long term.
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Happy renovating - have a great day.
Clare x
Are you trying to design a family house? Or a house for young couples with no children? Are you worried about resale value and how much your house will be worth post-renovation (if not, you should be!).
When you are renovating a house for you and your family it can be easy to get caught up in the here and now. This is where so many people go wrong with renovations. They spend too much money on things they love that end up alienating their target market when they go to sell. What then happens is their house sits on the market for far longer than it should. Make sure that when you renovate you think of who you will be selling to down the track. Don't paint pink feature walls if you love pink. Instead, buy some pink throw cushions or a great artwork with splashes of pink. Not only can you take these things with you to your next house, you won't alienate half the people who might buy from you (i.e. the people who don't really want to have pink feature walls in their bedrooms!).For maximum appeal and profit down the track, keep the big things in a renovation neutral. That means kitchens, bathrooms, paint colour choice, flooring. Go crazy on your accessories though. Not only can you spend more on these as you can take them anywhere you ever move to, but they won't put buyers off and won't impact on your sale value down the track.
3. You can achieve a lot with styling
This leads to styling. So much can be done on a budget with styling choices. If you aren't that interested in current styling trends an easy way to achieve a current look in your renovation is to copy trends you see in magazines and online (Houzz, Pinterest and Instagram). I always find looking through online house sale websites (e.g. Domain or RealEstate.com in Australia) can be great sources of inspiration for latest ideas and trends. You will get a feeling for what others are doing in their houses and no doubt find tips and tricks you can use in your own house. Check out the board I've set up on pinterest where I collect all the images and ideas for my own home renovation - like this bathroom styling that I love!
I also use the floor plans on house sale websites to try and find good ideas for storage options, floor plan ideas and the sorts of sizes bedrooms and other rooms in the house should be. Not sure what size a main bedroom should be? Take a look at similar houses to yours online and see what kind of floor plans they have. Can you take any tips from this for your own renovation?
4. Draw your floor plan - then plan it out and see what you have
I've replanned my home renovation about 5-6 times now. I've been working on it for over year. The reason it is tricky is because we are working to a serious budget and we have a difficult floor plan to start. We also want to try and make the most of the space we have - I don't want to waste any area so I'm trying to minimise corridor/wasted space and make the house be as efficient as it can. But this is harder than it seems. I have probably drawn about 25 floor plans now. I do them up on grid paper and draw them to scale. When I think I'm getting close to a good design I cut out all my large furniture pieces to scale on the same size grid paper and I move these around the rooms. This can be a really helpful way of seeing whether my furniture will fit in the rooms/spaces I have drawn. About 20 of the designs I have drawn have been discarded at this point because I have seen that in reality the floor plans just won't work. Once the big furniture items are in (e.g. beds, couch) I can clearly see if doors don't open well, whether you can get around the foot of the bed easily etc. It's a very effective method. It can be time consuming though. In fact in the past few months most of my spare time has been taken up with drawing my little floor plans (you may have noticed my lack of posts on this blog as a result!!!).
5. Steal ideas from everywhere
Obsess over Pinterst, Instagram, interior design blogs, and published magazines. You don't have to be a design genius to copy ideas you see and make them in your own homes. Get a feel for current trends and see what the fashionable architects and designers are doing with their houses and copy their ideas. Keep a notes list open on your phone and write down any ideas you see of products, paint colours, etc. when you're out and about. You might see a great pendant light that you love - jot down where you found it and take a photo of it to refer back to later. Trust me, you will forget all about it otherwise!
Here are a few pictures I've collected of ideas for my new entry hall, for example.
It can be a good idea to keep a book of photos you like so that when you get to the point of engaging an architect you have some shots you can show them of things you like and the look you are going for. This can be done by cutting out clippings from magazines and keeping them in a folder, or I set up a pinterest board just for my renovation to keep all the ideas and pictures I like together in one place. Check it out here if you're interested.
6. Source products yourself
Don't fall in the trap of getting builders or trades people to source products for you. With so many online suppliers these days you can make significant savings by shopping around for products you like and buying them yourself. This might be for fixtures and fittings (e.g. taps, shower heads etc.) or appliances or furniture. The biggest retailers don't always have the cheapest prices and if you do a bit of online searching for products you love, you will be sure to find them online cheaper elsewhere.
7. Enjoy the process!
The most important thing is to try and enjoy the process of renovating. It can be a stressful time, but it doesn't need to be. If you plan well, make good design choices that will appeal to the widest possible group of people and source products yourself you are sure to end up with a great result that will not only be great to live in but will improve the value of your home over the long term.
Happy renovating - have a great day.
Clare x
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
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.
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.
Clare x
Thursday, 26 June 2014
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!
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):
Here are a few more pictures of the bed. It's sleek modern lines would look great in almost any home.
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!)
So visit RaFa-kids to get shopping...and have a wonderful day.... xx
Monday, 31 March 2014
Mums in Design | Georgina Wilson
Today I'm thrilled to be presenting the second in my Mums in Design series (read the first one here), featuring an interview with Australian architect and Mum, Georgina Wilson. Georgina is the owner of the award winning practice - Georgina Wilson Architect as well as a Mum to three beautiful kids. I have to admit to having known Georgina from our previous lives as classical music students, but both of us have moved on to bigger and better things and it's been great to get back in contact after many years.
Georgina's practice specialises in high end residential and commercial design. She has had an ongoing partnership with Sydney Eye Specialist Centre and is currently working with them to complete a new project in Double Bay in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. With her team, she has been responsible for some other amazing projects that involve really creative solutions to tricky problems, some of which I will be featuring today. I absolutely love the ensuite that has been squeezed into the top of this Paddington terrace, for example. More of this project below.
Read on as Georgina tells me all about her practice, how she juggles her work and family, her design trend predictions and how she has adapted her own style for life with her little people...
1. Tell us a little bit about your background. What attracted you to the world of architecture and what led you to starting your own architecture practice?
I fell into architecture after a failed attempt at a musical and dance career. I have always loved maths and art and upon leaving school a friend (who was an established architect), suggested that I consider architecture as a career. As it turned out, after a few failed attempts at becoming other things I found my calling as an architect.
2. You have three kids (and a husband!) and a thriving business. How do you juggle it all?
I have a lot of help! I have a wonderful team of four architects and a financial administrator at the office. We work together on each project, each person contributes according to their particular talents. We collaborate with several related professionals on certain projects – artists, photographers, builders, various craftsmen - and this is very rewarding.
I am very fortunate to also have a lot of support at home. We live and work in the same suburb, which I love. My office is 5 minutes’ walk from home so there is no wasted commute time.
3. So far in your career you have had some big jobs. What are your favourite types of projects to work on and what have been some of your favourites so far ?
I love all of our projects for different reasons. We facilitate the creation of our Clients’ dream environments so each project has the capacity to take us somewhere quite different. We have projects on the drawing board at the moment that are very diverse and exciting, from a Spanish Hacienda, a Paddington terrace, an exotic Hawaiian tropical retreat, a beachside bungalow, a Hamptons style villa. We enjoy finding the right way to encapsulate Client’s preferences into their particular site.
Examples below are from one of Georgina's projects a residence in Oatley Road, Paddington.
Image credits: Murray Fredericks
4. How would you describe your personal design aesthetic at home? How have you had to adapt your style to accommodate little people?
I have a strong feeling that space should be logical, simple, and beautiful. The simple and beautiful part can come in many different forms, but it is important to me that spaces are rigorously functional. This becomes even more important when considered in relation to the way we live – in a house with 7 people!
Good design can literally make your world go round. The layout of our house is very well conceived and is the background to our lives. The upper level is for sleeping. The ground floor is public space. We all come together to cook meals, talk, watch tv, and play. We often have other friends or family around. We try to keep things fairly minimal – we do not have a lot of ‘stuff’.
I find it impossible to manage this if we accumulate too much. Our furniture and belongings could perhaps be described as ‘eclectic’. We have some furniture and crockery from my late grandma, Darling. This alongside a few key pieces that are relatively modern. Our massive dining table is great – we do everything at this table – kids draw, glue, eat, spill stuff.
We also rigged up a plywood table top for an old refectory table that we had and made the kids a ‘train table’ out of it. Occupies them all for hours and is brilliant as it keeps the small pieces off the floor where the babies are. Storage is essential – everything must have a place – preferably somewhere out of sight! I have come to absolutely adore timber flooring. It is just so tough, and I think it can be very beautiful.
5. What does a typical day usually involve for you?
I always try to fit some exercise into my day. I spend the day either in the office – drawing or talking with my team, or out at meetings which could be on site, with Clients or other consultants or suppliers. It is quite varied, depending upon what we have on. By 7:30, everyone is home and we all have dinner together. It is a bit chaotic, but it is important to me that we all eat as a family.
6. What are your top 5 design resources - across any media?
7. What are your top interior trend predictions for 2014?
8. What are your favourite design products for life with little people?
9. Who are your favourite designers?
10. Who inspires you?
I find a lot of people I work with inspiring. People who bring huge energy to their occupation, everyday. I find my mum and dad inspiring – they maintain a very successful business and love what they do. They have a lot of energy for work, play and family. I like the fact that they always have a positive outlook, they make things look easy.
11. Tell us a little bit more about your practice and how we can contact you.
I absolutely love our team here at GWA. We currently consist of 4 staff, all of us Architects. In addition, we have a financial manager, who is involved with the Practice in a part-time capacity. We like to work as a coherent team, providing a continuum of service. We all work together in one space so there is a lot of transparency about different projects and the way the business works. Every staff member has some knowledge of each project. We can be contacted via our website Georgina Wilson Architect.
Georgina's practice specialises in high end residential and commercial design. She has had an ongoing partnership with Sydney Eye Specialist Centre and is currently working with them to complete a new project in Double Bay in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. With her team, she has been responsible for some other amazing projects that involve really creative solutions to tricky problems, some of which I will be featuring today. I absolutely love the ensuite that has been squeezed into the top of this Paddington terrace, for example. More of this project below.
Read on as Georgina tells me all about her practice, how she juggles her work and family, her design trend predictions and how she has adapted her own style for life with her little people...
Image credit: Murray Fredericks
1. Tell us a little bit about your background. What attracted you to the world of architecture and what led you to starting your own architecture practice?
I fell into architecture after a failed attempt at a musical and dance career. I have always loved maths and art and upon leaving school a friend (who was an established architect), suggested that I consider architecture as a career. As it turned out, after a few failed attempts at becoming other things I found my calling as an architect.
2. You have three kids (and a husband!) and a thriving business. How do you juggle it all?
I have a lot of help! I have a wonderful team of four architects and a financial administrator at the office. We work together on each project, each person contributes according to their particular talents. We collaborate with several related professionals on certain projects – artists, photographers, builders, various craftsmen - and this is very rewarding.
I am very fortunate to also have a lot of support at home. We live and work in the same suburb, which I love. My office is 5 minutes’ walk from home so there is no wasted commute time.
3. So far in your career you have had some big jobs. What are your favourite types of projects to work on and what have been some of your favourites so far ?
I love all of our projects for different reasons. We facilitate the creation of our Clients’ dream environments so each project has the capacity to take us somewhere quite different. We have projects on the drawing board at the moment that are very diverse and exciting, from a Spanish Hacienda, a Paddington terrace, an exotic Hawaiian tropical retreat, a beachside bungalow, a Hamptons style villa. We enjoy finding the right way to encapsulate Client’s preferences into their particular site.
Examples below are from one of Georgina's projects a residence in Oatley Road, Paddington.
Image credits: Murray Fredericks
I have a strong feeling that space should be logical, simple, and beautiful. The simple and beautiful part can come in many different forms, but it is important to me that spaces are rigorously functional. This becomes even more important when considered in relation to the way we live – in a house with 7 people!
Good design can literally make your world go round. The layout of our house is very well conceived and is the background to our lives. The upper level is for sleeping. The ground floor is public space. We all come together to cook meals, talk, watch tv, and play. We often have other friends or family around. We try to keep things fairly minimal – we do not have a lot of ‘stuff’.
I find it impossible to manage this if we accumulate too much. Our furniture and belongings could perhaps be described as ‘eclectic’. We have some furniture and crockery from my late grandma, Darling. This alongside a few key pieces that are relatively modern. Our massive dining table is great – we do everything at this table – kids draw, glue, eat, spill stuff.
We also rigged up a plywood table top for an old refectory table that we had and made the kids a ‘train table’ out of it. Occupies them all for hours and is brilliant as it keeps the small pieces off the floor where the babies are. Storage is essential – everything must have a place – preferably somewhere out of sight! I have come to absolutely adore timber flooring. It is just so tough, and I think it can be very beautiful.
5. What does a typical day usually involve for you?
I always try to fit some exercise into my day. I spend the day either in the office – drawing or talking with my team, or out at meetings which could be on site, with Clients or other consultants or suppliers. It is quite varied, depending upon what we have on. By 7:30, everyone is home and we all have dinner together. It is a bit chaotic, but it is important to me that we all eat as a family.
Images of Georgina and her family at home taken by Noel Mclaughlin
- Pinterest;
- Garance Dore;
- Google!
- Ted.com
- And I love walking around Sydney.
7. What are your top interior trend predictions for 2014?
- The man cave
- Communal living
- Clever and beautiful wine storage
- Lifts
- Streamlining of design due to improved technological infrastructure
- The multi-function covered outdoor space – gazebo, cabana.
8. What are your favourite design products for life with little people?
- A good pair of shoes – birkenstocks or rubber soled sneakers
- A nice refillable water bottle – Camelbak makes good ones
- A good hat – my favourite is by Helen Kaminski
- A nice light, fairly large scarf – covers you from the sun, keeps baby warm, breastfeeding cover up, shades baby while sleeping, can use as a change mat or picnic blanket.
- An indestructible buggy – we have used our bugaboo for all three kids – it’s been invaluable.
- Ikea plastic high chair
- A nice cross body bag or backpack – instead of a baby bag as such. Something you can wear and be ‘hands free’.
- Wipes;
- Tupperware;
- Timber floors;
- Polyurethane joinery – can be wiped down easily;
- Our baby jail at home has been useful for providing a safe haven for our youngest child. It is pretty ugly though.
9. Who are your favourite designers?
- Isabel Marant;
- Missoni;
- Lululemon;
- Georg Jensen;
- Petit bateau.
10. Who inspires you?
I find a lot of people I work with inspiring. People who bring huge energy to their occupation, everyday. I find my mum and dad inspiring – they maintain a very successful business and love what they do. They have a lot of energy for work, play and family. I like the fact that they always have a positive outlook, they make things look easy.
11. Tell us a little bit more about your practice and how we can contact you.
I absolutely love our team here at GWA. We currently consist of 4 staff, all of us Architects. In addition, we have a financial manager, who is involved with the Practice in a part-time capacity. We like to work as a coherent team, providing a continuum of service. We all work together in one space so there is a lot of transparency about different projects and the way the business works. Every staff member has some knowledge of each project. We can be contacted via our website Georgina Wilson Architect.
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