Displaying posts from November, 2013

Brace yourselves. I have some shocking news. It is only 4 weeks until Christmas. Yes. Truly shocking. If you are anything like I am you have done nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. But never fear, Freedom is here – the perfect gifting and decorating hub with fresh new inspiration to be help you be the ultimate host this summer… and alleviate the stress of gift giving.

“Australians love to entertain in Summer – and the holiday season is no exception. This year Freedom has really focused on those months of long lunches with family and friends gathered around the table to celebrate the season. We’ve made it easier than ever to decorate your table and make it really stand out,” says Vanessa Rothery, Homewares Buyer – Freedom.

I love Freedom‘s bright summery take on Christmas entertaining this year. Sunny yellows and coastal blues, whites and natural woods with just a hint of silver and sparkling glass. A relaxed but stylish take on the Aussie Christmas and pieces that you can use over and over long after the the Christmas table is cleared. My favs? Anything from the Entertain range but especially the table runner in indigo and the custard jug, oh and the cake stand for the pud. Custard and plum pudding yummo! I’ll take the Wish champagne flutes and the Host chip & dip set. Got to have a chip & dip, it’s summer remember. You can see more of the Freedom Christmas tabletop and decoration range here. Lots of fabulous ideas!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Freedom.

Second helping, that is, of Parisian architectural firm Septembre. Black and white minimalist chic. A small family apartment in an old industrial workshop is big on style. Multipurpose storage lines the perimeter of the main room opening up to central space while light floods in through the wall of windows. Sparse but stylish.

A while back FLOS offered me a light fixture to try, I absolutely could not say no. FLOS is one of the coolest lighting companies there is. I have to admit I had not heard of the light before and now I’m kicking myself for not having known about it sooner. Designed and created in Italy, AIM is a uniquely minimalist suspended light designed by brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. In their own words, AIM is a “new type of lamp that is naturally positioned in space – like a plant – with long cables providing maximum freedom to adjust the direction and height of the light source.” Similar to hanging vines, the long, free wires allow for “infinite adjustability” while providing a sense of the natural, as the wires seem to “develop and grow like branches or climbing plants”. AIM also uses warm LED, meaning that it is a very low energy consumption lamp. 

When the light finally arrived I was SO excited to get it installed. Knowing I was getting 1 fixture, the only place I thought I could put it was in my bedroom as it’s the only room besides my dining room and dressing room with an overhead fixture (stupid old house with bad wiring!). But when I unwrapped the light I realized it was larger than I had expected, and even more gorgeous in person. I went with black, and it’s a matte finish! *sigh* (It also comes in white and polished aluminum). My husband, who is thankfully quite the handyman, suggested we put it in the corner of our living room, and he would wire a plug to the end of it so we could plug it in to the wall but mount it to the ceiling so it looked like it was wired up there. GENIUS! We both LOVE the AIM. It looks incredible in the living room. I can imagine a few of these grouped together over a dining table, or over a large desk. A few hanging in a staircase would be cool too.

This post is in partnership with FLOS USA but all opinions are my own.

If you’d like to send me photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow my basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, if the photo is too dark or unfocused then it may not make the cut. Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim[@]hotmail[.]com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet! Thanks!

Orlando and Rihanna soaking up the rays at Daylesford Victoria.
– Candy

Here’s Mercredi, sitting pretty !
– Karine (Vercheres, Quebec)

Here is rare moment of my three-year-old English Setter, Elfie, taking a break from putting my workmanship to the test on the first sofa I ever reupholstered.
– Kathleen (Iowa City, Iowa)

1960’s armchair DIY restoration. Before photo: with Khufu… After photo: with Farouk
– Honor (Wellington, New Zealand)

1 – Recovered chair
2 – upholstered bench midnight blue brocade
– Charmaine (Brooklyn, New York)

A dark green lacquered entry opens to light and bright living space in this little jewel box of an apartment in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. (It’s only only 75m².) Rooms are entered in a circular, almost wandering fashion with each space defined by texture and colour, white marble, green lacquer, blue tiles and oak.  By Septembre Architecture.