Interior designers Arent & Pyke have a knack for decorating homes that are the embodiment of Australian modern living. Take their Pavilion House, for example, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
This is a beautiful case study in modern Australian style done extremely well, and it encapsulates the five central themes and trends we’re seeing right now in Australian homes – across architecture, interiors, furnishing and landscape design.
So what are the five reasons why this Sydney home defines Australian style? Read on…
1. Mixed materials for a modern look
In the stunning kitchen of the Pavilion House, Arent & Pyke have created a carefully considered and cohesive space that combines a number of mixed materials.
The drop-dead gorgeous marble, which is used as a sophisticated splashback and benchtop, is used alongside a timber bench, combined with three knock-out hammered copper pendant lights.
The overall look is light and modern, and while there is a lot of expensive marble used in this kitchen, it’s balanced by the warmth in both the timber benchtop, hard wood floors and the copper pendants. It’s a beautifully modern yet completely timeless look, achieved by the careful balance of materials, without going overboard on any one ‘trend’.
2. Open living spaces
Australian living is perhaps embodied best of all by our relaxed living style, where big open spaces combine various purposes and zones. It’s where family and friends of different ages can gather in the same room; with kids sprawled around the sofas, people congregating around the food prep in the kitchen, while others chat and linger over a drink at the dining table.
3. Light and air flow is maximised
Because of our sub-tropical climate here in Sydney, we’re finding more ways to maximise light and the flow of natural air. In the Pavilion house, you can see clever use of louvred windows to create a cross-flow of air, combined with white painted walls and natural timber finishes. It’s this light and bright look that has been best defined by Scandinavian style, and despite our vastly different climates, it’s a look that also works very well in modern Australian homes.
4. Inside/Outside
Australians are now perfectly accustomised to the idea of the ‘outdoors room’, and many homes revolve around establishing an easy flow between the indoor living space and the outdoors. (Mozzies and flies be gone.) In the Pavilion House, the use of fold-back doors creates one big inside-outside room. The positioning of the pool and light-coloured tiles portrays a mini ‘beach’ area, and Arent & Pyke have played with our emblematic colours of beach, sand and sun.
5. Luxe Comfort
The overall impression of the Pavilion House is of relaxed, casual comfort. However, there is a distinct sense of luxury, in terms of luxury of space, and luxe finishes such as marble. Yet, comfort and practical solutions reign in this home, with cosy seating nooks, functional and accessible storage cupboards and family-friendly open spaces.
All five concepts demonstrated in the Pavilion House have been stunningly conceptualised and executed by Arent & Pyke.
Little wonder, then, that the house has been recognised for its outstanding design. It’s been shortlisted for Residential Decoration in the 2014 Australian Interior Design Awards; it won Room of the Year in House and Garden‘s Top 50 Rooms; and it was shortlisted for Best Residential Interior Design in the 2014 IDEA Interior Design Excellence Awards.
A good tote bag is a solid investment purchase for your wardrobe. And right now, I’m a bit obsessed with all the lovely leather (and vegan) options around. I love the look of oversized totes in tan colours, with simple unstructured lines and minimal details. The bigger, the better, I reckon, and they’re immensely practical for lugging around extra stuff without resorting to your Woolies recyclable green bags.
My favourites? I love Sul Bag’s completely gorgeous oversized Alfama bag, which is handmade in Portugal, but I also can’t go past a good bargain, and the Marni leather tote reduced to £150 over on the Outnet is fantastic value. It will last forever, and you know it will only look better with age and use.
But then I’ve always had a soft spot for my slouchy, super-practical BAGGU bags, and their basic tote rendered in wrinkled leather is a real timeless beauty.
Ready to go shopping? Here’s my edit of the best totes around, starting at $59.95.
This is an interactive shopping guide, so just hover over the title of the product and click to go through to buy from the online shop.
When Etsy set us the challenge to curate a beautiful gallery wall using affordable Australian art, we jumped at the opportunity. We love supporting local creatives, and we’ve both got a solid appreciation for original art work – from prints to painted originals. Most of all, we wanted to show you how easy it is to start an excellent art collection on a budget (the cheapest item on our wall cost $4).
Best of all? We’re giving YOU the opportunity to win one of the seven Australian artworks we selected from Etsy for our gallery wall, with a total prize value of $1,073 (including frames!).
Read on to find out which Australian Etsy artists made our curated gallery wall, and find out how you can win your favourite artwork.
Original art
There is a wide variety of amazing original art on Etsy, ranging from paintings, illustrations and screen prints to embroidered art and collage.
Original doesn’t necessarily mean expensive, either. We found original works ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred.
Here are the original works we chose for our gallery wall.
Have you seen Michelle Atzemis‘ work before? We think this Sydney artist is one to watch, and we were excited to see this original acrylic artwork in her Etsy shop.
Valued at $350, we used ‘Embracing the Fog’ as our hero piece in our gallery, and extrapolated its colours, themes and textures to guide our other art choices. We love the subtle layers of tones and texture in this piece, and how small details reveal themselves on closer inspection. Flashes of piercing indigo add an extra dynamic to the work’s ethereal aesthetic.
We like this work unframed, but it could just as easily be framed. We hung it with 3M velcro hangers, which are ideal for gallery walls that are likely to change over time (and they’re perfect for renters!).
As many of you already know, we’re huge fans of Liz Payne’s embroidered artworks (you can take our tour around Liz’s studio here) and we think this beautifully textural piece, embroidered by hand, is a steal at $120.
We love Liz’s bold use of colour and geometric pattern in this abstract work, and it’s perfect for adding a highly textural element to a gallery wall. This kind of work doesn’t need to be framed, either. It has a wire on the back of the canvas, so you can hang it directly on the wall – we used a 3M removable hook.
A good gallery wall doesn’t necessarily have to follow any rules, apart from choosing pieces of art that you really love. You could choose a theme, a colour palette, or stick to just one medium. We’ve mixed up our mediums and textures, and based our wall around a loose colour palette.
We chose this original illustration by Hollie because we wanted to include an original pencil illustration, and this delicate piece provides a nice contrast to the more dominant works in our collection.
The touch of gold also picks up on the golden hues used throughout our selection, including the warmth of the timber in the Flatrock screenprint; the metallic gold in the articulated bird; and the yellow tones in the Evie Barrow screenprint.
We chose this minimalist artwork as a foil to the busier abstract pieces on our wall, and we were also drawn to the contrasting use of flat opaque paint on plywood.
As our theme was loosely based around a mix of mediums and textures, Flatrock‘s ‘Grey Circle’ was an obvious inclusion.
After another affordable option? Go for this punch of grass green on ply screenprint – just $35.
Prints
An affordable way to start your art collection is to buy prints. Whether they’re screenprints, Gocco or giclee prints, you can choose between limited editions (more valuable) or open editions. If you go for limited editions, try to choose one of the first prints in the run (with number one being the most coveted). Prints are a great way to purchase art from a favourite artist until you’re able to afford an original.
The other great thing about prints? The artist will often produce them in various sizes, so you can choose one to suit your wall space.
If you have a smallish print, you can still make a big impact on your wall by choosing a large frame – like we did for the Sarah Donnell print – and using a large white matt around it. The whole piece then becomes much more of a statement on the wall.
A large frame and mount also gives the print breathing space, which is an important element to consider when creating the perfect gallery wall.
We were originally drawn to the original abstract artwork of this print (still fantastic value at $550), but decided to go for the more affordable giclee version for our gallery wall.
We love Sarah’s confident brushstrokes combined with a strong composition and masterful use of colour.
This is our ‘bold’ choice of art that ties the group in our gallery together.
After another affordable option? We’re a fan of this abstract giclee print by Sarah – just $45.
‘Faces And Bananas On Blue’ print, $34 by Evie Barrow
We think a great gallery wall also has a strong sense of personality – and in our homes that means playfulness and humour.
This print by Melbourne artist Evie Barrow embraces fun and at $35 it ticks all the right boxes for our affordable art gallery. The pinks, blues and yellow also reflect the colour palettes in Michelle’s painting and Susan’s print.
To hang ‘Faces And Bananas On Blue’ we tied ribbon to a piece of dowel and attached the dowel to the back of the print with washi tape. This is an inexpensive and cute way to hang a print if a frame is out of your budget.
Here’s the fun part – adding a dash of ‘difference’, a pop of personality, and a big injection of interest – by thinking outside of the parameters of what you would traditionally hang on a wall.
For our curated gallery, we chose ceramic brooches, a greeting card and a downloadable PDF of an articulated bird to create a sense of fun, as well as add interest by the different shapes and textures. We also love the idea of mixing lo-fi bits and bobs with more serious pieces.
The other thing to note? Every single item was super-affordable, so it’s a smart way to round out your gallery wall without breaking the bank.
We used 3M thick foam double-sided tape to mount two bird brooches on to a matt board, so that they seem to float within the frame. A box frame was used to create a modern spin on a Victorian specimen-style shadow box.
We love the result and the colours and themes tie into our hero abstract painting by Michelle.
After another affordable option? Get a bird brooch by Erin’s Window like the ones we used – just $29.
Spot a greetings card on Etsy you really love? Don’t think twice about using it as part of a larger gallery wall – especially if it adds that pop of colour or personality that’s missing from your group.
We chose this light-hearted ‘Hey’ card by Zoe Ingram because of its simplicity of style and pattern – and the pink tones tied in beautifully with our overall colour palette.
It was just the right size to balance the other pieces in our gallery wall, too. You can always frame cards if you want to make them into more of a statement, but we like sticking to the lo-fi theme by popping it up using a cute patterned bulldog clip and Blu-Tac. Easy.
This articulated spin on the traditional paper doll has the perfect quirk factor to complete our unique gallery wall.
We loved the fact that you could download and print out this fantastical creature by talented Sydney artist Emma Kidd for just $4 – making it our cheapest piece of art.
After another affordable option? We love this articulated paper kookaburra – another downloadable PDF – just $4.
Win 1 of 7 Pieces of Australian Art on Etsy valued at over $1000 – NOW CLOSED
The fine folk at Etsy Australia are giving you the opportunity to win one of seven pieces of art from our curated collection of Etsy affordable art, with a total value of over $1000. Wowsers!
Here are the seven Australian works you can win, including the frames we chose:
Faces And Bananas On Blue
Print, valued at $34.
Seller: Evie Barrow
Grey Circle
Screenprint On Ply, valued at $35.
Seller: Flatrock
It’s simple and easy to enter, just follow these two simple steps: (THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. Winners will be announced on Facebook on Friday 2 October. Thanks to everyone who entered!)
1. You must be on the We Are Scout mailing list to be eligible. Not on the list? Enter your email address below and click Sign Up.
2. Simply leave a comment below, telling us in 25 words or less which of the seven pieces of art (listed above) you would most love to have in your home – and why.
This giveaway closes at midnight AEST on Wednesday 30 September 2015. The winners will be contacted by email and announced on our Facebook page on Friday 2 October, 2015. This giveaway is only open to Australian residents.
By Lisa Tilse and Rebecca Lowrey Boyd. All photography and styling by Lisa Tilse for We Are Scout.
This post was originally published on We Are Scout.
Disclosure: All links to Etsy are affiliate links, however this does not impact our editorial decisions. All inclusions in We Are Scout are based on their individual merit and ability to make us smile (exploding confetti cannons optional).
How’s this for a genius idea? A DIY calendar you can stick on your wall, consisting of masking tape rolls of months, days, dates and a reel for notes. Created by Dutch design company mo man tai, the tape easily peels off your wall when you’re done.
At just £22 for a set of eight rolls, you’re buying a cracker of product – great design; beautiful functionality; and a super-nice way to get organised and customise your boring old desk wall. It’s lightweight too, so it would make a nice gift to send in the post. Go, Scouts!
Click here for more excellent stuff we’ve scouted from Present & Correct.
And if you dig Present & Correct as much as we do, you might like to read our post on founder Neal Whittington’s Secret London. It comes in Part 1 and Part 2 (it’s a good ‘un but the blog design is vintage Wee Birdy, circa 2009).
Top two photos by Present and Correct. Bottom three photos by mo man tai.
Beci Orpin is one of our favourite Australian creatives here at We Are Scout, and the clever thing has just launched her first children’s book, Find Me a Castle. Beautifully illustrated in Beci’s inimitable bright and bold graphic style (with liberal use of lovely patterns), Find Me a Castle is a multi-layered ‘find-it’-style book, with loads of hidden objects to discover – and re-discover.
We had a chat with Beci about her favourite books, resources, brands, homewares and clothing for kids…
What inspired you to create a book for children?
It’s been a life-long dream of mine to do a kids’ books! I spent so many years stalking children’s book illustrators in my early ’20s – I once was invited to Graeme Bases’s house and he gave my advice on getting into children’s book industry. 20 years later I finally got to do it!
The inspiration for the topic of this book came from years of reading books to my own kids. The books that they always went back to time and time again were the ‘finding’ books, so it seemed logical to create one of those!
What were your top 5 favourite picture books when you were little?
My mum was so great with giving us excellent books to read. I think that is where my love for children’s books first began.
My faves were (and still are now):
1. Frederick the Mouse by Leo Lionni.
2. Where the Wild Things Are – and pretty much anything by Maurice Sendak – he is still one of my great inspirations.
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (except I decided the caterpillar should be a girl, so I changed all mentions of “he” to “she”).
4. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat – I loved some many of Ron Brookes’ illustrations (Annie’s Rainbow was another favourite)
5. Barbapapa series – I lost all of mine but my neighbour recently gave me her childhood copies – they are like gold to me!
Top 5 modern children’s picture books? What do you love reading with your kids?
1. Around the World with Mouk has remained a huge favourite. I love anything illustrated by Marc Boutavant.
2. Anything in the Hilda series by Mark Pearson. Hilda is such a great female role model! It’s published by Flying Eye Books – all their kids’ books are so amazing!
3. I’m not sure if Tove Jansson is considered modern, but all the Moomin books are so great. She is another huge inspiration to me, as is Tomi Ungerer.
4. [Beci’s youngest son] Ari is currently loving anything from the Doctor Proctorseries – we’re up to reading some of them for the third time!
5. We also love reading Brothers Grimm tales, even [Beci’s eldest son] Tyke still loves them – I think because they are so morbid! They think its fascinating.
You sound like a creative family. How do you get creative with your kids?
It’s a funny thing – I think because of what I do for a living they are surrounded by it quite bit, so they might not be so interested in doing it in a pre-determined way. It’s rare that we sit down for an afternoon of making things, but we still do a lot of creative stuff.
I try to be guided by them. Often Ari will have a crazy ideas, like making a three-story cat house, so I’ll help him realise those ideas. They are always drawing and writing too, but I try to let that come naturally for them.
What are your favourite creative resources for your kids?
I see so many great ideas on Pinterest and blogs, they are a great resource. I also loved Mr Printables! They have the best-looking things to do!
What kids’ brands or designers do you love?
I’m mostly looking at this stuff for Ari now. Tyke is in the verge of high-school and teen years and way too cool for anything little! So sad!
I’m always on the look-out for good boys’ clothes. I love Bobo Chooses – they are my favourite kids’ label – their new homewares are so good. London brand Ruff and Huddle also have some cool stuff, and local kids Paul and Paula and Minti are awesome, too.
At Arro [Beci’s homewares brand] we are about to launch a kids’ line – that’s definitely going on my kids’ beds!
Ever wondered what 100,000 balloons en masse look like? French artist Charles Pétillon gives us the incredible visual answer in London’s Covent Garden, which he’s filled with giant white balloons for his first public art installation.
The ambitious live work is a first for Pétillon outside of France, and he’s used the balloons to transform Covent Garden’s 19th Century market building into a large-scale metaphor titled ‘Heartbeat’.
Heartbeat stretches 54 metres in length and 12 metres in width, and incorporates gentle pulsating white light to symbolise the beating of a heart and reflect the history, energy and dynamism of the district.
“The balloon invasions I create are metaphors,” explains Pétillon. “Their goal is to change the way in which we see the things we live alongside each day without really noticing them. With Heartbeat I wanted to represent the Market Building as the beating heart of this area – connecting its past with the present day to allow visitors to re-examine its role at the heart of London’s life.
“Each balloon has its own dimensions and yet is part of a giant but fragile composition that creates a floating cloud above the energy of the market below. This fragility is represented by contrasting materials and also the whiteness of the balloons that move and pulse appearing as alive and vibrant as the area itself.”
Are you sorted for Father’s Day tomorrow? If you haven’t got a card, gift-tag or present for Dad, the solution is as simple as free printables, and we’ve rounded up six of the best online.
As long as you’ve got access to a printer, you can make your own amazing cards, signs, gift-tags and presents for Dad.
I love this time of the year when all of the major retailers release their new spring/summer collections. But I know many of you feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of new products on the market. How do you know what’s really good quality and value for money? What pieces will stand the test of time in your home?
Lisa and I have had a few opportunities to scout out the best new pieces from Freedom’s spring/summer 2015 collection. We’ve carefully examined the quality and carefully considered each product that’s made our top 10.
Ready to go shopping? This is an interactive shopping guide, so just hover over the title of the product and click to go through to buy from the online shop.
It’s the weekend! Time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine (well, that’s how things are looking here in Sydney after a week of rain and storms).
I thought I’d give you a quick peek into one of the fun things I love making with my dinosaur-obsessed four-year-old son, Harry. Over here at the Treehouse, our house backs onto the bush, and it makes for fun foraging adventures. Take a few dinosaurs with us, and we’re in prehistoric territory.
He also loves to hunt for ‘treasure’ to bring back home with us, and right now, we’re loving moss-covered rocks and twigs.
At home, he paints a ‘backdrop’ for his prehistoric landscape, and I stick it to the wall with washi tape (easy to take down, you see). Then he gets to work arranging his moss-covered stones, pebbles, twigs – and some of my succulents – until he’s created the perfect dinosaur habitat. Roooooaaar!
And all of the gorgeous moss and plants means it doesn’t look bad on our sidetable, either!
I didn’t get any pics this time, but he also loves making a volcano out of play-doh, and he sometimes makes a lake so his dinosaurs can have a nice drink. The lake usually takes the form of a piece of blue felt he’s cut out himself, or sometimes we’ll fill a jam jar lid with water for extra realism.
I always pull a few of his dinosaur books out too, so he can get some more ideas for his creative play. And sometimes they serve as part of a diorama, acting as a backdrop to all the action.
It’s a fun way to spend the morning, and it’s got great educational value as your child learns through play. It ticks off a heap of skills (hello gold-star parenting to make up for guilt-ridden TV/iPad time): gross motor skills (running and scrambling over rocks in the bush); learning about plants and dinosaurs; thinking creatively; story-telling, fine motor skills; etc.
You don’t need the bush on your doorstep, either. Look around your own backyard, or take a walk to the local park. And if your little one isn’t into dinosaurs, you could always create a landscape for jungle animals, or a magical forest for pixies and fairies.
Tell me: what are some of the things you love making with your child/ren?
Need more inspiration? Take a look at all of our kids craft tutorialshere.
Photography and styling by Lisa Tilse for We Are Scout.
This post was originally published on We Are Scout.
If, like me, you harbour a not-so-secret fondness for a splendid plant wall, you might like to make a beeline to the shops or head straight to Zinio. There is a cracker of a green wall in the September issue of Inside Out magazine, which is out today! Want a sneak peek? Keep scrolling, lovelies.
Amazing plants thrive in the home of Craig Miller-Randle. Styling by Deb McLean and photography by Colin Doswell.
We get a tour around the home of Craig Miller-Randle (who runs MRD Home) – and you know how much we love plants at We Are Scout! Greenery makes many cameos throughout his apartment – including an impressive plant wall.
Space-inspired kids’ room feature. Styling by Jessica Hanson, photography by Sam McAdam-Cooper.
There is also a rather fabulous space-inspired kids’ room, styled by Jessica Hanson. Oh my stars! I know a small four-year-old boy who would scramble up that bunk bed before you could utter ‘to infinity and beyond’.
‘Spring Fling’. Styling by Joseph Gardner and Danielle Selig, photography by Sam McAdam-Cooper.
Stylist Joseph Gardner celebrates new season blooms in a gorgeous story called ‘Spring Fling’.
Best Buys: Doll houses (top) and rockers (bottom). Styling by Joseph Gardner, Photography by Sam McAdam-Cooper, illustrations by Grace Lee.
And in his excellent buyer guides, Joseph curates the best design-led doll house and rockers around. His choices are always spot-on.
Hope you enjoyed our sneak peek of the September 2015 issue of Inside Out magazine, which is out TODAY.
You can download your digital issue of Inside Out on Zinio here. Or you can do what I do, and subscribe to get the paper-and-glue version of the mag in your letterbox each month.
All photography courtesy of Inside Out magazine September 2015.
We just had our first taste of spring over the weekend here in Sydney. Actually, we may have skipped spring and headed straight into summer, as we’d thrown off our layers by 9am on Saturday morning.
So it was ideal weather for setting the scene for the perfect spring brunch. We’ve been eyeing off the new season collections at Freedom, and we were inspired by their ‘endless summer’ collection to create an unforgettable tablescape for a spring soirée.
We wanted to show you how to create a table setting that is totally achievable, using some of your existing tableware together with fresh new pieces. But it also had to be totally memorable, with an explosion of colour, flowers, mix-and-match patterns, shapes and textures. And that little bit of ‘wow’.
Inspired to welcome in the new season with a blooming beautiful celebration? Let’s get started.
1. Lay the foundations of your table
We started by laying the table with a white linen tablecloth which is Lisa’s go-to staple for setting any table. Keeping the linen in its lovely naturally-crumpled state ensures the look is relaxed and not overly formal.
Freedom’s Bayview table runner was placed on top to add an additional layer of texture to the linen base. It’s amazing how just one new piece, like a new table runner, can give your dining table an instant lift with a fresh new look and textural detail.
We also added Freedom’s Heston outdoor dining chairs to our table setting. We love the fluid shape and the idea that we are literally bringing the outdoors in.
2. Layer your dinnerware
If you’ve got an everyday white dinner set, like we both do, it’s easy to give your table a new look for entertaining by adding a few new pieces in a strong statement colour or pattern.
In keeping with this season’s trend for mixing and matching colours, patterns and textures, we created unique place settings for each guest by layering different plates. Everyone has their own individual place setting, and it also makes a strong on-trend style statement.
To achieve a pulled-together look, it’s important to create a visual link between the place settings, so we used base charger plates to tie it all together.
We chose Freedom’s new Sahara charger plates in deep inky blue to create a strong visual base, then added a plain white dinner plate on top (we used Freedom’s new Series dinner plate in matt white, but you could use your existing white tableware).
Then, to create a point of difference for each place setting, we mixed and matched the top two layers with various combinations of colours, patterns and textures.
The final pattern, the Summertime side plates, reminded us of retro black-and-white souvenir plates and postcards from summers’ past. Available in three different holiday seaside scenes, (Surf, Pier and Coastline) they’re perfect for adding a playful summer-themed graphic and slightly retro-touch to your tabletop.
3. Give your flatware a creative touch
We bundled up the cutlery (we used Freedom’s Francis 24 piece stainless steel cutlery set) in a set for each place setting, and added a pop of colour and interest by tying them together with a piece of coloured cord and an assortment of homemade coloured polymer clay beads.
This adds an individual and handmade touch to the table and links back to our colour palette. Each guest can keep their beads and cords to wrap around their wrists as bracelets, or use as a keychain or hanging accessory for their bag. Fun, individual and handmade – what’s not to love?
4. Add flowers to your tabletop by bundling blooms
We created a colourful fresh flower centrepiece by gathering a collection of in-season blooms. We used a combination of poppies, ranunculus, carnations, sweet peas, daffodils and wall flowers.
Instead of creating one large statement centrepiece, we kept our arrangements low and long for three reasons: (1) a big statement centrepiece is more suitable for formal occasions; (2) we want our guests to be able to see each other and allow conversation to flow easily without peering around gigantic floral obstacles; and (3) we wanted the table flowers to complement and reflect the statement hanging arrangements, and not detract from them.
Rather than mixing up the flowers, we kept bunches of the same blooms together and grouped them separately in a mix of coloured tumblers and latte cups. We also popped some of the larger blooms in individual espresso cups.
The brightly-coloured cups and tumblers are a playful substitute for vases, and they echo the layered mis-matched style of the place settings.
The finishing touch when styling the perfect spring soirée tabletop? Add a drop-dead gorgeous hanging floral centrepiece. Our goal was to make a statement, but it also had to be totally achievable. Solution? Freedom’s fabulous new Ivy Moss Balls.
They come in two sizes, so we used one large and two smaller moss balls for a clustered trio. You could use them as they are for a more subdued green look, or you could go all out and dress them up in fresh flowers, like we did.
Simply weave individual blooms and sprigs of berries through the structure of each ball. For a balanced look, decorate one small moss ball sparsely, then add a few more blooms to the other moss ball, and go completely over-the-top with a burst of blooms on the big moss ball.
We covered most of the surface in flowers, including loads of trailing sprigs of wattle and foliage, for a touch of Australiana.
6. Serve your food in style
Now you’ve gone to the trouble of creating a special table setting, serve your food on an array of eye-catching platters and serving trays that complement your theme.
We combined timber with marble in different shapes to reflect our mix-and-match look. Freedom’s new Rim Serving Plate in Surf Spray makes the summer colours in our selection of macarons really pop.
Our special layered Strawberry Chia Brunch Bowls were made in Freedom’s new double-walled Perk tumblers, and brought to the table on the timber Paddle serving board. The unexpected flash of aqua blue on the handle introduces a nice colour contrast to the Brunch Bowls.
We also made fruity ice sticks and popped them into our drinks for a delicious and decorative touch. The new Cross Grid Hi Balls in an assortment of colours are the perfect choice for our special peach punch, and we presented our fruity ice sticks in Lisa’s clear Spritsa tumbers.
We’ll share our recipes for the Peach Punch and Strawberry Chia Brunch Bowls in a future post – so keep an eye out for them.
We hope you love our spring brunch table setting as much as we do. Welcome to spring at home!
You might also like to check out Lisa’s sorbet-hued afternoon tea, styled with Freedom’s 2014 summer collection.
Tell us: do you love entertaining at home? What new pieces from Freedom would you love to add to your dinner table?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Freedom. We only partner with brands that are a good fit with our blog, our aesthetic and what you, our readers, enjoy. Content and concept, product selections, words and opinions are all our own.
Tutorial by Lisa Tilse and Rebecca Lowrey Boyd. All photography and styling by Lisa Tilse for We Are Scout.
This post was originally published on We Are Scout.
Have you done your shopping yet for Father’s Day? You don’t need to resort to socks or undies (unless they’re really rather nice socks and undies) because there are loads of lovely gifts around to bring a genuine smile to Dad’s dial.
I’ve rounded up 20 brilliant presents for Father’s Day – and they’re all available online now from Australian retailers.
I’ve shopped for all budgets (starting at just $4.95) and for all types of Dads – from beardy-Dads and record-collecting-Dads to footy-loving dads and design-y-Dads. There’s even a man-cloth for Dads who like to cook, garden or BBQ (the title alone piqued my curiosity, but it’s actually super-nice and super-practical).
Ready to go shopping? This is an interactive shopping guide, so just hover over the awesome present and click to go through to buy from the online shop.
Top photo: Staghorn Superbum Trophy and Vintage Terrarium from Staghorn.
No room for a work space at home? Maybe you need a desk on wheels, which packs away neatly into its own flight case (move over laptop, casetop is the new black).
British design brand Baines&Fricker was recently commissioned by consultancy firm Fieldwork to design and produce a portable research lab. Isn’t it genius – and totally gorgeous?
Made from plywood, the portable research lab is lightweight and comes in a custom-built flight case with rollers on one side for easy transportation.
“The design process started with me sending some rough notes to Baines&Fricker along with some examples of field desks I’d found online,” explains Fieldwork founder Curtis James.
“They sent sketches back which were pretty close to how I envisaged the lab to look. They built an early prototype for us to play with, which was great because I could actually sit and work at it and work out what features were really important.
“A few weeks later they had built the version you see in the photographs, which was delivered in a custom-built flight case to make shipping it easier.”
Prices for The Portable Research Lab start at £750, and you can contact Baines&Fricker for more information.
