Thursday 31 October 2013

Pop Art - Canvas Republic

Pop Art is a style that is most definitely increasing in popularity, especially with the growing trend for Mid Century design. The Pop art movement emerged in Britain in the mid 1950's, making its way to the USA in the late 50's, challenging traditional art by including imagery from popular culture such as advertising, news etc. The concept of pop art refers not so much to the art itself, as to the attitude that led to it. One of the first artists to embrace this style was Andy Warhol who also pioneered computer generated art and will be remembered for his Marilyn Monroe painting and prints. Currently the Pop Art trend is going through a revival and includes showing up on this years catwalks. This bright, fun, funky style can certainly add drama to an interior and looks like it will set the scene in 2014,  for both fashion and art.

From catwalk to canvas - Jill Sanders Spring/Summer collection 2014


A statement piece bringing  life to an otherwise minimalist space


 Group a collection of  images for maximum impact - Andy Warhol prints


The Queen gets a retro look


Another Warhol print

Cartoons lend themselves to this style of art 

There are many companies who are able to print high resolution photographic and digital art and sometimes it's hard to know where to begin. It is important when buying these prints that you make sure quality UV resistant inks are used and Canvas Republic is one such company that print using quality materials. As well as offering a range of prints both photographic and painted style, they also offer digital enhancement which can turn your own photograph into a Pop Art image.Well, if it's good enough for the Queen and Marilyn, why not yourself. If you don't have your own photo to inspire you, Canvas Republic have some really cool and colourful Pop Art  canvas prints, such as the images below.

Beetle (blue) from Canvas Republic

Beetle (yellow)

Beetle IV 


Oh Deer


The Kiss - 2007 (copyright) Wilde

The five prints above are from Canvas Republic's Pop Art range.


I hope you have enjoyed a little intro to Pop Art, maybe you can find a spot for this style in your home. I would love to hear your opinions on this art style and if you have any Pop Art in your home.





Tuesday 29 October 2013

A Healthy Sleep With A Memory Foam Organic Mattress

These days I am far more aware of chemicals in our environment than ever before, not just in our food but also our homes. Take a  bed for instance, we spend approximately a third of our life sleeping with our faces buried into our pillow or mattress breathing in whatever toxins they may be giving off.  Do we really know what nasty chemicals might be lurking in our mattress or what it may do to our health long term? Apparently a mattress should be replaced every 5-7 years, so with my own mattress coming close to its sell by date and wanting a healthy alternative, I have been researching  a super comfortable, safe replacement. 

One phrase that kept coming up in my search for comfort was, 'Memory foam mattress', apparently this style of mattress eliminates pressure points by correctly aligning your neck and shoulders. A better sleep position means less or no pain and a much improved sleep. We all know that a good nights sleep not only recharges our body but reduces stress. It makes sense if a mattress molds to our body, that there would be far less pressure and more comfort. So, if this is one of the most comfortable mattress designs, is there a healthy alternative? With a little more research I came across a company called Zleeps who specialise in memory foam mattresses and include a chemical free, organic memory foam mattress in their range. Zleeps offer an amazing 60 night trial on their entire range, unfortunately they don't have a branch in New Zealand but for those of you in the UK, all I can say is "lucky you!" For me, I have decided organic and memory foam is definitely the way to go, so I will be sourcing a local product when I re-decorate my bedroom.

Of course I can't end this post with just an image of a mattress, so  I am sharing some crisp, white bedrooms to inspire you...











Image sources 1|2|3|4|5|6

If you are looking for ideas for your bedroom, you may enjoy the following posts.

French Style Bedrooms
Guest Bedrooms, Whats Your Style?
Guest Bedroom Before & After
DIY Linen Headboard






Monday 28 October 2013

An Eclectic New Orleans Home

Struck by its bold, colourful artwork I was drawn to the eclectic style of Ray and Kim Martin's New Orleans home. Residence to the couple, their three children, a dog, cat and bird, this interesting home is a haven for its owners. Photographer/stylist Corynne Pless photographed and featured Kim's house on Houzz and after contacting Corynne to say how wonderful I thought the home was, Corynne has kindly allowed me to share her fabulous images with my readers. 

Ray and Kim's home is an 1800's Victorian house located in the lovely Uptown neighbourhood of New Orleans. With the help of local architectural designer Marie Palumbo, the couple renovated the property without compromising its original charm. I absolutely love everything about this home, it has so much energy yet there are moments of 'calm' and lovely period charm. 

















There were far too many images for me to share in one post so I encourage you to visit  Houzz to see many more inspiring images. If you have any questions about this home, you may also find answers in the comments section on the Houzz article.

All images are copyright to Corynne Pless.


If you enjoyed this home you may enjoy a tour of an eclectic West Hollywood home.

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Friday 25 October 2013

Fairy String LED Lights - Fairy Light Inspiration

Some friends might say I'm an 'impulse' buyer, I prefer to use the words, 'spontaneous purchaser' and one of those 'spontaneous' moments was the purchase of some tiny LED fairy lights spotted in a local homeware store. I thought, how cute, there must be lots of things I could do with those. Sadly though the lights have been sitting on my desk for months waiting for that creative idea. At the time I purchased the lights, I tried winding them around some imitation blue Agapanthas I have in a big white jug, but they just didn't look right so back they went in their packaging with a few other impulse buys until I could work out what to do with them.

My lights looking uninspiring, but just look at the ideas below

While recently looking for some internet coastal inspiration, I spotted a Christmas tree created from pieces of driftwood. Similar little lights to mine had been used in creating this pretty, alternative tree. I then started thinking, there must be lots more ideas around so I began my search and have come up with some great inspiration. Ideally fairy lights are perfect for the holiday period but could easily be used at any time of the year. Brightlitz have a range of fairy string LED lights which can be purchased through their website that are suitable for most of the DIY ideas below.

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Image sources 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8

I have decided I might be able to use my lights around the mirror on my mantel or I may purchase another set and use them to wrap around two topiary I have on my front steps.


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Wednesday 23 October 2013

Creating A Coastal Feel - Home Inspiration

Down at the beach this morning as Poppy and I walked along the promenade, the day was so perfect we decided to sit down and soak up the sunshine. While sitting silently I realised how immersed I was in the colours surrounding us. The differing shades of blue of the ocean and white sails of the yachts bobbing around the harbour. Grey and white gulls squabbling over fishy morsels and the soft, beige sand, sparkling like the sugar crystals my mother used to offer her visitors with their coffee. These subtle colours combined with the right textures, can easily evoke a coastal feel to your home.


Creating a coastal feeling, is about creating a relaxed atmosphere using colours and textures relating to the seaside. It can be as simple as placing a pretty bowl of shells beside your bathroom basin or a seaside inspired vignette on a bookshelf. You could use a piece of art to inspire a coastal feeling or you may want to go all out and devote a whole room to this theme. Whether it be with art, accessories or furnishing, a coastal look can easily be achieved.



When trying to create a coastal look, don't go all out and choose everything with a nautical feel, mix and match your pieces so it doesn't become too predictable. I began by putting together a mood board of textures and furnishing that would help create my coastal look. Most of the items on my board are from http://www.scs.co.uk. SCS are a UK nationwide furniture company where I spotted a few unique pieces such as their drift wood table and pebble look lamp. I combined them with a few of SCS understated pieces, and added some accessories from elsewhere to complete the look.


1. Sandy table lamp 2. Dundee Sofa  3. Driftwood table  4. Dundee footstool   5.  Carpet 'Arran' in twine...(All from SCS Sofa carpet specialist).


If you want to learn more about how to create a coastal mood board, selecting the right textures and using word association to help you create your board. You may want to read an earlier post on....'Coastal Themed Interiors & Accessories'.

Inspiring coastal interiors...
1. Coral and shells - "please make sure you don't take coral or live shells from the sea☺"

2. Blue stipes mixed with beige and grey and botanical shell prints create a restful area

3. Soft greys reminiscent of the colour of seagulls wings

4.  Create a coastal feel to an outdoor covered porch with ever popular blue and white

5. A combination of some of my favourite textures; rustic wood, sisal, rattan and bleached linen

6. Seaside colours and a nautical painting

Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5|6


If you haven't had enough coastal love you may want to tour a few coastal inspired homes;








Tuesday 22 October 2013

Don't Let Your Home 'Fall', Lift It Up With The Colours Of Spring

It truly is a beautiful day, birdsong surrounds and the colour's of nature are part of my daily walks. Living in New Zealand we don't always appreciate our natural surroundings, but I know I am truly blessed to be living in such a beautiful country. Colour is my thing today and although most of my readers are heading towards fall, whose to say we have to dull our interiors with traditional autumn colours, why not keep them fresh, alive and spring like. Soft blues like spring skies, primrose yellow, lavender and green, all the colours of spring abound in these pretty interiors.














Image Source 1|2|3|4|5|6|7

I hope you have enjoyed some spring colour, I think these interiors prove how uplifting a little colour can be. 

If you love colour and want to see more, you may be interested in some previous posts;


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