The New Old

From organic cleaning to old-school appliances, traditional shapes are re-emerging in our homes, this time with a modern twist.  Toasters and kettles are not just about functionality - they're also about style, and making a suggestion about the vibe of your home.  De Longhi have tapped into the huge resurgance of hype for the 'new old', producing a range of retro but reliable applicances.  

Remember when your grandmother put vinegar on your bee stings, and cleaned the whole house with a bucket of water and some baking soda?  Following this, our mothers' generation was bombarded with pyramid schemes and informercials ramming the new super chemicals down their throats, telling them how to germ-proof their homes, children and lives.  As a society, older and hopefully a little bit wiser, we have now made a move back towards clean and green. 

Organic cleaning has seen a renewed popularity, and is now not just for the hippies.  Murchison-Hume make plant-based products that are not only effective at cleaning, but are also non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The creaters of this clever brand are a married couple who happen to be one half Australian (he's from Sydney, she's an LA girl) and both are passionate about environmentally conscious businesses becoming more and more prevalent in our world.  Their products are too beautiful to be stashed away under the kitchen sink!

Images with thanks to Murchison-Hume

The beauty of retrospect is that we can take the best of the old, and mix it with the best of the new.  The popularity of 'the new old' has become every DIY-er's dream, and makes it easy to build your home's style on a small budget, giving old items some TLC and making them come to life again.  Watch this space - the 'new old' is taking over. 

Have a great week,

Joanna

Handbags and Gladrags

One rule I follow when choosing a dress is that it should be tight enough so people know you're a woman, but loose enough that they know you're a lady.  Leave a little bit to the imagination - Jennifer Lopez and bodycon fans the world over, I'm talking to you. The Hollywood A-list hit the red carpet last Monday for the 2012 Oscars - here are my picks for best dressed.

Tina Fey was stunning in navy Carolina Herrera.  Her Bulgari jewels were simple and elegant, as was her sleek yet soft updo, which was my favourite hairstyle for the evening.

Not just anyone could pull off this Monique Lhuillier gown, which is straight off the runway.  However Snow White star Lily Collins looked magnificent at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.  I love how her barely there accessories let the dress do all the talking.

Katie Holmes teamed a Lanvin clutch with a deep sapphire Elie Saab Couture gown.  Not a fan of the fringe, but I love her swept back ponytail.  It kills me to say this, but Tom was also looking pretty suave.

Selena Gomez was gorgeous in pale Dolce and Gabbana.  Some people get 'sexy' a bit confused and wind up looking cheap, but Selena has the look nailed.

Until next time,

Joanna

Good Things Come In Small Packages

We're getting married in August, so I've been told to reign in my spending between now and then if I fancy myself on the glamorous honeymoon I desire!  Which I'm sure you'll agree, although a fair and reasonable request, is easier said than done.  I see beautiful things everywhere and can immediately imagine them in our home. 

However, when in a local gift store looking for a birthday present today, I realised that you don't need to spend a fortune on interior decorating.  Budgets may be tight, but you can still pick up the odd little treat for your home that won't break the bank.  Sometimes good things really do come in small packages.

Today I discovered some beautiful Australian made natural wax candles from Circa Home, and picked up three of the mini ones for only $20.  Their small box makes them a perfect little gift, or keep them for yourself and dot them through your home in different places.  I spend a lot of time banging on about the importance of using natural wax candles, rather than cheap candles made in places like China, but it's so important to know you're not filling your home (and lungs!) with harmful chemicals.  Candlelight can also create a beautiful warm light in your home and change the mood entirely.

Make it a little project to keep your eyes open for bargains that will work well in your home.  Little bowls to serve olives and nuts in, a small empty bottle to use as a vase, little jars to put tea lights in.  It's the small things that make a difference when making your house a home.

Bye for now,

Joanna

The Jet Set

Sometimes I feel as though I'm living my life in transit. The world we live in is smaller and more accessible than ever, and travel has never been more enticing or easy. We regularly pack our bags and head off on holidays, exploring far-flung locations and picking up precious trinkets along the way.

Nothing is worse than the post holiday slump. Back to the daily grind, dreaming of Monte Martre, cosmopolitans in Hawaii, Hyde Park in the winter... I try and bring some of these special, sentimental times home with me as everyday reminders of past adventures, and a promise of adventures to come.

Try bringing the world home piece by piece.  Frame a poster from Paris.  Put photo montages where you will look at them every day.  Display a little wooden carving from Africa.  Sew intricate Indian sari fabric into cushion covers.

Have a great week,

Joanna

Ladies Room

In the years gone by, a woman's place was in the home, within the domestic sphere. She was to embody femininity and motherhood, and the home was an integral part of this whole concept.

The perception that home is the 'women's domain' has been around for hundreds of years. Tied in with these ideas of femininity and the female mystique, there was, and probably still is, the unspoken rule that a lot of facets of womanhood shouldn't be seen. Childbirth, raising children and grooming were all things that were hidden from the everyday running of a home. A wealthy lady would have a dressing room and bedroom where her husband would enter by invitation only.  Homes had a drawing room for the ladies to retire to of an evening. The children would be fed, bathed and put to bed in areas of the home where their father didn't venture.

Ideas of femininity have changed significantly in many ways, yet in other ways have stayed the same. Personally, I love the idea of having private little women's domains in our homes. A place where his undies and socks aren't thrown all over the show; a place that is just yours. It can be as small as a dressing table with a chair, or perhaps a dressing room if you're lucky enough - think of Carrie in the Sex and the City movie, she didn't want a diamond, just a 'really big closet!'

Have a great weekend,

Joanna

Don't Worry Baby, It's All White

They say it's a woman's perogerative to change her mind. Well and good, but what happens when you buy furniture and splash out with a decorating scheme that becomes, well, a little stale? A few years ago, I spent a lot of time trying to do the dark wood furniture look, subsequently going a little bit overboard. Dark wood is a beautiful look, but it can also be a heavy look if you don't style it cleverly, or if you have too much of it. If you have gone overboard with one colour, it's actually very easy and relatively inexpensive to tone down and neutralise.

Think of your home, walls and floors, as a blank slate. In terms of interior design, it's actually wise to keep your slate neutral. As fashion comes and goes, it becomes easy and inexpensive to move with these ebbs and flows by accessorising.

Think of dark brown leather couches with a dark brown coffee table, in a small room. Now imagine you interchange the brown coffee table with a white coffee table. Put some old novels or colourful magazines on it. You can swap the books and magazines to a vase of red tulips. When you're tired of the red, you can substitute that with a big, ornate silver bowl. Put some white or neutral scatter cushions on the couches to break up the dark colours and it will feel a different room entirely.  If you have a plain chair somewhere at home, change up the cushions you put on it to change the mood.

White timber blinds or plantation shutters in a window will lift and light the room up beyond recognition.  We put plantation shutters in and the results are amazing.  A splash of white paint can also work wonders. We bought a home that had unsightly wooden panels around the living room. One coat of paint later and I could have cried from happiness - it was like the sins of the seventies never happened.

Happy painting!
Joanna

Useful and Beautiful

As a child, my bedroom was a hoarder's paradise. Little scraps of paper, trinkets and old books were stashed in all available spaces, never to be seen again.  I wouldn't open cupboards or drawers for fear my precious booty would come tumbling out.  Everything was important, everything (even if it hadn't been uncovered for seven months) was treasured. 'If it's not useful or beautiful,' my mother finally advised, 'I suggest you don't keep it.'  Sage advice.

As an adult, I still stop and consider: is this useful or beautiful?  Or even better, is it both?  Things in our homes should make us feel good, make our little hearts swell with happiness when we walk in the door.

Royal Doulton aroma reeds in Cotton Blossom - I have mine in the bathroom

Try grouping perfume bottles together on an elegant silver tray

Teacups are now not just for ladies who lunch - T2 do a beautiful and affordable range from Middle Eastern-inspired to Japanese

All natural Ecoya candles, made in Australia - my favourite is Wild Frangipani

This new year, look at your belongings.  Useful or beautiful?  Consider having a clean out and start 2012 with a home that fills you with comfort and happiness, not stress and clutter.

Happy new year,

Joanna