Storage ideas for the fashionista

With limited space available in her condo, savvy Canadian fashion blogger Stephanie Sterjovski incorporated her office into her closet – creating a stylish ‘cloffice’.

Photography Anna Argiropoulos  /  Interior design + styling Jacquelyn Clark  /  Words Jacqui Greig

“It made sense to combine the two, as my clothes are a huge part of my job,” Stephanie says. “So, it would keep me inspired, as long as it was presented in an organised way.”
Her PAX wardrobe from IKEA was a key element, with Stephanie carefully selecting each component to suit her exact needs – capitalising on every inch of space through a clever mix of open and closed storage.

A hidden closet with mirrored sliding doors, and a floor-length mirror on an opposite wall open up the space, as does the Lucite desk, while extra shelves at the bottom of the wardrobe store office supplies.
“Everything else can be displayed and styled in a cute way that makes the space feel very boutique-like, which I love!” says Stephanie.

With the assistance of interior designer Jacquelyn Clark of Lark & Linen, the ‘cloffice’ is fresh and uncluttered: “They key to creating a clean look is to keep the overall palette neutral,” explains Jacquelyn. “Steph’s closet then brings an added hit of colour – the space can completely transform depending on her current wardrobe, and season.”

This is an edited extract from the Small Homes edition of Adore, out in newsagents now Australia-wide.
Click here for more stockists or click here to buy online.

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WINTER TRENDS WITH JAMES LANE

We’re talking winter trends today with James Lane - one of Australia’s fastest growing interior brands.

Having launched the brand in February 2016, James Lane has quickly expanded across Australia with 9 stores in total. We love their affordably priced, on-trend range of furniture and we couldn’t resist sharing some of it with you. Stylist Ashley Pratt recently teamed up with James Lane to offer her top four interior trends for the cooler months ahead.

1 LAYERED MINIMALISM
According to Ashley, Winter is all about keeping your interiors simple yet elegant. “This trend is all about simplicity. Keep your base palette simple and use elements such as art, cushions, throws and flowers to add colour and warmth to the space.

2 WARM TONES
“Tuscan warm tones will be huge this Winter. This earthy hue adds a cosy feeling to spaces and works really well with original brick buildings and federation style homes.”

3 COSY TEXTURES
“Adding texture to your home is a great way to give your space a layered look without it being too cluttered,” advises Ashley. “Look for natural fibres such as linen, timber and would that will add a touch of warmth and stick to cooler tones like grey, charcoal, and white with hints of dusty blue.”

4 ALL ABOUT ART
“Art is a fantastic way to enhance your home and best of all – it will suit all spaces. Art walls will be a big trend coming into Winter and the trend is easy to apply using some simple styling guidelines.”

Shop these styles and more by clicking here.

The Woven Cane Edit

Hotel Panache Paris

Hotel Panache Paris

The comeback kid of 2017 has to be woven cane – we’re seeing it pop up everywhere, from hotels to trade shows to fashion runways.

Words Loni Parker

Fred International stand at Denfair, featured a large-scale woven cane screen.

Fred International stand at Denfair, featured a large-scale woven cane screen.

I remember as a kid, my family had this very 80s, green bamboo print sofa – with a woven cane panel at the bottom of it. Me and my sister would naughtily kick the bottom of the sofa when we sat on it. Between us and the cat (which used to use the cane section as its own personal scratching pad), it’s fair to say the sofa looked pretty bruised and battered after a few mere months. I really hated that sofa and when I see old photographs with it in the background I shudder at the thought of it.

It’s probably that reason why then, when I first saw woven cane rear its ugly head recently, that I had mixed feelings about its steadily rising popularity. But like most trends, they tend to wear you down after a while, and all of a sudden you actually find yourself liking it again. Well that is precisely what has happened to me, my friends. I’m now on board the woven cane express train – toot, toot!

There’s just something almost Parisian about the look of it, mixed in with a casual coastal flavour that I’m all about lately. Heck, I’m even considering buying new dining chairs with a hint of woven cane. Isn’t it funny how the passing of time can change our minds!

Wanderlust: Koti, Paris

Let’s kick this Monday off with some dreamy wanderlust shall we. I have serious cravings to stay at KOTI - a sleepover experience in the heart of Paris.

Conceived and created by designer Linda Bergroth, KOTI (Finnish for home) offers Scandi-style accommodation like no other. Situated within the cafe and project space of the Finnish Institute, six spruce timber cabins of varying sizes are available to rent each evening. Each day, the installation is open for the public to visit – so you can check it out even if you're not officially a guest staying there!

KOTI also plays host to a series of inspiring events throughout the spring – oh how I wish I could visit. I just adore the pastel hued barn doors too, adorning each cabin. Super cute right? You can book your stay via airbnb.

Current Crush: Farmhouse Kitchens

Casual, rustic and filled with country charm, these farmhouse-style kitchens are my latest obsession. I’ve rounded up four features you should consider when trying to achieve this look in your own home.

1 ENCAUSTIC TILES

Encaustic (pressed cement) tiles with intricate, bold patterns, often feature in a farmhouse kitchen floor. They’re probably not to everyone’s taste, but in a farmhouse-style kitchen they just work beautifully, as evidenced in the kitchen above by Studio McGee, and in the one pictured below designed by Emily Henderson.

2 OPEN SHELVING

Open shelving seems to appear in almost every single farmhouse-style ktichen we’ve featured here. And for good reason! This style of kitchen is much more decorative (and probably why I’m a huge fan) – you’ll often find beautiful ceramics, rustic chopping boards, cookbooks, heck – even art, styled perfectly on open shelves. Usually timber shelves work best for this style, like these pictured above and below, both designed by Studio McGee.

3 BRASS DETAILS

Whether it’s your light fixtures, tapware, or kitchen handles, brass is the metal of choice in today’s farmhouse kitchens. It certainly lends a more contemporary edge and a healthy dose of glamour. I’m currently lusting over this strap brass bracket from US based company Rejuvenation pictured above.

I know from personal experience that it can be hard finding brass handles in Australia so you may be interested in this one pictured opposite by Kethy. It would easily fit in a contemporary kitchen too – but I think its simplicity would also make it ideal for a contemporary twist on farmhouse style. However black, and silver are also great options for all those little details that make your kitchen sing.

4 COLOUR

Sure black, white and natural timber are an obvious choice for a farmhouse style kitchen, but creating something more homely, and unique requires a little bit of bravery – yep we’re talking colour.

Consider coloured cabinetry or painting the island bench when designing your country-style kitchen – just as Emily Henderson has done in her own kitchen (pictured above) and in this other one she designed for a client (pictured left). Muddy greens, blues and greys work a treat in these areas – the key is to keep these colours more natural – sickly bright colours aren’t going to work. The key to making colour in the kitchen work, is balancing with plenty of white as proven in this kitchen below designed by Amber Interiors. It will keep the whole look clean and fresh.

Consider coloured cabinetry or painting the island bench...

BARN DOOR /  BASKET  /  TEA TOWEL SET  /  HANDLE   
CASSEROLE DISH  /  TILES  /  TAP  /  STOOL  /  OVEN  /  BOWL

CUSHION RANGE FROM THE STABLES

Cushion addicts rejoice – we recently chatted to The Stables interior stylist Catherine Heraghty about her new range of delectable cushions.

Tell us the motivation behind your cushion range.
After being in the interiors industry for over ten years, the most common question I had from clients was where I had sourced those cushions from! Being a stylist, I had the skills to purchase cushions from a range of suppliers and combine them to create a look, and I know that is something my clients struggled with. The objective with this collection was to create a collection where customers can easily put a look together themselves. So many of my cushions work beautifully together so it is easy for clients to do it themselves. Customers can also jump onto my Instagram account and website to get a little inspiration on how they can recreate looks with my cushions.

When it comes to styling a bed, do you have a preference for a number/arrangement of cushions?
When styling a bed, I love to add three cushions to my bed. The best combination for any bed is two European pillows, four standard pillows and three cushions – it sounds like a lot but this is the key to a cosy bed. Add to this the layers of linen and throws and you can create the most luxurious looking bed.

Likewise on a sofa... Are there any design tips/rules that should be applied?
When putting together cushions for a sofa, I like to work with odd numbers as I don’t like it to feel too balanced and perfect. So for a standard two seater sofa for example, I might have two cushions on one side and one on the other. And then one on an armchair, this is generally enough – cushions look great but you need to leave room for sitting!

Colour Trend: Black, Natural & Greens

SOURCES (PICTURED ABOVE)

DINING ROOM  /  LEAF PRINT  /  CANDLE  /  RUG  /  CHAIR  /  CUSHION  /  TERRARIUM  /  PERFUME  /  SHELF  /  HANDBAG

PLANTS ON SHELF IMAGE: STYLING IVY MUSE FOR DULUX DESIGN EFFECTS COLLECTION  /  PHOTO AMELIA STANWIX
PRODUCTS USED ON PAINTED POTS DULUX METAL SHIMMER EFFECT IN VARIOUS COLOURS

Luscious leafy greens are big in 2017 – just ask Pantone, who’ve named Greenery as the Colour of the Year! Team it with black and natural rattan and pale timbers to create a look that’s bang on trend.

Compiled by Loni Parker, Kate Moss, and Rose Polglase

I’ve long been a fan of the colour green – in particular a deep, kelly green – there’s something about its freshness and vibrancy that has always excited me.

But, when Pantone announced their colour of the year as Greenery, I have to say I wasn’t a total fan of the vivid lime green colour they chose (I prefer a darker shade), however the idea of greenery, as in plants indoors, is very on-trend this year. I recently stumbled across this advertising agency’s office, and just adore all of the green mixed in with black and white – and that stunning Flavor Paper wallpaper in the staircase is pretty sublime right?!

And speaking of leafy prints – how about this tile pattern at adults only resort Casa Cook, Rhodes (pictured below)?

SOURCES (PICTURED ABOVE)

WALLPAPER  /  BASKET  /  PRINT  /  FASHION  /  CUSHION  /  BENCH SEAT  /  CHAIR  /  AGAVE IMAGE