Artist Profile: Kimmy Hogan

Artist Kimmy Hogan is back with a new range of prints – the ‘Foliage’ collection. We caught up with Kimmy, who shares with us, her gorgeous print designs.

Photography: Cricket  /  Styling: Anna Chisholm for Greenhouse Interiors  /  Styling assist: Joy Design Co

Tell us about your new ‘Foliage’ collection of prints.
My new ‘Foliage’ collection is once again a tribute to my love of plants and bottles. It’s somewhat an extension of my ‘Still Life’ range from last year but a bit more free flowing and less formal. There is a lot of sunlight in my new work which I hope people can see and feel when they look at them. There are a total of four new illustrations but I expect to keep adding to this range over the next year.

Is this your first range you’ve worked on since giving birth to your son late last year?
Yes it is! It’s been lovely being home with my baby and taking my time to work on this latest collection. I have more drawings in process at the moment too, which I plan to release in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Tell us about the process behind your prints.
All the pieces are digitally drawn – that means it’s still a ‘hand drawn’ process with every line and shape being created with the stroke of my hand, I’m just holding a mouse instead of a pencil! The process starts with me raiding the local florist and I really study each plant and take loads of photos. I draw from a photo rather than from real life as the drawings take such a long time to create (especially with two kids to look after). I like to capture the arrangement with the right lighting and aim for the best reflections on the bottles, so then I have the perfect capture to go by when creating the artwork over the following weeks and months. To create one collection I might experiment with about ten different drawings before honing in on a final collection.

Kimmy Hogan’s artwork can be purchased through Greenhouse Interiors (both retail and wholesale), various retail stores (for a list of stockists click here), and through Kimmy’s website: www.kimmyhogan.com.au

KMART’S INSPIRED LIVING

Kmart has taken its design cues from Cuba, the Hamptons and Scandinavia to inspire its new August ‘Inspired Living’ range in stores now.

Adore Home Blog Kmart August Living 2016-2.jpg

You’ve got to hand it to Kmart, lately their range of homewares and furniture is on point! Inspired by international trends, and adopting a bold approach to colour and print, their new August ‘Inspired Living’ range has me totally excited. And on top of that everything is so affordably priced. Not everyone has thousands of dollars to completely decorate their home, so Kmart is really making it easy for the majority to really get the designer look for substantially less.

Kmart Australia’s General Manager Living, Julie Miller-Sensini explains, “We never rest at Kmart – we’re always looking for the next hot item, the latest trend and how we can bring this to life. Each season, we put more emphasis on new designs, improved quality and more of what Australians love. We take pride in helping people create the homes of their dreams.”

Embracing daring palm prints in beautiful hues of emerald green, Kmart’s design team has curated the Daintree Paradise range, which mixes monochrome with leafy motifs to striking effect. This tropical vista is juxtaposed with a riot of colour, reminiscent of lively Cuba streets, brightening the mood in light-hearted patterns.

Moving toward a more classic aesthetic, the Classic Cove range nods to the calm quiet of the Hamptons. Tranquil tones of blue are brought to life by natural textures such as wood, marble and cork, with pops of brass adding instant warmth to the palette.

Rounding out the August Living offering is the effortless, form-meets-function design of the Eco Urban range. Perfectly suited to the Southern Hemisphere lifestyle, the Scandinavian simplicity speaks for itself as matte black ceramics and clean-lined colourless glass are mixed and matched for a playful, yet refined look. Below we’ve rounded up our favourite finds from the new range – and the best bit, everything is under $50.

STOOL  /  PENDANT LIGHT  /  PRINT  /  THROW  /  SIDE TABLE  /  BASKET
CUTLERY SET  /  POT  /  DESK  /  CUSHION  /  OUTDOOR RUG

Harper by The Rug Collection

We’ve fallen in love with The Rug Collection’s new nursery to living room collection – Harper.

Photography Jeremy Blode  /  Styling Little Liberty Interiors

The Rug Collection’s new Harper collection is just adorable. These rugs work so well in kids’ rooms or nurseries. They’re available in round and rectangle sizes like 110 x 160cm, 160 x 230cm, 150cm round and 200cm round (priced from $499), making them perfect for smaller spaces – even a study would look cute with one of these pastel coloured rugs. They could even be used in small living rooms.

Available in four pastel colours - Dove, Azure, Peppermint and Blush, the Harper collection features a loop pile design, made from a NZ wool blend, giving it a warm softness and cosy feel. Click here to view the collection.

These rugs work so well in kids’ rooms or nurseries.

MINT/BLUE COLOUR CRUSH

We’ve developed a new colour crush – seafoam and dusty turquoise hues! Here, we’ve rounded up our top 3 interiors that utilise this refreshing colour palette to fabulous effect.

1 KYAL & KARA

Former The Block contestants Kyal and Kara proved to be a formidable couple on the hit renovation TV show, and now the talented duo are sharing their own home renovation journey on their website! Their coastal dwelling couldn’t be any more perfect, mixing tones of sea blues with plenty of beautiful timber accents (which the couple were known for on their time on The Block). Their bedroom wall painted in Taubmans’ ‘Silver Mink’ suits the Easycraft VJ wall panels to a tee. The overall look is unmistakably contemporary coastal.

In the kitchen, they made the slightly risky move of painting their cabinetry in Taubmans’ ‘Midnight Hour’, a deep turquoise blue. But the risk paid off and the look is totally delicious don’t you think? Paired with the timber stools and gold tap and hardware, we think it’s a match made in heaven. Click here to check out their full renovation journey.

2 WRIGHTSON STEWART

Brisbane architects Wrightson Stewart certainly had some fun with colour in this Toowong apartment. The design utilises colour-blocking in a refreshing mint and dusty jade palette. The overall effect feels youthful and fresh. That painted front door has given me the idea of painting my own apartment door (well on the inside at least). A great way of injecting extra colour into a space. Click here to see the full apartment tour.

3 BIASOL DESIGN STUDIO

Photography Ari Hatzis

Photography Ari Hatzis

I personally think a restaurant/cafe’s interior is crucial to its success or failure, (and obviously the food needs to be equally as amazing). Melbourne has possibly the best designed eateries in Australia and just one example is this one – Kitty Burns. I absolutely love the way in which designers of the space, Biasol Design Studio, have dispersed this lush minty blue colour throughout. Against the blonde timbers it really is a fresh look. Even though this is a commercial space, I feel like a lot of the design principles and ideas could be applied to a residential design.

UNITED INTERIORS' NEW MELBOURNE SHOWROOM

United Interiors have officially opened their new showroom in Moorabbin, Melbourne and you’re all invited to celebrate with their pop up and warehouse sale.

Styling: Emma Blomfield  /  Photography: Ren Pidgeon

The new United Interiors showroom showcases their latest artworks, decor and rug collections, sitting alongside a carefully curated collection of furniture and decor, complementing United Interiors’ products. To celebrate the new bricks and mortar store, they’re hosting a pop up and warehouse sale on Saturday 23 July between 9am-4pm. During the sale, you will even have the chance to meet with United Interiors’ designer collaborators – The Block’s Alisa and Lysandra (10am-1pm) and The Living Room’s James Treble (2-4pm). Plus partner Dani Wales (pictured opposite) of Basic Habitat (and former The Block contestant) will be there with her pop up shop from 1.30-4pm. Basic Habitat will be offering a hand-picked collection of homewares and accessories not to be missed!

And it gets even sweeter, with the first 100 customers who walk through the door receiving a mini boxed chocolate from Insta-famous dessert artist Caroline Khoo of Nectar & Stone. Yum! Perk Me Up’s coffee cart will be stationed outside the showroom, to ensure shoppers are well fuelled for some serious shopping.

So what kind of sales can you expect on the day? Well in the warehouse you’ll find rugs from $79, cushions from $10, framed prints from $69 and canvas prints from $59. In the showroom, you’ll receive 10% off furniture and lighting, 20% off all decor, 30% off all rugs, and 40% off outdoor panels. Craziness! I so wish I lived in Melbourne to check out this fantastic event. But the good news is, if you can’t make the sale event, their showroom is open to the public six days per week (closed Sundays). More details about the grand opening pop up and warehouse sale can be found by clicking here.

Visit United Interiors' new showroom at
253 Wickham Rd, Moorabbin, Melbourne.

Store profile: Bungalow Trading Co

Anna Chisholm’s childhood dream of owning a shoe shop is not so far from reality when her job as a footwear merchandiser segued into opening a flourishing retail haven for fashion and home.

Words: Pip Miller  /  Photography: Annette O’Brien  /  Styling: Anna Chisholm

As one of Melbourne’s homewares meccas, Bungalow Trading Co (named after Anna’s renovated Californian bungalow) opened in May 2013. It was during her years at home raising two young sons that Anna discovered her passion was not just for shoes, but interiors as well, with hours spent ‘fluffing’ and styling her own nest.

“I frequented many of the small, unique and well curated homewares businesses around Melbourne – shops like Hut 13, Turner & Lane, Fenton & Fenton and Crate Expectations. There was nothing like these shops in my local area so I saw an opportunity and made my shop-owning dreams a reality – opening up next to a new, busy café.”

Bungalow was embraced by the community from the start and the business flourished and has evolved most recently with a fresh new look thanks to the help of Industria X furniture.

According to Anna, Bungalow’s core business is homewares (art, soft furnishings, decorative pieces, lighting) and a lovingly curated range of fashion, jewellery and accessories for women with some décor and toys for children.

With regards to Bungalow and its retail philosophy, Anna says that this is very much built on her desire to support local artists and designers and a commitment to stock as much locally made and designed product as possible.

“I am also passionate about the people I meet in this industry. I have the utmost gratitude for my regular customers – many who have supported the shop since we opened. Many are now friends and some are staff!”

Though not a huge fan of religiously following trends, Anna says she is awake to noticing what is new on the market and says that she is particularly partial to a resurgence of ceramics and textural layering with linen – especially the variety of luxe bed linen on the market. “I like to pick and choose from key trends and let them merge with favourite pieces and evergreen ranges. More often than not, trends emerge in either colour, texture or form.”

Anna does admit to a soft spot for styling with colour and at the moment is into mixing pastel pinks and peaches with forest green, orange with lilac, burgundy and pink, and mustard with soft blue. “Pink is a recurring favourite. I love pink.”

Bungalow Trading Co is just one of the many stores that stock Adore Home Magazine. Visit their store at 187 Booran Rd, Caulfield South, Melbourne.

A few of my favourite things

I absolutely am loving the combination of blush pink, black and white. Add a pop of gold, and a bit of marble and ooh la la, it gives my heart palpitations every. single. time. The Daily Edited would have to be my go-to label for luxe leather goods. Their handbags are out of this world good, and I’’m particularly enamoured with this pale pink shoulder bag. Equally as good are their thank you card sets. Paper on one side with leather-like backing on the other, you’ll love the thickness and luxurious feel of these notecards. As far as stationery brands go, I can't go past kikki.K and new-comer Jot It Down. Working from home means I'm always on the hunt for beautiful pens, notebooks and other bits and bobs to help keep my desk tidy and stylish. Pictured are just some of my favourite finds at the moment.