California Dreaming Bathroom

Gold Coast couple Aaron and Sarah Waters looked beyond Australian shores to bring a fresh, sun-drenched, Palm Springs vibe into their bathroom.

Photography Louise Roche, Villa Styling / Words Pip Miller

Wall hooks from Pineapple Traders

Inspired by the colours of Californian architecture and the state’s dry-terrain landscaping, the couple sums up their bathroom design as ‘Palm Springs meets Joshua Tree’.

Making a prominent statement is a large glass window looking out to a stunning cacti garden, which according to Aaron and Sarah is inspired by blue skies and a shared love of minimalist landscaping.

“There is just something about taking a shower under the ever-changing, natural elements. Instead of looking at the soap you are looking at the stars,” says Aaron.

Aside from creativity, the feature window was also incorporated to capture as much natural light as possible. While considering the outlook and privacy, the window needed to tick many boxes and was an incredibly important element when designing the layout.

“If that means pretending you are having a shower on your newly poured concrete floor before the walls go up then so be it–you really do not get too many chances to get it just right,” says Aaron.

Custom made vanity from Hello Trader

In a bid to escape clichéd, ordinary vanities, the couple opted for one that was custom-made by Hello Trader with timber framed rattan doors and soft textured stone top from Concrete Nation. “We wanted something different but that would also tie it in with the rest of our house,” explains Sarah.

The curation of elements in this mint-fresh bathroom is subtle yet clever with the soft blue tiles from Tile Trends at Tweed Heads being just the right tone to pop but not overpower.

“We did change the grout colour on the walls to the floor. Although white grout would have been perfect, it wasn’t a practical choice in the long term,” explains Sarah. 

Brass tapware from ABI Interiors

---

This is an extract from the Fresh edition (Autumn 2020)
– available to buy as a digital edition (click here).

---

Pre-order new Hot edition

The Winter edition is due to arrive from our printers early next week.
Pre-orders are now open. Here’s a little taste of what’s inside.

Design Nestspace Interior Design

This is our ‘Hot’ edition showcasing 50 of the hottest kitchen trends and products for 2020. We’ve got so many different products and styles of kitchens in this edition – well worth a read if you’re about to embark on a kitchen reno.

So you’ve got a taste of what it’s like to work from home during the recent restrictions. Thinking of continuing working from home permanently? We’ve sought out words of wisdom from those who’ve been doing it for years. Plus we roundup some drool-worthy home office products to spruce up your space.

Looking for home tours? From an Edwardian-era reno to breezy Cali-cool vibes, we showcase four homes in styles everyone can draw inspiration from. Plus a lush coastal garden tour that will have you reaching for your garden gloves.

Pre-order now for an early June delivery. Available in newsagents Australia-wide from 8th June.

Photography The Palm Co / Interior design Simone Mathews

Photography Lauren Miller / Interior design Autumn Hachey & Tiffany Piotrowski

Interior design Ivy Huang / Photography Dylan James / Styling The Real Estate Stylist
Building Design Karl Degering & Associates

Interior design Front Porch Properties / Photography Louise Roche, Villa Styling

POTS DESIGNED FOR INDOORS

‘Good Size’ pots in white

The Balcony Garden have just announced the launch of new styles and colours to their Humphrey Range, designed for indoors spaces.

Photography Hannah Blackmore

Living with a passion for producing handmade pots of the highest quality, The Balcony Garden have designed the Humphrey Range for interiors. This new collection of lightweight pots are available in four colours – basalt, mud, sand and white, and a variety of contemporary styles that will complement all living spaces. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, the range are drain hole free ensuring no messy water spills on your treasured furniture and floors. We’re sure this range will be a favourite for those wanting to display their plants inside.

‘Not Bad’ pots in sand

‘Slim Pickins’ pots in basalt

Pictured on counter: ‘Tops Off’ in white, ‘Not Bad’ in basalt, ‘Good Size’ in mud, ‘Slim Pickins’ in white

The pots are available to buy online here: www.thebalconygarden.com.au
Plus there’s free shipping* on all online orders over $300. *Excludes WA/NT/TAS

Work from home tips

Home office seems to be the new buzz phase! With the recent precautions in place, it’s opened up the concept of working from home to a side of our population that has not previously experienced this phenomenon. Interior designer Sarah Yarrow rounds up her top 7 tips to get through and win at work.

WRITTEN BY SARAH YARROW / PHOTOGRAPHY JACQUI TURK

1. GET DRESSED
Sounds simple but it will keep your mindset focused on work. This is a change of environment, not a holiday, keep focused.

2. HAVE A DEDICATED AREA
It’s vital to have a dedicated space to work from which is not a communal area, e.g. the dining table. This helps you stay organised and having work stuff visibly in your personal space.

3. SET BREAKS
Have morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea pre-scheduled in your calendar so you’re not getting up randomly – this is so disruptive to your mental flow.

4. STAY PRESENT
When you’re at work, you’re WORKING. Avoid letting personal commitments or distractions seep into your work day.

5. CLEAR THE CLUTTER
Get rid of the paper and start to incorporate some organisation.
Nothing will make you feel less motivated and more overwhelmed than sitting down to a work space which is overflowing. Keep it clear and clean. Your thoughts will mirror your space.

Sarah runs Sydney-based interior design firm, Sarah Yarrow Interiors.

6. SYSTEMS
In terms of being productive, I have a hybrid mixture of technology and paper to help me stay on track. I like the tactile nature of writing my daily tasks and then the
digital component of scheduling these into my digital calendar. I use the Full Focus Planner (by Michael Hyatt Co.) which allows me to set a daily ‘Big 3’ – these are 3 tasks
that I must get done today. Focusing on just 3 tasks means I’m way more productive than spreading myself thin trying to do 20 things and not completing any. I also love the
satisfaction of physically ‘ticking off’ tasks as they’re completed, so therapeutic!

7. BOUNDARIES
Having a set schedule and work day means you can keep mental and emotional order to your day. Being able to close the door of your office (or pack away your work things out of sight for the evening) and ‘leave’ work is important for your mental and emotional health.

My Backyard Makeover

‘Choob’ pots from The Balcony Garden / ‘Palm Beach’ outdoor tiles from Tile Cloud / Gate custom made by our carpenter

Probably my most requested thing on Instagram stories is to share the details of my backyard garden. Today’s the day I share it all, from plants selected to the garden edging used, to the colour of the painted fence.

Photography Mark Zeidler

Let’s talk about what was here when we first moved in. A whole heap of nothing, that’s what! Not a single plant or tree was in the backyard. It was a barren wasteland. We had an old rotary clothesline, an ugly tin shed (which is still there, we will replace later in the year) and a horrible wire mesh fence. Our neighbour thankfully agreed to go halves with us in replacing the old mesh fence (she actually approached the previous owners who didn’t want to go halves in a new fence), so it was a win for both of us! Once that went up we instantly had privacy from our neighbours and we then painted the sides and back in Taubmans ‘Colorbond Night Sky’.

Olive tree, Olearia platinum and blue chalk stick

Throughout the garden beds, sandstone rocks protrude from the edging to create a natural look

Next we started on the garden beds. My partner hand dug up the narrow bed which lines the back of the house, but quickly realised it would take weeks of back-breaking labour to do the larger side and back garden beds. So we hired a professional with a bobcat to come and dig it out, approximately 20-30cm deep and then fill it in with new top soil (which we ordered from a local landscaping supplier).

We have clay soil in our yard which isn’t fantastic, so we wanted to bring in some new soil to give our plants the best possible chance to establish. The bobcat, made such light work of it – he was here for just a couple of hours. It was worth the $400 we paid to get it done. My advice is to know where to spend and where to save. We did the rest of the planting, and landscaping ourselves saving us a lot of money. Plus planting and selecting the plants is the fun part!

‘No mow grass’ / Ekodeck used as garden edging / Cypress mulch

Agave geminiflora

The garden edging is a product called Ekodeck which is typically used as decking (available from Bunnings). It’s a composite product meaning it’s not going to rot like timber does. It comes in a few colours but we chose Ironwood to match the fence. The mulch is cypress and the rocks are sandstone boulders. We ordered these products from a local landscaping supply store. Most will have these types of products available.

We have just left the grass we already had – I didn’t feel like it was worth spending the money on buying new grass. I’m not sure what variety it is – it’s not the greatest, but hey, it’s green so good enough. We’ve used Seasol to really help green it up and also on the plants to get them growing quickly.

Tip: A thick layer of mulch on your garden bed will help prevent weeds from popping up.

Fence painted in Taubmans ‘Colorbond Night Sky’

Westringia, Agave Cameron blue and Tussock grass

We have so many different plant varieties (in all honesty maybe a few too many - we could have narrowed it down more), but it certainly makes for an interesting looking garden. My partner trawled Pinterest for hours looking for Australian-coastal garden inspiration. He researched into some of the names of the plants and then set out to find those plants. Most were purchased from local nurseries and Bunnings. Some we bought as seedlings from online plant stores. We then repotted them into slightly larger pots so that when it came time to planting, we’d have a few more established plants to make the garden look fuller.

We planted this in January, and the growth we’ve had has been phenomenal. There are particular star performers in the garden that have grown like crazy. The Licorice plants, Myoporum parvifolium, Westringias and curry plants have all been fast growers.

Tip: Give your licorice plant plenty of space to move – it gets big and will grow over the top of other plants. We have to give ours a regular trim.

Curry plants in the foreground

‘Licorice plant’ and ‘Grass tree’

Desert star and Pratia pedunculata / White and grey coloured stone mix

SIDE OF HOUSE

Our narrow side of house is our utility side – it’s not particularly pretty – we’ve got our living room air con vent, gas tanks and gas hot water system out there, along with our power box and fold-down washing line (not shown in this image). It was a fairly straight-forward fix, we painted this section of the fence and the brick wall in Taubmans ‘Crisp White’, and added a barn-style gate (our carpenter custom made this up for us). The concrete footpath was in pretty bad condition. We hired professional painters to prep the surface (cleaned it down with a gurney) and painted it in White Knight paving paint. You can tint in any colour we chose Taubmans ‘Thunder Paws’ – a lovely soft grey. Even though there’s a few craters in the concrete it does a great job at making it look a whole lot better.

We had a professional concrete cutter come out and take 20cm off the concrete footpath to give us more garden space. We also had the only tree on the side of the house removed as it was growing into the fence and had to be removed in order to put the new fence in. We replaced with a line of Heliconia ‘Hot Rio Nights’ and dichondra. We filled it in with small stones which we got from a local landscaping supply store. The overall look is so much fresher!

BEFORE

AFTER

Heliconia ‘Hot Rio Nights’ and dichondra line the side of the house

I’m so happy with how our garden has turned out. But there will be more to come. Once we rip up and replace the old driveway we’ll have yet another space to work with. Also we’ll be replacing the old tin shed with a beautiful SheShedz and either putting in a veggie garden behind it, or a secret firepit area. It seems there are a never-ending amount of jobs to be done but I’m really enjoying the process. I’m also keen to see what the garden will look like in 1 years time – I’m sure the growth will be even more amazing.

My Back of House Makeover

The back of my house is finally finished and I’m so excited to be revealing all today. Strap yourself in this is a long post - with lots of details!

Photography Mark Zeidler

BEFORE: Nothing to see here but yellow brick and dirty old roof tiles

The back of the house needed a lot of work. Not only did we have a rusted out old carport and lattice screen to demolish, we had an old Hills Hoist in the backyard that also needed to be replaced (we’ve now got a white fold down line on the side of the house which looks so much cleaner). There was also a horrible wire chain fence down one side. Thank goodness the owner of the house next door agreed to go halves in a new fence – that alone made such a huge difference to the feel of our backyard.

AFTER: A coastal-meets-modern farmhouse look

REPLACING WINDOWS WITH FRENCH DOORS

The very first step in creating a better looking exterior was to replace the ugly brown windows and security screens with beautiful, classic looking French doors. They have completely transformed the feel of the house, and also give us a better view out to the garden, and more of a connection to the backyard. We chose to go with DoorsPlus for the doors and installation. Why? Because they took care of everything – from measuring up the space, selecting the right doors for the job, and taking care of the installation. They have to cut the non-structural brickwork, knock them out, and then frame up for the doors. It’s a big job and takes all day to complete. Our installer was brilliant – he knows what he’s doing (he does this for a living, day in, day out), so we felt confident that the job would be completed to a high standard – which it was. We are thrilled with how they look, you can even elect to choose your own door handles (we chose the Lemaar ‘Orba’ handles in black from Bunnings). We painted our doors in Dulux ‘Vivid White’.

RENDERING THE BRICK

Whilst I complain about the ugly brick, it’s one of the reasons I was attracted to buying this house, because I could totally see the brick rendered and painted. I wanted a bagged render finish – one where you could still see the subtle lines of the brick mortar to give the appearance of an farmhouse cottage. To achieve this we used Dulux Texture Render in medium cover (you can purchase from Bunnings). It comes in an off-white colour, we chose to paint over it so that it looks even whiter. I totally recommend this product if you’re looking to render your house yourself. It’s expensive to hire a professional renderer so this is a more affordable DIY option. You simply paint the house with one coat of the Dulux Texture Primer first, and then apply the Texture Render product with a wool mitt by hand and smear it over the brick in sweeping circular motions. Because we have deep mortar joints we needed to apply two coats to fill it in without any cracks in the joints. If you had less deep joints you could probably get away with just one coat.

A prickly pear and a Strelitzia nicolai and dichondra planted into ‘Choob’ pots from The Balcony Garden

TILES

Ok full disclosure – the tiles have been fake ‘layed’ by myself (I’ve just popped them onto the concrete with no glue or grout). We have a few things that we need to get done prior to getting the concrete footpath tiled. But we already had the tiles here so I thought why not lay them out and get it all photographed as I’ve been itching to get this blog post done. We chose the ‘Palm Beach’ grey encaustic-look outdoor tile from Tile Cloud (can also be used indoors – for example bathrooms floors) as it has a slightly gritty texture to it making it non-slip. If you follow along on Instagram, you’ll know I sought out your opinion on which tiles to choose and the overwhelming winner was the Palm Beach design in grey! I’m so happy I went with it, it’s a gorgeous soft grey and just goes so well with the exterior. I can’t wait til these are layed professionally.

STRIPED AWNINGS

Ok so let’s talk about the awnings. I got a couple of quotes from other big-name awning companies, and let me tell you they weren’t cheap. One company was over $7000 for two awnings (gulp), and the other was close to $4,000 for two awnings (umm, ok). I get if you’re spending that money on big ticket items like french doors, but for awnings I couldn’t believe it. And that’s when I came across a company called Online Blinds (please note this business has now closed down). They’ve got pricing details on their site so it was easy for me to determine how much it was going to cost. They also have images of their fabric available and can send out small samples in the mail to help you decide. I chose the Fixed No Frame Awning in Docril acrylic fabric (014 colour - which is black and white stripe). You can choose from a wavey or straight valance.

The only catch is you have to measure up yourself, and also assemble and install yourself. We hired our electrician (who is also a handyman) and he charged us approximately $200 to install (worth every penny too, because there’s no way we could have done it ourselves). Even with paying someone to install, we still came out way cheaper - each awning costing $450 each, so total cost with install $1100. Compared to $4000, it’s a massive saving. I’m very happy with the look of the awnings and the quality also. Oh and they protect the timber French doors from rain – which is why we bought them in the first place.

THE LITTLE DETAILS

It’s all those little details that really bring a house to life. We added a couple of potted plants to help freshen it up. The white pots are from The Balcony Garden. We planted a prickly pear in one, and a Strelitzia nicolai and dichondra in the other.

Another small detail is the ‘Dial’ hose hanger from Design By Them. I get asked by my instagram followers all the time whenever I show this in my stories. It’s so rare to find such a beautiful looking hose hanger so this was a must have for me. It also comes in black for those wondering. I’ve paired mine with a No King ivory and brass hose. I now sell these through my online shop (it also comes in a slate colour) and in 10m and 20m sizing (mine is a 20m hose). Hey if you’re going to invest in making your home beautiful, why stuff it up with an ugly green Bunnings hose!

And last but certainly not least – the barn light in the middle gives the house a coastal farmhouse feel. I wanted to make sure I got the scale right and also to choose something that is able to be hung safely out in all types of weather. This one is the Universal Gooseneck in ‘Black Ace’ from Barn Light Australia. I just love the way it looks. Each one is custom-made and powder-coated in the colour of your choice.

SHOP THE LOOK

Overall I couldn’t be happier with how it has turned out and wouldn’t change a single thing. If only our front of house looked this good. In time it will, but for the time being I think my favourite place might be the backyard. Tomorrow I’ll be posting all about the back garden including all of the plant names.

Trend: Autumn Change

THROW / VASE / ART / CUSHION / QUILT
ARMCHAIR / LAMP / BEDHEAD / STOOL

A 60s brick home renovation

This typical 60s brick home in Mansfield, Brisbane has been given a complete transformation thanks to building company Zou Build. We chat to Zou Build’s design and colour consultant Christal Fysentzou on this remarkable renovation.

BEFORE

Tell us about what this property used to look like and the major changes you made to it.
The property was your typical brick 1960s style home with original everything. The house was not legal height downstairs and all kitchen, living, dining and bedrooms were all upstairs. We came up with an innovative way to make the downstairs area habitable which enabled us to bring the living spaces to the lower level and maximising the existing footprint without extending.

BEFORE

BEFORE

What was your design inspiration for this reno?  
When renovating I always like to pay tribute to the house’s heritage in some way so with this one it’s a bit of mid- century-meets-coastal. The original design of the house had no connection to the big pool or any outdoor entertaining areas and Queensland living is all about outdoor entertaining so I really wanted to make the connection by bringing the outdoors in…

How long did the reno take to complete? 
6 months

What was the budget?
The retail cost of a renovation of this nature is around $350,000.

Which room/space was the biggest transformation and why? 
I would say the downstairs area. It was very dark and daggy and wasn’t even functional. Now it is light and bright and connects well to the beautiful outdoor space.

For anyone else renovating a house, what would be your biggest piece of renovation advice?  
It is always tempting to try and save costs by doing things yourself but often this amounts to extra cost and time. Always engage in a professional to complete the work for quality finish and to stay on track.

This home is currently on the market - check out the real estate listing here.

PROFILE: THE GOOD SHEET

Dreamy bedding that is ethically made and doesn’t cost the earth – that’s the ethos behind The Good Sheet. We chat to owner Kamila Scholz about her inspiring bedding brand.

1. What was your motivation for starting The Good Sheet?
I started The Good Sheet because I wanted to get away from the mass-produced, fast-fashion type homewares which crowd store shelves. I was looking for something good, something incredibly comfortable, free of harmful chemicals and responsibly made and to me, that meant looking at things like country of manufacture and transparency around materials used. There weren’t many options for what I wanted which weren’t produced in China, and if there were, they were incredibly expensive. So I decided to create what I couldn’t find, and The Good Sheet was born.

2. Tell us about your bedding and how they're ethically made.
One of the first decisions we made was to manufacture in countries where we can be confident that our product is responsibly made. We began with manufacturing in Israel, long known for its high standards in textile production. Since then we’ve chosen to create our newest Oeko-Tex certified percale range in Portugal, a country with a long, rich history in quality textiles and some of the world’s highest social and environmental standards, where we can be sure workers are not being exploited and are paid fairly. We’ve had many requests for a traditional style thicker cotton which proved harder to source as it had to be woven specially for us – so we were very happy to have found a partner in India who could not only make what we needed, but met our responsible manufacturing standards. Our organic cotton Heavyweight sheets are both Oeko-Tex and GOTS certified and made in a factory which runs on 100% renewable energy and recycles 99% of water used in production. 

Closer to home, we try to do our best too, by using recyclable or compostable packaging and we plant 5 trees in our home state of Tasmania with every bedding set sold.

3. You’ve got three options available - percale, heavyweight percale and sateen. Can you walk us through the differences between each for those trying to decide on which option they’d prefer.
Percale and sateen are simply different types of weave, neither is better than the other, the choice comes down to what feels better to you. All our sheets are made with long staple cotton, which forms the basis of every good quality cotton sheet. 

Percale is lightweight and breathable, and feels cool and crisp with a smooth, matte finish. It’s perfect for warm climates or hot sleepers. 

Our Heavyweight Percale has all the same qualities but made with a heavier yarn for those who prefer a bit more weight to their sheets, while retaining the breathability. These are like the vintage sheets you might remember your grandma having. 

Sateen is for those who like their sheets softer, silkier and with a subtle lustre. The nature of the weave means they feel warmer and retain more heat so they are a great choice for cooler nights or if you tend to feel the cold at night.

Pre-order the Fresh Edition 2020

PHOTOGRAPHY VILLA STYLING STUDIO / DESIGN BILINGA BEACH ABODE

Our new ‘Fresh’ edition is packed with beautiful bathrooms plus 10 top laundry design tips. Available for pre-order now and delivered early March (also out in newsagents early-mid March). Here’s a sneak look inside.

PHOTOGRAPHY THE PALM CO / BUILD ORTON BUILDING

PHOTOGRAPHY VILLA STYLING STUDIO / DESIGN BILINGA BEACH ABODE

PHOTOGRAPHY ANJIE BLAIR / INTERIOR DESIGN LYDIA MASKIELL

PHOTOGRAPHY ATELIER PHOTOGRAPHY / INTERIOR DESIGN + STYLING TIM NEVE

PHOTOGRAPHY VILLA STYLING STUDIO / DESIGN KRISTY SPENCER