Designex - Vibrant Bricks

CSR had a large stand at Designex this year with a range of products on display. I love the latest ranges of coloured glazed bricks available from several brick companies including PGH bricks 'Vibrant' range. I think my favourite is the Wasabi or maybe Rhapsody.

Watermelon

Wasabi

Tango

Fizz

Paris

Rhapsody - Images PGH Website

Designex - Diamond Ring

Discovered lighting designer Christopher Boots at Designex this year. Absolutely beautiful lights - a particular favourite was this Diamond Ring pendant. Can just see it over a circular walnut dining table with beautifully upholstered dining chairs. Swoon!

Images from Christopher Boots website

Designex - Old Furniture, New Twist

 

One of the most interesting things I saw at Designex last week was wallpapered furniture. I had seen simple shelving and drawer units wallpapered before but this company is able to take more complex furniture pieces and paint and wallpaper them with meticulous care. They can re-invigorate your existing furniture piece or create a new one especially for you.

Designex - Murobond

It took me a while to find Murobond at Designex this year but their Mr. Jason Grant collection of colours is a real winner. Beautiful quality paints and rich, complex colours.

 

All Images courtesy Murobond

Oh Ilse!

Went to a very inspiring skype chat from renowned London designer Ilse Crawford this afternoon. She was part of the '7 Kinds of Happiness' series at Designex. She really impressed me with being a great woman as well as a design 'tour de force'!

Ilse Crawford

 You can get a snapshot of her philosophy and approach to interior design here.

Magenta House!

Okay, I know I am supposed to be blogging about Designex but we took a little lunch break and walked up to Crown Street in Surry Hills today so this post is a little distracted. 

After a brief but very satisfying look in Chee Soon & Fitzgerald, we popped over to a great little cafe called GNOME espresso. Not only did their industrial chic decor meet our exacting standards but the 'secret recipe bloody mary' and mini beef burgers were delicious!

Image courtesy Gnome Espresso

We then made our way up the other end of Crown to Oxford Street and I totally swooned over this terrace house painted in Magenta with white trim!!

Designex

We are here and are seeing all manor of exciting new products (and refreshing our memories with familiar products!) 

 One of my favorite thing so far is actually the complimentary Designex bags!!

 

Sydney!

My friend ST and I arrived in Sydney today and quickly ditched the bags and went to meet a friend for a drink at the Abercrombie - a quirky Scottish themed pub in Chippendale. 

Image courtesy Time Out review here

 We are here for a couple of days of Designex so looking forward to bringing you details of some exciting new products and suppliers!

The Light Factory Gallery

Art works are one of the biggest stumbling blocks for interior design clients. Most people want something to hang on the wall that they connect too but often clients will be unsure of where to buy artworks, what to buy and how much to spend.


This week I had the pleasure of discovering the Light Factory Gallery in Eltham, including meeting the galley director - the lovely Margot Tasca. Margot is a painter herself and keen to promote art and artists local to the Eltham area. She has sourced a really interesting, eclectic group of artists and curates exhibitions of works that will resonate with a wide variety of clients. AND I am thrilled to add that the majority of artworks I saw in the current exhibition were very reasonably priced.


I fell in love with these gorgeous prints from local printmaker Kate Hudson. They are a little more conservative than what I would normally favour but the colours are soft and bold at the same time and the subject matter & composition traditional yet quite modern. I have always been a big fan of Margaret Preston and they reminded me a little of her works.

Teapot Tea Caddy & Two Bird Tea Caddy  - Kate Hudson

Yellow Chrysanthemums & Seven Proteas  - Kate Hudson

The Light Factory Gallery has a beautiful display space and out the back, the cafe is Eltham's best kept secret spot for coffee & cake. I think you might be hearing more from me on this gallery!