Colourswatch this month is running a bit behind schedule.So this month I have found an artist, a cheap and chic pick-me-up, a divine book, a light fitting to die for, and an un-missable upcoming Auckland Event…
Colourswatch this month is running a bit behind schedule. I can blame it totally on my lack of insight into how long it actually takes to finish renovating a house.
Much as you are probably sick of hearing about it, I am even sicker of living in it! Today the shutters went up in the last two bedrooms, and once we have one bathroom finished (done by the end of the week), it will feel like a huge relief. I have worked out we haven’t had a single day yet without some tradesperson coming or going since we moved in nearly a month ago. Enough already.
Much as I like all my charming, easygoing builders, plumbers, and painters, I just want the house to myself for five minutes. I even get grumpy on the weekend with the family there! My only time of peace seems to be when everyone else has gone to bed, and I can lurk around the house (avoiding the bits that aren’t actually finished), and just enjoy what a great space it is.
It is also difficult with so much other stuff going on (finishing details of grout colour, tile finishes, scratched paintwork (already) etc, etc) for me to go looking for any other sort of inspiration. Luckily some of it came to me in the form of an invitation to view the Degas to Dali exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. It was a wonderful opportunity to just view some breathtakingly beautiful pieces of art. It reminded me that you do truthfully just have to slow down sometimes, and just take a breath.
Look at something beautiful and it will change the whole tenor of your day. And in my case – month. It also reminded me that there is beauty and inspiration to be found everywhere.
So this month I have found a few things to help with the inspiration hunt, an artist, a cheap and chic pick-me-up, a divine book, a light fitting to die for, and an un-missable upcoming Auckland Event.
We will continue on the theme that we started with – art. Seed Gallery in Newmarket Auckland have just had an exhibition called Writ Large, which featured Janna Van Hasselt. I just love her work and when I finally have the headspace to start thinking about artwork for the new house, she will be head of my list. She uses beautiful colour, and often screen prints – but I just love that ‘textile’ feel to her work. I have included one piece from the recent exhibition, and another from Seed Gallery’s current stock of Janna’s work. You can view other works by both her, and their other amazing artists at www.seedgallery.co.nz
The Warehouse is not usually the place that springs to mind with inspirational products – but maybe it should. I am loving their collection of lamps this season – watch out for them, especially the lamp stands that you can mix and match the shades that suit you. Cheap and cheerful. This gorgeous red lamp (called Saigon Ceramic Lamp) is just $39.99, and is just a bit of perfect on-trend colour blocking. Of course I don’t care about the whole ‘on trend’ thing. I just like colour. End of story. There is a subtle move to deeper jewel colours, and luscious velvets in overseas magazines, but it will be a while before we see those here. Just like what you like, and surround yourself with things that you love and make you smile. Seriously, I know I sound like a stuck record, but it still fascinates me how little faith people have in their own taste – and how much they worry what other people think.
For inspiration – there is of course URBIS Designday on the 24th March. A definite high in the Auckland design calendar, this year is looking particularly fabulous! We are looking forward to all of the various pairings around Auckland, but particularly MINI Garage, URBIS and the wonderful girls from Material Creative who will be all set up at Mini Garage on Ponsonby Rd. On the day you will be able to get tickets from that location. The day starts at 10am, and ends at 5pm.
Some of the other pairings are Hafele and Xanthe White (Her installation was amazing last year), Bo Concepts with Leeann Yare and Huffer, Douglas & Bec and Workroom Design, Design 55 with World and Reuben Patterson, Spazio Casa and M.A.C. and especially ECC, Zambesi and the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Now I am definitely looking forward to that! Tickets are $30 each, or $50 for a double. Go to www.eventfinder.co.nz for tickets. You can also pre-plan your route by going to www.urbismagazine.com/designday and downloading the map of the sites and designers involved. It is definitely a day worth going to – and THREAD will most definitely be there!
Speaking of NZ design, Douglas & Bec is one of our favourites. With the charming Zoe in their store, who is very sunny and helpful, it is always a pleasant experience. I have put two of their Belle of the Ball light fittings in sunny yellow in my kitchen – and I love them.
They are perfect for rooms that lack a bit of light – as they don’t contain the light in any way – and the metal frame leaves a lovely detail on the surrounding walls and ceilings. Douglas and Bec will finish the light to a variety of shades, and the cords are fabric and also come in a range of colours so you can mix and match them to your heart’s content. At $330 for a lovely piece from a NZ designer – you cant go wrong. Douglas and Bec are at 9 St Mary’s Bay Rd, Ponsonby. And you can find them online at www.douglasandbec.co.nz
I know I like to finish with the thing I really love – and it is often a book, but this one is a bit of an exception, even for me. Books generally are filled with beautiful images meant to inspire – and this one most certainly does. It inspires in spades. The title alone though, should give you an idea that you are dealing with something a little different.
“A Perfectly Kept House Is The Sign Of A Misspent Life” by Mary Randolph Carter is not just an interiors book. And it isn’t often that I can say hands on heart that a book has changed my way of thinking (and possibly changed my life in the process), but this book just may have. The book has a preface, which says – “How to live creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc… and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place.” And that says pretty much everything. I walked into the room the other day while the kids were all cosied up on the couch watching a movie together, and as I walked in the kids quickly got their feet off the white couch they were sitting on. It appears somewhere along the line I have become the Mother who tells her children to get their feet off the couch. It is a white couch, but a washable covered couch – so really I shouldn’t fuss so much. This is quintessentially a home – not a house – and people live here – dirty feet and all. There is Lego on the floor, and the dishes half done, and some artwork propped up on one wall as I haven’t got round to hanging it. There are a stack of magazines and three stacks of books waiting to be reviewed in my reading corner – I have decided that even after I have read them, they will stay there because I actually like them there.
There is a wonderful quote tucked away in the first chapter – At worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived. – Dame Rose Macaulay (1881-1958). I like that – wise words to live by. There is a wonderful chapter early on in the book that is quite simply titles Housekeeping. It is, definitely of the less is more persuasion. For those of us who grew up with very firm ideas thrust upon us of what been a Wife and Mother looked like – it is a breath of fresh air. A clean house, fridge, shower, table – made beds, straight cushions, no messy books, newspapers, children’s toys or art to mess the place up. The longer I am a Mother, the more I recognise that the children won’t remember me for my good housekeeping skills *(I don’t have many) – but they will remember whether I was continually grumpy about all the housecleaning and cooking I continually complain about having to do.
There is loads of good advice (of the practical variety), and of the inspirational variety. She talks about opening the windows everyday to let the house ‘breathe’ – I thought I was the only human being alive still doing this as well other than my Mother and Sister. And then the book goes on to talk about Clutter, Clutter at work, Living With Children, Living with Dogs, Ambience etc. Some of the case studies go a little too far for me (Case History no.7 Natalie Gibson – Living with Obsession). There are tips on Hoarding – and how to let go – luckily not the mental illness kind – just the collecting kind of Hoarding… and then there are the photographs. Just masses of beautiful, messy, happy, and inspiring photographs.
I love case history no.3 Pamela Bell. You may have seen her home featured in various overseas magazines, of her chairs and sofas that has been graffiti-ed by her children and friends. And painted with house paint as well. It has inspired me to paint an ottoman that has tired fabric on the top.
In fact, my next colourswatch will be on fixing things with a bit of paint – all be it a can of spray paint, or a brush and paint. So anyway, the divine A Perfectly Kept House Is A Sign Of A Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter is Published by Rizzoli, and distributed by David Bateman Publishers. It is an investment book at $119, but worth every penny. It is available now.
By Anya Brighouse
19 March 2012
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