The Windsor Annex Store

The 2014 Australian Interior Design Awards have been shortlisted and I have been browsing through all the great entries.
Here is one from the Retail Design section that I like most - this is The Windsor Annex, a menswear concept store that was designed by Melbourne design firm, Hecker Guthrie. A stylish man cave of sorts, the store is beautifully executed with pegboard panels for display, leather detailing for the fixtures, tent-like canvas changing rooms and sturdy furniture. I also like the domestic details, the fireplace and indoors plants, which bring about a homely feel to the store. The Windsor Annex is a breath of fresh air and while it isn't aimed for female customers like myself, I would love to visit.

 

 

Photographs by Armelle Habib via Australian Interior Design Awards.

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Inspiration Profile - Meg McMillan

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Well, I know that a whole lot of new colourful and exciting stock has arrived at Tea Pea just in time for your Christmas shopping. And they do free shipping for all orders over $150 - excellent!
Tea Pea has recently opened a new brick and mortar store in Khandallah, Wellington and I was grateful that Meg McMillan, owner and creative mind behind Tea Pea, managed to find some time in her busy schedule to do the Inspiration Profile for this week. Enjoy!

Meg McMillan

 

Name: Meg McMillan

 

What do you do: Owner, buyer and designer for Tea Pea, our store in Wellington and online. Also mother to three, Griffin, Coco and baby Rosie. And wife to Scott who works in advertising as a day job, and Tea Pea as an evening job.

Where do you live: Wellington, NZ

What are you working on:Juggling all of the above! It helps that home, the store, our local deli and the kids school is all within walking distance.

Little Lamb felt garland

Colour: Oh I love colour. Primary colours and pastels. And there are so many amazing colour combinations I adore too. Then mixing patterns and colours - oh my! If I had to choose just one colour it would definitely be pink.

Plant/Flowers: Peonies, and thank goodness they only have a short season or I'd be broke. And dahlias too, and as luck would have it we have the most incredible dahlias growing in our garden through summer. Also have a growing collection of indoor plants.

Food: Yes, I love food. French and hearty would be my favourite I think. I'm a 'good ingredients and keep it simple' sort of cook.

Smell: Flowers, especially Jasmine and Daphne, my baby Rosie, a delicious meal.

Style: Surround yourself in what you really love. That's my style, and what I suggest to clients.

The new Tea Pea Store

Who/what inspires me: Enthusiastic, clever, and hard working people.

I work best:  in the morning. Evenings are for wine and dancing.

What I do when I’m stuck for inspiration: Get away from my laptop! Go outside, hang out with the kids, catch up with a friend.

The best advice I have been given is: Well, it's from Pinterest - does that count? 'Start each day like it's your birthday'. However I also tend to live by 'Bite off more than you can chew'.

My latest discovery is:Armadillo & Co rugs. I'd like one in every room in the house.

Armadillo & Co rug in New Zealand wool.

Books that I get inspiration from:A good novel - a lovely escape.

Magazines that inspire me: There's so many - if only I had the time to leisurely read them all.

Blogs that I enjoy: There's loads of great NZ blogs - Cush & Nooks, Design Chaser, Studio Home, Milo& Mitzy, re:address, Beautiful Bedlam, Alex Fulton Design.

My favourite room at home is:Our living room. Family, food & fun all happens there.

My office is: a mess!!!

What am I looking forward to: Summer

Feliz Love and Happiness pillow cases

 

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Inspiration profile - Talia O'Connor and Ella Murdoch

Lately I have been regularly hearing about new home wares stores popping up all over New Zealand, which is positive to hear, especially after the tough economic climate from the last few years.
This week's profile opened one recently in Dunedin after having an online store since March. Enjoy and have a great weekend all!

Ella Murdoch and Talia O'Connor

Styling by MintSix

Name: Talia O'Connor & Ella Murdoch

What do you do: We co-own our home wares & lifestyle business, MintSix. We also do interior styling both locally and online. Our business has been online since March and we have we have just opened our first store in Dunedin. 

Where do you live: We live in Dunedin, New Zealand. 

What are you working on: Lately, we've mostly been working on getting our new store up and running, as well as continuing with our online business and working with clients on interior projects.

MintSix store, Dunedin

Colour:Such a hard one, we love colour! Talia: Chartreuse. Ella: Mint & at the moment anything Fuchsia 

Plant/Flowers:T: Currently loving our fiddle leaf fig trees Ficus Lyrata) & I'm very partial to a big beautiful bunch of peonies. E: Lilies

Food: T: Vietnamese E: Dumplings

Smell: T: The smell of summer or my Stella MCartney perfume I can't live without!  E: Jasmine 

Style:  Fashion:   T: Can't beat H&M & Topshop for affordable items and I love anything from Gorman & Mr Zimi. E: Zara, I miss Zara! (Zara was about 100 metres from our apartment in Beijing). We are both also big fans of Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang although unfortunately don't have a huge amount of their pieces in our wardrobe... one day hopefully!

Home: We like an eclectic mix of stylish and functional home wares, quite often with a bit of a twist. At the moment we love brands such as HK Living, Pony Rider, Kip & Co & Brita Sweden. We're also still huge fans of the original items we started importing, our Bamileke Juju Hats and Moroccan Pouffes. These can all be found at MintSix!

Who/what inspires me: Talia: I try and grab at least ten minutes (more like half and hour if I'm honest!) a day on Pinterest & Instagram and try and squeeze in some blog reading once a week. I'm also always inspired when I'm in Melbourne where I lived for eight years, I'm completely obsessed with the place!

I work best:During the day when my children are at school and kindy but also often find myself on the computer again in the evening.

What I do when I’m stuck for inspiration: There's nothing quite like a sneak peek into someone else's home. The Design Files showcases some amazing Australian homes weekly on their blog and it's one of the few emails that gets opened immediately when it arrives into my inbox. Being a hoarder, I also never throw away magazines, so I often dip back into old issues of my favourites if I'm lacking inspiration for a particular project.

The best advice I have been given is: To do what you love, work hard and trust your instincts. 

My latest discovery is:All the great Kiwi designers & creatives that I'm discovering now that I'm home. 

Mood boards by Talia - Black

Mood board - yellow and caramel

 Books that I get inspiration from: A range of interiors books. I especially love Todd Selby's books & more recently Megan Morton's, Things I love. 

Magazines that inspire me: Living Etc, Inside Out & Real Living are favourites

Blogs that I enjoy:The Design Files, The Design Chaser, Dos Family, Lovenordic Design Blog, Ascot Friday, Bluebird Vintage, Studio Home, Stylizimo, Desire to Inspire, Emmas Design Blog, Cush &Nooks, Elsass, Sincerely Jules, 79 Ideas, Caroline's Mode, Planete Deco, Fashion me Now, After DRK, The Fashion Guitar, My Scandinavian Home, Milo&Mitzy, Table Tonic...I'll stop now but could go on and on! 

My favourite room at home is:  Probably my living room as that's where we all hang out together. We get the fire cranked up in the winter & it's gets nice and cosy, which is essential here down South!

My office has:Been used as the MintSix headquarters during the last few months. Now that we have moved into our new shop it's looking very empty apart from my beloved mid-century desk and iMac.

What am I looking forward to:I'm looking forward to watching our business grow and diversifying our range. I also can't wait to explore more of New Zealand with my family. My husband is British and my kids were born in Australia so they haven't seen much of our beautiful country. 

MintSix styling work.



Photographs are used with permission from MintSix.

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Father Rabbit at BLOC

 

I love receiving invites to openings of stores and other design events, however invitations of late have been located in Auckland, which is just a bit too far from Wellington. One such recent invitation was to the opening of the new Father Rabbit store. While I didn't make it, I have added the new shopping destination as a must visit when next in town.
Well known online store, Father Rabbit have relocated from their charming Grey Lynn villa to a new retail space at the successful BLOC.
BLOC is a collaborative community of design focused brands who have created a collective environment for the astute shopper. Located in Mt Eden, BLOC also houses other great New Zealand brands including Citta Design and Douglas & Bec. It looks like a great place to shop!

Thanks to Father Rabbit for use of photographs.

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Everyday Needs, Ponsonby

It's always great to see New Zealand's business featured internationally - this time, it is Katie Lockhart's new store Everyday Needs on US website, Remodelista. Now open on Ponsonby Road, the store looks beautiful and will be on my agenda when I next visit Auckland.

Photographs by Neeve Woodward via Remodelista.

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Inspired Materials and Colours by DesignOffice

 

Two:Bob, a fresh cafe in Melbourne, Australia by DesignOffice

 

 

Mud Australia's flagship store in New York - also by DesignOffice.

 

 

This morning I spotted Two:Bob cafe on Studio Home and was instantly inspired by the beautiful material and colour palette for a kitchen I am designing. When I further investigated Melbourne based DesignOffice's work, I was rather taken by their beautiful website and their great portfoilo - they have a way with muted colours and materials. I'm impressed.

Photographs by Scottie Cameron via DesignOffice.

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My Flatpack, Auckland

Working hard at Myflatpack

 

Several weeks ago I went to Auckland to assist Myflatpack with interior changes and visual merchandising for their showroom in Newmarket. As you can see above, the team worked hard - new internal walls were built to create areas within the open space and we added colour on the walls (the green you see is the children's area).
It was great to see more of the successful Ikea products that Myflatpack bring to New Zealand and to display them to their full potential.
The showroom is located at 2 Roxburgh Street, Newmarket and they deliver all over New Zealand. I sourced my classic and super functional PS cabinet in white from them several years ago and it has pride of place in my living room.
Photographs by Charlotte Minty.

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Eclectic and Vibrant Home from Inside Out Magazine

The cover photo of Inside Out's September/October magazine.

On the cover of Inside Out's September/October issue is the home of Lucy Fenton, the founder and owner of Fenton & Fenton, a unique homewares and lifestyle store in Melbourne, Australia. Located above the store, this vibrant and eclectic home combines personal belongings along with shop products.
Photographs by Felix Forest via Homelife.

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