Have you all been enjoying the holiday gift ideas thus far? I can tell you I have! I am just so wrapped with the treasures I’ve found for all of us – they are so cool and I would be wrapped if any of them landed under my tree this year. Although I have categorized them don’t let that stop you from thinking outside the square and mixing up categories (I know I am hankering for everything in my ‘for kids’ and ‘for him’ round up!!). Which reminds me of a little story from my childhood…

…one Christmas when I was not yet ten, my parents had decided to put all our goodies in big sacks instead of gift wrapping each one individually. When it was time to open the sacks I was so thrilled with everything I was finding – a walkman, a board game, a heavy duty skipping rope… but when my brother opened his sack something was not quite right -there was a doll, hair clips, a barbie boutique, a flower press… in my parent’s haste to get the sacks under the tree in time the night before my mum had accidentally put the wrong name tags on the sacks. I was gutted! But I recovered rapidly, I promise (that flower press and the barbie hat boutique very quickly became my two favourite play things in the world)…

Anyway, let’s get back to what this post is really all about! It’s all about my 2008 holiday decorations and styling ideas. Each year I come up with my holiday theme by simply looking around my home. I collect things from my inspiration board, props shelves, craft box and linen cupboard. Last year you may recall I was right into this colour combo – lots of dark browns and earthy colours – rich plum, soft greens inspired by peacocks, shells, stray buttons and found cards. But this year, I am loving white with the focus on textures – light feathers, soft fabric buttons, natural string, beautiful crochet garlands, skeleton leaves and antique cream linens.

So my holiday decorating ideas for this week will be very much inspired by my colour palette for this year, with touches of traditional colours here and there. I do hope you will enjoy it! Coming up first will be all about decorating your tabletop, and at the end of the week we will look at gift wrapping and cards. And all of it, as I’ve mentioned before will be following my styling philosophy.

To get us started, here is my holiday decorating ideas moodboard…

And when the night falls…

Enjoy…

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It’s called The Farm Project, designed by Mike Meiré. With concept phrases like “…‘orchestrated chaos’ bringing beauty to mundane objects within the context of a nourishing environment…” and “…embrace the richness of life that minimalism had taken away…”, I’m a hooked fish.

Would you come visit me if I were this kitchen?

It’s an interesting concept that was photographed last year for Wallpaper magazine, worth more of a look-see – you can follow my path of discovery by reading about it on the fabuloso Inhabitat, watching it here and seeing more photos here.

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A little morning wander through the blogosphere found me these two images above from this is glamourous and coco + kelly. You know I am not a great fan of opulent rooms and ‘rich’ interiors – my style is more along the earthy, real and livable kind – creating rooms that are actually usable and cosy (you should hear me balk at mtv cribs – it’s apparently humorous to watch me watching this show, I just can’t believe people pretend to live in those places and try to get us, the viewers, to aspire to their pretend lives. nu-uh).

But it’s not like I don’t like shiny things. Because I do – especially like this entrance way and these stairs – I love combining old wood with sparkling things, I find it really brings out the texture and age, and sentimentality of the surroundings.

And that foyer is just cool. I have never been a huge fan of stained glass or shiny wall surfaces (my oma loved opulence – she mirrored her entire hallway and loved a chandelier or ten – and although it did have a ‘wow’ effect, it was more the sort of ‘wow, i suddenly feel a little sick’ effect.) But this entrance way makes me think that maybe one day, I could live with stained glass and reflective walls. Maybe.

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So where was I… oh yes, my obsession with the work of weavers! Another weaving studio which I am smitten with is that of Kelly Stewart and Kenny Nix – the lovely couple who have created the Gene Straus Design Weaving Studio. They have an extensive online gallery and I have been perusing it over the past few weeks, imagining them looming away, coming up with new ideas and fashioning loose threads into woven treasures. There is such a personal touch to their website – writing about how each piece was formed and what it was formed from – you see, Kelly and Kenny create rugs from tossed away clothing and scrap wool selvages. There is so much work to strip the fabrics into usable threads, let alone the amount of time and energy into creating the designs and starting the production, making each of their handwoven rugs unique yet so affordable.

What you see above has been made from old denim jeans which I think is just amazing. I imagine this rug on white wooden floorboards at an entrance way. In fact, I imagine alot of their designs in white spaces, creating warmth, depth and texture. Weaving old into new – I love it.

Click here to peruse their collection.

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I woke up in the middle of the night having remembered I forgot to conclude with the one very important trend for 2008: derivation.

What am I on about? I am talking about the act of acquiring something from a source. This is a topic of constant scrutiny in my industry and everyone ironically feels that everything they have ever created comes from their own head and is original. To be blunt, this is bullshit. Everything – and this cannot be more prevalent than today – is derived from something.

Everyone influences each other, everything comes from something.

When I was at uni, and even going (as far back!) as high school art, we were taught to discuss our influences and inspirations – people and things that moved us and influenced our art, design and writings. Somehow when you get into the workforce and start creating your work you are taught (through bad examples) to pretend you have not looked at anyone else’s current work (how many times have I heard, ‘Oh? No, I have never heard of them’ meaning ‘darling, I am so busy with my own work, do you think I have time to look at someone else’s?’ which might as well be followed with, ‘Do you have any idea who I am?!’) that you have no idea what is going on around you, and that no one but your own self-centred inner self turns your light on. And in my experience this is based on fear – God forbid, it might show that your work is not purely original and has been influenced by your peers and surroundings.

I don’t abide by this bad habit. Because of course I have been influenced by my peers and contemporaries – so was Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec and friends. And of course my work has derived from something else. We are all part of a collective consciousness and we move with it, collectively. It is good practice to recognise your influences and discuss them as equals. Share, give, and be grateful. 2008 has no room for individuals who shout ‘this is mine!’. Be careful what you claim to be your own, because if you do your homework you will see that there is a direct trail left behind you of where you actually got your idea, and that often leads back to the very place you are trying to claim it from.

This idea of derivation will be more accepted in this coming decade as we move toward reworking old designs, renovating and being more resourceful with what we have. We will recognise that all things come from something – that is how we will evolve with what we have. It will be your service, dedication and passion that will distinguish you.

(now on with hunting and gathering!…)

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What a whoppa of a year this is going to be – can you feel it? This special energy is so ripe and rich, I could cut it with a knife and serve myself a slice for breakfast to keep me going for the day.

Habitat catalogue 2007
the mix of modern objects with found objects – only just the beginning.

But let’s not babble on but get straight to the goods we want to hear about: trends in home design.

We’ve seen a great shift in retail this past couple of years toward the handmade. And folks the good news is that it is only just the beginning – we haven’t even scratched the surface of what is to come.

Most of us are already keen users of ebay and etsy, but it is still a rather new if not undiscovered territory for most. For those of you who are struggling with your sales do not fret! You are pioneers and pioneers need patience, so hang in there and keep creating. And for those who haven’t yet taken the plunge, go for it for as moloko says, the TIME IS NOW

So what’s my word about 2008 trends?

image by Petrina Tinslay featuring Princess Mary, story featured in Vogue Entertaining and Travel.

Celebrities are losing their connection with the public and the only reconnection will be by setting REAL examples, we will be ‘wowed’ by their courage and efforts to give back – not just as a passing fad to up their ratings, but genuine and lasting effort that bring forth positive CHANGE – that will be the defining factor of ‘style’.

Our style for 2008 will be focussed around global warming, sustainability, and world issues whether we like, believe or care about it or not. It is not a trend that will shift in a year’s time, it has deep roots and all trends will now blossom from these roots. It is an exciting time as ‘newness’ will arise from oldness.

(a selection of images from my mood board, origins lost so please comment if you know the links, thank you.)

“In great design how it’s arranged is more important than what is being arranged”
David Hicks, interior designer

(a selection of images from my mood board, origins lost so please comment if you know the links, thank you.)

“so instead of searching out the latest, be ahead of the times and look behind – that is where the great designs lurk unseen.”
Pia Jane Bijkerk

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you can’t go past the traditional green and red at this time of year, but teaming it up with craftpaper browns, rich chocolate (and a peacock! Although this one came from a postcard, I like this one better) works beautifully and gives the traditional theme some serious style.

the little makeup bag is handmade from vintage French fabric by Ici Et Là in Australia (I bought mine at the Surry Hills store but looking at their website they have spread across the country which is great news) and the gorgeous little handstitched horse on the right is a find in a French brocante (I will be showcasing the village toward the end of this week). I had full intention of sending this creature to my dear friend jboo for her birthday back in april but I fell in love with it and have not parted with it since. Sorry jboo!!

and this little guy i spotted this morning, what a neat christmas gift he would make!! he’s not mine unfortunately, but i am happy with my basket-clad push pedal, promise!

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