The IKEA Dream Kitchen Project: In-store planning

Sponsored by IKEA

The other week I shared with you the “before” photos of Diane’s kitchen and as you can see her old kitchen wasn’t too bad to begin with. The plan with the new kitchen though is to bring it more in line with what the family has in mind, to be better organised, function well and of course to look beautiful.

Planning

We are well into the planning and organising and packing and unpacking and all the other fun stuff that goes into moving into a new home, in this case with my partner moving into our home. I'm not moving! I am using this as an opportunity to also clean out years worth of things that I have hoarded and to also dream up a new plan for our space. Until the budget allows this may stay as a dream, but how gorgeous do these items look together?

Shop Tour: Koskela + The LifeInstyle Blog

Did I mention I am guest writing for the LifeInstyle blog? I am excited about the opportunity. LifeInstyle is an event I enjoy attending so I am happy to be contributing to their new look blog. It was funny how it came about - LifeInstyle approached me to write but I didn't see the email. A few weeks later I approached them and they mentioned they had already written to me asking if I would like to contribute. I felt so silly! I really need to organise my inbox better.

Florals + Jewels

Okay so before I sign off for the week (and what a cool week it has been!) I wanted to quickly share with you a Fashion Friday post because it's Friday and because it is rare when the two coincide!

Wood stool from Project 82

Sometimes I don't know what comes over me but when I love something so much I just have to take it home. Even though it weighs almost as much as I do!

Creating concept boards

This is one of my latest school projects. I still do get a little nervous sharing my projects because I usually rush through them, sleep deprived with toothpicks in my eyes to keep them open and they can be quite specific to the brief. But here is one I put together this week in an evening.

Anna Spiro wallpaper launch

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now and wanted to tell you how wonderful it was to meet designer Anna Spiro again while she was in Sydney recently. I have mentioned before how lovely she is. She is also stylish. I love the floral jacket she wore.

Banana leaves

Maybe I am missing the tropical sun Queensland offered up over the weekend (or perhaps I have watched a few too many episodes of the Golden Girls in my lifetime) but I am in love with the banana leaf motif at the moment. Could you decorate a space with this bold pattern?

Creative Space: Shibori

SHIBORI CREATIVE SPACE I HAVE ANOTHER creative space to share with you and this one is owned by the creative duo Karen Davis and Pepa Martin of Shibori who create beautiful textiles and materials using their interpretation of the traditional shibori technique. They have both been busy working on various projects and collaborations, managing their online shop and more recently they have released a new book titled Shibori Recreated: The Book. Their creative space was photographed for ish and chi and I asked Karen and Pepa a few questions: How did you get started with Shibori and what do you love most about what you do? Shibori began with our love of dyeing and the hand made. We both found Shibori came naturally to us. It was not forced and we have always loved experimenting and learning new techniques and the possibilities are endless.  Tell us a little about your dyeing process and where you find inspiration for your work. We like to take Shibori binding techniques and simplify them. Often we will experiment with a new technique and do it as textbook as possible. Then we look at ways we can modify it to fit with our contemporary style. We like to experiment with different textures and fabrics such as leather, hessian and hemp. We have adapted techniques for these different fabrics. Inspiration can be found all around, nature provides more inspiration then anyone could ask for.	What is one of your proudest achievements? Most definitely the release of our book “Shibori Recreated” which looks at other artists and designers who are also recreating this ancient Japanese art form. Putting together the book was by far the largest and most rewarding project we have ever worked on. It united us with a community of Shibori artists from all over the world and as a result we have a beautiful visual  diary of all their work to share with everyone. "Shibori began with our love of dyeing and the hand made. We both found Shibori came naturally to us." - Karen & Pepa, Shibori Thank you Karen and Pepa for sharing your space and work with us (and your dog is adorable!!) and also to Emily Sephton for the beautiful photographs. Visit Shibori and you can purchase a copy of their book "Shibori Recreated" available in their online shop.

The IKEA Dream Kitchen Project

Sponsored by IKEA

I have a fun project to share with you. The lovely people at IKEA approached me wanting to create a dream kitchen for a friend.  I knew my friend Diane and her husband have been wanting to re-do their kitchen but with two small kids to look after and a business to run it isn’t a project they could do themselves and so I nominated them for the IKEA Dream Kitchen project. Over the coming weeks Diane’s family will document the process from demolition of their old kitchen, design of her dream kitchen, to the installation of the new kitchen. If you have ever wondered what is involved in the process I will be sharing with you all the details here.

Touch snow

The first item on my life list is to touch snow and I can cross it off now! We headed to the Snowy Mountains for the weekend and walked towards the peak of Mount Kosciuszko which is the tallest mountain in Australia. I can't explain in words how beautiful it was to see and feel snow for the first time. And the view was breathtaking. 

100 years of fashion

I'm still feeling unwell at the moment so I'll leave you this week with a fun fashion video I'm loving at the moment. 100 years of fashion. Which era is your favourite?

Have a great weekend!

Orchids

Guess who has another cold? I think I'll just hibernate through this winter so I don't continue to catch whatever is going around. These pretty orchids have brightened up my home though as well as my mood. How could they not?

Products I Love: Dinosaur Designs Plum Collection

Dinosaur Designs is an Australian company that keeps growing in strength through its beautiful designs which include decorative objects, accessories and other items. I am never disappointed when the designers release a new collection. They seem to get it spot on every time and keeps me lusting for more. One of my favourite ranges is their Plum collection which was released earlier this year.

The "Life is Beautiful" List

Inspired by Nicole and Maggie I have put together a life list called the "Life is Beautiful" list. There are so many things I want to do and I am constantly flirting with one idea or another but without committing to any of them. My aim through this list is to organise my thoughts, to focus and to feel that satisfying feeling your get when crossing off items from a list. Here's my "Life is Beautiful" list.