Kitchen Style

I recently had an opportunity to assist my sister Melinda's business Decorate My Room with staging and styling The Kitchen Design Centre in Blackburn. Melinda has over 25 years experience in both commercial and residential decorating. This project involved staging two brand new display kitchens.One a charming traditional, almost country style kitchen. The other a sleek modern and contemporary style. 

 First stop Melinda hit Ikea with a vengeance! Second stop Melinda and I hit Provincial Home Living armed with a detailed list of staging items for a meals area, baking area, cooking area, and shelving displays. We actually made quite a good team in the planning and set up stage with Melindas creative side and my planning  obsessiveness.

Melinda Dass from Decorate My Room hunts for items in Provincial Home Living

 Although I am afraid once we walked into this beautiful store I had a hard time staying focused and did end up walking out with place mats for my 'Blue' Dining Setting (see my blog post and facebook page  Something Blue).

Melinda Dass : Decorate My Room  - Shopping complete

This is the beautiful brand new Kitchen Design Centre in Whitehorse Road Blackburn where we were staging the kitchen displays.

I just loved this timber bench top for the island. You don't see timber used as bench tops a lot these days. I think it is a brilliant idea. When we were younger our mother replaced our kitchen bench tops with blackwood from a recycled desk, they came up beautifully. So I have a bit of a soft spot for timber kitchen benches.

My sister is a fantastic baker so her kitchen staging just had to have a baking display. I'm just developing a passion for baking. Now that I have a 3 yr old boy I understand why Melinda (a mother of two boys) is always baking.

When Melinda told me we're going to buy some birds for the kitchen display, I thought to myself "oooookkkkaayy???", but she knew exactly what she was doing and the display above the stove makes the kitchen look homey and inviting.






I love the idea that this brand new kitchen used baskets in their design. I love this. You must go to the display if you live in Melbourne the storage solutions in these kitchens are amazing.

This kitchen combines the comforts of modern living like the beautiful oven and sneaky storage spaces built into the pillars. These give the kitchen an almost farm house kitchen feel.

The layout of the kitchen is wonderful. You could be baking, cooking and helping kids with the homework all in one kitchen. Notice the island is not wasted with a sink in it. It is out of the way so no splashes all over the beautiful timber bench!. Instead it's positioned near the window...the good old fashioned way!

This is the other stunning kitchen we staged. The kitchen itself has so many sleek features Melinda didn't really want accessories to compete with this.

A great feature of this kitchen is that you have areas for display (covered with glass doors) and other where you can open up a preparation area.

The use of the dark tones on the cabinet doors give this sleek moderm kitchen a warm cosy feel.

Have you noticed that inside the cabinetry is dark like cupboard doors, very clever. 

Melinda wanted this stunning island to have a really functional look, hence the table setting and trialing some ottomans, which I love with this island.

I have a new appreciation of modern kitchens after helping Decorate My Room style this one. It is quite an art form getting the elements balanced to create a welcoming but modern contemporary kitchen. 

Well done to The Kitchen Design Centre in Blackburn and to 

Melinda Dass from Decorate My Room.

Thank you for letting me help with styling the showrooms. I'm looking forward to the next kitchen displays!!

You can find The Kitchen Design Centre at 3 Bridge Street, Eltham and 143A Whitehorse Road, Blackburn. 

The Kitchen Design Centre website.

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Great service deserves a plug!!!

Does your supermarket or Green grocery give you one of these every 6th visit? Mine does, Angelo's Organic in Blackburn and they always give Harry (my 3yr old son) a treat every single visit!!! Now that's old fashioned service!!! Support your local shops not just the big chain stores!!!

Things that make you go Hhhhmmmm....

Everywhere I look I see beautiful things. I thought I would share these things that make me go Hhhmmmmm. Images from Coco + Kelley

I adore how the vases pick up the blue strip in the chairs. You could easily replicate this. Hunt for vases in Op shops, Ikea, target even the $2 shop. Then buy some ribbon the exact colour and pop it on some chairs!

This is so simple it is stunning. I love using found objects in  decorating. Take a walk and bring something from a park or the garden home and use it in your decor.

This is a great take on a retro style. 

How opulent are these lead light  entry doors!!!

Raid the Op shop for picture frames for all your old family photos.

And another over the opulent setting..OOOwwwww!!!

HHmmmm thats a pretty entry......

Now that Martha Stewart knows how to do coffee!!!

What an unusual mix...but somehow it works!!!

HHHmmmmmmmm...........

Ode to the Shed...

I stumbled across this amazing 'shed' on a blog that I regularly browse. So I went hunting for more information about this 'shed'. Well, to say it is the ultimate shed is an understatement.

Take a look at photos and story at Dezeen Magazine.
Scandinavian Kekkilä modular garden shed, by Avanto Architects for Kekkila 

 Visit Dezeen Magazine online and the amazing creations by Avanto Architects for Kekkila, Designers Ville Hara and Linda Bergroth.

Take a look at photos and story at Dezeen Magazine.
Scandinavian Kekkilä modular garden shed, by Avanto Architects for Kekkila 







This is a great book from 
Target Online.

Solar light perfect for the shed

Seeing this 'shed' got me thinking about shed styles. Given I am madly building my veggie patch and the surrounding garden I really need to start thinking about sheds. Well to say I have opened a hornets nest is putting it mildly. Take a look at all the amazing options and uses for sheds that I found. 

If you prefer a bit more of a rustic look. Here is the other end of the spectrum. 

Tool shed in the vegetable garden at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Source: Beedle Um Bum

This book from Target Online celebrates the Shed and gives tips on design.

This book presents a collection of thirty beautiful, creative backyard structures from across the country that transform the ordinary shed into unique writers' nooks, artists' studios, children's play areas, and other innovative living spaces, in a lavishly illustrated volume that includes full-color photography, sample blueprints, an extensive resource section, and helpful suggestions.

This is an adorable shed with a whimsical feel and a fantastic use of colour, flowers and foliage.

Source : deborah|silverbees

This is an amazing shed..an entry in Shed of the Year in the UK 2011. Take a look at some of the entries at Urban Ghosts website 

Original source :  ( readersheds.co.uk) 

What I love about the shed below is that it could easily be created out of a kit shed with a few additions and a coat of paint....I can see this one with my garden tools and a little spot to sit and admire my gardening efforts.However if you want the real deal...and don't we all,  I found this in the Daily mail UK. These are made by Scotts of Thrapston called the National Trust Summer Houses. 

Source: http://www.scottsofthrapston.co.uk/nationaltrust/index.asp

Source:  http://www.scottsofthrapston.co.uk/nationaltrust/index.asp

I love how this shed is part of the landscaping of this garden. The veggie garden and the seating all create a beautiful setting to enjoy the garden.

Source : cmkalina

This evokes memories of the US countryside. I'm sure you could replicate this on your 1/4 acre block. 

Source :  BethHemmelgarn

A plain old tin 'shed' is just not enough anymore...