simple entertaining

Over time I want to start putting together a range of easy entertaining table settings. A lot of people still think that making a table look good is too much effort, but really, it doesn’t need to be! This one took me 10 minutes to put together!

We have a little lopsided gum tree right outside the front of our home, and my poor 6’4 husband keeps getting a mouthful of leaves every time he walks through the gate. I finally found the time today to get up on my little foot stool and cut back the low lying branches and dropped them into a basket as I went so I wouldn’t need to do too many trips to the green waste bin! When I had gathered everything together, it struck me that rather than throwing all this amazing smelling Eucalyptus away, I could use it to decorate the table for lunch.

I grabbed some pieces of earthernware I’ve been collecting (you can find these this thrift shops from $2) filling a couple with small bunches of eucalyptus and laid them out on a white table runner from IKEA. I then set the table with my favourite Villeroy and Boch plates and bowls paired with my family antique cutlery (this would look just as great with normal silverware). See simple. Nothing to it really!

A perfect simple summer setting for a few friends, a nice chilled bottle of Clare Valley riesling and a light lunch of pear, walnut and rocket salad, lemon roast chicken and potato gratin.

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the week that was

Yesterday marked the end of the fabulous #7vignettes challenge held by Jen Bishop of Interiors Addict. She really has created a wonderful monster here! So I thought I would finish the week (start the weekend) with a few of the images I took…

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Day 1. Book
Day 2. Texture
Day 3. Love
Day 4. Shiny
Day 5. Cushions
Day 6. Old
Day 7. Pattern

I went a bit crazy with this challenge and took a WHOLE bunch more photos which you can flick through over  HERE

7 vignettes

Jen Bishop over at Interiors Addict, has developed a great little concept for a monthly instagram challenge. 7Vignettes, is about creating 7 vignettes in 7 days, each day having a different theme, and at the end of the week they are all judged by Jen and a guest judge (you can win a little prize). This month’s guest judge is Steve Cordony, Designer, event stylist and interiors editor for Belle Magazine (this man is all kinds of amazing really)!

It’s a little bit of fun and gives you a good excuse to get that creative side of your brain working. So if you have instagram (and if you don’t, get it) search for jenbishop_interiorsaddict and join in! Today is books! Here are a couple of my entries (yes I am excited have have made a few entries today).

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cheese and cocktails

It’s summer and we have not yet had a little ‘shindig’ at ours. This is just not right! So I have made the decision to have a few folks over for cheese tasting paired with cocktails. I love the sound of this pear, rosemary and lemongrass cocktail with a bit of earthy brie. Or maybe this elderflower champagne cocktail with a crumbly cheddar.

Beautiful cheese images from Herriott Grace

52 lists

The other day I cam across a great little idea over at Meet Me at Mikes where she is writing a list a week this year. There is a cute story behind the concept where her and her brother as kids used to obsess over The Book of Lists. You can read more about it on her blog.

I love the idea, because it forces you to think and remember things about yourself you may not normally think about. So I have decided to join in and write my set of lists. I am a couple of weeks behind so here are my first two in one week…

Suburbs I have lived

The first suburb I remember living in was Golders Hill in London, when I was 7 my family then moved out to Sydney where we lived in two different houses in St Ives till I moved to Adelaide to study Interior Architecture. I moved to a small student flat in Magill with my then boyfriend (who moved with me) and then my dad bought an investment property (the party house) in the Adelaide CBD which I lived in with friends till I finished University. I then fell in love with my now husband and we moved together to Melbourne for work where we lived in a lovely apartment building on the Yara River in Richmond. We loved Melbourne, but with the GFC we moved back to Adelaide and rented a nice big modern home by the Port River in New Port Quays. We loved it there (almost like a holiday lifestyle), but we decided the time was right to go out on our own and buy our first home in Peterhead. We are so happy here. It’s a beautiful little 1800′s worker cottage about a kilometer from Largs Beach. We couldn’t be happier and hopefully we won’t be adding to the list any time soon.

 

Jobs I have had

I have to admit, I was very lucky and somewhat spoilt as a child/young adult. I didn’t need to get a job while I was at school, although I of course did the usual babysitting jobs. I also lasted about a week working in a pet store once (they took me on as free child labour), and then when I was in year 11 I thought I should probably get a Christmas casual job before I went into my final year, and worked as a sales person at Myer. It was a rather awkward job as I was told to work in the ‘Big is Beautiful’ (BIB) section as it was called then and I was a size 8 little midget. Now if I were a size 24 the last person I would be able to relate to and take shopping advice from is a know-it-all 16 year old midget.

Anyway I then headed to Adelaide to study Interior Architecture after school, and again I was very lucky that I didn’t have to work through uni, although again I tried my hand as a sales person this time at a homewares and furniture store, which was more successful, although short lived.

FINALLY, I moved to Melbourne with my now husband and with portfolio in one hand and resume in the other, I landed myself my first Interior Design job with Cunsolo Architects. What great fun we all had. I made some amazing friends there. Alas the GFC hit and things went downhill quickly and we had to move back to Adelaide. I then got some short contract work with MPH Architects before getting a longer term contract with Hames Sharley in which I got to design some great projects (my favourites being Advantage Adelaide and Adelaide Convention Bureau). Again I made some wonderful friends, one who is now working with me at my current (dream) job with the two Mandy’s at Abeo Design. I love it there and we have so much fun us girls!

Anyway lastly I should mention that alongside working as an interior designer, I had an event design business with my best friend Mary, we called ourselves Mary&Gabrielle Events and Design. Then Mary went and had her beautiful baby girl Annabel and I went off to start a new Design and Styling business byGabrielle. And there we go. Jobs I have had.

You can head over here to read other people’s lists.

Simple Young Love

Mid last year (yep, this is how behind I am on my blogging), I brought together some of the best wedding folk in the Adelaide industry to do a photo shoot for Polka Dot Bride.

The intention behind the shoot was to work collaboratively with a group of like-minded vendors from the concept design stage to create a wedding that everyday couple could relate to. With weddings today getting more detailed, elaborate (and expensive), we wanted to pare it all back, everything about this shoot was to be beautifully simple and relaxed and to portray a small intimate wedding that anyone could easily achieve no matter the budget.

With a pinterest inspiration board at hand, we all explored this shoot with less of a focus on a particular ‘theme’ (vintage/rustic/classic), but rather tried to bring together a style and concept that unfolded from a range of textures and hues that we all collected. Think aging timbers, worn leather, vintage silver, natural linens, knits and fur.

Now…I have spent a really really long time trying to narrow down my top images to make this post short and sweet, but I just love EVERY single photo, so you will have to exercise that scroll button because this post is FULL of images!

Some of my favourite elements from the day were; the gold detailing on the bride’s vintage gown, the engagement ring the colour of the bride’s fiery red hair, the slightly tarnished silver cutlery (a family heirloom of mine), the wild yet delicate nature of the flowers, the warmth of the hearty winter food, the subtle moody light, the simplicity of the stationery and the relaxed and fun nature of everyone involved.

Thank you to:

Shona Henderson for the perfect Photography / Sally from Poppies for the most incredible and wild flowers / Alicia from Akimbo for the beautiful Stationery / Kara at the Vintage Bride Boutique for your amazing  job on the hair, make up and fashion styling / The talented and tasty folk at Instyle Catering / and last but no way least, my good friend Lucy for being my right hand gal!

the new year means a fresh start

SO. My new year resolutions go like this..

1. Make more time to enjoy life, the people you love and the thinks you love doing.

2. Get organised.

3. Blog more.

So I thought I would start my attempt to blog more with sharing some happy snaps from my trip to New York, Milwaukee (will explain later) and Vegas over Christmas and New Years.

I cannot begin to describe how amazing our trip was. There was countless design inspiration I got so giddy and overwhelmed, and if you are following me on instagram (@bygabrielle) you would have seen the countless photos of the people, places and things that inspired me, but for those of you who don’t have instagram, here are some of my top favourite photos from the trip!

NEW YORK

New York in the Christmas is just..breathless. Everyone and every place is in the Christmas spirit! This is the biggest REAL Christmas tree I have ever seen, I didn’t even know they got as big as the Tree by the Rockefeller Centre!

Ice-skating outside the Rockefeller Centre. Would have loved to have been one of those people, but my warm Aussie blood wasn’t going to manage standing in an hour long line in the freezing cold!

A romantic walk around Central Park on Christmas Eve was one of my favourite experiences. Gosh it was so cold, but it was the most relaxing and magical day with ice skating and opera singers and lots and lots of squirrels!

The window display at Anthropologie. Wow. what can I say… they spend a lot of money and time on these windows, so people like me spend a lot of time and money in their shop!

The most amazing store in the world is definitely ABC home and kitchen… Interior designer/stylist Heaven on Earth. My husband could not believe how excited and happy I was in this store. We spent hours sifting through all 6 levels of amazing curated collections of homewares and furniture!

And what is a trip to NYC without experiencing the crazy hustle and bustle of Times Square! Magical.

 

MILWAUKEE

Now there is a story behind why we went to Milwaukee. To be honest, I had no idea where the place was until we went there. My husband Jarrod is obsessed with basketball and even more obsessed with Lebron James (Miami Heat player) and somewhere along the line of planning our trip last year, I had agreed to go wherever in the US Miami Heat were playing while we were away…which happened to be Milwaukee. I must say, I am glad we went. We loved it! Everyone was so lovely and the food was amazing and it was just overall a beautiful quite place to relax between the craziness of New York and Vegas.

A thick blanket of snow and an ice covered river made the perfect backdrop.

Snow! lots of it!

One of the most exciting things about going to Milwaukee is that I got to see one of my most favourite buildings in the world, the Milwaukee Art Museum designed by Santiago Calatrava. The ‘wings’ of the building open and close and mimics the movement of bird wings. Just breathtaking. This would be my favourite photo of the whole trip.

And of course, the whole reason we were in Milwaukee was to watch this man, Lebron James do his thing! And my husband was very lucky to meet his idol after the game.

 

LAS VEGAS BABY!

What an insane and bizaare place! I can definitely see why they call it sin city. However what a great place for design inspiration, shopping and food (all my favourites)!

My favourite casino was by far the Cosmopolitan hotel. What an amazing detailed designed place. I loved the en masse crystal strands that wove their way around the centre 3 level bar of the casino. Just stunning and completely mind blowing.

Again another shot of the Cosmopolitan – gaming area. Very fancy!

The Belagio fountain performance was definitely a highlight.

Finally, to finish the trip off, we headed to the Strip to farewell 2012 and welcome with open arm what we all hope to be a wonderful 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

a crown of flowers

I love floral crowns. I know they have been done to death recently, but they really brighten my day. A mix of floral design, fashion and art really. So I thought I would share some of my favourite floral crown designs. Next week a little shoot I did will be published on Polka Dot Bride which has an incredible floral crown by Poppies Flowers.

Credits: here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here

An Aussie Christmas

Yesterday was a big (but extremely rewarding) day! A few weeks ago MAEVE an online magazine put the call out for stylists to design a Christmas table setting for their upcoming issue in which I of course grabbed the opportunity and put my hand up. I knew immediately what I wanted to do – a take on the Aussie Christmas done in a simple modern tone – and first thing was first I set out to get a pinterest inspiration board set up here . I have to admit, I knew even before I had taken the gig who I wanted the photographer to be on this one. These images needed to be crisp and full of light, so Dan from Eon Images who I worked on the Entwined shoot with was perfect for this.

The location we chose was a spot along the Port river in Port Adelaide which has a great deck and views of along the river.  And although the perfect scene was set with a magnificent summer day, the heat and sun did become a hindrance at times. There was a delay in the set up due to the heat and we had to shoot in between the sun coming out of the clouds in order not to have harsh shadows. Despite this, it all turned out perfectly and was quite a relaxing shoot. I think I may have even gotten a slight tan!

Thank you to everyone involved, it was a great day and I cannot wait for it to be published in MAEVE magazine and see all the photos!

white

I have a new obsession with white that is slowly getting out of control. I think what I like about white so much is that it can be translated into so many different styles; vintage, modern, minimalism, rustic, beachy, country… It’s such an easy shade to work with. I also love  that white isn’t just one shade, it’s hundreds! And each shade has it’s own unique feel to it and changes in different lights and spaces.

image credits: 1. here, 2. here, 3. here, 4. here, 5. source unknown, 6. here, 7. here, 8. here, 9. source unknown, 10. here