Be inspired by Proteas

My Instagram feed has been full of proteas over the past two weeks! Yes, these lovely blooms are in season, but I've seen them in art and fashion too.

Many of us think they are native to Australia but they're actually from South Africa, where they are also known as Sugarbushes, and according to local tradition, they represent change and hope. They are so well suited to our climate, and work so well with other natives, it's no wonder we've seconded the protea for ourselves.

Here are some of my favourite spottings of proteas in Australia this week:

8 excellent Australian monochrome art prints and posters for kids

Monochrome is still a massive theme for kids' bedrooms, so I pulled together these Australian-designed black and white prints for all the monochrome lovers out there. Black and white illustrations also look fantastic as a counterpoint to rooms with colour. Adding a touch of black to a pastel and white room looks particularly great. Read on for all the details:

Dulux Australia 2016 Colour Forecast - Bio Fragility

This week I was lucky to attend a presentation on Dulux's 2016 colour forecast for Australia. Can you imagine having that job? So fun! (and so much hard work). Andrea Lucena-Orr from Dulux took us through the four colour stories for next year; and introduced a beautiful piece made for each palette by an Australian artisan. They are amazing! Here is the first of the four colour stories and how you can decorate for kids using the palette:

Bio Fragility

This is the most natural palette to translate for children's interiors. The pastels that we have seen over the past few years continue in strength with this grouping of soft, muted colours.

Trend: Katherine Sabbath-Style Crazy Cakes

It's my daughter's 8th birthday party in just over a week and with a loose Royals theme, she has requested a 'Crazy Cake', inspired by the explosion of goodies and topping madness on Baking Goddess Katherine Sabbath's drip cakes. I follow Katherine on Instagram and my daughter is smitten.

I did a quick search, and guess what - Katherine's crazy cakes are now officially a trend that is sweeping the baking world. Expect to see lots of amazing cakes inspired by Katherine's work popping up at birthday parties. Feast your eyes on some of my favourite of Katherine's cakes for some birthday cake ideas:

10 Moon trend artworks for kids

Along with the current love for all things boho and gypsy, celestial, and the new New Age, there has been a mini-trend towards the use of moon artwork in kids' interiors. Of course there is the huge popularity of the I Love You To The Moon And Back phrase, and artwork associated with it, but I've also seen a lot of moon photography and moon phase designs being used. Here are some great lunar-themed interiors ideas from Etsy stores in Australia for your inspiration:

1. Moon wall dot decal from Little Sticker Boy

Memphis style - the Eighties shape confetti interiors trend

Dulux has put together some amazing ideas as part of its seasonal forecast for Autumn 2015, to bring a bold use of colour into interiors. I love these 80s-inspired shapes and almost-clashing colour combos reminiscent of Memphis Group/Pop Art but with a modern twist. How great is this study work space (perfect kids or adults), with the shape confetti feature strip on the wall.

Gorman tote for The Royal Children's Hospital

Love this gorgeous (and on-trend) lobster tote from Gorman designed by 12-year-old Jasmine. The tote is priced at $12 and 100% of proceeds will go to The Royal Children's Hospital, where Jasmine has spent a lot of time since she was born.

Gorman aims to raise $18,000 to gift to the hospital for Christmas - are you in?

You can find the limited edition lobster tote in store or online here.

Image: Gorman

Trend: camping-inspired kids' gifts

The whole rustic/woods/lumberjack hipster thing is still huge, so for all you happy campers out there, I thought I'd share with you some themed kids' gifts, in case you missed them last year. These are all found locally from Australian designers - so ahead of the curve!

Minti watermelon love for girls size 2-8

If 2013 was the year of the pineapple, then 2014 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the watermelon. For all those watermelon lovers out there (I know there are many of you!), Minti is releasing a fun print for girls size 2-8. Too cute! For pre-order details, head to one of Minti's online stockists. (PS - if you haven't seen it, take a peek at my watermelon cake. So easy to make!)

Image: Minti

Blue stripes and bears trend and blue for Autism Awareness Day

Tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT) is encouraging us to wear a touch of blue in solidarity with the 1 in 100 Australians who live with Autism and their families and friends who help them navigate an often overwhelming world.

I've put together some cute outfits for kids from Australian designers and online stores with a touch of blue, that also show off the big stripes and bears trends for kids at the moment! You can learn more about Autism and participate in fundraising for World Autism Awareness Day on the ASPECT Website.

Fika with kikki.K - copper gold metallics trend

I recently received in invitation to good to refuse - a lovely morning tea/traditional Swedish Fika at Fika Swedish Kitchen in Manly to meet with Kristina Karlsson of kikki.K and view designs for the next few months. So lucky!

Vertical garden trend

Oh I love this trend so much. We have a wide expanse of besser block wall in our outdoor entertaining area that I am just dying to cover with a vertical garden blanket and fill with greenery. It's the perfect solution for urban gardens as well, and can you imagine a balcony wall covered with plants? This image of Jamie Durie's living area in his house is a complete inspiration:

Freedom AW14 launch - copper, moody blues and tropical trends

I was lucky enough to go to the Freedom Autumn Winter 2014 launch in Sydney yesterday and came back with a head full of ideas and three clear trends - cosy + copper, moody blues, and Havana-style tropical.

Copper
Metallics have been huge in the past year in interiors and copper is my favourite of the metallics; you've probably seen it popping up everywhere recently. I'm particularly obsessed with the Utzon pendant lamp by the Sydney Opera House designer Jorn Utzon, at Great Dane Furniture. Yum!

Confetti trend - 7 ideas for Australian kids' rooms

I'm so inspired by this photo that my friend Jaclyn (Little Paper Trees) took at the book launch for Megan Morton's Things I Love last year. It's all about those legs (that belong to Viv of Ish & Chi!) and just a hint of my dress against the amazing confetti and glitter floor.

And oh my goodness how amazing is this image of confetti girl found on this site. If anyone knows the source, please let me know (I have spent hours looking):

And so with confetti on my mind, I pulled together some of fun products for kids from Australian designers and stores that add a pop of fun to our lives:

1. Confetti Belle sheet set from Lilly & Lolly
2. Rainbow honeycomb tissue ball garland from Poppies For Grace
3. Crystal POM decorations from Dear Plastic
4. Confetti push pops from Lark Store
5. Paper polyhedra ornaments from Habitots
6. Dot disk floor cushion from PonyRider
7. 12 Spot pillow case from Castle

Are you loving confetti too?

Pineapple door stop from MOZI

My mind is definitely still in Hawaii this week. Do you remember my article about the pineapple homewares trend from last year? It shows no sign of slowing down, which is great, because this is one fruit that makes me happy. I love this cheery 25cm tall pineapple doorstop from Australian lifestyle label MOZI. It's super-cute and super-useful and reminds me that even in the middle of winter, the pina coladas are not far away.

Head over to the MOZI store online or check out one of their stockists.

Image: MOZI

Zillpa coil rope homewares - and BrisStyle Mother's Day markets

Another great Mother's Day gift! One of my most exciting discoveries from the Eumundi Markets last weekend were these amazing coil rope bowls, bags, plant holders and other homewares from Queensland artisan Clare under her Zillpa label.

 

Clare hand-makes these gorgeous products by coiling cotton rope and stitching together with her industrial sewing machine. Not an easy task! The current collection includes nesting bowls, coasters, pot holders, plant hangers, three bag styles and key rings made-to-order. I'm in love with every piece, and can't wait to see Clare's new collection incorporating fabrics. Here's a sneak peek:

Totally gorgeous, don't you think? You can find Zillpa products in the online store as well as at markets and stockists around Australia.You will also find Zillpa at the always-inspiring BrisStyle Indie Markets this Saturday at Brisbane's newly refurbished City Hall from 9am-2pm, 11th May, 2013. (This new event is being held the 2nd Saturday of every month).

Images: Zillpa, bottom image by Yan Chen

Danielle Stewart Design geo greeting cards

I'm still in love with triangles and have fallen hard for these geo cards by Fremantle, WA-based surface designer Danielle Stewart. I've followed Danielle's design work for years (from her days as a textile designer with her Of Paper And Thread label) and after a short break I'm excited to see Danielle designing again; this time a range of 100% post-consumer recycled greeting cards.

Danielle's colour combos are fresh and her designs are modern and punchy. I can't wait to see what comes next. You can find Danielle Stewart Designs greeting cards as well as limited edition screen-printed fabric in her etsy store.

Images: Danielle Stewart Designs

Pineapple trend - Australian-designed ideas for home

It's warming up and I'm feeling tropical. Maybe that's why I'm noticing all the pineapples around me - in interiors, on Pinterest, on Instagram, on fabric, in magazines - it's the Tommy Bahama-look! Or maybe it's because I'm from Queensland and have always had a soft spot for this spiky fruit. No matter - it's a trend and it's coming your way.

This pineapple-filled image by Brisbane stylist extraordinaire Kara Rosenlund, taken in her home, took my breath away and serves as great inspiration for pineapples in interiors.

So with pineapples on my mind, here are some ideas for you using Australian-designed products to incorporate the tropics into your home:

 Escape To Paradise white polyresin pineapple

 Keren Brown yellow pineapples fabric

K Trade pineapple jute canvas

Keren Brown navy and yellow pineapple cushions

Henrietta & Morty pineapple cushion (blue) | K Trade lime pinapple cushion (on sale this week at Temple & Webster) | Henrietta & Morty pineapple cushion yellow

Escape To Paradise silver polyresin pineapple

Do you have any pineapples in your home? Or any other Australian-designed pineapple-inspired products to share? Or maybe just a fabulous pineapple cocktail. I'd love to hear.

A special thanks to Maddie (Colour Me There) and Bianca (Blush Loves Mint) for suggesting Keren Brown's pineapple fabric and cushions at the brown trading co. in Queensland.

Polka Dot trend - ideas for kids

Have you noticed the polka dot trend popping up? It's super-fun and I'm looking forward to a spotty and neon summer - very much in-line with our fun-loving aesthetic in Australia.

I have been so inspired by the beautiful spotted wedding dress worn by this Bride in Italy, photographed by New Zealand studio bayly&moore. The nude base cloth and slim ribbon belt is really unexpected and takes this dress out of 101 Dalmations territory. How chic to team this dress with t-bar heels and a simply posy of baby's breath (another flower that is back big-time). For the full wedding see the Boho Weddings Blog.

I've pulled together some of our own great Australian-designed dotty kids fashion for (mostly) girls, inspired by the beautiful Bride above!

Featured designers:
Milk & Soda gold studded bow tie
Paper Eskimo baking cups black spots and black tie paper straws
Ola & Olek spot dresses (on sale now in the Style Milk shop)
Knuffle Kid tightrope dress and leggings
Paper Wings Little Wings tulle skirt
Little Mouse Brown high-waisted shorts

So fun. Hands up if you're loving the spots and dots!

Kutie Protocol denim - now in neon

Australian kids fashion label Kutie Protocol is well-known for its excellent range of premium denim, and this season they have added neon to the mix for a super-fun Winter and Spring.

Kutie Protocol have an much-admired dedication to sustainable business practices, including using recycled water, local textiles and non-toxic dyes, and reducing their impact on CO2 levels during both production and transport. Denim jeans, jackets and shorts and cotton t-shirts are available in sizes 1 to 8 and made from 100% cotton.

The limited edition neon range of skinny jeans is made from bio-denim (recycled cotton). Kutie Protocol designers Vanessa and Ian-Michael are based in Melbourne and were born in Colombia where they work with a small community to part-produce their premium denim. I can't wait to see the streets dotted with bright colour - the only hard part will be choosing which colour. Or maybe just get one of each.

You can find Kutie Protocol at stockists across Australia, the US, Korea, Japan and Singapore.

Images: Kutie Protocol