The Prince Hotel :: Melbourne, Australia

When I am thinking of an urban escape and a room with iconic original furniture, natural textures, soft hues and a great use of natural light, I always think of the rooms at The Prince Hotel in Melbourne. The Prince is a luxury boutique hotel with 40 unique rooms, located in the heart of St Kilda and a stones throw from the beach and a great selection of restaurants.

Their design philosophy is an eclectic mix of art, textures, fabrics, scuplture and designer furniture. If you wish to know what the original Swan and Egg chair by the designer Arne Jacobsen is like then this is the place to try it out.

This hotel feels like a home. What I love about the living room and bedroom designs are the use of a soft neutral palette combined with natural textures and the use of rattan and raw timber. The use of natural day light also creates a a fantastic atmosphere.

The bathroom design ideas are very simple with the use of small mosaic tiles, cray pots lights, white marble and a clever use of natural day light.

The final touches belong to the spa area and the outside dining area surrounded by a walled herb garden.

images courtesy of The Prince Hotel

Hope this gives you some ideas for when you are next in Melbourne.
Have a great weekend,

Bathroom design ideas :: natural modern design

Just popped into the Reece showroom in Brisbane this morning and have seen this beautiful new Latis range of basins and baths from Omvivo.

Inspired by the craft of spinning clay and traditional trestle tables this range bucks the usual trend of solid cabinetry that has become the standard for bathroom design and instead brings back quality and character to the bathroom experience in a natural modern design.

omvivo

These basins come in a range of natural stone finishes, white solid surfacing and softskin. The lovely trestle table also comes in an American oak timber with the option of matching timber, natural stone, and white solid surface lower shelf.

omvivo

The bath also has the option of coming with matching timber end shelf. A great place to rest your glass of wine and a book!

If you would like to know more about how to get this great look just drop me a comment. Have fun.

Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted :: Interior design by ifdesign, Brisbane

Just stumbled across the October's issue of Style Magazine Brisbane and seen an article on one of my latest Interior Design projects. 

Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted, owned by Charmaine McDonald, is a beautiful young children's clothing store selling Australian, French and Italian labels in Oxford Street, Bulimba.

image by ifdesign

articles by Style Magazine, Brisbane

With an increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy environments and natural materials, we were delighted to work with Charmaine, Greener Kitchens (for the joinery) and Building in Green (the builders) to create a natural and healthy environment one should expect in a Children’s clothing store.

Our inspiration was drawn from an eclectic mix of hand crafted items, fair trade products, reclaimed and natural finishes reflecting the quality clothing and natural fibres available within the store. The use of healthier materials and finishes such as low VOC and no VOC natural paints, low energy light fittings and recycled timber was used to create a healthy and sustainable environment.

I hope to explain the interior design in more detail later on, but in the meantime if you fancy some retail therapy in Brisbane, feel free to pop along to Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted, Shop 4, 77 Oxford Street, Bulimba.

Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa :: Queensland, Australia

For me that Friday feeling is about dreaming of a place a world away from home. A place where you can surround yourself with the local culture, surrounding wildlife or majestic views.

To help me record my dreams and past travels I will dedicate my Fridays to unique places to stay.

What a better place to start than with my home state of Queensland. Last year my husband and I took a amazing holiday to Tropical North Queensland. We based ourselves in the Daintree area and stayed at a family owned boutique retreat called Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa. This location is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Areas meet - the Great barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Daintree Rainforest.

Our room was a individual "Bayan" (house) nestled amongst the rainforest canopy making you feel that you are one with nature. It's hard to image form these photos the amazing sounds of the rainforest, the river below, the frogs and the calls of the birds.

Their philosophy of "nature, nuture & culture" was also taken through into the design of the Bayans, the original aboriginal artwork, traditional basket weaves and fabrics and a deck area that places yourself deep in the rainforest canopy. A truly amazing experience!

images courtesy of the Daintree Eco Lodge

If you are like me and daydream on Fridays, feel free to let me know favorite place to escape to?

Happy Friday daydreaming,

Ideas for reusing and recycling glass bottles and jars

According to the CSIRO, currently households dispose of 90 per cent of their glass in recycling bins but only 40 per cent of Australian glass is reused in glass recycling. Although it does help to rinse bottles out at home prior to recycling, it would be even better if we did not send them to be recycled bin but to reuse them in the home or garden.

If you are a glass and bottle hoarder like myself you will be please to know there are many decorative ways to recycle glass bottles and jars in your home and garden without sending them to the recycle centre. Here are a few examples:

1. Glass jar and bottle storage ideas

They can be used to store haberdashery, craft material, dry foods in the kitchen, home office items such as clips, stamps and rubber bands. I use my jars for pencils and pens.

simplyseleta

mabelandviolet

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2. Glass jar photo frames

Instead of buying new frames, how about filling jars with your favourite photos. Full instructions on this lovely idea can be found on Rikki Hibbert's web site.

3. Indoor gardens

This is one of my favorites especially for flowers and herbs from your garden.

marvinblog

thegreenchildren

4. Glass bottle entertaining

This can be as simple as a few candles or as decadent as a cluster arrangement of tall candles in clear glass bottles, perfect for garden entertaining of festive celebrations.

citified

aldeahome

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5. Glass bottle chandelier

If you feel adventurous this may be a nice project to keep you occupied, alternatively they can be purchased from Pottery Barn.

potterybarn

6. Glass jar vases

These are great ideas for weddings.  

weddingnumberthree

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7. Glass bottle garden ideas

The garden can also be a great place for decorating your entertaining area. All you need is a few jam jars, a bit of wire and some tea lights... so easy. With larger quantities of beer and wine bottles you could recycle them into garden borders.

lexyplexy

nest

Finally, if you have huge quantities of glass bottles you could also use them for the decorating a building, as seen here in this beer bottle Buddhist Temple in Thailand.

greenupgrader

Have fun with recycling your glass jars and bottles,

Indoor outdoor living by Richard Powers photography

Today my online interior design ideas and inspirational blog is finally born and what a better place to start than with sharing my dream home.

As a keen traveler, trekker and interior designer now living in Brisbane, I love the rainforest and the indoor outdoor living and lifestyle that is so typical of Queensland.

Many years ago whilst working in London, I designed my first warehouse apartment for a lovely couple, Richard and Danielle in Clerkenwell, East London. Richard Powers was then and still is a keen photographer and has since photographed many gorgeous houses around the world. One of these houses is my dream home, a lovely rainforest retreat designed by the owner architect Arthur Casa.

Richard Powers

I love the indoor outdoor living, double height ceilings and the natural backdrop of the rainforest. It gives a huge sense of openness to the living areas and a direct relationship with nature.

Richard Powers

Inside, ethnic patterns, natural fabrics and rich earthy tones add warmth and texture to the living areas.

An indoor outdoor dining area has been integrated with the cooking area to one end of the kitchen island design whilst a feature pendant light, designed by Camilla Diedrich for Rotaliana, hangs over the other end.

This house creates a beautiful balance between the surrounding natural habitat, clean architectural lines and an ethnic modern vibe.

Thank you for reading my first post. Feel free to leave a comment or share with me what your dream home looks like.

Natural modern interiors by Lisa Coulburn

Natural Modern Interiors is about natural interiors, eco homes, eclectic rooms and beautiful things I find on my travels and as a collection of interior design ideas to promote the use of natural furniture, materials and methods to renovate, decorate and style your home.

I believe that your home should be your retreat – a place to escape to that reflects your lifestyle, personality and individuality. How you renovate or decorate your home can have a big influence on how you feel when you are relaxing, entertaining or working from home.

My own style is natural modern with an eclectic twist and a strong connection to the outdoors. 

While I am sourcing products, materials and creating designs for my clients I also support the following principles:

Reduce, reuse, recycle

This involves taking unloved furniture and waste materials and transforming them into new furniture or new uses. Why? This reduces the need for consuming new raw materials thus reducing energy use, landfill and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Low VOC’s & non-toxic materials

Materials such as paints, stains, varnishes, carpet, furniture and kitchen joinery can off-gas producing poor air quality in your home. This can continue for years after the products and materials are initially installed. By selecting products that are non-toxic and low or no VOC you are improving the quality of your air within your home and reducing the effects of poor air quality on your health. Learn more about air quality & Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Made in Australia

By buying furniture and homewares made in Australia you are supporting local Australian communities, maintaining creative skills and local craftsmanship and reducing energy consumption and green house gas emissions by avoiding overseas transportation.

Fair trade

Is the term given to a movement to promote a better financial relationship between producers, sellers and consumers. By buying Fairtrade products you area supporting farmers, their families and communities in receiving more stable and secure incomes and better working conditions. 

Thank you for your interest in Natural Modern Interiors. I do enjoy reading all your messages so feel free to write me with any questions, comments, suggestions and story ideas. You can visit my contact page to send me an email. 

I look forward to hearing from you.