Professional Crush

Designing your home is nothing without a good source of inspiration. Flicking through your favourite interiors magazine, scrolling through Pinterest and snacking on your Instagram feed can certainly fuel your imagination, but sometimes this can also lead to a bad case of information overload - too many ideas and suggestions, all vying for your attention.

And when the analysis paralysis starts to set in, there's nothing better than getting the opinion of an expert interior designer. Annie Bowen is a Sydney-based decorator who we've been very lucky to work with for a number of years. We recently caught up with Annie and got a few insights into how she goes about styling up a house and turning it into a home.

We were drawn to the beautiful home of Kate and Price Gallie by an image we featured in our recent post, "Enchanted by Green". The image, from a wonderful Queensland Homes pictorial, captured the essence of summer living; blending vibrant tropical fabrics and plant life with the more neutral tones found in the soft furnishings, artwork and decor.

I really love the simplicity and modern layout of this couples impressive renovation. For me it's the quality finishes and uncomplicated architectural design combined with the interior decorating and styling talents of the home owner that makes this work so well (Kate also owns Cove Interiors).

The home has a colonial feel that's carried throughout the pavilion style living areas and definitely nails the "Cape Cod meets Noosa" brief that was given to

We have so enjoyed showing you some of the pieces we have made recently for Decorators, Stylists and other Interiors Professionals. We LOVE knowing that these stylish folk have chosen  BedNest pieces for their own homes and we love working with them to create their dream piece.

Last up (and by NO means least!) is the wonderful Briar Stanley (aka - Sunday Collector). A Sydney based former Set Designer for movies such as the Great Gatsby, Briar now uses her amazing eye and design talents as a Decorator, Blogger and Stylist.

We first "met" Briar when her husband ordered a bedhead from us just before the arrival of their gorgeous daughter Sunday. This King bedhead is in a gorgeous grey linen and has been featured in some beautiful stories and press about Briar's home and business.

Tribecca bedhead with studs removed - beautiful hey?

Carrying on from a couple of weeks ago, today we wanted to share with you the fabulous, colourful and eminently stylish bedroom of Claudia Stephenson.

Many of you will know Claudia's blog Peep My Styles - a haven of info on style, opshop sourcing, fashion, amazing interiors etc -

We love the story behind Claudia's own BedNest bedhead. Her lovely group of friends clubbed together and chose it and bought for her as a wedding present! Such a wonderful gift - such great friends!

Here it is - the Tribecca in Husk linen -

Claudia's interior decorating, styling and

Following on from our past last week, as you know over recent months we have been lucky enough to be asked by several of Australia's leading Stylists, Decorators and Interiors Gurus to make them a BedNest bed or bedhead for their own homes. 

As you know, nothing delights us more than to work with BedNest customers to create something truly beautiful and custom-made for their bedroom. From initial design ideas through to making the bed or bedhead from scratch herer in Sydney - we love the process and collaboration with customers. Seeing photos of our beds and bedheads in your homes customers is the icing on the cake - makes our hearts genuinely sing.

Now all of our BedNest customers are fabulously stylish - but over the next few weeks we are going to share with you the beautiful BedNests of some uber-stylish folk. We have been lucky enough to be asked by several of Australia's leading Stylists, Decorators and Interiors Gurus to make them a BedNest bed or bedhead for their own homes. Each week for the next while we will share one of these with you:

First up - Annie Bowen of Gallop

New York Brownstones have long since been one of my favourite styles of home - their beautiful lofty proportions, solidity and many levels appeal and shout "very cool family home" to me.

Actress Keri Russell's family home in Brooklyn was featured by Elle Decor and even though it was a while ago now, I just had to share. Nothing outrageous on the design stakes - just a beautifully put-together home with originality, elegance and warmth and very lovely blend of a hand-made feel, divine tailored upholstery, a relatively neutral palette with a tiny splash of glamour.

No more of my drivel - see for yourselves....

Heavenly bedroom - 

The spare bedroom - love the joinery - 

Art in the bathroom with

I'm never usually a swooner over celebrity homes. "Real" everyday folk inspire much more without the gazillion dollar budgets and slightly staged feel. This, however, is an exception and an exception I have to share for the sake of a bit of Tuesday morning fluff....

It's the home of Patrick Dempsey ( you know - McDreamy from Greys Anatomy) in Malibu. Designed by uber architect Frank Gehry back in 1968, it has been re-worked in recent times by landscaper Scott Shrader and decorator Estee Stanley. The end result is just so appealing - an amazing combination of true personality - of antique, vintage warmth and soul within a very strong, contemporary structure. Divine. The outdoor spaces are amazing - the family own loads of animals and love gardening and clearly

I don't know if the concept of a "professional crush" exists out there but if it does then I have one - a big one, and I've had it for a few years now. The object of my devotion is the work of a Sydney Interior Designer called Justine Hugh-Jones.

Justine's style is elegant, luxurious and calm. She creates homes and spaces that are fully of layers and have a fresh, comfortable quality but always uses the very best finishes, materials and textures to create understated and un-showy luxury. There's nothing remotely "blah" about her work - I love how many of her rooms have a slightly "quirky" angle or piece that draws your eye and makes you smile.

There are plenty of natural textures and Justine, like me, is a lover of a neutral palette but her sometimes totally unexpected use of contrasting colour and pattern are so perfectly put together - beautiful, unpredictable and uplifting.

Of course for me to be so devoted there would

Yesterday I took a couple of hours out and popped in to the Decorate & Design show in Sydney. 

I have to say the show itself wasn't so amazing but the hour I spent listening to UK Interiors guru Abigail Ahern at her seminar on "Decorating with style" was utterly inspirational.

For several years now Abigail's individual, eclectic and refreshing approach to interiors and her absolute passion have made her daily blog update a wonderful and anticipated part of my day.

A big believer in not following rules, trends or pre-conceptions but instead trusting your instincts and sticking with a few little tricks, Abigail seeks to create spaces that are daringly different, very beautiful, utterly individual and personal and in her words "make your heart race".

Dark walls, wallpaper, layers, patterns and textures all with in a "reigned in" colour palette are all part