new Inside Out on sale today - featuring the gorgeous Poulier & Poulier home on the cover!

Lisa & Mark Poulier's home on the cover of Inside Out July/August 2013.
Photography by Armelle Habib story and styling by Heather Nette King

The new issue of Inside Out hits the stands today - featuring the swoon worthy home of Lisa and Mark Poulier and their family.  That's the living room on the cover, but my absolutely favourite room is the sitting room, with its dramatic black walls. This home is an excellent example of how to work a limited, almost monochromatic palette, whilst still achieving warmth, and a beautifully layered interior.

Lisa and Mark are the owners of wonderful Melbourne homewares brand, Poulier & Poulier.

Gorgeous photos by Armelle Habib, story and styling by me.
hx

gorgeous Melbourne home - Jane Hall's colourful sanctuary

Jane Hall's Melbourne home (page 1) Photo by Armelle Habib Story and styling by Heather Nette King copyright Fairfax Media

Jane Hall's Melbourne home (page 2) Photo by Armelle Habib Story and styling by Heather Nette King copyright Fairfax Media

Joyous decorating.  That's what I call this.  In her new home, my lovely friend Jane Hall has once again created a scrumptious living space filled with colour, humour, joy and personality.   And, as she says in the story,  “Our home is full of things that make Lu and I smile... I am a complete bower-bird – very attracted to colour – and this home has masses of open shelving which I had absolutely no trouble filling.” Yup, no trouble at all.  It's heaven.

hx

Masterchef Australia 2013 - the publicity shoot

Masterchef Australia 2013 - Photography by John Tsiavis, set styling by Heather Nette King

All shoots should be this much crazy fun (already it seems I have forgotten the exhaustion, stress, excitement... - it's kinda like childbirth in that respect).

Together with the fab teams from Ten (led by Anthony McCarthy) and Shine (Nat Kaplan) , and headed by celebrity photographer extraordinary, John Tsiavis (and his gang of excellent assistants) we spent another full-on day in the studio creating the publicity stills for the new Masterchef series that starts on-air tonight.

We shot Matt, Gary and George on five different sets - three of which I'll show you here. No prizes for guessing which is my favourite - yes, it's the classic stuck-way-out-in-the-desert, tragically
 tired and rundown mexican cantina.  I can't tell you how rapt I was when the guys agreed to don the muscle shirts and diner-boy hats, and they really got into the spirit of things, particularly when we bought out the oversized can of yellow cheese sauce. Things got very messy.  And don't judge me  - but the sauce was actually delicious.  In a really wrong kind of way, that is.  Thanks to Trish Hunter for the loan of her amazing vintage caravan, and to my assistant slash nephew Henry-Jack for being all over it and knowing what I needed before I knew I needed it!  Oh and thanks to Annebelle my assistant slash daughter for whipping me up the ace menu board! And finally, ongoing apologies to Reuben for the death-sauce-in-the-eye incident - I am still having nightmares about it!

Here are some of the other sets:

Masterchef Australia 2013 Photography by John Tsiavis Set styling by Heather Nette King

Masterchef Australia 2013 Photography by John Tsiavis Set styling by Heather Nette King

And here is some behind the scenes action:

Henry-Jack and I standing in for the pre-light.  I am on my dad's original '50's Sleepy Hollow chair!

Don't judge it until you have tried it...

Excellent Henry-Jack making me a caravan shelf

And here are the shots, appearing in the press.

Hx

Paula Kilpatrick's Country Style..

Paula Kilpatrick at Tuppenny Farm

I think everyone who follows Paula Kilpatrick on instagram does a wistful little sigh when she posts those delightful early morning pics of the sheep, the alpacas and her gorgeous gang of dogs.  I know I do.  Paula has the perfect blend of city and country life, and her warmth and sense of humour make us all want to be her best friend. Again, I know I do!

I had the great pleasure of visiting Paula at Tuppenny Farm, near Heathcote,  a while back when Lisa Cohen and I covered it for Country Style.  The story appears in the May issue, which is on sale now.

Lisa and I shot another home for Country Style last week - one that is very close to my heart - so I can't wait to share that.

hx

gorgeous Melbourne home - Mish Lilley

food stylist Mish Lilley at home in Melbourne

I love it when grandeur meets modern-glam at full pelt!

Welcome to Mish and Ben Lilley's Melbourne home - once a stately, if a little stuffy, grand residence, these two have transformed it into a stately, yet powerfully cool family home.  How?  With a fabulous blend of colour confidence, individuality, wit and passion. There's loads of black and white - with the added kicker of hot orange, yellow and pink.  It is, quite simply, delicious!

Check our Mish's foodie adventures here:

This page appeared in The Sunday Age / Sun Herald Sunday Life magazine recently. Photos by Armelle Habib. story and styling by Heather Nette King, copyright owner by Fairfax Media.

hx

happy Friday...

tranquility at home this afternoon

What a crazy week it's been!  I styled a gorgeous home shoot in Williamstown, made some props, captioned stories like a madwoman, wrote a few others and started to work on a network launch party.  The highlight for me though was an amazing shoot yesterday (yes, on a public holiday - we must be mad).  I worked with John Tsiavis on a beautiful, conceptual shoot for a very visionary client.  It was more like going to a performance than work though as we worked with three amazing dancers who gave their all (and I think may be feeling a little bruised and sore today as they literally threw themselves into this project). So, a top week in all.  Hope yours was too.
hx

John Tsiavis with our amazing dancers yesterday.

gorgeous Melbourne (well, Leopold, actually) home - Sami and Shane Johnson

Sami & Shane Johnson's home.

With an enviable collection of props thanks to her prop hire business 24 Thrones, stylist Sami Johnson has, as you would expect, a stunning home.  Throw into the mix a gorgeous baby girl, Bo, some sweet dogs, and you have all the right ingredients for a great shoot.

And as it sometimes happens, there just isn't enough room on the page for all of the shots, and here is one of my favourite spaces in her home that I just had to share - the entry hall.  How great is the colour combo of the phone from Kyo in Ocean Grove, the wooden cross, and the Muuto Dots wall hangers?

This one appeared in the Sunday Age / Sun Herald Sunday Life Magazine last weekend.  Photos by Armelle Habib, story and styling by me, and copyright is owned by Fairfax.

Hx

my kitchen make-over, part I

my new kitchen wall!

before - seriously un-cute

and after - muuuuuch better!

We've all got a good side, right.  The one we favour in photographs?  The cute, dimpley side.  Well, my kitchen had a seriously dodgy side.  An old fridge, a crappy old cupboard that posed as a pantry, and a big gaping waste of space in between that housed only the re-cyc basket.  My kitchen has been photographed many times, but never that side.  So on the weekend we set to it and headed to Bunnings for a garage storage system.  First, we painted the wall behind the new storage black. Then we constructed the shelves - the frame was black, but the shelves were plain ugly mdf, so I painted them black too. Then, I had a massive chuck-out of plates, bowls, magazines, cook-books, and many more things I had been hanging onto just-in-case they would become the perfect, random prop one day.  I kept only the good stuff, and the useful stuff, and I am now quite in love with this side of the kitchen -  I just have to deal with the other three sides.  And the floor - the pink floor has officially outworn its welcome, and it will be back to white next weekend.  Stay tuned for the next stage!

hx

gorgeous Melbourne home, Simone & Rhys Haag

Simone Haag's Ringwood home, photos: Armelle Habib. styling: Meather Nette King copyright: Fairfax Media

If you love the cool Scandi aesthetic, then you will adore the home of Simone & Rhys Haag. Nestled into a hillside in Melbourne's outer-eastern suburb of Ringwood, the home has undergone an amazing transformation since the couple discovered it on the Minimalist Australia blog a few years ago. My favourite feature is the Austrian Larch flooring - it not only looks great, it's dream to walk on. Oh and gorgeous Tank, the rescue dog is pretty special too! You can check out Simone's blog here

This page appeared in the Sunday Age / Sun Herald Sunday Life magazine, photos by Armelle Habib, story and styling by me.  Copyright owned by Fairfax Media.
hx

it's so so easy being green...

Emerald green - styling by Heather Nette King, photo by Mike Baker, copyright Fairfax Media

Has it really been three weeks?  It's been a crazy old time here.  Lots of shoots and writing, dabbling in some event styling (but don't think I could cope with the late nights....), working on decorating a super-gorgeous home for a very stylish client, quoting for new work - the usual I guess.  Throw in some school holidays, Easter (during which I only fell off the I Quit Sugar bandwagon twice, I am proud to say) and the same family madness we all have, and I guess that adds up to three weeks.

Now, I was very happy when emerald green was anointed Colour of the Year for 2013 by international colour authority Pantone.  It is my favourite gemstone - as witnessed by my choice of engagement ring - and my second favourite colour for interiors. after pink, natch.  Emerald, and many other divine greens are hitting the homewares scene big time this year.  I love how if works on new pieces, such as the gorgeous Jardan Seb chair, as well as older stuff, especially vintage glassware.  My favourite discovery on this shoot was the beautiful Bam Bam bowls, by the very stylish importers Cherie and Nareen at Marmoset Found - do check them out. And please do email me or comment for any other stockist info.

hx

late nights, booty calls, shiny disco balls...

Silver lining - styling by Heather Nette King, Photo ny Nike Baker, Copyright Fairfax Media.

Well, it wasn't really a late night.  And there were no booty calls (but that got your attention though, didn't it?). We did, however,  break out the shiny disco balls and the thumping disco beats on this shoot.  Kylie had a thrashing!

I have wanted to do a party/special occasion inspired shoot for a while, and I'd been desperate to get my hands on a beautiful balloon from Heidi Moore Gill at Bespoke Ballonery, so here was my chance.
And how great is that tassel from Ouchflower?

Mikey rigged up some seriously strobey lighting and I pointed one finger in the air and put my other hand on my hip.  That's how we used to do it, isn't it?

hx

This page appeared in the Sunday Age, M magazine last Sunday.  Copyright Fairfax

delicious art, on a plate...

As a daily anthropologie.com stalker, I am always filling my imaginary cart with their wonderful ceramic plates - they are arty, whimsical, colourful and fun - which is pretty much the criteria for turning my head. and earning a place in my home.

I bought the set of four 'Nature' plates at Anthro whilst in the States last year, and these formed the basis of my Sunday Age Savvy Shopper round-up of all the beautiful ceramic plates available both here and online.

If kooky is your style, you can't look past LA based artist Angela Rossi, whose Altered Antiques range is available in Melbourne through Third Drawer Down.

Another Australian online retailer with a fab range of ceramics is Everythingbegins.com, who stock the stunning ranges by UK graphic designer Lou Rota, including my second favourite one seen above, The Jackdaw and the Lily of the Valley.

No prizes for guessing my favourite - yes, it the goldie in the sweater - called 'Max, Fourth Grade'  by Angela Rossi from Third Drawer Down. Heaven!

Oh, and the beautiful wallpaper running down the left of the page is available through Jimmy Cricket

Here is the page that appeared in the Sunday Age M magazine yesterday. Story and styling by Heather Nette King, Photo by Mike Baker, copyright Fairfax media.

hx

seeing spots and pink elephants...

photo by Heather Nette King

I am seeing spots and pink elephants, but no, I have not had too many champagnes.  I am simply looking at this darling new cushion that I picked up at the Scarlet Jones sale today.  I didn't get there  when the sale started yesterday but each time I saw Lynn's feed on instagram I kinda grinded my teeth and wished I was there.  If you are now grinding your teeth I suggest you get there.  Quick sticks.

hx

at home today...

Photo: Heather Nette King

Ah, finally a day at home. To catch my breath, do a (very little) bit of cleaning, answer some emails and hopefully, put fingers to typepad and get some magazine stories written. First thing this morning though, I rescued some gorgeous Pierre de Ronsard roses and some gardenias from my garden before the rain ruined them.  The poor Agave was so potbound  - when I moved it I just popped it into some water to give it time to breathe until I find a pot beautiful enough to replant it in. The heady, musky scent from that corner of my lounge is too-die-for!

I have spent so much time lately in studios and other peoples houses that it feels extra great to be here, in my crazy, messy, overflowing, psuedo-prop-store, child and pet filled home.

hx

Gorgeous nursery inspiration from Dulux

I am so, so excited to share these images from Dulux's brand new 'Inspiring Nursery Ideas' campaign that I styled late last year.  What a dream brief! Together with the amazing Bree Leech, Dulux's Colour & Communications Expert, and the extremely clever Leanne Pearce, Dulux's Senior Brand Manager,  we came up with six very differently themed nurseries - from the traditional pink or blue rooms through to the hipster baby cave.

It was such fun, buzzing around town collecting the props to bring these themes to life.  And I have gotta say, baby furniture has come a long way in the (not that many) years since we were buying it. Babies are sooo cool these days.

I got to work with amazing photographer Jesper Nielsen for the first time (he was ably assisted by gorgeous Rebecca Newman), and over the course of a week, six rooms at three locations were transformed into the most adorable nurseries - a girl could almost get clucky! (just kiddin' Jez).

I need to give a massive thanks to all of the companies who supplied the furniture and props - you can find a full listing of suppliers at the Dulux website).

And, also over at the Dulux site, you can download the instructions for creating the paint effects and some of the craft ideas.  I highly recommend the beautiful scallop pattern on the fireplace in the 'Dreamy Baby' room - we used my lounge room for that shot, and I loved the look so much we've kept it!

And now - can you guess which is my favourite room? ps, no prizes.... I am way too predictable for that.

Hx

Dulux Inspiring Nurseries campaign

For Dulux:
Leanne Pearce, Senior Brand Manager
Bree Leech,  Colour & Communications expert

Photography
Photographer: Jesper Nielsen
Assistant: Rebecca Newman

Clemenger BBDO
Melissa Scott, Senior Account Director
Tanya Green, Senior Communications Manager
Shane Dawson, Art Director
Nicholas Short, Production Manager

Stylist
Heather Nette King

Advising Midwife
Shevaun O'Loghlan