Blunt I know - but sometimes you just have be. If you feel like something is missing or not quite right in your living space then some of these simple tips below might be just what you need to add some character, mood and life to your living space.

THE LAYOUT IS NOT QUITE RIGHT

Often times we simply place our furniture in the places the people in the house before us had it because we just cant decide the best place for it. You may find that the television gets the glare off the window or that the family thoroughfare if going straight through the middle of your cosy living space.

Do not fear! It is so simple to fix this and you can do it yourself without professional help! Yes you could pay someone to come out and tell you the best way you should have your lounge and coffee table but if you spend a little bit of time moving some furniture around your own 'gut' will tell you what works.

Think about the traffic flow, can you move around it properly and is it usable! So now its up to you - give it a go now!

TOO MANY BUDGET ITEMS

Don't get me wrong - I am a BIG Kmart and Ikea fan myself and have many little bits and pieces around my home. But the key to being able to decorate your home on a budget is to add a few key high end pieces in as well. A cool armchair, a wow rug or piece of art or lamp. THEN and only then can you make your budget decorating items work. Its all about balance!

THE ROOM HAS NO 'MOOD'

The mood of a room is so important in making it feel 'cosy and homey'. I have 2 really simple solutions here.......

1. Plants - whether they are real or very real looking fakes, plants can bring a room to life. A tall palm in a boring corner or a flowing small decorative plant on a sideboard will make a huge difference.

2. Lighting - ambience people! So many homes built in the last 15 years or so are FULL of downlights. In every room. Pendants can change the whole feel of a room and adding extra table lamps in a dark little corner can do the same thing.

TOO MUCH COLOUR

So you love aqua?? So do I - but the key to good decorating using your fave colour is be subtle. You will have a neutral base colour like white, beige or grey and then you need a couple of accent colours to bring the room to life. Your favourite colour can be added in an armchair, your artwork or a lamp, but then you only want to add touches of this colour in other places in the room to tie it all in. DO NOT go crazy and have an aqua clock, vases, stools, placemats, accessories etc etc etc. This is too much and cheapens the space.

So I hope these little decorating tips can help you to bring your living room space to life. I guarantee you already are half way there you sometimes just need help to finish it off.

Happy Styling

Katrina xx

Christmas is always a difficult time to sell your home. But sometimes your situation doesn't allow you to be flexible in your choice. We understand that it can be stressful to present your home in the way you would like - especially at this time of the year when we are all so time poor. So let us help you furnish and style your home - either using some of your own pieces and adding some of ours, or a complete full styling, so that you can achieve the best sales result possible.

To make it easier for you we are offering 4 weeks FREE Furniture and Accessories rental when you pay for 4 weeks. This allows you to get through the quieter Christmas period while still allowing you to have your home on the market and looking amazing for photography and inspections.

So if you are thinking about styling you home for sale this December please don't hesitate to contact us for a free in home consolation and take advantage of our great offer.

Katrina xx

BOHO MACRAME WORKSHOP

Wow - what a busy month! With spring here the Property Styling side of the business has gone a little crazy!! Im loving it! AND - Haven has recently teamed up with the lovely Paula Bridgeman from Why Knot Macrame to bring you Macrame Workshops to the Shire. So far we have had such a fantastic response so we have just added more dates to our website. https://www.instagram.com/whyknotmacrame/

Paula has a Diploma of Education and has been Macrame-ing for a number of years now creating some amazing custom work. This is a beginners workshop so you don't need to have any experience! All materials, tuition and morning or afternoon tea is provided. Our workshops are held in my warehouse in Taren Point with easy parking. Book your place now so you don't miss out!

Here are a few pics of our last workshop in action.....

T-SHIRT YARN MACRAME CLASS

We are also holding a T-Shirt Macrame Workshop on Saturday November 4th. This is another unique wall art using a blush pink t-shirt yarn like the image below. It is a little easier and therefore only a 2 hour workshop. If you are interested in learning but not sure how you will go with a rope Macrame why not try this one first. At this stage there is only 1 class available and 10 places so book in now to avoid disappointment.

COMING SOON

We will be holding a 4 week Macrame Course which enables you to follow on from your beginners class to complete a beautiful large Macrame Wall Art. An example of the type of wall art you will make is below. If you are interested in this please reply email so I can keep you posted. Details to follow soon.

At Haven Interiors I am always looking at new ways to keep my creative mojo busy and this new venture into Macrame Workshops has been sooo much fun and working with my friend and talented Macrame tutor Paula makes it even better.

POP UP STORE

I will soon be opening my warehouse for small shopping days selling some of my favourite interior decor pieces, artwork and accessories. But I am still working on the finer details so this will be posted as soon as I am ready.

Thanks again for being part of the Haven tribe.

Katrina xx

Are you thinking of selling your home this Spring? If so, there is one question you are probably asking yourself. Should we have our property styled professionally? You have probably noticed that a lot of the homes advertised for sale on the market look well presented and styled. This is because they are making a positive investment to get the highest possible sales price for their home.

So why hire Property Stylists like Haven Interiors??

It has been proven that Property Styling increases your sales priceby at least 10%. So if you are looking at an average home of $1 million dollars that is a possible extra $100,000!!. An investment of between $3000 to $7000 returning $100,000 is a smart one don't you think?

When we visit your home it is being viewed through new eyes. You have lived there for years and are use to the extra pieces of furniture, photos and nic nacs around the house. You have sentimental pieces around your home that make it exactly that. YOUR HOME!. But you want someone to walk in and feel like it could their THEIR HOME.

We suggest moving any large, clunky pieces of furniture and clutter that are either overcrowding the home by making it appear smaller or distracting the buyer from the key assets of your home. Taking down all of the personal photos, children's artworks and more personal pieces around the home also allows the buyer to see themselves in this home.

At Haven Interiors our key goal is to evoke an emotional response from the buyer. We want them to walk into your home and fall in love. We want it to 'feel like home' to them. See themselves sitting in that armchair in the sun near the window reading a book, or out on the back patio entertaining guests.

Property Styling is extremely important for your photographic imagery in your printed and internet advertising as well. This is the first way a buyer will see your home and decide if it is something they want to take time out of their day to look at.

I recently spoke to a client who said while she was out looking she found a home she fell in love with and had to have! It had been fully styled by a local property stylist company and all she could see was the gorgeous pieces of modern furniture and artworks she loved! She wanted a home just like that!!

At Haven Interiors we understand that selling your home is stressful. Hiring a professional to handle the presentation side of the sale will definitely take a lot of pressure off yourself to concentrate on the other things you may need to do like gardening or repairs.

Remember when Property Stylists are presenting your home they are styling it to appeal to the widest audience possible. You may love your style, but it may not appeal to everyone. We tailor the furniture and accessories to a particular style which will appeal to your target market. Whether that be downsizers, young families or couples.

At Haven Interiors we offer you a free in home consultationwhere we can meet the home owner, go through each room discussing its pros and cons and talk together about the best way we can present your home for sale. We are flexible with our budget and offer decluttering and advice, along with partial and full property styling options.

So if you are thinking of selling this Spring, hopefully this article has helped explain some of the advantages of having your property styled for sale. Please feel free to contact me via email or phone with any questions you may have or to book in your free in home consultation.

Katrina xx

Decorating your walls does not always mean you need to hang artwork. There are so many different ways to dress your walls today, and I thought I would share some of my favourites with you.

If you have a long narrow hallway and are thinking you will need 3-4 pieces of art to fill it, then think again.

This wall below has been decorated with a monochrome coastal feel. The artwork is quite large but the wall even larger. Rather than put more artwork beside it or centre it in the middle we have added a gorgeous handmade cuttlefish necklace to the wall. This adds more interest, texture and depth. The cuttlefish necklace comes in white and black and can be custom made to any size.

Another way to add an interesting texture to walls is through macrame wall art. There are so many different textures and colours being used in these that its sometimes hard to choose! Obviously depending on your space you sometimes just need a small piece to compliment the artwork you already have hanging. Some examples of some of my favourites are below:

Timber wall panels - I love these, especially the old traditional chinese elm or moroccan. Today you can buy old Turkish doors and shutters to use to decorate your tired walls. It depends on the style you have going on in your home, but if you love a little boho and tribal look these can look amazing!

Finally there is the traditional framed art or canvas art. The best part is there is only one rule - Eye level. Make sure where you hang the picture it is at your eye level. Other than that you can make it symmetrical, or not! Hang larger ones beside smaller ones, but just make sure it looks balanced on the wall space. Lean your artwork on a sideboard or console. Have a look at these images below for some examples:

Any of the artworks in these images can be purchased through Haven, so if you have any questions, would like prices or are looking for a piece of art for a difficult wall I would be more than happy to help. Send me through your images for suggestions.

Katrina xx

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Its not as out of reach as it seems!!

You know what you like but you just don't know what to purchase and how to put it all together to make sure it all flows. I hear this with my clients all the time.

Everyone has their own tastes and styles (even if you think you don't). It is up to me as the decorator to help you find your style and bring it into your home.

You may just need help to finish off - i.e. with cushions, artwork and accessories and placing and styling these for maximum effect.

The Process

1. In home consultation

I will come to your home for a 1 hour consultation where you can show me around and tell me how you live as well as your favourite pieces. We can discuss furniture layout and colour schemes. Rip out pages from magazines or save pictures on Pinterest or Houzz that you are drawn to. Have a think about if you like a lot of pieces around or a more minimal look. Do you like indoor/outdoor casual living or are you more of a formal entertainer?

Below - Before and After images of small kitchen/dining room. Changing the large, dark rectangle dining table to a glass, round one opens up the space and adds more character.

Once we have been through your needs and your pictures I move on to the next process.

2. Mood Board

I will put together an E-Mood Board full of images of furniture and or homewares to tie in with the furniture and pieces you are keeping. From here you can take your board and spend the time shopping and putting it all together yourself. Or you can engage my services to order and style your products for you. Example of a mood board below:

3. Ongoing Engagement

If time is your enemy and you need to engage my services to source, shop and style your room we will liaise through emails and phone to find the exact pieces you require.

4. Shopping

The best part. Once we have narrowed down the items you like and your tastes and style I can take you to my exclusive decorator only showrooms where you can purchase some unique and beautiful furniture and accessories. I will pass on a great discount on recommended retail prices too.

5. Purchase, delivery and installation/Styling

Putting it all together and seeing your mood board come to life is the best part. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy your new created space.

If you have any questions about the decorating process or pricing don't hesitate to contact me or check out my Styling your Home page on the website. www.haveninteriors.net.au

Katrina xx

Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed a safe and fun break with family and friends.

We have been busy at Haven over the Christmas/New Year period helping a lovely family to prepare their home for sale. Surrounded in the lush greenery of Grays Point we were employed to help present their home in the best possible way to increase the sale price of their home. We always try to make our styled homes unique to the market. We want to subtly style and freshen up without it looking like a 'staged' home. It needs to 'feel like home' when the prospective buyer walks in the front door.

As with most of us, they are a busy couple who were struggling to find the time to do all of the work themselves. With our advice of decluttering, furniture placement and enhancing the properties best points we added key furniture items along with accessories to create the perfect space.

In keeping with the clients budget we also used some of their own furniture pieces in the styling and presentation such as the beds, television cabinet and lounge.

Before photos:

After photos:

Living/Dining Room

Bedrooms

Our goal at Haven Interiors is to work in with each individual clients' circumstances including budget, time, space and lifestyle. Not only do we offer a decluttering service but we can also arrange storage solutions for furniture not required during the sale process of your home.

We worked with Chris Walsh from Newton Real Estate in Caringbah to ensure that the client was receiving the best possible service from us.

Please feel free to contact either Stephanie or myself if you have any questions or would like us to come and provide you with a free consultation.

Katrina. xx

Christmas Day is fast approaching and if you are anything like me you have lists upon lists to get things done! But in my opinion one of the fun things to do is decorate your Christmas Table. Every year it is nice to do something different. Last year I found a photo of each of my family members when they were babies and made it into a table place card. We had a lot of fun looking and giggling at these.

This year it is all about greenery! Bring the outdoors in - or set your table up outside if you can. This gorgeous table is my inspiration for this year. Natural colours, greenery, candles and lights.

Below are a couple of really great ideas I found on Pinterest to dress your plates with Rosemary.

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Most of us either own have a clear glass lantern or a clear glass vase in their cupboard. Find some greenery to decorate the inside and place a candle in the middle. This gorgeous decoration below will look amazing in the centre of your table. I have spruced mine up this year with some of the tiny battery operated copper wire lights I bought in Freedom.

For the kids I believe in keeping it simple. I love this simple serviette on the left that looks like an elf hat! Or grab some hershey kisses and stick little paper trees on the top at their table place.

So this blog was short and sweet.....sorry, too much to do!

Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your family and friends.

Katrina and Steph.

Haven Interiors

Spring is always a motivating time of year to have a good clear out and clean out! For some of us it is a lot harder to part with some favourite old shoes or mirror we have had for years - but its time. Always ask yourself when you are making a choice to keep or throw:

"Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be

useful or believe to be beautiful"

Below are 5 easy steps to decluttering your home.

1. Book in your Clean up with your local council and mark the date in your calendar

2. Choose one area at a time - bedroom, office, lounge room, kitchen. Whichever it may be keep it simple and don't overwhelm yourself!

3. Get yourself 3 boxes.

1 = Toss

1 = Donate

1 = Keep

Ask yourself the above question for each item. If you aren't sure what to do with an item put it in another box. Mark a date 3 months ahead on it and put it in your phone with an alert. If you haven't used or thought about those items in 3 months - GET RID OF IT!

4. Put away everything you are keeping.

5. Toss or Donate your old items straight away so that you are not to dig in and pull things out.

6. Put your feet up and have a glass of champagne to celebrate your achievement - YOU DESERVE IT!

As with a lot of us I love to pour over pinterest whenever I get a chance. I was looking through my profile and realised I had saved a few very clever and quick storage tips that appealed to me so I thought I would share them. Some are quite funny.

1. Little wooden bowls cut in half and mounted onto the inside of a door for your lipsticks and glosses.

2. Keep all of your gift wrapping bits and pieces in the one place.

3. A clever way to keep all of your charger cords from falling of the bench.

4. Love how this charger dock is tucked away in a draw out of sight.

5. Haha - Well it is a good idea!!

6. Drink bottles - they drive me mad! I love this great idea to store them in the cupboard.

7. This is a pretty cool idea. Keeping all of the drugs and ointments categorised for a quick and easy find.

8. Strange...but kind of clever.

9. This is pretty cool for above a childs bed.

10. Hide all of your precious jewels.

So I hope you found something amongst this strange lot of storage ideas useful! And if you are not already on Pinterest, you should be. It is full of gorgeous images and photography! Click on Haven Interiorsand follow my inspiration boards.

Katrina xx

For most of us, the only time we go into our bedroom is to crash into bed at the end of a long day. I want you to use this opportunity to rethink your bedroom space to be so much more than this. For me, I have a house full of boys. So my bedroom is my peaceful place. I need a space where i can 'escape' when I need to. (which is a lot!)

Here are 5 of my top tips to help you create a beautiful, peaceful space where YOU can escape to

1. Light and Bright

You would have noticed that white is the new black. Painting your walls white creates a feeling of space, lightness and brightness to any room. My favourite colour is Dulux Lexicon or Lexicon quarter if you want it 'whiter'. This has a grey tone to it. This allows you to be creative and inventive with your accessories and linens in your bedroom.

2. Cosy corner

I know we don't all have the space in our bedrooms for a chair - but if you do I highly recommend you choose one you can sink into and get cosy. Its not always comfortable to sit in bed to read and if you are like me once your in bed you need to sleep!. Having a chair in your room gives you somewhere to go to when you need to get away from the hustle and bustle of the house. It gives you a place to read, watch tv (if you have one in your room) or just contemplate the day.

3. Modern Lighting

Lighting plays a big part in the mood of a room. A soft ambient light helps you to calm your mind and relax. So have a look at the lighting you have on your bedside now and see if this is something you need to change. Maybe even changing the globe to a lower wattage will help to create the warm light you need.

4. Throws and Cushions

I know these can sometimes be a nuisance as they always end up on the floor at the end of the day and you only have to put them back on again - but they definitely have a place in your bedroom. The textures and colours you choose for your bedding is a reflection of you and your personality. When you retreat to your bedroom you want to feel like you 'belong' their and that the space is yours.

5. Flowers or Greenery

I love to incorporate a bunch of flowers of a plant into every room I style. It adds warmth and character and in a lot of cases softens the space. Whether you are a green thumb or happy to choose some faux options is up to you - but trust me adding a plant can add so much to the feel of your bedroom.

I hope these tips help you and if anything you pick just one to incorporate into your bedroom space.

Katrina xx

We are very excited to launch Haven Interiors & Styling gorgeous new website! Steph and I have been working together to create the perfect site to provide you with inspiration, information and images of our concepts and projects.

Our whole styling concept is to create and design a space for our clients, whether it is through property styling when selling your home or updating and styling your current residence, which is fresh, individual and 'feels like home' to you. The place where you finish your day, kick off your shoes and enjoy your family time.

Interior Decorating is not as easy as it looks. Most people know the pieces and colours that they like, but are unsure how to put it all together to create a cohesive and stylish space. We pride ourselves on being an accessible and approachable interior decorating business with affordable pricing and flexible budgeting options that help you achieve the style you want.

If you are thinking of selling, Property Styling is playing a more important role due to its invaluable ability to increase the selling price of your home. We offer each client flexible and affordable options to choose from which include; decluttering and styling with your own pieces, adding accessories to add more impact to rooms or a full furniture and accessory install using our own unique products and furniture suppliers.

Pop over to our website where we share some of my Interior Decorating projects along with our Property Styling projects and some very happy and satisfied client testimonials.

If you would like to receive interior styling tips, the latest trends, advise on styling to sell your home and special offers, you can subscribe here. We'd love to keep in touch!

Steph and I would love you to forward this email on to your family and friends who might be interested in our services.

Katrina and Steph xx