January 25, 2026 • 45 mins
On this episode of The Edit, Home Beautiful editor Elle Lovelock invites you to join in on an important chat about what we actually want to do in the new year. Alongside one of Australia’s most trusted home experts, Tara Dennis, familiar to many of you from years on Better Homes and Gardens and other much-loved home and DIY shows, to talk about something more realistic than resolutions: new rituals for the new year that actually work.
From her calm, riverside home, Tara shares how she resets her space and her head when the year has left everything feeling a bit too full, drawers, diary, and brain included. Instead of colour-coded chore charts and impossible routines, she walks Elle through small, repeatable habits: gentle decluttering, re‑styling a few key zones, lighting a favourite candle at the same time each evening, and creating tiny daily moments that signal “you can exhale now.”
Together, Elle and Tara unpack the emotional clutter as much as the physical: the pressure to reinvent yourself every January, the guilt over unfinished projects, and the way our homes can quietly reflect that mental noise. Tara, in the same calm, practical tone you know from TV, offers low-stress ways to let things go, rearrange what you already own, and build home rituals that support how you really live, not how you think you’re supposed to live.
There are unique stories from early on in her career, memories of making do and making things by hand, and the realisation that styling and organising aren’t just about aesthetics, they’re a way of caring for yourself and the people you love. If you’re looking for new year home reset ideas, simple decluttering rituals, or just a kinder way to start the year, this conversation with Tara is a trustworthy guide from someone you’ve had in your living room for years
In this episode, we also meet expert buyer and marketer Paula Cincotta from OZ Design Furniture, who has a razor-sharp merchant brain and a designer’s eye for how we really live. From scouting international showrooms to curating the latest sofa trends and hero coffee tables for local homes, Paula talks through colour, curves and clever styling ideas she's learned on her travels that make big trends feel surprisingly achievable with no renovation required.
Thank you for listening ❤️
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Inside Tara's Gorgeous Riverside Home
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Credits:
Edited by Phil Calloway
Production by Thomas Crnkovic
Our wonderful Home Beautiful team
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is an R Media podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
and lifestyle. Today's podcast episode has been styled by OZ Design,
a company with over forty five years experience in showcasing style.
(00:32):
What do you think is something that most people could
get rid of? One thing in the home that you think,
you know you don't need that.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Open your kitchen, draw the second one down, Visualize that
anything in there? You know what I mean? Do you
need ten pairs of tongs? Dare I say it's okay
to be beige? I go a bit beige for the basics. Yeah,
because I liken it to being like a little black
dress if you've got a really classic base, or you know,
you can dress it up. Yeah, it's the same for
(00:59):
the home. And I think that's probably where a lot
of people go wrong. And that's probably what I've learned
myself New Year.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
People set New Year resolutions, but I like to think
of it in terms of rituals.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yes, I think it's a better word. Resolutions to me
always sounds negative, exactly. I think rituals is a much
nicer way to think about it.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
What are rituals to you?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Things spark your spirit.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Welcome and happy new Year to you. If there had
ever been a time to start listening to the Edit,
this is it. It's the new year. We're here to
make all those decisions as simple as possible, and we
have the best in the business just for you to
help us. In today's chat, design expert Tarra Dennis joins
(01:45):
us to share new ideas, trends, and practical inspiration for
entering the new year with creativity and calm. From color
palettes to organization hacks, we'll uncover ways to transform any
space into a sanctuary for fresh beginning. And remember you're
not alone. If all of this feels like a lot,
editing your home and tackling clutter, it can be emotional
(02:08):
and overwhelming, and that's exactly why this show exists. Think
of us as your calm friend and the chaos. We're
here to walk you through, one small, doable step at
a time. We're in safe hands with Tara, so enjoy
your Welcome to the Edit, a brand new podcast from
(02:35):
Home Beautiful. Well, welcome back to the Edit, Tara Dennis.
It's great to have you.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Thank you for having me again, it's so nice to
be here, refreshed and feeling good for summer.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Such a new year, let's talk about how to make
the most of it.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I think it's everyone's made their resolutions, haven't they by now?
Do you think anyone's actually broken them already?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Early day? It depends what it is.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
My resolution generally with every year is always to start
with a good clean up, meaning like whether that's is
it in your house as well?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Oh as soon as Christmas is, Steve, I can't wait
to just clear everything out.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah. So medically you want to be strong. Physically you
want to just get rid of what you don't need,
and I think just set off with good intentions. So
it's the year of the horse. We're galloping into twenty
twenty six with all good intentions. The wheels won't fall
off or no exactly. I think it's nice to get
that tree down Christmas tree. My mother always used to
(03:36):
say it was two weeks, so you kind of had
till around the fifth of January to get the tree down.
So if anyone is kind of thinking that, you know,
March is a good time to take down the Christmas
lights and all of that way too late, bad luck.
So you want to get everything packed away nice and neat.
But I'm a big editor. I'm always just culling as
(03:57):
I go, so I kind of call it tidle to
do TV. I used to say to people, and if
you bring something in, something has to go out. Same
with clothing, wardrobe, anything in out. So you've always got
like an opshop bag, you know, something to go to charity,
that kind of thing. Same with furniture. You just can't
keep bringing it in. You know. One of the biggest
(04:17):
dilemmas I suppose decorating wise people used to say to me,
is I need an extension. I don't have much space.
I need more storage. And I used to say to them,
maybe you need less stuff. Yeah, maybe you actually just
need less stuff. What do you need it?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
What do you think is something that most people could
get rid of? One thing in the home that you think,
you know you don't need that.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Open your kitchen, draw the second one down, visualize that
anything in there. You know what I mean? Do you
need ten pairs of tongs?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
No? No, no, you don't.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
You pick the best ones, the ones that work well,
and get rid of the rest, donate them charity. You know,
it's we all just accumulate, especially after Christmas, so it's
the same like the kids get giving toys, start donating.
You have to start as you mean to go on
or come sort of September October exactly. That's what I
(05:08):
meant by the wheels falling off in logo pear shaped,
and then you're going into another Christmas with more stuff.
That's the sad thing about the world we live in now.
We're very material and things are so affordable now relatively,
we end up with too much exactly, or we buy
something and go, oh, that's good, and then we get there,
you know, and before you know.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It, there's too much. And you really believe a clear space.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Is a clear mind, totally, totally. I'd like to say
that it was just me. I think it's a I
think it is a female thing. Now that's probably controversial.
I like to go to work in the morning, the
sink's clear, the washing ups, put away, floors are tidy.
I do I set off for my day in such
a better mood when everything's relatively tidy. I'm not, you know,
(05:50):
pedantic and doing every single thing, but a tidy house
is a tidy mind. I believe do you have any
daily habits that well that you keep sure for sure,
I definitely make sure that the sink is clear, and
I want to come home to washing up, and in fact,
it kind of starts the night before. So when I
go to bed, I make sure that washing up's put
away so that I don't get up to a dish
(06:12):
full of you know, a sink full of dishes. Sit.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So are you on the reset? So people talk about
a Sunday reset or a nightly reset. Are you a
cushion plumper?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Do you get the couch sort? My husband, here we go,
before we go to bed, we have yet aven And again,
it's not even so much of the aesthetic. It's more
that I feel like it's done.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Tick.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I'm a big list ticker. I love to say, right,
that's done, don't have to worry, you know, it's it's
setting my day up badly. When I get out of
bed and come out in the lounge room, there's cushions
everywhere and stuff everywhere, and you go in the kitchen
and the sinks full of dishes. It's like, no, I
can't have that. I like to come in and go
right new day, off we go.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So what do you do in the new year. Are
there any tips or things that you do in your
life to start the new year?
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, again, it's that edit. I start to think about
my wardrobe. You know, what can I cull? Because you
know new year, you sort of like you're halfway through summer.
Did I actually put away all of my winter clothes?
Did I get there? Because just you know, I slam
into Christmas with what I do for work, so I
kind of that last quarter of the year is just
a mess for me. So it's the time when I
(07:20):
take stock and I go I should either wash all
of my woolens or dry clean them and put them away.
It's kind of having a house refresh. And the same
with your linen cupboard. You can go through, match up
all of your sheets. You know, it's their little jobs
and instead of going big and going I've got to
do my whole linen closet, just do one shelf at
(07:41):
a time. Oh, that's such a good shdea. That's all
you need to do. So I have this little It
is not a daily ritual, it's a weekly ritual. I
try and do one job and I call it my
hour of power. So whether it be on a Saturday
or a Sunday, even a week night, if I've got
a bit of time, just one job and that could
be clear out the top drawer in the kitchen, or
it could be tidy shelf in the fridge and clean it,
(08:02):
you know. Just I did my washing machine the other day.
You know, we're in the rubber. It gets all cleaned,
all that, you know, and then I go, I feel
really good now, you know, just little jobs that all
add up, because things become overwhelming when you don't and
then they all start stop piling. So if you kind
of start the year with the new intention, it's just
easier along the way. And get the family on board too.
(08:25):
So I got my husband and my son the other
week hour of power guys come on, you know, down
and all that stuff. Let's clean it up, and before
you know it, it's looking.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Do you have a list of jobs you have to.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Get or you just ignore the lists? Boys ignore the list.
If you do the list, it becomes like a nag list,
and then they get a bit you know, they dig
the heels in. It's like no. So I just kind
of like sell.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
The idea more of a group activity.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, like, hey, how about we do this and they
feel great. Yeah, So it's the approach.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
And do you notice that they do feel good?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yes? Yes, their mood is yes. My son, if I
get him to I don't make him clean his room
on his own anymore. I've learned over the years. Instead
of nagging him clean your room up, I go up
there and he's sitting there playing with something. You just go, well,
that didn't work, did it. So if I go and
help him and we get it done, he really enjoys
his space so much more afterwards, and he can find
(09:20):
things he goes, Hey, you know so, I think you
have to set up systems, and if you have a
good system, they can keep to the system. If it's
chaos and there's no system, they can't keep a good system.
Do you know what I mean? If there's no way
to hang your clothes or no clean drawers, if you
can't put your things away, it will never work. So
(09:41):
you've got it. Tidy out the drawer and then say
I put your t shirts and your undies and everything
like this. That's how I want you to put the
washing away. And it does work, but you have to
regularly maintain the system.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It does. I've got a four year old son, and
his room is probably the most easy to organize because
I'm so conscious of a kid's room can get really
care does yas And so there is a place for everything,
and we do the regular clear outs where we like
to he gets to choose the toys that he wants
to give to the other children.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Good.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, and to exactly what you're saying, get him involved
in the process, and we have a packaway race and yeah,
that's good.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Make it fun, make it.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Fun, and I think it's just so much calmer for
him to go to bed each night in a time.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Completely and you can dust it and you can keep
it tidy, and yeah, they appreciate them what they have
rather than just this overwhelming pile of toys that they've
grown out of and they don't team. So I think
that's really good to set up good systems for every
room in the house and then just try and maintain
it regularly throughout the year, and then you know you
(10:42):
can keep on top of things.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Definitely. So with the clutter cleared, you can look to
my favorite part of the dcorps. Yes, let's talk about color.
What sorts of colors do you personally love to live with?
And do you change it up or do you have
the new year, let's try something fresh.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I tend not to a lot of people think, oh,
your house must be you know, you must change it
all the time, and changing room, changing rooms. Yeah, I
look very easy to want to paint the walls and
all that sort of thing. I'm a big believer in
the classic neutrals for your base things, things that are
difficult to change easily, quickly and easily and affordably. So
for tile, for instance, I would never do something like
(11:23):
a hot pink tile, or a blue tile even or
a green tile, anything that I think could become stylized.
So I tend to err on the side of dare
I say it's okay to be beige. I go a
bit beige for the basics, because I liken it to
being like a little black dress. If you've got a
really classic base, you can add pearls or a scarf
(11:44):
or a beautiful handbag. Well, you know, you can dress
it up. It's the same for the home. And I
think that's probably where a lot of people go wrong.
And that's probably what I've learned myself over the years
watching what people do. They go I just I can't
get it right because they've gone out shopping and they've
bought this peacock blue sofa in velvet, and they go,
it just looks so amazing in the store, and I
have to have it. And then five years later they go,
(12:06):
what was I thinking? I can't match anything with that,
you know, So I would say, go peacock blue velvet
in your cushions or your art, but just have a
neutral base that is timeless and classic. So I'm a
big believer in the classic base. And then so as
you can imagine, I have cushions coming in and going
in my house all the time, and it always works
(12:26):
because you can mix it up with those accents, flowers,
you know, anything that you put in a vase, well
that's injected green to this table.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
It's the same.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You could do pink, and you can change things seasonally
quickly and easily, and it's just instant. Then you know,
rather than I've got to paint the walls and then
you know, get a new So the quick fix, the
quick day totally. I'm all about the quick fix.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You've also got a lot of experience in fixing, yes,
bigger decor problems as in diy as all of DIY
in some rooms that just need help. Tell us about
some of the I think the best fixes.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah. Look, I think a lot of people get a
bit confused as to you know, they go, oh, my house,
it's just either not big enough, or the doors in
the wrong place, or it's just awkward. There's no such
thing as the perfect room. There isn't. I like to
say to people, try to think about it in a
different way, like does your sofa have to go there?
Could you move it around? Could you have a slightly
(13:24):
smaller sofa? Is it too big for the space? Most loungeoms,
for instance, always focus around the TV. It's always it's
just that they feel about that. Ah, love hate, you know,
it's normal love TV. Yeah, So I mean it's not
like these I like these flat screens you can put
a frame on and.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Do that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
That's cute. Yeah, it's also thinking about balance and viewpoints.
You know, there's no point in setting up all of
your furniture in the room if no one can see
the TV. If they're having to sort of go like that,
just you know, that's just not going to work. You
still have to live there. So I think it's it's
just a question of maybe perhaps even even addressing how
you use a room. Do you need a dining room?
(14:02):
Could you take everything out and actually turn it into
like a home office, a gym, Maybe you could put
fitness equipment in.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It's just reusing things in clever ways and thinking about
the space that you have and maybe with the addition
of perhaps some built in cupboards, could that work better
for you, or could you take things out and have
that work better for you. Definitely, even curtains, even curtains
can change the feel of a room. You know, just
shears on the window in summer, that soft, breezy kind
of look. You might not see that ugly view. It
(14:30):
just might transform a room completely, just with a couple
of shears. So it's just thinking about things in a
fresh new way and not trying to fight what's going
on in the room. You know, too many people come
in and go, I hate my terracotta tile floor, and
I just I can't replace and I don't know what
to do with it. Okay, so let's work with that.
You have orange in your room on the floor, so
(14:51):
let's work with that. Maybe we can do a softer,
peachy color on the walls and work with it rather
than against it to make it feel cohesively. Yeah, work
with it, make it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
How can you bring balance into a room because balance
is something that people look at in the new year.
They want to get their work life balance right for
the year ahead. But it's something you can do in
interior design as well.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
You can, and you can do it with scale. I
think scale is a really important thing in one room.
Say again, if we look at say the lounge room,
for example, a rug on the floor will define the
space and it can immediately ground the room and center it.
So if you have a little postage stamp sized rug
in front of your sofa, the balance is not right,
it's not good. But if you have a bigger rug,
(15:34):
it actually gives the illusion of more space and it
tends to sort of knit the whole room together. And
then how you position the furniture on the rug will
then add the balance. So you could do maybe two
sofas opposite each other. You could do a sofa with
two armchairs or just one at the end. Little side
tables can add balance. And then the height of your lamps.
(15:55):
Don't have little tiny lamps on little low tables. No
you know scale, so just learning about scale, so I
think I tend to say to people, have less of
the big things in the room, but make them bigger.
Does that make sense? It sounds counterintuitive, but.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
That it makes sense because you have a sense of
I don't know how to explain this, but like you
can breathe.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes, yeah, it knits it together because it's wall to
what you see it. So you're seeing the big ticket items,
so you're seeing the sofa, the coffee table where the
television is, and the key lamps. And then the art
should balance the sofa, So don't do little tiny picture
above the big sofa. You know, if you're going to
do that, do a gallery wall so it fills the space,
so again you get balanced, or do a big artwork.
(16:40):
Go grand and do big artwork which you can get affordably.
Now you can just do a bi cancel light and
again that adds balance and it makes the room feel
not only welcoming, but less cluttered. And it makes you
calm as soon as you go in there, because it
all feels like it's deliberate, not just nicky nasty news everywhere.
You know, you don't want it to feel like that
with a bookshelf, take everything out, rearrange it, stack your
(17:03):
books neatly, have a little vase, add some balance to
your shelves. Don't overcrown things. Put some things away if
you don't want to get rid of them, put them away.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Because a lot of us love a nickknack, Yeah, and
I do.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I'm the worst. I know. I've got so many little
nikki neck you news, you know, But I don't have
to have them out on display all the time. And
by putting them away and then revisiting them at another time,
you can appreciate them more because you forget what you've
got and you just sort of see it and you
don't see it. But when it's look when it's fresh,
and you go, oh my gosh, I haven't seen that.
Oh wow, and I love the ribs, and you know,
(17:37):
you suddenly see things again.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
You get the same buzz as if you had bought something.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You can appreciate it all over again. So put things
away or group them according to the season. It could be,
you know, like for winter you could have more cozy.
In summer, you just want light and fresh, You want
some surfaces, You need to see some space in summer time.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I agree, hearing about Tara's systems as a new technique
for order. She is a woman who knows so coming
up how to make your room feel welcoming and not cluttered.
See you in a bit. OZ Design is all about
making your home look good and feel even better. This
(18:18):
season's collection brings together natural textures, warm timbers, and clean
modern lines, the kind of timeless style that fits any space.
Each piece is made to last and easy to mix
and match, whether you're giving one room a refresh or
styling your whole home. It's thoughtful design that feels relaxed
(18:39):
but still refined. Check out the collection online or head
in store today. Press pause on the chat. Here's what Paula,
a leading trend expert from OZ Design, is noticing right
now in inspiring trends for your home in the Ycome well, Paula,
(19:00):
We welcome to the Editor's so lovely to have you
with us and to talk all about trends.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Thanks El, it's fabulous to be here.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I think trends are something that we both cover in
our jobs a little bit differently, but I have to
say it's always nice when it aligns. When we realize
actually the trends we're both forecasting for twelve months ahead, they're.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
The same, are the same absolutely. I mean, I think
with my role working with furniture and homewares and delivering
products to everyone in Australia across different style types, you
really need to understand the trends and where they're going
and make sure they're relevant to how we live.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Absolutely, because trends come from everywhere. I mean, you go
on buying trips or research trips. Tell us about that.
I'm so curious to know. Okay, So this.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Year was a particularly special year. We got to do
a bit of a retail to us. So my colleague
who looks after our operations division, and I went to
the States. So we did what you could call a
fabulous fun ten days of shopping in New York and.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
LA a dream Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Well you know that for me was a bit of
a dream job. Who doesn't love to shop and who
doesn't love to travel at the same time, So that
was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
We wanted to go there to.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Probably get outside of our four walls and to make
sure that we were seeing what was happening in the world.
We get to do that through travel to fares and
to see suppliers that we actually create the furniture and
home wears with. But this trip was particularly special to
just try and see how other retailers do it, how
some of the best in the world retail.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
So what sorts of things did you see that you
think that will translate well back at home?
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Oh? So many.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean I think that you know, we've seen throughout
some of the bigger designers and bigger interior sort of
moments lots of curves and sort of movement to large,
voluptuous sofas and to center pieces that are slightly more
dynamic or oversized. And I suppose we saw that in
Repetition while we were traveling. So everything the curve is
(21:03):
not going anywhere. It got to be here to stay.
It's here to stay in different forms. So whether it's
a more contemporary, low line modern piece that's a sectional
piece that you build and create your own environment with,
or whether it's something like this one today that's got
curving that's set up as a simple two or three seater.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
So you mentioned repetition. Is that how you identify a
trend when you see it popping up?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I mean with trends, they start to form with architects
and designers, and then you start to sort of look
through different retailers and that might be it might be
a bespoke retailer that does more unique pieces, and you
start to see that, oh wow, they're starting to use
that movement, or architects are taking arches to a whole
new level, and fluting is sort of remaining popular across
(21:55):
joinery and cabinet tree, and so from there you sort
of go, Okay, there's something in the This is going
to make its way eventually to furniture and to pieces
that fell the home.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And that makes sense because a building architecture, it's going
to be there a long time, so they're putting it
in absolutely.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
And look, we go to home shows locally, so I
often think it's good to not only see what's happening
in retail, but to see what's happening domestically from say
a kitchen manufacturer's perspective, or from how somebody puts together
a wardrobe design. So for us, it's then going, Okay,
that trends staying, that's still here, everyone's committed to it,
and then we feel comfortable bringing it out in furniture
(22:35):
pieces because we know people have seen it, they've experienced it,
and then they actually then want to take it on themselves.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
And that's just it. Not everybody wants to be the
first no.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
No, And often we find if a trend, if we're
too early to market with a trend, no one likes it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
It needs to be in.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Your magazines, it needs to be seen across a variety
of different styles. It needs to be accessible so that
people feel comfortable investing in it.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Absolutely, And I think we notice with trends that quite
often it's a pendulum swing. Yes, So we'll go from
one trend, for example, maximalism, people will eventually start craving
a more simple interior. Yeah. And then with color yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I mean, I think what's happening is we're sort of
probably swinging back the other way a little bit, and
color and warmth and texture and tone and having a
space that feels comfortable and inviting is probably where we're
heading to throughout twenty twenty six. So the intent is
to sort of go from having a space that's cooler
to something that's a lot warmer and a lot more comfortable,
(23:42):
so you feel it ese big.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Thanks to pull it for that, inspert. Now back to
the chat now you've got a lot of experience as well.
In Well, there was a TV show changing room. Oh gosh, yes.
I think in the new year people think, oh, it's
just try a new look, and it could be a
personal look, it could be a look in their home.
(24:06):
Have you ever walked into a room and inside just gone,
oh my god? What is this?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Too many times to count.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Take us there. I want to know.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I've actually been to houses where they said I saw
you on changing rooms and you inspired this feature wall,
and you're going, I'm really sorry. What was I thinking?
It was? It was like the nineties, I have to say,
but your feature walls were very big. Do you remember
sued effects? Oh effects? Yeah, so that's probably the thing
that really haunts me continually because it's textual and then
(24:40):
they try and paint over, and of course the sway
pe comes through.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
I do sometimes wonder in this controversial is today's limewash
paint effect perhaps the modern version of Swede effect.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
It could be. It probably not as well, I wouldn't
like to say the word damaging, but not as obtrusive,
because this weighty you would come through the line where
you could probably go over quite easily. I know, there's
a lot of people toying with wallpaper and doing really
well with wallpaper is expensive, so that kind of precludes
a lot of people because of, you know, the expense.
(25:14):
I think you've got to be really committed. If you
want to do wallpaper, you've got to be committed because
it's like three hundred dollars a roll or whatever. So
if you're going to put it in, you kind of
know what you're doing. But look, I wouldn't say that
I think any room is a disaster. I can always
see the potential in a space, you know, and being
able to go in with an independent view. When it's
your stuff, you have an emotional connection with it. So
(25:36):
you might say, ah, you know what, my mother in
law brought me that vase for our wedding. I'm divorced now,
but I've still got the vas. Do you know what
I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
You to keep the vas?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Do you need to keep the vas? I don't know.
We keep things out of an emotional attachment, And in
some ways is it guilt? Is it because we just
get bored or we can't be bothered to change it,
or we just never thought about changing it. Look at
everything on your shelves. Look at your art, Look at
those lamps. Do you love them? Do you love them
enough to live with them? Could you just move them on?
You know, these days you've got so many options to
(26:10):
actually even make money. You can do like marketplace, you
can sell things. The money that you make on those bits,
maybe you could invest in one nice lamp. Yeah, get
rid of a few bits and bobs and put it
into something nice, you know. And I think invest in
things like a nice piece of art, or a good lamp,
or some good key pieces, and not spend so much
on the little tiny bits and pieces that don't pull
(26:31):
it together, you know. So some bigger ticket items thoughtful,
thoughtful purchases, I think, you know. And it's nice when
I see, say, like a husband and wife shopping in
our store together, rather than her saying isn't this great?
Isn't this great? And he's going, uh huh, yeah, whatever
whatever you want. I don't care. I love it when
they're together on the decision because you both live there.
(26:53):
That's so true.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Do you take into consideration the opinions of your husband
and son because all live together. What do they think
of your style? Do they agree?
Speaker 1 (27:04):
I think they yes, to a point. My style's changed
because of them, but I would say in a better way.
I think probably when I used to decorate like I'm
talking about back in the nineties, I was a lot
more frilly and detailed, and so my style's become a
lot more clean line. That's not only that's also time,
and it's confidence with what I do as a job
(27:25):
as well. So I guess I would say that my
style and my taste has matured. My husband does like
a lot of more earthy, rustic stuff, probably more so
than I do, so I try and fit the balance in,
do you know what I mean? So I'm like the
feminine with the un and my son doesn't care. I
don't care. I don't care.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Good.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Having said that, I mean, my son's got he does
have a good eye. I think I'm selling him short.
Maybe when he gets his own home one day, I'll be.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Able to see that. That'll be exciting. What do people
typically come in for in the new year?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Rugs? Oh? Really? Yeah? Again, just to clean it up,
you know, just like I'm going to start fresh.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I'm going to paint the walls out of new rug
literally from the ground up.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah, a new sofa. We sell a lot of sofas
in the new year. Again, I was talking about soft
shears on the window. We have these lovely breezy, gauzy
linen curtains which are nice because they can diffuse the
light in summer. You just want to keep it cool
and fresh. New cushions, obviously, it'd be very surprised to
hear how many cushions do you have? Oh, oh, I
(28:26):
have a very long window set. You've probably seen it
in the magazine there. I can probably fit about fifteen
cushions along that window seat easily, So I probably would yeah,
on the beds and stuff, but you.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Know, you can still you can still fit in there.
And do you have back up cushion covers, because I've
heard about people who have a cushion wardrobe.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yes, yes, Well we now sell our cushions in the
stores cover only, so you can swap them out, which
a lot of the ladies like because then the husband
doesn't know, you know, it's not like another thing coming
in the door. Oh, it's always been like that. It's fine,
just coming from the watch the others and stash them
away exactly. But that's smart. You can do summer winter,
you know, it's a good way to go. I think
(29:06):
when you can change things again quickly and easily. And
that's what I said before about testament to a good
neutral base. If you've got a neutral base, change the
cushions and you've got a whole new look exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
We touched on color a little bit and we've just
discovered the new Pantone color of the year. Was it
dream Walker Classes very soft blue, really soft come. Yeah.
I think it's perfect for the new year.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, I think it's an interesting thing. Many years ago
I sat in on a like a color council session,
which was fascinating and it's amazing how you know, often
people say where did they come up with these colors?
How did they start? There's whole councils that go on
and they draw in things like politics, what's going on
in the world. So basically, yeah, things that are actually
happening that affect how we feel. So as a whole
(29:53):
sort of human spirit throughout the world. If we're all
feeling negative, you'll see bright colors will come up. And
when we're all feeling like really like you need to
calm down, soft colors come through.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
We often talk about the pendulum swing of trends and
it's exactly what you've just explained. And also when people
ask us at home Beautiful, how do you decide what
to put in the magazine and on the website every month?
And it really is being almost a bit clairvoyant. Yes, yeah,
we have to imagine what will people want to read
(30:27):
about and look at when they are clicking on that
website or picking up that magazine on that day, on
that week, that month.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
So how do you decide, how I'm going to ask you,
how do you decide?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
It is quite seasonal, so some things are fairly obvious.
Autumn comes around and people want to you know, it's
all about throws and cushions and costals and cozy and
so there are some things that are quite obvious, which
we then layer, if the color trends that are coming through,
because people want to feel like they're playing with something new,
(31:01):
but we always have the familiarity there. It would be
the same for you in the shop that you want
to deliver something totally but help them feel They.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Come in and they what's new, what's new? What's new?
So there is always this sense of you know, I've
got to keep just churning up something new, but it's
not really my philosophy. My philosophy is definitely the good
classic basics, like I said, and then the little things
on top. There's no point in going and buying flowers
first if you don't have a good vase. So I
really do try to make sure that I tick off
(31:32):
all of the good basics, so good rugs, good sofas,
good vases. You know, only key pieces, and then the
rest really is icing on the cake and you can
tweak it. So you can tweak it with colors. It's
like fashion. I use fashion as a really good I
guess a gauge on what's going on in the world.
So I don't love fashion myself, like I'm not. I
wouldn't say that I go incredibly hit, neat and tidy,
(31:55):
good jeens, good footwear, sensible footwear for going up ladders.
But now in terms of like I will actually probably
once a year invest in getting a couple of good
international like Vogue magazines, you know, the good style magazines
like Elle, and I'll just go through the runway collections.
What are they wearing, what are the fabrics, Is it sparkly,
(32:15):
is it bright? It's amazing And if you cut out
and you do some mood boards. It's amazing how you
can actually see those trends come through. It takes a
while with home, but it filters down so I look
at what they're doing on the runway and then within
about eighteen months you'll generally see a patterns emerge.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Clever.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
So it's something that I've done for years and years
and years.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Subliminately, you are really letting people know the choice you
are making is the right one.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, you have to be confident with decorating, and that's
where I think. You know, you'll see a really well
put together lady come into the store and then she
just goes to water when it's choosing a cushion, and
you look at and you go, it's just a cushion.
We're not saving lives here. But they just don't know
what to do. But I'm like, if you look so
beautiful to do that and then you don't know what
(33:02):
to do, have some confidence. I think they're scared of
getting it wrong. And my advice to that would be
have a bit of a plan. What do you love?
How do you want the room to feel? Feel? Is
better than look? You know you want it to feel
welcoming or cozy, or you want it to feel show
room aesthetic, you know. However you want your room to feel,
(33:22):
you almost have to sit down and plan it out.
Like it's like giving a builder an idea and saying,
go build me a house. He'll go, I don't know
what you're talking about, but if you give him a plan,
he can build your house to what you want. And
it's the same. So if you're going to do a
bathroom or a big ticket item sort of space like
a kitchen, you have to go and get a sample tile,
(33:44):
a sample handle, some colors. You have to lay that out.
You know. I've been decorating for like thirty or forty years.
I can't even do it without a storyboard exactly because
I'm thinking that beije on that cabinet door, did it
have a green undertone or I'm not sure, but if
it's there, I can see that in relation to the
(34:04):
tile into this, and I can look at it and go, right,
that's my mud map, and I'm going to work with that.
You know. But if you're guessing all the time, you're
going to get it wrong. And I think when they
get it wrong, then they lose confidence. So you kind
of got to have a bit of a plan, whether
it be just putting a new look for your bed
together or a set of new cushions on your sofa.
You know, have a plan and then you'll have confidence
(34:25):
because it worked, and you'll keep.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Going keeping things out of guilt. I think we can
all relate to that. I sure do. Coming up, Tara
gives us some great stories from DIY Australia and secrets
to her style back in a bed. When it comes
to creating a home that feels calm, beautiful and uniquely yours,
(34:48):
light plays a key role. Luk Sufflex offers a range
of custom window coverings that don't just elevate your interiors.
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(35:13):
lux off Flex can transform the way you live and
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au to explore the full collection, or visit your local
showroom today. We are so excited that we're getting so
many lovely emails from you at home for our room
for advice segment, So Tara, we help our lovely listeners
(35:35):
with some of their design dilemmas. Great and I have
or I'm here for us today. Marlow from Fremantle has written,
the kid's toys are everywhere, their cupboards are overflowing with
clothes they barely barely wear, and I feel totally overwhelmed.
If I want to declutter toys and clothes first, what's
the best place to start so it actually makes a difference.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Such a great question. Thank I live this, You live this,
and I've done this. I think you really need to
start with a very very simple basic stuff. One drawer
at a time, one shelf at a time. That's what
I would do. It's a bit mean to go through
and chuck all the toys away when the kids are
at school. I think, I think you need to do
it together. So I think it needs to be a
group effort, you know. And I think there's there's always
(36:21):
room for putting things away again to play with at
another time. So you can tidy things like shoes in
baskets so the kids can put them in baskets themselves.
And a big believer in encouraging the kids to try
and sort themselves as well. So but again you can't
expect them to do it if you haven't set up
you know, that sort of method. So I like to
(36:42):
do little stickers for the drawers, you know, like underpants
t shirts. So it could be just cards with blue
tat or it could be a sticker, depending on the
actual piece of furniture. And I've seen for some kids
who are a bit younger to have a picture of
what the item is so they know the toy. That
could be a fun project in itself. So let's do
this as a fun project, not as we've got to
(37:04):
clean up the cupboards this week, you know what I mean.
I'm a big one for pulling everything out either off
the shelf or the whole cupboard at once and addressing
it or going through so there's a to keep, don't know,
getting rid of piles, so you want three piles. Try
and keep those cupboards and those main toy areas moving,
(37:26):
and that means you've got to have them accessible to
be able to put things away and not become overwhelming
for everybody involved, because if you open the cupboard, it's
all falling out and no.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
One wants to play with that awful. Okay, well, I
think we have one more question here. Sarah from Redfern
has said, I've got holiday decorations cluttering every corner after
the festive season. How can I declutter and organize them
for a fresh New Years start in my small.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Apartment Redfern, Yes, can have some tiny places. Again storage,
I think it's about keeping the really precious pieces and
the ones you want to get out year on year
and say that reminds me of when or when my
kids were young, So you want to keep those special
things these days. There's some really great I've even seen
them in the hardware stores. You know, these sorters. They're
(38:14):
an organizers, so you get something around little areas for
your baubles, So really great containers. At the very least,
egg cartons are really good for tiny decorations. You could
get a passive cardio to wind your lights around. So
if you don't have the money to spend on because
storage is expensive, plastic tops are expensive, so you could
get a cardboard box and you could get egg cartons
(38:34):
and you could you know, just put things away or
just a little bit of tissue wrap around your precious
baubles and things. But I think cull is the big word,
you know. We just we all have too much stuff.
We don't need it all. We need to edit, keep
what we love and then what we want to take
forward in life and let the rest go. You know,
life short, keep moving, I say.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
I agree. So, Tara, we've covered trends, we've covered dec fluttering,
and we may have touched on New Year's resolutions. If not,
let's talk about it now, because it is a very
real thing about the new year. People set New year resolutions,
but I like to think of it in terms of rituals.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Yes, I think it's a better word. Resolutions to me
always sounds like, oh, I've got to lose weight, not
go to do at least horrible things. You know, it's
already negative exactly. I think rituals is a much nicer
way to think about it, don't you.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Because what are rituals to you? I think of them
as hobbies or the little things that you do to
make your day.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Things that spark your spirit. Rituals really do add a
little punctuation throughout, you know, whether it be something that
you do for ten minutes a day. You know, a
few years ago one was journaling. Weren't they running gratitude journals,
and I still think that's good. You know, even when
you go to bed at night, just just thinking about
your day. You know, if you've had a really tough day,
(39:53):
what did I learn from the day? You know what
am I trying to be better at? I think is
a really nice way to think about it. So rituals
to me don't always have to be something that's physical.
It can just be a mental thing where I just actually,
sometimes I'll turn the ignition of the car off and
I'll just stop and sit just for a moment and
just think, Okay, gather my thoughts, right, what am I
going to do? You know, like getting my head together.
(40:16):
I think a good ritual for me is when I stop,
even before I go into the house at night after work,
try and breathe, okay, and I'm going to try and
leave that behind and take forward, you know, a happy smile, positive,
a hello. You know, I want to arrive with a hello,
not a ay, you was so bad. And you know,
I just think that's a really nice positive way to
(40:37):
start the next wherever you are, So get out of
the car and be positive, to just stop and be
kind to each other and be kind to ourselves, give
ourselves a moment, whatever that is, whether it's a hobby,
whether you're stopping and doing something with your hands, like
I love to create things, you know, whether I paint
or I sew baking, cooking. Yeah, that's a nice ritual. Reading,
(40:57):
even just sitting in front of the television with the kids,
that's a ritual. It's okay, and it's okay to be
even dare I say scrolling through Instagram as long as
you know where to cut off, you know what I mean.
It's a ritual if it makes you feel good and
it helps. Yes, you need to take your best face
forward for you and for everybody else. So for me,
(41:17):
it's about those just small moments, whatever it is that
makes you a better person than I think, that's a
good ritual.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
You know. How can you bring these rituals into the home.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
Carve out a small space for you and the same
if it's you know, I'm lucky. I've got a small
art studio and I love that and I go out
there and it's my own space. But I'm very grateful
for that, and I'm aware that a lot of people
don't have that space. They go I'd love to be
creative like you. But I don't have a space or
carve a little corner. Is there a little space in
the hallway where you could have a little table in
(41:48):
the corner and a lamp and you know, a few
paints or pencils in the drawer. Just make it for you,
and then it's special.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
My own space is half a drawer. I really love tea,
and that's a moment where I can stop and recharge.
And so I emptied out half the spice straw and
put in my favorite beautiful teas and some silverware and
my favorite teacups. And I thought, I don't have to
(42:16):
save these for best. This is something that I can
use every day. And it makes me so happy to
pull that draw openly and see these beautiful things in
there and then enjoy that lovely please.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
You've done that. It is and that's a ritual. It's
a daily thing. And you're going to open that drawer
daily and just get that little kick daily of going
I love this drawer. And you'll keep it neat and
tidy and restocked, and others will know your joy with
that and they'll buy the special teas. Hope.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
So it's nice.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
It's nice it's a great thing, and you know it's doable.
We don't just have to exist in these boxes and
call them a house. Make it a home, and a
home reflects everything about everyone who lives there. It shouldn't
just be I've got kids, so I can't have a
lovely house. My house is going to look terrible until
they're twenty. No, make it good, you know, put their
(43:04):
toys in baskets, set up better systems, give yourself your
space within the home, and you'll lead a happier life,
all of you.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Tara, I feel so calm and inspired for the new
year having this chat with you. Thank you so much
for sharing.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Hellve your wonderful advice. We're going to put everything in
the show notes so all our listeners and viewers can
find out more. So good.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
I can't wait to come back and chat again. Maybe midgie.
Maybe we'll put back Nardier and talk about that the
wintery cooler months.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
I can't wait. We will definitely meet up with you then.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
So many good edits there from the og Tara, Dennis
and rituals was the main word I took from that
conversation and how to start the new Year in calm.
I love that she told us about the color of
the year, revealing that we all need to calm down
in the chaos at the moment. There's something we can
all embrace in the new year. So remember, if you're stuck,
(44:02):
you never have to figure it all out on your own.
We're here to help you with the edit, the decisions,
and the fresh start. All the details, resources and links
we mentioned today are in the show notes so you
can go back. You can pause and work through them
at your own pace. When you're ready. For more support,
visit our website for checklists. We've got room by room
(44:23):
guides and extra inspiration to keep you moving forward. Visit
home beautiful dot com dot au and our show notes
have all the details. And until next time, be kind
to yourself, take it one drawer at a time, and
know that every small edit you make really does count.
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex Transforming Homes
(44:46):
with beautiful functional window coverings designed to transform your light
and lifestyle. Thank you to ours designed for our beautiful set.
Come visit the experienced team in store and see the
collection for yourself.
Speaker 1 (45:05):
This is an our Media podcast mm HM
This is an R Media podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
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a company with over forty five years experience in showcasing style.
(00:32):
What do you think is something that most people could
get rid of? One thing in the home that you think,
you know you don't need that.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Open your kitchen, draw the second one down, Visualize that
anything in there? You know what I mean? Do you
need ten pairs of tongs? Dare I say it's okay
to be beige? I go a bit beige for the basics. Yeah,
because I liken it to being like a little black
dress if you've got a really classic base, or you know,
you can dress it up. Yeah, it's the same for
(00:59):
the home. And I think that's probably where a lot
of people go wrong. And that's probably what I've learned
myself New Year.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
People set New Year resolutions, but I like to think
of it in terms of rituals.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yes, I think it's a better word. Resolutions to me
always sounds negative, exactly. I think rituals is a much
nicer way to think about it.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
What are rituals to you?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Things spark your spirit.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Welcome and happy new Year to you. If there had
ever been a time to start listening to the Edit,
this is it. It's the new year. We're here to
make all those decisions as simple as possible, and we
have the best in the business just for you to
help us. In today's chat, design expert Tarra Dennis joins
(01:45):
us to share new ideas, trends, and practical inspiration for
entering the new year with creativity and calm. From color
palettes to organization hacks, we'll uncover ways to transform any
space into a sanctuary for fresh beginning. And remember you're
not alone. If all of this feels like a lot,
editing your home and tackling clutter, it can be emotional
(02:08):
and overwhelming, and that's exactly why this show exists. Think
of us as your calm friend and the chaos. We're
here to walk you through, one small, doable step at
a time. We're in safe hands with Tara, so enjoy
your Welcome to the Edit, a brand new podcast from
(02:35):
Home Beautiful. Well, welcome back to the Edit, Tara Dennis.
It's great to have you.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Thank you for having me again, it's so nice to
be here, refreshed and feeling good for summer.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Such a new year, let's talk about how to make
the most of it.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I think it's everyone's made their resolutions, haven't they by now?
Do you think anyone's actually broken them already?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Early day? It depends what it is.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
My resolution generally with every year is always to start
with a good clean up, meaning like whether that's is
it in your house as well?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Oh as soon as Christmas is, Steve, I can't wait
to just clear everything out.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah. So medically you want to be strong. Physically you
want to just get rid of what you don't need,
and I think just set off with good intentions. So
it's the year of the horse. We're galloping into twenty
twenty six with all good intentions. The wheels won't fall
off or no exactly. I think it's nice to get
that tree down Christmas tree. My mother always used to
(03:36):
say it was two weeks, so you kind of had
till around the fifth of January to get the tree down.
So if anyone is kind of thinking that, you know,
March is a good time to take down the Christmas
lights and all of that way too late, bad luck.
So you want to get everything packed away nice and neat.
But I'm a big editor. I'm always just culling as
(03:57):
I go, so I kind of call it tidle to
do TV. I used to say to people, and if
you bring something in, something has to go out. Same
with clothing, wardrobe, anything in out. So you've always got
like an opshop bag, you know, something to go to charity,
that kind of thing. Same with furniture. You just can't
keep bringing it in. You know. One of the biggest
(04:17):
dilemmas I suppose decorating wise people used to say to me,
is I need an extension. I don't have much space.
I need more storage. And I used to say to them,
maybe you need less stuff. Yeah, maybe you actually just
need less stuff. What do you need it?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
What do you think is something that most people could
get rid of? One thing in the home that you think,
you know you don't need that.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Open your kitchen, draw the second one down, visualize that
anything in there. You know what I mean? Do you
need ten pairs of tongs?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
No? No, no, you don't.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
You pick the best ones, the ones that work well,
and get rid of the rest, donate them charity. You know,
it's we all just accumulate, especially after Christmas, so it's
the same like the kids get giving toys, start donating.
You have to start as you mean to go on
or come sort of September October exactly. That's what I
(05:08):
meant by the wheels falling off in logo pear shaped,
and then you're going into another Christmas with more stuff.
That's the sad thing about the world we live in now.
We're very material and things are so affordable now relatively,
we end up with too much exactly, or we buy
something and go, oh, that's good, and then we get there,
you know, and before you know.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It, there's too much. And you really believe a clear space.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Is a clear mind, totally, totally. I'd like to say
that it was just me. I think it's a I
think it is a female thing. Now that's probably controversial.
I like to go to work in the morning, the
sink's clear, the washing ups, put away, floors are tidy.
I do I set off for my day in such
a better mood when everything's relatively tidy. I'm not, you know,
(05:50):
pedantic and doing every single thing, but a tidy house
is a tidy mind. I believe do you have any
daily habits that well that you keep sure for sure,
I definitely make sure that the sink is clear, and
I want to come home to washing up, and in fact,
it kind of starts the night before. So when I
go to bed, I make sure that washing up's put
away so that I don't get up to a dish
(06:12):
full of you know, a sink full of dishes. Sit.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So are you on the reset? So people talk about
a Sunday reset or a nightly reset. Are you a
cushion plumper?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Do you get the couch sort? My husband, here we go,
before we go to bed, we have yet aven And again,
it's not even so much of the aesthetic. It's more
that I feel like it's done.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Tick.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I'm a big list ticker. I love to say, right,
that's done, don't have to worry, you know, it's it's
setting my day up badly. When I get out of
bed and come out in the lounge room, there's cushions
everywhere and stuff everywhere, and you go in the kitchen
and the sinks full of dishes. It's like, no, I
can't have that. I like to come in and go
right new day, off we go.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So what do you do in the new year. Are
there any tips or things that you do in your
life to start the new year?
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, again, it's that edit. I start to think about
my wardrobe. You know, what can I cull? Because you
know new year, you sort of like you're halfway through summer.
Did I actually put away all of my winter clothes?
Did I get there? Because just you know, I slam
into Christmas with what I do for work, so I
kind of that last quarter of the year is just
a mess for me. So it's the time when I
(07:20):
take stock and I go I should either wash all
of my woolens or dry clean them and put them away.
It's kind of having a house refresh. And the same
with your linen cupboard. You can go through, match up
all of your sheets. You know, it's their little jobs
and instead of going big and going I've got to
do my whole linen closet, just do one shelf at
(07:41):
a time. Oh, that's such a good shdea. That's all
you need to do. So I have this little It
is not a daily ritual, it's a weekly ritual. I
try and do one job and I call it my
hour of power. So whether it be on a Saturday
or a Sunday, even a week night, if I've got
a bit of time, just one job and that could
be clear out the top drawer in the kitchen, or
it could be tidy shelf in the fridge and clean it,
(08:02):
you know. Just I did my washing machine the other day.
You know, we're in the rubber. It gets all cleaned,
all that, you know, and then I go, I feel
really good now, you know, just little jobs that all
add up, because things become overwhelming when you don't and
then they all start stop piling. So if you kind
of start the year with the new intention, it's just
easier along the way. And get the family on board too.
(08:25):
So I got my husband and my son the other
week hour of power guys come on, you know, down
and all that stuff. Let's clean it up, and before
you know it, it's looking.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Do you have a list of jobs you have to.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Get or you just ignore the lists? Boys ignore the list.
If you do the list, it becomes like a nag list,
and then they get a bit you know, they dig
the heels in. It's like no. So I just kind
of like sell.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
The idea more of a group activity.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah, like, hey, how about we do this and they
feel great. Yeah, So it's the approach.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
And do you notice that they do feel good?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yes? Yes, their mood is yes. My son, if I
get him to I don't make him clean his room
on his own anymore. I've learned over the years. Instead
of nagging him clean your room up, I go up
there and he's sitting there playing with something. You just go, well,
that didn't work, did it. So if I go and
help him and we get it done, he really enjoys
his space so much more afterwards, and he can find
(09:20):
things he goes, Hey, you know so, I think you
have to set up systems, and if you have a
good system, they can keep to the system. If it's
chaos and there's no system, they can't keep a good system.
Do you know what I mean? If there's no way
to hang your clothes or no clean drawers, if you
can't put your things away, it will never work. So
(09:41):
you've got it. Tidy out the drawer and then say
I put your t shirts and your undies and everything
like this. That's how I want you to put the
washing away. And it does work, but you have to
regularly maintain the system.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It does. I've got a four year old son, and
his room is probably the most easy to organize because
I'm so conscious of a kid's room can get really
care does yas And so there is a place for everything,
and we do the regular clear outs where we like
to he gets to choose the toys that he wants
to give to the other children.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Good.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, and to exactly what you're saying, get him involved
in the process, and we have a packaway race and yeah,
that's good.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Make it fun, make it.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Fun, and I think it's just so much calmer for
him to go to bed each night in a time.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Completely and you can dust it and you can keep
it tidy, and yeah, they appreciate them what they have
rather than just this overwhelming pile of toys that they've
grown out of and they don't team. So I think
that's really good to set up good systems for every
room in the house and then just try and maintain
it regularly throughout the year, and then you know you
(10:42):
can keep on top of things.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Definitely. So with the clutter cleared, you can look to
my favorite part of the dcorps. Yes, let's talk about color.
What sorts of colors do you personally love to live with?
And do you change it up or do you have
the new year, let's try something fresh.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
I tend not to a lot of people think, oh,
your house must be you know, you must change it
all the time, and changing room, changing rooms. Yeah, I
look very easy to want to paint the walls and
all that sort of thing. I'm a big believer in
the classic neutrals for your base things, things that are
difficult to change easily, quickly and easily and affordably. So
for tile, for instance, I would never do something like
(11:23):
a hot pink tile, or a blue tile even or
a green tile, anything that I think could become stylized.
So I tend to err on the side of dare
I say it's okay to be beige. I go a
bit beige for the basics, because I liken it to
being like a little black dress. If you've got a
really classic base, you can add pearls or a scarf
(11:44):
or a beautiful handbag. Well, you know, you can dress
it up. It's the same for the home. And I
think that's probably where a lot of people go wrong.
And that's probably what I've learned myself over the years
watching what people do. They go I just I can't
get it right because they've gone out shopping and they've
bought this peacock blue sofa in velvet, and they go,
it just looks so amazing in the store, and I
have to have it. And then five years later they go,
(12:06):
what was I thinking? I can't match anything with that,
you know, So I would say, go peacock blue velvet
in your cushions or your art, but just have a
neutral base that is timeless and classic. So I'm a
big believer in the classic base. And then so as
you can imagine, I have cushions coming in and going
in my house all the time, and it always works
(12:26):
because you can mix it up with those accents, flowers,
you know, anything that you put in a vase, well
that's injected green to this table.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
It's the same.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
You could do pink, and you can change things seasonally
quickly and easily, and it's just instant. Then you know,
rather than I've got to paint the walls and then
you know, get a new So the quick fix, the
quick day totally. I'm all about the quick fix.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You've also got a lot of experience in fixing, yes,
bigger decor problems as in diy as all of DIY
in some rooms that just need help. Tell us about
some of the I think the best fixes.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Yeah. Look, I think a lot of people get a
bit confused as to you know, they go, oh, my house,
it's just either not big enough, or the doors in
the wrong place, or it's just awkward. There's no such
thing as the perfect room. There isn't. I like to
say to people, try to think about it in a
different way, like does your sofa have to go there?
Could you move it around? Could you have a slightly
(13:24):
smaller sofa? Is it too big for the space? Most loungeoms,
for instance, always focus around the TV. It's always it's
just that they feel about that. Ah, love hate, you know,
it's normal love TV. Yeah, So I mean it's not
like these I like these flat screens you can put
a frame on and.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Do that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
That's cute. Yeah, it's also thinking about balance and viewpoints.
You know, there's no point in setting up all of
your furniture in the room if no one can see
the TV. If they're having to sort of go like that,
just you know, that's just not going to work. You
still have to live there. So I think it's it's
just a question of maybe perhaps even even addressing how
you use a room. Do you need a dining room?
(14:02):
Could you take everything out and actually turn it into
like a home office, a gym, Maybe you could put
fitness equipment in.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
It's just reusing things in clever ways and thinking about
the space that you have and maybe with the addition
of perhaps some built in cupboards, could that work better
for you, or could you take things out and have
that work better for you. Definitely, even curtains, even curtains
can change the feel of a room. You know, just
shears on the window in summer, that soft, breezy kind
of look. You might not see that ugly view. It
(14:30):
just might transform a room completely, just with a couple
of shears. So it's just thinking about things in a
fresh new way and not trying to fight what's going
on in the room. You know, too many people come
in and go, I hate my terracotta tile floor, and
I just I can't replace and I don't know what
to do with it. Okay, so let's work with that.
You have orange in your room on the floor, so
(14:51):
let's work with that. Maybe we can do a softer,
peachy color on the walls and work with it rather
than against it to make it feel cohesively. Yeah, work
with it, make it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
How can you bring balance into a room because balance
is something that people look at in the new year.
They want to get their work life balance right for
the year ahead. But it's something you can do in
interior design as well.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
You can, and you can do it with scale. I
think scale is a really important thing in one room.
Say again, if we look at say the lounge room,
for example, a rug on the floor will define the
space and it can immediately ground the room and center it.
So if you have a little postage stamp sized rug
in front of your sofa, the balance is not right,
it's not good. But if you have a bigger rug,
(15:34):
it actually gives the illusion of more space and it
tends to sort of knit the whole room together. And
then how you position the furniture on the rug will
then add the balance. So you could do maybe two
sofas opposite each other. You could do a sofa with
two armchairs or just one at the end. Little side
tables can add balance. And then the height of your lamps.
(15:55):
Don't have little tiny lamps on little low tables. No
you know scale, so just learning about scale, so I
think I tend to say to people, have less of
the big things in the room, but make them bigger.
Does that make sense? It sounds counterintuitive, but.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
That it makes sense because you have a sense of
I don't know how to explain this, but like you
can breathe.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes, yeah, it knits it together because it's wall to
what you see it. So you're seeing the big ticket items,
so you're seeing the sofa, the coffee table where the
television is, and the key lamps. And then the art
should balance the sofa, So don't do little tiny picture
above the big sofa. You know, if you're going to
do that, do a gallery wall so it fills the space,
so again you get balanced, or do a big artwork.
(16:40):
Go grand and do big artwork which you can get affordably.
Now you can just do a bi cancel light and
again that adds balance and it makes the room feel
not only welcoming, but less cluttered. And it makes you
calm as soon as you go in there, because it
all feels like it's deliberate, not just nicky nasty news everywhere.
You know, you don't want it to feel like that
with a bookshelf, take everything out, rearrange it, stack your
(17:03):
books neatly, have a little vase, add some balance to
your shelves. Don't overcrown things. Put some things away if
you don't want to get rid of them, put them away.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Because a lot of us love a nickknack, Yeah, and
I do.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I'm the worst. I know. I've got so many little
nikki neck you news, you know, But I don't have
to have them out on display all the time. And
by putting them away and then revisiting them at another time,
you can appreciate them more because you forget what you've
got and you just sort of see it and you
don't see it. But when it's look when it's fresh,
and you go, oh my gosh, I haven't seen that.
Oh wow, and I love the ribs, and you know,
(17:37):
you suddenly see things again.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
You get the same buzz as if you had bought something.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You can appreciate it all over again. So put things
away or group them according to the season. It could be,
you know, like for winter you could have more cozy.
In summer, you just want light and fresh, You want
some surfaces, You need to see some space in summer time.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
I agree, hearing about Tara's systems as a new technique
for order. She is a woman who knows so coming
up how to make your room feel welcoming and not cluttered.
See you in a bit. OZ Design is all about
making your home look good and feel even better. This
(18:18):
season's collection brings together natural textures, warm timbers, and clean
modern lines, the kind of timeless style that fits any space.
Each piece is made to last and easy to mix
and match, whether you're giving one room a refresh or
styling your whole home. It's thoughtful design that feels relaxed
(18:39):
but still refined. Check out the collection online or head
in store today. Press pause on the chat. Here's what Paula,
a leading trend expert from OZ Design, is noticing right
now in inspiring trends for your home in the Ycome well, Paula,
(19:00):
We welcome to the Editor's so lovely to have you
with us and to talk all about trends.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Thanks El, it's fabulous to be here.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I think trends are something that we both cover in
our jobs a little bit differently, but I have to
say it's always nice when it aligns. When we realize
actually the trends we're both forecasting for twelve months ahead, they're.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
The same, are the same absolutely. I mean, I think
with my role working with furniture and homewares and delivering
products to everyone in Australia across different style types, you
really need to understand the trends and where they're going
and make sure they're relevant to how we live.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Absolutely, because trends come from everywhere. I mean, you go
on buying trips or research trips. Tell us about that.
I'm so curious to know. Okay, So this.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Year was a particularly special year. We got to do
a bit of a retail to us. So my colleague
who looks after our operations division, and I went to
the States. So we did what you could call a
fabulous fun ten days of shopping in New York and.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
LA a dream Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Well you know that for me was a bit of
a dream job. Who doesn't love to shop and who
doesn't love to travel at the same time, So that
was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
We wanted to go there to.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Probably get outside of our four walls and to make
sure that we were seeing what was happening in the world.
We get to do that through travel to fares and
to see suppliers that we actually create the furniture and
home wears with. But this trip was particularly special to
just try and see how other retailers do it, how
some of the best in the world retail.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
So what sorts of things did you see that you
think that will translate well back at home?
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Oh? So many.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean I think that you know, we've seen throughout
some of the bigger designers and bigger interior sort of
moments lots of curves and sort of movement to large,
voluptuous sofas and to center pieces that are slightly more
dynamic or oversized. And I suppose we saw that in
Repetition while we were traveling. So everything the curve is
(21:03):
not going anywhere. It got to be here to stay.
It's here to stay in different forms. So whether it's
a more contemporary, low line modern piece that's a sectional
piece that you build and create your own environment with,
or whether it's something like this one today that's got
curving that's set up as a simple two or three seater.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
So you mentioned repetition. Is that how you identify a
trend when you see it popping up?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
I mean with trends, they start to form with architects
and designers, and then you start to sort of look
through different retailers and that might be it might be
a bespoke retailer that does more unique pieces, and you
start to see that, oh wow, they're starting to use
that movement, or architects are taking arches to a whole
new level, and fluting is sort of remaining popular across
(21:55):
joinery and cabinet tree, and so from there you sort
of go, Okay, there's something in the This is going
to make its way eventually to furniture and to pieces
that fell the home.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
And that makes sense because a building architecture, it's going
to be there a long time, so they're putting it
in absolutely.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
And look, we go to home shows locally, so I
often think it's good to not only see what's happening
in retail, but to see what's happening domestically from say
a kitchen manufacturer's perspective, or from how somebody puts together
a wardrobe design. So for us, it's then going, Okay,
that trends staying, that's still here, everyone's committed to it,
and then we feel comfortable bringing it out in furniture
(22:35):
pieces because we know people have seen it, they've experienced it,
and then they actually then want to take it on themselves.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
And that's just it. Not everybody wants to be the
first no.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
No, And often we find if a trend, if we're
too early to market with a trend, no one likes it.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
It needs to be in.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
Your magazines, it needs to be seen across a variety
of different styles. It needs to be accessible so that
people feel comfortable investing in it.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Absolutely, And I think we notice with trends that quite
often it's a pendulum swing. Yes, So we'll go from
one trend, for example, maximalism, people will eventually start craving
a more simple interior. Yeah. And then with color yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I mean, I think what's happening is we're sort of
probably swinging back the other way a little bit, and
color and warmth and texture and tone and having a
space that feels comfortable and inviting is probably where we're
heading to throughout twenty twenty six. So the intent is
to sort of go from having a space that's cooler
to something that's a lot warmer and a lot more comfortable,
(23:42):
so you feel it ese big.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Thanks to pull it for that, inspert. Now back to
the chat now you've got a lot of experience as well.
In Well, there was a TV show changing room. Oh gosh, yes.
I think in the new year people think, oh, it's
just try a new look, and it could be a
personal look, it could be a look in their home.
(24:06):
Have you ever walked into a room and inside just gone,
oh my god? What is this?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Too many times to count.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Take us there. I want to know.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
I've actually been to houses where they said I saw
you on changing rooms and you inspired this feature wall,
and you're going, I'm really sorry. What was I thinking?
It was? It was like the nineties, I have to say,
but your feature walls were very big. Do you remember
sued effects? Oh effects? Yeah, so that's probably the thing
that really haunts me continually because it's textual and then
(24:40):
they try and paint over, and of course the sway
pe comes through.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
I do sometimes wonder in this controversial is today's limewash
paint effect perhaps the modern version of Swede effect.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
It could be. It probably not as well, I wouldn't
like to say the word damaging, but not as obtrusive,
because this weighty you would come through the line where
you could probably go over quite easily. I know, there's
a lot of people toying with wallpaper and doing really
well with wallpaper is expensive, so that kind of precludes
a lot of people because of, you know, the expense.
(25:14):
I think you've got to be really committed. If you
want to do wallpaper, you've got to be committed because
it's like three hundred dollars a roll or whatever. So
if you're going to put it in, you kind of
know what you're doing. But look, I wouldn't say that
I think any room is a disaster. I can always
see the potential in a space, you know, and being
able to go in with an independent view. When it's
your stuff, you have an emotional connection with it. So
(25:36):
you might say, ah, you know what, my mother in
law brought me that vase for our wedding. I'm divorced now,
but I've still got the vas. Do you know what
I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
You to keep the vas?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Do you need to keep the vas? I don't know.
We keep things out of an emotional attachment, And in
some ways is it guilt? Is it because we just
get bored or we can't be bothered to change it,
or we just never thought about changing it. Look at
everything on your shelves. Look at your art, Look at
those lamps. Do you love them? Do you love them
enough to live with them? Could you just move them on?
You know, these days you've got so many options to
(26:10):
actually even make money. You can do like marketplace, you
can sell things. The money that you make on those bits,
maybe you could invest in one nice lamp. Yeah, get
rid of a few bits and bobs and put it
into something nice, you know. And I think invest in
things like a nice piece of art, or a good lamp,
or some good key pieces, and not spend so much
on the little tiny bits and pieces that don't pull
(26:31):
it together, you know. So some bigger ticket items thoughtful,
thoughtful purchases, I think, you know. And it's nice when
I see, say, like a husband and wife shopping in
our store together, rather than her saying isn't this great?
Isn't this great? And he's going, uh huh, yeah, whatever
whatever you want. I don't care. I love it when
they're together on the decision because you both live there.
(26:53):
That's so true.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Do you take into consideration the opinions of your husband
and son because all live together. What do they think
of your style? Do they agree?
Speaker 1 (27:04):
I think they yes, to a point. My style's changed
because of them, but I would say in a better way.
I think probably when I used to decorate like I'm
talking about back in the nineties, I was a lot
more frilly and detailed, and so my style's become a
lot more clean line. That's not only that's also time,
and it's confidence with what I do as a job
(27:25):
as well. So I guess I would say that my
style and my taste has matured. My husband does like
a lot of more earthy, rustic stuff, probably more so
than I do, so I try and fit the balance in,
do you know what I mean? So I'm like the
feminine with the un and my son doesn't care. I
don't care. I don't care.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Good.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Having said that, I mean, my son's got he does
have a good eye. I think I'm selling him short.
Maybe when he gets his own home one day, I'll be.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Able to see that. That'll be exciting. What do people
typically come in for in the new year?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Rugs? Oh? Really? Yeah? Again, just to clean it up,
you know, just like I'm going to start fresh.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I'm going to paint the walls out of new rug
literally from the ground up.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah, a new sofa. We sell a lot of sofas
in the new year. Again, I was talking about soft
shears on the window. We have these lovely breezy, gauzy
linen curtains which are nice because they can diffuse the
light in summer. You just want to keep it cool
and fresh. New cushions, obviously, it'd be very surprised to
hear how many cushions do you have? Oh, oh, I
(28:26):
have a very long window set. You've probably seen it
in the magazine there. I can probably fit about fifteen
cushions along that window seat easily, So I probably would yeah,
on the beds and stuff, but you.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Know, you can still you can still fit in there.
And do you have back up cushion covers, because I've
heard about people who have a cushion wardrobe.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yes, yes, Well we now sell our cushions in the
stores cover only, so you can swap them out, which
a lot of the ladies like because then the husband
doesn't know, you know, it's not like another thing coming
in the door. Oh, it's always been like that. It's fine,
just coming from the watch the others and stash them
away exactly. But that's smart. You can do summer winter,
you know, it's a good way to go. I think
(29:06):
when you can change things again quickly and easily. And
that's what I said before about testament to a good
neutral base. If you've got a neutral base, change the
cushions and you've got a whole new look exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
We touched on color a little bit and we've just
discovered the new Pantone color of the year. Was it
dream Walker Classes very soft blue, really soft come. Yeah.
I think it's perfect for the new year.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, I think it's an interesting thing. Many years ago
I sat in on a like a color council session,
which was fascinating and it's amazing how you know, often
people say where did they come up with these colors?
How did they start? There's whole councils that go on
and they draw in things like politics, what's going on
in the world. So basically, yeah, things that are actually
happening that affect how we feel. So as a whole
(29:53):
sort of human spirit throughout the world. If we're all
feeling negative, you'll see bright colors will come up. And
when we're all feeling like really like you need to
calm down, soft colors come through.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
We often talk about the pendulum swing of trends and
it's exactly what you've just explained. And also when people
ask us at home Beautiful, how do you decide what
to put in the magazine and on the website every month?
And it really is being almost a bit clairvoyant. Yes, yeah,
we have to imagine what will people want to read
(30:27):
about and look at when they are clicking on that
website or picking up that magazine on that day, on
that week, that month.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
So how do you decide, how I'm going to ask you,
how do you decide?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
It is quite seasonal, so some things are fairly obvious.
Autumn comes around and people want to you know, it's
all about throws and cushions and costals and cozy and
so there are some things that are quite obvious, which
we then layer, if the color trends that are coming through,
because people want to feel like they're playing with something new,
(31:01):
but we always have the familiarity there. It would be
the same for you in the shop that you want
to deliver something totally but help them feel They.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Come in and they what's new, what's new? What's new?
So there is always this sense of you know, I've
got to keep just churning up something new, but it's
not really my philosophy. My philosophy is definitely the good
classic basics, like I said, and then the little things
on top. There's no point in going and buying flowers
first if you don't have a good vase. So I
really do try to make sure that I tick off
(31:32):
all of the good basics, so good rugs, good sofas,
good vases. You know, only key pieces, and then the
rest really is icing on the cake and you can
tweak it. So you can tweak it with colors. It's
like fashion. I use fashion as a really good I
guess a gauge on what's going on in the world.
So I don't love fashion myself, like I'm not. I
wouldn't say that I go incredibly hit, neat and tidy,
(31:55):
good jeens, good footwear, sensible footwear for going up ladders.
But now in terms of like I will actually probably
once a year invest in getting a couple of good
international like Vogue magazines, you know, the good style magazines
like Elle, and I'll just go through the runway collections.
What are they wearing, what are the fabrics, Is it sparkly,
(32:15):
is it bright? It's amazing And if you cut out
and you do some mood boards. It's amazing how you
can actually see those trends come through. It takes a
while with home, but it filters down so I look
at what they're doing on the runway and then within
about eighteen months you'll generally see a patterns emerge.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Clever.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
So it's something that I've done for years and years
and years.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Subliminately, you are really letting people know the choice you
are making is the right one.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, you have to be confident with decorating, and that's
where I think. You know, you'll see a really well
put together lady come into the store and then she
just goes to water when it's choosing a cushion, and
you look at and you go, it's just a cushion.
We're not saving lives here. But they just don't know
what to do. But I'm like, if you look so
beautiful to do that and then you don't know what
(33:02):
to do, have some confidence. I think they're scared of
getting it wrong. And my advice to that would be
have a bit of a plan. What do you love?
How do you want the room to feel? Feel? Is
better than look? You know you want it to feel
welcoming or cozy, or you want it to feel show
room aesthetic, you know. However you want your room to feel,
(33:22):
you almost have to sit down and plan it out.
Like it's like giving a builder an idea and saying,
go build me a house. He'll go, I don't know
what you're talking about, but if you give him a plan,
he can build your house to what you want. And
it's the same. So if you're going to do a
bathroom or a big ticket item sort of space like
a kitchen, you have to go and get a sample tile,
(33:44):
a sample handle, some colors. You have to lay that out.
You know. I've been decorating for like thirty or forty years.
I can't even do it without a storyboard exactly because
I'm thinking that beije on that cabinet door, did it
have a green undertone or I'm not sure, but if
it's there, I can see that in relation to the
(34:04):
tile into this, and I can look at it and go, right,
that's my mud map, and I'm going to work with that.
You know. But if you're guessing all the time, you're
going to get it wrong. And I think when they
get it wrong, then they lose confidence. So you kind
of got to have a bit of a plan, whether
it be just putting a new look for your bed
together or a set of new cushions on your sofa.
You know, have a plan and then you'll have confidence
(34:25):
because it worked, and you'll keep.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Going keeping things out of guilt. I think we can
all relate to that. I sure do. Coming up, Tara
gives us some great stories from DIY Australia and secrets
to her style back in a bed. When it comes
to creating a home that feels calm, beautiful and uniquely yours,
(34:48):
light plays a key role. Luk Sufflex offers a range
of custom window coverings that don't just elevate your interiors.
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(35:13):
lux off Flex can transform the way you live and
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showroom today. We are so excited that we're getting so
many lovely emails from you at home for our room
for advice segment, So Tara, we help our lovely listeners
(35:35):
with some of their design dilemmas. Great and I have
or I'm here for us today. Marlow from Fremantle has written,
the kid's toys are everywhere, their cupboards are overflowing with
clothes they barely barely wear, and I feel totally overwhelmed.
If I want to declutter toys and clothes first, what's
the best place to start so it actually makes a difference.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Such a great question. Thank I live this, You live this,
and I've done this. I think you really need to
start with a very very simple basic stuff. One drawer
at a time, one shelf at a time. That's what
I would do. It's a bit mean to go through
and chuck all the toys away when the kids are
at school. I think, I think you need to do
it together. So I think it needs to be a
group effort, you know. And I think there's there's always
(36:21):
room for putting things away again to play with at
another time. So you can tidy things like shoes in
baskets so the kids can put them in baskets themselves.
And a big believer in encouraging the kids to try
and sort themselves as well. So but again you can't
expect them to do it if you haven't set up
you know, that sort of method. So I like to
(36:42):
do little stickers for the drawers, you know, like underpants
t shirts. So it could be just cards with blue
tat or it could be a sticker, depending on the
actual piece of furniture. And I've seen for some kids
who are a bit younger to have a picture of
what the item is so they know the toy. That
could be a fun project in itself. So let's do
this as a fun project, not as we've got to
(37:04):
clean up the cupboards this week, you know what I mean.
I'm a big one for pulling everything out either off
the shelf or the whole cupboard at once and addressing
it or going through so there's a to keep, don't know,
getting rid of piles, so you want three piles. Try
and keep those cupboards and those main toy areas moving,
(37:26):
and that means you've got to have them accessible to
be able to put things away and not become overwhelming
for everybody involved, because if you open the cupboard, it's
all falling out and no.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
One wants to play with that awful. Okay, well, I
think we have one more question here. Sarah from Redfern
has said, I've got holiday decorations cluttering every corner after
the festive season. How can I declutter and organize them
for a fresh New Years start in my small.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Apartment Redfern, Yes, can have some tiny places. Again storage,
I think it's about keeping the really precious pieces and
the ones you want to get out year on year
and say that reminds me of when or when my
kids were young, So you want to keep those special
things these days. There's some really great I've even seen
them in the hardware stores. You know, these sorters. They're
(38:14):
an organizers, so you get something around little areas for
your baubles, So really great containers. At the very least,
egg cartons are really good for tiny decorations. You could
get a passive cardio to wind your lights around. So
if you don't have the money to spend on because
storage is expensive, plastic tops are expensive, so you could
get a cardboard box and you could get egg cartons
(38:34):
and you could you know, just put things away or
just a little bit of tissue wrap around your precious
baubles and things. But I think cull is the big word,
you know. We just we all have too much stuff.
We don't need it all. We need to edit, keep
what we love and then what we want to take
forward in life and let the rest go. You know,
life short, keep moving, I say.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
I agree. So, Tara, we've covered trends, we've covered dec fluttering,
and we may have touched on New Year's resolutions. If not,
let's talk about it now, because it is a very
real thing about the new year. People set New year resolutions,
but I like to think of it in terms of rituals.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Yes, I think it's a better word. Resolutions to me
always sounds like, oh, I've got to lose weight, not
go to do at least horrible things. You know, it's
already negative exactly. I think rituals is a much nicer
way to think about it, don't you.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Because what are rituals to you? I think of them
as hobbies or the little things that you do to
make your day.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Things that spark your spirit. Rituals really do add a
little punctuation throughout, you know, whether it be something that
you do for ten minutes a day. You know, a
few years ago one was journaling. Weren't they running gratitude journals,
and I still think that's good. You know, even when
you go to bed at night, just just thinking about
your day. You know, if you've had a really tough day,
(39:53):
what did I learn from the day? You know what
am I trying to be better at? I think is
a really nice way to think about it. So rituals
to me don't always have to be something that's physical.
It can just be a mental thing where I just actually,
sometimes I'll turn the ignition of the car off and
I'll just stop and sit just for a moment and
just think, Okay, gather my thoughts, right, what am I
going to do? You know, like getting my head together.
(40:16):
I think a good ritual for me is when I stop,
even before I go into the house at night after work,
try and breathe, okay, and I'm going to try and
leave that behind and take forward, you know, a happy smile, positive,
a hello. You know, I want to arrive with a hello,
not a ay, you was so bad. And you know,
I just think that's a really nice positive way to
(40:37):
start the next wherever you are, So get out of
the car and be positive, to just stop and be
kind to each other and be kind to ourselves, give
ourselves a moment, whatever that is, whether it's a hobby,
whether you're stopping and doing something with your hands, like
I love to create things, you know, whether I paint
or I sew baking, cooking. Yeah, that's a nice ritual. Reading,
(40:57):
even just sitting in front of the television with the kids,
that's a ritual. It's okay, and it's okay to be
even dare I say scrolling through Instagram as long as
you know where to cut off, you know what I mean.
It's a ritual if it makes you feel good and
it helps. Yes, you need to take your best face
forward for you and for everybody else. So for me,
(41:17):
it's about those just small moments, whatever it is that
makes you a better person than I think, that's a
good ritual.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
You know. How can you bring these rituals into the home.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
Carve out a small space for you and the same
if it's you know, I'm lucky. I've got a small
art studio and I love that and I go out
there and it's my own space. But I'm very grateful
for that, and I'm aware that a lot of people
don't have that space. They go I'd love to be
creative like you. But I don't have a space or
carve a little corner. Is there a little space in
the hallway where you could have a little table in
(41:48):
the corner and a lamp and you know, a few
paints or pencils in the drawer. Just make it for you,
and then it's special.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
My own space is half a drawer. I really love tea,
and that's a moment where I can stop and recharge.
And so I emptied out half the spice straw and
put in my favorite beautiful teas and some silverware and
my favorite teacups. And I thought, I don't have to
(42:16):
save these for best. This is something that I can
use every day. And it makes me so happy to
pull that draw openly and see these beautiful things in
there and then enjoy that lovely please.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
You've done that. It is and that's a ritual. It's
a daily thing. And you're going to open that drawer
daily and just get that little kick daily of going
I love this drawer. And you'll keep it neat and
tidy and restocked, and others will know your joy with
that and they'll buy the special teas. Hope.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
So it's nice.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
It's nice it's a great thing, and you know it's doable.
We don't just have to exist in these boxes and
call them a house. Make it a home, and a
home reflects everything about everyone who lives there. It shouldn't
just be I've got kids, so I can't have a
lovely house. My house is going to look terrible until
they're twenty. No, make it good, you know, put their
(43:04):
toys in baskets, set up better systems, give yourself your
space within the home, and you'll lead a happier life,
all of you.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Tara, I feel so calm and inspired for the new
year having this chat with you. Thank you so much
for sharing.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
It's my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Hellve your wonderful advice. We're going to put everything in
the show notes so all our listeners and viewers can
find out more. So good.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
I can't wait to come back and chat again. Maybe midgie.
Maybe we'll put back Nardier and talk about that the
wintery cooler months.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
I can't wait. We will definitely meet up with you then.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
So many good edits there from the og Tara, Dennis
and rituals was the main word I took from that
conversation and how to start the new Year in calm.
I love that she told us about the color of
the year, revealing that we all need to calm down
in the chaos at the moment. There's something we can
all embrace in the new year. So remember, if you're stuck,
(44:02):
you never have to figure it all out on your own.
We're here to help you with the edit, the decisions,
and the fresh start. All the details, resources and links
we mentioned today are in the show notes so you
can go back. You can pause and work through them
at your own pace. When you're ready. For more support,
visit our website for checklists. We've got room by room
(44:23):
guides and extra inspiration to keep you moving forward. Visit
home beautiful dot com dot au and our show notes
have all the details. And until next time, be kind
to yourself, take it one drawer at a time, and
know that every small edit you make really does count.
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex Transforming Homes
(44:46):
with beautiful functional window coverings designed to transform your light
and lifestyle. Thank you to ours designed for our beautiful set.
Come visit the experienced team in store and see the
collection for yourself.
Speaker 1 (45:05):
This is an our Media podcast mm HM
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