Cabin Fervour

Tiffaney's style secrets

 

Who is Tiffaney Bishop ?
I am a mother of two young boys and a photographer.  I began studying photography part time 20 years ago whilst working in my former PR and Marketing career.  I have exhibited work over the years, the highlights being:

    A 3 month show at The Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne

    Inclusion in the 2010 Toyota Emerging Art Award

    Added to American Artist William Kelly's International Humanist art Collection

Art & the community Four years ago I established an art collective that engages with the local community in and around the Dandenong Ranges, in particular young artists and activists.  Together we have developed a formal collaborative art practice that is attracting national and even international interest.  We have recently opened a studio/gallery in Belgrave which is proving to be a very interesting enterprise with many more young people engaging with us because of our increased public presence. We have several local art projects on the go and one in development that will see us working with a New York based artist/group similar to our own and building a body of work that will be exhibited at the National Gallery in Canberra next year.

What's your decorating style at home?

Our home is quite humble on the exterior, but has quite a 'handsome' interior, which has a very rustic appearance with exposed rafters, rough hewn oregon lined walls and stained original hardwood floors. The small areas of plaster are painted in antique white throughout which creates a wonderful balance and foil for some of the rustic features. Large red persian-style rugs inject a warmth and boldness without competing with the striking interior. We have resisted painting much of the wooden features in the house as we feel that its character and integrity is wrapped up in its original envelope. Whilst our soft furnishings are fairly neutral, I have developed an interest in texture and begun to understand the wonderful effects you can achieve by blending different versions of neutral fabrics, textures and self patterning.

Styling tips or tricks for when you have guests?

We have an open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area (very American Cabin-like). We restored the original Rayburn oven in the kitchen and it makes great roasts and cakes! Although we often have formal sit-down dinners we also often prepare big casual but sumptuous spreads on the coffee table in front of the massive stone fireplace and sit back in the leather chesterfields and graze for hours.  I usually rely on the garden for flowers and foliage for floral arrangements.  My favourite arrangements are large displays of 'about to burst' magnolia branches which the hydronic heating in the house encourages a painterly show from within a few hours of arranging.  I also love to arrange large fern fronds with wild strawberry vines and although the fern fronds don't last very long once cut, they look amazing for a day or two.  Equally, I love just dotting little vases of jonquils or daphne around the place.  

Cushion fiend or phobic?

I love cushions, but don't have enough good ones at the moment.  As I mentioned before I am discovering the charm of textured fabrics and self-embellishments and am focusing more on this important room detail.

Where do you source/buy your furnishings ?

I tend to use the internet- recently I bought some Florence Broadhurst cushions online.

For more cabin decor ideas have a peek at Country Kitchens and stay posted for living areas and childrens rooms

Country kitchens

 

soups on

aaahhh...rustic country kitchens make my heart skip a beat - this authentic weatherboard, Ferny Creek cabin is tucked away in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges with killer views to Swanston Street Melbourne! Home Beautiful commissioned a shoot a few months ago and it was a wintery, aubergine dream to style. Normally I search for flowers & cushions...this was all about root vegetables and chunky breadsticks.

The owner, Tiffaney Bishop is an artist and quell suprese a stylist, with a twist. Stay posted for more of Tiffaney's beautiful home and an exclusive interview with some of her insider tips on country decorating and maybe a good soup recipe or two.

Meanwhile pick up a copy of the latest Home Beautiful...out now!

enjoy, ttfn Jo

Stunning pix by Mr Derek Swalwell

Pinterest for teens

pritti grafitti and other total teen issues

Some things just dont change - teenagers + torn edged posters + blu tack will always be like, total bffs. A few years ago, my pre-teen daughter asked if she could...inhale...poster her bedroom wall. I like Mylie Cyrus AND Hanna Montana...I do but my achy breaky heart couldn't cope with a sticky, tacky wall so before she had time to flick through Girlfriend I had dynabolted* a Liberty print covered canvas to the wall and said "Sure, great idea...you get the pins and I'll put away the blu-tack"

Now that she is a little older I have taken a keen interest in her wall pinterest, not only content but the amazing design she has thoughtfully created- it's girlie grafitti, a colourful, visual art form for teen interiors. Harry Potter, John Lennon, Skipper & Scooter give new meaning to 'mixed media', blending retro with popular culture. 

Does your teenager have a wall full of posters and a floor full of magazines ?

Care to share? I'm on the hunt for graphic teen walls and would love to feature some teen pinterest on my blog. If you have a clever (aren't they all though?) teenager with an inspiring wall creation then follow the prompts...

1) For inspiration visit Teen Bedroom Decor

2) Take a digital image of your teenagers creation, save as a jpg 

3) Click on and send to info@beautifulsouth.com.au

I'm excited...get clicking and clean up that mess!

ttfn Jo

*Dynabolt: an expansion anchor with an integrated pulldown section for improved fixture clamping.....actually I lied, the husband did the dynabolting

Classic, vintage rooms + trade secrets

The lovely Mr Bishop shares....

Who is Justin Bishop?

I AM AN INTERIOR DESIGNER, a photographer, an illustrator, an author and above all, a Stylist! The majority of my work is based  on residential projects for private clients, however I'm being called upon more and more to work as a commercial stylist in the corporate sector, for visual displays editorial and advertising.

I am known for my timeless aesthetic, my aversion to colour and my dislike of 

decorative trends. I have been called an anti-modernist. I have a passion for classic, vintage style and design! 

What's your decorating style at home?
TIMELESS, TRADITIONAL, TAILORED AND CLASSIC!

I have been influenced by my country ancestral heritage and this comes through heavily in my home decorating style. I believe that style is simple, that it should be only what it needs to be,  nothing more nothing less. I do however, have an obsession with controlled clutter; my hoard of antiques, including many family heirlooms, are displayed in vignettes all around my home. I couldn't live without them. I work mostly with neutral colour schemes which provide the perfect backdrop for all my collections.

Styling tips for when you have guests?
I'M ALL ABOUT CLASSIC STYLING. I entertain as my ancestors may have have done, with cut glass chandeliers sparkling in candlelight, stacks of leather bound books displayed amongst vintage crockery and other historic curiosities to add some eclectic flair and to spark conversation. I tend to avoid flowers and other typical decorations in favour of original pieces and interesting objects that tell a story and create a elegant traditional atmosphere.

Cushion fiend or phobic?
I LOVE CUSHIONS AND ROTATE THEM SEASNALLY - Soft cream linens in summer and heavy corduroy and velvet in winter. I use cushions to build up layers in a room. For me, they should form part of a whole design rather than acting as stand out detail. Cushions should subtly add style to a room, they may add warmth and comfort but should not overpower.

Where do you shop for your furnishings?

I HAVE A FEW REGULAR HAUNTS THAT I CAN'T AVOID. Antique markets are invaluable if you have the time to saunter and sift through the trash, in order to find your treasure! 

Being a designer, in the industry, I am constantly exposed to new products that come up in the retail market. I am always tempted to pick up a great reproduction piece, many of them are gorgeous, however I try to stick to my preference for the old, the time warn and authentic! Using pieces with  history and age, will always add character to a room, adding a genuine sense of timeless style  and classic tradition.

Jo x

Does your home reflect your personality?

Is Balwyn calling?

The dramatic colours of autumn are almost as striking as the architectural street
scape of Balwyn. Tudor manors, with lovely gentle gardens sit sweetly next to
imposing modern minimalists, with rows of graphic greenery and somehow they get along very nicely, who knew?
Homes are such a personality giveaway - I love comfortable, older homes that are a little bit shabby round the edges. I don't own a decent hairbrush but I do have Bissell petwash powerbrush? Clean carpet V sleek do...I think I need to get out more or maybe let the dogs out more?
Do you dress like you decorate?
I also have a theory that women dress like they decorate, I know I do..do you?
Soft edges, a muted lime & linen colour palette, a few modern pieces mixed with my mums standard lamps, sans quilted, bobble shade...add some daisies and a sheepdog and hello Doris Day.

What's your style? 

If you had to pick a famous personality that reflects your dress & decor style who or what would it be?  C'mon humour me, I would love to hear your theory.

Fast track to success, write down your goals

My first story in print

I DON'T GET A LOT RIGHT...

I'm directionally challenged, my counting up isn't that good and if you need to be at the right venue for an U14 soccer match or on a flight home from a weekend away in the same month you departed, then I'm not your first port of call.

However what I do very well is set long term goals. Set goals AND somehow manage to achieve them? If only I could do that with my finances, but that's the downside of having a brain that leans heavily to the functional, not political, right.

Two years ago I decided that a long term goal was to have more creative control over my editorial submissions to lifestyle magazines ie. style the images AND write the story, so I enrolled in an online writing course with the Sydney Writers Centre with the very clever Valerie Khoo. Course completed and a few months later all my BIG ideas seem to vanish....or so I thought?

Winter maybe cold in the Ranges but it has been very kind to me thanks to the Yarra Valley & Ranges magazine. Two submissions accepted and published!

Country Gate posts images + captions

Maple Muse images + story (1,000 words, what I even counted up!)

Thank you Valerie and Yarra Valley & Ranges.

The Winter edition of the YV&R mag is in newsagents NOW!

ttfn Jo

Visit Melbourne, the HQ of culture

Melbourne...more culture than a petrie dish

Beetling through the myriad of Melbourne laneways, on route to a gallery was a refreshing tonic, sans gin. Every little boutique on Flinders lane sang their siren song and it was impossible not to be washed up against their perfectly coiffured windows. The petite Pollon, beautifully framed within an arch of St Pauls Cathedral was impossible to ignore, so I didn't. 

The stunning view of Flinders Street station was taken from the windows of the Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, which is located on the 8th floor of the blousy but still beautiful Nicholas Building within the Cathedral Arcade. The building is brimming with artist studios and designers and is worth a visit just to wander through the buttery tiled corridors and ride in the attendant operated lattice clad lift -  reminiscent of Miss Phryne Fisher murder mysteries circa 1928!

Next time you visit the beautiful souths HQ (Melbourne) be sure to visit Pollon, Stephen McLaughlan and the fabulous boutiques in the Cathedral Arcade

Pollon Flowers | Shop 1/199 Flinders Lane | Melb | 9663 8232

ttfn Jo