Last week, I was sent an advance copy of the new Rooms to Love - the second NZ interiors book by our favourite besties, LeeAnn Yare and Larnie Nicolson. Ummmm... I did very little work that day.
Rather than entire houses, this time LeeAnn and Larnie have captured 220 pages of awesome individual rooms, corners of rooms and shelfies - with a focus on how you can take the fave things you've collected and make them work together at your place. Forget living in a magazine shoot (LeeAnn admits it takes her an entire three days to get her own home shoot-ready), this book is about inspiring you to style your rooms at home, your way - and it's chockablock full of real chocolate chips of little ideas, tips and styling hints for every part of the house. LeeAnn takes us through scores of different themes and aesthetics, with super cute graphics by Hardhat design. Check it out:
L E E A N N Y A R E // Writer & Stylist
What's your fave room/spot in your own house?
Dylan's room. With its yellow cockatoos wallpaper by Florence Broadhurst, and its more unexpected boys palette of predominantly yellow and orange with accents of hot pink green and blue, it's the sunniest room in the house even on the dullest day. You can't help but gravitate to his room.
I know you've seen, styled and shot so many interiors, but you must come across the occasional really unique 'why didn't I think of that' idea that you haven't seen before…
Tell us about one little 'Idea to Steal' that you saw on the Rooms To Love visits?
On page 135 there is a laundry on the bottom floor of an old character villa, at the end of the room a pull out set of stairs creates a quick getaway out the oversized window straight to the clothesline! Genius.
What's the next thing you want to do in your own home…
A change of season is always a great excuse for new bed linen, but I have plans to change the walls in our bedroom too. They've been dark and dramatic for five years now so it's time for a change, and I've been eyeing up some pretty cool paint colours and wallpaper designs!
I know it's hard to pick a favourite – but can you name one of your favourite rooms from the book and why?
All of them! We had to be extremely strict when choosing images to feature in this book, and every room that has made it into Rooms to Love is inspirational, and is there for that reason.
How has your own decorating style evolved over the past couple of years?
My own style is bold, brave, colourful, and mixed not matched. A mix of old and new, designer and high street, and loads of Internet finds! I've always been that way inclined, but like fashion I think our home style grows and evolves over time. As we get older and have the luxury of sometimes having more budget means a few special pieces have replaced older ones. And of course as our family grows our home grows too.
I love change, so I'm constantly inspired to change things around, a tin of paint here, a drop of wallpaper there, and I'm always restyling everything from a shelf or sideboard display through to entire rooms for a fresh look. My love of colour is always changing, I relish using unexpected combos and love showing people that there is always a way to make something you love work, and I'm currently obsessed with pops of neon and brights mixed with softer colours.
A big part of our home has been sourced online, pre-kids I loved nothing more than scouring the Internet and secondhand stores for covetable bargains. I am an avid Ikea addict, probably because we don't have it in NZ so it's a treat, I could go there every week and come home with something.
As a stylist my eagle eye always manages to seek out things other people would overlook, and that's part of what lead me to opening
Collected, and while I was super strict for nearly a year about not bringing everything home, I have broken my own rules and more than I would like to admit has found its way home.
I've been very lucky to pick up the few designer pieces we have in showroom floor stock sales over the years, often for well under half price and often paid off over months! But I love how our home has built over time and has layers on layers and everything has its own story.
L A R N I E N I C O L S O N // Photographer
What's your fave room/spot in your own house?
The balcony is a sweet spot because it gets the afternoon sun and I can see a wee bit of the Auckland harbour from there (through the trees if I squint hard). It’s also where my cat, Jagger, likes to hang and spy on the pigeons that he’ll never catch. This year I’ve ‘gone green’, growing lettuces, tomatoes and herbs in pots, so it’s just a very nice place to have a beer and chill.
I know you've seen, styled and shot so many interiors, but you must come across the occasional really unique 'why didn't I think of that' idea that you haven't seen before. Tell us about one little 'Idea to Steal' that you saw on the Rooms To Love visits?
There are two ideas that spring to mind and one is on page 159 and it’s such a simple idea. It’s a tap on an extendable arm right next to the stovetop so it can reach pots that are on an element. I did think that would be mighty handy!
The other idea on page 152 is a moveable kitchen bench that Architectural Designer Tane Cox created when he was designing the house. It’s a separate plywood bench and is part of the kitchen but it’s on big castor wheels so it can be moved around – for a kid’s party where the bench might be needed somewhere else for example. Scott Woolston (legend cabinet maker in Hamilton) built it and it fits in with the kitchen seamlessly.
What's the next thing you want to do in your own home.
Well my kitchen and bathroom should be very scared right now! They are OK but boring and dated so I’m planning to redo those early next year. I’m adding ideas to pinterest and saving images to my phone all the time so I can’t wait to see it eventually all take shape.
I know it's hard to pick a favourite - but can you name one of your favourite rooms from the book and why?
There are a few faves but there’s a great view on page 107 looking out to Karekare beach which is pretty special.
How has your own decorating style evolved over the past couple of years?
Growing up, my style was quite vintage and ethnic, partly influenced by my well-travelled family. Think Turkish kilims and op shop finds. Now, my style is much more pared back, preferring whites and soft colours, with the odd bright colour thrown in. My place is cute and cosy and I love having friends over so that’s the feeling I want. I still love an op shop find (I’m sporadically collecting retro ceramics at the moment) but I think I’ve developed a better overall style. I see enough amazing homes so one would hope it would rub off on me somewhere along the line.