Designer boys Gav and Waz and their dog Charlie

Still working as interior designers for private clients, in the last 4 years, it is their wholesale art business, Designer Boys Collections, that has really taken off.

‘’We had always been successful at buying, renovating and selling properties together in Sydney and then we were selected for The Block in 2003 and it literally changed our lives forever,” said Gavin “The executive producers obviously realised that we had a talent for interior decorating and renovation and that we had (and still have) a very solid relationship.’’

Realising the opportunity to capitalise on their popularity, the first same-sex couple to appear on Australian reality TV started their business, Designer Boys, as soon as the show wrapped up. Initially, they focused on styling properties for sale, racking up more than 750 properties in less than 3 years! “The hands-on experience we garnered was just what we needed to take the business to the next level, where we focused largely on interior design and decoration for commercial and private projects.’’

In 2007, after a very full-on few years, they took another leap of faith and moved from Sydney to a 120 year-old farm on 60 acres in the Byron Bay hinterland. “We realised that we wanted to enjoy a more balanced, carefree lifestyle and to have a greater connection to nature,” says Gavin. “Now we are very settled with our Jack Russell Charlie and our 30 cows! We’ve realised that living a simple life makes us happy. Have we achieved this so far? Absolutely not! We both think we work harder than ever to make our simple life in Byron work!’’

Inspired by their own experience and finding that most of the artworks available to interior designers were mass produced, Gavin & Warren started their art business 4 years ago, to offer something unique and beautiful. ‘‘The trend towards using the natural aesthetic and textures in design will continue to move from strength to strength. As the world gets busier, as more people move to the city, people will increasingly yearn for beautiful products that are recycled, made from natural materials, are hand crafted and have beautiful texture,” Gavin says.

“The new luxury is all about product that it beautifully hand crafted, has soul, meaning and nothing to do with price or the label.’’ It’s certainly proving to be true, with many of the country’s top designers using their beautifully framed work in homes, hotels and resorts.

Their wholesale art, inspired by nature, is popular with interior designers

During the last year, the boys have travelled to some of the world’s most populated and isolated places. “We’ve photographed and sketched along the way with a mission to create a travelogue of objects of desire, drawing on the striking colours, exquisite textures and natural beauty around us. We have worked with the most talented craftspeople to bring our creative designs to life. Our collective objective is to work in an environment where creativity remains supreme and our love of natural beauty is honored in our artworks.”

Despite life not being as quiet as they’d hoped, Gav and Waz have no plans to sit still just yet and continue to work on both the wholesale art business and the interior design business. “We’re currently in negotiations with one of the biggest homeware brands in the US to develop an exclusive Designer Boys range for them, so that’s very exciting! Ultimately, we would like to have distributors in the US and Europe. However, we’re very mindful to build our business slowly to ensure we remain authentic and never get too big for our boots.’’

And with that humble attitude, shared passion and a strong relationship as a couple as well as business partners, they can’t really go wrong!

Find out more about Designer Boys Collections.

As you all know, I’m a huge fan of Brit Abigail Ahern and her bold, unconventional interior style, which tends to break every rule in the book, with gusto! I’m delighted she’s written these tips for Interiors Addict and shared photos from her home, and her sister Gemma’s, with us. “Pattern and texture are the herbs and spices of the decorating world,” she says. “They add instant pizzazz to a room, turning if from drab to fab in a second, and I am the hugest fan. The trick is to ditch everything you’ve ever been taught about combining. You won’t need to bring anything to the table other than the ability to think a little differently.”

Abigail’s pattern and texture tips

1. You can never (repeat never) overdose on texture. The more you add the more intriguing a room becomes. The key is to create as much friction as you can (bad in relationships, fundamental in interiors)! Mix rough with smooth, slubby with polished; it will never feel too much.

Abigail’s own bedroom is a textural feast! I love it!

Anthropologie rug making a statement in Abigail’s sister’s lounge room

How great is Abigail’s “little loo” with timber boards?

On old console table Abigail had spray painted red, to great effect, at the local car garage!

Clockwise from left: Greg Natale, Neale Whitaker and Jamie Durie, Darren Palmer and Megan Morton

Congratulations to Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie of Hecker Guthrie, who jointly picked up the top award, interior designer of the year, beating fellow finalists Iain Halliday and Greg Natale (who won in 2012 and 2011 respectively). Belle editor-in-chief Neale Whitaker said they had taken Australian interior design and decoration in an intriguing new direction. “It is as refined as it is industrial and as glamorous as it is raw. Their body of work is consistently fresh and directional.”

A delighted Paul Hecker collects the interior designer of the year award on behalf of himself and business partner Hamish Guthrie

The Melbourne duo receive return flights to Maison et Objet, Paris, plus a package of prizes including Parisi bathroom products, a Smeg fridge and generous vouchers from both Cadrys and Coco Republic.

The category winners were as follows:

• Residential – Greg Natale Design, for Brighton house (Melbourne) and Perikic house (Sydney)
• Hospitality – Pascale Gomes- McNabb, for Monopole (Sydney)
• Commercial – George Livissianis, for Jac + Jack (Sydney)
• Corporate – Foolscap Studio, for Clemenger (Melbourne.

Greg won the residential category for not one but two projects

Each category winner receives a prize package comprising $1,000 Coco Republic and Cadrys rug vouchers.

I had a fantastic night catching up with some of my favourite designers and stylists and meeting new ones. Meeting such fantastic people reminded me why I love reporting on this industry.

My favourite outfit of the night must go to stylist Megan Morton, looking all kinds of blue fabulous

The Block’s Darren Palmer looking sharp in Burberry

Now in its third year, the presitigious awards receieved the largest number of entrants to date this year. Look out for Belle’s August/September 2013 issue featuring a complete overview of the awards, the winners and their respective projects. 

Justine Hall from Coco Republic and Belle interior design editor Steve Cordony

What’s more they’re produced ethically in Bali, supporting local craftspeople who carve each piece by hand (hard to believe isn’t it?) so no two are exactly the same. Michaela is keen to challenge the popularity of cheap, mass produced accessories and offer something different, hand crafted and fashion forward. They really are fashion for your home. My name’s on a white one!

They’re made of carved goat hide with sheep leather backing. If you’re the kind of person who loves a cowhide rug or something a little unique and full of texture, these might just be for you. Available in black, white and tan and white.

Pre-order cushions online.

Today’s off-topic post is about doubt and about worrying too much about what other people think about what you’re doing. At the weekend, I was asked to speak about blogging at the Kidspot Voices of 2013 masterclass. A real honour. One of the questions to the panel (with the fab Viv from Ish & Chi and Rebecca from Wee Birdy, moderated by the fabulous Pip from Meet Me At Mikes) was do you ever doubt yourself? Now, it may seem from my blog and even from meeting me in real life, that I’m a super confident person who knows their stuff. Let me let you into a little secret: I am as self-doubting as the next person. I worry about what people think about me and might be saying about me behind my back. ALL THE TIME. I live in constant fear of being found out. What for, I’m not sure!

There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, I blog about interior design, styling, homewares and furniture. I started doing this two years ago because I loved this stuff and having a blog was a way to keep together all the pictures and inspiration I found online and out and about. The intention was never for anyone else to read it. But now I find myself writing about this stuff day in, day out, for my job. How lucky am I?! I love it. However, the fact that I have no design qualifications, even though I never ever claim to, fills me with self doubt and worry that people will think I am trying to pretend I am an expert. For this reason I go out of my way to state that I DO NOT THINK I’M AN EXPERT OR TALENTED IN THIS FIELD. Could I be any clearer? The silly thing is, the vast majority of my readers do not think I do, do not care that I’m not an interior designer, and I am told time and time again that they like and connect with my blog because it’s accessible to everyone and because my enthusiasm (if not skills) for interiors shines through.

So what happens is, when a company wants to interview me, as a blogger and interiors person and produces a lovely article about me, like Retrojan did today (read it here), my first thought isn’t “Oh, what lovely publicity that it is, how nice!” Not at all. It is more like “Oh my God, I am going to be judged by stylists out there thinking I think I can do what they do! OMG freakout, because they’re calling me a style icon in the headline and I am anything but!” At the end of the day though, it’s not like I called myself a style icon, or went and pitched myself to them. They, very kindly, wanted to feature me, and I should  be able to feel proud and happy about that.

I need to get over it, and I’m trying really hard to get over it, but it’s hard. I need a thicker skin. I want people to like me, I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of me and to think I’m a fraud or that I wrongly think I’m some kind of expert. I’m paranoid by nature. If I see a snarky anonymous Facebook status, I’ll always assume it’s directed at me (sad, isn’t it?). Sometimes they are though.

Even when it comes to blogging, and being asked to sit on panels, like the weekend’s, or talk about blogging, I think “what do I know?” I think this comes from having trained as a journalist. I can talk about that quite happily, because I feel qualified, but blogging? Hmm. I kind of fell into that, and although it’s working out really well, I don’t feel like I’ve been in this game long enough to teach anyone else how to do it. What I do know is that I work bloody hard and am proud of my blog, and I should really tell myself that a bit more often.

I’m not sure what the answer is to this self doubt and paranoia, but acknowledging it feels like a good place to start. I guess all I would say is that if you’re genuine, transparent and passionate in what you do, you shouldn’t go far wrong. There will always be a small minority of people who try and knock you down and who misunderstand you, but why should their opinion be counted as so much more important than all the positive and supportive views in your life? Because we’re all human!

Feeling a bit vulnerable to hit publish on this post, but I want anyone else out there feeling any of the same things to know it’s not just you!

You may recognise the Melbourne-based artist’s style from the last couple of series of The Block, where contestants Dan and Dani used his work extensively.

If, like me, you can’t stretch to an original right now, prints of his work are available from $130 here.

Read my interview with Andrew from last year, where he talks about the relationship between art and interiors.

The list will be released early to newsletter subscribers tomorrow so make sure you’re signed up!

Urban Road founder and designer Suzie Atkin, a big fan of 7 Vignettes, will be our guest judge, and she can’t wait! Can you believe this will be the sixth month of doing these challenges? And it still gets bigger and better each time.

If you still don’t know how it all works, you can read all the instructions here, along with a list of the previous winners. More details to come next week!

Please note only Australian residents are eligible to win prizes but we love our overseas ‘grammers taking part just for fun anyway!

Restaurant interiors are important to me, perhaps not surprisingly! I love good food and don’t mind paying for it, but I always think if you’re treating yourself to a great meal, you should really get a great all-round experience, which includes atmosphere and service. The interior at The Woods is by Dreamtime, who have a fantastic reputation for hospitality fitouts (think Mr Wong, Flying Fish and Felix Brasserie, which all happen to be Sydney favourites of mine). It looks nothing like a hotel restaurant, despite being housed in the huge ground floor lobby. The word that kept coming to mind was cosy, despite its size. And we all like flattering lighting, right? Plenty of that.

The wood referred to in the name is on the grill, and the menu is all about great quality local produce, wood smoked and grilled. Executive chef Hamish Ingham comes from the one chef-hatted Bar H and clearly knows his stuff. I enjoyed every mouthful of my meal. The food is simple and well done. There’s plenty of timber in the interior too, which adds to the warmth and texture. No five-star, starched white tablecloths in sight, thank goodness.

I have a soft spot for The Four Seasons as it’s where I spent my first night in Australia five years ago. I decided if I was going to up sticks and move to the other side of the world (from the UK) I should arrive in style! Of course, I’ve struggled to keep standards that high ever since. And as someone who loves getting the ferry to the city, I’m really excited to have found somewhere to eat so super convenient to Circular Quay.

I’ll definitely be back again. Follow The Woods on Facebook, where I recently saw a $30 deal being offered for a one-course lunch with a glass of wine.

The Woods Restaurant, The Four Seasons, 199 George Street, Sydney

I was a guest for lunch at The Woods and did not pay for my meal.

Last night’s was a great episode, with Matt and Kim’s Pollock-inspired bedroom described as both “a crime scene” and the most controversial room in the show’s history. Kudos to them for getting such a reaction! I thought their design was wholly inappropriate but admired their bravery and they definitely executed their ideas really well and with enthusiasm. Easy for me to say as an armchair critic…

Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker loving the timber tiles in Johnno and Trixie’s bedroom

I think Bec and George were probably the right couple to win, although I loved parts of Trixie and Johnno’s room too, in particular their Bonnie and Neil wall tiles. I can’t believe none of the judges had seen them before; I’ve been loving them for months and wishing I wasn’t renting so I could use them somewhere! I like the twins but I wasn’t a fan of last night’s bedroom. Next week will be interesting with two bathrooms each to complete. I do love a good bathroom reno so looking forward to those!

I still don’t have a clear favourite as all the couples are quite likeable. In terms of who I think has the best chance of winning though? Right now my money would be on Trixie and Johnno.

If you spotted something you liked on the show, I’ve picked my latest favourites available to buy online from The Block Shop (what a great idea that was!) for you here:

The Lab glass bowl pendant ($149) and beaker pendants ($99.95). Exclusive to Beacon Lighting and see in Kim and Matt’s room.

Vintage Bally poster print on canvas, $270, as seen in Bec and George’s bedroom.

Have You Met Miss Jones ceramic hi-tops, $98. Super cool on your desk full of pens or in a kid’s room.

Skull candle, $145. That trend for skulls doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon! Love or hate?

Bonnie and Neil timber wall vases, $80 each. As seen in Johnno and Trixie’s penthouse.

These industrial cage pendants, as seen in Madi & Jarrod and Alisa & Lysandra’s rooms, are bang on trend. $69.96. Globe sold separately.

I can’t tweet The Block until Sunday now due to the new weekday mobile phone curfew in our house, so I’ll see you on Twitter then!

This subtle watercolour design, Autumn, is a close second. What do you think?

Urban Road founder and artist Suzie Atkin, says the latest collection has been created to introduce a sense of creativity, originality and colour into your home. “From the crisp lines and inviting hues of the experimental pieces to the subtle swiftness of the Navajo imagery, the pieces that will suit both contemporary and traditional homes.”

“Modern home designers will also adore the experimental pieces,” she adds. “Buyers can choose between bright and bold abstractions or more gentle and delicate designs to enhance their space, with the wonder of improvisational strokes and splashes coming to life in each painting.”

If pastels are your thing, you’ll be spoilt for choice. And I do love a bit of navy, as you probably know…

There’s plenty for animal lovers too, including this one, War Pony.

All Urban Road canvases are now offered with black or white timber box framing on all sizes. And there are matching cushions too.

These are just a few of the new designs, available to buy online from tomorrow. Free shipping on orders over $195 and trade pricing available.