Having neutral tones in the home can be safe and ensures your decor nearly never goes out of style. However, sometimes with a change of season, it can make us want to mix things up a bit. Coming into Spring, a great change would be to add some colour, but sometimes it can be daunting to incorporate! So we thought we would inspire you with couple of good tips to get you started.
This can be a great first step as it doesn't need to be too bold, but just a touch of colour and adds some texture to your space. It is also useful to then pick out some hero colours to highlight other decor.
These can be similar colours to those found in the rug, colours that simply compliment it, or something completely different but that you feel work in your space. Sometimes colours can simply go together if they're in the same theme e.g. Scandinavian or Coastal.
This tip is also great as accessories are not too much of an investment and you can change it up when a new season comes along or you feel your decor has become tired.
This will give the space an organic feel, and will also give some natural colour. Plants can also be easily changed around so you don't have to commit to one colour in one location. Plants and flowers can also help give a room a sense of calmness and are of course great for your health.
Houseplants are very good for your health but also your wellbeing. Studies have proven that indoor plants improve upon concentration, productivity, stress and also boost your mood - making them not only perfect for your home but your workspace too.
Like the rug, this doesn't have to be too bold, but just something that adds a bit of colour to the room. You can find cost effective artwork, local art or indigenous art which is a great talking point. Art is also a good option if you are quite a minimalist in the other areas of your home.
Another great option is to add colourful cushions and throws. A throw can be draped over a couch or chair, and looks quite effortless but is very effective - adding texture and variation. This is easy to change up if you prefer something different later on.
Cushions are also a great way to add a touch of colour and some texture which can compliment other colours or textures in the room. They can also be changed easily and are affordable, which is great for when you feel like freshening up your space down the track!
You may elect to add a statement piece in the room which can sometimes be a bit bold, but has a great effect. It can still be an earthy tone if your house is quite neutral and still be eye catching. This could be a chair, a side table, an artwork or an armchair etc.
When choosing your colour, you don't always have to go bold, you can start with softer tones and won't feel too out of place. Then when you feel a bit more comfortable, you can slowly start to add more bold pieces which go back with the softer tones.
We hope this has given you some good tips to start bringing some colour into your space!
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We love everything about Ellie Bullen - especially her delicious recipes! Now we're coming into Spring, we thought it would be great motivation to make something super colourful and fresh!
And we couldn't look any further than the Buddha Bowl!
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
1/4 Kent pumpkin
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 lemon
1 lime
1/2 broccoli cut into florets
1 tbsp Nutra Organics Vegetable Broth
1 cup of lotus chips - we used frozen store bought lotus chips
A selection of raw vegetables. Choose a variety of colours and textures. (They used watermelon radish, daikon, edamame, snow peas and micro herbs)
1 Avocado
1 tbsp hummus
Edible flowers
2 tbsp Nutra Organics Pepitas
2 tbsp Nutra Organics Sunflower Seeds
1 tsp Nutra Organics Hemp Seeds
1 cup Nutra Organics Quinoa
1 tbsp Nutra Organics Vegan Savoury Flakes
1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
Nutra Organics Himalayan Crystal Salt
Turmeric powder
Cumin powder
Fennel seeds
Cinnamon
Cracked pepper
Smoked paprika
Dried Rose petals
Chilli flakes
250 ml Nutra Organics Coconut Oil
Olive oil
Enjoy!
xxx
Planning a nursery without knowing the gender can be so tricky! You want to pick things that will look great now, but with a theme that you could always tweak a bit when your little one comes home!
So we've popped down a few tips to help you plan the perfect space!
This is my go to first step to pretty much every creative project! It really helps narrow down the styles you gravitate to and sometimes didn't even realise that you liked! I love using Pinterest for this but also have a physical board to keep me on track as it's right in my face!
There are so many choices here, but it will help you with all of your future decisions by sussing it out first! Your moodpboard should help you with this as hopefully there was a predominant theme that you kept gravitating to! Some themes could be adventure, nautical, animal kingdom or outdoors. These can all be gender neutral and can inspire imagination. You could also go by colour or a culture such as Scandinavian, French Provincial or monochrome. Or you can always go with the style of your house to make it flow and can always pinch things from other rooms!
This is best when you stick to only a few neutral colours so then you can always incorporate some gender specific colours later on down the track. White walls are always a safe bet and you could always add a pop of colour like navy, tan or yellow, but just don't make these the dominant things in the room.
Wooden furniture will never date and adds some texture to the room. Light woods generally work better for gender neutral rooms as sometimes too dark can look a bit masculine. However if this suits you could pair back with fresh linen and softer accessories around the room.
This is a great way to add a bit of texture to the room and is also a great way to create calmness within the space - which is what we all want! Having a plant promotes clarity and works as a great statement in the room. You could also do this with wallpaper or cushions.
Another great way to style the room is with a neutral rug. Done right, this can make the space look bigger and can also double as a playmate for your little one! It's a great way to also add a bit of softness to the room.
We hope these tips have helped and inspired you!
xx
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This studio has thirteen experienced instructors and teaches Acrovinyasa, Vinyasa Flow and Yin Yoga.
https://warrioroneyoga.com.au/
Good Vibes all about good vibes and equanimity. They have a range of classes including Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Keep It Mellow, Core & Release and Beginners Flow.
This is such a magical space in the midst of the beautiful natural environment of Red Hill. This is a boutique yoga experience and practices vinyasa flow with ashtanga influence yoga. The studio is heated to around 28-30 degrees.
https://www.hothutyoga.com.au/
This is a yoga studio which has a 'pay as you feel' approach and is Melbourne's first 100% donation based class! They also want everyone to feel welcome no matter what, which we love.
They offer Yoga Flow, Jumpboard Pilates and Dynamic Boxing, or Relaxation Meditation and Yin Yoga. They have really built a community which makes it such a nice place to spend your time!
This is such a beautiful space and offers Vinyasa Flow, Slow Flow, Basics and Yin Yoga as well as Prenatal, Mums & Bubs and Kids Yoga classes which we love!
We hope you can try out a few of these beautiful spots!
Love,
Ourlieu xxx
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With all of the excitement around the big grocery stores banning single use plastic bags, we're taking it a step further and creating a plastic free pantry!
First, pull out everything that you have and transfer everything that's in plastic to a glass jar or container. This way you can suss out what you have and how many new jars to source!
Next step is to write out a list of the things that you're missing and also the general size of everything that needs a jar. (It's easy to forget once you're out!) Then head to your local food store. We love our local Dromana Ritchies, D.O.C in Mornington & Tully's in Mornington. Be sure to bring your own reusable bags!
Some of the things on our list are:
Almonds, Oats, Rice, Quinoa, Pasta, Honey, Cacoa, Coconut, Chia Seeds, Salt, Chilli, Tumeric, Basil & Olive Oil.
You can source jars and containers from recycling ones in your home, grocery stores, op shops and asking friends or family for theirs! Most candle jars can also be reused for things like this - we love our Commonfolk Collective ones!
Once back, sort everything into their jars or containers and label everything. This makes it easy not to get confused when cooking and also makes it easy to see at a quick glance! You can grab a white permanent marker from your local Officeworks which work great on glass.
Not only is this better for the environment, but it looks amazing, your food will keep fresh for longer and it's also such a great way to see exactly whats low and what you need to stock up on! Theres nothing worse than going to use something in a packet only to find theres a tiny bit left!
It has also inspired us to be more creative and adventurous in our cooking!
We hope you try it out for yourself!
Love,
Loft By Ourlieu
xxx
]]>We were so grateful to have a chat with the creator of The Commonfolk Collective who makes "mindful" soy candles and body products. Fi has created such an amazing brand and we were so excited to ask more about it and how she got going...
Thank you so much, it really came from an experience I was going through in my life after I lost my mum to cancer. I was devastated. Not long after, we had decided it was time to move on from our family business we had for most of our life, so it was a huge time of change.
I knew I wanted to do something of my own and start something creative, but it was also happening during what was the hardest time of my life, and I found I needed help to heal.
I had a lot of inspiration saved on my phone, maybe on Pinterest or screen shots of favourite quotes and images I loved, but didn't really feel going to my phone all that motivational.
"I have always love burning candles, I think they can completely change your mood and give a relaxed ambience and its always been a ritual of mine, so the idea to combine a quote or image that could inspire me or remind me to just stop for moment with a beautiful smelling candle just seemed like the perfect combo."
I had so many ideas and images I wanted to do, and once I started, it became a passion and has absolutely been a huge part of my healing.
Life moves pretty quick these days and I think we all need some reminders to slow down and that is the intention with all of our products. One of our candle has the words "fall in love with moments" which is one of my favourites and I use this quote to remind myself to go through life in this way. Its all about creating feel good rituals.
I'm really big on creating a relaxed environment to create the right feeling, no matter what you are doing.
"Before I start my work day I always light my "breathe" candle and have the same chill out music out on. By doing this, I've created a ritual that my mind and body gets used to and helps to keep the body in flow rather than feeling rushed, essentially calming your space which then soothes your soul."
My body knows its work time because of this ritual I've created by crafting a relaxed environment. If you set the scene the body responds, even lighting candle while you cook dinner can calm the environment. Create a calm space and you'll feel more relaxed. It even works when I burn a candle for the kids while they are in the bath, they instantly chill out. Our souls needs some nurturing!
I love when people send me photos of how they re-use their jars. I personally use my jar to store my tea and coffee in. I have so many different herbal teas so I know have a jar for each one. Our jars are custom made because I wanted to achieve a unique, clean, raw, minimal look with the intent that they can be repurposed. Some use them to pot plants in, some fill them with treats and give as gifts, the jars can be reused in the bathroom for cotton buds + hair ties etc. One friend recently showed me that they used our raw recycled lids and screwed a few of them onto the wall for her kids to hang their medals and caps on.
Our skin is our biggest organ and we already soak in so many toxins and pollutions else wear, so washing and moisturising your hands and body with organic goodness is so important. It always means my kids are using organics daily as well. There are a lot of products out there and its important stand out. Its hard to use organics all of the time in your food and products so you need to try to pick the most important ones when you can.
I love being able to create something from nothing, put it into action and make something happen. I find that so motivating and its addictive. I love sitting a little on the edge of my comfort zone and have now become used to challenging myself enough so that I continue to grow, whether it be emotionally or in a business sense.
I have many rituals in place now to keep me on track as I juggle, creation, design, logistics and home life, so these help me to stay focused if things get hectic.
My work philosophy is "I work with purpose and intent" and I say this before I sit down to tackle any task.
Most work days I always tackle a creative task or a task that requiere lots of focus first. As many of us know, the to-do-list is never complete, its always evolving and growing and I find being able to tick of a really satisfying project or task first thing in my work day, leaves me feeling motivated for the day, rather than that feeling of chasing you tail. If you start the day with emails and social media, hours can go by as you sit there reacting to world and its easy to loose focus.
I'm lucky to have many creative friends who also have their own businesses, so we keep each the motivated when we need it, its fun to chat and have others to share and talk over different things invoiced in working for yourself. I'm also lucky to meet and collaborate with some awesome photographers and work with some incredible imagery that is always keeping me motivated and inspired. I have to mention my gorgeous husband, we have always worked together in some shape or form, whether in be back in our family business or renovating homes together, and he is away an incredible support when I get stuck, need advice or need a little push.
Just start. I had a private Instagram account for a month before I put it out there, but at least I had started. When I felt nervously ready to hit that 'public' button and put it all out there into the world, the ball was rolling and there was less time to wonder and more need for action.
For me I would feel so much worse not trying and then wondering " SHOULD I HAVE..." , rather than trying it anyway and whether it works or not, giving it a go at least involves some personal growth, so already you have achieved something in my opinion.
Some tips of mine would be - less shoulding and more doing! Don't get too distracted by what others are doing as you can let too much doubt creep in. Learn to trust instincts. Keep a planner. Batch your time. Stay on top of paperwork. Schedule social media. Keep learning.
I'm currently working on some new ranges that will be launched at Life Instyle in August! Some great gifting candles and more home products too! I get a little too excited sometimes and have so many ideas I have to pace myself. We are now in 100 stores around Australia which is unbelievable and I'm very grateful.
If you want a better look intoThe Commonfolk Collective, check out their website www.thecommonfolkcollective.com and their Instagram: @thecommonfolkcollective
Love,
Loft By Ourlieu
xxx
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