NATURAL WAYS TO KEEP WARM AT HOME

It feels like winter has been playing tricks on us this year. One day it's cold and there's frost on the farms lower in the valley and then we're walking around in short sleeves. 

We're also living in a completely different style of home to this time last year. Australian inner-city terrace homes are not known for being warm, although ours wasn't too bad. It was double brick which meant that once we got it warm, the heat stayed in for much longer than many other similar-style homes. But it wasn't an open-plan house so while we could get individual rooms warm, it took a lot more energy to heat the whole place.

And although we had a working fire, it wasn't a slow combustion fireplace so the timber burned off quite quickly and the heat didn't linger. As many other Australians who live in unrenovated homes, we had to rely on portable gas and electric heaters to warm our place. Then became the issue at the end of winter of storing them somewhere too. 

There were some strategies we used though to help make life a little easier though. One of them was devised by our son when he decided to sleep on one of our sheepskins. We thought he was being cute about it, but then we tried it ourselves and it's hard to go back. It really is a great way to sleep. And it's much more preferable to using electric blankets for us, as it's more economical and better for the environment. All of the children now sleep on sheepskins, including the baby, who has one underneath his cot sheet in his bassinet. The others lie directly on the sheepskin - our daughter says it's like sleeping with a giant (natural-fibre) teddy bear!

Not only does our current home have a large slow combustion fire at its centre, but the chimney stack runs up to the second level. This means that the bricks warm up throughout the house. Plus there are vents on the ground and first levels which disperse heat into open-plan areas on both levels. It's such a great way to warm the house. In fact, many times this winter we have had to change into lighter clothing when sitting in our office area as it gets so warm because it's right next to one of the vents.

For the baby we took one of the ideas that we used to use in our previous home - sheepskins on our chairs in the study - and placed them on his bouncer for when he's awake. This also gets placed on the floor for him to lie on during the hour or so he's alert in between feeds and naps.

Of course, we are big fans of layering our beds with wool blankets and swapping over our cotton cushion covers for woollen ones in the cooler months. And reindeer hides get placed on chairs, the sofa and on the floor in our bedroom. Every little bit helps.

Interestingly, after having such a hot summer in this house, winter has been a welcome season for all of us. It's hard to beat spending evenings in front of a warming fire. 

images the indigo crew

THE ART OF CREATING A HOME

Creating a home can be at once a lifelong process and something that can happen in an instant. Especially if you subscribe to the theory that home is where the heart is. But nothing is really that simple.

Turning a space into a functioning place for yourself or your family requires thought and an ability to edit what you own, and continue that process in perpetuity. 

There are some lessons I've learnt over the years due to my job and also from personal experience. For five years I worked at one of Australia's leading interiors magazines, Real Living. During this time I interviewed experts, talked to homeowners, analysed images and read reader's letters on what worked and what didn't.

Since then I have spent several years working as a freelance interior stylist. My work has focussed on scouting homes for interior magazines to feature on their pages. This has involved requesting submissions from homeowners and selecting places to photograph. When possible I visit homes before a photo shoot to assess if they will work as a feature. Other times, especially when I travel interstate or long distances, I have had to trust my instincts that the place will be suitable. There's lots of assessing and evaluating in this process. Over the past decade I have probably visited more than 100 homes in relation to my work.

And then there are my own homes. I have moved more than 20 times during my lifetime so far. In the past five years alone I have lived next to the beach (Bondi), in the city (inner-city Sydney) and in the country (the hinterland of the Central Coast). Not only have I got moving down to a fine art, but I have also learnt some valuable lessons about editing the contents of my home. I have noticed some patterns among the items that I've held onto for many years, and those that I have passed on to charity shops.

It seems obvious, but simple shapes, natural materials and neutral colours are the key threads that sustain our home collection. Yes, I have been seduced over the years by on-trend cushions, patterned rugs and brightly coloured accent pieces but these have invariably ended up in someone else's home. They are not the keepers.

What has sustained us through several homes - and locations - are the basics. And these are the items that I also regularly take along to photo shoots. A linen tea towel, a white multipurpose towel, a lightweight throw, a sheepskin or reindeer hide (often both), a neutral cushion cover, a cylinder-shaped simple glass vase and a jug that I can use in the kitchen, bathroom or on a bedside table. And I usually carry them in a market basket as that can double as a prop if the need arises too. En-route to every shoot I stop at a florist because flowers always add beautiful texture and detail to any space.

As a result of the patterns I've noticed through my work, and my own experience at home, I have launched an online shop, Imprint House. It brings to life the design blog Daily Imprint, which I have been producing for more than nine years, that has brought me into contact with many local designers and artisanal producers. And the shop embodies the philosophy that we strive for in our home - living simply, living better. It is about paring back to the pieces that bring us joy every time we use them. And enjoying our home for the place it is today.

If you're interested to learn more about my career path, you can read the interview on Daily Imprint today. And if you'd like to get discounts and exclusive offers subscribe to the Imprint House newsletter. Also, follow Imprint House on Instagram for giveaways and interior ideas and inspiration.

Imprint House ships internationally too!

images imprint house

SPRING CLEANING - THE KONMARI METHOD

Spring is perhaps my favourite season - filled with so much possibility. It's time to shed old habits and create new patterns of being.

Fortunately this year I feel a little bit more prepared. Our children are that bit older so there's less general chaos at home - less food to clean up off the floor after dinner, and a little less laundry as they don't have as many changes of clothes. I also read a book that has fundamentally changed the way I think about living.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is fast gaining cult status among lifestyle books. Not only is a New York Times Bestseller, and has sold more than two million copies, but Time magazine named the author Marie Kondo as one of the world's most influential people in 2015. It is an international bestseller for a good reason. So many of us live with too much stuff - and it has a major impact on almost all aspects of our lives.

A friend recommended it to me - and she is a no-nonsense type of person - not so easily swept into faddish philosophies or self-help books so I was intrigued. She had read it as an ebook so I did too. (And generally I don't like to read this way - but it seemed fitting, given the subject matter of letting go of things once their usefulness has expired.) Of course, you can buy it as a paperback too.

The premise of the book is to ask yourself of everything in your home "does it bring me joy" - if it doesn't, you get rid of it. This is not an entirely new idea. The 19th Century textile designer, artist and writer William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." However, Marie Kondo has taken this concept one step further and gives you a plan on how to cull. She says culling works best when you work in categories rather than room by room. Start with your clothes first then move onto another section of your home - such as toys or books.

The other key component of her philosophy is that once you have edited down your home life to just what you need, it's much easier to keep it tidy.

I started this process before we went away on our recent holiday - even before we went on our trip to Tasmania - and I have to say that I could feel a change in my mindset about my objects. Other parts of my life too - including social media.

The main problem though is finding the time to execute her method, especially while juggling family and work. And the other challenge is the type of work that I do - styling - which requires having a stash of props for various photo shoots. I'm also mindful that this method requires you to not constantly acquire more things - which is also a work-in-progress, especially with the constant lure of Instagram and its shiny new wares.

But I look forward to resuming the cull, and simplifying our lives.

image the indigo crew

LOVELY LAVENDER

Recently we bought a large bunch of lavender for spare change from a farmer's roadside market stall. It was a lovely addition to our kitchen, especially as it's one of the preschooler's favourite flowers. She often sleeps with a sprig or two on her pillow for its fragrance. But over the weekend I noticed that the flowers were starting to droop and it seemed a shame and waste to throw it out.

I decided to hang it up to dry. But because I had bought some extra bunches for her birthday, we had quite a collection. I thought it might be a fun game for her to discover them when she comes home from preschool. And they look - and smell - lovely too.

Also, as I'm interested in growing some, I've done a little extra research on lavender. Here are 10 things I learnt:

1. Lavandula (common name lavender) belongs to the mint family and there are 39 known species of this flowering plant.

2. It is the leaves that normally contain the essential oils - which explains why I had to change the water daily.

3. The English word for lavender is thought be derived from the the Latin word lavare - meaning, "to wash". However, other explanations suggest the name comes from the Latin word livere - or, "blueish".

4. The most common form is English lavender - Lavandula anguvstifolia. The scent of lavender is thought to deter mosquitoes, flies and other small pests such as mice.

5. Lavandula stoechas has been declared a noxious weed in Victoria, Australia, as well as parts of Spain.

6. Lavender likes growing in full sun and prefers dry, well-drained soil. Also, the plant doesn't produce seeds - if you want to grow more, you need to separate the roots.

7. The essential oil from lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. And it is English lavender that is most commonly used in cosmetics, beauty and cleaning products due to its sweet fragrance.

8. Bees pollinate lavender and create honey from its nectar. 

9. Lavender essential oils were used in hospitals during WWI. Lavender honey has also been used on uninfected wounds.

10. Lavender can be used to help aid relaxation and sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety.

images the indigo crew