leah robins's surry hills apartment

There are some people who talk the talk. Then there are those who walk the walk. You've met Leah Robins previously - when I interviewed her here. She spoke about simplifying her life and de-cluttering. Well, her home - shot by Warnes & Walton - in the latest real living magazine shows just how she did that - going from a three-bedroom house to a one-bedroom apartment.

When I interviewed Leah she also said something that stuck:

"The house has so many qualities that we aim for when sourcing products for The Minimalist," Leah says. "It was built to last, using traditional techniques and transcends most fashion trends and styles. It is unique and one of a kind."

images courtesy of real living magazine; photography chris warnes/warnes & walton; styling natalie walton/warnes & walton

styling shoot: bathroom decor ideas

The bathroom is not only one of the most expensive rooms in your home to renovate and decorate, but also the one that (often) ends up most lacking. Functionality always seems to win over fun. Colours are boring. Ideas get left at the door. So when I was asked to create three bathrooms for the June issue of real living, I wanted to help people rethink how they might decorate the smallest room in the house.

British boho - was all about using wallpaper in the bathroom. It's done often in the USA and UK but not so much in Australia. It was also important to use a pendant light rather than downlights or some other meek option. And ever since I saw Burley Katon Halliday use a tribal rug in a Bondi bathroom, I've wanted to do that too.

Retro brights - okay, so the yellow is strong. But it works with the overall design scheme. Black and white work wonderfully when contrasted with another colour. I also like using a non-traditional bathroom mirror.

Modern beachy - has to be my favourite of the three spaces. That chocolate brown on the wall was so calming to look at that it made me realise I might never want a white bathroom again. I also liked it combined with the tongue and groove panelling.

images courtesy of real living and maree homer

store-bought storage styling shoot

The November issue of real living went on sale today so I thought I would share with you one of the features I styled: "Store-bought storage". It was not an easy brief, mainly because there are not a massive amount of products that are NEW, which is a requisite for the category. If I was able to make/create/revamp storage, that would have been fine. But the "shopping" section is all about products that you can BUY. After much searching and research I did end up tracking down some good products, though. These included the screenprinted boxes from Bonnie & Neil, as well as some beautiful wooden containers from Citta Design.

I got to work with photographer Maree Homer, which was a real treat. She's not only incredibly kind and caring as a person, but she's highly experienced and so was a great teacher too.

images courtesy of real living and maree homer

w.s. traders pop-up sale

I produced a lot of features when I worked at real living. One of the sections I was asked to look after was "Fave Finds". This involved tracking down a cool and interesting person who was working in design, and ensuring they had a cool and interesting space so we could photograph them there. Usually the photo would run as a single page shot with a half page detail. It was a lot of work, but I got to meet some amazing people - many of them have gone on to be featured in the posts for Daily Imprint. For a while I've been trying to pin down Tim Leveson. He's a lovely guy. The photo shoot we did with him is one of my favourites. He came to meet myself and photographer Steve Baccon (who I interviewed here) on his bike in a warehouse complex. His dog was running beside him. "We've got to get that as a shot," I said to Steve. He was onto it.

Well, Tim is crazy busy with work so hasn't had chance to answer the questions - although he promises they are coming soon. Not only does he run an interior design business but he also designs furniture. If I wasn't also up to my eyeballs in work I would head over to his pop-up sale in Sydney's Redfern today. Hopefully I'll get there tomorrow, and hopefully there'll be something left. Details are on the flyer, above.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I have been absolutely floored with work since going freelance. Not quite the work/life balance I was aiming for, but I can't complain. On Monday the April issue of real living goes on sale and I have a few features in there that I worked on, including 3 shoots with photographer Mikkel Vang. Can't wait to share those pics. Have a great weekend.

images courtesy of real living, steve baccon and tim leveson

"holiday at home" styling shoot

My last shoot for real living was supposed to have been a kids garden feature, which will feature in the JanFeb 11 issue (on sale 10 Jan). However, I was asked to squeeze one more in before the break. It was for a "Holiday at home" feature. Click on the images for a larger view size.

What a year it's been. As I've mentioned previously, this time last year I had only just styled my first shoot, and now I have a merry little collection under my belt. Even more thrilling was this week I saw one of my images in the latest Living Etc. It's the Young Explorer room from this shoot.

Who knows what next year will bring!

images real living (photography chris warnes; styling natalie walton)

sneak peek: shopping secrets article

A couple of months ago I was approached by the(sydney)magazine to provide a list of my shopping secrets for homewares stores as part of an "expert panel". Today I got a sneak peek at the finished article, which I'm now sharing an excerpt with you. The full feature appears in tomorrow's edition of The Sydney Morning Herald. The August issue of the(sydney)magazine is dedicated to homes - so I'm looking forward to seeing what else is inbetween its glossy pages.

images courtesy of the(sydney)magazine

outdoor table & chair combos styling shoot

I just did another styling shoot today so my head is still in that space and I thought it was fitting to share some more images from the November issue of real living, which went on sale this week. I styled this outdoor table and chair feature months ago but because of scheduling it's only running now.

The day before the shoot I wasn't feeling well, and the morning of the shoot I was almost bedridden with the flu. But I couldn't bring myself to cancel. Not when photographer Armelle Habib had flown up to Sydney from Melbourne for the occasion. Products had been called in, a plan had been sketched out and a location as well as removalists had been booked. How could I back out?!

I didn't. And I didn't take any medication for fear it would make me drowsy. I felt dreadful. Luckily I had some lovely and helpful assistants, not to mention Armelle and her assistant Lucy, who both chipped in lugging furniture indoors and out because did I mention that it rained for most of the day. Well, actually it showered. We would take the furniture out, it would rain, we would lug it under cover again. And repeated this several times. At the same time a cover shoot was underway in the living room of the house which looked onto the garden. "Natalie, can you just stay to the left," called out a voice from inside. It didn't matter that I needed to set up on the right. All in a day's shooting, I'm fast learning.

Thankfully sometimes some shots fall into place. I just plonked a whole stack of goodies on the "Modern Australian" tabletop and walked away. When I turned back to adjust I realised that everything was sitting nicely together; I didn't need tweak. A rare but sweet moment.

images courtesy of real living (photography armelle habib; styling natalie walton)

trade secrets from 3 style experts

A little while ago, when I ran an interview with Harper's Bazaar editor Edwina McCann, I mentioned what a great day I had shooting with photographer Mikkel Vang.

I got to meet three incredible people - Will Dangar from Robert Plumb, award-winning TV chef Sean Connolly and Edwina.

Their homes were the perfect mix of well considered and well lived-in, complete with young children running around.

The feature is in the latest issue of real living, which went on sale today.

images courtesy of real living and mikkel vang; styling natalie walton

freedom styling shoot

One of my first jobs as a freelance stylist was for Freedom - an advertorial, which is in the (current) April issue of real living magazine. Naturally, all the furniture and homewares were from Freedom. And the brief was to present items from within certain collections together. However, I was able to choose whichever pieces I wanted from those collections, plus design the layout of the rooms, select paint colours, add flowers and other smaller items, such as books, food, etc. The first look, "Farmhouse", is probably closest to my own personal style - mixing the kelim style rug with a soft linen sofa and wooden furniture items, with a little bit of industrial thrown in for good measure. The other looks are "Providore" - based on the idea of an inner-city deli meets re-imagined grocer's workspace. The last space is inner-city loft inspired, and priced for those who are just starting out with their first home.

images courtesy of freedom and real living

painterly stripes

This morning I mentioned decorating with paper as a great decorating tool. Using paint has to be one of my other favourite options. A little while back I was asked to come up with ideas for this brief: "Quick cures for boring walls". It was a styling shoot for the current onsale issue of real living magazine.

I always gravitate towards stripes in fashion, but didn't want to do the usual vertical (or horizontal stripes) in the rooms that have been done many times before - including at my last home. So I took inspiration from the vibrant Spring/Summer 2011 fashion collections to create anything but boring walls.

images courtesy of real living and prue ruscoe; styling natalie walton

Daily Imprint workshops

There are two questions I get asked more than any others:

1. How do you create and maintain a successful blog.

2. How do you become a stylist.

Over the coming months I'm going to answer these questions at a series of workshops.

The first will be held in the USA at the amazing Studio B in Florida. The location is just beautiful and there's so much to see and do in the area that even if you don't live locally, it could be the perfect opportunity to have an inspiring weekend away.

Pencil in Saturday 18 June into your diary.

It will be an evening of inspiration, insight and ideas.

There will be workshops in Sydney too - this time to be held at Apple, Bondi.

For the diary:

Thursday 7 July, 6.30pm

Thursday 21 July, 6.30pm

Thursday 4 August, 6.30pm

Hope to see you soon!

sneak peek: warnes & walton

Images that tell a story. Text that paints a picture. Styling that brings it all together into a perfect package. Warnes & Walton is on its way...

easy weekend projects

March and April were busy months. I styled four of the decorating features in the June issue of real living - as well as wrote the rugs and carpet article. And I styled the 10-page decorating feature in House & Garden. All while pregnant.

The feature above was for the "real ideas" section of real living - projects that you can do over a weekend. These included creating a statement door frame, a privacy screen made from Japanese coloured tape, a guerilla knitting inspired bench, a studded table top and a coatrack made from PVC pipes.

Stylists rarely, if ever, work alone - certainly not on large studio production shoots. And this one was no exception. I had a team of very willing and creative helpers who were busy hot glue-gunning, taping and working with wool. Thanks guys!

images courtesy of real living and chris warnes

scotland island house

It says something about the Scotland Island weekender that belongs to Craig and Leigh that shortly after I visited for a third time to produce a feature for Warnes & Walton, I booked a holiday to return. There is so much to enjoy about this place - not just its location, but also the way it has been transformed into a place to rest and relax. And that's just what I did on my return visit. I read several of Craig's books from cover to cover, and stopped to enjoy life.

The log cabin is listed on Stayz - so you can visit too.

Also, I must thank not only Craig and Leigh for making this feature possible - which appears in the JanFeb 13 issue of Inside Out - but also some of my regular haunts when styling for shoots - Project 82, Orson & Blake, Le Forge and Elements I Love.

images courtesy of inside out (photography chris warnes/warnes & walton; writing, styling and production natalie walton/warnes & walton)

frontliners: pip edwards at home

When photographer Kata Varga and I went to the home of Pip Edwards for Frontliners one Sunday at the end of last year, we got to see many sides of the fashion accessory designer's life. While we were chatting and taking photos outside her Paddington terrace a neighbour walked past. "Saw you in today's paper, Pip. Lookin' good!" Pip laughed. She was used to regular inclusion on the social pages. But Pip was very relaxed about it, happy to chat and joke to neighbours about what she was wearing. Her son Justice played outside with a couple of girls from across the street and Pip told us about how she'd gone from a commerce/law degree at Sydney Uni, to a corporate job at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and then into the world of fashion. She is most known for her time at Ksubi and launching her own label Notion of Legacy. Most recently Pip has been working at Sass & Bide, as senior creative and accessories designer. The feature of her home in Paddington is now live on Frontliners.

Which five words best describe you? Very-emotional, hard-working, Passionate, ambitious, high-energy.

How did you get your career start and what path have you taken since? I’ve had a few career changes. It started off in the corporate world doing risk management, and corporate restructuring for PwC. I then took a leap of faith into the fashion industry and have never looked back. From fashion PR, to design to styling and now back to designing. I love it, I love every inch of the industry.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? Stick to your passion. Work hard. Enjoy what you do.

What’s your proudest career achievement? Everything I have ever made I am proud of. I love making things. There has been so many elements to my career, they all build on each other, I am proud of where I am today and I know I deserve to be here.

What’s been your best decision? Coming to Sass & Bide has been an amazing experience. I have learnt more in the last two years than I have in the last 10 it feels like! I finally get to consolidate my experience and skill and passion of fashion in the one job. I love the girls, I love my team, I love what I do.

Who inspires you? My son, especially, my mother for being everything to me (I don’t know how she does it), my father, my beautiful and very talented and creative friends, my own dreams and my amazing boyfriend. They are all inspiring to me.

What are you passionate about? My son and his approach to life – I am passionate to learn from him as much as he learns from me.

Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? Madonna. Sophia Loren.

What dream do you still want to fulfil? I am living one of my dreams. I just want to make more beautiful things. My next dream would be to have a family unit – more children.

What are you reading? Two books: Roald Dahl's short stories in Kiss Kiss, and Maurice Terzini’s Something Italian cookbook – I have just found a passion to want to cook well. I’m most enjoying Maurice's stories.

images courtesy of frontliners and pip edwards