MADISON Daybed - Redwood PRESTON Daybed - White wash ASHBY Daybed Shabby Chic Raw Check out the funkiest warehouse in the state. Imagine a space bigger than a footy oval entirely dedicated to furniture and homewares - this beachside store spans an entire block in South Fremantle with entrances on both Marine Terrace and South Terrace. East West Design has a buying team that sources creative pieces from around the world, integrating an eclectic blend of styles. Industrial Range, Rustic Timber, Vintage Leather, Chic French-Provincial, Chinese Antiques and Reproductions (and that's just in the first corner of the store). We probably have the biggest range of Daybeds in Oz... and you ought to see our range of cushions! Interior designers have sourced out our secret... time for YOU to visit and find out what the buzz is about. PS: If your pooch is house trained we're dog friendly hereWhen I moved from Perth to Sydney at the tender age of 17 – wide-eyed, broke and supremely naive – there were several things I never thought about.
Among them was: how difficult it is to actually find an apartment when you’re 17 and work part-time, how hard it is to cook for one and how many random household items you never thought you needed – cue cheese graters, tin openers and mops. One thing I really didn’t think about was how I would furnish an entire house, considering I moved here with precisely $747 in my bank account and was studying full-time. When my flatmate and I finally found an apartment after months of searching we were wiped out after paying bonds, moving fees and a month’s worth of rent upfront. Over the next six months we utilised our minimal pool of furniture funds and became masters of “furnishing on a budget”, realising which items we could live without for the longest, developing creative ways to “make” our own furniture and finding the possible cheapest options when it came to purchasing the essentials. Here, seven lived and learned tips to abide by when furnishing on a uni student budget:
Around the same time we moved into our apartment a friend of mine was moving back to the Gold Coast and needed to sell her 40-inch plasma TV quickly. For some reason we splurged a sizeable amount of our furniture budget on it, which resulted in us literally sitting on the ground to watch TV as we still hadn’t bought a couch/chairs/table. Not a good idea. Write out a list of what items you need and rank them based on importance. Beds, a fridge, tables, chairs and a couch go on top, then you can work your way down. (Tip: A TV should be low on your priorities list, we all just watch Netflix on our MacBooks now, anyway, right?) Buying couches, tables, chairs and the like second-hand is generally a safe bet, but don’t cut corners with certain items. Fridges and washing machines – basically anything electrical that will need replacing within a couple of years – should be bought new. You’ll appreciate the warranty when something goes unexpectedly wrong and you won’t have to live for four years with a second-hand washing machine that literally bounces off the ground and takes three hours no matter which setting you use.
Over the years we nabbed two microwaves, a garden table, a vanity, a couch and a chest of drawers from various verges. Most of the things people throw away are in perfect condition. Inspect them first and if you find something you want, take it straight away. People are masters in the art of verge-side collecting and if you leave something for too long you can guarantee it’ll be nabbed. Consult Pinterest, Tumblr and the like for chic interiors inspiration that doesn’t cost any money. For example, I used a stack of coffee table books and fashion magazines as a makeshift “bedside table”. If you pop a couple of tea light candles on top it looks intentional and makes you come across as more arty than you actually are. I’d also recommend buying $8 clothing racks from K-Mart instead of investing in a wardrobe or chest of drawers. If you colour co-ordinate your clothes and use matching hangers it gives your room a minimalist “storefront” vibe and saves a ton of money.
Anything that wasn’t found on the side of the road in our apartment was courtesy of Gumtree. It’s cheap, reliable, already assembled and most people will deliver for free. Buying the furniture you can afford instead of the furniture you want can mean your home turns into a hotchpotch of different and often clashing colours, materials and textures. We had an electric blue couch (Gumtree) next to a black leather couch (verge collection) next to wooden table and chairs (Ikea) next to our unnecessarily giant TV (a mistake). Not a match made in interior design heaven. Make things look purposefully thrown together by adding personal (cheap) touches: tea light candles, vases of flowers, posters from your favourite movies, cheap throws from op-shops. The extra effort will make your house look more “furnished” than it actually is and it will feel a lot more homely.You’re not a dinosaur but your browser is… using the latest technology. This makes our site faster and easier to use.
Unfortunatley, your browser doesn't support these technologies. Click on this link for instructions and more information from Google.(Image credit: Hayley Kessner) Name: Luke and Sophie Doyle and their dog, Chester Location: Melville, Western Australia Size: 450 square meters (4,843 square feet) Years lived in: 3 years; Sophie is a marketing adviser for an agricultural company by day, but it is her role as Creative Director for her business, Design Horde, that is her true passion. She loves nothing more than sourcing one-off home wares and pieces of furniture and from the '60s and '70s for her clients in Western Australia—although she finds it hard not to use all those beautiful pieces in her own home! Sophie’s house is a gorgeous collection of Mid-century and contemporary furniture and accessories with the perfect dash of quirk thrown into the mix. (Image credit: Hayley Kessner) Sophie and her husband, Luke, bought the house in 2012 when it was just a little two x one.
It was in such bad condition their real estate agent didn’t even want to show it to them! Sophie and Luke could see past the tiny little house, though, and before long embarked on a major renovation that involved gutting the original home and adding on two more bedrooms, an en suite, a living room, and an alfresco area. The result is a beautiful, light, and airy home with huge ceilings and a ton of storage which maintains that homey feel that many new builds sometimes lack. Sophie loves to give new life to old, tired pieces she finds. The brass dining chairs in the dining room had beautiful bones, so their cushions were reupholstered in a cost-effective fabric from IKEA. Speakers that no longer work are now used as bedside tables in the bedroom, and there was even room for repurposing in the bathroom! Sophie had the very modern built-in cabinetry brought back to the style of the home by replacing the builder-grade handles with unique Art Deco ones she pulled off an old dresser she found at the thrift store.
Repurposing and using vintage pieces alongside crisp, clean white walls and fixtures gives this home a real depth and personality that sets it apart from other newly-renovated homes. From the moment you walk through the door, you can see these homeowners know what they're doing, and you'll leave wondering what you can repurpose in your own home. Our Style: A mix of Mid-century modern and industrial. In a nutshell, anything that is hard to find, one-off, or a throwback from the '60s, '70s, or '80s. Inspiration: Architect Richard Neutra—the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs is my absolute dream home. Favorite Element: Our Stovax fireplace—it is in the center of the house so creates a real focal point in the winter. Biggest Challenge: Managing the design changes during our renovation—mostly caused by me finding a new or better idea to incorporate into the design. What Friends Say: “Where did you get that from!?” Biggest Embarrassment: Our house was built for giants.
My husband Luke is 6'7" and I am 6', so everything has been made slightly taller: the door frames, the four-meter ceiling in the lounge, the kitchen benches, the dining table, the couch, the overhead cupboards, and even the showerheads are higher. The ironic thing is many of our closest friends are a lot shorter than we are and they have to use a stool to reach the high shelves in our kitchen! Proudest DIY: My brass swivel dining room chairs. They had been sitting at a vintage store for months collecting dust until my husband Luke and I spotted them. I cleaned them up a little and reupholstered the original cushions. I get so many inquiries to source something similar, I could have sold them 100 times over! Biggest Indulgence: The gold-plated Astra Walker kitchen mixer. I fell in love as soon as I saw it and I knew it had to be in my kitchen. Best Advice: Choose a really good builder—our builder Marko from Buildmark was incredible throughout the entire process, kept us involved in all of the decisions, and was very patient with all of my changes!