Transform Your House into Your Home – Discover the Secrets…

Although I have titled this Blog ‘Brigitte’s House’ I consider my house to be a ‘home’ where family and friends can gather in friendship to enjoy the informal atmosphere and where style and comfort go hand in hand. I relish and am passionate about caring for the needs of others and going beyond what they expect in terms of food and entertaining due to my desire to give to please others.

While I don’t consider what I do to be anything special many people have been asking me to share my secrets regarding how I have designed and decorated the various places I have transformed into a home and also to share many of my closely guarded cooking, decorating and entertaining secrets.

I have decided that it now time to ‘spill the beans’ so in this Blog I am going to invite you into ‘Brigittes House’ to provide a behind the scenes look at what and how I do things. I hope it is of interest and value to you.
The surroundings in which we live can massively impact the way we feel and the dynamics between the family members we live with.

We might build or choose to rent a house, apartment or unit but in reality it is not a ‘home’ until you add your personality stamp reflected in the decoration, food, entertaining etc. The ambience created morphs into feelings, emotions and memories created for all who live there.

The design and decoration of our house can be an outlet for personal expression and a real exercise in self discovery … it can be a very creative journey that releases the passion within.

My Design and Decoration Journey

My journey started over 30 years ago even before I was married as I realised the intense interest I had in decoration of the various places I stayed in as a single person.

After we were married we stayed firstly in a ‘granny flat’ which consisted of two rooms – a verandah turned into a kitchen and a separate bedroom.

From there we graduated to a small unit under a house with only 4 rooms.

Even with these simple beginnings my passion for interior decoration was ignited. Both these places were turned into places where we were comfortable and loved being home with the surroundings created.

It doesn’t have to be expensive – strategic placement of indoor plants, interesting hanging prints which splash colour around the walls along with appropriate and interesting furnture and décor items found in my ‘hunting and gathering’ expeditions – sales at interesting furniture shops, online ‘for sale’ forums, garage sales, closing down sales etc. I am always on the lookout for something unique and exciting at a bargain price.

After moving from Sydney to Hobart we discovered and fell in love with rustic colonial furniture that was prolific in Tasmania. We decided to collect and restore this type of furniture and found that it suited the old ‘Whalers Cottage’ that we rented in Salamanca Place.

I was able to create an old world ambience with English rose gardens outside and our cottage brim full with huon pine and colonial cedar tables and Trafalgar chairs, chiffoneers, drop leaf cedar tables, mahogany bookcases, sideboards, old ansonia clocks etc.

After this adventure into old world rustic colonial décor we built our first home which was perched high above the wide Derwent River Bay with a breathtaking 180 degree water view that had the effect of an infinity pool when you are inside the glass surrounded living areas. The water colour was different according to the weather and time of day.

To enhance and complement the bright and sunny feel of the house I used white leather lounges, white and blue tiles and my favourite shade of French powder blue on the walls. We used a lot of complementary blue shades throughout the house which blended in with the abundant sea and sky views that permeated daily living.

Living there was a daily experience not just a house to live in. It affected you emotionally and certainly influenced moods and gave a feeling of ‘joie de vivre’.

Here we integrated the rustic furniture from our ‘whalers cottage’ with the Mediterranean look and I started developing a more contemporary decorating style which has defined the look of our current ‘Brigittes House’ and has now become my trademark style – ‘French Mediterranean Shabby Chic.’

As you will see from the information on this website my decorating style is different from many formal interior designers. My style comes from various influences (see www.brigitteshouse.com/mystory ) and after careful research I discovered that I am probably classified as ‘French Mediterranean Shabby Chic.’

The point of recounting my journey is that with some passion and interest and armed with some ‘know how’ you can create surroundings that define you and your style. You don’t have to be like me however I may be able to pass on some inspiration that will start you on the journey of developing your own design and interior decoration style.

My aim with the Brigitte’s House brand is to pass on honest advice, inspiration and ideas learned and developed myself about home design, decoration, gourmet food preparation and a healthy lifestyle.

I hope that you enjoy the journey with me…..

Live Your Life Beautifully