SHOP VISITS : SAFARI LIVING

The view as you enter into the store. Immediately you are visually drawn to the explosion of patterns and colour coming from the Missoni corner, which I loved. You had the coloured patterns near the bottom and the neutrals at the top. There's definitely something for everyones home to be found here 

The zig zags, the stripes, the colours!

I've always known about Missoni but never really had that much affinity with the brand until recently. Ever since my interest for decorating and homewares have steadily grown, my eye for brands that do colour and pattern well has lead me to Missoni and their signature zig zag fiesta. Missoni OWN patterns ( which needless to say, applies to the Missoni Homewares range too ). When I found out about Safari Living and their huge collection of Missoni Home, I had to visit. I wasn't disappointed with their range and on top of that, their other stock was just as stunning too. The entire shop was a joy to photograph and very much lived up to the 'Safari' in its namesake. 

Spoilt for choice. What will it be? Towels, cushion covers, throws?

The whole store was visually merchandised very, very well. A really cohesive choice of items were stocked 

So many good things for the home. Coming here makes you want to deck out your entire house in neutrals so you can dress it up with all the homewares that they have! 

Safari Living totally captures the beauty and pattern that is associated with tribal and African inspired designs. In their about page, it mentions that sharing unique finds from across the globe is a key point which went into making Safari Living the store it is today. You all know my love of browsing markets but browsing markets overseas is just a whole new level of excitement.

There is something special about having things from overseas in your home. The more exotic, the better. Maybe it's just me imbuing significance but things that are bought overseas seem to always be better somehow. They use different materials, maybe the designs are just nothing you'd find back home, they have things which you can only get there... it's bringing part of that trip back for life.

The best kinds of overseas shopping experiences for me are ones where I'm interacting with products that are un-mistakably OF that particular place. The items have to be things which take on a new level of personality that can't be found back at home. That's why you travel, to see and be a part of a whole new world. 

Last year, I featured these jars on my Christmas wish list here. It was cool to be able to see them in real life. It really is just as beautiful as it is on the screen as it is in reality. Love the beautiful scale-like pattern and colours. 

Terrific Shelf game right here. They manage to balance out the colour and patterns with just the right amount of muted tones and colour 

You can definitely say that Missoni claimed the zig zag pattern. It's amazing how a brand can take a pattern so seemingly simple and one dimensional and really claim it as theirs. Zig zags are truly the mark of Missoni's branding and signature which just goes to show that simple really is just the surface. You can check out some of Missoni's clothing here. I'm especially into the cardigans, head wraps and pants. You know you're probably into a label if you like more than three or four of their items which definitely puts Missoni in one of my favourites for me! 

Safari had a rack of textile patterns in their store and I managed to capture some of them here. Sometimes I'll be sitting down to paint and will have a really hard time trying to come up with new ideas. But when i see the sheer amount of variation in colours, dimensions and shapes that was on this rack, it made me feel like I wasn't broadening my scope enough and really tapping into the possibilities out there, creatively. Seeing beautiful colours and patterns put together makes me want to be more thoughtful at it. It feels as if there are no possibilities when you have no ideas but when you do, they really just flood in. 

What are some possibilities with this bit of fabric? Upholstery for an arm chair? A cushion cover? Maybe a table throw? All I know is that if fabric is made well and in a beautiful pattern, people will want to use it for any surface. I'm into the idea of framing certain fabrics too. I remember I did this when I was living by myself before I moved to Japan and it was actually such a good idea because from far away ( and even up close ) they just look like paper prints. The frames elevate the fabric into a worthy for display quality. People won't know where you got the fabric from, all they'll see is a gorgeous piece of textile that's worthy of showing off. 

Pretty crazy about the flowers that are made up of multi-coloured dots right here! So good! Very intricate and detailed

Wish I could've gotten out every single pattern and looked at all of them in detail, there's just so many here 

I love embroidery and feel naturally drawn to their folksy style. I've said before that things which are made by hand are deigned with a natural respect from people who handle them because we all know how painstaking it is to make things with our hands

The colour palette of the entire store was great. It was earthy, metallic but also with bright pinks and blues thrown in here and there 

There are a lot of sales going on right now in many homewares stores I've visited. It's a good time to pick up a bargain if you're needing some extra bits and pieces for yourself 

Really beautiful blue cushion right here. I'm into floral and plant-life prints a lot and this colour combination is really eye-popping

The neutrals corner

Patterns for days 

Enjoying all the soft, muted tones of the kitchenware shelf 

I love the blue and white pattern on the bottom, right hand stack 

Going into stores and seeing how everything is visually merchandised, you sometimes wonder how many different ways they tried displaying things before they settled on the style that they chose. The difficult thing for me about making a home look good and presentable, is the fact that there really are so many ways of displaying and making the home 'yours'. I wouldn't say that some ways are wrong, maybe things could've been done differently but the vast amount of possibilities can make simply beginning a bit of a daunting place. 

When you take into account how dramatically different spaces can feel when you simply move some furniture around, change the colour scheme or even add an ornamental piece, you start to realise that small decisions do make a big impact. It sounds like I'm talking about a life or death situation here 😣  but I suppose for people who take furnishing their homes seriously, it can be a little bit!  

So many lust worthy items ! If you're around chapel street, it's just a five minute tram ride down High street 

These woven light shades are so fun! 

Some close up shots of the Missoni home range. You can tell the amount of work that's gone into them. The colours flow so thoughtfully into each other, the weave is really fine, they really are almost too good to use 

So beautiful! 💛 💛 💛 💛 

Colour pop soap packaging 

Some stunning wallpaper here as the backdrop for these woven baskets 

Next door was a rugs and textiles shop which I really wanted to visit but was strapped for time due to an appointment 

Safari Living is a must visit if you're looking for patterns, colour and good textile furnishings. The selection of items is really impressive and to be honest, I didn't see one thing I wouldn't of loved to have owned. If you're looking for a splurge, I definitely recommend some of their Missoni things. They have the largest stock I've seen in Melbourne. Thank you Safari Living for allowing me to come and share your shop on my blog!

xx

Safari Living
579 High Street,
Prahran
9510 4500 

SHOP VISIT : WILKINS AND KENT, THE PICTURE BOX AND SOME AMAZING ZARA HEELS

Bright and colourful bookshelves are some of my favourite things to take photos of 

The last shop visit for this week is Wilkins and Kent and The Picture box. I think these two shops were terrific to photograph, especially Wilkins and Kent because the homewares, books and knick knacks are so good there. So many different things in different colours and styles. A feast for an eclectic lover like me. 

Shelf game very strong here 

I can't help but think about the crazy months that are ahead for me. Four out of five of my days will be occupied besides Friday which might actually be occupied if I score my second internship with a Copy Writing agency ( fingers crossed for the interview next week ). 

It's just insane how quickly your life changes sometimes and how it can be one way this week and literally the next week it's just completely different. I'm not someone who is 'busy'. I feel like people like to complain that they are busy when it actual fact they're showing off about it. I've never been that kind of person and I think too many people take on too much in order to show off about it. What's wrong with living a life of leisure? 

Despite the fact the purple cat cushion doesn't align with the things I usually would buy, I still kind of like it for some weird reason

Wilkins & Kent is really the perfect pit stop for your homewares needs. There are lots of kitchenware, cook books and just pretty things you want to display in your home 

I like shops that don't skimp out on their display. My favourite types of displays are shelves and tables full of things. I don't like minimal displays, I feel like there's not enough to see 

Now I've done a couple of shop visit entries, it's really apparent that the best shops always have good lighting in place. It really is an essential component for any good looking space. I don't have that blessing of good lighting in my current bedroom which is really such a shame. I think good lighting has the power to change everything and really does brighten up the mood instantly. Colours and forms just look naturally good when you have that natural light flooding in. 

Here's my deal with ceramics and pots : I like them and think they look pretty but I get confused between the point where they are used functionally and the point where they are simply for ornamental purposes. How do you differentiate both and can you use an expensive ceramic functionally? Can you display a cheap ceramic ornamentally? It all kind of sounds silly of me, but this really does make me hesitate to buy ceramics. It's literally because I want to use them but I'm not sure it's right to? Of course you can use an expensive jug as a real jug for your kitchen, but is it right to do that when it's so expensive and probably much better off being looked at? Functional objects which are displayed as ornamental items, get me feeling kind of weird!

Such good colour combinations in this floral and fern print. It's really reminiscent of Gucci's aesthetic and vibe ( which really has transformed and changed in and of itself since two or three years back ) 

I haven't been featuring that many paintings as of late, so I thought I'd fill in the pictures and prints side of things by visiting The Picture Box . The Picture Box is actually a framing store but they had so many stunning prints and things in there that I had to pop in and have a look around. I think Framing is really the height of luxury for any decorating lover. It's not cheap, but it adds such a crispness to either the paintings or the prints you have and I definitely think it's a worthwhile investment if you have a piece that you really love and want to share with visitors to your home. 

💓 💓 💓 💓

You know my obsession with Citrus fruit trees! I love everything about them. I like painting them, seeing them, being near them! It's my dream to have lots of lemon and orange trees in the future. Or maybe just one in my future home as a start! LOL 

Love these explosions of colour, excitement and beauty in this print. I think I'm way more of a maximalist at heart, to tell you the truth - but it doesn't come out in the way I dress 

👏 👏 👏 👏 👏

Everybody's favourite artist is Yayoi Kusama ( or one of their favourites anyway ) Have you ever experienced an artists work and then said to yourself, " God, I wish I thought of that first? ". I feel that every time I see her work. I'm always struggling to have a more 'mature' and 'grown up' aesthetic but I struggle to because it's hard to rebel against the true you. So when I see that Kusama manages to do childlike, colourful and innocent in a complex, deep and mesmerising way. I admire and feel wonderment at her ability and masterfulness. It shows me that the surface is just that and only that. 

Loving all those colourful and printed mugs over there! 

Such an excellent selection of prints. I love that pink, zebra one especially. And the glass is so shiny on all the frames ✌ ✌

The reflection is pretty distracting here but you can still see the globe light bulbs inside which are pretty great. Lighting is definitely one of my favourite parts about decorating and home accessorising. 

Let's finish off this entry with these FAB heels from Zara! I saw these and literally stopped in my tracks to photograph them. You can see how delighted I am from the reflection of me smiling! Pink and red is such a great colour combo, throw in a super cute lips print and these are just perfect and fun additions to anyones shoe closet! The only thing stopping me from being a full blown shop-o-holic is purchasing things for the sake of their prettiness. If I buy something, then it must be used or worn. But these really are special, aren't they?

Got some really cool posts lined up for next week. What are you guys doing this weekend? The weather has cooled down a lot here in Melbourne which is such a relief to me. Hope you guys have a great weekend and see you all next week

xx

Wilkins & Kent
230 Brunswick St, 

Fitzroy, Victoria 

9419 5251

( They have another branch in the CBD, please visit their website for details ) 

The Picture Box
338 Smith St, 
Collingwood, Victoria
9417 6450 
( They have several other branches in other suburbs, please visit their website for details )