Finding The Perfect Toilet Roll Holder

I want to apologise for my slightly sporadic blog posts over the last week. You all know what a crazy, busy time December is! Dael and I are working long hours getting interior projects finished and our new office/showroom ready for opening early next year. But if you're renovating your bathroom in the near future, I'm sure you'll love today's post. Remember back here when I showed you my newly renovated toilet...



Well for the last four months we've been balancing the roll of toilet paper on the top of the loo behind. That's because I'd rather go without than put the wrong holder up. I wanted something simple, understated, but classy. Sure it's a functional item, but I also wanted it to look amazing, after all it's the little details that can make all the difference. I finally found this gorgeous brass toilet paper holder from Ferm Living.



Although it seemed to be sold out in every single online shop I tried, I was determined to track one down, and eventually bought mine from lefliving.com in Germany. I had to wait several weeks until they were back in stock and then have it shipped to my UK YouShop address (you can read all about how that marvellous service works here and here, I use it all the time!). The wait was totally worth it, I love how simple and elegant it is, and how the brass and wood work with my colour scheme.




When Dael renovated her toilet recently she chose to buy a standard holder (available from most hardware and plumbing shops) and turn it into something special by having it powder coated a fun colour.



I love the idea of powder coating, but I had my heart set on a touch of brass, so spent a lot of time looking into different options. This gorgeous loo roll holder (below) is part of the Simplify project by Group Work Studio in Australia. This was one of my favourites, but unfortunately they hadn't gone into production on their pieces at the time.



I also love onefortythree's tissue roll holder, but the white and brass was sold out, and although I love the aqua, I knew the colour wasn't quite right for my loo (also available in black and mint green).




Another clever idea is this toilet roll holder inspired by sailing equipment. It's part of the Diabolo collection, designed by Yang:Ripol Design Studio for Vandiss.



Last, but not least, the Roll With It (great name!) toilet paper holder by Assembly Design is very cool too - once again, simple by classy. It comes in a range of finishes including walnut and brass which would be my pick.



So those are my picks for toilet roll holders. I love mine, but to be honest I'd be happy with any of these choices. I know they're all from international shops, but if they don't ship to NZ, just set yourself up an account with NZ Post's YouShop, and you can have an address in the US, the UK, and China. I use this service a lot - it's fantastic and it opens up so many more possibilities with your online shopping.

Reinventing a Room

In my home I am often moving things around, creating new vignettes, changing it up. Last week my black and white rug was in the kitchen, now it's at the foot of my bed. Bowls, plants, vases, decorations, cushions - they're always circulating. A change is as good as a holiday, it keeps things fresh and exciting. 

Norwegian blogger, Henrietta Kalbekken, takes it to a whole new level. She is so clever and creative, regularly posting photos of her beautiful, and ever-changing home on her blog, designlykke. Below you'll see six different interpretations of her living room (starting with the most recent), all from this year. She changes the wall colour, the artwork, rugs and decor, and along the way she got a new sofa.








I'm not suggesting you buy lots of new furniture pieces and paint your walls every few months (unless you want to), but try circulating existing pieces around. Have a play and see what works and what doesn't, you can always change it back. I'll leave you with some more inspirational photos from Henrietta's home. You may notice artwork and rugs moving around in these rooms too.









Rooms to Love | Style Inspiration for Every Home

The creative duo consisting of stylist LeeAnn Yare, and photographer Larnie Nicolson have done it again... following the success of their first book New Zealand Interior Style, they've released another beautiful design book called Rooms to Love, due out today.


photo via here

Brimming with tips and tricks and gorgeous New Zealand interiors, the book is broken down into different areas of the house, even those often neglected. It shares decorating ideas catering to every budget proving that you don't have to have a lot of money to create a stunning space.




LeeAnn's advice is to do what you love, don't follow trends, it's your home and it should make you happy. "Don't create a home that's off the pages of a catalog," she says. "When you walk into someone's home you should be able to feel the people that live there. We want to be able to see their story".





This is a must read for all interior junkies out there. I can't wait to get my copy and devour every page and all those incredible photographs.





Reproduced with permission from Rooms to Love by LeeAnn Yare and Larnie Nicolson. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $59.99. Copyright © text by LeeAnn Yare, 2014. Copyright © photographs Larnie Nicolson, 2014.