We step inside Ali Whittle's fun and contemporary home to see how she's styled her picks from our Blake range.
Our Blake Rattan Boucle Dining Chairs look right at home in Ali's dining room, a setup that's now complete and ready for many fun and stylish dinner parties! The matching Blake Rattan Boucle Armchair looks just as perfect being used in her office space, showing how armchairs can be used as a comfy (and cute!) alternative to more traditional office chairs.
We also can't get over how luxe our Blake Velvet Bar Stools look in her kitchen space, with the black velvet perfectly contrasting against the green panelling.
Keep reading as we chat to Ali about her interior style and why she chose the Blake range to feature in her home...
Image: @aliwhittle_
How do you describe your interior style?
I’m not sure, I’m still working it out! But I gravitate towards unique, well-made pieces that make me feel something. I’m not afraid of colour. I do love classic pieces/style and try to have a classic sort of feel throughout the home as I don’t want to just buy, only to sell or get rid of it in a short amount of time but I also love statement pieces – that either hold special memories or evoke a special feeling from within. I spend a lot of time trying to work out what I’m drawn to and I’ll love for a long time. I don’t want to just buy trendy pieces that I’ll hate in a few months. In saying that, I still want fun, special pieces to look at, that are eye-catching - especially in the living and dining room – so it’s something I’m always weighing up and trying to predict. And obviously Angus and I have to agree (mostly) on what we buy! But he’s got great taste and probably balances me out on the practical side a bit too.
Image: @aliwhittle_
What drew you to the Blake range and what do you love about it?
I love the classic style and the incredible quality. The pieces we have won’t date and will be loved for years to come. My armchair was the first Blake piece that caught my eye and then everything else kind of fell into place from that. I wasn’t even looking at a chair for my office area but I couldn’t go past it. I don’t love traditional desk chairs so when I saw this one it was an immediate yes.
Out of your Blake pieces, what is your favourite and why?
I’d say initially it was my armchair but now that we have our dining chairs – I think they take the cake. Looking at them in the space everyday makes me so happy. Previously, we lived in an apartment in Bondi that was too small to fit a dining table, let alone dining chairs so having a proper dining area with a table and gorgeous chairs brings me joy every single day! And these chairs will be enjoyed by not only me and my husband (and our cats) but our friends and family too. They are super comfortable and will be apart of really important moments and occasions in our life to come!
Image: @aliwhittle_
You have such a stunning home! How do you go about styling your spaces and picking out furniture?
We moved into our new home in late July. We’d been looking to buy for 10 months or so – and we’d held off from buying any furniture/homewares as we wanted to be able to move in and feel the place out first. But over that time I’d obviously been thinking and planning and I had a few ideas of what I wanted. Once we found our place and during the settlement process, I made moodboards with my husband, Angus, and saved a bunch of cute stuff on Pinterest and Instagram and followed a million different interiors accounts. Angus is an Architect and so with his fantastic skills and eye, he would spatially plan out the furniture we were keen on so we could visualise it in the space and also make sure it would fit with ease. This is not my strong suit - I just want things that are pretty - so without this very important step, who knows how things would have turned out.
It’s been three months since we moved in and over that time we’ve been slowly buying pieces (most from Life Interiors!) and it really feels like our home is coming together. It’s been a bit more tricky given we moved in during lockdown so we weren’t able to see things in person and test them out but I’m really happy with our choices so far. It’s working out well!
If you could choose 6 more products from our entire collection, what would they be?
Blake Rattan Boucle Dining Chair, Bridgette Floor Lamp, Cosmos Dining Table, Monet Ottoman, Artemis Mirror, Loft Rug, Granada Vase
