The first in the new collection to sell.

This canvas has gone to a designer store in Robe, South Australia called Holiday… what a perfect name!

I was up at 4am this morning… so by 8.30 tons of Kahuna work was done and it was time for beach inspiration.  My poodle and I walked along our beach.. Palm Beach for a good hour.

I never ever get tired of looking at the beach houses. Shacks seems to be my favourite.  They have so much character.  There are some gorgeous little shacks along Palm Beach beside brand new palatial designer homes.

But the shacks have weathered wood, old flags on poles sticking out of the sand and old lawn furniture.

The beach shack is so accepting… it’s like it’s totally OK to be who ever you are.  They are so inviting. So unpretentious… You know you can have so much fun there and nothing will get ruined or broken… if it does it just adds more character to the place.

A new addition to my beach walk is a revamped beach shack thats been painted bright blue and purple!  How crazy and how fun!

On my walk I saw tons of perfect little pieces of driftwood from the last storm.  It’s given me fabulous inspiration for a new artwork for the design show in Melbourne next week… yes I’m still putting the finishing touches on the Kahuna Bay collection.

I’ve collaborated with a Sydney based designer Sacha… which interesting enough we met on Facebook.  Sacha brings in fabulous Hawaiian prints and has them made into amazing bags and wallets with her own designs.  She also has an art collection.

Yesterday  a couple local ladies visited my warehouse to get their hands on some of my factory seconds and sample sales… Yes I have opened up the Kahuna Bay warehouse by appointment only if your on the Gold Coast. Send me an e-mail to arrange this.

The warehouse (located in Miami) is more organised now with shelving so you can see all the products and as well I have a few key pieces of artwork and design inspirations.  I think what’s really cool is you as a consumer can buy my intial designs if they don’t make it to the retail store.  You can also get some amazing bargains in my factory seconds and last season clearance items.  What’s better is you can talk to me about your decorating.  I really love getting one on one time with my customer base.

Check this little island out… its called Vieques.  Its a tiny little dot of sand off Puerto Rico. I found it in the Mens Style website under winter destinations!

This is a perfect inspiration for a new look in your home to cheer up for winter…

The main elements you can use from this pic is:

1. White colour
2. Lemon yellow accents
3. Textured white ceramics vases & objects
4. Palm accents in art/cushions
5. Sisal rugs
6. Cut palm fronds in glass vases

Its easier to decorate by season if you remove all the main accessory objects from the room and put to the side.  Then you have a “fresh canvas” to start from.  Change your cushion covers.  Bring in a new throw, new rug, matching candles, room scent for winter, mix up the art and maybe even warm up your furniture layout to be more cosy!

Don’t throw your other stuff out… just store till next season and bring out a new look.

Happy decorating!

S

You can’t go wrong with blue and white.

All these pieces are from my current collection.

You can buy these online or in around 100 stockist boutiques throughout Australia.

Get inspired even in winter and make your house beautiful!

Happy decorating and I hope you have a great week!

Susie

I hope your having a great Friday!

Here’s some inspiration for you…

What does your outdoor space look like?

One of my stockist’s ripped this out of a magazine months ago and I just fell in love with this look and feel of living immediately.

I could imagine sitting here for hours relaxing and meditating or hanging out with friends sipping coffee.

Yesterday I took some new photos of Gabriella in my silk scarves for the website. I wanted a winter look and it was a perfect yet sunny day.  I took the photos in my tropical garden overlooking the beach.

I saw these lemons hanging down over the side of the deck area and I thought the colour was just so bright and happy.  This is totally the look I love when styling.

She’s such a gorgeous girl!  And a lovely, warm person too…

Silk scarves by Kahuna Bay

This is insane… I think I counted seating for 15!  I LOVE this idea of a giant wooden table outside.

Its so lush with the surrounding white pillars and greenery of the tropical palms.

I would personally put a ton of white pillar candles on my table though and scatter a long row of perfectly white shells and starfish down the entire table and then dot a million tealights on the top… oh and a sprinkling of fresh picked petals…

from a beach house in Mexico

I can imagine sitting here for hours with my friends chatting and drinking margaritas.

There is a lot that I love about this apartment, but my first reaction was it’s nice, but didn’t give me the wow decorating memorable factor I love.

The couch really looks too small under the big window and just looks funny in between the two windows.

Fast improvements in an afternoon:

1. Move the couch away from the window to form an L shape on the left side of the rug.
2. Buy a big artwork with vibrant colours and place on wall where the statue is…
3. Buy a long low table to go under the long window and link the couch to the chair
4. Shift the big rug down to sit flush under the window
5. I’d like to see two virtual spaces created there
6. Too much glass… bring in a chunky coffee table in bigger proportions to the rug
7. Need some bling… Love to see a large vase filled with bits of shells and twigs on the dining table centre
8. An alternate look would be to switch the living area and dining table area… that may work a lot better as well but I can’t see the full space!
9. Strong colour on the couch cushions to match the wall painting art… or stick with the brown theme in the rug and the sculpture.  There are only two pieces of the brown look and really to tie it all in there should be three…

Whats your best decorating tip for creating a beautiful home and saving money at the same time?

One of my hot tips for some new art is to grab a few of your favourite beach art postcards, photocopy them (check copyright of course!) and place in recycled frames painted white!