This week’s post is a little different to my usual - but bear with me, because, in the spirit of my last blog post, I wanted to share something beautiful with you.

Could it be a match made in heaven? Lore Furniture is the sustainably focussed collection of homewares and interior treatments brought to you by interior designer, Catherine Byrne. Catherine’s attention to detail draws you into spaces filled with soft, subtle colours, accented with tactile textures.

Lore furniture pieces are made in New Zealand from 100% New Zealand timber and provided with a lifetime guarantee on frames. What?! In this day and age of fast fashion and disposable appliances? Breath of fresh air!

Curtains and blinds are NZ made with quality, recycled or natural fibre materials. Her team will also cover your existing furniture with your choice from her exquisite range of upholstery fabrics - sumptuous velvet, hardwearing yet stylishly textural blended fibre or 100% Italian Linen. A woman after my own heart (I re-covered my own couch 4 years ago and shared my experience in my blog! - still looks awesome, too!)

“Keeping in mind our commitment to sustainability and caring for the environment every aspect of our range has been carefully considered to create stunning pieces that put our planet and humanity first.”

Yes!

I have teamed up with Lore Furniture to bring you a collection of artworks, created using sustainable New Zealand Merino wool and presented in beautiful quality New Zealand made frames and designed to reflect Lore’s ethos. This week, I have had the best time browsing through the Lore range and creating “virtual rooms” for each of the artworks that are featured there.

I’d love to know what you think of my choices…

I started by choosing a paint colour for each room from Catherine’s collaboration with New Zealand made Aalto Paints. These paints are fascinating - colours are multi-pigmented, using up to 10 colorants to create a single colour, allowing for the full interplay of light and pigment within the colour. As the light changes throughout the day, so will your Aalto colour, apparently. The artist in me HAS to experience this!

For my virtual rooms, I have selected two of Aalto’s stronger colours, the deliciously caramel coloured “Uku” and sumptuous “Mentor” and then two much softer shades from the palette; 1/4 strength “Effect” and “Salt”.

As an aside, I also need to have a room in my house painted in “Cloak” - I’m adding that here as a note to my future self!

1. Lore Linen Curtains in “Misty” - 2. Lore Emerson Rug in “Feather” - 3. Aalto Paints, in collaboration with Lore, “Uku” - 4. Original Fibre Art “Echoes 3” by Caroline Burton

The Emerson Rug is a super textural wool and viscose blend and comes in 3 soft colours - this one, “Feather” is my favourite - the Mum in me would have to choose the very practical “Pigment”, however! Does anyone know - is that woven or knitted? (I once knitted a cowl in a stitch that looked quite similar). Either way it’s gorgeous.

1. Lore Slow Reupholstery range, Italian Linen/Cotton in “Blush” - 2. Lore hemp curtains in “Cement” - 3. Aalto Paints, in collaboration with Lore, “Mentor” - 4. Original Fibre Art “Echoes 4” by Caroline Burton

I needed to give a special mention to the Italian Linen upholstery fabric in Lore’s Slow Concept range. What do you think of the buttery soft “Blush” colour to cover the virtual sofa that is going in the virtual room with with “Echoes 4”? This room will need to have a big vase of roses on a table at all times.

1. Lore cushion in “Velvet Sky” - 2. Boracay wall covering from Lore in “Ocean” - 3. Aalto Paints, in collaboration with Lore, “Effect 1/4” - 4. Original Fibre Art “A Time and a Place” by Caroline Burton

Ocean meets sky around “A Time and a Place” - I was particularly drawn to the Boracay wall treatments by Arte - dyed banana leaves and water hyacinth for your wall!

1. Boracay wall covering from Lore in “Pacific” - 2. Lore Furniture covered in “Moss” velvet - 3. Aalto Paints, in collaboration with Lore, “Salt” - 4. Original Fibre Art “When You Know Where to Look” by Caroline Burton

You can find out more about each of these artworks at Lore’s Art collection - while you’re there, why not take a little time to have a virtual browse and see what else you’d like to choose in RL? After my foray into Interior Design, I’m off to make some more art!