Bluethumb Art on Selling Houses Australia
If you’re a fan of home renovation, you might have noticed some Bluethumb art on Selling Houses Australia. Excitingly, we’ve been working with Shaynna Blaze herself to make sure every house on the show is looking its best, complete with original, Australian artworks.
Interiors guru and Bluethumb Art Prize judge Gina Ciancio has written a fantastic summary of the first few episodes of the show over on her award-winning blog Style Curator.
“From light and airy bedrooms to dark and moody dining rooms, Shaynna shows us how artwork can set a tone and make a statement – without dividing buyers. While the current approach in interiors is to reduce colour in favour of a more monochromatic or neutral palette, artwork is a great way to bring spaces to life and avoid them feeling stark or cold,” she observes.
We can’t think of anyone better qualified to appraise an interior design show, so we’ve included some of Gina’s insights below as well as some of our own recaps of later episodes.
The Beach House
This beach house was featured in episode one. It had been ravaged by a cyclone and as a result sustained serious water damage. According to Gina, “Shaynna was tasked with renovating this beach house on a shoestring budget and had to address damage, including mould and mildue-covered walls, as a priority.”
The pop of blue afforded by this piece, Icebergs by Jennifer Whiteley, really elevates the room.
It provides a great reference point from which to choose the rest of the colours!
This piece by Jennifer Whitely provided a great reference point for the rest of the room. As Gina points out, Shaynna “picked up on colours in the artwork to form the colour palette in the bedroom with shades of soft grey and a bold blue velvet feature cushion.”
The English Pub House
Joey Taouk’s piece really completes this industrial, minimal kitchen.
“Take the Joey Taouk artwork out of this dining room,” says Gina, “and you have a rather neutral, and dare we say it boring, space but that’s exactly what Shaynna intended to do in this renovation – simplify the colours and patterns to restore a sense of order and calm throughout the house.”
We think she did a great job, and we’re so proud to see Joey’s artwork truly bringing the space to life!
Erin’s piece, Adoring Look, is fantastic in this teenage room –cute, comforting and stylish!
As Gina puts it, “It’s not just adult spaces that benefit from artwork. In this same house renovation, Shaynna sourced a sweet penguin artwork by Erin Hale on Bluethumb for the teen bedroom.”
Church Renovation
Everybody dreams of living in a beautiful converted church, but sometimes this can be more challenging than one might realise. Under Shaynna’s capable hands however, the result was stunning. In Gina’s words, “This… renovation was an absolute showstopper. The hero for us was that oversized abstract artwork by Kat Las.”
“Shaynna’s challenge in this renovation was to maintain the character of the historic building but bring in a modern element that would appeal to a broader buyer pool.”
This piece, Miracles, by Kat Las, looks amazing against the black feature wall.
“She did this by retaining the original features, including detailed timber work, but added a bold black feature wall where she hung the Kat Las artwork to really make it pop.”
A Heritage-listed Home
This piece by Colin Palethorpe, Rylstone, ties together the organic, Eucalyptus-esque shades of the room and also adds a contemporary touch.
Living in a beautiful, heritage-listed home might sound like a dream, but keeping up with its mortgage and maintenance costs can soon become a nightmare. Shaynna gave the house an overall lighter and more modern feeling with a lick of paint and some fresh new furniture.
On the opposite side of the room, Transition by Lauren Danger complements Rylstone and the rest of the room nicely.
Shaynna’s challenge was to freshen the home and make it more liveable, while also retaining a sense of grandeur and formality. With a subtle sense of eclecticism, she managed to do just that.
Hanging multiple pieces in the same room can be a great way to achieve a sense of continuity! Shown here: Cool and Fluid by Sherry McCourt.
A Home Among the Gumtrees
Sometimes, a house just needs a little paint and rearrangement to live up to its fullest potential. This home in Little Forest had some stunning views that Shaynna wanted to use to their fullest advantage. She remedied the general heaviness of the house by repainting panelling, beams and cabinetry, and made sure all the furniture was oriented to take full advantage of the views.
Dinah Wakefield’s piece Nautilus adds a sense of peace and restoration to the airy home in the treetops.
Sarah Morrow’s piece Under the Sea adds some interest to an otherwise blank hallway.
Head over to the Style Curator to read Gina’s article in full and get her top tips for choosing an artwork for your home, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for Bluethumb pieces in the rest of the Selling Houses series on Lifestyle, every Wednesday at 8.30pm.
All images via Lifestyle.
