THE DESIGN FILES’ OPEN HOUSE

Lucy Feagins, the design guru and brain behind The Design Files, took Couturing on a walk through their beautifully fitted out Windsor home. The Design Files filled the space with colourful goods, furniture and homewares from brands and creatives they admire and feature frequently online.

“It’s supposed to feel like walking into a real life version of the blog,” said Lucy who is the head creative for the website and organiser of the event.

The Design Files receive more than a million page impressions annually and tag themselves as ‘Australia’s most popular design blog’. It is no surprise that during their four day public inspection the team saw around 5,000 people float through.

It has taken a lot of prep, with Lucy and her team having been planning for 6 months, and only gaining access to the house to assemble last Thursday. Before opening to the public from Thursday to Sunday they hung paintings, vintage posters and paper chandeliers crafted by local artists.

“The main idea has been to have Australian designers and artists. That’s the main focus of the website too,” Lucy summarized.

Their ambition to help local artists and support Melbourne’s creative network is truly inspiring. As she talked me through the main wall of artworks Lucy clapped her hands together, smiled and said with elation for the artists, “all these red dots, everything’s sold!”.

The artwork behind and next to Lucy’s head is a collection of incredible pieces by Miranda Skoczek in neon frames made by her partner . My favourite is the collage beside her hip by local graphic designer, Beci Orpin who we saw and loved this year at Semi-Permanent.

READ MORE ABOUT SEMI-PERMANENT HERE

The large twisted piece of pastel colour is the work of Kirra Jamison and Lucy’s favourite (I made her pick).

“Most of what we feature online is designed for the home so it made sense to me to put it into context and have it in a house,” says Lucy

Following the success of last year’s in Fitzroy interior, this year the team chose  the interior of a modern, open plan Windsor home to saturate with their style. The house featured a mixture of exclusive and commercially available pieces from 65 different creatives. It was incredibly refreshing to see an interpretation of the modern interior which avoids being monochrome and minimalist.

The kids room was a burst of colour, texture and innovative design. Ottomans by Jardan made from Marimekko fabrics were piled in the corner next to a nook single bed by the same designer.

Accents like a bright yellow lamp by Workroom, jelly-fish like hanging mobiles by Emily Green, paintings by Sandra Eterovic, ornaments by Swiden and other playful tidbits brightened up the space. Helping the public envision a kids’ room which embraced the creativity and fun that kids are often forced to repress in contemporary, monochrome rooms.

The house flowed beautifully with consistant details, patterns and colour schemes. Marikekko tableware flowed into the courtyard where decorations by Marsha Golemac using Marimekko fabrics floated above in the breeze.

The outdoor area was also occupied by the handsome young lads from Market Lane Coffee and their pop up coffee station. The plywood bench was painted in tiles by Bonnie and Neil.

Inside and out, the Design Files’ Open House exhibited and celebrated the great creative talent on offer. Lucy Feagins wanted the space to become ‘the ultimate Australian home’ and that was achieved through every little detail. The Design Files’ love for colourful and playful design, celebration of homegrown talent and accurate eye came to life.

Watch their  event website or blog for updates on the designers and for next year’s open house if you missed out this weekend.