AT HOME WITH ANDY AND DEB
from the block

Talk to us about your beautiful home! We’ve loved seeing you transform your interiors! 

Which were your favourite spaces to re-invent and redecorate?

Oh our home is so special to us. It's a space where we can be ourselves, express ourselves while feeling completely comfortable, safe and supported. There is a calming energy to our space and it's also an inspiring space. Someone is usually singing, dancing, painting something, cooking, playing an instrument and there's always laughter. We can get pretty loud sometimes too, we don't have any shy one's here.

Recently I've been changing lots of areas here at home. We've renovated our laundry and redecorated the entrance to our home. The entrance has been bare for a long time so this was exciting to do and well overdue. We added some VJ board to the wall, repainted, added a new rattan sideboard and a beautiful piece of Natalie Jade art that we got from you guys! It's so lovely now. I was out in the middle of our street in the cold at night with the door wide open and the lights on just staring into the entrance admiring it from afar! It's just so beautiful.

Where do you look to for inspiration for your home interiors?

I feel inspired by many things. Recently the tiles and ceiling in Queen Victoria Building Sydney. I've been there so many times and the building and it's incredible details always stop me in my tracks. Nature is always so inspiring too. I've never seen Mother Nature get it wrong. I'm also surrounded by clever creatives. We own a small homewares store, The Shed Luxe and I am very lucky to get to know many of our artists and suppliers well. In store we have new things coming and going constantly. We also attend the trade fairs to unearth interesting products for our store and to see what new designs our suppliers are coming up with. It's really exciting and never feels like work. 

Before I had my children I was employed as a visual merchandiser. I absolutely love to merchandise my store. It's ever-changing and a great creative space.

We recently helped you source and frame some exciting new artworks by Australian artists Bonnie Gray and Natalie Jade. 

What is it about these beautiful artworks that resonated with you?

Oh goodness, they're both such incredible artists who I had admired for some time. Natalie's work is intricate and the palette is earthy yet she still manages to weave colour into the work so beautifully. It was the perfect piece for the entrance to our house. The cashew coloured oak frame subtly picked up the deeper colours in the woven rattan of the cabinet below the artwork and it's these tiny details that I feel make a space look and feel great.

The Bonnie Gray work has a gentle palette of nude and tan, it is subtle yet catches your eye. Behind a non-reflective glass and again framed in Cashew coloured oak it is a stand out piece. I've placed it in my kitchen where the colours pick up on my pendant lights, furniture and styling items.  

Your love of style and design has always been a huge part of your life, how has your personal style developed after being part of The Block 2019?

I have always loved decorating and had some absolutely crazy design ideas when I was very young which my beautiful parents always supported. They encouraged me to explore my creative side and trust myself. Even when it meant at 12 I was painting huge black chevron zig zags all over their walls! Incredible people!

Then came The Block and wow, that had to be one of the best things for me in many ways and it definitely helped me develop my style.It flung me so far out of my comfort zone and showed me that I could do things I thought were impossible. I also met so many incredibly talented and creative people on The Block. From my tradesmen, fellow contestants, Judges, the crew and suppliers like yourselves! It takes a lot of people to make it all work on the show and I was intrigued with how well everyone did their jobs. From the camera, sound crews and producers making sure they are getting all the great angles and interesting things happening across a huge and busy building site. Also suppliers working to incredibly tight deadlines and making sure we got what we needed in time. Tradesman taking on the biggest seemingly impossible tasks and completing them in just days and then the contestants. What a bunch of big hearted, strong and determined people we worked alongside of on our series. 🤍 We were running on very little sleep and were often stressed, yet we just kept going. I count them as family and feel so incredibly grateful to have them in my life forever. It's just so cool.

You and Andy are both such nurturing souls and loving parents. Do you have any advice for our community, currently in the heart of the pandemic, on how to keep your family strong and calm while staying at home?

Thank you, that is very kind. We really have great kids and they are well adjusted young people. Our two eldest have recently both moved out, during a pandemic! It's a very strange time but they have both spread their wings and are doing so well. Working hard and making their own lovely homes. Our two youngest have taken it all in their stride and have handled homeschooling, isolating and all of the other changes really well. I think we try to keep things as normal as possible here at home. We are always open and honest with each other but try not to worry as that will not change anything. We are moment dwellers, trying to be mindful and live in the moment, that way we are moving through what we can handle in the now. Our kids are all extremely strong and smart too and none of them are strangers to challenging times. They are good people and we are so proud of them all. I think my advice is to try and keep a routine, even if it's a new routine and laugh often.

We love helping our customers source the perfect artwork and framing for their home or creative space. If we can assist you with art curation or framed art, browse our selection in our Melbourne picture framing and decorating boutiques or shop online, or email online@framingtoat.com.au to get in touch!