I have mixed feelings about Ikea. On the one hand, the stuff there is so simple and functional and attractive, on the other hand, I can think of so many more things I'd rather do with a day than spend it wandering around their rabbit warren showrooms with no sign of escape. Because let's face it, unless you know exactly what you want, Ikea is a day trip. And I don't really like shopping. Or crowds. So we decided to go on a weekday and it was a lot less anxiety-provoking than I had anticipated. We found all the things we were looking for and a few more. The item I'm most happy with wasn't even on our list.
We found this cabinet for our art supplies to put in our lounge room and because it's white it doesn't really stand out or close the room in. But it is a little industrial-looking so I decided it needed some greenery. Very happy with these pretty indoor plants. There's a Chinese Money Tree in the middle flanked by Red Edge Dracaenas. It's not only brightened up this little nook but also the whole room. The artwork, by the way, is a dry point etching, 'Evening Primrose' by Jeff Gardner, which Kim got for me the first Christmas we moved into our house. I love this work but it has looked lonely on this wall by itself for a while and I think the cabinet and plants now bring it out.
In a happy coincidence a book I ordered a while back arrived this week.
(c)Olga Bennett
Environments is full of lush photographs by Olga Bennett of a range of workspaces occupied by mainly Melbourne artists. So in the midst of re-arranging our own environment it was inspiring to linger over images of creative spaces and read about other people's approaches to how they work and how they arrange the space around them.
