Home tour- Kerrie Hess's chic Paris apartment!

Today, I am featuring the home of the talented Kerrie Hess, a leading fashion illustrator from Melbourne. Some of you might remember her during the giveaway I hosted last month with her new style book named 'Shoestring Chic'. In 'Shoestring Chic', Kerrie provides 101 tips on living the luxe life without spending a fortune, available here.



In addition to being a great illustrator and an author, she is also passionate about decorating and has a great eye for interior design as well. In March this year, she moved to Paris with her French husband, Seb and her two-year-old son, Marcel and I was excited when I learnt that her home was featured in a magazine. I later found out it was Madison, an Australian magazine so I took the opportunity to ask Kerrie to share her lovely home with us. Wouldn't you be curious to see what a creative illustrator's home look like? Here it is:

Photo credits: Carla Coulson

Kerrie did a fabulous job decorating her beautiful Paris apartment and I was even more impressed when she told me everything she did was on a shoestring budget; not a single designer piece was used in her home. Naturally, I was curious so I asked her for some tips on how to achieve a beautiful and cohesive design in a home without spending a lot. Here are her 5 tips:

Five tips on decorating on a shoestring......

1) In doubt stick with neutral tones. Unless you have a strong vision of your decorating theme and style, sticking to neutral tones for the more expensive items is usually the best way to recession proof them.  (Especially your main sofa, dining table etc.)  There is nothing worse than realizing that you wish your very expensive sofa wasn't bright red just a year after you bought it. Soft furnishings are much less expensive to update if you change your mind about them.

2) Do a twice yearly clear out. Often it's too many things in a space that can make it feel chaotic. A full clear out of anything you don't either love or need is a great start before buying anything new for your home.

3) Make friends with spray paint. I once found an amazing old vanity in a charity store (which now sits behind our dining table.)  It was originally grey, but I felt that I could bring it to life with a little black spray paint. It cost $25 and it's one of my favorite things in our home. 

4) A few pops of metallic tones can add in a little bit of glamour to your home through vases, frames or pendants. The small vintage table lamp in our lounge room was originally gold with a frilly pink shade; also found in a charity store. I sprayed the base silver and changed the shade to one that was simple and modern to balance out the base. Even if your metallic items aren't expensive, just the light they will bounce around the room seems to just add a sense of luxury to any space.

5) Don't be a chain store snob!  I have found lovely white ornate frames from Target, a wardrobe for our son's room from Ikea and our chandeliers are from French Chain store 'Maisons du Monde'  which is a little like a French version of Pottery Barn. (Just like clothes, I always stick to neutral shades like white or grey with anything from a chain store.) 

Enjoy! There is absolutely no reason that your home cannot look incredibly chic, even if you have to decorate it on a shoestring...!

Thank you Kerrie for all your incredible tips on decorating on a shoestring budget! It has been great working with you on this special feature! My lovely readers, I hope you enjoy Kerrie's home tour and find her tips helpful!

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Write by: AN - Tuesday, October 11, 2011