If you’re partial to taking voyeuristic adventures through some of the best interiors in the country, you surely know about hugely successful design blog, The Design Files.
Just looking at beautiful things isn’t always enough. Now is your chance to find out what the Design Files would look like if it existed in the real world. In a truly unique tactile experience, from 5 – 8 December The Design Files Creator Lucy Feagins will throw open the doors to Sydney’s first Open House. Open House is boldly taking over a residential property at a (currently secret!) location in Surry Hills with all furniture, art and design objects curated by Lucy for your inspiration. And everything’s on sale!
Lucy explains below:
This is the third year for the Design Files Open House (originally in Melbourne) – how did it start?
The idea first came about in 2011 – I had been toying with the idea of doing a ‘pop-up’ for some time, but it was really difficult to think of something that felt new and original. The idea really came after I asked myself the question ‘If The Design Files were a physical space, what would it look like?’. The answer was a no brainer – it had to be a beautiful Australian home!
You’ve got quite a few supporting businesses and suppliers – how do you find them, or do they find you?
A bit of both. We are always keen to find new and emerging designers no one has heard of yet!
Most of the suppliers are brands or designers we feature on TDF throughout the year, but curating the lineup is always hard. The Design Files is almost 6 years old now, and we’ve built a lot of relationships with some amazing talented people in that time.
How did you select the house?
Finding the right home for Open House is the most important thing – it must be the right space to start with. It needs to be big, it needs to be stylish, but it also needs to be a blank canvas. It requires the trust and open-mindedness of a special homeowner to offer their home as location for Open House. We use location agents to help us source the home and seal the deal, but it’s still a very personal process.
The Sydney home was such a special find – a three-level warehouse conversion in an old carriageworks in Surry Hills.
How does the install work?
Our locations are always real homes which people do actually live in. The homeowners move out for the duration of each event and we pack and store all their belongings, then we reinstate their whole home afterwards, right down to putting every book back where it was on the bookshelf. It is MASSIVE.
So everything is for sale – how does that work?
It’s just like a shop! You literally walk around the house, grab anything you like and pay on your way out. Our staff replenish stock all day. We like the idea that you can literally take a book off the book shelf, a mug from the kitchen, or a bedside lamp (!!) and walk out with it! Larger items like artwork, furniture and rugs are purchased on the day and delivered after the event.
Which Sydney designers are on board?
I’m really excited about bringing the project to Sydney, and have made a point of selecting some amazing Sydney designers. We have ceramics by The Forty Nine Studio, vessels by Dinosaur Designs, artwork by artists Leah Fraser and Julian Meagher, to name just a few! We also recently discovered designer / maker Kenny Yong Soo Son of StudioKyss who makes the most beautiful vessels and decorative accessories from concrete and timber. There are over 70 different artists and designers in total.
thedesignfilesopenhouse.com
5 – 8 December 2013
