26 Sep DECORATION INDULGENCE
“In colour psychology white is the colour of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the beginning of a creative process. While white isn’t stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive”- The Whiteroom Interiors
One lovely Saturday in August I had the pleasure of joining the Decoration Indulgence Tour run by Alex and Rohan from The Whiteroom Interiors. Decoration Indulgence is a boutique interior shopping tour of Melbourne’s renowned suburbs including Kensington, Brunswick and surrounds, exploring homewares and furniture stores. Alex has lived and practiced interior decorating and visual merchandising in Melbourne for the past 9 years. It’s fair to say she knows what she is talking about and with a friendly down to earth attitude she is on hand for all your styling needs throughout the day. Rohan, who is your lovely host and chauffer for the day, has a passion for interior decorating and styling and has renovating experience. Needless to say if you have a styling question you’ll find the answer here!
With all day free parking details provided I left the hassle of driving behind as we boarded the comfy chauffeur driven mini bus and began our all day fun filled shopping journey. Goodie bags were handed out while Alex explained what exciting stores and discounts lay ahead of us. At each store along the way we had the chance to meet the store owners and get an insight into what they offer and specialise in. Stores and styles can change with the seasons so new on trend stock is always available. Meeting Sophie, the store owner of Feathered Arbour was a real highlight. When she gave her presentation you could see that she was speaking and living her passion for interiors, “We want to enable our customers to shape their interiors story, combining fashion and trends with things we love, things that will make you smile and things that will tell a story”. This store will inspire you with beautiful treasures from local, Melbourne, and Australian designers combined with inspirational, handmade and ethical finds from global sources.
After all this shopping and interiors drooling we stop for lunch to re- fuel, relax and get ready for more shopping ahead. This is where the foodie and coffee lover in me says “Yay”. The cost of your delicious café lunch is included in the cost of the tour. Choosing ahead of time from the pre- set menu I went for the Organic Quinoa Salad with cherry tomatoes, preserved lemon, pomegranate, slivered almonds, coriander, red onion, chermoula and crumbled feta. Dietary requirements are catered for just let them know in advance! The lunch location was Lux Foundry, located in a unique heritage listed building away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney Road. It’s a great spot to sit back and relax and enjoy my coffee by Proud Mary.
After lunch we continued on with a couple more stores to visit. At this stage I was thinking how great it was that I didn’t have to worry about finding a car park or carrying all my shopping around! Reflecting back on the day I thought how nice it was to meet new people and make new friends over our love for shopping and interiors. This type of tour is not only a great way to discover all that Melbourne has to offer in terms of homewares and furniture but would also make a great day out with your friends and family. My sister came on this tour with me and we loved it so much we have booked in for the South Side Lux tour coming up! Keep your eye out on Instagram for posts on my adventures or even better why not take the tour yourself? Head to www.thewhiteroominteriors.com.au to book your tour.
My Tips for the day:
I highly recommend you bring some pictures with you of an area in your home that you need to style and think of some ‘must have’ items you just want to have. With discounts at each store this is a great opportunity to buy! I had 3 things in mind before I started the tour. I was looking for something marble, something copper and something concrete. Guess what? I managed to get all 3 of these and at a discount!
Please note: Store and café locations are subject to change. Store locations are kept under wraps as a surprise for all tour guests!
