Hello!
My name is Matt Allison.
I go by many titles with over a decade of experience in the design industry. My work has been featured in various lifestyle publications including Home, House & Leisure, Elle Decoration, VISI, Real Estate, Good Taste & The Sunday Times.
Based in Sydney, Australia my approach to interior styling and design is clean and timeless. I believe in creating spaces that are simple and functional, yet practical enough to deal with the ever-growing demands of daily life.
Thank you for visiting.
Category Archives: Decor & Interiors
VISI’s ‘DIY Deluxe’ Issue
Years ago while holidaying in London I was paging through a decor mag, in it they reviewed a book called “Fast Decor: Creative Ideas for Instant Decorating” by Annemarie Meintjes & Karen Roos.
I called up EVERY bookshop I could to locate a copy and trekked halfway across Londontown to buy one, for an inordinate amount of money I might add. It was breathtaking, it still is. Crafty ideas that allow you to dress up or down a space without spending a fortune, and in some cases, nothing at all.
Imagine my surprise when I found out both authors were South African and the book was published in SA by Struik. I was floored, and truth be told also a little annoyed at having bought a book in London only to bring it back to SA, its birthplace, though I must say the UK edition has a much nicer cover.
Thus began my introduction to both of these wonderful ladies, each with their own stories. Karen now of course owns the amazing Babylostoren and Annemarie has her fingers in hundreds of creative projects, including deputy editing VISI, as she’s done since 2001.
How amazing is that cover! It’s something I’ve always loved about VISI, always progressively pushing the creative envelope on not only a local, but global scale.
This special issue is packed with creative DIY ideas, pulled from the past 12 years of back issues. They’ve graciously allowed me to share a few images from the issue with you below.
All images courtesy of VISI
Dry wall partitioning is banal at best, why not use your old magazines and build up your own internal walls.
All images courtesy of VISI
So you know that new fandangled electronic appliance you bought, wondering what to do with the ubiquitous preformed polystyrene inserts it came with? Why not spray paint them and style your own gallery.
All images courtesy of VISI
Upcycle your old milk bottles into bird friendly feeders.
I, and this blog also get a neat little mention in their “32 Reasons to Always Love Smart Ideas” features, thanks guys!
It’s in stores now, go buy a copy, they even have a digital option for those who prefer paperless mags, though good luck pushing a needle a thread through your iPad.
Mandibles
Mandibles has just opened up in The Woodstock Foundry, in the old Opus Studios space.
I’ve been dying to pop in and had a chance to stop by yesterday. It’s my happy place.
They bill themselves as “A Natural History Collection” and offer a wide range of natural history pieces from simple inexpensive items like porcupine quills through to wildebeest busts, giraffe skulls and an ever growing collection taxidermy birds (please, no Monty Python parrot jokes!).
I know that not everyone appreciates taxidermy like I do or might find it inhumane, but you’ll be happy to know that all their birds, monkeys and small mammals come from zoos and bird parks and have died of natural causes.
The skulls, horns and skull-mounts of the larger ungulates are by-products of South Africa´s sustainable game farming industry, though they do also offer fallow deer sheds, these are horns that naturally fall from the deer as they outgrow them.
I’ve got my eye on a set of mounted antlers and hope to add a taxidermy bird, time and finances permitting, still kick myself for not picking up a barn owl at a thrift sale.
Pop on over to their Facebook page to see more photos and keep a breast of pieces that are added into their inventory.
Find them at 160 Albert Road, The Woodstock Foundry, 8001 Cape Town, Western Cape, open Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm.