Shaynna Blaze Interview

Shaynna Blaze Interview

Nationally acclaimed Interior Designer, Artist and Renovation Expert Shaynna Blaze is the newly featured co-host and Interior Design expert on leading Foxtel Lifestyle program Selling Houses Australia - the Australian version of the highly successful British Selling Houses which ran for six seasons.

Alongside Andrew Winter (who hosted both the European and British series) and Charlie Albone (Landscape Gardener), the program has built impressive ratings.

Series 1 reached audiences of over 300,000 weekly - achieving higher ratings than the highly touted Make Me a Supermodel and all other Foxtel Lifestyle programs.

Shaynna Blaze starting as an interior designer over 20 years ago, she travelled the country designing retail showrooms. Now armed with vast life experience, passion for design and solving design issues, Shaynna transforms commercial, private and retail premises from the most modest of budgets to multi-million dollar projects.

Her unique talent of effectively interpreting client requirements and assisting clients clarify their vision has kept her in constant demand since she established her design studio blankcanvas Interiors in 2003. Her design studio specialises in small to full-scale design, decorating projects and commissioned artwork to deliver seamless results for corporate and private clients.

Shaynna provides personal consultations for home and businesses, supporting selection of design layout and function, colours, lighting, fabrics, surfaces, furnishings and decorating accessories.

Her speaking engagements across the public, private and corporate sectors focus on design and interiors, whilst she continues to expand her design business and clients. Shaynna is in constant demand and has featured nationally and internationally in leading design magazines, books and newspapers.

With a unique talent for interpreting her clients' needs, Shaynna draws inspiration from her hometown Melbourne with its four seasons in one day, diverse culture, world class restaurants and yearly calendar of art and music and design festivals. A highlight has been her inclusion in the book 1000 Global Interiors. Shaynna is all about design and expression. Her expertise has been a journey built over the decades with influences taken from the landscape, architecture and the arts, but most of all from the people she comes in contact with every day.

Selling Houses Australia - Series 3 screens Wednesdays at 8.30pm from March 31th 2010 on The LifeStyle Channel.

Interview with Shaynna Blaze

How can you give your house a quick renovation to make it more appealing to you?

Shaynna Blaze : First of all you can clean or change the surfaces of your house, the walls, curtains and carpet. If you can't change your carpet you can polish your floorboards, under the carpet, you can hire a sander just for a day! Another tip, if you cannot change your carpet is to purchase rugs, large rugs hide stains. Maybe, if you can't afford new furniture look at feature pieces, choose a couple of feature pieces and make them the focus of the room, make them stand out.


What is a cheap way to renovate your house?

Shaynna Blaze : Look at your budget, think cheap, with a budget it is easy to go over. If you are renovating to sell look at your cleaning, painting and general maintenance of the house. If you are going to renovate, shopping around is the best way. Do as much as you can yourself, but if you are not skilled it will show in the finished product, know you limits and do check what you can legally do yourself.


What is your favourite house on series two?

Shaynna Blaze : A Melbourne house in Glen Iris, the property was different, it was a Californian bungalow that was owned by a Bachelor. We renovated it with old-style furniture, which was a good change because we normally do modern renovations. It was good to focus on a period, as we normally tend to focus on modernising a 30 or 40 year old house and bringing it up to scratch to beat the competition.


What can we expect from series three of Selling Houses?

Shaynna Blaze : There is a lot more time spent on the makeover of the houses and lots of extra tips to the viewers of what we do to achieve the look. Series Three shows that no matter how buoyant the market is, there are people out there still making mistakes. Viewers can learn from their mistakes when they are purchasing or selling a home.


How can young people make an older home more modern?

Shaynna Blaze : I think it is important to highlight the features of a period home but use colours in a modern palette that will help give the home a fresh and 'now' look. Mixing contemporary pieces of furniture with features of an older style house is something that takes time to master but the main thing is to not pretend you live in an older style house. Embrace it's features and quirks and this gives the whole place a sense of personality.


What is one item we can purchase to immediately improve a room?

Shaynna Blaze : A floor lamp- it is not only functional but can be a feature. Choose one that makes a statement, either with the detail in the shade or the unusual shape of the stand. Lamps are a purchase you can take to any room of the house, helps create a mood and can be a piece of art. An investment really.


Do you have a website?

Shaynna Blaze : www.blankcanvsint.com and www.shaynnablaze.com are all about interior and works that I have done. I also have a blog www.shaynnablaze.blogspot.com which talks about tips, ideas and you can leave questions on interiors.


What can be done to brighten up a room, especially if we do not want to paint feature walls?

Shaynna Blaze : A dramatic rug will add instant appeal- it can lift a whole room by adding colour, texture and drawing the eyes to that area as soon as you walk into the room.


What colours will be 'big' inregards to houses in 2010?

Shaynna Blaze : Our neutrals are the base of an interior and not the feature. Bright, bold colours are making a statement with pinks, yellows, oranges & blacks. Keep the main part of the room simple (if you don't want to go to bold) and add these bold colours in your pictures, cushions and accessories to create a modern interior with impact.


How can you make a home more homely?

Shaynna Blaze : Homely means so many different meanings, first thing you will have to work out what home means to you. If it means nuturing you will have to look at your textures, look at the materials on your couch, curtains and cushions, the colour needs to provide a warm feeling. If a home means entertaining you need to have an environment that is easy to change and clean, incase you have a last second warning and you have to do a quick clean. Have candels and fresh flowers around, that instantly adds a sense of warmth.


What are your entertaining tips?

Shaynna Blaze : Keep it as simple as possible. Don't go overboard and over decorate, have the focus on the food. Have clean plates and simple decorations that support the food, not overtake it. If you are entertaining and doing the cooking yourself have buffets on rollers, have all the plates and food and glasses on hand so you can stay where the party is.


How can you get your house ready for a sale?

Shaynna Blaze : Make a list. Walk around and look what needs to be done, then rip it up and throw it away. You have probably been in the house for so long that you won't know. Go and look at other houses and the way they are presented, look at your competition. Then make a list, you will have a better idea then. The next step is to work out a budget.


Photographs: Vanessa Hall - Designed Blankcanvas Interiors