Florence Broadhurst Blinds for Your Home (and WIN!)

Would you like Florence Broadhurst patterned blinds in your home? Or would you prefer to design your own pattern and have it printed and custom-made just for you? Whatever your fancy, you can have the most stylish windows going with one of the newer window treatment companies to make waves on the market, Blinds in Print.

When I first came across Blinds in Print I fell in love with the patterns they were offering. Sure, printed blinds are not new. But along with plain colours and textured blinds, Blinds in Print have partnerships with lots of big-name local and international designers (yep, including Florence Broadhurst) that means you can choose from a massive range of incredible designs, patterns and colours. No daggy prints here. You can make a room feel more fun or pretty or romantic or whatever you choose.

Mixing patterns in Little Nerd’s room!

It’s awesome because I think we’re really starting to become more bold with our interior design choices here in Australia. Where once we would have collectively shied away from pattern and colour and always chosen the ‘safe,’ plain, neutral option, I think now we’re starting to have a lot more fun with things like tiles, walls, wallpaper, paint and window treatments and going for things with more personality. I love it.


When Blinds in Print asked if I would do an honest review of one of their blinds and their process, at first I REALLY wanted to take them up on their offer of drawing up my own pattern to have it turned into a blind. I would have normally been ALL over that (a Nala in Print blind sounds good to me! And you can also have a photo printed on a blind, but it was the thought of getting out my paints and paper and playing fabric designer that was very appealing to the old, long-lost art student in me).

Florence Broadhurst.

But when the time-sucking reality of a small baby, a three-year-old, a job and a needy dog kicked in, I accepted my current limitations and asked to see some free samples of the many patterns Blinds in Print have on file instead.

These arrived and were genuinely ALL lovely, and I fell in love hard with the Florence Broadhurst samples in particular. Do you know the work of Florence Broadhurst? I sound like I’m fangirling here but I think to know her work is to love it. One of the best creative brains our country has had (I think).

Florence Broadhurst was the famous Australian wallpaper and textile designer. Born on a rural Queensland farm in 1899, she had this incredible life – she had numerous talents including an amazing singing voice, and she worked in a vaudeville troop in the early 20s, using it to escape the bush and tour Asian and the rest of the world. She became a flapper and danced around the world, became a businesswoman in China, and ‘Madame Pellier’ in London (working as a couturier in London).

Broadhurst basically reinvented herself and her career (giving herself different names, too) numerous times throughout her life until, upon her return to Australia, single and nearly broke, she jumped into a new career as a wallpaper designer in her later years (when most people of her age were thinking about retirement).

She painted the most beautiful, glamorous, colourful and exotic designs inspired by things she had seen on her travels, and people LOVED them. Her factory was famous, and she worked hard and enjoyed a social life as a darling of the Sydney style scene.

Horrifyingly, she was violently murdered at the top of her game (at the age of 78) when closing up shop one day in 1977. Her killer was never found.

Her devastated son Robert sold her huge collection of wooden silk screen boards to a company that let them languish forgotten for two decades until a New Zealand entrepreneur, David Lennie, found them and ‘resurrected’ them.

Now they are as popular and loved as ever. These are just some of her patterns available from the Blinds in Print range.

Her vintage patterns are both classic and timeless while also working in a modern setting. Honestly I could have happily gone with ANY of the Florence Broadhurst patterns in the Blinds in Print range, but in the end I chose a beautiful print called Maple Leaf in the Stone colour, for Little Nerd’s room.

I thought the leaf pattern was pretty and interesting without being overpowering in a small space, and also versatile for a boy or girl’s room (or if we ever wanted to make this bedroom a study or playroom).

The print gives some life and movement without being overwhelming – and an unexpected bonus of a blind was that it made that corner of the room instantly more functional. I know when you have a short window that the current ‘acceptable’ fashion is to hang curtains from as close to the ceiling as you can to get that spill right to the floor.

But the only problem with this is that it takes up a fair bit of room real estate in a small space like this. Now that there is a more streamlined, compact blind here, not only did the small room immediately LOOK bigger but it made the corner more practical – and in a little bedroom like this, every bit of space counts! Little Nerd happily draws there now with plenty of natural light coming in from the window (we did find that the curtain blocked out quite a bit of natural light during the day – you can see what his room looked like when I did his bedroom makeover here).

Because the Blinds in Print blinds are all custom-made here in Australia, you can choose exactly what you want for colours and specs – I asked for a blockout material and an external mount. I would normally recommend an internal window mount (which means fitted into the recess) for maximum sun blockout for a baby’s bedroom or nursery (especially if you get direct sun from an east or west orientation) but as our windows have been fitted with pull-down flyscreen mechanisms this makes an internal mount impossible. Prices for this blind start from $153.

Hubby and I measured up the window ourselves which was easily done using a guide on the website, and they were made (they are 100% Australian-made) and shipped out within two weeks – really efficient. Mr Nerd put it up – it only took about ten minutes. They can help you arrange someone to install them, but one of the things they really wanted to give people was the ability to DIY the blinds install themselves, and you can ring them if you do get stuck – they are a super helpful and friendly team. The materials are lovely and also super quality – everyone has commented on how much nicer Little Nerd’s room looks, but best of all, he genuinely loves it. It makes the room feel bigger and brighter.

WIN! AN AUSTRALIAN-MADE CUSTOM BLIND OF YOUR CHOICE

Thanks to Blinds in Print, I am thrilled to be able to offer a beautiful blind to one House Nerd reader who will receive a $300 gift voucher for a window treatment of their choice and colour!

You can enter in one of three easy ways:

If you’re entering on Instagram:
Follow House Nerd @housenerd and Blinds in Print @blindsinprint and tag a friend for entry. One friend, one entry, five friends, five entries… you get the idea.

If you’re entering on Facebook:
Follow House Nerd @housenerd and Blinds in Print @blindsinprint and tag a friend for entry. One friend, one entry, five friends, five entries.

OR just leave a comment on this blog post with your full name (and don’t forget to include your email address, which stays private).

Winner drawn 04/05/2019 and notified by email. Entry open to residents of Australian only.

Thank you to Blinds in Print for gifting us our beautiful blind. You can check out their range here or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @blindsinprint. Update August 3rd, 2019 – the team at Blinds in Print have also launched an awesome new online business – Acoustic Blinds and Curtains. They have an amazing new range of fabrics specially designed to reduce noise and absorb sound!

Maya-Anderson-House-Nerd

Author: Maya Anderson

When Maya Anderson was thinking of a name for her homes and design blog, nothing seemed more fitting than House Nerd. Obsessed with everything to do with houses, renovating and interior design, Maya is a features journalist by training with a background in print and a focus on homes and real estate. She has been renovating her 1970s house since forever, loves dogs and can eat her body weight in dumplings.

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  • Are comments still a thing, will anyone join me? I love the backstory of these blinds, there must be a movie made about her or at least a tele series. Beautiful, fair priced and quality made, nice find Maya.

  • I love the backstory of these blinds, there must be a movie made about her or at least a tele series. Beautiful, fair priced and quality made, nice find Maya.

  • I have the Florence Broadhurst ” Great Egret” Print tattoo on my upper arm… now that’s dedication to such an inspirational lady and her exquisite designs.

  • I have the Florence Broadhurst “The Great Egret” print tattoo on my upper arm. Now that is dedication to such an inspirational artist and woman.

  • I think this must be fate. I have been eyeballing CloudNine from Blinds In Print. Literally they are in the cart, waiting for me to press ‘buy now’ for my kitchen and dining room. Then, because I am easily distracted, I stumbled across your blog tonight, drawn by your name House Nerd and delighted by your prose. Even if I’m not the winner, I’m glad I found your blog! But please…pick me!

  • How lovely! Now I’ll “have” to subscribe…lucky I just found you and this article. Drawn here by the delights of seventies architecture insights!