How to ‘ground’ your space

Written by

03 October 2018

 • 

2 min read

banner
When Lorraine Allen unpacked her first shipment of furniture and accessories from Mexico for her company L.A. Imports Ltd, she immediately felt the softness of all the handmade goods...

When Lorraine Allen unpacked her first shipment of furniture and accessories from Mexico for her company L.A. Imports Ltd, she immediately felt the softness of all the handmade goods. Everything had an aura around it – “It was the energy that the craftsmen had left with the product,” says Lorraine.

‘Grounding’ an interior space, is always easier when the pieces within it have had love, care and energy put into them, says Lorraine, and that’s something machine made pieces don’t have.

For this reason L.A. Imports specialises in those special handmade artisan pieces including doors, lighting, furniture and accessories that can give your space an organic element. The products are made of natural materials – solid wood, hand-forged iron, hand-blown glass, leather, terracotta and art – primarily from artisans in Mexico.

Bringing materials found in nature into an interior immediately makes a connection between the inside space and the outdoors, grounding and connecting the space with the earth. “The earth has an energy and handmade products carry that energy,” says Lorraine.

At L.A. Imports this experience begins at the front door. These are hand-crafted from solid wood and can be made to specification.

“They immediately reflect the outside and they have a real softness about them because of all the handwork,” says Lorraine. “You can sense how heavy they are.”

Once inside the showroom, you are immediately amazed by the quality and depth of the product. All ranges can be designed into and made to your specifications – the lighting is a case in point. Although made overseas, all lighting is wired and certified in New Zealand.

Lorraine has a relationship with two Mexican artists Hector Montero and Andrea Guiterrez, and Sarah Barnett from New Zealand who supply her with stunning original artworks.

“A piece of art can bring all the elements of your design together, to unify the whole,” says Lorraine. “We like using big artworks – they easily tie the space together to give it character and balance.”

Lorraine says every interior is built up of texture, form and light; thinking about the feeling your space will give you is key to ‘grounding’ it.

 “What we believe is, by using handmade products, an organic-ness reflecting the outside world is bought inside. You pick it up on a level of feeling – it’s about how you feel when you walk into a room that grounds you.”