Displaying posts from July, 2016

I love this home by Madrid-based interior designer Marta de la Rica. It’s whimsical and colourful without going overboard, with lots of patterns (ikat!) in small doses without being too busy. Marta has a knack for designing spaces JUST RIGHT. And how freaking adorable is that pink/purple tufted sofa?!?!

More work my Marta can be found here and here. 

“A forceful feminine approach was counterbalanced through the array of exquisite furniture & soft furnishings used with a striking sense of personality.” 

Hollywood Regency with a high end 80s vibe. A rich mix of pinks and burgundies played against black and grey. Brass and stone and feathers. What else could your glam heart desire? St. Ives Residence by Sydney-based interior design firm Designers in the City.

(A Galah, in case you do not know, is a beautiful grey and pink parrot native to Australia. If you look closely you can see a painting of one hanging beside the fireplace.)

Anyone can throw together a bunch of knick knacks and call it a vignette or shelfie. I personally feel it takes talent to pull it off and not want to change a thing. Like this beautiful armoire styled by interior designer Nora Schneider. 

Last summer my husband decided to build a garden in our backyard. It was not planned out and in the end I was really not happy with the quick and dirty execution of it. Basically it looked like crap. (No offense husband dearest!) This summer I insisted he destroy the existing garden and WE come up with a plan for something much more aesthetically pleasing. We did a quick google image search one day for raised garden beds and came across a photo very quickly that we both loved. It was essentially a big rectangle with an area cut out in the middle to walk around in. Simple yet a great layout. And let me say right off the bat that if you’re thinking of building a garden GO WITH A RAISED GARDEN. Weeding is actually FUN when it’s not back-breaking!

We found a super resource of cedar so we went with unplaned cedar to keep the cost down (in the end it cost about $380, and the garden is about 6′ wide and 18′ long). The wet spot above may or may not be me having just hosed down cat pee. 

We placed it against the side of our garage (that one day in the not so distant future needs replacing). We have grand plans of building a screened in gazebo type shed thingy next to it so we can hang out with the cats and not have to tie them up with leashes/harnesses. 

This garden is fairly large but aside from the gazebo and a larger back porch we don’t really need anything else back here. Note the random ferns. They are all over our property. I had no idea they grow like weeds. Best looking weeds out there I’d say! 

The wood on this side of the garage was rotting so husband found something called plytanium. It’s an outdoor wood with grooves to look like planks. I decided to hell with it, we would leave it unpainted and I don’t care that it doesn’t match the rest of the white garage because at least it blends in with the garden. I thought that would make a prettier, more organic backdrop although the plants have grown so big in the few weeks since they were planted that it doesn’t show much anyway. 

We left some space between the garage and garden in case we need to do any maintenance to the garage and filled in the area with mulch. I could not bring myself to remove the ferns so they can stay until they get too big and then I’ll transplant them. 

The garden was constructed several weeks ago but only this past weekend was the gate finally built to keep out any critters….

…like cats. 🙂 Luckily they have no interest in veggies. 

So this is the space inside the garden that allows us easy access to all sides. Mulched all in there too. Yet another stray fern lives within. 

NO BENDING!!!

We planted a ton of herbs – thyme, sage, dill, oregano, lime basil, red basil, thai basil, lemon basil, lettuce leaf basil (yes, we like basil), cilantro, parsley, rosemary and mint. 

For vegetables we planted ghost peppers, 10 types of tomatoes (WUT?!?! I just found this out when getting husband to list it all off – he’s the one that went to the garden centre), green beans, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, red and green peppers and lettuce. 

We have a ton of work to do on the rest of the property (don’t even get me started on how terrible the front yard is), but I am soooo happy this is finally done, and done right. 

It’s that time again. Time for a sneak peek into the pages of the latest issue of Inside Out magazine out tomorrow. Social and Senior Editor Matilda Duffecy has again generously sent along some pictures to whet our appetite.

Our new August issue hits newsagents and digital outlets on Thursday! This issue explores, among lots of other things, practical ways to live with white. We’re featuring homes that showcase “white with texture”, “white with timber”, “white with vintage charm” and “white with bright”.  Our cover home represents a huge renovation in Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Here is a detail of the dining area. As you can see it’s a beautiful ode to pared-back style. Styling by Claire Delmar. Photography by Prue Ruscoe.

Our best buys features this month pull together seriously stylish teacups and pendant lights. Small details to bigger finishing touches. Styling by Alicia Sciberras. Photography by Sam McAdam-Cooper.

I love the kid’s room this month. It’s for a base camp for a girl scout set for adventure who loves the great outdoors. Our style editor Jessica Hanson has created a lovely scene with beautiful timber tones and hints of pastel. Phu Tang photographed this feature.

We’ve included quiz-style features before and this month we’re covering off “which way you do white”. Not only has Vanessa Colyer Tay styled a beautiful feature celebrating “white with a colour pop”, “white with texture”, “white on white” and “black and white”, but writer Ceri David has whipped up some hilarious words exploring the intricacies of each trend. We’ll even have a fun online quiz at insideout.com.au once the issue goes on sale. Here is the image for “black and white”. Photographed by Sam McAdam-Cooper.

And just to spice things up, I’ve included a shot from this month’s entertaining feature. You can see the important accompaniments to our modern Mexican fiesta – Tomato, capsicum & chilli salsa, Avocado salsa and the all-important refreshing beverage, a Michelada. Delish! Styling by Alicia Sciberras. Food styling by Kristen Wilson. Photography by Sam McAdam-Cooper.

 Love that Bondi Beach home! Can’t wait to see more when my digital copy of Inside Out drops tomorrow. Don’t fret if you aren’t in Australia. You can read along on  Zinio, Google Play, the Apple Newsstand and Nook.