Displaying posts from April, 2015

As the colder months close in I’m searching for summer touchstones, memories to store away and take out now and again to keep the promise of warmer days to come. I think I’ll be scrolling through these images over and over. Bright sun, amazing views of Sydney, intimate garden. By Peter Fudge Gardens.

“We are as a practise interested in the trade-off between convenience and delight. We believe that the more the building demands that you engage with nature and basic daily rituals the more delightful the experience will be.” – Herbst Architects.

I am delighted, entranced, challenged and content. Two pavilions perch on a ridge overlooking a small beach. Indoors and out meet and mix blurring boundaries, extending views, enhancing the get away from it all holiday vibe. The New Zealanders truly know how to design a family holiday home.

I found this really cool apartment in Russia on The Village and had to share. The owners – I think they’re interior designers from what the translation came up with – decorated this almost to perfection (I have issues with the curtains but I can let that go). Filled with antiques and thrift store finds, the somewhat Parisian decor works so well against the brick walls and herringbone parquet floors. The sleeping lost is a little gem, and I adore the huge art wall and bistro vibe in the kitchen. This would be a fun airbnb.

More outdoor inspiration from those lucky Australians who get to enjoy the outdoors year round. Sometimes it makes me want to hate Jo. 😉
Via Homelife (photos: Michael Wee, Lisa Cohen, Prue Ruscoe, Mark Roper, Sharyn Cairns, Lucas Allen)

I have landscaping on the brain because the snow has all melted here in Ottawa and I am left with the most embarrassing front lawn in my entire neighbourhood. For whatever reason, in the 75 years since this house was built, no one bothered to landscape aside from sticking 2 evergreen bushes asymmetrically on either side of the front walkway (you can see what I mean here). And I live on a busy street so please Ottawans, don’t judge me. I had nothing to do with it. And as soon as I can afford it, some serious landscaping is going to happen. When we were sent these photos, my embarrassment went into overtime. This is one of the most beautiful garden designs I have ever seen. It is the creation of landscape designer Nathan Burkett for this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Titled ‘Equilibrium’, Nathan’s garden signals a return to soft, usable spaces where greenery is used in place of traditional ‘hard’ landscaping elements to create structure and symmetry in nature. Some of the garden’s key features include a cantilevered arbor which wraps around the perimeter to create an architectural ‘frame’ in which the rest of the garden sits. The seating area is paved with intricate stone work which continues along the garden’s base, interspersed with soft lawn areas and a pond which is subtly tiled with Italian glass. The living pergolas (mature deciduous Plane Trees), which stand approximately 3m tall and have been grown over a five year period, represent a return to nature as an architectural centerpiece, using organic material to create the built form. ‘The garden is soft with movement and organic elements, while still recreating my signature aesthetic of symmetry and clean, crisp lines.’ I am SO inspired by this stunning design. Kudos to Nathan for knocking another one out of the park.