I just had to share another amazing renovation by Bates Masi Architects. This ’60s house in Amagansett, NY is the weekend retreat of an interior designer and a DJ. Patina and history retained, a couple’s style allowed to shine through. Take a look up at the ceilings. Between the existing ceiling joists. Woven natural rope. Acoustic baffling, important to the DJ owner but also a wonderfulyl textural and a connection to vertical design elements and fittings. Such a cool weekender. I’d never want to leave to return to the city. Interiors by Rawlins Calderone Design.

A beautiful home on the banks of a wetlands pond in Southampton, New York. A perfect house for a perfect site. This ’70s kit house has been renovated by Bates Masi Architects, sympathetically respecting the original home but addressing sustainability, latest technologies and the relationship to the site and view. A house, an environment, enriched and enhanced. Perfect.

Drama. Dark rich drama. Style and panache. Subtropical gardens and a grand old house that has grown and evolved over the generations. On trend and reported to be in an upcoming interiors magazine, this Byron Bay house is my latest real estate stalking target. I’ve been seduced and I think you will be too. There is very little I would change. Dark  walls, fuchsia pink coffee table, rich green sofas and sparkling chandelier. Yes please. Kitchen and family dining, perfect for my needs. The hallway is an entrance to paradise. (Calm down Jo.) Perhaps we should arrange an inspection to see just how good it is in person. Byron Bay here we come! Link here while it lasts.

In a departure from his signature highly decorative Hollywood Regency/midcentury glamor style leading Australian interior designer Greg Natale has taken a inner city terrace, played with scale and colour, streamlined his rich multilayered interiors and delivered a home that is dramatic and stylish. Sultry grey is lifted by white. Furniture is carefully curated and oversize is not out of place in the play. In the new extension kitchen and family room are open plan and sleekly modern, the perfect counterfoil to the high drama of the rest of the house. A grey beauty indeed.

Natural light. That lovely filtered light that wakes you through the filmy curtains. The strong shaft of bright light that moves across your kitchen table as the day ages. It’s warm and sweet, soft and welcoming. I love to see rooms captured in natural light. Like a beautiful face without makeup. Real and lovely. No artifice, loads of personality. I’m really liking photographer Simon Griffith‘s photographs. The rooms are welcoming and gentle. No special effects. Just beautiful spaces captured beautifully.