Where did that come from? Why have I felt like I have been chasing my tail all week? Was I really up before 4.00 am every morning? Is anyone else happy that this crazy busy week is over? It’s fast approaching beer o’clock in my part of the world or in my case wine o’clock. (I said wine o’clock not whine o’clock!) Apologies if you are sick of my real estate stalking posts this week but it is how it rolled. I spent a lot of time avoiding deadlines online checking out houses I can’t afford or really need. Hey someone has to do it! Have a wonderful weekend everyone. I know I will 🙂 Link for this North Carlton, Melbourne Boom-era meets modern house here while it lasts.

Found this cute little warehouse apartment in Camperdown in Sydney. One bedroom with warm wood tones, a great wall of glass, exposed timber beams and an all weather balcony. Sliding doors hide the kitchen and a 3/4 wall allows light and ventilation into the bedroom at the back. Small but stylin’. Link here while it lasts.

There is a style of architecture close to my heart. I grew up surrounded by these timber and tin houses. Always raised off the ground for ventilation and often to keep dry in times of flood these homes with their core of four main rooms, a central hallway and surrounded by verandas on most sides filled the landscape of my childhood. “Queenslanders” we call them and today I have found a beautiful example. This home is stylish and true to its roots. It has been modernised but not bastardised. It is simple and simply lovely. This particular home is on the hillside just outside the centre of Brisbane in an area rich with old homes but also under threat from apartment blocks and small lot monstrosities that tower above their neighbours and muscle right up to the boundaries. This is a house of another era but still a house perfect for living in today’s subtropics. I would happily move right in.

P.S. It helps that there is a killer collection of indigenous art and artefacts from Australia and Melanesia. Link here while it lasts.

Mariel lives in an old apartment down a quiet little street in Hong Kong. I’ll let her explain.

My apartment is in a 50-year old building on a quiet pedestrian-only street in the center of one of Hong Kong’s busiest commercial districts. The neighborhood makes me think of New York. Thus, I wanted my apartment to have a “New York feel”. I also wanted to keep some of the Asian/Oriental pieces that I’ve collected over the past ten years. At the same time, I was aiming for a somewhat more modern vibe. I asked my decorator-friend Richard Raymundo to help me make this happen. There is a big post almost right smack in the middle of my living/dining room. What a big challenge that was. In the end, we put one of my Asian sideboards there and made a beautiful tablescape of my Thai Buddha, some flowers, and candles. And to the left, we placed my LC4 , so I feel that I can enjoy a bit of privacy when I am lounging there.

Photography by Xavi Barca.

It’s easy to see that interior designer Anastasia Faiella of Faiella Design is an artist. There is a painter’s aesthetic to her rooms (as well as her actual murals and finishes) Her work is about casual sophistication, colour and texture, a relaxed classic/modern vibe. The first few images are of a recently completed project in San Francisco. A crisp, tailored yet relaxed living area of black and white with painterly strokes of green and fuchsia. Anastasia shares her work and her inspirations on her blog so click on over and enjoy her design vision.