Found something interesting when stalking this week. Architect designed renovation in St Kilda, Melbourne. Spacious modern extension, lovely courtyard garden leading to a rear garage/studio. Architect Matt Gibson. A quick click over to Mr Gibson’s website and there is the house again but just a little different (after the jump). The rear is still the same (minus the modern stools, statues now complete the space). The family/TV room is still the same. Kitchen stools have changed but the bowl on the counter is still there. The biggest difference is the dining room. Chalk and cheese. Black and white. Definitely not the same. Not even the same taste. Then there is the striped living room which doesn’t appear at all on the architect’s site or fit the vibe of the house as depicted on Gibson’s site. We do though on the architect’s website get a chance to peek at the lovely front courtyard garden. So what has happened between the architect taking photos for his portfolio and the real estate agent snapping slightly blurry photos for the listing? Did the architect not like the client’s aesthetic and did a little editing of furniture and spaces? Has the owner “matured” in taste over the time? After all we all change our minds over time when it comes to our rooms. Is it a divorce and the wife can finally go all girly… still in black and white though? A girl who stalks the real estate listings and spends her time staring through the “virtual” curtains needs to know these things 🙂 What’s your theory?

And now from the architect’s website….

A few months ago I was dreaming of escaping to paradise or beyond, vacation homes showcased by Welcome Beyond.  Chris from Welcome Beyond has promised to feed my holiday fantasies with new properties soon but in the meantime I’m taking a virtual vacation to berge in Aschau im Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany. Managed by Nils Holger, a furniture designer, berge is all about the details. “It’s all about designing ‘berge’ not in a classic style, but to penetrate through to every detail. When there was no suitable door handle, we had it crafted by a blacksmith. The towels and bath robes were custom-made for the house, an old man in town turns wood into the bowls we use and for silverware we didn’t buy something just because it was nice or cheap, but only what was best suited.” As a design junkie those words are music to my ears. Raw timber, Glühwein and snow. The perfect trinity for a girl sweltering in cyclonic humidity.

Have you noticed how things never stay the same? Like personal taste? I have seen my likes and dislikes change and coalesce, firm and falter over these past few years. I have always admired the work of New York based interiors and landscape firm Rees Roberts + Partners. I think I had a crush on their work way way back (so did Kim even further back). Then I was drawn to their cool, sophisticated urban interiors. All elegance and class. I was revisiting their site the other day and was drawn immediately to this Croatian house. A new work? Must be. I hadn’t noticed it a couple of years ago otherwise I would have remembered. It is so fabulously rugged yet stylish with just the right touches of casual elegance and midcentury classic pieces. But maybe it’s not new. Maybe it was there all along. Maybe I’m just looking at it with new eyes, a new awareness. All I know is I love it!

Stalking! Oh how I have missed stalking. Truth be told I have actually been trawling through page after page, suburb after suburb of Australian homes but no rewards. Christmas leading into January is the quiet time for real estate in Australia. Coupled with a stagnant market and banks that are so tight with their money I haven’t found a home that took my fancy. Until today. How about this St Kilda, Melbourne home? Clean, contemporary lines, interesting art (wish I could see into the room downstairs with the baby grand and the gallery wall) and privacy… definitely needed with a bathroom like that one. I know all the lights have to be on for the real estate photos but wouldn’t you like to see this place with a little less overhead light and a lot more table and floor light. Once again the price will make you shake your head. Link here while it lasts.

Our January weekend holidays are almost over. Can I hear a collective “about time” from a large group of you? I know. I know. The DTI addicts need their weekend fix 🙂 In the meantime jump over to my page and see what has been going on at the new old house.