Minimalism again? Oh yes! But instead of stark, cold white there is a richness, a glow. Simple clean lines but multi-layered with different surfaces and textures. Spartan but elegant. Who said minimalism was cold? What is devoid of surface  pattern is enriched by the interplay of materials. Stepped House by Australian architects Russell & George.

Continuing my fascination with minimalist homes around the world. A Belgian mansion style house that has seen better days, lost some of its character with one too many renovations. The old exterior is kept but at the back the minimalist magic begins. The renovation was about aligning and subtracting. Consolidating and eliminating. It’s black but it’s white. It has historical references but modern credentials. It’s about light and space and a new life. It’s House J & M by Bruno Vanbesien.

She is a house in the Southern Bahia area of Brazil and the daughter of the home’s designer Jan Eleni. Casa Lola means Lola’s House. It also means perfection. Oh what a house! Rustic and white. Cool and casual. Relaxed and boho chic. This wonderful home has been popping up on a couple of blogs but, my oh my, I couldn’t resist. Even better than dreaming about it? It’s available to rent.

My how time gets away from you! 5 years since we featured photographer Evan Sklar‘s work. 5 years of catching up to do. What I love about Sklar’s portfolio is the diversity. Whether minimalist and white or overstuffed and casually faded he seems to “get” a room. He captures efficiently what he needs to, yet tells its story well. It’s a story of family and friends and fine things. About pride in your house. Special touches and dreams.

Summer has gone but there is time for one last visit to the beach shack. The thud of surf decreasing as you walk barefoot back from a long day in and out of the ocean. Cicadas sing incessantly as you hop from foot to foot on the hot asphalt. Ouch! Casuarina seed pods are sharp. Don’t forget to wash the sand from your feet and don’t dump those towels at the front door! There’s a nip in the air as the shadows fall across the back yard. Stalking two beach shacks at the oh so expensive enclave of Pearl Beach, north of Sydney where all the streets are named after gems and you need a king’s ransom to buy a house. The first backs onto bush and is a stroll to the beach. A fibro shack with a price tag of just under $700K. The second, also a fibro shack, but in the best street in town, backing onto a lagoon and just across the road from the beach is… over $1.5 million. Beach shacks! But super cool ones don’t you think? We’ll just dream about owning them and having all our friends to stay weekends. Or maybe you’ll buy one and have me to stay? Links here and here while they last.