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.

I have this recurring daydream. I’m checking out my favourite interiors store. It’s end of day and I’m locked in accidentally. No panic. In fact I’m really rather pleased. I get to pretend this is my home. Variation number two is where I hide in the bathroom to be deliberately locked in each night and it really is my home. And now that I know what Sydney store PAD looks like I’m going to be working it into my fantasy. Passionate About Design, PAD, is based in Waterloo and the team comprises Olga Lewis and Kellie Murray and business partner Chris Yang. Think Hollywood Regency meets vintage, Palm Springs, statement pieces, exotic Asian, luxurious fabrics and layer upon layer of loveliness. It’s an aesthetic built on passion. From interior decorating to styling to renovations, from classes to one off pieces to pulling together a room and giving you heaps of advice. As for me, it’s my new home. In my dreams 🙂

(Keep up date to date with what’s new via their Instagram)

Set amongst the Pandanus trees just back from the sand dunes and rainforest, within ear shot of the crashing surf, down sandy path to the shore is a family beach house with room for everyone. Rooms for when the weather is balmy, rooms for when the sea air is chilly. Rooms for retreating to and rooms for breaking out even a perfect spot beside the sheltered pool and a clearing on the sand dune for a chair. It’s casual living with just about everything you could need… and maybe just a bit more. I think this family likes its knick knacks. Nothing wrong with being a bower bird, your home is your home after all, but just a little less stuff, a little more editing and straightening and I’d be hopping in the car and driving to Suffolk Beach south of Byron Bay and begging to stay until summer comes and goes. Thanks to my stalking partner Andrea for this one. Link here while it lasts.

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