Knotty pine bookcases and water plants in bottles? Check! Sheep skins on  carpet? Check! Cactus western print fabric and obligatory director’s chair? Check! Bad hair cut? Check! Corduroy shirt over check shirt, desert boots and hot whisky with lemon and cinnamon sticks? Check-a-rooney! Pipe and book. Must be the 70s! Could this guy be any more cool? (You don’t have to answer. And is it my imagination or does he look like Seinfeld?) If he has kept up the pipe smoking since the photo was taken he’s probably dead by now. Just goes to show that everything retro isn’t good! Scans from The Apartment Book, by the editors of Apartment Life magazine, Meredith Corporation, 1980.

…. how about some great blogs?

Sick with a bad head cold. Dragged myself out of bed, snapped at my husband, left a trail of used tissues and couldn’t face a WINKS post. Sorry, but I promise a fabulous one next week. So I’ve plundered my bookmarks saved for my easter reading guides. Here are some of my favourites. 

Please enjoy! This grumpy little blogger is re-tracing her steps abck back to bed.

It’s not about the words on Desire to Inspire. It’s all about the eye candy. I could go on about the keen design eye and on the trend styling of Camilla Julner but her work tells the story. And inspiration doesn’t always have to come from a complete room. Camilla’s vignettes are overflowing for great ideas on colour, juxtaposition, texture. Hey too many words! Enjoy!

Muskelil is Cassandra Karinsky and Valentina Pilia. It’s a meeting of an Australian via the States and an Italian via Paris at a crossroads in Marrakech. Through Muskelil Valentina and Cassandra  share their special objects, interior styling and decor. Purveyors of the most beautiful Moroccan rugs. Their look is fresh but lived in, simple but sophisticated, so Moroccan but at home on a world stage. It’s like they peeked inside my mind and stole my dreams of my perfect home.

Reader Juan sent us a link to his home asking if we’d like to feature it. Yes please. A small studio space with kitchen and bath it is minimally furnished but with maximum style. A man of few words (in his emails at least) a google or two and I discover he is a talented graphic designer/illustrator/artist. His art wall collection is fab. The stacks of small art works, the plastic animal collection, the haphazard books, the cool stereo and wine bottles just waiting to have their corks pulled and wine glasses filled. It all speaks of one cool guy.