In what is now a holiday tradition it’s time to settle into Desire to Inspire’s virtual library and explore the blogosphere via our holiday reading guide. Not all are in english, not all are completely focused on room porn, some I have been lurking on for quite some time and others are very new to me. This is the first instalment so save room for many more wonderful blogs. Happy Holidays!

Kim and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families peace, hope and joy these holidays. The world is getting smaller and smaller and people from all parts of the globe are meeting and mingling on blogs like this. Not all our readers, we know, come from Christian based cultures but the message is still the same. The world is too fragile for anything but love and friendship.

We won’t be posting on Christmas Day but we’ll be back randomly after that. A post here, a post there and lots of holiday reading guides. Take care all and thank you so much for your continued support. It means so much to us.

Another sunny day in paradise! To take your mind off the inclement northern winter weather I’ve been stalking this home in northern New South Wales just south of the gorgeous resort town of Byron Bay. It’s a series of interconnecting pavilions blurring the line between inside and out. Just right for this part of the world. And the beach is only a 50 metre walk along a bush track. I’m afraid to ask the price but a girl can dream.

The real estate agent has gone all out with this pitch. Lots of gorgeous scenery and lifestyle shots. There is even a dolphin surfing a wave. The truth is… this is what it’s really like. Heaven! Here while it lasts.

It’s a masculine look complete with fine antiques, a dark palette and simple yet luxurious lines. Sydney based interior designer Thomas Hamel creates rooms that have a gentleman’s club feel, a patrician look that speaks of taste and style not glitz and glam. (He worked in his early career for Parish-Hadley.) It’s leather and linen, parchment and the warm patina of old furniture, dark and brooding at times and at others light filled.

It’s contemporary. It’s exacting in it’s detail and holistic in it’s approach. It’s about bespoke joinery, custom furniture, architecture and interior and garden design. It’s about large scale projects and small intimate jobs. It’s London and it’s now. It’s Clifton Interiors.

(These images are by architectural photographer Graham Gaunt. While you’re there don’t miss his person work. Hauntingly beautiful unpopulated spaces are a great contrast to his shots of high end design.)