Still looking for last minute gifts? All done and deserve something special for yourself? Need a little design book inspiration? There is still time to visit a bricks and mortar bookshop (remember those from pre-Amazon days?) and pick up a copy of Martyn Thompson – Interiors. Come on let’s face it. We are all hard core interiors addicts and this is a book will feed that addiction so well. Thompson’s work is moody, dark, the antithesis of picture perfect. His photographs reek of atmosphere. He tells stories with shadows. A painter’s approach almost to what he captures through his lens. From the homes and creative spaces of John Derian and Thomas O’Brien to Achille Castiglioni and Hella Jongerius this book is so beautiful in the hand, so lush. Still a couple more shopping days left. Buy it for someone you know will appreciate it… yourself.

An abandoned stables in the western province of Cáceres in Spain carefully renovated by architectural and development firm Ábaton. A stunning family home that not only makes you want to pack your bags and book a flight to Spain because someone made a mistake… you’re sure this is your home… but also makes you feel warm and fuzzy because it’s sustainable as well. Solar panels supply energy during the summer while turbines take advantage of the two streams that run through the property providing electricity in the winter. Rain water is returned to the ground. Materials are recyclable.  Large expanses of stone floors provide thermal mass. Una casa de inspiración.

… you’re in for a big surprise. Sometimes mother nature wraps you up in her beauty and takes your breath away. Sometimes architects get this. Sometimes they wrap you up in the beauty they create,  in buildings that address the wonder of the site in which they are placed. I think I am in love with this Dutchess County, New York guesthouse by Allied Works Architecture. Located in a mature deciduous forest of oak, hickory, and birch.  A continuous structural steel frame blurs the boundary between forest and house. It seems to meander, to wind in and out capturing views of the changing seasons.

Loving the connection between inside and out in this extension to an existing Newtown, Sydney house by CplusC architects. The warm tones of the timber finishes against the bright white, the polished concrete providing thermal mass as well as good looks, the expanses of glass and the flow from space to space. A courtyard in the centre of the plan encourages natural ventilation throughout and signifies the transition from the old to the new. “CplusC is an Architectural Workshop. We offer a unique architectural proposition and specialised service – we are architects who offer the capacity to build our own projects. From the initial client brief, through to design, project management and building, the practice is committed to a well-crafted, sustainable and innovative design outcome.”

The holidays have got to me. I admit defeat. My house won’t be decorated, my turkey won’t be, my champagne won’t be French and my christmas cracker hats appear to be plastic… quel horreur (the bad French bit was to cheer up Kim as she approaches her test). The stress. The torture that is the local shopping centre! Do I really need to go back to pick up fresh vegetables a day or so before Christmas? Can we just eat cold ham and roasted potatoes? Dear Santa I need a teahouse at the end of the garden. Somewhere to go to relax, to contemplate, to meditate. Something just like these by Czech designers A1 Architects. Go away holidays! You’ll find me here for the next week or two.