Displaying posts labeled "Blue"

By building in under the original house and adding a two level extension to the rear, Brisbane architects Marc&Co have increased the usable footprint of this Queenslander style house while maximising the space available for a garden at the rear of the inner city block. From the street the old home retains its original features and now contains the bedrooms while the additions allow for the open plan living with the indoor/outdoor connection so prized by Australian families.

I’m on a mission, a colour mission and the interwebs have taken me to La Minervetta Maison, a boutique hotel in Sorrento, Italy. With a decorating style not for the faint hearted it draws its inspiration from fishing villages and all things nautical, the Memphis movement and the whole 80s vibe. Fun and in your face it’s the perfect spot for one piece swim suits, floaty kaftans, incredibly large floppy straw hats, platform espadrilles and enough gold jewellery to drown you in the crystal blue Mediterranean Sea. Part theatre and movie set, part Italian maximalism. But sadly my quest continues for the ultimate colour overload. As much as the hotel makes me want to whistle Neapolitan love songs there are still all those white walls.

It may only be 5 metres wide but as the architectural firm Dan Gayfer Design explains it’s all about “… a high level of functionality, flexibility, interaction and detail in a house with high ceilings, a high roofline and high levels of natural light.” It’s also high on style. The perfect partnering of spatial design and good looks. What can I say. It really is a High House.

Photos by Dean Bradley

When I spotted this home on Shoot Factory I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Industrial chic style with beautiful architectural details with white painted exposed brick and wood panelling and moldings in every nook and cranny. Paint some of it black and I am having heart palpitations. Add a marble countertop and I can hardly breathe. (Blakes London seems to have had something to do with this).

So much to see. So much to touch, to turn over, to stroke. I would be the most rude of guests fidgeting in my seat, jumping up to flick through a book, pick up a trinket, open a box, to take in the beauty. Somehow I don’t think the owner of this Birmingham, Alabama home, interior designer, artist and neo-traditionalist William McLure would mind too much. I think maximalists love to display their treasures and to have others secretly covet them. I know I do 😉