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Nelly (who works in finances and is an aspiring stylist), her boyfriend Samuel (handyman, bike mechanic and graphic designer) and their cats Lex and Sox live in what Nelly calls a beach “shack” and I have to say that it looks nothing to me like a shack! I’ll let Nelly tell you about their beautiful home in Watermans Bay (northern beaches of Perth, Western Australia)…

We were desperately looking for a cute beach house to rent at an affordable price. So when we stumbled upon a very neglected shack that was screaming potential, we jumped onto it!

When we first stepped in, the house was dark and gloomy and looked as if it was abandoned or – worse – as if it has been squatted by aspiring surfers, more attracted by the waves next door than by basic general home maintenance. Every wall of every room was painted a different color. In the bathroom, we had mint green, bright pink and lavender on the walls while the bathtub was that old fashioned baby blue enamel. In the living area, we had a mix of dusty pink, bright purple, olive green (all in glossy finish) and suede-textured mauve. The ceiling was painted a faded mustardy yellow. The window sills, door frames, ceiling cornices and skirting were a glossy maroon. And the list goes on.

Being our usual bright, optimistic souls, we decided to focus on the house’s potential: location was a big call, but so were the painted floorboards (a medium grey that has started to flake, which gives more rusticity), the brand new kitchen cabinets, the mismatch of salvaged windows used throughout the house (Art Deco, French, louvres, etc), the fireplace, the high ceilings, the cornices, and the very unusual layout. We had almost no money but I had vision and my boyfriend had building skills (and a good artistic flair too) so how could we go wrong?

A few (many!!!) pots of paint later and lots of elbow grease and the house turned into what we wanted: a relaxing retreat with lots of character and light. The feel is contemporary with a hint of vintage. It is summery and fresh and inviting at the same time. It has a couple of feature items and lots of ‘bits and pieces’ picked up during overseas trips or at the side of the road. It is our sanctuary and it keeps on evolving with us, our moods, our needs. There are still a million things that need to be fixed, changed, replaced, moved, installed. It might be perfect one day but it is more likely that it will never be. And this is most probably the precise reason why we love it. We hope that you will too.

Photos: Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography

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Los Angeles-based visual merchandiser Chele Mckee shared with us an inspiring cottage she designed and I had to then share with you guys because many of you, like me, are dying for spring to arrive and these photos really help with the end-of-winter gloom. The colours are so beautiful and energizing. Lovely!! Thanks Chele!

Loved yesterday’s Carriageworks? Want more? You must visit Hare + Klein’s website but in the meantime here are more shortlisted entries for the Australian Interior Design Awards created by this long established design team. The first house in Northbridge, Sydney plays light against dark, relaxed against tailored texture against smooth and sleek. It has a sophisticated resort vibe and a dark moody bathroom to kill for. Love the courtyard as well. More of this stylish home and the second house also listed in the Residential Decoration category in this year’s awards.

And the second house, Federation Revival, while echoing the dark versus light motif is a more formal interpretation. Elegant, restrained, luxe. Tailored and masculine.

I swear, this is my last post on the Hacienda San Angel. There were so many gorgeous bedrooms in the villas that I had to share them with you too. Plus, one of my favourite and somewhat unusual perks of the hacienda is after the jump.

I had read on the website that the owner Janice was an animal lover and rescued strays (she is treasurer and one of the founders of the SPCA Puerto Vallarta), and that there were several dogs hanging around the Hacienda. My husband and I really missed our 7 cats so it made me feel so at home to have animals nearby. Janice has I think 9 dogs – mostly small white poodle/bichon type dogs because during a brief convo I had with her she explained that she’s allergic. She brings them to the Hacienda every day and the roam the premises and most are really friendly. The day I spoke with her one little black dog that was wandering around was adopted (photo #3 below – not a good photo but the only one I took). 🙂 Poncho was my favourite (photo #2) and I always went looking for him when we happened to be in the main section of the hacienda where they spend their time. I was really stoked to meet someone like Janice in Mexico who really cares about stray animals because there were SO MANY homeless dogs and cats and not many people there seems to care – we even saw a dog get kicked in the head by some arsehole. So in honour of Janice’s devotion to helping strays, I wanted to mention this and share some photos of the dogs I got to spend time with.

(The candelabra above located at the front entrance to the hotel and restaurant was lit every night, and holds a donation box for the SPCA)