Smell The Roses

The past week has been one of those weeks. My mother had a serious turn and is in hospital but is now recovering well.

Thus the lack of posts. I have to say I have been enjoying being around the house for a change this weekend and am enjoying how spectacular the roses are this season, thanks to the rain.

In between writing a few paragraphs for a magazine story in the early hours (before anyone else stirs) I have been popping out to pick some more blooms to enjoy.

My favourites are my climbing Pierre de Ronsard, which has mint green petals with hot pink tips, Julia's Rose which is the most delicate cafe latte colour, and Stainless Steel, a pale grey mauve rose the size of a side plate.

The orange blooms are "Ian Thorpe" named after the famous swimmer. I love them because they are orange, definitely not peach.

The Height of Style

This came via my husband's architects' network - an apartment in a pyramid atop the oldest skyscraper in Seattle. Apparently the tenant, Petra Franklin, heard that the space existed (it previously housed a water tank) and lobbied the building owners to let her take a long lease and convert it into a home for her family.

What a space and what amazing views!

Ralph Modern

Ralph and Ricky Lauren's wonderful NYC apartment is in the latest Elle Decor. It's really quite minimal for them, but so my clients tell me, the older you get the more you want to get rid of "stuff". Lots of gorgeous details and some quite stunning interior architecture.

Berry Garden Festival

This weekend our local garden festival is on. The usually quiet back streets are full of cars and buses and people meandering from garden to garden. The weather has been unseasonably cold and windy, but all the rain has made the lawns and rolling hills behind the most vibrant shade of emerald green.

If you can imagine, Berry is a small, historic town just a few kilometres from the coast, nestled under a small mountain range. It is surrounded by dairy farms and unlike many parts of Australia, is constantly green.

The soil is mostly pretty good, and there are many stunning gardens - both in small town blocks and on rambling rural acreage. One of the stand-outs this year is the garden of our friends L & D who live in one of the grandest old houses in town, The Manse. D's surgical skills have been applied to creating the most perfect hedges I have ever seen.

Their garden, like the house, is elegant and formal as befits a former Victorian church manse. To me, the best domestic gardens respond to the architecture with a hint of the personalities of the owners as well.

Kate Spade Pops Up

New York accessories designer, Kate Spade, has opened a pop-up shop in a town house in London's Covent Garden. Apparently this is a temporary thing to test the waters and build brand awareness while they look for a "proper" shop.

What a fab idea. Personally, I think this is much more interesting than seeing yet another slick, high street emporium. These interiors are quirky, inventive and a little bit edgy.

I'm inspired, how about you?

Moving Outdoors

It's spring here and the annual Berry Garden Festival starts today. Can't wait to get around and see some of the beautiful gardens which have had lots of wet weather lately so should be very lush.

Its also time to start planning spots on the verandah to set up for summer entertaining. Here are a couple of lovely shots from West Elm for inspiration.

One For The Look-Book

I recently found this story of designer Ginger Barber's guesthouse in Texas again, and realised how similar it is to my place.... or how I want it to be when its finished!

So this post is really just a note to myself to start thinking of how I want the fireplace to look, what finishes I want on the floors and benchtops. I have a pile of huge sandstone blocks waiting for a stonemason and this fireplace is probably close to what I want. I even have cows just like that one just over the fence!

High-rise Makeover

Many people live in modern high-rise apartment blocks these days and it can be a real challenge to create a welcoming interior in what is basically a space that is more "office" than "home".

New York designers have been tackling this problem for years and this dining nook makeover by Celerie Kemble (from House Beautiful) is a great example of how they use fabric and texture to soften the hard lines and completely ignore the "office" room structure.

The banquette makes the corner particularly cosy and the circular rug defines the dining space.

Tree House

God love them, my aunt and mother have been gathering information on our family tree for decades. Like many who live in the "new world", our heritage is a fascinating patchwork of stories of adventure and heartbreak and the meeting of many cultures.

I have put myself in as the contributor from the next generation, partly because my curiousity knows no bounds. And also because I have the skills to research the internet and put it all together.

How can I string this back to an interior design post?

In my endless Googles about a certain Scottish ancestor who started the wine trade on the island of Madeira, I found that the ancestral home, near Inverness, is on the market for the first time ....and what a pile it is.

Designed by one of Britain's most famous architects, it looks like something out of a Jane Austen film.

As some followers may remember, I have been contemplating buying an old pile somewhere in Europe for a few years now. Our plans to buy in rural France however, were put on the back burner when the GFC took hold.

Yesterday I found myself grilling a friend who used to work for BBC Scotland just HOW cold it is there. She said that she used to come home from work, have a hot bath and get straight under the duvet in winter. Hmmm.

Anyway, its fun to entertain the thought of living here. I already have the Pringle twin-set (which is hot pink).