Brendan Moar's Garden

Call me nosey, but I have always found it intriguing to see the homes of the stylists and editors in the media. In fact I have noticed that Martha Stewart now has a special section devoted to editors' houses.

Brendan Moar is an Aussie landscape designer who has been a contributor to Inside Out magazine and the Lifestyle channel.

I really like his unusual, quite eclectic garden decor in a tight urban space. I especially like the retro elements like the butterfly chair, umbrella and 50s iron patio pieces. It is also packed full of ideas, like the striped decking boards and grouped white retro-style pots.

I also wonder where they get the time to do all of this....

Marina's Place

In my search for beach shack inspiration I came across another of my friends' beach houses. Marina bought this old fibro holiday house at Hyams Beach a few years back and didn't want to spend a fortune doing it up as she assumed her husband would just want to knock it down and rebuild! 

She painted it fun colours and hunted around op shops for quirky furniture and objects. I think she did a great job and has quite a few fans in the holiday rental market.

Holiday bookings: 02 444 30242.

Anna Spiro in Vogue

I have been dying to write a "behind the scenes" on the story I did on Anna Spiro from Absolutely Beautiful Things. It is in the September issue of Vogue Living which is finally out.
How did the story come about? It was either great timing or just meant to be that I happened to call Anna when photographer Simon Kenny and I were heading up to Brisbane to do some magazine stories.
I had been following the blog and thought she may have a project we could look at. It was good luck that Anna was just putting some finishing touches to her own house so we set the date for the shoot and interview.
On the day of the shoot, Simon collected me from the airport and we headed over to Anna's home south of the Brisbane River. Anna and I hit it off at the start. While Simon set up his camera, we just sat on the sofa and gabbed, barely catching breath! We had so much in common - a love of hot pink, painted white floorboards and eclectic decorating.
But what struck me most was Anna's passion for her profession as well as how seriously she treats every aspect of her design projects. As I touched on in the Vogue Living article, real interior decorators who have done a traditional design apprenticeship as Anna has, are thin on the ground these days. Anna knows her stuff when it comes to quality soft furnishings, overstuffed upholstery and interpreting her clients' own style.
I love that she is a modern day Leslie Walford (a famous Australian decorator who must be at least 80 by now) but brings a contemporary, 'more dash than cash' edge as well.
Her home feels exactly like the pictures - its pretty, uplifting and fun to be in. I know I am inspired, in fact after our chat I started my blog and she is my blog mentor!
Thanks for sharing your story with me, Anna.

There are more photos coming if you would like to see them...

Behind The Scenes -Real Living Mag this month

If you see Real Living (Sept issue) out today there is a story I did about a beautiful old house in Brisbane. Jenny and Ulrik Larsen are intrepid renovators and collectors and have literally turned what was a derelict timber Queenslander into a gorgeous family home.This couple is an inspiration for tough economic times as the house is decorated almost exclusively with side of the road or garage sale finds. Check out the childrens' bedroom where Ulrik has built bunk beds over a stairwell using old bedheads.
It's nice how they kept the old fifties kitchen cabinets and managed to incorporate modern appliances as well. One of the best (and most used) features in this house is the craft bench in the kitchen.
Here are some shots, most of which which did not make the story.