House Tour: Will's House

Don't you love house tours on blogs? I know I do. I surf and drool. So here I am, posting my first ever "real" house tour! I met Will while I was studying Architecture. He's always been amazing, and his pics of his house reno don't disappoint!

His little house that he shares with his partner, Myles, is in Sydney's inner-city area of Lilyfield. Here's what he says about their reno:


The house is a 1930's worker's cottage with a simple weatherboard extension at the back. When we moved in we gave the garden an overhaul (it was literally just paving with 2 concrete slabs under it) and ripped out and rebuilt the bathroom. The back was opened up to the north and we extended the rear deck. We really wanted to just look at layers of green in the backyard (whilst screening the building behind us) and borrow the view of gum trees in the park beyond the property.


Thank you, Will and Myles for sharing your beautiful house with us!

That question: Mac vs PC

Apple

It's been asked again and again. And so I'll ask too. Do I make the switch to Mac??

It had never been on my mind until I bought an iphone. Now I love that thing much more than I thought I ever would and it's kinda made me fall in love with the type of interface that Apple uses. It's just so...convenient.

I'm going to get a new laptop over the summer and now I'm wondering if I should go to the dark side. FWIW, I'm looking at a 13" Macbook Pro and I really don't know much about computers.

Here are the Mac pros as I see it:

• I love the look (sorry, so superficial! But this is a design blog)
• Easy to use
• Thin
• Fast to wake up
• No Windows 7 bugs (my bloody wireless doesn't wake up with the computer!)
• People I will be working with use Mac

Cons:

• More expensive (though this isn't too much of an issue as this will be purchased for me - I can get whatever I want)
• I already have a lot of PC programs and am nervous about doing the dual boot thing
• Have heard that it might not work well on my home (windows 7) network for printing
• Learning curve
• Have to buy at least a new copy of Office

So, dear readers...what do I do?

Pinch Design

A little while ago, I was searching for the perfect cabinet to fit on the wall of my bathroom when I came across this picture:

Pinch

Immediately I clicked the link to their site and was amazed at how many beautiful pieces they design. I mean, I love every single thing. Was I the last person to hear about this company?

Pinch

Pinch

Pinch

Beautiful, although shipping overseas would probably be insane. A girl can dream though, can't she?

In Desperate Need of a Contemporary Mailbox

As you guys know, I have already removed the hideous house numbers to exchange with these, which both Leila and I bought for a great deal at Habitat Re-store. Somehow I feel these numbers will clash with the "awesome" mailbox we inherited with the house, a lovely carved, country-style kitsch painted one. So what does a design-lover ask for for Christmas? A hip mailbox for sure! I have my eye on something like these:

Restoration Hardware

Simple and lovely!

Home Depot

I love the industrial look of this one, and at such a good price! I hope the mail slot is not at the top though because I predict soggy mail knowing my forgetfulness.

Elte

Love this one, but the lack of pricing online makes me assume it is not in my price range

Chiasso

I love a little pop of red, this one would look great against yellow brick. The little slot for newspapers is a bonus too

Home Depot

Love the white!

Contemporist

I would have to say this is my dream mailbox, it has a quirky charm to it.

pinterest

Of course, a way more affordable option, to design one myself!

Living Room Reveal!

This is the moment I've been terrified of - letting you actually see larger portions of my house!

Today is the day, though, and I'm feeling quite chuffed because I've finally finished decorating my mantlepiece. Rachel's Mom (garage saler extraordinaire) had a garage sale on the weekend and she was getting rid of a lot of milk glass. I thought it would look nice against my grey walls and I think it works, don't you?

I'm also happy with the stacked wood in the fireplace. It works as a great kid-proofing!

The colour on the walls is Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Grey.

The magazine rack is still only primed because I haven't decided what colour to paint it (orange? pink? What you do you think?).

And here are some more shots:

And here's a before shot when we looked at the house. Obviously, this isn't our furniture or decor! The whole place was painted that beige and the guy in the pic is our realtor.

The Landing Strip

Our hallway is probably the worst area of the house. What was originally the foyer has had chunks shaved off it for a Powder Room (totally worth it!) and a large Coat Closet that blocks light from the sunroom and makes the foyer almost unusable as a mud-ish room (said closet should be leaving soon!).

In any case, we certainly have to create some sort of Landing Strip so I have been scouring the internet for some inspiration.

There seem to be some essential elements:

Hindsvik Blog

Coat Hooks. We have a lot right now and this is what we use on a daily basis. But I like these ones quite a bit. And then of course one can always dream of an...

Design Sponge

Eames Hang-It-All. I especially love them when there are multiples!

Martha Stewart

A boot tray is essential kit for Canada's winters, but as much as I love this pebble filled one, this is definitely an item that isn't babyproof!

Jonathan Adler via chairsmith

Somewhere to sit, combined with storage? Yes please!

What do you do to fight foyer clutter?

Aludean Hippos

Aludean

Yes, those hippos are actually part of a kids' playground! They are made from cast concrete and have rubber ears and are lounging in a rubber swamp! I only wish I could let my kids crawl all over them! We'll have to go next time we are in Melbourne.

I met Louise and Dean many years ago in Melbourne. Dean plays the Bandoneon and we had a nice little jam at the house of my friend Peter (tango arranger, pianist and bandoneonista extrodinare!). I might add here that Peter's house is covetable! Anyway, Louise and Dean are basically responsible for my Argentine Tango obsession that lasted quite a few years. They have a great design business called Aludean. When I met them, they had just made these great hippos and were also making these fab modular planters for gardens.

I'm also really, really loving this wall sculpture:

Aludean

And this:

Aludean

Check them out here!

Canada Day Threadz

So I have to admit here that I've never been one for dressing myself or my kids in holiday themed outfits. It's just not the done thing where I'm from. But this year I sent Eleanor off to a playgroup on Valentine's Day in....black and grey. Every other kid was wearing red. Luckily she's not old enough to realize.

Anyway, to save my kid from being a social outcast, here are my Canada Day picks for kiddoes:

Gap

Ron Jon

Artisan Shoes

Um, adorable! I love living in a country where the national colour is my favourite!



And for boys:

Gymboree

Gap

Kangol

Converse via Skate Shoes UK

I love little Converse! Eleanor has a pair of black hi-tops and she adores them. I am a flexible sole nazi when it comes to shoes and these definitely pass muster! And what's not to like about Kangol for Kids?

Happy Canada Day!

Camping in Style

Along with some other families, Rachel and I are going camping this weekend. We're pretty bare bones campers and don't have a lot of extras but I've spent a bit of time lusting after certain things. Here's my pick of camp heaven:

Peacock Hand Warmers

I was given one of these as a child but never used it. I suppose my parents thought using lighter fuel might be a bit dangerous or something...
But it has a lovely smooth quality to it and now I wish I still had it!

Tim Blair

 The classic Atomic Coffee maker is the perfect thing to take camping. Seems as though they were very popular in Australia, judging by my sightings there and by the location of them on Ebay. I'd love one, but they're pretty collectible nowadays.

Kelly's Camping

It might look like a compost bin, but actually it's a Billy - a classic piece of Aussie camping kit. It's used exclusively for boiling water for tea and coffee. To make tea in it, you boil the water, then put loose tea leaves in it and then perform a very scary but impressive feat - swinging the billy. This is where you swing the billy full of boiling water around and around (as though you were bowling but all the way around) without actually burning yourself. There are several videos of this on youtube, but they are way to cheesy to post here!

Glam Camping

Cute sleeping bags. No explanation needed!


Do you, like us, forgo style in favour of practicality when you camp or do you match your camping gear to your uber-stylish home life?

Indoor-Outdoor Living

Clare Design

Now that summer seems to be here, we are spending a lot more time outside in our back garden and on the deck. But as our house is old, the threshold between outside and inside is clearly delineated.

In my former life as an Architecture student in Australia, I really fell in love with buildings that totally blur the border between outside and in. I may get flamed for this, but I think that the Aussies are pretty much the world experts at it. And it totally makes sense as much of Australia has a climate that is conducive to outside living through much of the year (at least compared to North America!).

So I thought I would share the work of some of my favourite Aussie Architects and their outdoor-indoor spaces.

AIA

The Kerry and Lindsay Clare's Thrupp and Summer House at the top of the post and directly above is a great example of this style of living.  Large sliding doors and louvered windows (try doing this in Canada!!) bring the outside in. Clare Design is one of my favourite firms.

1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die

The Marika-Alderton House by Glenn Murcutt takes things to the extreme! It's located in a very hot, tropical part of Australia where there are yearly floods during the monsoon. The entire floor is able to be flooded. There are no glass windows at all and the shutters/awnings can be adjusted.

Tzannes Assosciates

Marsh Cashman Koolloos

  I love the idea of having walls just disappear when you need them to.

Dwell

And finally...wouldn't you just die if this was your view?