Somerville Scott & Co.

It's been a while since a furniture collection has "wowed" me, but the range by London based Somerville Scott & Co. did just that. As far as I'm concerned these designs tick all the right boxes for me - they're elegant, well made, beautifully detailed and made from quality materials.

The Sloop club chair - very versatile looking, great lines, and I've always been a sucker for studs ;)


The Minx sofa - so classic! The contrast coloured buttons are super cute, but I have to say I love the brass strip detail along the bottom!

The Felidae I chair is another classic, and again very versatile. Love the detailing at the top of the legs there, just enough to make it stand out from the crowd.

The Precisionist's table is a beautiful combination of brass, walnut and leather - so luxe looking. Great as a desk or a dining table.

The Miss Helen room divider - so simple, yet so chic.

The Miss Helen buffet - ebonized walnut with marble top, with a brass plinth, hardware and interior. Stunning.

The Curiosity Cabinet I - a mix of brass, ebonized walnut, lacquer and gold leaf. A bit like what I would imagine Paul Dupre-Lafon meets Alice in Wonderland would look like...

Check out their website for images of many more great pieces!

P.S. I want to thank you all for the lovely comments and emails from my last post, but I also want to reassure you that I have no intention of turning this blog into a daily soap opera of my personal life, and will restrict news to work related topics. Speaking of which, I should have some more for you soon - so stay tuned!

Bloggers Block, Bad stuff and Bravery

I've been a bit light on posting lately...not intentionally, I just haven't had much to say, or to share. Truth be told, a few crappy things have happened lately, and that is partly to blame for my absence. My Grandmother passed away a few weeks ago, and I rushed back home to attend her funeral and spend time with my family. She was an incredible woman and greatly influenced my life. I'm sure I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for her. Its been a really surreal few weeks post-Australia, and while I'm glad I got to see my family twice this year, it wasn't really a trip back that I wanted to make. I think I am still in shock and it will really only start to sink in the next time I take a trip home and she's not there. And its quite likely that next trip will be for my little sisters wedding, which will make it that little bit harder. I have to say though, despite her 84 years, and the general "oh, well (she wasn't young...)" reaction I get when I pass on my news, my Grandmother had a lot left in her. She was young. And she was active, fit and healthy, and her partner was 15 years younger than her. No, that was not a typo. 15 years younger. They danced every week up until a little while ago and she was really with it and vibrant. I'm so glad I saw her only a few months ago, but I still can't help feeling cheated. You know? And so I've felt that part of my childhood has now disappeared, and I'm that little bit older - not necessarily wiser, but definitely at a different stage in life.

And then today, I found out that an old acquaintance passed away. At 37. Of Lung Cancer. He wasn't a close friend, but he was a friend of good friends who were in a band together, and he was partially responsible for producing the soundtrack to my youth. So now, only weeks after feeling like my childhood was stolen, I now feel like my late teens and early 20's are somehow tainted or significantly further away somehow.

So, I guess this post is about life. And how short it is. And sometimes its not short, but it can still feel like its cut shorter than it should have been. So for all of us that are still here, we need to make sure that we are doing what we want to be doing, and that we're happy - and sometimes you need to be brave to get out of the rut you might be in. Because you just never know. And I guess we should all be living life like we only have one day left. I know that I'm not. But after today, I'm sure gonna.

Yovanovitch update

While I was stalking, um, I mean checking out Pierre Yovanovitch's website the other day I noticed a few new projects had been added...joy!

These all bear the trademark of Yovanovitch's style - fresh, modern and always, always, full of great furniture. Check out his website for more!

Delightful desks!

I'm still on the home office train of thought...although now I'm thinking I should put myself and my laptop at a snazzy secretaire in our living room, and leave my husband to wallow in the mess he calls his study at the other end of our apartment.

Love this new one from Armani Casa - looks like its covered in Parchment. The lines are stunning - a little Karl Springer inspired perhaps?

Bella!

If you don't already have yourself a copy of the Australian Belle magazine, run out and get one! I've been drooling over this gorgeous room from the front cover spread...and I just had to share.

Love too!

Stunning leather desk set from the italian luggage makers Giorgio Fedon. It's the perfect shade of orange, and has so many accessories with it I wouldn't even know what to use them for.

Expect a few more of these desk accessory related posts...I'm thinking about how to re-configure our spare room to fit 2 desks for both my husband and I to work from...at the moment I'm working from our dining table and it ain't workin!

Love!

This chic desk set from Japanese stationary maker Craft Design Technology. I want! Off to find a stockist in Hong Kong...otherwise it might have to wait til my next trip to Tokyo!

Did someone say Bill Sofield for Kallista?

Because if they did I only just heard you...

Am I the last one on the planet to know about this? Quick, I need a bathroom to renovate!

(Oh, and P.S. Kallista, would LOVE to see images of the black nickel!)

I want!

It's a bit too early to be thinking about Xmas presents...and a bit too late to be thinking about birthday presents. But man how I want this house. Forget that I don't actually live in London...

Tom Ford's London digs are up for grabs at a mere £8,500,000. Semi-detached gloriousness in a seemingly fancy neighbourhood...and those walls. All of them. I must know whose work it is. I read somewhere that David Collins did a London residence for Tom Ford, but this looks more like the work of Bill Sofield to me...but who knows. It almost makes me want to be a man and take up cigar smoking and drinking whisky.

More pics here.

Singapore II

This grand old dame looks quite like the one we ate breakfast in last Sunday. So beautiful...

The owners of this home collect asian art, and as you will see in the following pictures, this house is the perfect backdrop. They've managed to keep it looking like a home, rather than a museum which is not an easy feat considering all of the amazing art they have. I'm not sure I could live in it, but I certainly wouldn't mind it as a holiday house!

So tell me, which one do you prefer - the modern version, or this one?

Originally published in Architectural Digest (US) in January 2007, for more pictures click here. Photography by Russell MacMasters.

Singapore

I had a great long weekend in Singapore - perfect weather, delicious food and wine, great shopping and even better company. One of the many things I love about Singapore is the blend of architectural styles. The city has done a great job of retaining and using its colonial architecture and mixing it with the new and modern. Something that Hong Kong sadly lacks. Amongst the lovely places we wined and dined over the weekend, our breakfast venue on our last morning was the most memorable. Set in the lush Rochester Park area in an old "Black and White" (the term for the colonial homes painted in, funnily enough, black and white), amongst what felt like a tropical paradise.

I found a few examples of colonial buildings that have been renovated and refurbed...this one is by a Singaporean architectural firm called Ong & Ong. It looks to me like a typical shop house on the outside, but the inside is a totally different story. Its been opened up and modernised in a way that is still sympathetic to the original design. Furnished with modern asian style furniture and accessories, this is definitely not what you would be expecting from the exterior.



If I have time tomorrow I'll post another colonial home I found and you can vote for your favorite!

Albano Daminato

It's been another busy week. But then, is there ever any other kind for me lately? Thankfully I have a long weekend planned in Singapore to visit some good friends. Yay! Speaking of Singapore, I thought I'd share some photos of work by Interior Architect Albano Daminato who is based there. He's done some incredible residential work, as well as the Aman resort in Bhutan, Amankora. More great pics to be found on his website...