I'm busily planning my own passage to India, this coming April. A two week part holiday, part work trip, starting in New Delhi to visit friends, and then travelling to Agra, Jaipur and then Udaipur before heading over to Kolkata. I'm beyond excited! All this thinking of India has reminded me of this staggeringly beautiful photo shoot by Hermès a few years back....
This week I've been a little preoccupied being smitten with this Parisian apartment by Francis D'Haene of New York based firm D'Apostrophe Design. I'm loving the clean lines, the mix of art and furniture (its always about the mix) and the choice of colours. The warm walls vs the light floors is an interesting choice which I was surprised that I liked, but mixed with the dark built-in bookcases and doors is an unusual but great combination. I spy pieces by Royere, Murakami, Lalanne, Basquiat...am I missing anything?
All photos taken by Eric Laignel for Interior Design Magazine Nov 2010. Wow, 2010 - feels strange typing that already!
I think I'm as excited about the new residential development by Blake's in Hong Kong as I am about the new year!
226 Hollywood Road in the old neighbourhood Sheung Wan (just west of Central) was designed by British designer Ilse Crawford and is a refreshing change from the usual character-less high rise apartments this city usually has to offer. This development is unique in many ways - not only are the apartments of reasonable size, the entire project has been designed in a way that retains some sense of the local neighbourhoods original character. And what a neighbourhood! The building is just down the road from the fabulous Press Room (a favorite brunch spot of mine) and the new kid on the block - Duecentotto. No wonder the apartments have sold already!
Oh, and I love the bathrooms too. Grey marble and gold taps. Brilliant.
Happy 2011 to you all!
delicious Australian Sparkling Cabernet
I'm very excited about this new release from French publishing house Norma Editions. The first monograph dedicated to the work of Marc du Plantier by author Yves Badetz. Can't wait for my copy to arrive :)
My latest love affair is with the home of the Malaysian-born Australian, Khai Liew. I've been a fan of Liew's work for some time now so it was a real teat for me to see his Adelaide home. It embodies all that is good about the Australian lifestyle - laid back and casual, and is blended with a cerebral Asian influence. Its the epitome of East meets West (sorry, I know that term is so overused, but I can't think of anything else). If you are a fan of the American designers Annabelle Selldorf or the firm Shelton Mindel then I think you'd like this place. If so, go buy yourself a copy of the latest German Architectural Digest.
As you can imagine I've been mentally re-decorating since I saw this....
Photographed by Derek Henderson for German Architectural Digest, Nov 2010 edition.
If the Nicholas & Alistair gallery had been open when I lived in Melbourne, I may never have left. Housed in a hundred-year-old building located near the banks of Melbourne's Yarra River is what can only be described as Australia's greatest collection of 20th century design.
The gallery is named after co-owners Nicholas Mesiano and Alistair Knight (of course) who spend much of the year travelling the globe sourcing pieces for the gallery. In fact they've recently returned from a 2 month buying expedition in Europe and the Americas. Lucky them!
The pair pride themselves on finding the more exceptional and unusual examples of design...and I have to say the list of designers whose pieces have graced the space reads like my favorites list: Gio Ponti, Osvaldo Borsani, Carlo Scarpa, Ico Parisi, Jacques Adnet, Guillerme and Chambron, Jules Leleu, William Haines and Paul Evans....and many more.
I'll definitely have to pay them a visit next time I'm back home...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again....the Spanish have style in spades! The Spanish Architectural Digest is definitely one of my favorite reads, and Nuevo Estilo - although not available here in HK from what I've seen - has a great website with so many beautiful images. I've discovered many talented designers, but one in particular I posted about here - Thomas Urquijo - finally has a website. There are so many lovely projects that its hard to pick a favorite, but this one which was just published by Nuevo Estilo, is pretty darn amazing...
