Cristmas Wreaths 2010

The perfect Christmas decor shouldn't just be "wrapped up" inside your house... bring it outside for ALL to enjoy.

With my house renovations dragging on and on, I am enjoying some Christmas spirit at my front door step.
A Christmas wreath is a great way to spread some festive cheer amongst your neighborhood. Such a simple treatment but effective in so many ways.
As usual I've opted for a traditional, monochrome and slightly organic style. But the possibilities, as always, are endless.
Choose a color or style that YOU like and go with it... let your personality shine through.
I'll upload some images of the wreath Ive mentioned on my Sassafras home very soon. In the meantime please enjoy these designs, that I found inspirational, with compliments of ... Martha Stewart, a master of festive styling!

Christmas at home...

Last year my Christmas decor was right on the mark!

A magazine editor asked me to provide her with some content for a story on "designer" Christmas decor at home.  I obliged with my take on a "traditional" tree with matching accessories. I worked with a collection of my favorite things; old glass door knobs, my great grandfathers building tools (including his original measuring tapes which substituted for tinsel) and finished it off with pine cones and brown pears - for an organic edge!
Gifts were wrapped in hessian and brown paper, then tied in chocolate ribbon in satin and velvet.
I was very pleased with the "look", a good blend of monochromatic color schemes and interesting objects!
The photos and accompanying story went to print alongside the work of three other designers, all with a very different design aesthetic!

This year I'm eager to do something unique again. Faced with building delays on the house extension, I've been unable to create anything as yet. This week however, things are nearing completion, with a bigger space to decorate! Hopefully I'll have something to show you very soon.

I'll keep you posted.

The Style of Australian "Country"

If I claimed to be an authority on any particular interior design style it would be the style that is Australian “Country”.

From my grass roots, growing up in my families ancestral home in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley, to holidaying on my Aunts property on vast open farmlands in southern Western Australia, the simple, paired down classic style of Australian “Country” has been ingrained in my psyche.

Beautiful country interiors, exteriors and gardens are a perfect vehicle for my knowledge, experience and design ethic. I love to work with a traditional Australian country style with clean, modern influences; Inspired by collections of images, styles and stories representing the essence of Australian “Country” interior design.

I travel and research, write and photograph. I discover visions, places, stories and things that represent the stunning country style that I know and love.

Place settings...

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Vintage Louis

Color accents are everywhere...

This is a definite departure from my usual monochromatic "non" color schemes! The color here is striking and I find it very appealing. As strong as the red accents are, the overall look is toned down with the contrasting natural wood, hessian and paper elements. The organic nature of the subject is also a key it keeping it very genuine and authentic..... something I always insist upon!

The work of Restoration Hardware and Gary Friedman.

California-based Restoration Hardware’s CEO/Chairman Gary Friedman is known for boldly remaking the company and giving it a distinctive new vibe and look.

Last week Friedman launched his newest concept, a dramatic, sun-lit Restoration Hardware design gallery in a handsome Palladian showroom in San Francisco’s design district. It’s placed beautifully behind a tall wall and a pair of grand portals, with a terrace and sunlight galore, right in the midst of top design showrooms and the finest antiques galleries.

I have long admired Gary Friedman for the style he has brought into the management and ownership of Restoration Hardware.

The company was founded in 1980 to sell, what else, restoration hardware.

The original founder opened his first store and launched a quirky catalog because he was restoring a Craftsman house in Marin County in Northern California. He could not find all the authentic lighting, doorknobs, hinges, handles, and flotsam and jetsam of remodeling for a classic and historic residence. Thus the name!

The company grew, catalogs arrived through the mail, and stores were opened around the country. The design evolved and the company offered a classic range, with beautiful bed linens, good solid furniture, beautifully made basic pieces for any residence, and the kick of quirky gifts and accessories.

Gary Friedman, formerly with Williams Sonoma, boldly took over the company and has slowly and thoughtfully reshaped it.

Now he is making an even more ambitious leap—with a glamorous new showroom in a former super-luxe antiques gallery. The gallery opened on September 23, with a party for 600 guests, and hundreds of new designs, furniture, lighting, antique reproductions, and singular modern and period pieces.

The new gallery is at 188 Henry Adams Street, San Francisco, in the former home of Ed Hardy San Francisco Antiques. Ed Hardy, who built this Palladian masterpiece, is knowledgeable and uniquely insightful in matters of antiques and decorative accessories, and he will stay on as a consultant.