MOKOE : Home design tips and top buys

Channel 9 The Block – Mark Channel 9 The Block – Brenton amp; Duncan’s reno revamp

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:38:00 +0000

I’ve been having a good look at the photos on the Channel 9 The Block website of Brenton and Chez’s apartment. There are quite a few things I like and others I am not so sure. But like all the couples, they are doing a brilliant job considering the pressure and weekly room deliveries. Chez should have a bit of a head start as a real estate agent and with an interior design diploma, so she should have excellent experience to bring to her renovation. Here is my impression of what I have seen so far.

Brenton & Cheryl:

Apartment Highlights:

Chez has great taste in light fittings. She uses a very neutral colour palette of grey on grey. The repaint of the floorboards in the first room to a darker stain was a great idea and makes this room look classy, warm and inviting. I love the custom made curved shower screen from Bent and Curved Glass in the main bathroom is a real statement piece, adding a sophisticated touch to the room and will appeal to the Vaucluse demographic. The dark pull down blinds again bring warmth to the room and are also very practical. Chez also introduces some great textures in her rooms with the bedding and fabrics and her rooms are relevant to both male and female buyers which will widen the appeal on auction day. The little hidden make up table in the master bedroom tucked behind the beam is a brilliant use of space. The restoration of the original cornices is a total highlight and brings out the art deco theme.

Apartment Lowlights:

While the colour scheme travels throughout the house, I find it is a bit monochromatic. This is not a bad thing as it allows buyers to inject their own personality with a splash of colour, but it also doesn’t pop as a colour combination. The sliding doors in the hallway were a very bold choice – and one that may not appeal to the masses. The wallpaper choice from Croker Paints is a little OTT – it would have worked better in a smaller area. The majority of furnishings are from Freedom Furniture. I know they are key sponsors but it would be good to see a little more variety. The bathroom is missing a bathtub and this could impact the decision of the family demographic. Also, with 3 double bedrooms I am a little confused who they are appealing to. It seems like the shared house of professionals, but I am not sure. A purpose built study or childrens room might have been a better choice.

General Summary:

I am not 100% sure Brenton and Chez will be the winners, but they still have a few rooms to go. They have a neutral palette which is appealing, but I don’t feel like they have really pushed the style which has a very subtle art deco reference. The whole apartment does not really gel – it feels like it is missing the wow factor.

Channel 9 The Block – Mark Channel 9 The Block – Brenton amp; Duncan’s reno revamp; Duncan’s reno review

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 06:58:00 +0000

I’m sure many of you have also been watching The Block on Channel 9 wondering who is going to win the prize and get the highest price on auction day! Since I have been watching the show every week myself, I thought I’d give my views on the designs and decoration so far. Over the next few posts I will comment on the different apartments and styles. It will be interesting to see what sells on the day.
A quick look at RP Data to understand the demographics of Vaucluse and most households earn > $130k, are mostly professionals and 60% of the households have children versus 25% couples with no kids.

Mark & Duncan – the 2 tradies

Highlights:
I think the study/guestroom in bedroom 3 is a highlight with the build in shelf space that would also double as a great kids room.The ensuite with the extra large shower space is a great idea and will definitely add value. I always try to play with the floorplan to maximise space and move walls where it makes sense. I also really like the modern slimline basin Omvivo Linea from Reece. I love that they squeezed a bathtub into the main bathroom. Even though a shower over a tub isn’t ideal, if you can find a way to get a bath tub in, you will maximise return – especially for households with young children who will expect a bath. They also have a good amount of space in the master bedroom as well as some nice storage – lots of drawers and that great recess above the bed for books and trinkets. Another great idea.

Mark & Duncan Lowlights:
In general I am not mad about the colour palette – too many creams and browns. It is very traditional and quite masculine. That being said, it will definitely appeal to a more conservative buyer, an older demographic especially couples with older children. The bulkhead makes the ceilings look lower and again are very traditional. I am not convinced about all the expenditure on technology and would prefer them to invest those $$ on decoration.
General Summary -
The boys really have a practical approach to their property and use clever joinery which adds a lot of value. At the end of the day, people need lots of storage in apartments. They also want as much room as possible and at the end of the day, a really well styled room will drive the price up, but as long as the style appeals to the buyer. The boys might not be decorators, but they are improving as the show progresses and have good odds to win at auction day. Got a question for mark and Duncan? You can email them or view their blogs and gallery for more info.

Most beautiful bathroom in Australia?

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:40:00 +0000

Could this possibly be the most beautiful bathroom in Australia? From first discovering an outdoor bathroom on my first trip to Bali many years ago, I always loved the idea of showering outdoors with birds and lizards – and hopefully no pervy neighbours. There is nothing nicer than a shower amongst the trees.

But I think this bathroom in Rachel Bending’s (Bird Textiles founder) Byron Bay home is possibly the most gorgeous one I have ever seen. It just seems so decadent. Of course, not so appealing on a chilly winters night, but imagine with candles, the moonlight, a glass of wine (sigh). Oh how I would like a bath right now.

For a full tour of her sustainable home, check out the Home Beautiful website - styled by my good friend Stephanie Powell.

Oh what a clever designer.

So in love with Olioboard – vote now

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:42:00 +0000

Oh I am so in love with Olioboard. I sometimes find moodboards a bit clumsy. They remind me of primary school. They are fun, but I never think they look particularly professional. Then I read about Olioboard on Apartment Therapy and wowzers – how cool! Glue and scissors no more!

Check out the below real life comparison and vote on which you prefer!

This is a client brief I have for a house in Sydney. The client has an classic heritage house at the front and is building a new wing out the back which is totally modern, concrete floors, high ceilings, clean lines. She wants to fuse the new with the old. She likes the house to be neat but not sterile, and wants to inject personality through her furnishings.

Exhibit A – the original mood board I created the old paper and scissors way…

Exhibit B – my new Olioboard version of the same client brief.

I’d love to hear your comments on which one you like better – the original or the olioboard version??

I’m Back!

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:26:00 +0000

I’ve been away a while, but now I am back, with lots of design inspiration from around the globe and some local projects too. Let’s start with a couple of my favourite designers currently in the USA:

Ghislaine Viñas - http://www.gvinteriors.com/

Check out interiordesign.net and cococozy for more.

And of course Kathryn Ireland for increadible bohemian, moroccan, mexican inspired textiles, prints and textures.

Take a tour of her home: http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ireland-bold-bright-0308

Tree Inspiration – living in the canopy

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:21:00 +0000

I have been dying to write a post about tree houses. One day, in my wildest dreams, I am going to build one of these for myself… but in the meantime, I can just just fuel my imagination….

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant – Auckland – a Fairytale restaurant 10m up a redwood tree.

Some great treehouse articles on the busyboo design blog include the Bubble Treehouse:

Enchanted structures by Japanese master treehouse builder Takashi Kobayashi – commissioned by Nestle for a commercial:

Or the African Treehouse lodge in South Africa with wonderful outdoor bathroom:

Free Spirit Spheres – built by Canadian Tom Chudleigh which are suspended from the trees. You can buy them and move them to your own location or stay the night in one for between $125 - $175pn and feel the gentle rocking in the wind for yourself:

Or the O2 Sustainable Treehouse inspired by a Japanese lantern and built from sustainable materials with no bolts or nuts so it doesn’t hurt the tree. They can be ordered as a self installing kit.

Check out one of the world leaders in treehouses – the Baumraun Cooperative have designed and built projects all over the world. Order your own made to order treehouse:

Some companies are set up to build treehouses for personal use, for studios or hideaways and will build them to your requirements like US firms Treehouse Workshop or the Living Treehouse, as well as retreats and tree homes:

Treehouses can form guestrooms or family rooms as an extended part of the main house like this one outside Salzberg as featured on Wallpaper.com.

4Treeshouse created by Studiolukaszkos in Canada – suspended around 4 trees and designed to sway with them – built across 3 floors:

Swedish architects Tham & Vedegard Architects Tree Hotel

Do a search for treehouse and you will be surprised what amazing, inspirational homes and places you will find that captivates your imagination…. I know I was blown away.

Designers Guide to Sydney – Easter Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:30:00 +0000

What can one do if they are in Sydney this weekend over Easter? This is the first Easter I can remember in a very long time that I haven’t battled the Thursday afternoon traffic to snail my way along the highway to some relaxing holiday destination, usually to get rained out and return a few days later in even worse traffic.
Instead, I have chosen to hang in my city and explore. So my favourite design and style guide weekend picks for those lingering in Sydney…

CarriageARTworks – one of my favourite venues with great markets (growers and artisan) and performance space, but this weekend a free art exhibition celebrating art from the city’s fringe.

Potter through Surry Hills and meander through some of the great stores… including the Surry Hills Neighbourhood market on Saturday 3rd April with all sorts of antiques and collectibles, international foods, plants, vintage clothing…

I quick wander through I Ran the Wrong Way store for some interesting ethical, sustainable and local goods:

Must have a quick stop at the Bourke Street Bakery cnr Bourke and Devonshire streets for the yummiest cakes, breads and pastries in town:

Try not to miss the Eliasson exhibition at the MCA in the Rocks – it ends April 11th and is a must see – imagine a circular room ten metres in diameter illuminated by a soft purple light or a two-storey moss covered wall, or a sparkling white metropolis made from Lego.

China Town Night market – open every Friday night:

Fringe Bar Markets – squashed into the Fringe Bar on a Saturday full of vintage, retro and hand made goods.

Dr Sketchy’s at the Arthouse Hotel – Burlesque drawing classes on Tuesday night – have a glass of wine and a scribble:

Madhatter’s Tea Party on Easter Sunday in the Victoria Rooms – a stunning venue in an old garage on Victoria Street Darlinghurst.

There’s lots to do this weekend – wander the streets, lots of markets, Bondi to Bronte walk, buy local produce for dinner with friends…. why go away at all!

Small Balcony Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:52:00 +0000

I have a really small balcony (1m x 4m) which faces north and it’s lovely to sit with a cup of coffee, read the paper or munch on a piece of toast in the morning sunshine – if only I could fit! No matter how many different ways I have tried to organise that balcony, it has been a constant decorating challenge. Small tables and chairs always over-crowd the space making it impractical to move around and walk down to the yard - until I discovered the Hanging Balcony Table.

It looked pretty ridiculous online, but for $59.95 it was worth giving it a try.When it arrived, it was a little larger than I thought and solved the problem perfectly. Coupled with a bench seat from IKEA and these cute little pink and scarlet outdoor cushions, I have the perfect place to sit in the mornings to watch the birds and enjoy the sunshine.

Being a rented apartment I am sort of limited to what I can do, but I’m not 100% happy with it yet. While I have the furniture in position, the next step is to add some plants which I will also hang from the balcony and perhaps some wood deck tiles like these (about $15 - $25 per tile) – to make it a little more modern;

Here are a few other small balcony ideas I have uncovered while researching my own little project… Urban Balcony has some great furniture ideas including these ones for small spaces:

Burkes Backyard featured a small balcony makeover one episode including converting aluminium toolboxes into bench seats that also double as storage. I’m not too keen on the look personally, but I was originally thinking of having a piece of furniture custom made to fit in this space which could act as a kind of small daybed and storage box at the same time. They also featured another balcony makeover which looks much better including custom designs furniture and wooden deck tiles.

Check out the 10 Inspiring Small Space Balcony Gardens article on Apartment Therapy:

Doityourself website has a good article on how to dress up a small balcony and turn it into a lovely garden.

As does eHow with some nice ideas including lanterns – I hadn’t thought of that, but I think it would look good with a few candles on my balcony too.

Lots of small balcony ideas on this US website thefind.com.

And of course, IKEA has some good ides with stools and benches (where I purchased my Norden bench) but I didn’t want stackable furniture for myself as I think it clutters up a small space and also is a bit of a hassle.

And now for something just a little bit different – what about the Bloomframe shown here on the likecool website – a window which opens to a balcony – created in the Netherlands by architects Hofman Dujardin now no longer just a prototype…

My review of Lifeinstyle Sydney this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:04:00 +0000

I had a brilliant time at life instyle this weekend, seeing all the clever products, homewares, textiles, prints, fabrics, cushions, jewellery that artists & designers all over Australia and worldwide create. As usual there was a lot to see, but I thought I would focus on a few of my favourites – can’t wait to buy/resell/recommend them for future projects…

First up Bholu. Well I got to meet the bubbly Jodie Fried in person and she was so inspirational and spent at least 20 fabulous minutes chatting about her life, her creative ventures and her schools in India. (If your read this Jodie – thank you so much!) See my other articles on Bholu textiles and her new range of wallpapers from Porters Paints which were on display! Nice!

OK next up textile designers that caught my eye was Tinker from Melbourne. They had a lovely range of hand printed items in subdued lemons, taupe and blues, both floral and geometric prints. They seemed more than happy to please and will do customised and one off sales of items for designers with cushions, throws, pouffes, wallpapers and napery items in their range:

There was a lot of bed linen and importers, makers of lovely throws, covers and bedspreads, but those that really caught my eye are from Bianca Lorenne of New Zealand. She makes a range which is high quality, French inspired and the fabrics are so soft and tactile that you want to buy them all – but you better be quick as they are all limited editions. Nice creams, whites, pale blue-grey. Very feminine but not in a flowery way that a man would groan at.

Also from New Zealand architect Andrew Johnston of Thatch was a great range of flat packed light shades…

Very quaint but also convenient to send to friends overseas as presents! Lovely for kids rooms.

Now let’s not overlook the obvious style leaders; those Scandinavians who had a lot of beautiful products and designs everywhere – how can such a small country have so many great products and designers? Or is it just that those northern European designs, lots of white and black, bright colours, clean lines appeal to me most? Things that caught my eye:

There was a lovely range of practical, functional yet fashionable products on sale from Nordic Designs Home including their Monster Collection by the clever Karin Mannerstahl whose bright colours and bold prints brighten up home all over Europe:

Jacquard fabrics by the clever Swedish designer HildaHilda. I loved her prints because they are bold but not gaudy but can adapt to both children or adults rooms. The colours are happy but lots of tinted greens, reds, blues make them versatile in the home…

HildaHilda distributed by Coris who also sell the bright coloured weaves of Barefoot Linen by Sri Lankan designer Barabara Sansoni.

Last but not least, the sustainable, renewable range of wonderful kitchen and home use products from Bambu. made from you guessed it - bamboo by New York designers but crafted in China:

Read the bambu blog if you want more information.

So that’s my line up of favourites from life instyle. Download the life instyle ebook to see the full range of items on display.

If you went to life instyle sydney or plan to go to life instyle Melbourne, I would love to hear about your favourite designers and suppliers too.

Ideas for using blackboard paint at home

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:18:00 +0000

A friend of mine Adrian recently renovated his unit in Bondi and painted a blackboard wall in his kitchen. It is really effective and a great way to keep track of shopping lists, leave messages for the family etc. It really warms up the room and creates a feature of this corner of the kitchen.

I asked Adrian how he went about painting the wall and here are some of his tips – thanks Adrian!

Qu. How hard was it to paint the wall? [Adrian] At first I tried with a brush - big mistake, it was like working with glue. Because the wall is quite narrow I switched to a mini-roller with a short pile. This made the job more bearable and provided a much better finish.

Qu. Did you have to prepare the surface in any way?[Adrian] Not really, as it is a 'novelty' wall I'm not too concerned about the finish (plus it's matt black so imperfections are not reflected). I just painted directly over old acrylic paint that was washed down with sugar soap.

Qu. What brand of paint did you use? [Adrian] White Knight Paints

Qu. Any tips for others? [Adrian] The short piled roller, good ventilation and always allow to cover less than what the state of the coverage section of the directions.

Check out these other blackboard articles and blogposts:

Style-files – Netherlands:

Have a look at this post by Jennifer at madebygirl:

How about this dry erase writing surface from IdeaPaint

Other tips:

Make it magnetic – paint a magnetic primer underneath to make it a magnetic blackboard! http://www.abcstuff.com/magnetic_paint.php

What about a whiteboard? use IdeaPaint to create your own whiteboards – check out this article on notemaker’s blog: http://notemaker.com.au/products/idea-paint

Kids fun wall – read this article from real living to create a reversible activity board for kids: http://realliving.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=772405

Some suppliers in Australia:

Wallpaper from Bholu – thanks to Bondville!

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:05:00 +0000

Because this post looked so great, I copied the entire Wallpaper from Bholu post from Bondville (not sure it this is blog-etiquette, sorry if its not cool) – but plug plug check out Bondville for other interesting posts…

One of my all time favourite and inspirational interviews is from Bholu entrepreneur and designer Jodie Freid – and she is so creative and clever and now moving into wallpapers as well…

Welcome news for lovers of good Australian design with a conscience - uber-cool lifestyle brand Bholu has teamed up with Porter's Paints to release a divine range of wallpaper for littlies and grown-ups under the “Designers for Porter’s Paints” series.
Designed to mix and match with the label's homewares and children's range, the designs feature the signature bholu ‘Nimboo’ swirl and characters such as ‘Mavis the Monkey’, ‘Frederick the Elephant’ and ‘Marjorie the Duck’.
For those not in the know, Bholu is a fair trade company based in Australia that works with communities in India to produce gorgeous homewares. Part proceeds go back to these communities as well as funding for education facilities and other programs for underprivileged children.
Check out more images of the new collection on the Bholu Facebook page. Bholu wallpaper will be available at Porter's stockists from February 17th, 2010 (call your local stockist for more information) around the world.
Read more about Bholu on Bondville here.
Thanks again Steph!

Make your own Green Wall

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:09:00 +0000

Ever since I saw a show Botanist, artist and creator of the Vertical Garden, Patrick Blanc on TV I have been fascinated by green walls, vertical gardens, green roofs, living walls – whatever you like to call them. Patrick Blanc the original inventor of the vertical garden was here in Sydney this month launching his new and tallest project Treo on a residential building in preparation for his other more ambitious green wall project in Australia.

Generally, I struggle to keep anything alive myself (no natural green thumb), but the thought of being able to grow your herbs on the kitchen wall, create a green space in a store or hotel or commercial property, adds a really earthy mood to an otherwise sterile or blank surface and can apparently boost productivity by 12%! My Cloudland post urged me to further investigate green walls and write a post on the topic:

General Pants - Melbourne

Accenture – Pyrmont by the Greenwall Company

Gazebo Wine Bar – the first green wall built in Australia by Ed Wharburton from Greenwall Australia.

Apparently they cost between $900 - $1800 per metre to have them custom made which sounds a little on the high end – I read somwehere the Gazebo Greenwall estimated to have cost around $23,000 – probably not everyone’s budget. 3-4 story high walls could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

OK – lets start small, ELT, a US based sustainable garden company has DIY kits for as low as US$395. The ones I like best are from gro-wall and they are sold by Lushe for around $250 per kit. These look simplest to me.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN GREENWALL??

Watch this video of a guy from NY building his own:

Just to make it clear, I am NO gardening expert and have never done this before. I spoke to my mate Damon who is a commercial landscaper for Coordinated Landscapes and he reckons as long you you find a DIY type product it is doable. They use a company called Elmich but he thinks they might be a little expensive but check out this video, makes it sound like quite a DIY system. The main thing he says is to get the irrigation right – especially if it is a north facing garden because there is not a lot of soil in a green wall and it doesn’t stay as moist as the garden. He reckons you can get cheap irrigation products from Bunnings and set that bit up quite easily perhaps with a tray at the bottom to collect the water and a small pump to move the water up. Also, food and plants can be mixed together eg. strawberries, herbs, tomatoes etc.

Here is some great information to help you create your own if you are brave enough to give it a whirl!

Check out this video.

Read a lot of information on the topic eg. Lushe Urban Gardening has some good DIY info and ideas for green walls, Gardening Tips tries to improvise, check out how Nick in NY made one on his apartment wall and other posts.

Other interesting posts: Inhabitat Green Roofs, Read this SMH article, Green Roofs Australia, ELT.

I would love to create my own but will need some help (hopefully Damon will give me a hand) and if we go down this path I’ll be sure to blog my progress. In the meantime, if you want a quick and easy version, why not this crazy idea?

If anyone has created their own green wall I would love to hear about how easy/hard it was and how you went about it.

IKEA for Christmas – fa la la la!!

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:19:00 +0000

Not sure where my brilliant idea of driving all the way to IKEA in Homebush just before Xmas came from, add one hangover and salt it with a torrential downpour and a smothering of mad Xmas!

After 5 hours (still not sure how that happened - wandering around and checking all the new items) and ended up with 3 trolleys worth of stuff I am not 100% sure I need plus some very cute Xmas pressies for kids (their kids section was brilliant) and generally a whole lot of funky homewares and home furnishings that I simply must have to have! But what really excited me was the Ikea Textiles section!

I don’t remember there being so much of it and for prices as low as $9.99 a metre (actually as low as $3.49) you can’t really beat that. Lots of bold designs, made from 100% cotton, Scandinavian designers many of them I have never heard of – very marimekko, bold colours, simplified motifs, animals, trees and nature prints, with a retro feel to them … Having my camera handy I whipped out a few pics:

I love them. I can see lots of inspirational home decorating with these fabrics. They even had a cutting station and lots of people around to help you. A huge range too. Check out the ikeafans website with lots of great ideas of things to make with Ikea fabric.
Will need to have a better look, but after the silly season once I have recovered from the last experience!!

Ice Bear Melting away in Copenhagen Square

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:28:00 +0000

What an impactful statement, having a life size Ice Sculpture of a polar bear melting in Copenhagen during the Unit Nations Climate Change Conference to showcase the melting of the polar ice caps.

Created by sculptor Mark Coreth for the Ice Bear Project, the scultpure will be located in Copenhagen’s Nytorv square on 5th December. Over 10 days it will melt away leaving behind a bronze polar bear skeleton held within the ice, a pool of water and a powerful message about the environment. Watch videos of Mark at work on the sculpture.

At 1.8 metres high the ice bear is exactly the same in height as the average thickness of the floating sea ice in the Arctic Ocean measured during the Catlin Arctic Survey earlier this year. Scientists have observed that ice under 2 metres thick is almost certainly too thin to survive the summer melting season.
The Ice Bears will hopefully go on tour to other cities including Bears in Squares for the centres of Copenhagen, Oslo, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Moscow, New York, Toronto, Tokyo, Beijing and Sydney!!! Please, Please, Please come!!!!!!!

Too Cute Cloud Umbrella

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:40:00 +0000

I need me one of these little Cloud Umbrellas from Joonsoo Kim! With a little more investigation I discovered the duo Korean design team who studies in the Netherlands Joon & Jung. You carry it around in a little stick which also acts as a pump and then inflate into mini-cumulus clouds of protection when the rain starts to pour!

I’m not 100% sure how protective it would be, no word on price or even if they are manufactured yet and reading a few blogs they drip a little, but hey – they are still tres cute.

In addition to the crazy little inflatable cloud umbrella, Joon & Jung have also made a range of other very sweet designs like the Pillow Blanket, a snug, cloudy blanket made of pillows you can lie on or throw around you. Or the Cloudmon toy/sculpture, again influences by clouds and rain (I don’t know if you have tried to make polyhedra before, but they are damn hard) and try the melting cup.

On the topic of umbrellas though, there are some xrazy ideas out there – that I just had to throw these ones in for good measure from The Coolist – and my personal favourites are:

The Multi-Unit Superbrella

The home made electric umbrella

The Contracting Polite Umbrella

The Eco Brolly

The Tandem

The Handsfree Numbrella

Crazy little designer people are so funny!!! Which is your favourite? Mine is still the cloud umbrella.

@Cloudland Brisbane – I wanna go!

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:25:00 +0000

I whinge about getting older, but I wanna go to Cloudland! I’m in Brisbane for work, driving through ‘The Valley’ which is totally gentrified these days, and I spy a very impressive facade of concrete, steel and glass on Ann street.

There are crazy little round planter boxes reminiscent of a science fiction time machine film turning the exterior into a lush vertical garden.

As it says on their website, “if cloudland was to be given a tag “mad maximillion meets neo-decor’ – I’m not 100% sure I know what that means, but time machine springs to mind.
Created for the Katarzyna Group by Melbourne architect Nic Brunner, this three level, 1500-capacity venue boasts a fully retractable roof, an "organic" interior - including a central water feature and vertical "garden" wall - relaxed lounge areas, private function spaces, secluded basement and rooftop bar.

If that’s not enough, check out these photos:

Dazzle me with the amazing outdoor laser lights – with its rings that spin and 4900 lighting channels that create a show, I am impressed!!

I’m sorry, but this place is something you would find in Europe, not Brisbane – it ticks all my boxes, oozing art nouveau meets Antonio Gaudi, meets blade runner - this place looks unreal! Custom furniture, bespoke light fittings, ornate balustrades, hanging wall gardens (yum):

Did I say this already – I wanna go? Hey Brisbanites – is it worth me putting on my frock and stilettos, not to mention the war paint?

Check out this post at Lushe on Cloudland vertical gardens.

Ode to Irresistible Fabrics

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Don’t you just love textiles? Browsing in stores picking up odds and ends of pieces of hand printed fabric, a bolt here a scrap there. I love to touch them, look at them, stack them. Well, thanks to the internet and my visit to Life in Style, I have discovered so many talented designers making wonderful fabrics, so this post is dedicated to them.
Bird Textiles – thinks about the environment from her Byron Bay studio and creates stylish fabrics, homewares, stationery, umbrellas and more. Shibori in Chippendale – creates a range of handmade, Japanese inspired silk fabrics as well as screen printed and digitally created fabrics and homewares.

Stylish fabrics from Surface Art – produced into garments and homewares and all Australian made and printed. They sell fabric by the metre for up to $88 and even little packs of offcuts. What home is complete without some Scandinavian retro print from my Bondi neighbour Funkis. Their fabrics are quite expensive, anything from $90 - $250 per metre, but they are quite sturdy so can be used for many decorating purposes.

Of course my favourite most inspirational read ever was the story of Bholu designer Jodie Freid who not only designed her own fabrics and homewares which are hand emboidered by women in India, but she has also set up her own not for profit building pre-schools for disadvantaged children in India, called the Anganwadi Project. Read this article on Dynamic Business to see what a great entrepreneur she is and to be inspired.

A feature of fabric would be incomplete without a reference to Marimekko from Finland. I do love those northern Europeans, with their clean, crisp distinctive style that is both modern and retro at the same time.

I’ve found it hard to find their fabrics in Australia. If you are lucky enough to be in Finland, Sweden, Germany or the UK, you can visit a Marimekko shop. There are a whole bunch of suppliers of the products in Australia but I have not personally stumbled across a place to buy fabric by the metre. If you know where to buy fabrics in Australia, let me know. But check out their cool 2009 Christmas catalogue.
I could prattle on forever, but if you want to see a whole bunch of great fabrics in one place, checkout Funky Fabrix. They have a whole bunch of fabrics from designers all over. Check out some of my faves: Monaluna, Joel Dewberry, Saffron Craig, Michael Miller…
And they have a 10% discount right now on all orders over $100.
I could go on… but I will save it for some other time.
Drop me a note about your favourite textiles designer or fabric haunt.

Rajasthani Style – Mandawa Havelli

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:47:00 +0000

We recently returned from a trip to Rajasthan – an amazing place to go if you want an injection of creative inspiration. We had the good fortune of staying in some wonderful ‘boutique hotels’ called Havelis. These buildings are usually family homes which have been handed down through generations. They are often still family managed which makes them very homely and comfortable. Very few Indians can afford to renovate or convert them and they just disintegrate with time into the dust.

We stayed in Mandawa Haveli in the heart of Shekawati, a small region north of Jaipur full of artisans and small villages full of crumbling havelis over 200 years old.

For budding architects out there who would like a challenging renovation project, head to Shekawati. This region has loads of towns with deteriorating havelis out in the desert – a really magical place, worthy of a visit.

Today's Bondi Market Find - Carpets for Communities

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:53:00 +0000

Desperate for a new bathmat! I needed a new rug for the bathroom. While my white mat looked great when it was clean, it was hardly ever clean. So, I needed something with a bit more colour that wouldn't look too gaudy in our already bright bathroom (can't always get what you want in a rental unit).

At Bondi Markets today I stumbled across these hand hooked cotton rugs made by families in Cambodia.

Carpets for Communities is a not for profit whose goal is to reduce child labor and vulnerability to child trafficking by empowering mothers to send their children to school through the production and sale of one-of-a-kind, hand-hooked carpets.

You even get a photo of the family who made your rug and you can take a photo and post it to their website so they can also share it with the family who made it. Ok, that's all I needed to hear to put my hand in my pocket. What a great idea!

Check them out. They even make customised rugs to order and weren't that expensive. And, while they are a little bright, they are actually really soft and fluffy underfoot.

Friday Feature - Coolest Apartment on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:29:00 +0000

Could you live here? I came across environmental grafitti recently and I loved this post. So I decided that every Friday I am going to find and feature a new apartment that competes in the coolest/ wierdest/ most amazing place to live stakes. It will be my own "Coolest Apartment on Earth" listing. I hope you like it.

So for crazy apartment #1, lets look at the wilde featured on Friedensreich Hundertwasser's "Waldspirale" ("Forest Spiral") apartment block.

There is something very Antonio Gaudi about it (my favourite architect of ALL TIME of course) which is probably why I like it. Some of the things that make it special - those crazy onion shaped domes, apparently no wall is straight (very Gaudi), quite organic - very Art Noveau. But the bit I like best is the roof garden. Today it would be called an 'eco-roof' or a 'green roof'. It not only provides a great aesthetic but also can we used for energy production and food production. Check out these 8 incredible green roofs!! That brings me onto one of my other favourite topics of wall gardens - but I digress.

There are 105 glorious apartments in this structure which winds its way like a spiral. Aparently there is a landscaped courtyard in the centre with a running stream. Up in the turret at the southeast corner, there is a restaurant, including a cocktail bar! You'd never need to leave home? The building was constructed from 1998 - 2000.

So how would I rate this building

* Innovation = 8

* Eco-friendly = 9

* Facilities = 6

* Aesthetic = 5 (its a little ugly by my standards outside - would like to see inside)

* Cool Factor = 5.

* Total score = 33/50.

Could I live here? Maybe if it wasn't in Darmstadt Germany!!

Beresford Hotel - amazing what $30 million will buy!

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Carolyn and I ventured out for a girlie chit chat dinner last night and we chose the Beresford Hotel because I'd heard it had a swanky facelift from the days that I remembered. Well, facelift is an understatement - this was a total reconstruction!!

On the outside it looks like any other Surry Hills pub and to be honest, the bar just looks like any other (though according to the indesignlive website, it is a one of a kind curved dovetail bar!!). All I know is that it was crowded and took ages to get a drink. However, its the little things that catch your eye (until you've had one glass of wine too many and it all just blurs into a noisy, dark hum). What I liked the most was the lamps in the restaurant over the dinner table that could be pulled and moved to point in different directions - like a pipe cleaner. You can kind of see them in the photo below:

We also scored a free bottle of wine from the drunken Beresford accountant who was friendly enough and chatted to us about the $30 million interior reconstruction that sent the original owners broke.

The food was pretty good - Italian fare. I was starving after my run and wolfed down my mulloway with record speed. Carolyn savored her twice cooked chicken maryland (go figure) which was absolutely delicious and falling off the bone - I couldn't resist poking her plate while she was talking.

All up I would recommend it - definitely from a design perspective as there are some really cool features like the bathrooms (communal sink area), beautiful break neck wooden staircase and huge outdoor courtyard, fabulous wooden floors, the lamps (which I have mentioned) and olive oil containers with this little lid with the salt on top.

Spend some time looking at the no expense spared detail as its first class, very cool and Thomas Jacobsen chic. Worth a night out venture. I can't believe its taken me so long to go there!

Swedish Design

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Great post on Decor8 about Swedish Design which then led me to Emma's blog from Stockholm - also full of great inspirational homes and images. I am going retro furniture hunting today. I haven't pottered around the Bondi furniture store lately. They often have some good stuff if you really poke around. Check out this hus & hem photo stream. My favourite is the blue one 2nd down - not so much the colour, though I like that it is bold, but more the way the room is styled.

Karen M. Andersen: Studio Tour - part 1

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:45:00 +0000

OK well I am reasonably new to this blogging thing so I am sniffing around looking for interesting bits and bites. One thing led to another and I ended up here on Karen Anderson's blog checking out her studio. It feels a little like cyber spying and I guess it is. Its a very cool looking little studio might I add. I love the personality and home made bits and bobs. Quite retro yet modern style with the aqua and red colour palette. Very cool. A few snaps that I particularly liked are below. Nice one karen. (not sure if you know that I am out here but hey, that's newbie bloggers for you!

Karen M. Andersen: Studio Tour - part 1

Check your Interior Style Personality @ ISCD

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:29:00 +0000

ISCD - my old interior design school - has released a dinky little interior style personality tool. Its quite fun just for a laugh. Apparently I am New York Loft (I think I got a different result once before, so clearly I am fickle). It says I am a trendsetter!!! I like a high ceiling (true), and an open plan (depends) and my style is distinctive and ever evolving (hmm - have to think about both of those). I believe the built environment is more spectacular than the natural one (FALSE).

Makes for a good magazine cover though. Check it out!! Or visit the ISCD blog.

Fluffy Life Size Sheep Sculpture

noreply@blogger.com (mokoe) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:37:00 +0000

While I am on the topic of sculpture, I have to add a link to this post on apartment therapy about the Lalanne sheep. Crazy. Who would put a life size sheep in their home? I can maybe understand as a foot stool, but I'm not so sure. Personally I wouldn't recommend it, but maybe if you lived in country nsw??