A BEAUTIFUL CAPE TOWN HOME

When I lived in Cape Town a few years ago I would often walk past this house.  I would often stop and stare and wonder how it looked inside, and also wonder how different the world would look from inside this awesome modernist house.

Who would not want to live here...?  

Designed by a very talented Chilean architect by the name of Antonio Zaninovic based in Cape Town.   Excited to have found an old architect acquaintance who also works at his studio!

Found via Roomed.nl

MY WORK: MICRO CEMENT 'UPCYCLED' COFFEE TABLE

Its a cold and rainy and grey autumn day in London - and what better way to spend a Sunday morning, than with a leisurely breakfast, reading some blogs and finally getting round to showing you what I've been working on over the summer.

I've been experimenting with a micro cement finish, similar to the Cemcrete product range that I was marketing in Cape Town a few years ago.  But this time round I got my hands dirty and I have actually been working with the product, mixing and troweling and sanding and some more mixing and troweling and sanding and finally sealing.   The finish is only a bout 2 - 3mm thick and you can create some really wonderful and interesting textures and finishes in any colour you can imagine!  The finish is not only beautiful but also very strong and durable.   Excited is quite an understatement!  

The photo's I am sharing today is of a coffee table that I 'upcycled' with the micro cement finish.  It was probably 1 1/2 days work, which is a long time, but as the saying goes 'time flies when you're having fun'.  I guess with time I will develop my skill and work a bit faster, so I can continue developing a little range for my portfolio.  I enjoyed taking the photo's - it was on a sunny day in August, and there was just this lovely gentleness about in the air, the sunshine added this rather lovely magical glow.

SOUTHERN FRANCE BLISS

    

Photo:  Lindé Davies

Photo:  Lindé Davies

Photo:  Lindé Davies

Photo:  Lindé Davies

Photo:  Lindé Davies

I love taking my summer holidays in September, just to savour those last moments of sunshine and summertime.   You can almost sense Autumn in the air, but just not quite yet.  The mornings are fresh and the days are bright and hot, especially when you find yourself in the South of France.

This is where I recently had a blissful and much needed relaxing break.   Lots of lovely walks through vineyards, and bike rides along the Canal du Midi.  Take time to breathe, to live and to just be and to be in the sun!  Long alfresco lunches catching up with friends and their families .... dinners extending late into the evening...

It is and always will stay one of my most favoured destinations - why...
because of the scenery and landscape,
because of the pretty little villages with their red tiled roofs,
because you can still find some delapidated old barns and village houses and dream of renovating it into a state of beauty and charm,
because of the amazing food and wine,  
but mostly because some of my closest friends and their families live in this beautiful part of the world

These few photo's where snapped with my phone (amazing the technology nowadays.....) on some out and aboutings in and around La Redorte, in Aude, France.

TIME

Does anyone else feel like time is in fast forward mode at the moment?  

I feel like there is never enough hours in the day, and not enough days in the week.  
And when I go to bed, before I have even closed my eyes it is morning again.... 
nighttime sleeptime dreamtime all over in a flash.

Sometimes I wish I could just quiet my mind and retreat into an abyss where time does not exist and neither to-do lists.  Where I can just be.

Well... this weekend may be my lucky retreat!  I'm off to the countryside in Wales for a camping and 4x4 trip with my cousin and his girlfriend and their gorgeous little doggy called Peanut!

Lets hope for a cleared mind and calmed thoughts upon my return... 

Image 1 via fotocommunity
Image 2 via nasty-frog.deviantart

VILLA VILLEKULLA

Just perfect and beautiful isn't it just?

Images via Scandinavian Retreat

Last image via Residence Magazine

DEKO HOUSE AT FINLAND HOUSING FAIR 2013

This post has been lingering in my drafts for the past few weeks and finally I have a bit of spare time to share it with you all.  This has been all over the net - and I'm sure you've seen these lovely images too, and liked them just as much as I had.  

This house has been styled by Scandinavian Deko for the Finland Housing Fair - lush lush lush, just all of it.  Even the wooding cladding on the exterior!

More details and images via Scandinavian Deko

PS:  I have only just noticed that all my images had disappeared, sad face... and so sorry about this post without images.

Fortunately I found them again at the Scandinavian Retreat blog - hopefully they're here to stay!  Enjoy enjoy all over again x

ARTIST LOUI JOVER

Amazingly talented Australian artist Loui Jover - I'm totally in love with these ink drawings on vintage sheets of paper.

First spotted via Pinterest.

Images via Saatchionline

CASA CARDENAS MERIDA, MEXICO

Casa Cardenas features in July's Elle Deco - and I've spent many a journey with this issue on my lap - dreaming over the inspiring images and thinking of how wonderfully and tastefully decorated this dream home really is.  Then I decided to blog about it and was delighted to find that you (and I) can actually stay in this wonderful Mexican dream....  just visit the airbnb page here, check availability, pay the deposit.... and off we go!

And I quote from the Airbnb listing "Located on Calle 53 (the most sought after street in Merida) the location is quiet yet situated close to all the best attractions. Leafy Santiago Park, with its beautiful church and daily market, is just two blocks away.Within a short stroll are the arts district of Santa Ana, the nightly festivities of the main square and Merida's answer to the Champs Elysees, Paseo Montejo, with its bars, mansions and elegant restaurants.

The newly renovated colonial home has been skillfuly designed to satisfy modern sensibilities, providing ample natural light, cooling breezes and a spacious yard and rooftop terrace on which to entertain. For dinner, a private chef can also be arranged"

Three years ago two travel writers, Adam McCulloch and Emma Sloley bought a single storey home
in a quiet block in the historic center of Merida.  They undertook the renovation themselves, without the help of an Architect or Designer and hired a Mayan construction crew who did all the work by hand without the use of any machines or wheelbarrows.

I love what they have done with the space - and the little casita at the end of the long narrow plot that overlooks the pool.  I could while away plenty a day just chilling by that pool....

The bathrooms are just exquisite and I love the mix of neutral tones and bright bold colours.  Normally I am not too inspired by bold brightness - but here it just works and works so well and completes and compliments the space rather nicely.  All in all this is one of my most favorite finds thus far.

You can read the full article from the New York Times below http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/08/16/greathomesanddestinations/

Images via NY Times and Airbnb