...This Year...

I have been so very lax in updating, however! I've compiled some things that I've loved this year for the holiday gift giving season. Only part one...you understand.



1. Elk Ceramic Baloon Brooch (also available in a necklace) $55
2. Have You Mean Miss Jones mini owl in Bone China $12
3. Meadowlark Belt Bracelet in Silver $460NZD
4. Robert Gorden Australia Ceramic Gift Tags $9.95 assorted
5. The Small Stakes Exhibition Poster $30USD
6. Meadowlark Apple Charm (I'm not looking up the price for this as I was given this as a gift from the boy xo)
7. Ego Cognac Glasses from Top 3 by Design $79.95 a pair
8. Anthropologie Enchanted Woods Ipod Dock $99USD
9. Anthropologie Tivoli Audio Model One AM/FM Radio $178USD
10. Tivi SS Ring with Small TigerWood Inlay $54.95

~Images via the linked websites

...Toxteth...

Scrolling through real estate (as one does) I came accross this beauty for rent.
It's located in Toxteth Road, in the Inner West suburb of Glebe (my old stomping ground) in Sydney.
I managed to track down the architects - OCP Architects - and found their wonderful product sheet (click here).
Here is the blurb from the real estate website, but I really don't think it does the building justice:

An inspired recreation has transformed this historic church hall c1898 into a unique living space. Combining designer aesthetics with environmental efficiency, this exceptional residence sets a new benchmark for contemporary living in a key location.

Versatile residential and creative business possibilities

432sqm with private leafy gardens and entertaining spaces

Upper level living spaces feature open lounge/dining areas

Sunlit pavilion style room integrated with a wide terrace

Deluxe CaesarStone island kitchen with Miele gas fittings

All bedrooms feature customised built-ins and study nook

Superb master suite with luxury spa bath ensuite

Mezzanine home office with kitchen and bathroom facilities

Double rear carport, air conditioning, good security system

Design principles with watertank storage and sky windows

The house boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 2 carspaces, for the paltry sum of $2150AUD per week. I think I also spotted it for sale somewhere for $3.9million.

Here's the link for renting the property, for now!

Images via realestate.com.au

...The Beach House...

Architects: BARK Design Architects
Location: Queensland, Australia
Photographs: Christopher Frederick Jones

I'm a bit of a patriot. Don't get me wrong, I have a severe need to travel the world, see beautiful places, and I plan on living in some country or another for some amount of time. But Australia is home. This country really is the lucky country. It's harsh, violent, forgiving, redeeming, breathtaking, soul-destroying. It gives life and takes life in the blink of an eye. I am astounded every day by the beatuy of my country.

So to come across a home in Marcus Beach, Queensland, that pays such careful and loving tribute to the land around it makes me insanely happy. This is the kind of home I dream about.

This is the Marcus Beach House by Bark Architects. It is 260m2 house on a 727m2 site, built in spotted gum hardwood timber and glass. It is contemporary, yet classic. It melds into the landscape, while still sitting apart from it. I am so in love with this house it hurts.

Sitting 250m from the beach, the house is styled on a basic "pavillion" idea, originally sketched in the sand during the first site inspection - see, that's the Aussie way of doing things! The 2 pavillions are placed either side of a venerable 100 year old Morton Bay Ash, which gives life to the proportions and scale used wihtin the dwelling.

The main western pavillion houses living spaces focused around a double height deck overlooking the swimming pool and northern garden. The Master Bedroom is accessed via a polycarbonate-clad stair tower that acts as a lantern at night.

The house employs sustainable design elements to passively defend the residents from the elements - windows and doors are strategically positioned to maximise the breeze, while roof overhangs protect the house from direct summer sunlight. There is no air conditioning in the house, nor is it wanted, and artificial lighting is kept to a minimum due to the generous amount and position of glazing, particularly facing the north.

Originally designed by Bark in 2002 the house recently found itself with new owners, who naturally came to the original architects to design alterations.


“It is our first project, which we had the interesting and fortunate opportunity to revisit with another client after a number of years,” says Steve Guthrie, Bark Principal. “The current owners have a very keen interest in art and design and are supportive custodians of the architecture.”


“A few key areas were elevated from a raw economical beach house with outdoor laundry and polished chipboard floors to include more comforts and a higher level of finish within the framework of the character of the house.”


Because of this relationship with the Morten Bay Ash, the pavilion spaces read like tree houses, from both inside and out, with a lightness of structure that is important in this part of the world.


“It is one of those houses which has a strong natural spirit,” Guthrie says. “It simply feels good and I think the experience of this for the clients and visitors comes from its inextricable link to landscape."

~Quote via HabitusLiving

~Images via Contemporist and HabitusLiving

...I Suppose...

Architects: Suppose Design Office

Location: Buzen, Fukuoka, Japan

Photographer: Toshiyuki Yano

This residence was built with children in mind. When we're young, anything and anywhere is a playground. The architects of this house wanted to create a dwelling with a courtyard that would become a playground naturally.

Rooms are disconnected structures, interwoven with glass-ceilinged pathways, creating an exterior area that feel interior, and an interior area that feels exterior. The glass ceiling allows for days spent in the sun, and nights spent stargazing.

This is a stunning revelation in architecture - really, when you think about it, it's as if the architects have taken a standard house layout, blown out each individual room and wrapped the whole lot in glass, creating a public/private, play/live/work mish-mash of living.

Images via ArchDaily

...The House in the N...

Name: House N

Architects: Sou Fujimoto Architects
Location: Oita, Japan
Photographer: Iwan Baan

This amazing house in Oita, Japan, was commisioned for 2 people and one dog. The coposition of the house is quite interesting - there are 3 shells; the outermost shell encompasses the entire premises, creatng a coverd semi-indoor garden. The middle shell encloses a limited space inside the covered outdoor space. The final shell creates a small, interior space, and the residents build their life within these 3 shells.

There are no distinct boundaries with this house - everything is fluid, a gradual change of domain. It almost completely epitomes the idea of the "In-Between". It is a nest, a cradle, and is infinite in it's capacity for repitition and expansion.

An interesting note is that the inner shell houses dining and living areas - not usually areas that are hidden from public view. The bed area is in the middle box, only semi-private from the outside world. Personally, I don't care, it's just so beautiful.

~Images via ArchDaily