RIDE-ON FUN

Having your own baby certainly brings out your inner child. I was remembering the days when my sister and I used to whiz around the grandparents garden in our pedal car and particularly the 'bang' sound it made when driving it into the garage door! I of course want my little man to have all these experiences too so I have been checking out some ride on toys. There is some very cool designed toys for the little ones. Check out these few that I have put together..

'taiKa' are handmade by Australian Daniel Rollston who was heavily influenced by his Finnish grandfather's woodworking skills. When Daniel's son was born he wanted to create similar wooden toys that he had grown up with. The bike comes in four finishes - Black Woodstain, Black Chalkboard, Silver Birch or Natural.

images via taiKa

My son's father and grandfather are heavily into mountain bike riding so it is inevitable that he will own a bike before too long! I am surprised he doesn't have one yet! I think these balance bikes are not only very cool but also very beneficial to helping children learn to ride without the use of training wheels.

image via http://www.earlyrider.com/

Playsam produce beautifully designed objects in timber that are not only for children but adults alike. This is the very stylish Saab Roadster.

image via playsam

Sirch is a German company that specialise in steam bent plywood ride-on toys. Another fine example of how lovely timber-made toys are. This is the 'Sibis Max and Lorette' ride-on car with trailer.

image via http://www.lukemagee.com

LIGHT LOVE

Short and sweet Wednesday - I have a new light crush. These stunning 'lloop' lights are by ontwerpduo. Enough said.

yep I am so in love...

images via designboom

COCORO RESTAURANT

I have a 'thing' for wooden slats, actually, I love me a bit of timber slats. I am not sure when my love affair with the slender timber began but it has been awhile. It is a detail that has been used repeatedly in interior design if not almost too excessively, but it works. Cocoro Restaurant situated in a former warehouse in Auckland, New Zealand was designed by Gascoigne Associates. The Japanese restaurant has been lined with the timber slats which offset the charcoal palette and the exposed concrete used on the walls and ceiling. Fabulous!

images via Dezeen

ADELAIDE'S AWESOME DESIGN DUO

Adelaide's very own design duo Daniel To and Emma Aiston have won the very prestigious 2010 Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award for their 'basics collection'. The very talented design duo who form the studio Daniel Emma met whilst studying Industrial Design at the University of South Australia. After graduating in 2007 the pair spent 2 years working overseas gaining an incredible amount of experience before returning home to Adelaide to set up their studio. Visit their website daniel-emma.com for more info.

images via Hindsvik Blog

IN THE PINK

Happy Friday everyone! The Design Files had a lovely home tour of the creative Sydney pad of designers Tess and Michael of The Lowercase, their lovely terrace house in Paddington had injections of pink from the front door, to a cushion and window shutters. I thought it was a very effective use of colour. Although I am not a particular lover of pink I thought these images were quite fun to share..

image via http://mila-loveology.blogspot.com/

image via http://www.marieclairemaison.com

image via http://fromscandinaviawithlove.tumblr.com/

image via http://mila-loveology.blogspot.com/

THE FOLLY

Oh London how I miss thee.. Husband and I spent a year and a half living in London which was over 3 years ago now. We have not been back since and I really do miss it at times. I particularly miss feeling very inspired by design, every where I turned there was something new and inspiring to look at. My eyeballs definitely got a work out over there! Whilst checking out coolboom recently I came across the fitout for The Folly restaurant located in east London. It is described as a 'botanically inspired haven' which also boasts a flower shop. I am particularly enamoured with the signage. I am liking the use of the lime green against the grey backdrop, very tres chic! The Folly does remind me of similar fitouts in Australia particularly those designed by Hecker Guthrie. There is very much a style that has evolved of recent, which seems to be based on a 50's garden party.

images via http://coolboom.net

TAKE FLIGHT

Short and sweet Wednesday - I am loving these 'Raven' coat hangers by Icelandic graphic designer Ingibjorg Hanna. The hanger can be ceiling mounted or come with a standard hanger and is great for showcasing favourite clothing pieces.

image via http://lovenordic.blogspot.com

image via http://ihanna.net

image via http://designheaven.wordpress.com

SYDNEY LOVE

Hi all, I have been offline for a few days as I have been over in Sydney with husband and baby visiting my brother and sister-in-law. It has been awhile since they have seen their little nephew and were probably shocked by how much he has grown! We had such a lovely time - a home cooked meal, yummy breakfasts everyday, walking around the very cool Newtown, a visit to the Sydney Aquarium, Bondi and child-free dinner (thanks to our eager sitters!) to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary! I thought I would post some piccies of our trip for your viewing pleasure...

details at Bondi

lots of crazy colourful fish at the Sydney Aquarium. The jellyfish exhibit was one of my favourites!

details from Newtown including very cool street art, gorgeous old tiles on a cottage front step and super tasty gelati!

I know I have been only blogging for the last two months and I am definitely not in the realm of all the amazing bloggers out there, but I think this cause is too wonderful to not take notice. Tomorrow is Bloggers Day of Silence which I will be taking part of. See you back here Monday!

PAUL DAVIES

One of my passions is mid century architecture, especially homes. I could gaze endlessly upon beautifully designed mid century dwellings from the likes of Richard Neutra, Harry Seidler and particularly a lot of the lesser known Australian architects of the time. So imagine my sheer delight when I discovered the works of Australian artist Paul Davies. His paintings of modernist buildings are constructed using both free hand painting and stencils. The unpopulated images are brought to life with the use of vibrant colours against bleak backdrops. Extreme love...

Blue Sky & Modern Home

Hanmer Springs & House

Blue Forest Vertical

Snow Trees & Modern Home (Diptych)

Burnt Aspens & Modern Home

images via and copyright by http://www.pauldavies.com.au