GREAT BRIT

Today I thought I would get back to my English roots with this very British inspired post. You see there is this small event occurring over in London and you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about it. The media in Australia is saturated with it! Love or hate the royals there is no denying everyone loves a good wedding. How about celebrating by adding some Union Jack inspired elements to your interior..

'Numbers' cushion from Pony Rider

Union Jack wallpaper by Vivienne Westwood for Cole and Son

image via http://www.fabricsandpapers.com

image via Home Life

Union Jack wallper by Wallpaperspace

image via Home Life

ARCHITECTURE FOR RENT

Anyone who has read the books 'The Art of Travel', 'Architecture of Happiness' or 'Essays in Love' to name a few will be familiar with the Swiss born philosopher Alain de Botton. In May 2009, de Botton along with other members formed the architectural project know as 'Living Architecture'. As described on the Living Architecture website -

'Living Architecture is a new social enterprise set up to revolutionise both architecture and UK holiday rentals.

We offer a chance to rent houses for a holiday designed by some of the most talented architects at work today, and set in some of the most stunning locations in Britain. We have commissioned houses by Peter Zumthor, Michael & Patty Hopkins, NORD, Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects & MVRDV.'

What a fantastic idea and a way to educate the masses on what good architecture should be as well as getting to experience the architecture first hand. And with prices starting at £638 for 4 nights and in most cases accommodating more than 2 people it is fairly affordable! The following images are of the very gorgeous 'Shingle House' designed by Scottish firm NORD Architects. The house is located in Kent on a shingle beach. What a stunning place to stay!

images via Dezeen

CUSTOMISE YOUR BIKE

Bike By Me is a Swedish company that allows the consumer to completely customise their own bike in any colour they desire. There is one standard frame and two sizes and the possibilities are endless!

images via Bike By Me

THE GOURMET TEA

Hello everyone, hope you have had a wonderful easter! Sorry I did not post yesterday my internet was playing up and it was a good excuse anyway to have some time off! Today's post is the very colourful interior of The Gourmet Tea store in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The fitout was designed by Alan Chu Architects, in which a small house was transformed into the tea shop. The inspiration for the fitout came from the colours of the tins of the 35 tea blends that the store sells. I have probably close to that number of different teas in my pantry, I am a bit of a tea addict! I really love the simplicity of the fitout and how the architects have allowed for the colour to shine through. Hmm I am hankering for a cup of tea right about now!

images via ArchDaily

KITCHEN ON MY MIND

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you will be enjoying your long break from work and family traditions! I will be enjoying spending time with my two favourite boys as well as doing some work to our kitchen. We painted the walls white last weekend which has made a HUGE improvement from the dirty beige walls that were there before! We are going to install two long 'Lack' shelves from Ikea and one of the 'Grundtal' rails to hang our utensils on. I am also hoping to get started on painting the cupboards which will also be white too. So I had better sign off and 'hop' to it! Did you like that Easter pun eh?!

image via Annaleenas HEM

images via Lovenordic Design

STOCKHOLM FEVER

Today's post is inspired by the travel plans that my husband and I were making for our trip next year over to Scandinavia (so excited!!!!). We are still yet to finalise the details but the general idea is to fly via Singapore, Berlin, Copenhagen then to Sweden for a road trip over to Norway, then to Finland and maybe St Petersburg to end. I am sure this will change slightly over time but for the moment that is the general idea. It will be one amazing trip! All the more exciting (and challenging!) with our baby boy who will almost be two by then. The following images are of the very gorgeous Story Hotel in Stockholm, would love to stay here!

images via Story Hotel

BIRD LIGHT

Short and sweet Wednesday- What a gorgeous idea, add some decoration to an exposed bulb with the Bird Light by Hommin. Simply slip it over the bulb and voila!

images via Hommin

image via Colossal

image via Emmas Designblogg

BARBICAN FOODHALL

When husband and I were living in London we used to love spending many a weekend wondering around in the Barbican. There was always an awesome exhibition on and if we had stayed longer in London we wanted to move into one of the apartments in the complex - the ultimate digs for an Architect and interior designer we thought! The foodhall in the Barbican has recently undergone a transformation that I think responds really well to the brutalist building. I love the lights within the jars it looks gorgeous! Hopefully a little sojourn through the Barbican will be on our agenda when we head to Europe next year!

images via Remodelista

WOOD, STEEL & COLOUR

There is an emerging trend at present where raw timber is combined with steel and pops of colour. Very apparent in the work of Tomas Alonso which I have blogged about a couple of times here and here. As shown at the recent Milan Furniture Fair, this trend has continued to remain strong. Check out these examples below...

'Big Bounce' by Atelier Takagi

FSC certified oak and laser cut powdercoated steel

'New Basics' by Atelier Takagi

FSC certified ash, recycled paper honeycomb HPL and laser cut powdercoated steel

images via Atelier Takagi

'Kurki' lamp by Mari Isopahkala

images via Domus

'Druida' BBQ Grill by Barcelona based firm Mermelada Estudio

image via Dwell