Crackled Mirror

As I was spending a lovely Sunday morning have tea with my friend Trudy, we leafed through this month's Vogue Living and I shared with her my love of this broken, cracked mirror. She believes that it has been glued back in like a mosaic. Whatever the means the end is wonderful....

Faux bamboo

Bamboo is the material used by the Chinese for scaffolding to help them build the homes and structures for thousands of years. While bamboo is a universal natural material, I prefer to look at how the french took the bamboo theme and created fabulous furniture in faux bamboo often in cast iron and metals. Here are some beautiful chandeliers, tables and mirrors that I covet.

Linear design

Beautiful iron work and shapes are things I can never get enough of. I really love wrought iron. This air vent from an old New York apartment makes me drool.

Then there's the lovely chippendale style fabric in black and cream which I'd love to cover my outdoor setting in.

I went and bought a bedhead on eBay which looked just like this one in a beautiful rich clotted cream colour.

Then finally the Biba logo. The long since vanished London fashion superstore has the most rad design. As an homage I named my sister's dog...Biba. She of course is totally radical...refuses to conform to anything!

Engine room of the house

I spend so much time in my office, I'm always stressing that it never looks nice enough to work in, because I've got so many things in piles and I've always got things to file, clean and process. My job is never done. In the meantime I aspire to have an office that really is a room of one's own, that speaks to my personality and is evidence of my frame of mind. Here's some super offices I have as inspiration.

Duck egg chinoiserie

Sigh...If only I could afford this. A beautiful French chinoiserie hall stand in duck egg blue. I die. Miguel Meirelles Antiques in Melbourne is selling it to some lucky, lucky person.

Chinoise Chinoiserie....

Ralph Lauren wallpaper - I have this in my lounge

Blue Temple Dog

I came to the conclusion that I am certainly am influenced by Asian, in particular Chinese design and colours. I distinctly remember when my parents returned from a trip to Asia they brought back celadon porcelain lamps and dinnerware from Thailand, rugs from Hong Kong and our lounge room was decorated with the most beautiful long chinese lounge suite in a green fabric and bamboo wallpaper. My sister and I inherited the lounge suite but it has since been covered in a celadon damask (sniff, sniff). I can't believe what an incredible influence that decor has been, and has coloured all of my decorating choices ever since.

Vignettes

Sometimes displays that are put together by people for their homes really tell a story about their personality and their influences. Here are a few that I think are fabulous.