Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to sit down today and write a blog post? Literally all day and it’s 11 pm and well, better late than ever. So. How are you? How was your day? Mine is nearly over because remember I’m 6 hours ahead of the east coast now, but my day was good overall. I have some exciting plans in the works and I should be able to make a formal announcement soon — but both are things that I think will benefit you in some way so no… I’m not pregnant and no, I’m not moving though I’m still hoping I find an apartment. I’m still looking, I “drive by” the big craigslist equivalent over here at least 4,000 times a day — I’m obsessed! I find myself in the shower looking forward to whether or not any new property will hit that dang website by the time I’m back at my desk. Lame! But it’s still fun!
Okay so let’s look at some inspiring rooms for a moment, shall we? I thought we’d step into the world of Warren Heath. I found out about him because my friend Tine sent me this great bedroom photo and I asked her to tell me where it came from and she said she thought it was someone named Warren Heath. I googled him and found his website and there was the photo. Stunning! Then I noticed in google that my friend Emma wrote about Warren recently too after she found him in a copy of a design mag she was flipping through. Emma pretty much shared his entire portfolio here so I steal her thunder, but I will share a few of my personal favorites from his portfolio that really speak to me.
Warren Heath is represented by South African agency Frank Features and his work has appeared in top design magazines such as Elle Decoration. Definitely a photographer whom I’d love to observe in action, I imagine on his shoots he really takes a lot of patience as it’s obvious from the natural lighting that he really waits for the right moment to capture it in order to convey the mood he’s setting… And these locations, wow — I look at them and wonder why I’m not living in Australia, Cape Town or L.A. as this entire coastal aesthetic really speaks to me and I like all of the clean, modern lines. And by the way, how cute is that Blythe portrait? (images: warren heath)
Let’s take a vacation together, shall we? I say we all jump on our virtual plane and jet down to Melbourne, Australia to visit the shop of designer Lynda Gardener, whom I’ve talked about on decor8 before. Gardener is a creative genius and not shy in her decorating approach by any means — she is a bold, confident lady who displays remarkable talent and vision.
In her shop, Empire Vintage, her finds are lovingly curated and artfully displayed in a way that inspires creative ideas. Just to walk through is an experience whether you actually purchase something or not. Shopping at Empire Vintage seems to be quite an experience and to me, that is what a store should do — transport, inspire and if those things are successful then sales are part of the deal because then one wants to bring home a treasure to remind them of that special experience. From early rustic to French country and vintage industrial, this gem has a little something for everyone.
As you look through these images, shot by the talented Jillian Leiboff of Jillian Leiboff Photography, try to be in the moment and imagine walking through this shop — what would you touch? How do you imagine this shop smelling? Like patchouli or lavender or perhaps vanilla and honey? Or perhaps you can smell orange blossoms? Imagine the music that you hear… is it French pop? A favorite soundtrack? Classical? I think that it’s good to pause as you are reading your favorite blogs to take in the images that you see, study them, and even put yourself into those images in order to fully experience them.
It’s nice to slip out of your “zone” for a moment to enjoy some time for yourself to meditate, reflect and relax and that is exactly what a beautiful retail experience can do — take you away to faraway places without the jet lag! Ah, escapism.
What do you see that you like? :) I love the vintage English eiderdowns, the bunting, linen pillows, antique books, white bone china and the colorful bracelets – I would like the blue and yellow ones, please!
Shop address: 63 Cardigan Place Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.
(photos: Jillian Leiboff of Jillian Leiboff Photography)
First I shared her horse head bookends, but wait! There is more of Nicole Hill Gerulat to love and since I’m on a roll today I thought I’d share her photography portfolio too over at Real Simple.
Nicole — you are one seriously talented lady! What an inspiration. I could flip through your portfolio all day… Wait. I sorta did.
(images: nicole hill gerulat)
Ha ha, I have to laugh at my clearly unimaginative title. But I couldn’t think of a better name when I saw the horses that Nicole Hill Gerulat just pimped and shared on her blog. She picked them up at Homegoods in this sort of coppery color and viola! from copper to eye-popper! Now that made me laugh again because I sounded soooo HGTV, right? Maybe I should just let the pictures speak for themselves…
I bet you will think twice the next time you spot some shabby bookends at the thrift store. If they have a great silhouette just paint those bad boys and rock ‘em!
And a big P.S. — Are you not absolutely green over her massive Penguin classic book collection? I am!
(images: nicole hill gerulat)
I am still thinking about that pretty vintage puppy party that I featured yesterday… oh that was just so adorable. And now that I’m thinking about dogs, I thought I’d share quickly those bookends that I ordered from Barnes and Noble last year (post here) because I realized this morning that I never showed you how they look in-situ. It took about a month for them to reach me (int’l shipping is always slow), but now that I have them I can’t imagine owning any other bookends.
These white dachshund darlings were designed by Jonathan Adler for Barnes & Noble and you can buy them online (they ship to Europe, too). I ordered them in October and they arrived around the holidays but I was so busy that I forgot to tell you how cute they are! I’m not in love with the lumpy bumpy wallpaper in the flat we are renting right now but it’s not bad either…. you have to appreciate and work with what you’ve been given sometimes, right? And so I have learned to live with the lumps. :)
And these are just snapshots from my day today, but above I’ve shown some loot from my weekly farmers’ market visit this morning. Not styled to perfection, just informal snaps — but this is my life and my typical days are casual and relaxed just like the flowers shown on my coffee table. In addition to tulips I found some yellow flowering branches (though it will be a surprise to see what will blossom as I have no clue what the flower lady called them in German), a little wooden doll for a euro and a pretty bread basket with ceramic blue and white handles for a few euros that I will now use for my mail.
Here are the flowers now that I’ve arranged them. Again, no frills — they are wrapped with green floral tape to keep them together as tulips can sag and I’ve placed them in a white ceramic canister from IKEA. But the over all look is warm and welcoming just how I like it — I believe that real beauty doesn’t need to be put on, are you with me on that? Style should be effortless because that’s when you know it’s authentic, and uniquely you.
How is your day? Did spring visit your part of the world today as it has for me?
(images: holly becker for decor8)
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