I can’t wait till Spring, when the dirt will thaw and we can plant things in a our postage stamp of a garden. In the meantime, I feel like I need to surround myself with more living things inside. The right ratio? At least 3 plants per human per room, perhaps. Or maybe we should turn our downstairs bathroom into a veritable jungle.
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Steve’s Sydney apartment has it all. Twin chestnut chesterfields, a sun-room peppered with hanging plants, and an appropriately seedy King’s Cross sign. In particular the stacked and strapped filing cabinet wall of storage is an idea I’d like to steal, and a giant mirror wouldn’t go amiss in my house either.
Scooch on over to Apartment Therapy for all the pictures and to read about the inspiration behind it. Meanwhile, I’m still be busily scouring the classifieds for the perfect couch…
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Bike storage and security is a serious issue. In London, you can’t just leave your bike leaning outside the dairy while you pop in for some milk. You need to lock that shiz up!
Chances are you live in a teeny little flat too, with not much lock-up space. In my current house we have 3 bikes littering the living room, which is a bit of a pain. I’ve researched how to best store my bike out-of-the-way, and my favourite find so far is Reclamation Art + Furniture’s Bike Valet:
“The Bike Valet is wall mounted storage unit and a valet for your keys, wallet, bike and items you need put down when you pedal in the door. Made from Urban Harvest Walnut with a natural hand rubbed, zero VOC oil finish.”
I can imagine this walnut unit working really well in a modern interior. Sadly, not with my bike – it has too many sexy curves – but for any straight lining fixie it’d be perfect.
For more of Steven Tiller’s smart, simple, and handmade designs take a look at reclamationartandfurniture.com
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All going well, I will be moving into a new house soon (xx, those are my fingers; twisted, knotted and wishing). Starting with blank walls, and empty rooms. Some decor inspiration:
It turns out my decorating wish list is quite simple; a Chesterfield sofa with a velveteen blanket, a big solid work table, and lots of bookshelves. How is it, that despite arriving in England with one book, I have acquired a few dozen more in just 4 months? Oops!
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Twisted, Nicholas Kennedy’s photography | But Does It Float
Best of Breed, 102 champion dogs photographed at the Westminster Dog Show | NY Times
F.lux and Ommwriter, 2 programs to increase the aesthetics of productivity. I have been playing with them both and they are an excellent alternative to the Word.doc of death | Cellar Door
Miranda July Q&A, from Stylist’s clever masterclass series. I had a Q and MJ gave me an A! | Stylist Magazine
And even more inspiration from MJ – on Strangers | The School of Life
Codeacademy – an interactive way to learn programming by actually coding!
Rose & Clover and other colour schemes | Apartment Therapy
The arc of drama, explained by Kurt Vonngeut | Sivers
Kaleidomaniac, an image blogging experiment. Below: Tsukiji Fish Markets by Rory Hyde | Jarred Bishop
Starbucks’ augmented reality app makes your cup come to life! Naturally, I like the fox | Mashable
Also of note:
Vintage cameras in London, an alternative shopping experience | Last Minute
Lapday, a definition to consider | Dictonary of Obscure Sorrows
A wedding in the woods | Jody Rogac
What’s on the mind of Laura Ford | STW Nextness
Anita Calero: Curated Chelsea Home, I want to live here | LoftLife
And:
… I leave you with a Steven King quote that I enjoyed this week:
“Look, writing a novel is like paddling from Boston to London in a bathtub,
Sometimes the damn tub sinks. It’s a wonder that most of them don’t.”
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Making do with scraps and scrims to decorate my new hole in the world. I came over here with 30kg of luggage, but seriously, when I look at my worldly possessions (I put nothing in storage except books) – I think, what on earth did I bring? Where is my good stuff? I think most of my luggage allowance went towards bringing my hairdryer and shearling jacket. Two items which are not in short supply in England.
The second picture is of our kitchen and the wonderful collage my flatmate Ryan made from old Christie’s catalogues. The green bird was a goodbye gift from my cousin; a little reminder of home…
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I’m on day 5 of bed rest after having my tonsils out. OUCH. I don’t recommend it. Oh, I kid; it’s one of those no pain, no gain situations. I’m looking forward to being a lot healthier in the future!
Despite the mewling, I am making the most of my time at home and preparing for the move to England by going through some of the design snippets, magazines and ephemera I’ve collected over the years. There are piles of interesting stuff stashed away in my filing cabinet. One such thing was this Nest winter catalogue from 2007. Nest was a New Zealand homewares store that sold the prettiest things, and sparked my love for all things Conran.
“It’s time: turn on the kettle and stir the pot,
pull up the quilt and cozy up.”
I like these spreads because they are very “New Zealand” – both the dark landscape, and the way the stylist has mixed high and low, old and new. Shiny new pots hanging by an old cooker, a satin dress on a spindly wire washing line. Actually, the first shot reminds me very much of my great grandfather’s house.
If you’re in the midst of winter too, I hope you’re staying warm. (And if it’s your summer – get off the internet!) ❤
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My flatmate’s girlfriend is a farmer, and on their farm they grow orchids. Apparently a recent crop was over-fertilized, and grew rampant, so we were given a bunch to grace our lounge:
They are bigger than any orchids I have seen before (save in the beautiful gardens of Singapore). I never realised they draped like weeping willow trees. Apparently this bunch is worth $300.
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Other people are FASCINATING. The Makers is a photography project by Jennifer Causey that documents the lives of makers. In particular I like the shots of kitchens, and food being made. I love seeing process and tools as much as the final product. (As an aside, did I tell you this year I’ve vowed only to give tools, ingredients and experiences as gifts?)
The Jewels of New York are food stylists. Look how they have repurposed a Bulliet Burboun bottle. Simple but pretty.
Morris Kitchen are a brother-sister run company who supply ginger syrup to mixologists. Yum. Wish I could try one of their conncoctions.
Gorgeous. Be sure to check out the rest of the photographs and the other Makers.
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So excited – as a new year’s gift to myself I am going to go stay in a tipi by the sea. There may also be surf lessons and massages involved. I definitely think it’s the perfect way to start 2011 off right.
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The apartment is slowly and surely getting there. I has a little fit of inspiration last night after an Air BnB ad winked at me on facebook and I had a look through some amazing pads (San Francisco, Barcelona, swoon).
On the way home from lunch today I popped into Karangahape Road’s Buana Satu – an eclectic homewares store. I think Buana Satu translates as “Number One” in Indonesian. Aside from all the lush quilts and silken cushion covers, this tin mirror caught my eye. They also had a circle and a heart shaped one, but square won.
I’m really starting to embrace tin as a material, it’s been catching my eye everywhere – plates, mugs, tea lights. Will it soon enjoy a mainstream resurgence?
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I feel like the key to feeling settled in a place is not only cramming my belongings into every corner, but putting pictures up on the walls. The latest addition:
A dreamy castle collage by Jonas Besson called Glam Rot Glow. I already have another piece of work by him hanging in my apartment; it’s called Haircut.
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The title, One Room Mansion, is a Japanese term: ワンルームマンション. At 100sqf, often they don’t have bathrooms attached and residents have to visit a public bathhouse. One of my favourite books, Tokyo: A Certain Style
With dozens and dozens of domiciles in the book, it is hard to describe them all. One of my favorites is the apartment of a music reviewer: CDs and vinyls are stacked floor to ceiling. There’s barely any room for the reviewer, though the two cats that share the apartment seem to find it manageable. Another remarkable spread is the house of a newly married young woman who loved cartoon characters so much that she works for a character goods company. Nearly everything in the house, including the husband’s lunch box, has some character on it. Huge Kerropi dolls share space with a veritable pack of Snoopys. A young interior designer had extra shelves put into her room so she could show off the covers of her manga volumes. A Shinjuku DJ, living with his Dutch girlfriend, uses his bathroom as a darkroom and spends weekends practicing on his windowsill turntable.
I’m not quite ready for the close up on my pad yet! However, here’s a nerdy budget update:
Furniture budget: I am indulging my inner scavenger and calling in favours.
TOTAL: $90.50
REMAINING: $9.50
Accessories budget: Now this is where I am falling down! I have had to buy heaps of things because I ‘forgot’ or at some stage gave my old one away. Oh can opener, where did you go?
TOTAL: $54.92
REMAINING: $45.08
Still need to buy: that dang can opener, a coffee plunger, hooks to hang up my art collection. Boiling water in a pot is working out well so far. Meanwhile when it comes to the big stuff, I still want to buy: a manrobe or a clothes rack or perhaps even a ladder to hack up. I’ve been living out of my suitcase for 8+ weeks now. Hanging my dresses up seems like a distant novelty. Failing that? Nails + hangers on the wall…
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Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
Here I like to talk about fashion, design, food, travel, writing & books, and culture. Everything else (including my photography) goes into my digital notebook.
If you'd like to email me the address is amber@codeforsomething.com
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