Apr 24

A Gothic country property

Posted in Architecture, house hunting, Ralph Lauren, Uncategorized

On the weekend my parents-in-law and I went to take a look at a beautiful old house that has come up for sale in the area outside Melbourne that we are hoping to buy in. When I’d seen it on the internet it seemed to tick all the boxes; a reasonably large block of land (4000 sq metres) for a residential area, loads of character, and beautiful established trees.

On arrival it has these beautiful iron gates and an impressive view through them up to the house. Doesn’t it look beautiful? Even the weather suited the house - all dark and rainy and gloomy - my absolute favourite kind of day.

The garden was full of mature English trees, with lots of gorgeous autumnal colour - reds, oranges and yellows. Can you see the twisted brick chimneys on the house?

And lovely views of the garden through all of the windows. I didn’t take any interiors photos simply because of the number of people at the inspection. The property must be some sort of local landmark because it seemed half of country Victoria was there taking a look!

Unfortunately this house didn’t tick the boxes for me. Though beautiful, the property is surrounded by modern new-builds, and I dream of not having any close neighbours. It also needed more work than we would realistically be prepared to take on, including lots of rising damp. But the main problem for me was it just didn’t give me ‘that feeling’; I felt no connection with the spaces and couldn’t really imagine spending time there.

My dream country house would have one large communal living space (this house didn’t have that):

via velvet and linen

I particularly love this double-height barn-like living space filled with comfy sofas, books, paintings and antiques.

Room for lots of books:

via cote de texas

Lots of relaxed, cosy corners:

And scope to use some dark greys and blues, maybe even black for walls:

And you know I’m a sucker for that traditional, masculine, ultra-warm and cosy den-like look (here it’s Ralph Lauren’s country library):

So, my happy search continues.

Have a great day,

Naomi x

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Feb 29

Two fabulous beach houses

Posted in Architecture, beach style, floor plans, Hamptons style, house hunting

My good friend Lynne in Perth shares my obsession with house-hunting and dreaming of places in the country or by the sea. She often sends me fantastic houses that she has found, and these two beach houses are the latest. Both amazing in their different ways, which do you prefer (if you had to choose one!)?

 

The first one is very ‘Hamptons’, in Somers, Vic, and is situated right on the beach:

Amazing right?

 

The second house is in Lorne, Vic, and is just as impressive but quite different. Rather than being on the beach, it’s situated in the mountains overlooking the water. It also has more of a French Provincial feel rather than the feel of a ‘beach house’. The things I love about this house (aside from the obvious!), are that it feels private and secluded, and really warm and cosy as well as being filled with light. You know I love a house on a hilltop!

 

Look at that floor and ceiling! What a dream!

So, if you were in the unfortunate position of having to choose between these two amazing homes, which would you pick?

(I think they are both still for sale)

Naomi xx

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Feb 14

Ultimate ‘Hamptons’ house

Posted in Architecture, Hamptons style

Did anyone else watch the premiere episode of Revenge last night? I know it’s been on in the US for a few months, so if this is old news to you then please humour me as I talk about the gorgeous houses in the show (supposedly set in the Hamptons but apparently actually filmed in North Carolina and L.A.) In Melbourne we have been bombarded with advertising for this program for the past several weeks, and I knew from the glimpses of the houses that I’d be watching for that reason alone! (the show turned out to be pretty good so far too)..

The imposing Hamptons facade of ‘Grayson Manor’.

 

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who gasped at the sight of the amazing timber panelling and staircase in the foyer!

And then at the kitchen and living room - you can see the ‘Van Gogh’ painting that features in the first episode in the background. It’s hard to see here but the kitchen splashback tiles behind the stove in the kitchen were such a gorgeous shimmery pale blue/sea green.

The real house where these interior scenes were filmed was featured in Wrightsville Beach magazine (shown below but see the magazine here for the full story - the house is a dream)

 

 

 

And here are a couple of shots from the next episode to come (thank you hooked on houses blog!):

 

For anyone who loved Hamptons style (and there are a lot of us out there) I’m sure this show will be a must-watch!

Also on the topic of tv (and nothing to do with decorating), I am really loving My Kitchen Rules at the moment. Wasn’t it great last night when Nic and Rocco did so well?

Happy Valentine’s Day! Naomi xx

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Jan 27

Warm rooms and high ceilings

Posted in Architecture, classic style, elegant style, traditional home, Uncategorized, warm colours

You know my obsession with double-height rooms? I was doing a little research online looking for inspiration for if I could build a new house (yes, I am a busy woman but this was down-time at about 4:30 this morning), and looking at said tall rooms and saw this:

I really like that glimpse through to the hallway under the upstairs walkway, and the iron balcony overlooking the living room. I used to draw pictures of rooms like this when I was little - and I still love this neo-classical, luxurious style. And I LOVE that double-height room!

But it’s not just the architecture I’m drawn to; I’m a big fan of warm and cosy colours and comfortable rooms that envelop you. I like white walls in the right room but where you want a room to feel luxurious and ultra-comfy I prefer warmer shades like sands, tans, honeys and stone sort of colours.

Here’s another example:

I love all these warm tones with the rusts in the rug and also the fabrics; silk in the curtains and leather on the chairs. Add a little black and a little brass or gold and you’ve got a beautiful room that feels luxurious, grown-up and expensive!

Remember the house from the movie ‘It’s Complicated’?. It had that same warm and cosy feel but without the formality (above). The rusty reds add to the warm feeling.

Here’s another example (and another zebra rug!):

I really like how well taupes go with duck-egg blues.

But back to the double-height rooms, I realised when I looked through some of my photos that I seem to have a thing for tall stone fireplaces, too:

though I think it’s mainly the height thing that appeals to me. Here’s another favourite from Traditional Home:

The high ceilings and the connection between the two floors is definitely on my House Wish-List!

I’ll be away in Sydney all this week for the trade fairs and to check on a couple of projects so I’m not sure that I’ll be back until next week, hopefully full of new inspiration! So until then have a great week.

Naomi xx

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