Port Douglas - a surprise holiday...

OK, so number one rule to blogging is after a period of absence - dont bother with apologies just get on with it!- so no apologies but maybe just a quick explanation...

I was all ready to start on Part 2 of the MIFGS post when my [wonderful] husband announces I should start packing, we were leaving on a surprise holoday with a mystery desitination! Knowing how much I love a good surprise Adam [said husband] had booked a family getaway and kept it all to himself until the day before we had to leave. So to cut a long story short, and leaving out the parts where we almost missed the flight and our bags didnt make it to Carns at the same time as us - we have spent an amazing week in Port Douglas, during which I kept myself away from the computer [most of the time] and discovered Port Douglas to be one of the most gorgeous destinations I have experienced. Now, without trying to become a travel blog I want to share with you what I loved about Port Douglas as it was a place worthy of writing about.

We stayed at the very new and quite gorgeous Coconut Grove, complete with our own rooftop pool, right on Macrossan Street and literally a stones throw from the beach - perfect on all accounts! [Did I mention that my husband was wonderful?!!] Port Douglas is still a relatively small town so it doesn't feel over commercialised and the locals are very friendly. There are so many great places to eat or just relax with a coffee - I found one of the newer coffee places quite amusing - re:hab with 're:hab rules' listed and the numbers you are given to take to your table refer to you as 'patient 1' etc. and display a little red cross symbol.

The beach (4 mile beach) is clean, perfect for long walks and the water was about 27 degrees Celsius, lovely and warm. The Mirage Marina (whilst in desperate need of an upgrade aesthetically) is your gate way to the Great Barrier Reef or Low Isles on one of the many cruises that leave in the morning for a day out on the crystal clear water.

There are lots of great tourist attractions and natural wonders within easy reach of Port Douglas such as Barron Gorge, Mossman Gorge [above] & Cape Tribulation but the best thing about Port Douglas is you can just stay within its boundaries and still enjoy some wonderful sites - head up to the lookout for a glorious view, visit the Rainforest Habitat to see amazing birds and other native Australian's such as crocodiles and kangaroos up close, take the Bally Hooley cane train ride which runs every Sunday through local mangroves.

But I think what I loved most about Port Douglas was the combination of all the things the town has to offer and its unique location making it feel as though I was on a small tropical island and ultimately it was just too hard to do anything but relax! Now - back to blogging, part 2 of the MIFGS coming up!

Croc image by Cruiz Leech

Thank you Adam for a most memorable family holiday, can't wait for the next surprise!! x

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show - Part 1: The garden that made me smile...

30 degree's and sunny was the forecast, a perfect opening day for the MIFG show (if not a little steamy). It was busy from the get go but turned out to be well worth the visit. Most of the gardens on display didnt offer anything new, in that I mean the designs were great and very pleasing but also quite 'safe'. Only a handful of gardens really pushed the boundaries and provided some elements of surprise. I felt there was less emphasis on architectural elements than past shows and a strong trend towards native plants and flowers.

In part 1 of the MIFGS post I will show you the first garden that really made me smile. In the next post I'll delve into the reoccuring theme of the 3 R's - Reduce Reuse Recycle.

That very night in Max's room a forest grew...

As I turned the corner after viewing perfectly lovely garden after garden of sophisticated style, the sight of the Wild Things brought a smile to my face. Maybe it was the fact I had just watched the movie trailer [that brought tears to my eyes] the night before, or maybe it was just refreshing to see a garden design that wasnt based around the average urbanite couple with no kids but I really loved this garden "Where the wild things are".
Designed by Heather Mitchletree a student at the University of Melbourne, the garden is of course based on the story of the same name by Maurice Sendak. When I asked Heather why she choose this story as her inspiration her answer was quite simple, she felt the modern garden design wasn't catering for children and she wanted to encourage kids to get outside and experience the garden, using their imagination. I too think gardens are an important part of children's imaginative play, having grown up in the country where we played and interacted with nature on a daily basis, I love the idea of creating an intriguing landscape where children can romp, stomp and roar! Here's a little something from Heather's Design explanation -

Green tufts of grass

spring up out of the bed,

And up shoot plants with

Leaves of green, purple and red.

Wolf suit on,

There's a wild jungle to explore;

A garden in which to

Romp, stomp and roar.

With a private boat

On which to sail near & far,

Or perhaps to the land

Where the Wild Things are.

Peek through the window to the Island of the Wild Things, and over to the private boat and beyond. What were once the floor boards of the bedroom become the jetty for the boat, and around the boat are waves made from Acousti-Mat that glow at night.

Incorporated in the bed structure are monkeybars for the Wild Things to swing on. Heather also painted and hand cut all the characters in her garden. This was by far my favourite garden design, I think having 2 boys and being a fan of the book probably makes me a bit bias but I think you will agree that "Where the Wild Things are" is a delightful outdoor space.

For those that love the book take a peak at the trailer - Where The Wild Things Are - warning: if your partial to tears this one will get you, the combination of the nostalgic visuals and the lyrics to the song ["Wake Up" by Arcade Fire - rewritten for the movie] are enough to make me cry everytime I watch it - but I am a sucker!
PS - This was actually filmed in Gembrook, Victoria (Australia) So the landscape was very familiar to me.

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

I am off to the Melbourne International Flower & Garden show tomorrow and word is it will be quite amazing. I love to see what is happening outside, the interior and exterior of a space can't (or shouldn't) exist seperately but rather they are symbiotic and often one will inspire the other. I hope to have lots of inspiring shots to share with you over the next few days (or longer depending on how great it is!) so stay tuned! Till then...

Have you met miss jones?

I have a love of ceramics, and I seem to have created a collection of them in white without really meaning to, in fact the shelves in my dining area at home have now been dedicated to various white vessels and objet d'art. I just love the way white objects rely on texture to create depth and interest and there is a pureness about white that other colours can't replicate. So have you met miss jones is a site I am immediately excited by. Not only do they have gorgeous bone china (the bone china feathers are a favourite and check out the milk can from the paper bag collection) and unique pottery that is quite unusual but the prices are so reasonable - I don't know where to start with the list of things I would like to add to my home. Here are just a few of the things that I think are design eye worthy. For more details or to order any of these lovely goodies visit have you met miss jones.
Above: bone china feathers.
Below: sea urchin cup, origami swan, paper bag vase, orrese lamp base, milk can vase & leaf vase.

serve up some baroque glamour

Continuing the animal & ‘forest friends’ trend that we have been seeing so much of are these beautiful ornate trays from Ibride (Paris). These gorgeous trays are almost too good to use but are totally practical and if you can't bear to serve morning tea on the amazing designs they also come with a wall fixing bracket so that they can be wall mounted. Not completely new to the design world but now available in Melbourne from one of my favourite retail destinations 4M. Shown here are characters that captured my heart, other designs include birds, a polar bear and images of vintage women. Each design is a different size and the core material of the trays is recycled wood. For prices and availability contact 4M.

p.s check out the Ibride website, its quite gorgeous and fantastical!

showering in a box

For a long time we have been seeing our bathrooms transform into larger spaces that are more about 'me time' and less about practicality. Once quite utilitarian, the bathroom has become an all important space and one that expresses design equally as well as the other rooms in your home. In Australia, the dilemma of all this has been the conflicting ideas of spending more time in your bathroom whilst fiercely saving water [how many of us have buckets in our showers just so we can water our favourite plants?]. There is also the problem that most homes just don't have the luxury of space to create the spa style bathroom.

I think the trend is on the move, luxury is still all important but design isn't good design if it doesn't function well, so in answer to this we see designers creating new solutions. Here are some examples of clever preening products & spaces...

Avec Toi is a shower 'cabin' designed for two. Its simple aesthetic of lacquered aluminium and glass complements the luxury features including touch screen controls and hydro-massage jets. Designed by PS+A - Palomba Serfini Associates for Kos, PS+A also designed the Dora armchair for Zanotta [one of my favourites]
[image from Kos Website]

The worlds first beauty shower, Methven's Satinjet Maia gives you a chlorine free, pure water experience with a multi-functional shower head that provides a body massage and a gentle face massage. The shower is fitted with a vitamin C canister that eliminates the chlorine in your water, preventing your hair and skin from over drying. Maia provides a luxurious spa experience with impressive water saving technology and its streamlined design is easy on the [design] eye. All this and it is designed in New Zealand - almost local!
[image from Satinjet Maia website]

Another shower 'cabin' with your personal wellness in mind is the Anthropos designed by Claudio Papa for Glass. This shower box can be customised to include hydro massage, steam bath, aromatherapy, chromotherapy, radio and the luxury of a heated compartment for towels and robes.
[image from Glass Website]

Of course all of these luxury bathing designs come at a cost but we seek to inspire those of you who are more cost effective...

pretty in print

You may have already read or heard about Lara Cameron of Lara Cameron Design and her gorgeous limited edition hand printed textiles [pictured here is houses in teal and bicycles in chocolate]. Lara has recently embarked on a new business, Ink & spindle which will be producing hand printed textiles with an environmental focus. Co founded with Tegan & Bianca, fellow lovers of art and design, Ink & Spindle will be a company to watch for inspiring new Australian made designs. To follow the progress of thier new business you can read thier blog Ink & Spindle which keeps us up to date with thier adventures creating the new Ink & Spindle studio in Kensington's Younghusband Wool Store building.

[images from Lara Cameron website]