Hamptons Style Mark II

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I thought you might like a little addition to the debate. This house is another Hamptons-inspired take on Queensland living, so let's take a tour and see what you think.

realestate.com.au

Now, for those eagle-eyed readers out there (Jenny!) you've probably realised this home bears a remarkable similarity to the one I featured yesterday - and that's because they share the same designer. Yesterday's post sparked quite a debate on furnishing styles, and which, if either, best suited the house. Personally, neither style is what I'd choose, and although I absolutely love the bones of both houses, the furnishings seemed a little heavy. So, tomorrow I'll put together a post of the pieces I'd like to see in this style of home, and I'd love you to pop in, take a look, and discuss!

Southern Highlands Stunner

I received an email from one of my blog readers, Ali, who has the most drop-dead gorgeous home in the Southern Highlands of NSW. In fact, it's so stunning, it's just been featured on The House of Turquoise, and I was only too happy to share all the pics with you all.

'Summerfield' is set on 1.2 acres with spectacular views of the surrounding meadows. But it's best if I let the photos do the talking, so take a look:

 love the artwork in this room ;)

As it happens, Ali's lovely home is now for sale, and you can get all the details over here. If only I was in the market for a country retreat - this would be absolutely perfect.

By the way, I'll be back tomorrow with all the details of the project I mentioned here - see you then!

House love

I had an email from a lovely reader, Steph, giving me the heads-up on a home she thought I might like. Well, she wasn't wrong - 'Ammamead' is a gorgeous, renovated Queenslander (my fave) set amongst rolling hills in the Byron hinterland. It embodies all of my favourite features - lots of white, that relaxed, beachy vibe, and a good helping of original art.

Oh, and what's more, it's available to rent. How perfect would this place be for an extended family holiday? Plenty of room, stunning views, pool, and only minutes to the stunning beaches of Byron. Perfect!

For Sale...some of my favourite homes. Ever.

A couple of weeks ago, I was doing a little real estate stalking, and found that some of my all-time favourite houses were for sale. Many of these have been featured in magazines, and all share the same, luxury beach house style. One is also the work of my favourite architect, Walter Barda, whose designs, in my opinion, capture that quintessential Aussie beach house vibe.


 1. 4 Nabilla Road, Palm Beach NSW

 2. 35 Careel Head Road, Avalon NSW

3. 149 Hudson Pde, Avalon NSW. Designed by Walter Barda. Divine.

 4, 174 Hudson Parade, Clareville NSW

 all images courtesy realestate.com.au

Wonder if I could convince Mr Barda to move to Brisbane? I think his designs would work just perfectly up here.

Have a great day everyone, I know I will - I'm catching up with the lovely author of one of my favourite blogs. Will share all the goss tomorrow!

Is this Australia's perfect house?

A few years ago, there was an article in the paper about a property that had been awarded Australia's best. There was a small picture of the house, and when I saw it, it literally took my breath away. Of course, that small pic only whet my appetite for more, and after some serious stalking, I found just what I was looking for. Take a look. Perfect location (Byron Bay hinterland - delicious!) and beautifully considered design. No wonder this home took out the top prize - I don't think it gets much better than this:

the home features a 100 year-old turret from Scots College, Warwick (A-M, this one's for you!)

 the dam is stocked with perch

 

I might just take a dip in the 21 metre infinity-edge pool

there's a section of rare rainforest on the 100 acre property

the home took five years to build - the 150 custom-made verandah posts were designed especially for the property

the attention to detail is amazing - look at those windows!

no, this isnt the main house - it's just the garage/games room/studio

the home was decorated by Coco Republic - nothing but the best

You can read more about this gorgeous home here and here. It was on the market for only $7.5 million. Worth every penny I think - if only I had enough of those pennies to snap it up for myself!

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments, wishing my son luck with his football. They worked wonders - the boys won both games convincingly yesterday! Fingers crossed today will bring more of the same - they have one more pool match this morning, before heading into finals over the rest of the week.

Hope you all have a great day too,

Architectural brilliance

I distinctly remember reading an article some time ago, where a number of well-known interior designers were asked to name their favourite architects. Now, I can't remember many of their answers, but it did make me think about who I would be naming when the time came time for my magazine interview (!).  Now, I realise there are some very infuential and well-known names to choose from. But for me, there is one Aussie architect whose work stands head and shoulders above the rest, and always makes me weak at the knees.  

Walter Barda is the man responsible for some of the most beautiful homes on Sydney's northern beaches. His work has featured in numerous television programmes and commercials, as well as being offered as luxury holiday accomodation. What I love about his designs is that, although he has an unmistakeable style, each home is completely unique. His trademark use of beautifully detailed ceiling treatments is so distinctive, as is his obvious love of timber. As can be expected, a connection with the outdoors is paramount.

 many of his designs boast sandstone features

 Who wouldn't love working in this kitchen?

Barda often uses banks of bi-fold doors to create indoor-outdoor rooms

What a bedroom to wake up in each morning!

And as a side note, celebrity gardener Jamie Durie has been working with Barda for the past few years to design his new home. They also collaborated on the design of Hamilton Island's new yacht club villas. 

Barda has stated that he feels he's restoring a little of the northern beaches' history whenever he builds a new home, recapturing some of what's been lost from our beach suburbs.

"I often think: 'Oh that's great, we have put one back!' " he says. "Because overseas they celebrate and revere their little timber homes but we never did. There were a lot of timber structures that have been eradicated up and down the coast and sadly we end up with brick veneer suburbia."

I love his philosophy almost as much as I love his designs!
 


images 1 - 8 via walterbardadesign.com
images 9 - 11 via realestate.com.au