Inside Out

I'm so lucky here in Australia. We have some of the best house magazines in the world. Lots of great homes featured, loads of big fat juicy pictures, resources, trends and the magazines aren't three quarters full of ads. My favourites include Vogue Living Australia, belle (it's about time they got a website) and Home Beautiful (this is improving leaps and bounds) but I guess if I had to name my all time favourite it would be a tie between Real Living and the magazine I'm featuring today - Inside Out. These are from their digital sampler. Just enough eye candy to get you hooked into a subscription and there's nothing better than flipping through the pages of an Australian magazine.

At the bottom of the garden

What's at the bottom of your garden? This home like many in Brisbane is a renovated timber cottage complete with obligatory back deck. What isn't at all common is the old shed at the back of the garden (having two street access helps). Even more unusual is the fabulous reno of this old structure. The hardest decision if I owned it would be whether to use it as a guest house or a studio. The hardest thing of all though would be keeping my husband from taking it over! Real estate stalking again at realestate.com.au.

The architect's home

West End sits cheek to cheek with the city centre in my home town Brisbane. Once the home of the city's workers it was dotted with importers and exporters warehouses by the river. The Greeks raised their families after the war while the radicals and the hippies called it home in the 60s (and still do). Vietnamese opened restaurants in the 70s, students overcrowded rooms in the 80s and finally developers mass produced million dollar apartments with city views. But it has always been the artists' home, the most colourful part of town. The architect has designed his home and created a haven for his family. It has referenced its architectural past, considered the climate, used innovative materials and celebrated the colour that is West End. Now it's up for sale. Time for a new family to move in and thumb their noses at the rabbit warren of overpriced concrete boxes the developers so want them to buy.

Get away from it all

Another tough week at work and I'm so relieved that it's over. Today I thought I'd share this wonderful Pittwater, New South Wales house. Imagine coming home to this after a hard day at the office. My cares would just slip away as the view opened up to me. I can hear the cicadas in the trees. I can hear our dog Mickey's toenails on the timber floors. I can hear my husband opening a bottle of wine. I can hear the bank manager saying no way! Link here while it lasts. Happy weekend everyone!

Images from realestate.com.au

Edit

Witty, whimsical, quirky and pretty. It's found and fabulous, remade and remarkable. It's Edit. And who are the creators and curators of these fun finds? Sharyn Storrier Lyneham, the former editor of Vogue Entertaining & Travel and Vogue Living and Belinda Seper, Sydney fashion retailer and style leader. If you are in Sydney or just passing through this Surry Hills store is a definite stop on your shop to you drop tour.