The Happiness Shop - Designers Guild

Not for me are white 'beachy' style houses.  I want my home to sing and make me happy.  Queen of the happiness stakes for me is Tricia Guild, of Designers Guild whose designs fill my heart with joy and I would spend hours in her beautiful stores in London, bathing in blue or pink or green, usually departing with a cushion or a bowl or some such delicious thing.

She's inspiring me now in designing our new bathroom.  How could you possibly be sad after waking in a sunshine yellow bedroom or showering in sea blue such as this?

Until recently, DG was limited in Australia.  There is now an outlet - still expensive and they don't seem to have the latest colours, but at least it's a start! Meanwhile I'll have to stick with lusting over her books - this one, A Certain Style', can be bought here.

Images - all Designers Guild

Emery et Cie tiles

I love High Road House in Chiswick for lots of reasons. It was close to where I used to work, and also close to where my brother lives so I've had the chance to visit on many occasions. The interior, like many of the others in the group was designed by Ilse Crawford, whom I think is wonderful. And the best bit of all is the tiled floor in the restaurant that is like a patchwork quilt.

I've spent a long time trying to find the creators of the tiles and I've cracked it! They are the work of Emery et Cie, and, amazingly for those of us who live in different climes, you can choose your own colour ways from a brilliant range.

They also have a wild range of tiles called 'Zelliges' which are made from clay only from Fez. They are rough and ready with lots of colour variations and imperfections which make them so beautiful. I'm also lusting after some gorgeous paint which I won't be able to get and some excellent wallpapers.

So, that's the bathrooms and the kitchens sorted then!

This lady loved them so much she's covered her whole house (and her outfit!)

Home: Nice wallpaper

My experience so far is that wallpaper is quite expensive in Australia, or its my excuse anyway to look for nice patterns for our new home, whilst Im away. I'm thinking of this wallpaper for our boy's room. Whilst Sydney Harbour is a long way from Whitby's which is the inspiration, we have the same seagulls I recon. Thing is, I can't decide what colour!

'Whitby' wallpaper from Mini Moderns

Dont stop til you get enough!

So, Mark Tuckey has opened a new homewares shop in Avalon. Perfect furniture, perfect goey stuff, perfect bags, etc etc. Yet another reason to not have to leave, ever. I'll take it all, thanks!

Joey Roth speakers

Gobsmackingly gorgeous speakers that one me many brownie points with my beloved, for whom I got them for Christmas. Designed by the very talented Joey Roth who also designed the most perfect tea pot I have ever seen. The speakers are ceramic and sit on little plywood stands. The cables are pretty in pink and the control is delightfully Heath Robinson-esque in its look. Even the packaging was collectable. And they work brilliantly!

Sculpture by the Sea

Already rather stunning, my morning run has been elevated somewhat this week, firstly by the sighting of wales and also by the installation of Sculpture by the Sea which opens on Thursday. Each day, I've watched the artists and dig little coffin squares of turf, and lovingly begin to place their pieces, either by hand, or by crane as I saw this morning.

There are still many half installed, which I didn't photograph, but it was lovely to meet some of the artists, watching their works come to fruition.

I think the concept is such a good one which could be adapted for many locations, including the not so glamorous.

What a difference a week makes

I've been meaning to visit the shop, the Society Inc, belonging to esteemed stylist and author, Sibella Court for a while now. Its everything I had hoped for, delicious things crammed into a tiny space filled with light and I came out smelling of gardenias and full of inspiration. For some reason, perhaps because its housed in a corner shop, I thought of the Cross in Holland Park but more in terms of vibe than contents. Its located in a residential street in Paddington, and I parked my car under a gorgeous tree, stuffed with pink flowers, which I think is a magnolia.

I've spent the week devouring Sibella Court's book, Etc which has opened my eyes to clutter in the nicest possible sense.

The world is full of interesting things

Not much blogging of late - mostly because I've been thinking about what's next and plans are afoot - more later. Meanwhile, here is something lovely to play with. Its a collection by Creative Lab of all things clever around the world, found on Google. Give it a chance to download, and curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy!

The cleverest bit of webwork

Don't normally gush about stuff I see on other people's blogs. I think this link however is absolutely brilliant. It actually uses your real address and is such a personal experience that it made me cry, or be more homesick than normal anyway... You need to download google chrome to use it - but then google chrome is so brilliant that you probably need it anyway!

The wilderness downtown

(Found via India Knight)

Flash king

A quick bout of research for good interactivity and the name Yugo Nakamura comes up repeatedly. He is the man responsible for the Flash work on award winning stuff for people such as Uniqlo, including Uniqlock, and Uniqlo Grid. He also created the amazing ECOTONOHA which makes me want to go back every day and place a new leaf. His site, linked from his name, gives lots of chance to play too.