Friday, November 28, 2008

guest blogger claire's holiday reading list...

Novellas are the new black for me - I am a stay at home mother so they are often the only books I can finish without having to drag out the plot forever. 
Fortunately I am a member of a Book Club and our collective spurs me on to read more than I would if left to my own devices.
Here are my thoughts and suggestions for holiday reading. 
Some I have read/some I am yet to read...this is of course in a perfect world where one has time to lounge on the couch, rather than dashing madly around the shops buying landfill for people you hate. 
Oops! did I write that out loud?

The Novella

This absolutely has to be the The Outsider by Albert Camus.
I read this recently and was floored by this 68 page pearler. 
I returned The Outsider to the friend I borrowed if off and then asked for it back two days later to read again. 
I am not one for books with a philosophical bent (purely because I find many of them so darn cheesy), so it was incredibly refreshing to read a book with a philosophical theme that was elegantly written. 
A rare book indeed.

The Cookbook

Karen Martini's Cooking at Home is an excellent, practical collection of recipes for the discerning home cook. 
The recipes I have cooked are:
puff pastry tart with sardines and green olive tapenade
pasta with confit of zucchini, peas, garlic & spinach
orecchiette with cauliflower, anchovies, chilli and garlic
hard-boiled egg curry with spinach, tomato, ginger and yogurt
braised honey, soy and ginger spare ribs
syrian chicken with ginger, lemon & saffron
baked custard tart
All turned out exactly like the picture with no amount of tweaking required. 
They have been devoured by my friends and family with exclamations of delight and huge amounts of praise.

The Non-Fiction

The Henson Case is journalist and writer David Marr's book on the Bill Henson child pornograhy episode. 
I, personally, was appalled at the treatment that the artist recieved and ashamed as I watched police enter a gallery removing artwork.
As a parent I was enraged to have children's naked photographic images viewed as pornography just because, I believe, the age of the subject.
This was clearly not a case of child exploitation and I can't wait to read this factual account of events.

Dud of the Year

This goes to The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flannagan

Thursday, November 27, 2008

david jimenez...




This David Jimenez home in Palm Springs is fresh, casual and inviting.
He really manages to pay homage beautifully to great decorators of the day like David Hicks and William Haines.
As always, David Jimenez's styling is impeccable.

delightfull...



I was recently contacted by Miguel Pereira, the Marketing Director of Portugal-based lighting designers, Delightfull.
Their first collection, Heritage, features lighting design with a Mid-century aesthetic that we all know and love.
Each lamp is unique and handcrafted.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

top 5 - sculptural chairs

Monday, November 24, 2008

a great entrance...

I love the stunning entrance to this Southampton beach house by New York based design duo Fox-Nahem Design.
The photographs are by Rineke Dijkstra and of course the shell chandelier by Vernon Panton completes the casual beach side look.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

m-velope...

Neiman Marcus's Christmas Book offers the M-Velope Transformable Structure, a Michael Jantzen - designed piece of functional art with amazing possibilities.
It's massive 15 foot high by 14 foot wide by 17 foot deep structure can be rebuilt, rearranged and reassembled simply and efficiently.
$1oo,000,000 (US) provides the perfect gift for someone who has everything...

Monday, November 17, 2008

frank roop...




Boston based designer, Frank Roop, also seems to favour duck egg blue.
This is slowly becoming my new favorite colour...

penguin classics...

Following on from the success of the beloved orange spine, Penguin Classics and Bill Amberg have collaborated to produce a series of luxury leather bound Penguin Classics.
This gives us all an opportunity to re-read classics like Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray or Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisted.
Just in time for the holidays!

michael richman interiors...





I love this Michael Richman designed apartment. 
It is slick, contemporary, eclectic and cool.
The artwork selection is exciting and I love the unexpected duck egg blue (my favorite colour at the moment - see Aesop fit out) upholstery on the Mid-century chairs.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

top 5 - table lamps

optimism...

Optimism: 'A tendency to emphasise favourable aspects of situations or events or to expect the best possible outcome.'

Last night we attended the opening of Optimism - the new  major exhibition at Brisbane's GoMA. The exhibition showcases the works of 67 Australian contemporary artists.

The show is colourful, energetic and exciting. Curator Julie Ewington says the exhibition represents an extended conversation among a fraction of artists who's mission is to investigate 'what makes life worth living'.

The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installation, video and video installation, cinema, animation, performance, music and comedy.

The show continues until February 22'nd and lets face it - we could all use a little Optimism.

Image - Getting the truck out of there by Tom Moore 2008

Friday, November 7, 2008

flux interiors...




Its been a long week at Phorm this week. 
I thought I would post a start to the weekend with a fantastic interior by UK based Flux Interiors.
Apparently the client's brief was to make the interior 'as non frumpy as possible', so 'that when the neighbours peek in they may want to call the police'.
I think the taxidermy zebra, the 25 foot mural of Mao and the brilliant 'Iraqi' Coffee Table absolutely fulfils this brief.
Wishing everyone a great weekend!

top 5 - sofas

gossip girl...

Gossip Girl just got a whole lot better with the addition of David Weeks lights featured in the Van der Woodsen's new Upper East Side apartment.