Janelle McCulloch's Library of Design

The Words Of Your Life

2012-03-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

I've been told this blog isn't very personal. I've been told this blog is about as friendly "as a German bouncer at a North Korean nightclub".

There is a reason for this. A writer's life is very dull. I tried to explain this fact to said critic but he wouldn't have it. He said blogs need personality. He said blogs need to show something of their author. Mine doesn't, apparently. German bouncer and all that.

The thing is, we're all short on time and concentration spans. So rather than post a bio that might make your heads spin sideways from boredom, I thought I would follow my friend Jeanne's lead at her lovely College of Life blog (collageoflife-henrqs.blogspot.com). Jeanne, you see, suggests we all write a Word List. What an inspirational idea.

A Word List is a writing exercise where you imagine your life as a game of scrabble. You simply jot down words that you associate with your life. No punctuation. No upper case. Just words. Your life in a list. Think of it as an abbreviated memoir. I love it. So brilliant.

So do try it. Find the words of your own life. I have. You might just find (like me) that the answers are quite enlightening. (Oh – and because I like pictures, I've inserted some of those too.)

A LIFE IN A LIST

writing, books, journals, lists and libraries (a house is not a house without a library)

photography, leicas, the iphone instamatic app

bookstores –waterstone's, rizzoli, the second-hand treasures of the strand

midtown new york – henri bendel, bergdorf goodman, bryant park, central park, the NY public library

shelter island, tybee island, harbour island, martha's vineyard
lord howe, key west, lake como, bellagio, (and italian villas sleeping in the sun)

london in summer

paris in autumn

our garden in spring

peonies, tea roses, hydrangeas and purple wisteria

villandry, versailles and the luxembourg gardens in summer

the v&a (oh, the v&a!)

cecil beaton, collages, creativity in all shapes and forms

pink and red (together or apart)

architecture, property, floorplans, country cottages and grand english mansions

any television series with architectural eye candy, gorgeous costumes, and sexy and humorous characters doing unmentionable things with people they shouldn't be doing unmentionable things with

french handkerchief linen, preferably in white

ceylon sapphires, pink diamonds, pale blue tanzanite

jack nicholson and diane keaton – any movie, any plot, no matter how bad
mr winston churchill
mr robert redford

savannah, georgia, or any song with it in the title (midnight train to georgia, georgia on my mind...)

mr ray charles
ms diana krall
ms barbra streisand

lemon, lime and bitter drinks

freshly made key lime pie (although best eaten in the florida keys)

cavalier king charles spaniels, and okay, jack russells too

chocolate

chanel

biographies

black and white

hermés faubourg 24 fragrance (okay, hermés anything)

houndstooth

ms audrey hepburn
sir sidney poitier

quirky films – midnight in paris, the darjeeling limited, you've got mail, the lake house

the great barrier reef

writers, artists, people with humour, and stories to tell

men in cufflinks

people with manners

my long-suffering fiancé

cycling (best done on old-fashioned cruisers with wicker baskets)

swimming (best done on tropical islands)

laughing (best done with people you love)

And lastly, family and friends, wherever they may be
(Pictured above, my father with his, er, friend in the wilds of Alaska)

Scenes From Village Life

2012-03-02T17:38:00.004-08:00

John Hillaby once wrote "Few things are more pleasant than a village graced with a good church, a good priest and a good pub.” I would add to that a labyrinth of lovely walking trails, a little town square with a enchanting cluster of shops and perhaps also a decent newsagent, cafe and grocery store (although my partner would add a good wine/beer store), and finally, a hamlet of gorgeous houses of all shapes and size, each with their own unique style and their unique garden, so you could walk a different route each day and never tire of the architecture and charm.

We are getting ready to leave our idyllic little village. It will be a shock to move to a city of 20 million people. I'm sure we'll miss walking our dogs down the middle of the road knowing there are no cars in sight, or waving to our neighbours over the garden gate, and stopping for a chat about the best way to cultivate peonies, or care for espaliered pears. So, as a small photographic tribute to the delights of village life, I thought I'd post some of my favourite scenes here.

Even the village church takes its gardens seriously.

Our road dressed in the bright green of new spring leaves.

Our kitchen garden, with the leaves burning in the sun behind it.

Our pitiful harvest from the kitchen garden last year.

Our neighbour's house, 'Longacre'. This was once the home of the famous Australian painter Arthur Streeton. It's now owned by his grandson. The driveway is lined with blue hydrangeas, which look glorious in high summer. You can't see the house but it's an Arts and Crafts-style cottage and still has Streeton's old studio in the rear.

Walking the dogs through the forest.

Are Books Dead?

2012-03-01T06:11:00.002-08:00

I apologise. Yesterday I did a funny little Style Icons post about two of our leading political ladies, Julia Gillard and Carla Bruni, and what they do and don't have in common. (Both favour form-fitting suits. Both eschew sartorial fussiness. And Carla is reportedly a big proponent of the power of pelvic exercises. However, I can't say for sure whether our Jules is. Only her partner Tim and possibly her sexy personal bodyguard know that secret.) Anyhow, after downloading a particularly intriguing image of our Jules, strange things started happing on my laptop. Files disappeared. Entire paragraphs flashed like lights on Times Square. Terrified of the dreaded 'V' word (and passing it onto you lovely readers), I immediately deleted the post. It was too late. The laptop is now in the Apple hospital having a triple heart bypass, and I am using an old MacBook and an archaic Safari browser. Which doesn't support Blogger.

But I'm persevering because I want to tell you about the significance of this week. March 1st is World Book Day. It's the biggest literary celebration of its kind, and is designated by UNESCO as a world-wide celebration of books, reading and stories of all forms. More than 100 countries mark the date. I'm very proud of those countries. More should do it.

I grew up in a house full of books. Because my brother and I read so fast my frugal parents (who were both teachers) thought it a waste to buy books for us and told us to go and get a library card. We duly did what we were told. It was the start of a love affair with books, bookshops and libraries that has lasted 30 years. Last night I told my partner that if a bushfire came up the mountain, I would leave everything except my beloved books. Books are the one thing you should always save.

I spent most of last year lamenting the slow death of books in this, the iPad-and-Kindle age. Judging by the number of Google hits on the phrase "Are books dead?" (11 million and counting), many others did too. During a moment of literary lamentation, a wise and famous writer challenged me by asking "Well, what is a book anyway? Is it its body? Or its soul?"Well, I'm old-fashioned girl and I think books need a body. Just as humans need their spines to live and move, so, too, do books. An e-book can still be a great read (and like many I love the convenience of iPads), but a book with a jacket and pages and that papery smell of promise... now that is a beautiful thing. That, my dear friends, is a book. A soul without a body is a mere ghost of its former self.

Curiously, many people seem to think the same way. Last Christmas, many bookshops had their best sales season ever. My favourite bookshop, Avenue in Albert Park, sold more copies of my books than at any other time. I was as puzzled as you are. What does it possibly all mean? Well, I think it means that many of us are trying to save books from being endangered. From sinking into oblivion. We are stock-piling our stories – just like Carlos Ruiz Zafon's celebrated library in The Shadow of the Wind.

Sadly I fear it's too little, too late. The end of the book might be nearer than we think. One newspaper believes there will be no books left at all by 2020. None. And I admit that it's easy to see how e-books will win the reading war.

And so I say this to you all. Read. Read. Read. Or as my Italian teacher used to say "Leggi! Leggi! Leggi!" Buy books. Download the e version if you have to, but don't discount the paper versions either. Embrace books. Remember how wonderful they are. For I am afraid there will come a time when most of us will stop reading them completely. When we will be distracted by other things. Such as Twitter. And gossip sites. And the Oscars. And life. Left for dead, books will disappear. And some of the world's greatest stories will then be lost forever.

"The art of reading is slowly dying. Great readers are becoming more scarce by the day..."

– Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Shadow of the Wind.

There is a wonderful game lots of people are now playing called Page 61. You pick up a book, flick to page 61 and read the fifth sentence down. I loved reading some of the discoveries, such as:

"Great elephants!" said Gandalf. "You are not yourself this morning! You have not dusted the mantelpiece!" (From The Annotated Hobbit)

and

In later life, Dottie had a dog called Woodrow Wilson." (From The Uncollected Dorothy Parker)

I was quietly thrilled to see one of my books mentioned on a Page 61 website. The Page 61/Fifth Line was: "And, perhaps, also for their souls". It made me quiet for a moment or two. But then when I picked up my nearest book a few minutes ago – an old, much-loved dictionary that I still refer to – and saw what the fifth line on page 61 was –

bibliophile n. book lover

I was moved beyond words.

"To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul" – Cicero

I agree Cicero. I agree.

The above images are from one of my favourite libraries, a private library on the island of Nantucket in the US. Designed by my favourite book-loving architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, the entire house is white – and I mean everything is white, from the stairs to the living room. The blank canvas was an intentional design move. Jacobsen and the owner felt that the books were the most important things in the house, and as such they were given first priority. The minimalist, all-white backdrop offered a kind of gallery for their literary beauty. Now, the only colours in the house are the bright tones of all the spines. Truly lovely, don't you think?

Gardens, Films, Fantasies...

2012-02-24T05:33:00.001-08:00

What is it about gardens that appeals to so many of us? (Even those, like me, who seem to have the black thumb of death when it comes to plants.) Why is it that if you put a model in a haute couture ballgown and place her in between some Versailles-style hedges, it immediately lifts the fashion shoot to a whole new level of Grace Coddington-style sophistication? Why is it that whenever Karl Lagerfeld tosses some formal French parterres into his fashion shows, the collections receive so much more media coverage? (Witness the incredible amount of column inches given to his spring/summer 2011 show, which was inspired by the gardens of Last Year at Marienbad.) And why is it that whenever a film director introduces a horticultural element to a movie, it immediately attracts a legion of garden-loving fans?

There's no doubt about it. Gardens give a mise-en-scène character, beauty, charm and mystery. And so here, in Part One of a special post that merges three of my favourite things – flowers, fashion and films – is a look at some of the most beautiful botanical-enhanced movie scenes we've seen over the last few years.

LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD

I'm still not certain what this film is all about. None of the characters have names. Some of them don't seem to know what they're doing there. It's all a bit enigmatic. But who cares when the gardens are so beautiful? Just turn the sound down and gaze at those perfectly clipped topiary trees. {Top image is also from Last Year in Marienbad)

IT'S COMPLICATED

The spectacular kitchen garden in this film (remember Meryl Streep flirting with Alec Baldwin over a couple of plump, blush-ripe tomatoes?) caused a LOT of complaints, particularly among gardeners. For a start, the beds featured warm and cool-season crops together. And then there was the issue of plant envy. Lots of people felt that it made ordinary gardeners feel utterly inadequate. I mean, where were the weeds? The butterflies? The straggly bits? The film's production designer eventually admitted that the vegetables were grown in a greenhouse for two months before the garden scene was shot, and "any plant that looked a little scrubby was not used". Scrubby plants? The horror! Can someone please tell me how I get my garden paths that neat? {Photo credit: Melinda Sue Gordon, Universal Studios}

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

Frances Mayes' villa at Bramasole in Tuscany Italy, was pure property porn. The enchanting house. The idyllic garden. The whole luscious Italian-ness of it all. No wonder people still trek here to see it year after year. It's locavore love. As Dean Martin said "That's amore".

A GOOD YEAR

Normally Russell Crowe is a superb actor but he was terrible in this film. Terrible. It didn't matter, because the dilapidated garden and the decaying vineyard that his character inherited more than made up for it. Russ coulda worn a burlap bag and wandered around bumping into cypress trees and it wouldn't have mattered because the setting was so spectacular.

ENCHANTED APRIL

This film was a big hit in 1992. And no wonder. Just look at that garden. One reviewer summed the story up beautifully: “The enticement of an enchanting Italian holiday captivates the hearts of two British housewives on a drizzly London afternoon in 1922, and fills their imaginations with wisteria and sunshine. By the time they arrive at their Mediterranean villa...the gardens, sea, cinnamon and pasta are just the beginning of the transformation they discover.” Wisteria and sunshine. Two words to bring joy the heart of any gardener. Add in Italy and you can see why everyone wanted to rush off to do their own Enchanted April.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Director Ang Lee knows the power of a good bit of garden porn. Remember how he sent Kate Winslet rushing out into the topiary garden in a moment of romantic despair? Yes Ang, we know there's nothing like a yew to cheer a girl up. Mind you, most Jane Austen adaptations are filled with shrubberies, woods, a hedge or two, and smattering of clipped topiary. It keeps the characters on their toes, you see. All that hopping about the hornbeam adds to the action.

NOTTING HILL

The garden that Julia Roberts (Anna) and Hugh Grant (William) snuck into for a spontaneous pash behind the petunias is actually a private garden called Rosmead Gardens, in Rosmead Road, Notting Hill, W11. I always envied those Londoners who had the keys to these private gardens. Obviously a lot more goes on behind those walls that the rest of us realise!

GREEN CARD

Remember this film? Remember Andie McDowell (Bronte) fighting to keep her New York apartment, simply because it had a luscious rooftop garden? Remember the indoor atrium with the sprinkler system and the hand-tiled pool? I would have married Gérard Depardieu for that apartment too. Then again, I always had a soft spot for Mr Depardieu. He can tend to my herbaceous borders any day.

HARRY POTTER

I was watching the Mandrakes-in-the-greenhouse scene from Harry Potter on TV tonight, and I realised I was more enthralled with those enormous conservatories that the storyline. The aerial shots were amazing.

THE SECRET GARDEN

Frances Hodges Burnett's classic novel has been adapted to the big and small screens more times that my garden has grown weeds, but it's still a great story. There are few things more irresistible than a hidden door to a secret walled garden. {All scenes from the movies indicated.}

Is Periwinkle The Perfect Blue?

2012-02-21T23:25:00.000-08:00

It's a tough discussion, the Blue Debate. I mean, how do you possibly choose the perfect blue?

There's the sophisticated, dignified, thoroughly distinguished blue that is navy. (Which I have always had a soft spot for. And I suspect half of Paris does too, judging by their wardrobes.) There's the rich glamour of royal blue. There's the crisp smartness of French blue, which always reminds me of dress shirts and school uniforms. And finally, there's the soft elegance of periwinkle blue; a blue that's so quietly beautiful, it makes all other blues look flashy by comparison.

Some people think periwinkle blue is simply a pale, watered-down blue, but it actually has a hint of mauve swirled through it. It's a delicate blue and it can be difficult to do. If the paint is tinted too dark it can turn out to be lavender. Too light and it fades to a wishy-washy shade.

It can also be difficult to decorate with, or dress in. Many designers and decorators suggest using it as a dominant feature, which shows off its loveliness, rather than hiding it behind another principal colour such as white. Personally, I love seeing it with a sweep of glossy black; a colour combination that's unexpectedly glamorous and surprisingly sexy.

However you feel about periwinkle (or plumbago, porcelain, sky blue, or whatever else you want to call it), one thing seems certain: it's sneaking its way into the fashion and design worlds. Just look at how much of it was in Chanel's Spring-Summer 2012 show. In fact, many people think that pale blue, and its equally delicate and elegant cousin pale turquoise, could be the colour(s) to watch in 2012 and 2013. {Above image via the inimitable Rodney Smith.}

"It's an ahhh colour! Completely uplifting!"

– Designer Jamie Drake on pale blue

The new Mondrian SoHo hotel, in New York, a poem to periwinkle. {Via Mondrian and Hotel Chatter}

Chanel's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2012 show, which was more or less a tribute to the prettiest, palest shades of blue. {Via Chanel}

The Hotel Ferrero in Valencia Spain, which is owned by Spanish tennis champ Juan Carlos Ferrero. Look at that blue. It's so unusual for a hotel facade, isn't it? But so perfect for the elegant architecture, the petite size and the gorgeous, glorious, sun-kissed Spanish setting. {Via www.hotelferrero.com}

Pale blue in a French-style interior. I've misplaced the credits for these images and I wish I hadn't because I adore this space. Look at the silk-taffeta drapes, the high-gloss floor, the stunning armoire... If you know whose home this is, please do let me know so I can credit accordingly.

My old apartment in South Yarra. The stripes on the walls were painted in Porter's Paints' Nebular blue (low sheen and pearl gloss), which gave the tiny space the feel of a French salon. (Curiously, it also made the space seem larger.) Oh, how I loved this blue! I'd love to do another apartment in the same colour palette.

JK Place hotel in Florence. I never tire of staring at this beautifully designed space. In this image, the blue looks more turquoise, but in real life it's a pale blue. And while not strictly periwinkle, it's very much in the same family of pale blue hues.

My favourite Jonathan Adler sofa. In fact, this could be my favourite sofa ever. Look at those sexy lines. Doesn't it make you want to pour a martini or a gin and tonic, slip into a white silk dressing gown and spend an entire evening watching episode after episode of Mad Men? {Via jonathanadler.com}

A few of the spectacular pieces from Oscar de la Renta's recent collection. Oh, Oscar. You do know how to do a magnificent blue! {Via Vogue and Dustjacket Attic}

Chanel's alluring blue nail lacquer, highlighted at the recent Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2012 show. {Via Chanel}

The Kelly Wearstler-designed restaurant, BG, at the top of Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York. This is one of my favourite restaurants in New York. The views up Fifth Avenue and across Central Park are as sublime as the interior. {Via Apartment Therapy and Carlos Melia}

The Hotel de Vendôme in Paris. Flashy, but still fabulous. {Via Vendôme}

A print of Lulu Guiness's London home by the talented Anne Harwell of Annechovie. {www.annechovie.blogspot.com}

And more inspirations...

Paris Through Hue-Coloured Glasses...

2012-02-21T14:52:00.003-08:00

I love stumbling across gorgeous blogs about Paris, especially if they do aesthetic justice to the city and its glamour and grandeur. Nichole Robertson's blog littlebrownpen.com is simple but full of colour, life and Parisian charms. It's so enchanting, Chronicle gave her a book deal. It was well deserved. I can't wait to see her photos in print.

I was thrilled to see that one of Nichole's favourite colour combinations is also one of mine. Pale blue and gold isn't a duo that pops up in many people's Pinterests or mood boards but it's starting to be noticed. I've seen glimpses of it in several blogs and magazines lately, perhaps because – like sorbet between courses – its quietly elegant shades offer a visual relief from the bright, bold, saturated colours that are in the design world's focus right now, such as green. (On a little aside, have you seen House Beautiful's March 2012 cover on green? If we keep this up, we'll all be over green by May!)

Pop by Nichole's blog, Little Brown Pen, for some Parisian prettiness. And if that inspires you, pop over to another great Paris website called Hip Paris – hipparis.com – for some more French fantasies. It's where I discovered Nichole this morning, and it's where I go to get a fix of Paris when I can't quite get to the Rue du Bac!

A Gilt(y) Complex: Why Gold is Growing On Us

2012-02-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

Barbra Streisand and the Bee Gees sang it best. We got nothing to be sorry for. And we got nothing to be gilty of. Not when it comes to a love of gold.

It may be a reflection of the current value of this precious metal (which continues to escalate), or it may just be that gold gives a shimmering, sexy edge to a room. Whatever the reason, gold is showing up everywhere in the the design world this year, from furniture to fabrics, paint effects, vintage mirrors, lighting and even bathtubs.

Many years ago I attended the launch of Christian Dior's J'Adore fragrance. It was the most spectacular launch I've ever been to. As we were standing around a swimming pool full of liquid gold, sipping Champagne from crystal glasses, the supermodel Carmen Kass suddenly emerged from the liquid gold pool, and then, with gold dripping from every perfect bone, walked up the steps of the pool and out the door, a trail of J'Adore wafting behind her. None of us could figure out how she got into the pool (obviously through a trap door in the bottom) and how she pulled off such am amazing entrance without drowning. In saying that, wouldn't be a fabulous way to go?

Here, in a tribute to the most glamorous, most fabulous colour sparkling in all the most glamorous, fabulous rooms at the moment, is a quick medley of Golden Hits for you. {Source for image at top unknown.}

No one does gold quite like the French. Just think of Versailles. Here, a grand Parisian apartment has been elevated to an even more sophisticated level with the addition of gold silk-taffeta drapes hung theatrically between the rooms. {From Taschen's Paris Interiors book.}

A gilded salon in the heart of Paris. You can rent this apartment for the week. Can you imagine the decadent time you could have here? {Voltaire apartment via www.chezvous.com}

Another gold-tinged treasure from Chez Vous. This one is also available to rent through this lovely company. {Via www.chezvous.com}

A marble garden table with dainty gold legs makes this artistic studio an elegant space in which to work. {Via Carolyn Quartermaine.}

A gilt armoire. How utterly glamorous. {Source unknown}

A vintage gold mirror and an ornate gilt chair add a touch of elegance to Carolyn Englefield's Parisian bedroom. {Source unknown}

A golden Louis chair upholstered in Carolyn Quartermaine fabric creates the perfect exclamation mark for the beautiful design narrative of this gilt-edged bedroom. Love those hot-pink silk-taffeta drapes. {Via Carolyn Quartermaine.}

Gold makes an entrance – literally – in this hallway. I just adore that antique light. {Via Veranda magazine, February 2012}

This image of Charles Spada's Normandy home has been EVERYWHERE these past few weeks, but it's not surprising. Doesn't it make you look twice? Even if you have an aversion to leopard print, you have to admit that this space is truly, heart-stoppingly glamorous. The Gustavian-grey walls, the unusual fabric on the sofa, those lovely black-and-white prints in antique gold frames... It's French and yet comfortable at the same time – two words you don't often hear in the same sentence... {Via Veranda magazine, February 2012)

A gilt bathroom from the palace of Versailles. Look at that panelling...

The most beautiful store in the world: Balmain in Paris. {Via The World of Interiors and Veranda magazine}

The inimitable style of Max Alto. {Via Max Alto and Space Furniture.}

Manhattan...A City of Colour? Or Monochromes?

2012-02-16T16:56:00.000-08:00

I've always associated New York with graphic black and white, perhaps because New Yorkers are fond of black and white. And grey. And silver. And chocolate. I suspect this is because New York's skyline is a Gothamesque movie set of graphic blacks, whites and other understated shades. It's a city built on monochromatic glamour. But lately, I've started to notice that it's a town that actually loves colour. Bold, rich, shout-out-to-the-world-that-you-love-it colour. Okay, so it's not a city that tosses Pucci prints around like pennies, but it does seem to have a secret fetish for unashamedly bright Pantonesque shades.

What do you think? Is it a black and white city? Or does it have a colourful side?

C WONDER

C Wonder is the much-talked-about new(ish) store by the former partner of Tory Burch. A little Kade Spade, a little Jonathan Adler, it has taken colour to a whole new level for this city. Think Kelly green piano stools, teal ottomans and a bright Kelly green lacquered front door. I mean, Wizard of Oz bright. Some people feel it's too bright for NYC, but I think it's been done with wit, whimsy and unexpected class. You can even buy a bicycle in C. Wonder's signature lime green. 72 Spring Street (between Crosby and Lafayette Streets), Soho. {Image at very top via jrosestyle.blogspot.com.au}

THE BRESLIN, ACE HOTEL

Designed by that extraordinarily talented duo Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman and Williams, the Breslin is a pea-green and black lacquered delight. The designers used high-gloss oil paint from Fine Paints of Europe to create the look, which was inspired by moody, Old World, vintage interiors. I'm not mad for the Ace Hotel but I adore this sister space. 20 West 29th Street, New York. {Via Roman & Williams}

NEW YORK SUMMER STYLE

When the sun comes out on Manhattan, New Yorkers put on a glowing sartorial show. It's a thrill just to walk up Fifth Avenue sometimes. {Image by Jamie Beck via plentyofcolour.com}

SEX AND THE CITY

Sex and the City perhaps did more for New York, for fashion and for colour than any other film or TV show about Manhattan has ever done. The outfits were notable for their lines and style but it was the colours that really grabbed your attention. Few costume designers do colour like New York stylist Patricia Field.

NEW YORK TIMES' STYLE

The covers of the New York Times' Style magazine are so creative they've almost become the kind you collect. The work the NYT team puts into each one is astounding. Look at the Fall 2011 Travel issue that featured plants that shifted in colour as they changed through the seasons. And look the Shelf Life cover! So innovative.

CAITLIN McGAULEY

New Yorker Caitlin McGauley's exquisite prints have been featured a lot over the blogosphere, but she's still someone to highlight in a story about New York and colour. A former Ralph Lauren textile designer, she now works as a freelance illustrator. I'd love to commission her to do a whole book on the city. www.caitlinmcgauley.com

MADELINE WEINRIB

Madeline Weinrib is the master (or mistress?) of colourful rugs. Try entering her dazzling showroom and not leaving without buying a few. (Or at least wanting to.) ABC Carpet & Home, 888 Broadway, New York. www.madelineweinrib.com

LILLY PULITZER

The Lilly Pulitzer store on the Upper East Side is so colourful, it's like walking into the interior of a bunch of balloons. The three-storey boutique has been designed like a gorgeous, glamorous, Carrie-inspired townhouse (a trick Ralph Lauren utilised to make shoppers feel at home), and while it may not be to everyone's taste, it's certainly a whole lot of fun to wander around in. 1020 Madison Avenue. New York. www.lillypulitzer.com

SWEETIE PIE

Sweetie Pie is a kids' bistro but it's still loved by many adults – Gwyneth Paltrow amongst them. And who wouldn't love it, with an interior this delicious? 19 Greenwich Ave (between Christopher and 10th), New York. www.sweetiepierestaurant.com

ANDRE 3000

Musician, actor, dancer, producer, businessman and fashion designer André Benjamin (a.k.a. André 3000 from OutKast) is one talented man. He may not be a native New Yorker but he spends a lot of time there for work and before he launched his fashion collections in the city, he took advice from Anna Wintour. (I'm sure she told him to ramp up his colour palette even more than he usually does.) I love his style. I almost wish he'd produce a women's range of fashion. I think it would go down well in St Barts, Harbour Island, Miami or Portofino.

ARTHUR, THE MODEL GENTLEMAN

Have you ever seen such a handsome man walking the streets of New York? This beautifully turned out gentleman was snapped by Style Clicker and featured on the great blog Advanced Age. His name is Arthur and he's a retired model. (Oh come on Arthur, you've still got it!) On this day he had chosen to wear a tailor-made pink suit, Italian shoes, Stetson hat, and a custom-made tie & square. Now that's what I call a sense of style. {Via advancedstyle.blogspot.com}

FIRMDALE HOTELS

The glamorous, finely tuned aesthetic from the Firmdale Hotel group, which own Crosby Street, is among the most admired in the design business. Just look at the hotel bedrooms – and the pencils they provide! I always purchase a box of pencils whenever I stay at a Firmdale Hotel. They perfectly reflect Firmdale's aesthetic: simple, sophisticated, creative. 79 Crosby Street, SoHo. www.firmdale.com

KATE SPADE

Ah, Kate Spade. How much do I love you? Let me count the ways. (Or the lines.) You may have been sold off and some of your magic may have disappeared, but walking into your New York stores is still a breath of fresh design air! 135 Fifth Avenue and 454 Broome Street, SoHo. www.katespade.com

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Oscar de la Renta's show was arguably the highlight of New York's recent Fashion Week, and this lemon-lime chiffon dream was perhaps the highlight of Oscar's show. {Via stylebistro.com}

THE W HOTEL

This sexy rooftop terrace sits atop the sophisticated interior of the always-fabulous W Hotel. Wouldn't you just want to stay out here at night, watching the sky change colour and the lights start to glow? {Via W Hotel}

VESUVIO BAKERY

The always gorgeous Vesuvio bakery. This startlingly green facade has become so famous it has featured in a coffee commercial with Robert de Niro, ads for New York, and countless fashion shoots and video clips. 160 Prince Street, SoHo. {Note: I have heard it has closed, so if you're going to NY and want to see, perhaps investigate first?}

The Woman in Black : A Film (Set) To Be Frightened Of

2012-02-15T17:06:00.000-08:00

If you're a fan of studying the elaborate sets, costumes, details and backdrops that often form the production of extravagant films and television series, then sit back in that comfy lounge chair, pull up the rug and crack open the box of marshmallows and hot chocolate, because 2012 looks like being a fantastic year for fabulous film sets. There's the second series of Downton Abbey (which has yet to reach Australia). There's The Great Gatsby, which Buz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) is currently producing. There's A Dangerous Method with Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen, the scintillating, sexy, beautifully filmed new moved based on the story of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and the woman who came between them. And there's The Woman in Black, the newly released supernatural film based on Susan Hill's bestselling horror of the same name.

Of all of these films, it's The Woman in Black I'm dying to see, as much for the setting as for the storyline...

I was alerted to this movie by the lovely staff of Avenue Books in Albert Park and I'm so pleased they did: I've now bought the book, read the story and am ready and waiting to be terrorised out of my very thin writer's skin. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) plays a lawyer called Arthur Kipps who ventures to an old house in a remote village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric. (Of course, lawyers rarely have time to do such things, but Daniel likes a bit of action so off he goes). Upon his arrival, though, he discovers the townspeople are keeping a deadly secret. What happens next will scare the bejesus out of you. The comments on forums seem to suggest it's one of the scariest movies for years. One 12-year-old said: "I don't know what the rating was for this film but it has now traumatised me for life!"

It was certainly one of the most chilling books ever released. Author Susan Hills said she was inspired by Henry James' classic Turn of The Screw and that the book "wrote itself, as if by magic". It proved to scare readers right from the start. When the secretary was typing up the manuscript, she found it so frightening that she could only listen if she was not alone in the house. (That secretary, Jane Tranter, eventually went on to become BBC television’s head of drama.)

As you can see, even the characters in the film are far from happy...

And the gardener's obviously found the haunted house all too much and nicked off to another job too...

But the ghost has done some decorating...

On this interior design note, I love this quote from a reviewer in The Telegraph:

"The story is a melodrama, and the atmospheric set is richly stocked with a disturbing miscellany of stuffed monkeys and dusty clockwork toys. Personally, I don’t dismiss the Pavlovian power of such bric-a-brac: just show me a cracked porcelain doll, for example, and I’m already jumpy. .."

The official website is here:

www.womaninblack.com/#/trailer

There's a far scarier trailer here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=arixaTWmIA0

Objects To Covet This Week

2012-02-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

VINTAGE VOGUE PRINTS

(AND VANITY FAIR. AND THE NEW YORKER)

So many of us love vintage Vogue covers and photos that it's no wonder Conde Nast has set up a store to cater for demand. Whether you're collecting them to frame, or just browsing for a beautiful gift for a stylish friend, these covers are completely irresistible. And covetable! Just look at this 1964 photo by Cecil Beaton. The Vanity Fair and New Yorker covers are fantastic too. www.condenaststore.com

SHOWER CURTAINS WITH WITTY WORDPLAY

Dave Eggers must do some serious thinking in his shower. The word meister (McSweeney's) has joined up with 826 Valencia, couture Parisian shower curtain manufacturer Izola and The Thing Quarterly to create an epistolary shower curtain. McSweeney was awarded a TED prize for his creative innovations. It's not surprising. The curtain is available as part of the current Thing Quarterly – a limited edition magazine that seems to be a little like Visionnaire magazine. Only edgier. {www.thethingquarterly.com}

LOVELY RUGS

I love Dash and Albert rugs. The only problem is deciding which ones to buy. You start loving one, and then lean to another, and then wonder if you have room for a third? dashandalbert.com

A SWEET RETRO SWIMSUIT

I realise summer's almost over here in Australia, but it's still warm through to late March. And of course it's coming over the horizon up there in the northern hemisphere. If you haven't noticed that swimsuits are swinging back to the sexy, glamorous, Hollywood-style piece, then better check out the fashion mags. They're coming back to poolside lounges with a lycra vengeance. My fav new find is Sirens Swimwear, which has some of the prettiest pieces this side of the Beverly Hills Hotel. www.sirensswimwear.com.au

A NEW FROCK FROM MARLENE BIRGER

Danish designer Marlene Birger continues to produce clothes that are so sexy, they could stand on a street corner and pick up all on their own. The Summer 12 collection is dazzling. (Details on the website.) And if you haven't seen her book yet, do look for it. Her homes are as gorgeous as her clothes. bymalenebirger.com

ANOTHER NEW FROCK FROM ODD MOLLY

Have you discovered Swedish fashion label Odd Molly yet? No? Well, it's has THE loveliest things. And their pretty tunics are rapidly becoming the tops of choice for many fashion lovers. They're like old-fashioned frocks or pinafores (remember those?), with smocking, curious pockets in delightful places and even writing embroidered in secret spots. I've bought three. The tunics are the best – perfect for tossing over jeans, for picking up the kids, for ducking out to the supermarket, or even wearing to a casual picnic. They'd also be perfect for a weekend away, paired with jeans, some boots and a long cardigan if it's chilly. Browse the website. Some seasons are more subdued than others. The colourful collections are the best. And I just love the website. (For Australian shoppers, the label is available in Eco D stores.) www.oddmolly.com

AND PERHAPS ANOTHER FROCK FROM MIST

I've just discovered Mist. I know a lot of people already know about this cute little label but I must have been under a writer's rock somewhere, oblivious to everything. But after discovering this year's collection of dresses at Fenton and Fenton, I'm now a full Mist convert. Look how gorgeous they are? How could you not adore them? Made in Bali, they're full of charm, colour, details and delightful cuts. Great for summer but also fab for autumn wear (cute over jeans) or for throwing in a suitcase when you're travelling as an emergency dress or top if you encounter hot weather. www.mistasiapacific.com.au

A NEW PAIR OF WELLIES FROM JOULES

Everyone knows about Hunter boots but Joules wellies are lovely too – and they're cheaper and quite often prettier. I also love the story behind the company. As the website explains, country people are quite colourful people, but their clothing used to be quite the opposite. So Tom Joules, the founder, designed 100 bright pink wellies. They sold like hot cakes. And Joules was born. For he's a welly good fellow... And so say many of us. www.joules.com

Icons of Style (Beginning with Her Majesty)

2012-02-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

Have you seen Elizabeth Windsor's Twitter account? Well, it's the faux Queen Elizabeth really, but still extremely witty (as we know the royals are) and very, very funny. The faux Queen's quips have become so popular, there's now a new book out called Gin O'Clock, purporting to be the secret diary of Mrs Elizabeth Windsor. Have a look at it – twitter.com/queen_uk And try not to laugh.

Had Mrs "call me Carole" Middleton on the phone after lunch. Wanting to check "our outfits don't clash on the big day". One seriously doubts they would.

And as a tribute to Her Maj on her Diamond Jubilee (60 years with a crown on: what a glamour puss), I've posted some of her more glorious sartorial moments below. Apologies to anyone who may be offended. We really do love her in Australia. How could you not?

More witty tweets from Lizzy...

Feb 14 Popping down to the kitchens for a quick custard cream and a catch-up on the gossip.
Feb 13 First week back at work starts tomorrow. Pinky and Perky (Cameron and Clegg) will be round to update one on the progress they haven't made.
Feb 10 Almost biblically large gin.
Feb 7. Empire of a hangover.
Feb 5 One's up to one's crown in snow. Will one's nether regions ever thaw?
Jan 25. Seriously considering closing the UK early this afternoon.
Jan 24. Going to spend an hour or two on ruling Jamaica...
Jan 23 Reigning 9-5: What a way to make a living...

"What's that? CARBS? Are you both CRAZY?"

"I say, there's that BLOODY Camilla again, picking all my rose bushes! You there! Get AWAY FROM THERE!"

"I'm NOT happy Phil! I said I wanted to stay home tonight and watch Downton Abbey."

"So... I'm thinking this outfit's not working for me. And this new Botox treatment has frozen my entire face. I can't feel my lips! And I really need to pee! And could someone PLEASE push that DREADFUL man away from me? What DOES he want?"

"Goodness me, I've got a headache! Bloody crown! Don't they KNOW it gives me a migraine? Oh, I DO hope this day ends soon so I can go home and watch the last bit of Graham Norton. I think I'm going to faint soon... And dear God, what's that SMELL?"

"Oh, you ARE naughty. WHAT did you say you were going to do to me? Oh my. Well, I'm going to need an extra stiff drink before we get to THAT stage, I think..."

"Do you like this little number? Me too. I do like a little bit of bling-bling."

"Who ARE you? Oh godness, is this a nightmare? Did I drink too much gin last night?"

Oh PHIL! Did you fart again. Really! This is just TOO much!"

"I do like a bit of lilac... Not sure about the hat. Bit too Jackie O for me. But anyway. There we have it."

Paris When It Sizzles

2012-02-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

Paris is beautiful any time of the year; when it rains, when it sizzles, when it changes mood from sunny to subdued. I've lingered in Paris so often I've come to think of it as my second home. In saying that, I'm having a torrid affair with New York at the moment so I'm actually cheating on the City of Love, I'm afraid to say. I do hope Paris lets me come back when I've had enough of Manhattan's wicked ways.

Here, in a travel tribute to Valentine's Day, are some of my favourite scenes, images and inspirations from what is still the most beautiful, most romantic, most spectacularly lovely place in the world. (Sorry, Buenos Aires.) {Above image via the official Diana Vreeland website – dianavreeland.com – another woman who was mad for Paris.}

Audrey Hepburn as Gaby in Paris When It Sizzles (1964).

Filming Paris When It Sizzles atop a rooftop terrace with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Look at those gentlemen looking bored. How could you be bored going to work with a view like this everyday? Pick yourselves up people!

Audrey in a promotional still from Funny Face. (This was the hat she went fishing in the Seine with. Isn't it gorgeous? I wish my fishing hat looked as glamorous.)

Pink peonies at the Rue Cler street market.

A deliciously pink patisserie in the 5th arrondissement.

Mrs Haris Goes To Paris. Apparently this book is delightful. As is the movie. I just adore the cover. And the whimsical title. Has anybody read it or see the film? Is it as really good as they say?

Schiaparelli pink walls at the Musee Nissim Camondo, Paris.

A hot pink door in the Left Bank. Who knew hot pink could look so sophisticated in a front door?

Chantal Thomass' French home, dressed in her signature pink. {Via Madame magazine, October 2009}

The gorgeously ornate facade of Chantal Thomass' Paris boutique. I'm not a fan of the lingerie but I'll take the architecture any day...

A scene from Vogue's fabulous shoot on French haute couture, wittily entitled A Handmade's Tale. This was taken in the Givenchy atelier.

Pale pink walls and panelling with two black-and-white striped chaises. Very Parisian! I love this image. It may not be Paris but it's clearly taking a leaf out of the place. From the book A Passion for Collecting.

The perfect handbag to have in Paris. By Kate Spade.

Another scene from Vogue's story on Parisian haute couture.

Sarah Jessica Parker dressed in Dior. Photographed by Mario Testino for American Vogue. Have you ever seen such a sumptuously beautiful gown?

Two of the designs created in a collaboration with Taillardat, a manufacturer specializing in luxurious high-quality reproductions of 18th century furniture including Marie Antoinette, Louis XV, Louis XVI, Empire, and Directoire styles. The company invited five key figures in the design and fashion worlds to create pieces of furniture that embodied the luxury of the 18th century style that they are known for. These two pieces were by Chantal Thomass. The top image is a glamorous pouf made of black varnished beechwood and nickel plated nails, with fabric by Pierre Frey. The image below it is a smoking chair with a cigarette box, made of black varnished beechwood and nickel plated nails, also featuring fabric by Pierre Frey. Too, too beautiful to sit on!

Fauchon department store, one of the most wildly colourful interiors in all of Paris. And the food is fabulous too. (Tip: Head here for a light lunch or a picnic-to-go: their takeaway meals are so exquisite, you'll have a difficult time deciding what to get.) {Via lesbonsbonsdesraisons.wordpress.com}

The Eiffel Suite of the Plaza Athénée, Paris. (The hotel Carried stayed in during the Sex and the City episodes shot in Paris.) Look at that view. {Via Plaza Athénée}

A lovely piece fom an old Balenciaga collection. Love the dress, the setting, the glorious glamour of it all...

Did you know there's actually a paint colour called 'Pink Chanel Suit'?

The islands of Paris, which are at their most beautiful at dusk.

A dress from the latest Dior collection. I'm so in love with this frock!

And one last image to end the Parisian fantasy... It's rare to see pink cafe chairs in Paris. How cute are the tables? {Source unknown}

Heart Gardens

2012-02-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

Just because it's Valentine's Day...

Don't you love a garden with a (horticultural) heart?

The astonishing Knot Garden at Villandry Chateau, Loire Valley, France. One of my all-time favourite gardens. {Image by Janelle McCulloch; this is my pathetic attempt at copyright but you're all more than welcome to forward these images if you link back and credit.}

The charming kitchen garden at Lady Bamford's Daylesford Organic estate, Gloucestershire (The Cotswolds), England. {Image by Janelle McCulloch}

The magnificent Prieuré d'Orsan Garden (the Medieval-inspired Priory Garden), in the Berry region of France. {Images by Janelle McCulloch}

The enchanting Van Buuren Museum and Gardens in Brussels. {Via the fantastic photographer known as Dan@94. www.flickriver.com/photos/93340}

A beautiful heart-shaped gate at Petersham Nurseries, in Richmond, London. {Images by Janelle McCulloch}

A delightfully simple heart-shaped gate in the USA. {Via themagictutu.typepad.com}

A lovely plan of a country house garden, complete with heart-shaped beds for tea roses. Designed by the magnificently named The Hon. Frances Wolseley, Principal of the Glynde School for Lady Gardeners in Sussex. Drawings by Miss M. G. Campion. {Via the book Every Woman's Encyclopaedia and chestofbooks.com}

Tricia Guild's sublime townhouse garden in London, with its square of pleached limes. The heart-shaped leaves of limes (tilia cordata in particular) are so pretty in spring, it's no wonder it's one of my favourite trees. Paul Bangay loves this tree as well. Good man. {Via telegraph.co.uk}

Rather fond of this little garden. Wish I knew where it was. {Credit source unknown. Please notify me if you know the credit.}

The Heart Garden, a great story of art patron Sunday Reed and her famous garden at Heide. Interestingly, the gardeners at Heide recently uncovered a heart-shaped garden that she had created for her lover, the artist Sidney Nolan, which was hidden under lawn for years. I think it perhaps should have stayed there, as Sunday and Sidney's secret. (NB I love the name Sunday, and was so pleased when Nicole Kidman chose it for her daughter – a decision inspired by the life of Sunday Reed.)

A heart-shaped trowel. How I love this. Be still my beating heart! {Via thegardeningwebsite.co.uk}

Better get back to writing books now or my fiercely disciplined, whip-wielding readers will have something to say.

Picnic at Hanging Rock: A Valentine's Day Story

2012-02-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Many of you lovely, library-loving people may have read Picnic at Hanging Rock. But some of you may have not. Picnic was the story of a group of Edwardian schoolgirls from an upper class private boarding school who disappeared while on a Valentine's Day picnic to Hanging Rock, a strange monolith in the Australian countryside. Joan Lindsay wrote it, and then Peter Weir made a film out of it, which launched Australia's film industry and the international careers of many of its Aussie actors.

It's something of a iconic piece now, with everyone from Alexander McQueen to Chloë Sevigny, Claire Danes and Sofia Coppola praising its plot, costumes, scenes and haunting storyline. Coppola hinted that it prompted her film The Virgin Suicides, Sevigny cited the film as one of her favourites and said it heavily influenced her famous fashion sense, while McQueen went as far as basing a collection on it, which was regarded as one of his best. Fashion labels Rodarte and Band of Outsiders have also recently staged Picnic-inspired shows. And it's about to become (wait for it) a musical, which will have its world premiere in New York in 2012. (I wonder if Mrs Appleyard sings "ray – a drop of golden sun..."?) Here's Kirsten Dunst referring to it with one of Rodarte's Picnic frocks.

Even Design Sponge did a post on it (below). {Via Design Sponge}

The novel has polarised many people over the years. Millions love it. Some despise it. The writing is rather unusual but what really divides readers is that fact that the mystery was never solved. The girls and their teacher simply vanished. To add even more drama to the ambiguous mix, the author, Joan Lindsay, alluded to the fact that it might have been true. But then, prompted by her publisher, she clamped up and never spoke about it again. And so nobody knows whether it's truth, or fiction? Or fiction based on fact? Or just a whole lot of clever marketing? Perhaps Lindsay felt that E.L. Doctorow was right when he said: “There is no fiction or non-fiction. There is only narrative.”

I went to a girls' school on the outskirts of Melbourne. One of those sheltered schools filled with daughters of Old Money and the New Rich. (Our family was neither.) It was very much like Appleyard College, only nicer. One day a friend invited me home for the Easter long weekend. While there, she told me her great-grandmother had gone to Clyde College, the girls' school that the story was supposedly based on. Her great-grandmother had loved her time at Clyde, where she'd befriended Dame Elizabeth Murdoch (who was also a boarder – and a friend of Joan Lindsay), worked on the school magazine and joined the photography club. It was this photography club that had embarked on a summer's picnic to Hanging Rock – the first time the school had allowed such an excursion – and it was this photography club that experienced something strange up on the rock. But nobody on the picnic ever revealed what it was. Then Joan Lindsay heard about it. And wrote a novel based on it. Which became an international bestseller.

“A lot of very strange things have happened around the area of Hanging Rock–things that have no logical explanation.”

–Joan Lindsay, Herald, 1975.

“A great deal of the book [Picnic at Hanging Rock] is based on things I’ve done,

and seen, and know.”

–Joan Lindsay, The Age, 1977.

Fast forward almost half a century later. Having been fascinated with this book for most of my life, I started researching the story behind the story. It took a lot of digging. Some people wouldn't talk to me because apparently there's a Picnic curse. Hanging Rock itself is haunted, so indigenous people believe. (One man told me he saw tribal elders come racing off the rock saying: "this place is EVIL fella!") When I went to the Lyceum Club one day, where Joan had been a member, a well-known society woman warned me off writing it. "The Establishment won't like it," she explained. All of this just made me more determined than ever. Nothing intrigues a journalist more than when a door closes in their face. They'll do everything they can to sneak around the back entrance and find out why.

“The world of Gothic fiction is characterized by a chronic sense of apprehension,

and the premonition of impending but unidentified disaster…”

–Ann B. Tracy, The Gothic Novel

Fast forward a year later. The things I've discovered have been so incredible, I've had to seek legal advice as to whether they can be published. I've been surprised, shocked, horrified, and even terrified. I can no longer think of the story without thinking of W.H. Auden's quote: “Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.” I can't even listen to the film's soundtrack with feeling a chill.

So now we get to my own small story. A story that's particularly fitting this week, seeing as it's almost Valentine's Day.

Late last year I drove down to Mulberry Hill, Joan Lindsay's home, to see where she lived (pictured below, via M'Hill). I'd already heard stories about it from chatting to people such as Nanette McCubbin, whose husband (the grandson of the famous painter) was Joan's godson. Sadly, few people visit here any more. But it's a beautiful piece of architecture, so do go if you are inclined. It's worth a wander.

On this particular day, I had spent an hour or so following a tour guide around, enjoying the faded grandeur of what had obviously been a much-loved home. Eventually, we came to Joan's private writing room. The guide had already revealed Joan's ghost was still present – and regularly unnerved both the tour guides and their visitors. We just happened to be looking at Joan's writing desk, and I mentioned that I'd discovered Joan was possibly bi-sexual, which was interesting in the context of Picnic and its sexual undertones. Then I asked her if anyone had ever looked in Joan's desk. No, she said. So we did. There, in the top drawer was a photo of Joan's close 'friend' (I can't say who; not just yet) plus a photo of another woman, both with writing on that back – endearments of sorts – that indicated these women had meant something to the author. The guide kept them on her but I could tell she was shocked by the discovery. I then pointed out that one of the few pieces in Joan's study was a framed picture from one of these women. I left the conversation there. There are times and places to stay the right side of polite. And right there, in Mulberry Hill, was one of them.

A few minutes later, I began walking alone down the driveway to the carpark at the bottom of the estate. My car was the only one there. The sky had darkened, the wind was whipping around the ancient gum trees and it wasn't a pleasant place to linger thinking thoughts about a picnic that had happened a century ago. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind my right ear. Thinking it was the tour guide I turned around. The driveway behind me was empty. I kept walking and the voice whispered again. To say I was as spooked as a teenage girl watching Halloween is an understatement The whisper seemed to say (and you're going to think I'm making this up, but it's true) "Shhhh. Shhhh. Don't say!" I jumped in my partner's 4WD and floored it out of there so fast, I thought I'd skid sideways into a tree.

So this is my question to you, dear friends and readers. A question that has been bothering me all week. Do I reveal Joan's secret? Or not? Do I write about the events that led to this famous and fantastic tale? Or do I keep the mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock a mystery. After all, it is quite possibly the best mystery of the last 50 years. Who am I to roll this rock away and show everyone what's hidden underneath?

Happy Valentine's Day!

PS All images from the film. Oh – And I love this illustration entitled Picnic at Hanging Rock by the talented PixelPickle as shown as Z Brush Central's site.

And if you want to see Hanging Rock, The Age is sponsoring a Harvest Picnic there on Sunday, February 26. Just don't get lost. www.harvestpicnic.com.au

Dining by Design: 10 Beautiful Brasserie Interiors

2012-02-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made a reservation at a bar or brasserie just to see the interior design? Me too. Sometimes I don't even notice the food. I'm too busy looking at the font on the menus. Or the serif writing they've used on the vintage gilt mirrors over the bar. Shallow, I know, but I'm sure there are many of us who are more curious about the decor than what's in the cassoulet. It's dining by design.

This subject has come to the table (watch the pun there) because on Sunday my lovely man took me to Bistro Guillaume for my birthday, just so I could see the ballgown light shades that everyone's been talking about for years. While he was tucking into his French poulet I kept saying thing like: "Do you think they're custom-made?" Poor man. It can't have made for an interesting conversation.

So here, as a little 'belated Birthday Post', are my Top 10 Bistro Interiors. Places to go when you need inspiration for your kitchen, your butler's pantry, your outdoor terrace, your own restaurant project or just want a little more design sauciness with your duck parmentier. Oh! The pun(s) we could have! And yes, I swiped the paper menu from under my plate so I could archive that particular shade of green. Not as bad as Diana Vreeland pinching a piece of wall for its pink paint. But almost. {All images via the respective dining establishments' websites. Credit for top image is uncertain, so please notify me if it is yours or you know the source.}

NB These are all casual brasseries and bars. A round-up of beautiful restaurant interiors will come in a later post.

BISTRO GUILLAUME

I've said enough about this sexy Melbourne brasserie. I'll let you be the judge of that geranium-green bar and those gorgeous ballgown lampshades. (I did comment that they would be cuter with pairs of Moulin Rouge-style legs and tiny Manolo shoes dangling out of them, but I don't think Mr Guillaume Brahimi would have thought that was quite fitting.) Whiteman Street, Southbank, Melbourne, Australia. www.bistroguillaume.com.au {Images via The Age and Miettas.com}

PEELS

The staff at John Derian recommended this place. Great find guys. (It's right next door to Derian's Dry Goods store.) New York magazine said it offered one of the best places for brunch in the city. Tall call, but I'll accept it. The menu is fab, but the decor is even more fantastic. (See? I told you green was IN.) 325 Bowery, New York. peelsnyc.com {Photos by me; please don't copy without a credit or link.}

BALTHAZAR

Still one of the best places for a design perve, even after all these years. Keith McNally: you do it to me every time. I always, always come here whenever I'm in New York. (Tip: Come for brunch; it's easier to get a table.) {Photos by me: that's why they're not great. I think I might have had a G&T or three?} 80 Spring Street, SoHo, New York. balthazarny.com

THE LOCAL TAPHOUSE BAR AND RESTAURANT

Designed by Gardener & Marks (the 'Gardener' is Lyn Gardener of Empire Vintage and The White House fame), the Local Taphouse incorporates 110-year-old tram seats, framed vintage posters, factory lights, enamel signage and even fish traps. A little piece of Parisian wit and cosiness mixed with a Melbourne sensibility.There's also a Sydney version. 184 Carlisle Street, St Kilda East, Melbourne, Australia. thelocal.com.au

THE EUROPEAN

I've got a soft spot for The European. It's where I first met my lovely man. He was wearing a smart black suit and a crisp white shirt. I'm a sucker for black and white. Throw in The European and I was smitten from the first cheap rosé. The City Wine Shop bar next door (as part of the establishment) is just as elegant, and The Melbourne Supper Club and rooftop bar upstairs are two of the best for a drink in the city. I've known men who have seduced their dates (yes, right down to the, er, final gasp) right on the leather club chairs. That's how dim and sexy it is. (Although I never wanted to know which chairs they were in.) 161 Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia. theeuropean.com.au {Images by my niece, Alex Wiedermann}

COMME
I love Comme. I mean, Comme on! (As Leyton would say.) How could you not? It's glamour in a glass! For those not familiar with it, it's the old Mietta's, redressed for a good time. Black, white, sexy as all hell. Just seeing the staircase makes my heart beat faster. 7 Alfred Place, Melbourne, Australia. comme.com.au {Images by my niece, Alex Wiedermann}

JK PLACE

Okay, so it's a hotel bar/breakfast space, rather than a stand-alone brasserie, but look at that design! Don't you just want to rip the entire thing out, fittings and all, and take it home? 7 Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Florence. jkplace.com

THE BLUE BAR, THE BERKELEY

Still one of my all-time favourite interiors. Look at that Lutyens Blue! Created by London-based design meister David Collins, it incorporates a white onyx bar and a black crocodile print leather floor. Incredible. If I were single and meeting an incredibly nice man, I'd arrange to meet him here. Or The Connaught Bar in Mayfair. Another gorgeous hideaway. Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. www.the-berkeley.co.uk {Images via The Berkeley}

THE MILLSWYN

Designed by star-chitects Hecker Guthrie and inspired by Keith McNally's New York brasseries Pastis and Balthazar, Melbourne's new Millswyn brasserie is a little piece of Sweden, a hint of Shaker simplicity, and a whole lotta understated glamour. It's almost a pared-down Parisian interior: the Left Bank without the cigarette smoke. It feels like it should be on a beach somewhere – St Barts, Sorrento or Shelter Islands. But for a Saturday brunch after a walk/run around the Botanic Gardens, nothing beats it. 131 Domain Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia. themillswyn.com.au

THE SIP SHOPPE, NAPA VALLEY

First spotted on Slim Paley's blog, The Sip Shoppe is one part circus stripes and one part whimsy. This is how the owners describe it: "At first we called the room the Cirque, in reference to its 'bigtop' feel and French Quarter/New Orleans roots. As the space took on a mind of its own, we began referring to it as the 'Candystore for Adults'." Space, design, taste and style. I'd make the trek to Napa just to see those stripes. Napa Valley, California. www.sipshoppe.com

Turning Over A New (Design) Leaf

2012-02-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

While The Library blog is temporarily undergoing a tidy-up and quick refit (and The Librarian is finishing writing her books), I thought I'd post a little story to tide readers over until things get back to normal in a week or so. Also, if you've enjoyed The Library these past few months, then please consider listing it as part of your blogroll. It would be lovely to be included, and it would also really help me The Librarian know if it's worthwhile to continue devoting time to this site. I do hope you will support The Library – and of course do let The Library Assistant (pictured left) know if there's something you don't like. Unfortunately, she can't understand anything apart from "walk", "bone", "home" and "no", but that doesn't mean she won't try and listen to your complaints...

FROND MEMORIES

2012 may just be the year we all turn over a new leaf. Small leaves. Big leaves. Even grand, luscious, tropical palm leaves. The leaf motif has been in design fashion for almost a year now, with names such as Prada, Designers Guild, John Derian and Henry Holland taking it to new horticultural heights. But it's now set to become an even bigger trend – palm leaf big, in fact – as more and more of us fall in love with the glamorous, Hollywood-meets-Miami look of creating a statement piece with a gorgeously grand palm or fern. Like most things, it started with fashion, when the tropical leaf motif was spotted in several collections last year, and it is now swiftly being adapted for interior design, architecture, books and even paper weights, as John Derian's exquisite designs illustrate. And of course it's still big in landscapes. Think of the gardens of Beverly Hills (including the Beverly Hills Hotel), Palm Springs and West Palm Beach. It's a classic, spectacular and sings of summer. Coming soon to a living room, courtyard, frock, cushion or handbag near you. Just add the chaise lounge, the cocktail and a coolly glam white caftan {Top image via Rob Ryan – www.misterrob.co.uk}

Leaves of class: A page from Living etc magazine, August 201.

Rock Paper Palm: A delightful paper weight from John Derian.

Palming it off (oh, I wish I'd bought one on sale!): Kate Spade's chic Verandah Place handbag.

Leaf loveliness: Vintage Moschino handbag. {Via Slim Paley's beautiful blog}

The Island of Palms: Lord Howe Island, Australia. The citizens of this tiny island have became extremely wealthy by exporting kentia palms to the rest of the world. Pictured above is the sublime hideaway, Capella Lodge, one of the most beautiful hotels in Australia, with one of the most beautiful views. {Via Capella Lodge}

The Book of Palms: Taschen's palm-weight tome. Coming in at a staggering 5 kilos, this spectacular book (I loved it so much I bought a copy in New York and dragged it back in my hand luggage) chronicles the research work of Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794-1868), professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, who was a world specialist on palm trees. His life was so linked to palms that he was carried to his grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. It's been described as an "unrivalled landmark in botanic illustration and taxonomy". A fabulous read.

Palm luxe: The Mooring Village hotel in the Florida Keys, 2010.

Palms in profile: Lord Howe Island, 2008.

Drama in a dining room: Monochromatic glamour from Ralph Lauren's Bel Air collection. {Via Ralph Lauren}

Out of Africa in LA: More colonial loveliness from Ralph Lauren Home.

Stylish symmetry in the tropics: The Viceroy Anguilla hotel. {Via Viceroy}

Baroque bathing: The sheer perfection of the pool at The Raleigh hotel, Miami. {Via Raleigh}

Musical palms: Frank Sinatra's former home, Twin Palms in Palm Springs. The piano-shaped pool (look at how the walkway was designed to create shadows that then became the piano keys) saw a lot of good times while Frank was here. {Via Beau Monde Villas and sinatrahouse.com}

Love in LA: Beverly Hills, 2011.

Horticultural Extraordinariness: The Victorian Palm House at Kew Gardens in London. {Via greatarchitecture.com and the lovely blog tillandsias.wordpress.com}

Garden glamour: Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay photographed at Kew Garden's Palms House by Jason Bell for the August 2011 issue of Vogue UK . {Via Vogue and Style Court}

Superior planting scheme: The Palm Courtyard of Raffles Hotel, Singapore.

Palm prettiness: India Hicks and David Flint Wood's home in the Bahamas. {Via India Hicks' blog}

Palm print: Palm tree-print fabric by Lisa Fine textiles.

Sweet as a coconut: Cute cushions by Escape to Paradise Sanctuary.

How To Get A Book Deal

2012-02-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

I would like to sincerely apologise for the short notice of an interruption in scheduling, but this will be my last post for a week or two. Unfortunately, there are two books that need to be written, and they're not, because someone is p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-n-g. (Who said that?) I would offer the argument that I'm renovating. But there's no excuses for tardiness, so off I march to the literary coal mine again.

But while I'm away, knee-deep in archives and cross-checking quotes, I'd like to leave you all with a little inspiration. Namely, the idea that you, too, can get a book deal. Truly. It's not as difficult as you think. I've had 18 published. And I'm far from being Alain de Botton. At the recent ALT summit, Design Sponge's Grace Bonney, Chronicle Books editor Kate Woodrow and several others spoke on a packed-out session called From Blog To Book. If you're interested, Chronicle Books has posted some info in its Storify blog – storify.com/chroniclebooks. Many of the pointers were fairly imperative – such as doing your research into the competition; making sure your book has a point of difference; researching publishers' list to find the right publisher for your project; pitching it in 10 words or less, and so on. These are valuable tips. But I thought it might be helpful if I showed you how I got a heel in the door.

So here, for those who are interested, are some of the things that helped me. And of course if you have any questions, please just email me. I'm always, always happy to help.

10 STEPS TO BECOMING A PUBLISHED AUTHOR
(GOOD OR BAD)

{Image of Osa watching NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia sign a giant mock-up of her 1940 book I Married Adventure via NYT Pictures}

1. NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP. Ben Slbermann, the creator of Pinterest recently said: “People succeed because they don’t stop". He could have been paraphrasing Churchill. Never give up. If you really want a book deal, you WILL make it happen.

Case in point. Years ago, I had an idea for a book on country houses, but nobody wanted to publish it. Finally, one publisher agreed to see me. Problem was, she was in Sydney. And she was about to go on her first holiday in 10 years. "You have 15 minutes," she said. So I took the day off work, flew to Sydney and got a taxi to the North Shore. I didn't realise it but the driver dropped me off a kilometre short of the location. So I hailed a hatchback, thrust $20 in the young driver's face and pleaded for him to take me up the road. He did. I walked in, made the pitch in a somewhat breathless voice, and told the story of the taxi as an ice-breaker. She laughed. I walked out with a two-book deal ten minutes later. The lovely guy was still waiting in the car park. I gave him $40. And flew back to Melbourne two hours later, still shaking from nerves. That was my harrowing start to this new career. My advice: Do whatever you have to do to get the deal done.

2. FIND A REALLY, REALLY GOOD IDEA. Don't copy what others are doing. The publishers will have already seen 100 proposals like it. Remember when Tuscany memoirs were all the trend? (Under The Tuscan Sun) And then tart-noir novels? (Adventures of a London Call Girl.) And then 'list' books with elegantly simple covers? (Schott's) And schnovels? (Self-help books disguised as novels.) Not to mention Expat Memoirs. (Eat Pray Love) And books about maps. And Darwin. And now Diana Vreeland... Step ahead of the curve. Study bestseller lists, but try to think up something different. Something innovative. Something that's never been done before. (I predict that books showing garden designs and plans will be coming back in. But maybe that's just wishful thinking...)

GREAT BOOK CONCEPTS (AND BOOK TITLES / JACKETS / THE WHOLE BIT):

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Beautiful book, with a beautiful name. The Architecture of Happiness. Always love Alain de Botton's book titles.
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet. Ingenious.
The Chemistry of Tears. Peter Carey's latest.
Etcetera. Sibella Court's springboard to a great publishing/design career. I Married Adventure. No wonder it sold 500,000 copies in the first year.

3. TRY NOT TO USE THE 'MEET PITCH'. As in: "XXX book is The Da Vinci Code meets The Sex Diaries". Really. Try to think of 20 other words to describe your story. 20. You should be able to do that.

4. PREPARE YOUR PROPOSAL WITH THE SAME METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL THAT YOU'D DO IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ABOUT TO WIN AN OSCAR. See that one-page synopsis you've done? Now elaborate. I usually do a short synopsis and a two-page one. Plus a rationale (why it will sell), a description of market competition and why this book is different, a description of potential readership, marketing ideas, a bio (add quirky things – they'll give the pitch personality), a full table of contents, a completed first chapter (sometimes three chapters) and any ideas for design/style.

5. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. Writing is difficult enough. Don't make it harder by tackling a strange subject. Write about what you love. It will make your writing life easier.

My first book idea was a novel set in the world of magazines. But then Bridget Jones came out. And (much later) The Devil Wears Prada. I couldn't compete, nor did I want to. So I shelved it. And decided to write about something I really knew: London and Paris. Over 3 months I wrote an outline of a memoir. I pitched it to Kay Scarlett at Murdoch Books. Amazingly, she accepted. It sold out in the first 3 weeks. No one was more surprised than I was. But it just showed: Write what you know.

6. DON'T ALWAYS TARGET THE BIG PUBLISHERS. India Hicks got her publishing start with a small-ish London company, Pavillion. I don't know how many times this book has now been reprinted.

7. OFFER IDEAS FOR DESIGN, AND EVEN JACKETS, WITH YOUR PITCH. If you're creative, do some mock ups. If not, find a friend who can. Anything that shows the commissioning editor or Acquisitions Committee what your idea will look like will help.{Image via Book City Jackets and littlecommas.wordpress.com: aren't these jacket beautiful?}

8. MOCK UP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO ILLUSTRATE THE IDEA. Here are two pages from a book I pitched to a publisher several years ago. You don't even need to use final text. Just throw some jabberwocky copy in. It's the 'look' they're interested in. I use InDesign, but you can use any medium.

9. FIND SOMEONE TO SEND YOUR PROPOSAL TO. Don't just send it into the receptionist. Find an editor. One tip is to look at books you like and see who published/edited them.

10. DON'T WORRY ABOUT AN AGENT UNLESS YOU'RE OFFERED A MOTZA ADVANCE. I've never had an agent. I would have made more money if I had but then they would have taken 20 per cent. Use a lawyer who specialises in contracts. They'll charge you $600+ or so, but it's still cheaper than an agent. In saying this, lots of authors like having an agent to do all the work.

PS Apologies to those followers who have been getting these posts emailed to them twice. It's a glitch and I'm trying to rectify it now. I do hope you'll bear with me.

The Glamour of Black and White

2012-02-01T04:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things just look better in black and white...

(Above pic from Designers Guild's Amalienborg collection.)

Lazy Chairs by B&B Italia, from Space Furniture. {Via Space}

The Dylan Hotel, Amsterdam. Interior design by Anouska Hempel. {Via Dylan}

Uma Ubud Hotel, Bali.

The Milestone Hotel, London. {Via Milestone}

Cotswold 88 Hotel, Cotswolds.

De Witte Lilie Hotel, Antwerp. {Via De Witte}

The Chantal Apartment, Chez Vous Apartment Rental, Paris. {Via Chez Vous}

Ralph Lauren's Brook Street collection. {Via Ralph Lauren}

Ralph Lauren's Black Sands collection. {Via Ralph Lauren}

Poolside at The Chamberlain hotel, LA. {Via Chamberlain}

Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, 2009.

Old Town, Key West, 2008.

South Beach, Miami, 2009.

The Raleigh, Miami, 2010.

Secret London, Part 2

2012-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

Confession. The first time I saw London, in 1986, I hated it. The second time, I fell in love. And not just with the city.

It was the early 1990s. I'd just graduated and had moved to London to work as a journalist. It was winter, and as the plane touched down at Gatwick airport on a grisaille-grey, fog-filled, Dickensian night and I took a black cab through the South Kensington streets to the hotel, I began to see the beauty in this deeply dignified city. By the second day, after a long winter's walk through Hyde Park, I knew, with absolute certainty, that I had fallen in love.

A week or so later, standing at Baker Street Tube Station, I fell in love again. He was wearing a finely tailored black suit, a white shirt with silver cufflinks, and a white pocket-handkerchief. It was the kind of style that said: ‘Old London’: Tony Bennett; St James’s gentlemen’s clubs; G&Ts at five. I was wearing a short chilli-red skirt, knee-high black boots and a black riding blazer. It was the kind of style that said: Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The first scene. Not the last.

It was past midnight and so he walked me home to the hotel. Two days later, after three cheap wines and four far-from-cheap kisses by a Soho streetlamp, I was smitten. The rest, as they say, is nudity.

My London Man didn’t tell me what he did at first, which was perhaps wise given his sensitive role and my job as a journalist. I merely assumed, mostly from the bespoke suits, that he worked in the City. I never bothered to ask if he mixed the Queen Mother’s drinks and scheduled her day.Then one evening, after a drink in Soho, he casually asked if I’d mind if he swung by his work to pick up some papers. Of course not, I said politely, and so we proceeded to head towards St James’s. I had no idea where we were going but I could never have imagined we would end up in Clarence House. As the navy convertible sliced through the winter streets with London Man whistling spiritedly in the seat beside me, I sat there quietly wringing my new dress with new-love nerves. It was only when we approached Stable Yard Road and the sentry emerged from his box and murmured “Good evening, sir” that I finally knew, with sickening certainty, where we were.

I spent five years in London, on and off, with forays to Paris in between. I still love the city. Its wit, its debonair style and its elegant, elegant ways. It's the Sidney Poitier of cities. How can you resist?

HOTELS FOR A BUDGET
THE MAIN HOUSE, NOTTING HILL (above)
Like staying with a very stylish friend. Guests check into suites, each of which occupies an entire floor of a period Victorian house. Simple but surprisingly fine. And the location is superb. 6 Colville Road, Notting Hill, W11. themainhouse.co.uk
40 WINKS

Imbued with a kind of Hip Hotel decor (eccentric/interesting/wittily British), 40 Winks is tiny. Only two rooms, in fact. This is because it's part of the home of designer David Carter. Good for the price. 109 Mile End Road, City of London, E1. 40winks.org

HOTELS FOR SPLURGING ON

HAYMARKET (above)

I once knew a girl who married a billionaire. The kind with lots of money but no taste. They went to London for a week and stayed at a Very Famous Hotel in Mayfair. The suite cost £1000/night. I visited them in this 'suite' and was shocked. Ripped upholstery. Dusty carpets. A smelly old floral bedspread. My eyes started to water. I needed a cup of tea and a long lie down. One hotelier who also noticed the dismal state of London hotel suites and dearth of gorgeous hideaways in the hotel market was Kit Kemp. She and her partner devised Firmdale Hotels. The Haymarket is one of them. Love the interior design, the location, and the service. Have a look and you'll see what I mean. I hope the billionaire discovers it before his wife divorces him. Just ravishing. 1 Suffolk Place, SW1. firmdalehotels.com

41 HOTEL (above)

Forget the hotel where Kate, Pippa and co stayed before The Big Wedding. If you want the full "London nobility" experience, go to 41. Here guests are treated like royalty (or royalty-to-be). In fact, some guests have been known to shy away from 41's famous fuss. The interior design is like a private member’s club and the service is just as gentlemanly. But it's the rooms I love: huge, monochrome-toned suites with marble bathrooms. True luxe in London. There's also a 24 hour honesty pantry, a personal butler and a cellar full of fine wine. Just like being at Buckingham Palace, really. (Which is just around the corner, by the way.) 41 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1. 41hotel.com {Images via 41}

DRINKS AND OTHER THINGS
ANDREW EDMUNDS RESTAURANT (above)
I can't personally recommend this, since I'm still waiting to go, but a food critic friend of mine highly recommends it. As do all his food critic friends. Indeed, most of the serious foodies love it. The unusual menu changes daily and the wine list is one of the best in London. Apparently it's great for a date – first date; secret date; hot date; lunch with your ex, or just a catch-up with your grandfather. 46 Lexington Street, Soho, W1.
PURL
Pure London. Locate it down in the vaults of a Georgian townhouse. Low vaulted ceilings, classic leather Chesterfields, witty trompe l’oeil wallpaper and a quintessentially British antique globe. But it's the cocktails you need to watch out for. Everything is designed to sizzle and shock, like a science lab. Apparently Mr Hyde’s Fixer Upper will really fix you up. (Think goblet, wax-sealed potion bottle, and then... no memory in the morning.) 50-54 Blandford Street, W1. purl-london.com

THE CONNAUGHT BAR (above)
Too, too beautiful to describe in words. Just go. Sit down. Look around. And try to breath. London style at its most glamorous. David Collins has outdone himself here. Carlos Place, W1. www.the-connaught.co.uk

STYLE, FASHION AND INTERIOR DESIGN

JASPER CONRAN, MAYFAIR

This is a big call but I believe Sir Terence Conran's son is actually more talented that his father. Take a look at this store. And did you ever see his London residence? And his incredibly beautiful18th century house in Somerset? And his new book, Country? I don't know how he does it. Sheer genius. 36 Sackville Street,, Mayfair, W1. jasperconran.com {Via Jasper Conran}
PAUL SMITH
I like Paul. I like his linings. Alexander McQueen used to secretly scribble graffitied profanities in the linings of his suits for Prince Charles' suits (apparently), but Mr Smith is a little more discreet. He just uses stripes. His homewares are just as divine. The Mayfair store stocks fab finds, including great

art, antiques, jewellery and curiosities sourced from around the world. 9 Albemarle Street, W1. paulsmith.co.uk

THE CLOTH SHOP AND OTHER FAB FABRIC SHOPS
London has gorgeous fabric stores. Liberty's, unfortunately, is no longer as fab as it once was, but wander around the corner to The Cloth House in Soho, and you'll be rewarded with even better choice. Have another look at the window merchandising. It's almost as good as Anthropologie's level of display. (Nos 47 & 98 Berwick Street, Soho, W1). I come here for lovely linens. Three other great fabric places are Cabbages & Roses in Mayfair (4 Avery Road, W1, cabbagesandroses.com), a cute ribbons, trimmings and tassels store called V.V.Rouleaux off Sloane Square (261 Pavilion Road), and The Cloth Shop in Notting Hill (290 Portobello Road, theclothshop.net), which sells beautiful Swedish linens, antique household goods from Europe and lovely furnishing fabrics.

More later. Missing London too much...

How To Travel Five Star on a One-Star Budget

2012-01-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Before we explore the secret sides to London, I'll like to offer some tips on how to travel cheaply. Admittedly, I'm not as skilled at this Travel On A Shoe String Thing as my frugal parents, but I've picked up a few tips over the years. You lovely readers will probably have a lot of ideas as well, since most of you love to travel too, so just drop me a comment and I'll add it to the list.

1. TRAVEL ON A TUESDAY. Or a Thursday. These days are usually significantly cheaper than other days because business people don't travel as much as they do on Mondays or Fridays. Same goes for hotel rooms. Always cheaper mid-week. I almost always fly on a Tuesday now.

2. IF YOU'RE FLEXIBLE WITH DAYS, RESEARCH WHETHER YOUR DESTINATION IS CHEAPER WEEKDAYS OR WEEKENDS. Some cities are more expensive on weekdays, and cheaper on weekends. New York, for one, is cheaper earlier in the week (Tuesdays, especially.) Miami, on the other hand, is more expensive on weekends – like many of those destinations that people fly to for the weekend. Paris is also more expensive on weekends. It becomes cheaper on Mondays and Tuesdays.

3. BOOK YOUR OWN FLIGHTS FOR THE BEST PRICES. If you're not used to travelling, go with a travel agent. Otherwise, shop around online. I use bestflights.com.au. One year I flew to London return for A$900. And get on email lists, so you know when good deals come up. At the moment there's a price war to the US. You can fly to NY return for $900 or so (plus $200 or so taxes).

4. JOIN A FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM. You'll be able to accumulate points towards free flights, use airport lounges and be first in line when upgrades become available. We're with United / Star Alliance. I know United isn't as highly regarded as, say, Singapore Airlines but I love them. LOVE THEM. I check in via First Class, occasionally get free upgrades to Business, and last time I flew home from NY they let me check in the 72 kilos of books I've bought at Strand bookstore. For free. They're always lovely, professional, kind and willing to help with problems. Such as excess book baggage. Gotta love a FF program. Some people dismiss them, but they're better than you think.

5. IF YOU REALLY NEED SOME EXTRA ASSISTANCE OR EXTRA ROOM, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. (NICELY.) I've had countless times where this has happened. One year I had to fly to Europe to interview a member of a royal family (virtually as soon as I stepped off the plane), so I quietly asked the cabin manager if I might have two seats somewhere at the back of the plane to get some sleep? (I did say the BACK of the plane.) The lovely manager proceeded to move some poor guy out of a seat and let me have three seats in a row. And yes, I felt guilty – especially in front of an almost full Economy Class who were glaring at me! And I'm not sure I'd do it again. But it was incredibly kind of them. The same goes for when you need a larger room in a hotel (such a family room), or a room with a bath. If it's late in the day and there's a room free, ask nicely and they might just upgrade you.

6. DON'T BOOK A HOTEL DIRECTLY THROUGH THE HOTEL. They'll just give you an expensive 'Rack Rate'. Go through someone like tablethotels.com, designhotels.com, lastminute.com, etc, for better deals. If you can be bothered doing it, take the "better deal" and go back to the hotel with it. They may match it.

7. ALWAYS ASK HOTELS / CAR HIRE COMPANIES, ETC, IF THAT'S "THEIR BEST RATE?" I know. I hate doing it too.

8. CHECK CANCELLATION FEES. I once came across a hotel in Nantucket that had a 6-week cancellation-fee policy! WTF?

9. DON'T GET AIRPORT TAXIS. Most airports have shuttle buses or trains to the city that are half or even one-quarter of taxi fares. (Catch JFK's shuttle at Grand Central Station for $20.) Research before you go. Wouldn't you rather save the $50-$100 and spend it on shoes when you get there?

10. IF YOU DO WANT TRANSPORT, RESEARCH PRIVATE CAR COMPANIES. You can usually find a limo company that will pick you up from JFK for $80 or so. If you're a group of 4, it works out the same as getting the bus.

11. TRAVEL IN SHOULDER SEASON IF YOU CAN. It's the 'in-between' period, when fewer people travel. But the weather's usually fine and hotel rates are cheaper too. We usually travel in May or September/October.

12. INVESTIGATE THE IDEA OF RENTING A BEACH HOUSE. Even hotels are now offering private beach houses as part of their menu of rooms. Hayman Island, for example, has just installed beach houses for families who want the extra space. The sublimely designed Beach House (above and top image) is part of the Coral Sands Hotel on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. {Via Coral Sands} Wouldn't you rather be here than in a hotel room?

13. DON'T THINK TRAVEL IS EXPENSIVE. Not everywhere is like Australia! For example, if you're going to New York, look at side trips to Mexico and the Mayan ruins and resorts of the Yucatán Peninsula (very IN right now) as flights to Cancun are often just $60 through JetBlue. Or Nantucket island ($100), or even Miami ($80). If you're flying halfway across the world, make the most of it when you get there.

Secret London, Part 1

2012-01-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

A kind reader, Sophie, has reminded me that I'd forgotten to do a post about Secret London. Well, actually, I hadn't quite forgotten. I was just concerned that no one was interested in travel. And you all travel so much anyway that I was certain you'd have far more fabulous travel tips that me. (If you do, let me know via the Comments. I'll add them to The List.)

Thanks for the gentle reminder Sophie. A few London ideas have been posted below for you.

THE WALLED GARDEN, KENSINGTON GARDENS

People walk past this secret garden every day on their jaunts through KG or Hyde Park and don't realise it's here. Enchanting in spring and summer, it features a lovely flower garden, garden chairs for you to sit and eat your Marks & Spencer salad picnic on, and even a fountain to cool the air on hot days, all enclosed in a surprisingly tranquil enclave of greenery. The English do walled gardens like no other nationality, and this just proves it.

THE ORANGERIE, KENSINGTON GARDENS

Tucked behind the Walled Garden, The Orangerie was built in the early 1700s as greenhouse for Queen Anne to garden in. Over the years it evolved into a dining space but it still has that gorgeous horticultural-inspired architecture. And the path leading to it, which is lined with formal hedges, is as gracious as the building itself. Lovely for afternoon tea. You don't even need to dress up.

MORE AFTERNOON TEA DELIGHTS

One of the best High Teas used to be at Sketch (pictured at very top). You received your macaron with an English posy, and your bill with a vintage book. But since it's closed, we'll have to tip our tea cups elsewhere. One of the wittiest and most sophisticated is the 'Prêt-à-Portea' menu at The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. The chefs depict, through biscuits and cakes, what the fashion designers are showing each year. The S/S 2011 menu included: Tom Ford's light pink chiffon summer dress biscuit, Chloe's praline clutch, Victoria Beckham sponge cake, Marc Jacobs' raspberry and lychee cream jumpsuit, a Tory Burch's bavarois dress, and Roger Vivier's black and white chocolate striped ‘Belle de Nuit’ shoes. Utterly fabulous. {Image via Berkeley}

THE SECRET KNIGHTSBRIDGE WALK (AND ITS SECRET SHOPS)

When we used to live in South Kensington, many years ago, I loved going on this walk on weekends. It takes you past some of the prettiest homes in London, plus a few great little dress boutiques too. (But my partner never knew that!) Begin at Harrods and walk down Brompton Road until you reach Montpelier Street on the right. Walk down Montpelier and take first left into Cheval Place. You'll be rewarded with a series of designer outlet stores that sell Chanel/YSL/Valentino/LV, etc for incredibly cheap prices. They're all wardrobe cast-offs from the rich, the royals and the Middle Eastern princesses, many of whom have never worn them. Rumour has it Diana and the Queen even took their unwanted frocks here. Pandora's is the best, but they're all worth a browse. Then go left into Montpelier Walk and left into Rutland Street (lots of pretty houses here) and when you reach the secret door in the wall, go through. It will lead you to Enismore Street. You can then stop for a drink at the great little pubs around this secret village, wander further to Enismore Gardens (amazingly grand residences), or just get deliberately lost and explore this little-known part of London. Eventually, you'll come out at Hyde Park or Brompton Road, where you can pop into the V&A for some more design inspiration.

HIGH ROAD HOUSE, CHISWICK (AND CHISWICK SHOPPING)

How I love High Road House. Part of Nick Jones' Soho group (which includes Babington House), this treasure of a hotel is cheaper than those in the West End, and right in the charm of Chiswick. There's a beautiful bar/restaurant downstairs, but the best part is exploring Chiswick, including Colin Firth's store, the gorgeous vintage furniture and antique buys of The Old Cinema (a must-see), the fab pubs and walking trails along the river, and historic Chiswick House. Soho House hotels also have the best showers of any hotel I've ever stayed in. Truly. The menu of Cowshed products will wash your jetlag away in a liquified minute. 162-170 Chiswick Road, Chiswick. NB: If you'd prefer to be closer to the West End, stay at the sister property, Dean Street Townhouse; another great hideaway. {Image via High Street House}

NUMBER SIXTEEN, SOUTH KENSINGTON
It's rare to find a hotel that has style, service, gorgeous rooms AND a great garden for guests. (The Anouska Hempel-designed Hempel does have an amazing garden, but the rooms are well, rather austere.) Firmdale Hotel's Number Sixteen has all this AND an unbeatable location, right between South Kensington and Brompton Cross shopping. On my last stay I had a small single room but it was beautifully dressed in hot pink and had French doors to an luxuriously big balcony overlooking the street. The much-talked-about interior design is divine, and the private garden is perfect for catching up on emails. 16 Summer Place, SW7. {Images via Number Sixteen.}

GEFFRYE MUSEUM

I've been wanting to see this place for years, and it's now on the list for this year's trip. It has the most FANTASTIC exhibitions (such as the one that showed the evolution of horticulture since the seventeenth century). The museum charts the changing face of British domestic interiors through the centuries, but the real highlight is the series of different period gardens, from Elizabethan to Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian. It's quite possibly the city’s prettiest museum. And there's a fab restaurant too. Oh – and it's FREE! Kingsland Rd, E2 {Image via www.gardenvisit.com by Ewan Munro.}

NEW LONDON ARCHITECTURE MUSEUM

Another museum for architecture and design lovers, the NLA holds regular exhibitions about the future of architecture and planning in London, which are quite often interesting. (The best bit is the incredible scale model of London in its lobby.) The museum also runs architecture walking tours through the city, which always sell out quickly. The Building Centre, 26 Store St, WC1.

POTTERTON BOOKS, CHELSEA

Potterton dubs itself as 'The Bookshop for Art and Design' and it's not a lie. This specialist bookshop is filled to the top shelves with great art, fashion and design titles. I've emailed queries from Australia and they couldn't have been more helpful. Marlene Birger loved it so much she launched her book here. Kelly Wearstler loves the LA branch, but there's something charmingly English about the King's Road store. 93 Lower Sloane Street, London.

More London tips tomorrow...

Heels v Flats, Glamour v Life

2012-01-28T05:58:00.000-08:00

I'd like to deviate from the usual Library discussions, if I may. I'd like to chat about shoes. I know not everybody has an obsession with shoes, but there are Things That Need To Be Said.

Let's begin. What was going on with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, her bodyguard and those shoes the other day???

For those of you outside of Australia who missed it, our prime minister was suddenly caught in a potentially 'dangerous' situation during an Australia Day protest in the nation's capital this week. (I've used quotation marks because Canberra's hardly a dangerous place, is it? I mean, it's not Kabul.) Fearing her safety, her extraordinarily good-looking security guy – a guy who looked like he should have been in CSI New York – grabbed the PM in a Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston/Bodyguard-style clench and LIFTED her off her feet! The security guy, who had the rather un-CSI name of Humphrey, then CARRIED the PM through the fracas and into a waiting car. Have a look at the image that was splashed all over the papers this week...

Now I don't know about you, but I think they look a little... friendly? In fact, I think Ms Julia Gillard looks HAPPY to be Humphrey's arms? If the police weren't behind them, I'd think they were on their way to the Moonlight Cinema for a screening of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Here's a closer shot.

What the media focused on the most, though, was not the complexion, the jawline or the pecs of this glaringly handsome gentleman, or even the danger the PM might have been in (what? a grope?), but the fact that poor Jules LOST HER SHOE! Yes, that's what we care about in this country, my dear readers. SHOES.

So now we get to the point. Jules' lost shoe was a wedge heel. Suede. Navy. Rather nice, actually.

But forget the fact that it was lost. What this shoe showed was that Jules is a smart woman. 'Cos wedges are comfortable. They come off easily when you're lifted into the air by a man called Humphrey. Although I would have preferred to have seen her do a little Humphrey huggin' in these navy polka dot numbers:

Finding stylish but comfortable shoes is a lifelong problem for most women. I've spent 20 years trying to search for The Perfect Shoe. The Perfect FLAT shoe. Because heels don't cut it when you're travelling. (Or running countries, for that matter, as Julia might attest to.) Ballet flats were in for a while, but even they had their issues, namely lack of support and an awkward fit. (I once spent a week in Paris wearing ballets. Every night I'd come home from racing around the city on photo shoots and sit in the bottom of the hotel shower, tearfully wiping the blood and blisters from my swollen ankles. )

The thing is, it's so important to wear comfortable shoes! Our ankles can't take 5-inch heels once we pass 40 years of age. My feet have had 20 years of 5-inch heels. They're now crying out for flats. But do you think I can find stylish ones? I'd have a better chance of doing the deed with Humphrey!

This is a selection of the high heels I used to wear to work:

Then I became a freelance writer and photographer. This is a selection of the shoes I wore for a number of years while travelling and lugging suitcases and cameras around the world:

Now I'm a stay-at-home author. Who gardens. And renovates. And walks the dogs. What do you think I wear most of the time now?

Yes, that's right – wellies. I love them. Loooove them. And these Joules ones especially. They're cheaper and prettier than Hunters, they look good with jeans or jodhpurs and you can toss them on when you're going to the shops without fearing that you'll be pulled over by the Aesthetically Correct Squad.

But there's a problem. You can wear wellies – or their urban counterpart, boots – when it's winter, but when it's summer you need another option. And flip flops are not really acceptable, not when you're going to an appointment, meeting a friend, going out for dinner or boarding a plane.

So this is my question. Why, when there are 7 billion or so people in the world, can we not design a shoe that is low-heeled, comfortable, easy on the feet, and STYLISH???

WHAT IS GOING ON PEOPLE?

Orange You Glad Orange Is In?

2012-01-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

I adore orange. The scent. The drink. The idea of a walled orchard with nothing but Citrus × sinensis trees, blooming white in spring. And I love the colour on some people. And in some places. Marrakech medinas, for example. And Palm Beach in summer. (See Elle's gorgeously sexy frock below.) Orange is tropical. Fresh. Flirty. Romantic. It's the colour of candlelight. And sorbet. And the Palm Springs sun. It brings to mind summer nights and sun-kissed skin and cocktails with giant paper umbrellas balancing on top.

In saying this, it's something of a perennial colour. It comes and goes, and then comes and goes again. It's not an evergreen, like white, or blue. As such, I don't know how much media saturation (if you'll forgive the colour pun) Pantone is going to get out of its Tangerine Tango forecast this year. Just how much blood can we squeeze out of this design orange? I mean, how much tangerine tango IS there in fashion and interior design. Or perhaps a more pertinent question is: How much tangerine tango can we take for twelve months?

The thing is, orange is one of those colours that sneaks up and seduces you with its wit, charm, and humorous take on life. It's like Hugh Grant. It's a colour cad that's never around for long but it's fun when it does appear. So I suspect tangerine might take us all by surprise this year. I was watching that poignant Parisian episode of Sex and the City last night (An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux), and there was a fabulous bright orange panelled wall in one of the scenes with Aleksandr Petrovsky. It immediately made me want to repaint our summer library in a cheeky mandarin shade.

Orange as a decorating refresher ... This is Windsor Smith's master bathroom, where she has given a gilt Louis XVI console an injection of modernity with orange Hermès boxes, a vintage Gucci bag and a fabulous 1950's fashion photograph. The orange doesn't overwhelm or dominate the scene but enhances it and lifts it up from being a purely all-white place. {Via House Beautiful}

Punch drunk... A striped orange banquette in the corner of The Dunmore's dining room on Harbour Island (formerly The Dunmore Beach Club) looks immediately inviting – ready for a Bloody Mary breakfast to counteract the big night you had at The Landing restaurant the evening before! The picture frames really pull this whole scene together and make it whimsical, fresh and fun. Very Harbour Island. {Via The Dunmore}

Orange with a twist... A bathroom in the Vernon Pantone suite of the Maidstone Hotel in the Hamptons is full of punch and glamour, although it's toned down by the layers of white. Some of the orange touches in this room include an orange blanket on the bed, Torbogen print paper by Wohnzimmer, and Benjamin Moore’s Outrageous Orange paint in the ensuite. {Via Maidstone}

Slices of orange... A corner of one of our guest bedrooms is an ode to orange, or more correctly – to Penguin classics. It's such an unusual colour for a series, isn't it? I wonder if Penguin has trademarked it like Tiffany has done with its pale blue shade? The vintage French garden chair was spray painted to match and the taffeta fabric was bought in Paris for some incredibly cheap price – 10 euros/metre, I think? I simply sewed some tangerine bobbles on the edge to tie it all together.

Mango glow... Pumpkin-coloured towels in a country bathroom make this space warm and engaging. {Via Sunset}

Bright with white... The sublime saffron-and-white palette of the Mondrian Hotel in LA. Like Liza Minelli, the Mondrian LA is still great after all these years. {Via Mondrian}

A desert orange... The Parker Meridien Palm Springs uses splashes of desert orange liberally throughout the interior, including the famous front door. Top image is also from the Parker Meridien. {Via Parker Meridien}

Champagne as decorating inspiration... Designer Maureen Footer painted the inside of her client's kitchen cabinets in Veuve Clicquot orange because he was a bit of a bon vivant whose signature pour was Champagne. What a fantastic idea. She suggesting coating the paint with beeswax for an antique look, but I think high gloss would be just as glamorous. {Image via House Beautiful}

Exotic orange... I always thought orange looked beautiful with something unexpected, such as zebra stripes. The top image was a small Hermès box I bought in Paris (I couldn't afford a big one!), and loved the colour so much I photographed it before I opened it. My handbag just happened to be behind it, and as it turned out, I loved the combination as much as the box. Other people seem to like it too. Look at how glam it looks here, in the image below. {Via Domino}

More Hermès orange here:... Hermès' gorgeous orange pencil shaving pillows {Via Decorati}

A corner of our orange-and-pink guestroom. My partner complained that there wasn't enough colour in our black-and-white-themed house. So I cobbled this together one day, thinking he would hate it and we could happily return to our monochromatic lives. But instead he loved it, and now sneaks down here for his afternoon siesta. Sometimes, when I'm not around, he'll even put mismatching sheets on the bed, just to add more colour. I think he was born in a circus??

Orange as stripes... Paul Smith's signature stripes are usually seen inside his suits but here they look surprisingly stylish as a wallpaper decorating the hall of a Hague apartment. Doesn't it remind you of sweet bon-bons? I once saw this wallpaper stretched over a five-storey staircase in a tiny boutique hotel called the Hotel d'Angleterre in Versailles. It made the staircase fantastically dramatic and also a little cheeky and upbeat. You couldn't help but feel happy when you walked up it. {Image via www.beinteriordecorator.com}

Designers Guild's boldly striped wallpaper in Arafura geranium. Imagine this in a powder room Or a craft room?

And Les Toiles du Soleil's French canvas fabric in Mogador-Rouge, a beautiful orange-and-pink stripe for a beautifully bright armchair or deckchair.

And some more orange inspiration...

Carrie in Sex and the City 2

Elle in Sydney this summer...

And a Marrakech mediana, where we hope to be next year...

Secret New York, Part 2

2012-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

Manhattan's so magnificent, it really needs a series of posts to do the place justice. Strike that. It needs an entire blog. Unfortunately, there's not enough space here to adequately cover all the fabulous destinations in this urban fantasy of a city, so I'll try and bullet-point those that I love the most, in the hope that you'll love them, too.

ASSOULINE

Assouline's first US bookstore is an elegant little boutique tucked away on the mezzanine of The Plaza hotel. Now if you haven't been to The Plaza for tea, here's a good excuse to go. The hotel's interior is deservedly famous, but the bookstore is the really gorgeous part. Filled with Assouline's signature glossy coffee-table titles on fashion, photography, travel, and society, the store also carries unusual titles, ideas and gifts for the fussy bibliophone. I love the display of vintage editions (I found an old Jackie O book here), plus the Goyard trunks (Wallis Simpson's fav), and the Slim Aaron photographs – all for sale at Manhattanesque prices. But the browsing is free. {Photograph from my own collection.} Mezzanine level of Plaza, 768 Fifth Avenue, New York.

HENRI BENDEL

Okay, so it's not secret, but it deserves a mention because not enough tourists know about this gem. Most people do Saks and Bergdorf Goodman but I prefer Henri Bendel: it's intimate and exquisite and the window displays are always sublime. The petite interior is a little like a doll's house department store, the shopping is fabulous (look for cute gifts in the 'mini Henri Bendel store' to the left of the entrance) and the atmosphere is lively and fun. {Photographs from my own collection.} 712 Fifth Avenue, New York

THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Great for photography lovers, the ICP always has good exhibitions, but the main reason for going is the fantastic gift store. I'm always buying cute gifts here – books, mobile/cell phone holders that look like Leica cameras, key rings with tiny cameras on them (complete with working flashes), charming journals and notebooks... A real New York find. {Images of Joan Crawford from current exhibition 'Magnum Contact Sheets'} 1114 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street.

THE ACE HOTEL

I stayed at The Ace just after it opened in order to shoot it for a book on hotels. It was noisy, and full of workman and debris. But this was the view of the Empire State from my room. Do you think I cared about workmen? Since then it's achieved lots of media for its private school-style interior (lots of tartan, leather club chairs, books, science lab-style cabinets and quirky graffiti wallpaper). It's worth a peek – the bar is funky and the restrooms are as quirky as the reception – but it's the Stumptown cafe that I love. A truly amazing interior with a old library feel, music from a turntable and baristas dressed in vintage chic (Stumptown shops do vintage like no one else) – plus reaaaaallly good coffee, it's as fascinating as the rest of the hotel. {Photograph from my own collection.} 20 West 29th Street, New York.

JOHN DERIAN

John Derian's store is like those wonderful, old-fashioned general stores that have long since disappeared. I suspect the 'look' is deliberate. Even the sister store next door is called 'Dry Goods'. Full of trestle tables loaded with whimsical things, from Derian's famous decoupage plates (I love the ones with writing and leaves) to quirky vintage finds (I bought lots of postcards), it's a place for linger for ages. It's difficult to find, but oh, so worthwhile when you do. And don't miss the Dry Goods store next door too. {Photograph from my own collection.} 6 E. 2nd Street, New York.

NEUE GALERIE

A former mansion, this grand Upper East Side New York residence was converted to an impressive museum several years ago, but the extraordinary architecture and interiors are still intact. I often pop in just to stare at the staircase. And the gift store is one of the best in the city. {Image via Elle Decor} 1048 Fifth Avenue, New York.

BALTHAZAR

It's far from being a secret, but Balthazar still needs to be mentioned on any Must-See List. This gorgeous French bistro has so much ambience, it could teach its Parisians counterparts a thing or two! Sometimes it's difficult to get into for lunch, so try brunch or an early dinner. The people watching is as good as the interior design. {Photograph from my own collection.} 80 Spring Street, New York.

SCHILLER'S LIQUOR BAR

Schiller's is the kind of New York bar you expect (or hope) to find in New York: slightly retro with loads of ambiance and a classic Manhattan interior. {Photograph from my own collection} 131 Rivington Street, New York.

THE SHAKE SHACK

I love the Flatiron area. The Flatiron building itself has long been one of New York's icons, but the neighbourhood is now fast becoming a creative haven of intriguing boutiques, quirky hotels (the Ace, for one), new media/architecture/design companies and great homewares stores. When you get weary from visiting them all, stop and rest your aching feet here, at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Now I must admit I can never be bothered waiting in line (you should see the queues some days), so I often sit in the park and watch New Yorkers at play. The park is a lovely pocket of greenery, and if you can get to the Shake Shack, the food is great, too. {Photograph from my own collection.} Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street.

CARRIE'S BUILDING AND UPPER EAST SIDE ARCHITECTURE

If you loved seeing the architecture of Carrie's building in SATC, then head to the Upper East Side, where these brownstones are in glorious abundance. The irony is, the fictional apartment building was meant to be located at 245 East 73rd Street (it's not really there), but the 'real' apartment building shot for the series and film is actually further downtown at 66 Perry Street (between Bleecker and West 4th). However, the Upper East Side and particularly the area around East 73rd Street is a better gallery of these architectural gems. {Photograph from my own collection.}

GRAMERCY PARK (AND GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL)

The spectacularly beautiful Gramercy Park is a private park, meaning only local residents have the key. But if you stay at the Gramercy Park Hotel you can have guest access. It's a great benefit as the park is one of the best in the city. Charlotte Devree in the New York Times commented that "There is nothing else quite like Gramercy Park in the country". I agree. Oh – and the hotel's pretty gorgeous, too. {Photograph from Wikipedia by BeyondMyKen} 2 Lexington Avenue, New York.

THE BLOCK BEAUTIFUL

One of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in New York is that surrounding Gramercy Park, and the street New Yorkers call the 'Block Beautiful' is just that: extraordinary. The block actually covers East 19th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue, but you can wander around anywhere here really and be rewarded with architectural eye candy. There are also some pretty glam residents – Karl Lagerfeld has an apartment here and Jennifer Aniston is reportedly trying to buy one too. {Photograph from Wikipedia by BeyondMyKen}

LE LABO

The brilliant idea of two super-creative French guys who first cut their retail teeth with a store in Grasse, this beautifully scented emporiom-ette is a place for those who want their own signature fragrance. And let's face it – who wouldn't love their own custom-made scent? Just take along a list of your favourite scents – or be inspired by theirs – and they'll whip up your own elegant creation, which no one else will have. What a superb idea. (Image via Veranda magazine} 233 Elizabeth Street, New York.

AND SOME MORE FINDS...

TREILLAGE

Elegant garden and home wear chosen by Bunny Williams and John Rosselli. Just lovely.

1015 Lexington Avenue, New York.

LUCY BARNES

Lucy Barnes makes flirty frocks. She also makes sexy ones. And seductive ones. And ones that could pick up a billionaire in St Barts all by themselves. But the Scottish designer doesn't just do sexy. She also does sweet, summery, cute and lovely. Anthropologie fell in love with her difusion line so much the company asked to stock it in its stores. Think silk skirts, satin-lined lace tops, and silk halters. All entirely irresistible. 320 West 14th Street, New York.

ABC CARPET & HOME

I often come here just to browse through Madeline Weinrib’s amazing rugs, but there's so much else to see. Ten floors of it, to be exact. Antiques, textiles, furniture, and bedding. Often exhausting but fab nonetheless. 888 & 881 Broadway at East 19th Street (Flatiron District), New York.

STEVEN SCLAROFF

An interior designer with a great eye, Steven's store is always stocked with great vintage finds, from the divine to the sublime and even the witty and whimsical. 44 White Street, New York.

GERALD BLAND

The decorator's decorator, Mr Bland is far from what his name suggests. In fact, his store is filled with brilliant buys, including stunning pieces from the 18th century to the present. 1262 Madison Avenue, New York.

ABINGDON 12

Unusual name; great store. Lovely mirrors with beautiful patinas, great lighting (including old industrial fixtures) and other spectacular pieces make this a good source of interior ideas and buys. 613 Hudson Street, New York.

TENDER BUTTONS

A gallery of button loveliness. So fantastic, you start to wonder if you should be unpicking all your dull old buttons and replacing them with cute ones from here. Also sweet trimmings and other decorating things. 143 E. 62nd Street, New York.

INA

Lots of fashion insiders come here for their wardrobes. It's a boutique specialising in second-hand designer wear and shoes, but it's like no second-hand place I've ever seen. It's more of a boutique with 'gently worn' things. And Ina knows her Balenciagas from her Tom Ford. One of the best places in the city to grab a designer bargain. 21 Prince Street, New York.

GABAY'S

Designer goodies from Gucci to Louboutin, all at spectacularly reduced prices. It's an outlet but its stock is as fancy as! 225 1st Avenue, New York.

THE BEAUTY BAR

Fancy a mani or a pedi while sipping on a martini? The Beauty Bar obliges. This 1950's-style beauty parlour offers a little tipple to those who come in and get their bits beautified. Such a splendid idea. Great before going out for the night! And only $10! 231 East 14th Street, New York.

MORE NEW YORK IN FUTURE POSTS

Secret New York

2012-01-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

The second in this 'Travel Triptych' is the Big One: New York. Before I lead you into the darkly glamorous corners of Manhattan though, I'd like to apologise for the poor quality of the Library's photos lately. My old Canon camera is playing up, but I'm not quite ready to spend another $3000 on a new Canon 5D Mark II plus lenses just yet. We're hopefully going to New York in April so will wait and purchase new goodies then. Until then, I do hope you can overlook the shocking photography!

But back to more important things – the secret corners of magnificent Manhattan...

SECRET NEW YORK

THE ROOFTOP GARDEN OF THE MET
Most people head to the sky to get the best views of Manhattan – using either a helicopter, or joining the queue for the Empire State, or (one of my favourite) taking the lifts to the top of the Rockefeller Centre (superb for views of the Empire State, Midtown and Downtown). However, there are other ways to get up and above the city, and one of them is the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden of the Met Museum. It's one of those places many of us never think to go when we're wandering up and down Museum Mile, but it's definitely worth the effort. Spend a few hours exploring the newly opened American Wing of the museum, and then head up here in the golden light of the late afternoon to see the city dazzle. There's a cute cafe and bar, which come alive on warm nights, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings when lots of locals head here. It's a great place to meet someone, too. {Image via the great blog blog.travelpod.com}

THE FRICK GARDENS
I first learned about the secret gardens of the Frick Museum from landscape designer Paul Bangay, who counts it as one of his favourite gardens. And I'm glad he shared the secret. The Frick's gardens are some of the best in the city, There's an indoor courtyard, or 'Garden Court', and two outdoor gardens. The grand Fifth Avenue garden features neoclassical urns and grand façade, but it's the Seventieth Street Garden, designed by Russell Page, that's delicate and intimate: a horticultural poem of sheer loveliness, with just the right amounts of simplicity and detail, lawn and leaf, and classical and modern. It was designed to be viewed from the street or through the arched windows of the Reception Hall like an Impressionist painting. An interesting idea, but it works. (Image at top is also from the Frick.) 1 East 70th Street, New York. {Via www.frick.org}

THE CAMPBELL APARTMENT BAR
This tucked-away cocktail bar located in a corner of Grand Central Terminal is a great place for a late-night after-dinner cognac. There's too much history to mention here so I'll just touch on the best bits. When it was first created, the enormous space was designed to resemble a 13th-century Florentine palace with a hand-painted plaster of Paris ceiling, leaded windows, a grand mahogany balcony, and a Persian carpet that took up the entire floor and cost $300,000, or roughly $3.5 million in today's money. There was also a permanent butler named Stackhouse. (Love the name.) When the owner died, it became a jail, albeit a rather upscale one. In 1999, it was restored to its former glory and is now a handsome cocktail bar, complete with the original steel safe as a reminder of Mr Campbell's wealth. The place was spruced up by British designer Nina Campbell (no relation), who did it in 24 hours so the place didn't have to close. Such efficiency! 15 Vanderbilt Ave, New York. (Inside Grand Central Terminal.)

FREEMAN'S
Part bar, part taxidermy museum, part speakeasy, this secret spot hasn't been so secret since the word slipped out, but it's still a great little find. Filled with beautiful people dressed in their edgiest New York best, it's a darkly atmospheric bar and restaurant with a fascinating turn-of-the-century feel. It's difficult to find (keep going down the dead-end alley) but it's an experience when you get there.
Freeman Alley, New York.

THE NEW HERB GARDEN AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
With a 50-acre forest, a grand Victorian glasshouse, a perennial garden and much more, the New York Botanic Garden is certainly worth a visit, but it's the new Nancy Bryan Luce Herb Garden that everyone's really talking about. With its glorious formal boxwood parterre and intriguing planting scheme, it makes for a serene – and scented – escape from the madness of Manhattan. 2900 Southern Boulevard Bronx, New York. {www.nybg.org}

PALEY PARK
New York doesn't have as many gardens as Paris or London, so when you discover them, usually by happy accident as you're marching from one must-see attraction to another, it's a wonderful surprise. Paley Park is one of these places. This "pocket park" is situated on West 53rd between Fifth and Madison and has been variously described "a corner of quiet delights" and "an urban oasis".There are ivy-covered walls, a grand waterfall, an ornate gate and an overhead canopy formed from locust trees. There's even a piece of the Berlin Wall – complete with bullet holes. It's a much-welcomed respite after hours striding up and down Fifth Avenue. {Via the great blog newyorkplantsandotherstuff.blogspot.com}

BRYANT PARK GRILL
While not exactly a secret (not much in New York really is!), this is nevertheless one of my favourite 'hidden' places. Few tourists come here, although it's beloved by New Yorkers who adore the leafy views of the park from the rooftop terrace. It's one of the loveliest places to dine in New York on a summer's night. You can find it behind the New York Public Library, on Bryant Park’s Upper Terrace between 40th and 42nd Streets. It's a first-come-first-service basis for the outdoor patio garden and rooftop garden, so be early! And if you can't get in, try the quirky bar and hideouts at the other end of the park – deckchairs, people watching and park pleasures galore. 25 West 40th Street New York. {Via the great blog blog.bryantpark.org}

BACK ROOM
Love the name, especially since it really is a 'back room'. Accessed through a gate marked 'Lower East Side Toy Company' (very witty considering the playthings inside), it's a whimsical speakeasy that's packing them into its dim corners. (If there's no bouncer, just let yourself in.) Great for clandestine meetings with people you shouldn't be having clandestine meetings with. Just one of the fab speakeasies that are sprouting up all over the city like cocktail umbrellas at Palm Beach, it's at 102 Norfolk St, New York. Another one is Raines Law Room, a luxe-louche lounge near the Flatiron that's found by way of a doorbell at the bottom of an unmarked staircase. You take your seat and then buzz another buzzer to summon the bartender. All very entertaining. 48 W 17th St, New York, New York.

More Secret New York tomorrow, with tips on hidden fashion and style hideaways, plus great hotels and places to get away.

Secret Paris

2012-01-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

There are few things lovelier than discovering a side to a city you never knew existed. I call it the mille-feuille effect. You tap away the top layer and then realise there's another 20 just-as-luscious layers hiding beneath it.

It's even lovelier when those lower layers are discoveries you don't expect. Stumbling across a secret place or a little-known destination can really enrich a city and make a trip there truly memorable.

I'm often asked for unusual places to visit, and I love hearing suggestions from others in return. So I thought I'd do a little travel triptych of the top three international cities, Paris, London and New York, and the secret (or semi-secret) places that I love to visit whenever I'm lucky enough to be in these destinations. First up is Paris, and London and New York will follow in the next few days. I hope you enjoy! And do let me know of your favourite places too. I'd love to start a regular post on readers' picks!

SECRET PARIS

THE SECRET GARDENS OF HOTEL SULLY

Fodor's describes this early Baroque gem as "one of the city's loveliest hôtels particuliers", and I'd have to agree. Hôtel de Sully, on the Rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais (just near the Place des Vosges), is truly one of the city's best-kept secrets, and perhaps that's a good thing. Less people to obscure the glorious garden views. The classical formal gardens are a delight on a sunny day (or even a winter's one): quiet, free from Marais noise and traffic and with just enough people-watching to keep things interesting. I always detour through here on my way to the Place des Vosges. Rue Saint-Antoine, 4th.

LE SENAT HOTEL
Hotels open up in Paris faster than you can say "one Ladurée macaron, please", and it's always a challenge finding a decent, neat, semi-stylish and – more importantly – justifiably affordable one to stay in. (A hotel is ideal for anything less than 5 nights in Paris; more than that and it's best to hire an apartment.) But one – Le Senat – never disappoints. It's slightly more than I can afford but it's worth it. The position – right next to the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th – is perfect, the breakfast room, bar and courtyard (above) are all charming without being pompous or twee, the balconied views of rooftops and Parisians in the street below are pure theatre, and the crisp, witty, monochrome rooms are the kind you emulate at home. Best of all, it offers baths – that rare Parisian treat! Big, luxurious, marble bath tubs. Just perfect after a day traipsing around the rues. 10 Rue de Vaugirard, 6th.

TROCADERO HOTEL
Forgive me if I've mentioned this hotel before: I'm utterly in love with it. So, too, is Armani: he books it out for his staff each Fashion Week. Formally known as the Radisson Blu Le Dokhan's Hotel, its fans just call it the Trocadero. (Well, who can remember the rest?) It's a gem of a place; a sweet boutique hotel with a beautiful, neo-classical decor. Rooms feature gorgeous Parisian beds, fab antiques and classic Parisian views, the elevator is lined with Louis Vuitton steamer trunks, and the Champagne Bar only serves – wait for it – Champagne! I would book it for my honeymoon but my partner hates Paris. Yes, I know. I'll just have to go alone. 117 Rue Lauriston, 16th.

LE BISTRO DU PEINTRE

Many Parisian regulars – including the jaded foodies who've seen it all – view the turn-of-the-century bistro known as Le Bistrot du Peintre ("The Painter's Bistro") as one of the most beautiful Belle Epoque dining spots in the city. It's out of the way, but boy, is it worth the walk. I adore coming here. Venturing into the 1902 Art Nouveau bar is like stepping back in time. Just entrancing. 116 Avenue Ledru Rollin, 11th.

7L BOOKSTORE

Karl Lagerfeld's bookstore is a little like the man himself: insightful, intelligent, full of wit, humour and surprises, and incredibly difficult to find. It stocks all the latest and greatest fashion, photographic, architecture, style and art releases, plus a few unexpected titles – many of them approved by the big man. Lagerfeld's studio is nearby, so if you're lucky you might see him wandering the streets – he often pops into bookstores nearby to assess their stock picks! 7 Rue Lille, 7th.

L'EPICERIE DES SAINT PERES

Most Parisians (and a great many insightful foreigners) are well aware of Odorante florist, that sublime gallery of floral glamour in the 6th arrondissement. But few know of L'Epicerie, which is just up the road. The original L'Epicerie was a gourmet deli (and is still across the road), which offered (and still does) all sorts of delicacies for the perfect picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens. Well, now its little sister, a just-as-exquisite florist shop, offers you Parisian-pretty bouquets to take home and dress your hotel room. L’épicerie des Saints Pères, 23 Rue des Saint Pères, 6th.

PAUL BERT ANTIQUE AND FLEA MARKET

Lots of people head off early on a Saturday or Sunday to the famous Clignancourt markets to find themselves a French bargain. They get there, amid the tourist masses, shuffle down one or two alleys full of kitschy stuff, fight for breath in the stalls, and then get the train home again, exhausted and wondering what all the fuss was about. Well, let me guide you. Don't go to the flea markets without a proper plan (and a map). Or just go to Paul Bert. The Paul Bert and Serpette markets are two of the best in this enormous and exhausting place, with quality antiques and pieces that are ahead of, or in line with, the global trends. Vernaison is another that's popular but I prefer Paul Bert. Fabulous for seeing what's going to be in vintage/antique fashion in the months to come. 96 Rue des Rosiers and 18 Rue Paul Bert.

The Importance of a 'Blog Spot'

2012-01-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

A writer friend of mine can work anywhere. In her garden. In her bed. In her living room, with the laptop perched on a copy of Christian Liaigre while Downton Abbey plays in the background. Even in a shack in the wilds of Wales. I don't know how she does it. She could probably write her books with a burlap bag over her head.

I'm not that talented. I can write in unfamiliar places if I'm forced to, and on deadline. (For example, at JFK airport in NY, with the laptop perched my lap and my legs perched, in turn, on the luggage: not recommended for more than four hours if you want to be able to walk again.) But I prefer to be in the hyggelig quiet of my office, with books on tap, piles of notepads and lists within reach, inspiration all around, and natural light flooding in on two sides.

This, dear readers, is my writing spot. It's also my blog spot. And my thinking spot. (And occasionally a dreaming spot!) It's a place to write, create, contemplate, conceptualise ideas and generally consider life. Virginia Woolf was so very right. Everybody needs a nook or cranny to call their own. It's so important to create your own private hideaway, whether it's a potting shed, an alcove under the stairs or simply a desk in a sunny corner of the bedroom. Without a place to retreat from the world, it can be difficult to think, let alone find the imagination to create.

Find your nook. Because if you don't, I can't tell you how difficult your writing life will be. For the last few months I've been working out of our downstairs library. But I was miserable. It was cold. Dark. Windowless. And uninspiring. I felt like I was in Guantanamo Bay. My productivity slowed to 10%. Over the past few days, I've been moving everything to a room upstairs. With light. Warmth. Views of trees. And doors out to a sunny terrace. I tell you, I feel as though I've escaped Guantanamo and gone to the Turks & Caicos Islands!

Now it doesn't take a lot of money to create a writing nook. Mine was cobbled together with a black trestle table ($60), black-and-white striped fabric from Ikea ($6/m), two old chests of drawers that we painted black (free) and 'Do Not Disturb' signs from some of my favourite hotels tossed in a cheap black frame. The most expensive thing was my beloved Italian lamp. If you love books, put them in your sight line. desk. If you like photos, hang them around you in a kind of Happiness Gallery. And if you like to see the sun, the leaves and the changing light as it crosses the sky from morning to twilight, move your desk to a window.

I promise you. It will do you – and your writing – the world of good!

Here are some other inspiring work places. Hopefully you'll also be motivated to break out of Guantanamo and find/redecorate your own perfect writing space.

Danish designer Marlene Birger's desk at her home in Copenhagen. {Via Marlene Birger's book Life & Work}

And another lovely space from Marlene Birger...

Architect Robin Standefer's office, where he dreams up his magnificent interiors for the clients of his firm Roman & Williams. {Via Roman & Williams}

India Hicks' study in her house on Harbour Island, in the Bahamas. This room was originally painted in David Hicks-inspired red, but when India's daughter came along she repainted it in shell pink, which also reflected the colour of nearby Pink Sands Beach. I love this writing room. {Via Garden & Gun}

Another gorgeous work space that shows how glamorous pink can be. {I've mislaid the credit for this so do let me know if you have it.}

This was an incredible workroom. Featured in Matchbook magazine, it was the office of a 'paper artist' who creates the most magical art from pages and books and other whimsical paper-based things. Truly enchanting. {Via Matchbook}

Topping It Off... The New Trend For Top Hats

2012-01-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

It must be one of the more unusual trends to develop in the fashion and design worlds. The fad for top hats and bowler hats has finally come out of the closet (literally), where it lingered for several years as one of those quietly whimsical thing only stylists knew about, and is now firmly in the Glamoursphere. (That inner circle where high-fashion items sit. Also known as the IN list.)

Photographer Rodney Smith used them first. Well, actually, Margritte used them before him. Then The Thomas Crown Affair adopted them... Then Ralph Lauren. Then Lady Mary, I think? Oh, I forget the order. But here are some fine examples of this dashing fashion accessory, which will soon be making an appearance in a closet or home near you...

Spotted on the New Victorian Ruralist's website this morning. Like the fine dandy he is, James has adopted the top for his brand photo. {finderskeepersmarketinc.blogspot.com}

Shot on Fifth Avenue in New York on a recent trip. This was a stunning window display. I'm sorry now that I only snapped this detail.

The extraordinary photography of Rodney Smith, who is undoubtedly one of the best photographers in the world. Mr Smith (he's so extraordinary that he really needs to be called Mr Smith) uses the bowler hat as one of his recurring motifs, and in fact has made it his signature look. Even his website has the bowler as the favicon. So witty. {rodneysmith.com}

The inimitable Thomas Crown Affair, and the equally inimitable Mr Brosnan. How is it possible that a man can look this handsome? The film's poster and indeed some of the storyline was inspired by Belgian surrealist René Magritte's self-portrait 'The Son of Man' (or 'Le fils de l'homme' in French). The painting is about the idea that we all hide behind a facade of sorts. "Everything we see hides another thing. We always want to see what is hidden by what we see," Magritte explained of his famous work. He also painted 'The Man in the Bowler Hat', but in my opinion it isn't as witty.

The legendary Marlene Dietrich. Did you know she and Greta Garbo once got it on in Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs pool to try and turn Frankie on? No? A bit of Marlene trivia for you there....

And Kate Moss' reinvention of M's signature look..

And then Ralph Lauren's versions...

Oh, how I love, love, love the top outfit. There's nothing like a top hat (in this case a riding one) and a sliver of veil to create a sexy, slightly androgynous mystery. One blogger called it "a statement piece – a mix of high fashion, equestrian chic, and burlesque femme fatale." Just add a black bustier dress and killer stilettos, she said. I agree. Although I'd perhaps put something on down below, as well, just to be modest. {Via Ralph Lauren}

Not that Dita von Teese cares about top OR bottom... But when you're this gorgeous, you only need to wear a top hat to look fabulous. (Although perhaps tuck that nip in a bit Dita...)

Another sassy little lady is Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, who just looks more and more fantastic with each scene. This was perhaps my favourite. The riding scene. Just before she...well, you know.

Did you know there's a website called F--k Yeah Lady Mary? (Forgive the language. My Catholic grandmother would be stirring in her grave right now.) It calls itself a site for "fans of the flawlessly flawed Lady Mary Crawley". You can look it up at {fyeah-ladymary.tumblr.com} Do take a look – it's surprisingly good.

The always-glamorous Kate Waterhouse, who never puts a foot wrong during Spring Racing Carnival. Unlike some of the horses I back. {Via SMH}

Photographed in New York on a recent rip. While not exactly a top hat or bowler hat, this window display did tap into the current fashion for all things equestrian and/or dandy-ish... I suggested to my sister-in-law that she might like to wear this to Derby Day. I'm sure it would have gone a treat at the Emirates Marquee.

My bowler hat in our Black Library. This came from the great little vintage store Izzi & Popo in Melbourne. It sits with my favourite photographs of Miami's iconic Raleigh Hotel, a receipt from the first date my partner and I went on (The European in Spring Street), and a paper skyline of New York that he created as a Valentine's Day card one year. (I've asked him to do Paris this year, but he muttered "one was enough!")

By the way, there's a funny story about the receipt. I had it framed and then realised, looking at the total bill of $250, that my partner would have never spent that much on dinner! Turns out it was from another date at the very same restaurant exactly a year before! How ironic is that? I had to do a fast swap before he noticed and said "What the...?"

Royal Ascot, which I attended as a media representative, even though I know next to nothing about horses, racing OR society events of this nature! But the top hats were fabulous.

And finally, to top it all off (sorry, couldn't resist), there are these fantastically witty, neatly dressed top hat pendant lamps by designer Jake Phipps. Perfect for adding a dash of whimsy to a space, these lampshades are made of actual top hats lined with anodized aluminum for an authentic British Gentleman charm. Can't you just see these in a cool bar somewhere in Mayfair? {www.jakephipps.com}

(More) Sublime Libraries

2012-01-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ralph Lauren's Brook Street collection. Love a library that matches the decor. {Via Ralph Lauren and Habitually Chic}

Another Ralph Lauren library, this time from the recently released One Fifth collection. A touch too gold for me, but still decidedly glamorous. {Via Ralph Lauren}

The enviable walk-through library of Carrie and Mr Big in Sex and the City 2. This was my favourite room in their much-blogged-about residence. It not only offered an elegant, aesthetically beautiful space in which to showcase Carrie's books, it also provided a clever little hall to link the entrance and their bedroom. {Via Elle Decor}

Another ingenious home that uses a library as a lovely entrance. When this exquisite little cottage in Melbourne's South Yarra went up for sale, it was immediately snapped up by a stylish bibliophile. The image below shows the black front door that leads from the street straight to the library, and the floor plan is below that.

The artful library of French interior designer Frederic Mechiche's townhouse in Paris. Superbe! {Via Marie Claire Maison}

A beautifully designed New York library by the incredibly talented team of Roman & Williams. One of my all-time favourite libraries. {Via Greige and Roman & Williams}

The handsome country house library in Badgley Mischka's Kentucky getaway. {Via Elle Decor}

The sleek, modern library of French designer Christian Liaigre. {Via Maison–Christian Liaigre by Herbert Ypma}

The dignified library in the bedroom of the late Bill Blass's Connecticut residence. {Via At Home With Books}

The white library of Stephen Shubel's restored 1906 fisherman's cottage in the coastal village of Sausalito near San Francisco. This house has been around for more than a decade, and yet it hasn't dated. Timeless black and white – don't you love it? {Via stephenshubeldesign.com}

The beautifully detailed two-storey suite of the City Club hotel in New York. Designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber, this incredible hotel room has its own soaring library. But it might be difficult reaching for a book... {Via City Club Hotel New York}