Summer Lovin'

After a long, wet and miserable winter, everybody here in Australia is looking forward to the forthcoming summer. The first few days have been glorious, so if they're a taste of what's to come we're in for a treat this season. I'm looking forward to finishing writing a book that seems to have taken months to do (a non-fiction book about the novel Picnic at Hanging Rock), catching up with friends and family over the festive season, and then showing my niece Shae how to write her book (and showing her little cousin Lily how to take photographs for it). We're also hoping to grab a few days away, although with finances being kept in check it's more likely to be Tasmania or Adelaide than Tahiti or Argentina! Still, we love both places, so it will be wonderful to see these destinations again.

Here are some sun-kissed images to get everyone in the mood for the coming Aussie summer. {Top image from the book The Swimsuit by Sarah Kennedy}

The iconic pink umbrellas of Sugar Beach, by Andrew Badgley. {Via Flikr}

Tunisian bath sheets. Inspired by similar bath sheets used in the spa-style bath houses of Tunisia, these would be perfect for either a beach towel or a sarong. {Via My Island Home at www.myislandhome.com.au}

Pretty tea cups, perfect for afternoon teas with friends. 

{Via This is Glamorous blog and inspired-design.tumblr.com}

Or perhaps some pink bubbly, if you're feeling a little more decadent...

Find inspiration for the Christmas luncheon in Carolyn Quartermaine's gorgeous styling. {Via www.carolynquartermaine.com}

Deck the halls with... Cabriole Peony wallpaper from Designer Guild's Florimund Collection. {Via www.designersguild.com}

The Hula Bag, from Kate Spade. Perfect for a quick vacation in Hawaii. {Via www.katespade.com}

The perfect French fabric to redo a summer deckchair in. 

(Because deckchairs should always be striped.) {Via www.deckchairstripes.com}

Summer treats, inspired by the 'Prêt-à-Portea' High Tea at The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge. At The Berkeley, a new menu (or 'collection') of stylish delicacies is changed every six months to follow the changing seasons in fashion. The most recent collection saw Lanvin, Miu Miu and Burberry make their debut on the Berkeley’s tea stands. So chic – and so easy to emulate at home! (Although you may not be ale to capture the same air of refinement that The Berkeley does, of course.)

Map Magazine

A few weeks ago, the lovely editor at map magazine, Mikki Brammer, contacted me to ask if I would agree to an interview. Of course, I said, touched that she would even ask. I didn't know what map magazine was, but she was so professional, and so thorough, during the interview process, I knew it had to be a reputable magazine. Then the issue came in the mail. Well, what a incredible publication it is!

Defined by a sophisticated design that blends quirky elements with easy-to-read pages, map is full of fantastic content, from interesting profiles to whimsical What's On lists. Each issue is themed – the December issue was The Dreamers Issue, and January is The Design Issue – and all of the images, columns and copy are worth poring over. I sat and read it for hours. Furthermore, the level of professionalism that extends through map, from the interview process to the beautifully designed With Comp and business cards, is some of the most impressive I've seen in any company. I particularly love the innovative headlines. (I was dubbed an 'Inspiration Seeker'. How lovely. Wonder if I should put that on my business card?)

You can read it online at www.mapmagazine.com.au Thank you Mikki and map for including me in The Dreamers Issue. I am so thrilled to be part of this beautiful magazine.

Caviar Pie

Our entire family adores seafood. We particularly love prawns as part of the Christmas Day luncheon, a family tradition that dates back decades. (Seafood is ideal on what is inevitably a hot Australian day.) However, I'm also partial to a spoonful of caviar. So, too, was Diana Vreeland, from what I hear. In fact, she adored caviar so much, she created a Caviar Pie with it as the main ingredient. Guess what our household will be tucking into on Christmas Eve, accompanied by some lovely bubbly?

{Image by Oi-Cheong Lee from the Photographic Studio

for the Metropolitan Museum of Art]

Diana Vreeland's Caviar Pie

1 1/2 cups minced white onion, scallions or green onions
8 large hard-cooked eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces caviar*, 2 or more colors if desired

Spread the onion on paper toweling to drain. Mince the eggs and combine with mayonnaise; set aside. Beat the cream cheese and sour cream together; it should be very smooth.

Lightly coat a 9" round springform pan with butter or cooking spray. Spread the egg mixture evenly over the bottom and sprinkle the onions on top. Drop the cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls atop the onion layer and spread gently with the back of a spoon. (Wet the spoon, if necessary.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, gently spread the caviar over the cream cheese layer in a decorative design. Use waxed paper or even string to outline your design. Accentuate with chopped chives, scallions or parsley, if appropriate.

Note: It's best to use inexpensive caviar in this recipe, such as Salmon, Whitefish, or Lumpfish. Some less expensive caviars do contain artificial coloring, however rinse the caviar in a strainer and drain on paper toweling before arranging and this will fix the problem.

Serve with good Champagne!

Paris: A Creative Guide

This time last year, I had the great fortune of travelling to Paris to write and photograph a book that my publisher described as "a creative guide for professionals". Entitled Paris: A Guide to the City's Creative Heart, it was intended to be a beautifully illustrated book to the city’s most creative and inspirational destinations. The design was to take the form of an old-fashioned photo album or scrapbook, complete with evocative photography, hand-drawn maps, whimsical ephemera and other gorgeous passementerie. "Paris through design-tinted glasses", my editor called it. 

Meandering through the most creative parts of this aesthetically rich city was a wonderful experience because it reminded me of why I love Paris so much. It's a place that's full of delightful secrets. Like a French woman who plays her hand very close to her Chanel-scented chest, Paris likes to keep her best bits to herself. Just when you think you've seen it all, when you think you know its quartiers and streets and sights like the back of your French trenchcoat, it goes and surprises you all over again. That's the best thing about it. It's a city designed to be discovered in a manner that the French call par hazard – meaning "by chance", or as a delightful encounter.

And so I’d like to take you on a tour of secret Paris, done through excerpts of this book, and written over a series of posts on this blog. I do hope you'll enjoy it. I also hope you’ll be inspired to seek out your own 'Secret Paris' one day.

The Museum of Decorative Arts (Musée des Arts Décoratifs) 

Many design aficionados head here straight off the plane and it’s easy to see why. It’s a treasure trove of fabulousness, from fashion to interior design. One of the most beautiful permanent exhibits is Jeanne Lanvin’s reconstructed apartment, including her sweet boudoir, chambre de coucher and salle de bain all designed for her for her apartment at 16 Rue Barbet-de-Jouy. (The black-and-white bathroom, pictured above, is one to file away in the inspiration files.) However, it’s the bookstore that’s the real draw. A vast space full of carefully curated design, fashion, art and architecture books, it’s so appealing that sometimes I don’t even bother entering the museum. 107 Rue de Rivoli. www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

Galignani 

Gallignani is a terribly handsome store. Its interior is so distinguished it’s almost intimidating to be in. But don’t let the gentleman’s library atmosphere put you off: this place is a great spot to find beautiful books in both French and English editions, particularly art, fashion and photography titles. There’s a great display of architecture and interior design magazines too, including the latest issues from America and the UK. 224 Rue de Rivoli, 75001. Justine Picardi recently launched the reprint of her Chanel book here – with none other than Karl Lagerfeld as her escort. www.galignani.com

Merci 

Ah, Merci. How many superlatives can I use about Merci? I walked for miles to find this store and said “Merci, merci!” when I finally did. It is a concept store but it’s about as far, both geographically and aesthetically, as you can get from Colette, which I find to be a little too minimalist, pretentious and silly. (Oh, did I say that out loud?). It’s one part second-hand bookstore/café, one part interior design store, one part craft market and one part fashion emporium. (The rest of the parts are simply made up of gorgeousness in all its forms.) It includes an Annick Goutal laboratory to create your own fragrance, an old-fashioned haberdashery shop stocking buttons, ribbons and zippers and a flower shop by Christian Tortu. The architecture and interior are defined by an aesthetic simplicity that balances elegance with playfulness. As a concept, it’s so different, and so beautiful, it’s difficult to know where to look first. It even offers a bookshelf-lined cafe to sit and rest your feet in. Merci, how can I thank you? www.merci-merci.com

Marais House Located in Rue de Turenne, this amazing bed and breakfast, which was featured in Architectural Digest, is contained within four floors of a fantastically flamboyant interior. With huge fireplaces, wall-to-wall opulence and the overall feel of an aristocratic palazzo, it’s a rather special place to stay–and not that expensive for the riches offered within. Book well in advance–it’s adored by the Aesthetic Set. www.maraishouse.com

Deyrolle 

Deyrolle has been variously described as “whimsical”, “fantastical”, “magical”, and “surreal”. I prefer to describe it as a Lewis Carollesque tea party for naturalists, botanists and amateur entomologists. It is, without a doubt, one of the most unusual and beguiling stores in Paris, if not the world. Located in a 19th-century Beaux Art building on Rue du Bac, it’s the kind of heavily atmospheric, slightly cluttered and utterly nostalgic establishment that hasn't changed for centuries. To describe it as a taxidermy shop hardly does it justice. It’s a veritable cabinet des curiosités; a wunderkammer of Mother Nature’s most glorious creations. There are ancient wooden cases full of butterflies and insects, shells and botanical specimens, stuffed lions, ostriches, zebras, monkeys, elephants, polar bears, and birds galore. It's really a museum masquerading as a store. Even if you’re an avid animal lover or have an issue with mounted butterflies (as I sometimes do), you’ll still see the value (and magic) in this fabled purveyor of natural history. Truly enchanting. You won’t be able to resist. www.deyrolle.fr

The Hermés Museum

Few people know this but there is a secret museum located on the upper floor of Hermés' headquarters on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. (Pictured above and top; top image via Architectural Digest.) Unfortunately, it's not open to the general public. You either have to be invited, or write a letter to the manager and request a visit. However, I have heard of journalists and fashion insiders being allowed access. It may be worth the effort; apparently it's a treasure trove of fascinating pieces. I'm going to attempt a visit on my next trip. There's an article from Architectural Digest complete with images here: www.architecturaldigest.com/resources/travels/archive/adtravels_article_092005

The Fabric Stores of the Northern Arrondissements 

I've recently re-discovered the 2nd, 9th and the 18th (Montmartre) parts of Paris. I've also discovered they're all about some serious passementerie. Now passementerie, if you haven’t come across the word (and let’s not mispronounce it as “piss-ementerie”, which could be something else altogether), is one of the blog world’s favourite new sayings, along with brocante. Basically, brocante refers to antique or vintage shops, or fairs, while mercerie is a draper's or haberdashery store, and passementerie encompasses grosgrain ribbons, buttons, trims and myriad other gorgeous things. (An armoire, meanwhile, is what you buy for a ridiculous price from the St Ouen markets and drag home to store it all in, and a chaise longue (not a chaise lorenge, as my partner calls it), is what you pass out on after you’d had a big day at the Puces!) Anyhow, I've discovered that some of the best fabric stores in the world are located in Montmartre. Who would have thought? To find them, simply wander along and around the Place Saint-Pierre in Montmartre, (at the base of the famous steps), which is where they're all clustered. And leave yourself plenty of time – you'll be in the street for hours!

Louis Vuitton's Legendary Trunks

In a previous post, I touched upon the extraordinary design of Louis Vuitton's travel trunks. Now I know that Louis Vuitton and its iconic logo have become a little over-exposed in the past few years, but a century ago it was a truly great company. And it still is, despite the ubiquitous LV symbol. Last year, the Carnavalet Museum in Paris hosted an exhibition of the French luggage firm's most memorable travel trunks, entitled “A Journey into the Capital, Louis Vuitton and Paris”,  and it was packed out from Day One. Every single one of the steamer cases, hat boxes, travel trunks and leather accessories was beautiful, right down to the finely designed handles and brass locks. Here are a few of my favourite. And if you didn't see the exhibition, you can still buy the book Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks.

The Library Trunk, 1936 

Inspired by Hemingway (who had a specially designed Louis Vuitton Library Trunk of his own).

Another Library Trunk.

The Shoe Trunk

Commissioned for the opera star Lily Pons, this trunk was designed to carry 36 pairs of shoes. Because, of course, shoes are very important when you're travelling!

Karl Lagerfeld's Music Trunk

Specially commissioned for him, this Taiga trunk holds 20 iPods, a set of iPod speakers, a subwoofer, and iPod docks. Now Karl can have his own little dance party in his Parisian salon.

The Sleeping Trunk 

Now you don't need to worry about being stuck at airports due to delayed flights. You can just find a quiet corner and whip out this baby.

The Circus Trunk 

(Wonder if they designed one to fit an elephant?)

A Petit Chateau

A long time ago, while staying in Paris on a work trip, I met the loveliest couple, Victor and Maria Orsenne. At the time they owned a divine little boutique hotel set right between the Eiffel Tower and the bustling food markets of Rue Cler. Well, they have just emailed me to tell me they've purchased a new property – a petit chateau in the Loire called 'Le Manoir'. The photograph of it was enough to make me want to get on a plane and go straight back to France!

Here are images of the residence in summer and a winter. It was built in 1818 in the style of Louis XII. Doesn't it look beautiful in any season? It would be the perfect base for a driving tour of the Loire Valley. And as with their previous hotel, their rates are fantastically affordable – rooms start from €95. www.manoirdecontres.com/english/welcome.html

Cocktails and Chanel

It's ironic, really. In an age when books are being bypassed by iPads, Kindles, iPhones and other electronic reading devices, libraries are becoming more and more coveted. It's almost as if book lovers have realised that books might become obsolete in a decade or so and have started stockpiling titles – and creating library spaces in their houses to showcase them in. Not only that, hoteliers are now creating library retreats in their boutique hotels and hideaways so that guests may be able to withdraw to their rooms for the night with a good book or three under their arms.

Ian Schrager is one such visionary. The celebrity hotelier recently opened a new hotel in Chicago called PUBLIC, which features a sexy reading room-bar called The Library. By day, it's a French patisserie-style cafe offering coffee and home-made gourmet treats, but by night it turns into a dramatic, dignified, book-lined retreat with an enormous, custom limestone fireplace that usually contains a roaring fire. (It is Chicago, after all). Guests are invited to relax, order a drink and browse through piles of specially curated coffee-table books, newspapers and magazines. Just the thing after a hard day of airports, appointments and time-zone adjustments

The Trump SoHo has also decided to appeal to book-minded travellers, reasoning that these guests would be the kind of people it would like to attract to its sophisticated suites. The hotel outfitted its library with mint-condition Taschen books (okay, so they're more glamour reads than high-brow titles), and immediately saw its media mentions rise on the strength of the Taschen brand alone.

And lastly, London's Halkin hotel has decided to go into partnership with French publishers Assouline publishers, stocking its lobby bar (pictured above and below) with Assouline's supremely stylish fashion, art, and design titles. The space has now been transformed into an elegant reading retreat featuring Assouline's iconic books, such as those on Chanel, and Dior. So now guests can pour over gorgeous fashion titles while the bartender is pouring their Bloody Mary. Author talks are also scheduled for later this year. (Images via the Halkin hotel and hotelchatter.com)

(Still) Seeing Red

The cute red kitchen in the previous post has started me thinking about the colour red. I can't imagine why I haven't considered it of late because it's difficult to miss it this time of year! I've always loved red, however, and not just at Christmas. How can you resist a colour that looks so luscious? Red is one of the colour wheel's drama queens but it's also one of the colour world's most misunderstood shades. Red isn't as wicked as everyone thinks. After all, it's the colour of summer strawberries, London post boxes, cute frocks, the tunics of the Queen’s Guards, great rosé and gorgeous Chanel lipsticks. Okay, it's also the colour of glamour. Remember Audrey Hepburn sashaying down those Louvre stairs in that strapless red Givenchy dress and white gloves in Funny Face? I always buy my trench coats and luggage in red. (It's amazing how stylish they look when you're travelling through grubby airports – and how much they cheer you up at the end of a long-haul flight.) Beach houses always look good when they’ve got a touch of red. So, too, do flags. And movie stars seem to go far in their Hollywood careers when they die their hair this colour. I’ve even fallen in love with a red head (who looks a little like a young Robert Redford). Here, in tribute to Christmas, are some of my (other) favourite reds.

The Raleigh hotel, Miami
Love this place. www.raleighhotel.com

The Beach House, Harbour Island, Bahamas

Part of the Coral Sands hotel, this separate beach house is a brilliant piece of architecture designed by Barbara Hulanicki of Biba fame. www.coralsands.com/our-rooms

The Landing hotel and restaurant, Harbour Island

Owned by an Australian and a Bahamian couple I know, it’s one of the best places to spend an evening. (Apparently Mick Jagger loves it.) www.harbourislandlanding.com

A red bathing box at Brighton Beach, Australia.

Hotel de l'Abbaye, Paris

A fantastically chic little hotel (pictured below) in the 6th arrondissement, and a great hideaway if you're partial to the colour red, as I am. www.hotelabbayeparis.com

Hotel Maronniers, Paris

Another gorgeous red interior. This hotel (pictured below) is in a great location, just behind the Boulevard Saint-Germain, and not only has a lovely garden but also generally has great rates. www.hotel-marronniers.com

The exquisite Petit Fer Au Cheval cafe, in the Marais, Paris. 

One of the loveliest cafes in all of Paris.

Well Red

I've been told I'm being a Christmas Grinch. I've been told that I'm not embracing the Christmas spirit to a sufficient Christmas standard. (Well, it IS only December 3.) I never thought I was a wowser but it does appear that I have lost the spirit of Christmas from the days when I used to live in Denmark. And so, to appease those who feel that I should be celebrating the festive season with a lot more punch (and glogg), here are some Christmas-inspired delights...

The Master of Red Drama isn't Santa Claus but another flamboyant gentleman... Valentino. No one does a red dress like this man. (Via manycolour.com)

I've seen this gorgeous Valentino gown a few times but I still love it. Imagine wearing THIS to an office party. I can imagine that longed-for raise would be forthcoming fairly quickly. In fact, wearing this dress, you could probably throw a couple of extra noughts on that figure you mentioned. (Via lyst.com)

More subdued but still very sweet. This cutie is one to wear to a Boxing Day luncheon with the aunts. Imagine it with a pretty hot pink ruffled skirt? It's called the "Seeing Spots" cardigan – which is what I'll probably be doing after too much mulled wine this Christmas Eve. (Via Gourman – www.gourmanshop.com.au)

Now THESE are worth being good all year for! Christian Louboutin's 'Eugenie' red satin pumps. Have you ever seen a more glamorous shoe? (Via theclshoesoutlet.com)

Now THIS is what you should be asking Santa for... Come to mama... (Via jewellery-ring.com)

Take a bit of festive cheer with you when you go on holidays. The Jets Classique spots collection is a little 1950's retro but still oh-so-sexy. Polka dots have never been so hot. (Via Jets.com)

Estee Lauder's Fig lipstick is so popular that some women have been known to ask their interior designers to match their walls to it. I think it would look beautiful in a dining room, with crisp white trim.

Ralph Lauren's Dressage Red. Interior designer Suzanne Kasler thinks this is the perfect red. "When I look for red I want a pure, true red, like the colour in the American flag," she says. "Ralph Lauren does absolutely the best. It's the essence of red, that American classic red. It makes me think of boating, or polo..."

This is what I received as a belated Chrissy gift from a very kind Santa last year: Louis Vuitton's limited edition volume of 100 Legendary Trunks. (Love the red spine!) What an incredible book. It was inspired by the equally incredible Louis Vuitton exhibition I saw at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris last year: a beautifully curated show of the French company's most memorable travel trunks, such as this, below. It just made you wish you had enough money to commission a set of Louis Vuitton luggage of your own.

Such as this, for example:

The Louis Vuitton Vacation Trunk. Not only does this fine piece of first-class luggage come coated in LV's protective Taiga leather, it features brass fittings, a glamorous red interior finish, a coffee maker, drawers for your laptop, and even a couple of solar panels within to power a flatscreen TV, a DVD player and a two-way radio. Everything you need for a prolonged stay on a desert island, really...

And one last cute pic. Wouldn't this kitchen look gorgeous in a classic old beach house? This would be the perfect setting to create a magical Christmas feast in. (Via haveninteriors.blogspot.com)

Inspiring Libraries, Part 2

As libraries seem to be a popular post on this site (you lovely readers are people after my own heart!), I thought I'd do another little post about some more inspiring literary spaces. Here are some of my favourite hotels that offer guests carefully curated collections of beautiful books. And beautiful spaces to browse them in.

HOTEL LE A, PARIS

The Hotel Le A (pictured below) is just about one of the most stylish little boltholes you’ll ever see in Paris. The result of collaboration between conceptual artist Fabrice Hybert and renowned interior designer Frédéric Méchiche, it was inspired by the shape of the Eiffel Tower (thus the ‘A’), and also the name of the street it sits on (Artois). Like its name, the hotel's interior is a picture of graphic simplicity. The lobby/reception is a slash of black while the bar and dining room is a whisper of white – a contrast of tones that results in pure architectural poetry. But by far the most irresistible space is the library, a elegant, licorice-coloured room graced with more than 300 books on design and fashion. No wonder the place is loved by magazine editors and photographers, particularly during Fashion Weeks. A place where pure minimalism meets maximum glamour, Le A is, to use well-worn cliché, a little bit of ooh la la. www.paris-hotel-a.com

THE MERCER HOTEL, NEW YORK

The Mercer (pictured below) is one of those typical New York hideaways that looks so edgy, you daren't go in. But don't let the facade and the A-list stars put you off. (The lobby is literally littered with them.) It's a surprisingly relaxed hotel with a surprisingly easy-going atmosphere. Even when the celebrity guests have a little hissy fit (as Russell Crowe did when he threw a phone around – yes, it's that hotel), the staff barely blink a professional eyelid. My favourite space in the hotel is not the restaurant (wittily named The Kitchen), or even the suites, but the lobby. Designed with an enormous floor-to-ceiling bookshelf filled with art, design and fashion tomes, it's the kind of reception where it's a sheer pleasure to wait for someone, be it a guest or a friend for a lunch date. (I confess that I often get there half an hour before an appointment, just so I can flick through the latest fashion volumes!) www.mercerhotel.com (Image courtesy of Mercer)

THE LIBRARY HOTEL, THAILAND

Sleek, minimalist and utterly surprising. If the cranberry-red swimming pool and matching umbrellas don’t hook you in, then the extraordinary architecture will. The all-white library (the only shots of colour are the book spines) is simply sublime. (Pictured below) As the old saying goes, read it, and weep, er... sleep. www.thelibrary.co.th (Image courtesy of The Library Hotel)

CARLISLE BAY, ANTIGUA

I haven't had the pleasure of travelling to this lovely hotel (pictured below), but I've heard so many fab things about it that it's high on my list. Particularly since I've learned that it has a fantastic library of 1,2000 titles, hand-picked by Philip Blackwell of the bookselling dynasty. The library is the inspiration of owner Gordon Campbell Gray, who, when he first opened the hotel, solicited lists of “Top 10 Beach Reads” from friends and travel editors. He then went and bought them for guests to read, and the library grew from there. There's nothing worse than being bored while on vacation but here, you don't need to worry. Just fill your bedside table or poolside stool with a pile of titles, ask the bartender for a cocktail fill-up, and sit back in literary heaven. http://www.campbellgrayhotels.com/carlisle-bay-antigua. (Image courtesy of Carlisle Bay)