Paddington Project by C+M Studio

The excellent Est magazine has unveiled an inspiring redesign of a Sydney terrace house.  This C+M Studio project successfully converted a small worker's cottage into a tranquil, minimalist and sophisticated residence.  This is yet further demonstration of marrying limited space with practical and stylish living.  It is a marriage that many modern urban dwellers aspire to and they would do well to take note of this high-quality project.

To round-off the redesign,  C+M Studio partnered with leading Australian furniture retailer,  Living Edge, along with artist Sebastian Goldspink, to create Paddington Project in which some displayed furniture and home wares are offered for sale.

This not the first time the Sydney-based C+M Studio has featured on this blog.  Regular readers may recall their Cross Street project, see here, where they filled the newly renovated Cross Street apartment,  with incredible artwork, furniture and home wares available for purchase.

A simple, clean and refined stairwell.

The almost clinical pairing of pale wood and white interiors lends lightness to the terraced house without any loss of warmth and comfort.

Abetted by a high ceiling and an open transition to a neatly orientated backyard, the careful use of interiors and restrained furniture makes the space appear more spacious.

It is worth noting the colour palette throughout the home is essentially reduced to white, pale wood, greys with shots of copper.  This appears to be in keeping with the style direction of  C+M Studio which focuses on pared back motifs and the use of natural materials.  In dressing up the small space, the constrained use of colour enables the house to look uncluttered and elegant.

Words by Craig Greaves.
Photographs by Caroline McCredie via C+M Studio.

New Work - Living Room

Here's a hero shot from a project, that was completed earlier this year, where we furnished a living room for a family of four.
We started with a colourful kilim style rug from Armadillo and Co to anchor the new and existing furniture in front of a fireplace. For the new comfortable sofas, a neutral and children friendly fabric was chosen, which we enhanced with colourful feather filled loose cushions. To complete the picture, we introduced warmth with a timber Radial coffee table from Citta Design. Lovely.
Photograph by Charlotte Minty.

Line Table Lamp from Douglas and Bec

I have been ordering lots of lovely items for my clients this week and one of them was this elegant Line Table Lamp from Douglas and Bec. This piece with its white timber base, brass rod and white tinted hand blown glass globe is going to sit beautifully on a client's desk.

Photograph via Douglas and Bec.

The Sunday Bench

I love a good bench and have admired many beautiful timber ones from clever furniture makers, who were usually inconveniently located overseas. However a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new project by Alana Broadhead of Fancy New Zealand Design blog being launched and it had a great name - The Sunday Kind. How cool I thought. Then bam! there it was, their launch product - a fantastic timber bench called the Sunday Bench. It's a beauty and it's very much on my list. What a great bench - lovely simple lines, the timber (available in blonde (my preferred choice) and black), the straight legs with rounded feet and the great many functions that this useful piece of furniture can be as Alana says so herself - "I love to change up my space every so often for a fresh look. So I wanted to create a flexible piece of furniture that could be used in multiple rooms and in multiple ways." And these photos, styled by Alana, beautifully demonstrate some of the options - in the entrance, up at the dining table and at the end of the bed. How about the bathroom, in an office and in a kid's bedroom? You are only limited by your imagination. If you like it as much as I do, you have a chance to win one with Homestyle magazine here. Nice!

Photographs by Melanie Jenkins via Homestyle and via The Sunday Kind

Honiara, Solomon Islands

From Wellington to Heritage Park Hotel, Honiara

Last week I had the pleasure to leave my office in Wellington, hop onto a plane and venture aboard to my first international project...in Honiara, the Solomon Islands of all places.
I am working on a private project which won't been seen here on the blog, however I am able to share the sights I saw over the few days I visited. I was lucky to be looked after by my clients and drive in an air conditioned car to my locations - Honiara has a tropical rain forest climate and it was 30 degrees each day I was there, a rather dramatic jump from 10 degrees that I left Wellington in!
Before my trip, my knowledge of Honiara was of political unrest and ethnic violence especially from the late 1990's onwards. While I was there,  you can sense some tension remains. Scars and debris from past conflicts and floods are also visible. However, there is promise to the town and I met some great people - expats and locals, who are passionate about the country and who made my stay a pleasurable one.

Lush tropical flowers - a riot of colour by this car park

The days were hazy and the supposed stunning view of the surrounding islands were not visible during my stay

A friendly hitchhiker on the car windscreen

I visited a local hardware store to see what was available - love the old school peg board display

Solomon Islands House of Parliament

Seaside dining - a breeze is always welcomed.

Debris and scars remain from the April 2014 floods - worse flooding in history for Solomon Islands

An amazing hanging shell sculpture

We finished each day with Solomon Islands' finest - perfect for the hot weather

A crazy shell wall light at the Hibiscus bar, King Solomon Hotel

The 'guards' at Heritage Park Hotel

Photographs by Charlotte Minty.

Michel, Helsinki

Here is a restaurant that I have been inspired by recently - it is called Michel and located in Helsinki, Finland.
Designed by the clever Joanna Laajisto, a Finnish interior architect and designer who trained and made her career in Los Angeles designing large scale commercial projects before returning to her native country. Laajisto was inspired by 1940's kiosks that were built in the Finnish capital for Michel. I love the use of white tiles, pistachio green painted panelling, marble lined walls, natural timbers and cognac leathers. The interiors are light, modern and fresh (as well as stunning and timeless), which works beautifully alongside Michel's uncomplicated, fresh and approachable menu. Lovely.

Photographs via Joanna Laajisto