Adore Home - British Edition Feb/Mar 2011 (Issue 3)

Adore Home is a relative newcomer to the lifestyle e-magazine stable. You wouldn't know it based on the cover of this issue, but Adore Home is an Australian based title.

The British Edition is in fact the third issue of this title. Although heavy on all things Britannia, as you would expect in a British Edition, it's not one just for the Anglophiles. Several prominent Aussie bloggers feature in this issue such as Kellie from Ada & Darcy, Louise from Table Tonic & Viv from ish & chi. Also there's a fabulous kids rooms feature & the homes shown are of "real" people & styles that are attainable whatever your budget may be. There is a mouthwatering High Tea feature which not only has delicious recipes, but equally sumptuous photos. The travel section definitely beckons one to London especially in the Spring/Summer - I need to go back!

I'm overwhelmed by the number of quality lifestyle/interiors e-magazines that are now available. I'm proud that Australia is at the forefront with a publication like Adore Home.

Congratulations to founder & creator of Adore Home, designer Loni Parker on a fantastic issue. Looking forward to the next issue!

Sandy K

[above image via Adore Home]

Matchbook - February 2011 Issue No. 1

Meet Matchbook. Matchbook is a new e-magazine just launched two days ago.

Matchbook describes itself as "an online lifestyle publication celebrating classics - shaken & stirred. Our monthly issues cover past & present fashion, decor, the arts, travel & culture. Brimming with intriguing interviews, stately homes, captivating memoirs & swoon-worthy fashion spreads, Matchbook seeks to inspire women around the globe to design a life they adore. From lipstick to letterpress, gelato to grosgrain, & Paris to Peru, consider us your field guide to a charmed life."

Looks very interesting & a nice balance of topics covered. Great to see a new e-magazine with fabulous content available. It's a very high quality publication that I'm sure I will return to again & again.

Congratulations to Katie Armour (co-founder & editorial director) of the blog The Neo-Traditionalist, Jane Lilly Warren (co-founder & creative director) of the blog Lox Papers & Fallon Hogerty (associate editor) of the blog A Lovely Being, for a fantastic debut issue!

Check out Matchbook for yourself.

Sandy K

[above images via Matchbook]

Rue - Jan/Feb 2011 Issue 3

Issue 3 of Rue has just gone live. The cover I must say is not to my taste. Although a beautiful pic in its' own right, I think there a numerous better options to be found throughout this issue.

I've had a quick flick through, & there appears to be numerous closeup shots. A broader perspective would have been nice to get an overall feel of some of the spaces showcased. The first half of the issue was skim worthy, but the issue really picks up in the second half. Some of the interiors are very lust worthy indeed.

Go have a look at this issue. There's something for everyone.

Sandy K

P.S. I'm on holidays at the moment in Australia's style capital of Melbourne. Having a great time. I promise my posting will pickup pace when I return.

[above image via Rue]

Belle Dec/Jan 2010/11 Issue - Part Two

Dec/Jan 2010/11 - a reminder of the cover as the last post was forever ago

OK, here we go with part deux of my look at Belle magazine's Dec/Jan 2010/11 issue. This issue was honestly one of the best from the Belle team for 2010. It is crammed with gorgeous pics of equally gorgeous homes from all over the world.

The next home I'm showing is located in the French west Indies on the small island of Saint Barthelemy. It belongs to designer Alisa Thiry who at one point was Fashion Editor at British Elle. Alisa worked on the design of the home with London based designers Lesley Batchelor of studio db & Kathy Adam of Adam Design. It is a house where symmetry yet informality also reign.

cushions from Madeline Weinrib

The next home is located in rural Surrey, British Columbia, Canada & is designed by Israeli-born Canadian architect Omer Arbel.

Omer Arbel - freak

Now, Omer Arbel is one genius freak. I love what this guy does. He is a young-un, born in 1976 & carries the titles of architect & industrial designer exceptionally well. Principal of Omer Arbel Office (OAO), which is based in Vancouver, Arbel's desire is to produce extraordinary projects as a result of working in the ambiguous overlapping zones of the more traditionally defined fields of architecture, industrial design & crafts & materials research & development.

Besides the amazing home shown in the pics below, Arbel is also responsible for designing the critically acclaimed 2.4 chair (as seen below) & the highly coveted Bocci lights that can be seen throughout the home featured.

2.4 chair designed by Omer Arbel (limited edition)

The third & final home I am featuring from Belle is a former 50s-style duplex in the exclusive enclave of Vaucluse, Sydney. Originally bought as a knock-down opportunity, the owners, Janine & Tony Adams,  relented after factoring in cost & time & after their two exceptionally smart teenage children encouraged them to retain & renovate the existing structure. A hodge podge of styles from different eras (bottom part of the building was a 30s bungalow that had been renovated in the 70s), were amalgamated by Phillips Henningham Architects to evoke the dominant 50s aesthetic.

The Adams were highly inspired by the 1968 Peter Sellers movie The Party & also by the architecture of Richard Neutra & John Lautner. Their search for an interior designer who could enable them to achieve this aesthetic vision led them to Melissa Collison.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this somewhat belated look at the Belle Dec/Jan 2010/11 issue. I hope you found the homes I featured from the issue to be as magnificent as I did.

Sandy K

[all images impatiently scanned by Sandy K except images of freakazoid Omer Arbel & his fabulous 2.4 chair which unfortunately I don't have the source for as my computer crashed just after I saved them!]

Lonny Jan/Feb 2011 Issue

Lonny Jan/Feb Issue

Lonny just went live in the past few hours or so. I've yet to peruse it as I'm on my lunch break & have dashed home to grab a bite. I'll take a good look later tonight. Let me know what your thoughts are on the issue.

Sandy K

[above image via Lonny]

Magazine Sneaky Peek - Home Beautiful Feb 2011

Home Beautiful Feb 2011 - cover

Another Aus interiors magazine hit the news stands today. Home Beautiful for February 2011 features a summer coastal look (surprise, surprise, surprise as Gomer Pyle would say) on its' cover & to be honest I don't expect great variety in theme on interiors covers for the Summer months. More pics to follow soon.

I forgot to mention that I have enabled a new comment system that allows me & any other commenter to reply directly to any comments within the thread rather than at the end. It does involve any commenters entering an email address, but that information is not published anywhere. I understand that it takes a little more of your time to comment now, but I think the flow of comments will be easier to read. I appreciate your understanding.

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Magazine Sneaky Peek - Real Living January/February 2011 Issue 62

Real Living January/February 2011 - cover

OK, trying to get back on track for my Magazine Sneaky Peeks, but not quite there yet. Here's the beautiful & bright cover of Real Living's Summer Issue which hit news stands today. Will post my favourite pics from the issue soon. The next issue isn't out ti the end of February as this is a double month issue.

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K - amazed that I remembered how to scan, crop, save & upload!]

I'm Back!

Well, well, well. Haven't I been a slack blog mummy? I have neglected my blog baby to nearly the point of abandonment. DOCS (Department of Child Services) was on the verge of being called.
Hopefully I will recommence the year, feeding, caring & loving my blog baby as she deserves. I seem to have gotten my mojo back. The end of the year always drains me & sends me into a funk both physically & emotionally - work just sucks the life out of me.

Anyhow, I'm excited to be back & boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do! I think I have at least 7 Australian magazines or possibly more to peruse thoroughly & dissect for you all before the new lot start arriving. I've even let all my subscriptions lapse, that's how bad the end of year has been for me! I usually take out two year subscriptions & for the past 18 years or so I have been a consistent Vogue Living subscriber (my longest subscription). Oh the shame I feel.

In recognition of my return & also for the amazing 32 people who, at the time of this post, have added me to their blog readers & stuck with me through my inconsistent posting, I am giving away two invitations to Pinterest. Besides the end of the year, Pinterest seems to be taking up more & more of my time. It is highly addictive. I am finding it so easy to collect images & organise them. It's a fantastic tool that has freed up a lot of space on my hard drive & also led to loads of new discoveries - blogs, people, products etc.

If you are interested in one of the two invites, just post a comment by Friday 21st January midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Time). I will randomly draw two people for the invites. Please note, this giveaway is only open to my fabulous "fellow design aficionados" i.e. followers. Feel free to follow if you wish to be eligible for the invite giveaway.

Also, I'd love to get to know a little more about you all. If you have a blog, post the link in your comment. If you are already a "Pinner" I would still love to hear from you & would love to check out your boards, so let me know who you are on Pinterest.

Sandy K
[above logo via sfgirlbybay]

Covet Garden Issue 6

Covet Garden Issue 6 is now live. This issue takes a look at photographer Tracy Shumate's studio/home which is located within a converted factory. It's a minimalist space but has such a degree of flexibility that it allows Tracy to constantly change her surroundings.

In other news from this issue, the Covet Garden team is launching a blog. The Covet Garden blog will be up and running from the 15th January 2011. As yet there is no direct link to the blog, but I for one will be adding it to my daily reader as soon as possible. Can't wait to see more from the team.

Sandy K

[above pic via Covet Garden]