Oh yes. Brad Pitt also gives great decore. This is his house in the Hollywood Hills. Why Brad doesn't want me living with him, I just don't know? 
Tell me it isn't so! Shelterrific (which is one of the most terrific shelter blogs around) has reported that Domino magazine has folded. WHAT!!! The Huffington Post has more about the closure and proceeded to depress me even further by speculating that Details - my next favourite magazine in the whole wide world - could also close. It's not fair. Don't they know some people NEED those magazines? It's a tough old world out there. And magazines have always been a tough ball game (says a former magazine staffer who was retrenched three times before the age of 30). I hope this isn't an indication ofwhat might happen to great Aussie homes mags, which rely on a much lower advertising and circulation base? Sigh. 
RIP
From the Domino armoire gallery. Sniff sniff.
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything," Dwight Eisenhower 
If anything's worth getting all hot under the collar and religious-like, it's saving energy. Oh it makes me sound about as dull as a housewife on the Jenny Craig program, but SAVING ENERGY WILL SAVE THE WORLD. Ahem. That's why I love this cute little lamp designed by The Play Coalition (and proudly brought to my attention by Far Out Brussel Sprout). The quirky little Martyr not only provides us with light, but his awkward unplugging stance reminds us that we should turn him off, too. Anything that makes saving energy sound more exciting than low-fat powdered scrambled egg is a good thing.
It's mini. It's mobile. And once it's connected to power, a garden hose and a drain, it can be used just like a regular fixed kitchen. It includes a double cooking plate, a fridge, microwave, hotwater and a sink. Perfect to use if you fancy an outdoor kitchen. They cost $5,285, plus delivery. Even better, you can hire them for $620 for 10 days if you want a temporary kitchen during renovations from Mobile Furniture in Sydney.
Oh please Lord, the school holidays are finished so surely it's time for Mummy to have a lovely little escape somewhere with a cellulite-reducing spa or enough access to UV rays to add 10 years to my age? My own mother is going on a cruise to Tasmania and I feel oddly JEALOUS of her eight nights with all meals prepared and a lovely view out her window. Then I was told about this website calledUltimate Hides. At first I thought the site must be about furs and skins but it's actually a directory to all designer places that are wonderful to stay in. I WANT WANT WANT a holiday in one of these swanky abodes .... ah well, maybe after the NEXT school holidays.
Lighting stairs is one of those tricky things - you need to be mindful of safety but don't want to create a ghastly hospital-like lighting regime. Enter these LED stair lights available online from America for $US135. They can be retro-fitted to a carpeted or hardwood staircase and have battery back-up. Perhaps they're a decidedly good idea for home with elderly or sight-impaired people ... but are they right for the modern home?
Christian Lacroix has his swanky Parisian pad on the market for a cool two million euros. That's around $4million of those Aussie dollars. Read more on my favourite celebrity real estate spot, RealEstalker.
Laundries are a room often relegated to nothing more than a cupboard. They don't attract the same passion as a kitchen. And aren't as sanctuary-like as a bathroom. Poor laundries. Sigh. I'm washing out for you.
In a slowly tanking property market, renovations can be a costly exercise. American magazine Remodelling has just launched its Cost vs Value Report for 2009 to explain which renos add value and recoup their costs. The numbers, unsurprisingly, are sickening, with virtually all renovations costing more than the value they add to the property. So will this mean the end of renovation as we know it? Or are there ways around the gloomy property and renovation news? Read more ...
It's a book! And it ain't too shabby, either. If you plan on renovating but don't know how much to spend, what to do or what will improve the resale value of your home, then read this. You can pick it up from Property Books or on Amazon.
