The Gingerbread House has a fairytale name and a fairytale-like interior designed by Carterwilliamson Architects. While the front facade appears to be the same, behind the door a new, light-filled space exists for a young, growing family. Located in Annandale, Sydney, NSW Australia, the home keeps its original charm with new, reconfigured spaces and one long path for circulation that offers sight lines from the front door to the backyard.

It’s definitely what we call a mullet house, with its traditional street facade out front and around back, a modern exterior with a pivoting door that blends the indoors with the garden.

The home’s wood ceiling and rafters are painted white to give it an open and clean feel.

The back of the house features an open floor plan with the kitchen, dining and living room all together.

In the middle of the ground floor, there’s a light well with a small garden that’s beside the floor level change. Sliding windows open up to provide fresh air to the kitchen and study.

Matte black penny tiles cover all the surfaces in the guest bathroom for a dramatic result.

The original brick walls were given a coat of white paint to provide continuity on the inside.

Photos by The Guthrie Project.

Gus* Modern always manages to give us sofa envy every time they launch a new collection and the latest Spring 2017 offerings are no exception. On top of the new upholstered pieces, the Canadian home furnishings brand released two accent designs to complement the sofas. As with previous releases, the collection features simple and clean lines with a modern yet classic aesthetic.

Aubrey Sofa in Velvet Blush

The Aubrey Sofa has a classic Scandinavian-inspired feel with a button-tufted seat cushion, three back cushions, and piped edges. The sled-style base is made of solid ash that’s stained a walnut or natural finish.

Aubrey Sofa in Berkeley Shield

Bedford Lounge in Berkeley Metro

Bedford Lounge is perfect for small spaces, as it doubles as a twin size bed. When you have guests over, simply remove the two back cushions for sleeping.

Bedford Lounge in Berkeley Metro

Bradley Sofa in Parliament Stone with Cambie Parchment Buttons

The Bradley Sofa features a two-over-two, tufted cushion design with traditional French seams. The cushion design is reversible so they can be flipped over to reveal contrasting fabric buttons.

Bradley Sofa in Berkeley Metro with Berkeley Metro Buttons

Bradley Sofa in Cambie Parchment with Cambie Parchment Buttons

Parkdale Bi-Sectional in Vintage Alloy

The Parkdale Bi-Sectional has a classic look with a chaise that can be positioned on the left or right side depending on your room configuration. The sofa aims for maximum comfort with its eco-friendly, synthetic-down fill that comes from recycled PET plastic.

Parkdale Bi-Sectional in Cambie Parchment

Parkdale Sofa in Vintage Mineral

In the same family as the Parkdale Bi-Sectional Sofa, the Parkdale Sofa is without a chaise but with the same level of premium comfort.

Parkdale Sofa in Parliament Stone

Carlaw Bench

The Carlaw Bench can serve many functions – it can work in the bedroom or entryway for a place to put your shoes on, or it can be an ottoman/coffee table for the living room. A solid walnut tray rests next to a blind-tufted leather seat.

Porter End Table in Walnut

The Porter End Table is made of a triangular metal base with a solid walnut router top, mixing organic with industrial. A leather pull tab was added as an accent detail.

In a 1933 building in Tel Aviv, this apartment comes alive with both color and artwork that’s the result of a complete renovation by Tsipi Yavets Chen of myTema Studio. The apartment spans the entire floor of the building and with its seaside location, the goal was to open it up and maximize the natural light and take advantage of Mediterranean views.

Inspired by “international style”, the interior has an overall clean and modern feel with high floating filings that allow air and light to pass through. They incorporated local materials which elevate the works of the Israeli modern art on display throughout, which are from Inga Gallery. They took a sample of the original 1930s floor and matched it for the new green terrazzo floor.

The interior is separated into two wings offering more privacy and additional views.

Some of the furnishings were collected over time, including the lighting and the Heywood Wakefield pieces from the 50s. New pieces were customs built to match the vintage pieces that were already owned.

Photos by Shai Epstein.

Sometimes church congregations move on, perhaps because the building itself is falling apart or it becomes too small. Either way, those unique structures show up vacant from time to time. For some living in a church may be a bit taboo, but for others, they welcome the challenge. Here, we’ve rounded up 10 projects where old church buildings are transformed into jaw-dropping modern homes. Take a look.

A Victorian-style church in London was converted by Gianna Camilotti Interiors into a modern home while keeping its historic charm. The outside may remain a traditional red brick, but the interior features white walls and floors, along with arched windows and wooden beams.

Photo by Vincent van den Hoven

Located in Harrlo, The Netherlands, this home was once the Dutch Reformed Evangelism Building before being transformed by Leijh Kappelhoff Seckel van den Dobbelsteen architecten. The new design includes a bedroom and bathroom loft with modern features and furnishings paired with many of the original details, including the wood roof and the arched stained glass windows.

Photo by Jim Tschetter

An old church in Chicago, Illinois was handed over to Linc Thelen Design and Scrafano Architects to be converted into a modern home for a family with three young children. The 25-foot ceilings, white surfaces, and wood floors make the space feel grand without being overwhelming or overdone.

Photo courtesy of DOS Architects

Dating back to 1853, London’s Westbourne Grove Church was renovated by DOS Architects, who took on the top two floors turning them into a light-filled, open plan loft. The walls and floors might be white, but the furniture and furnishings are anything but.

Photo © Cornbread Works

Zecc Architecten transformed this old Catholic church in Utrecht, The Netherlands into a single family home while managing to work with its original character. Church benches were reintroduced in the dining area as seating and the stained glass illuminates the mostly-white interior with colors and history.

Photo by Axiom Photography

An Anglican church in Melbourne dating back to 1892 was converted by Bagnato Architects to include a modern addition and interior renovation. Spread over multiple levels, the home features a variety of natural materials, like reclaimed wood, limestone, marble, and granite, giving the inside a warm and cozy feel.

Photo by Chris Humphreys

Chapel on the Hill is a project that turned a Methodist Chapel near Middleton-In-Teasdale, England into a boutique property that anyone can rent out on Airbnb. Evolution Design kept its dramatic 19th century exterior while turning the inside into a luxurious cottage that can host seven people.

Photo © René de Wit

Ruud Visser Architecten designed House In A Church within an old wooden church from 1930 that rests along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam. The massive interior could fit an average of six family houses inside so they chose to build the house as a separate entity inside the church, leaving space to see the transition between the two.

Photo courtesy of LABLstudio

Cobble Hill Chez Church is a conversion designed by LABLstudio. The multi-level apartment now features modern furnishings and clean lines but it still respects the church’s architectural elements.

Photo © Dominique Uldry

Located in Bern, Switzerland, the 1924 Luke Chapel went from rundown to two new modern homes by Morscher Architekten. To prevent covering the large church windows and to avoid adding support posts, the top apartment is suspended within a concrete box above. The box’s facade was the perfect place to display artwork.

Whether you’re four or forty, kikki.K’s Study In Style Collection has something that you’ll definitely want to use. Though I’m not normally someone who’s into so many bright colors, something about the Study in Style Collection calls out to me. Maybe it’s the playful patterns, or the tongue-in-cheek sayings on the packaging—either way, I can’t resist it.

The collection consists of both colorful stationery and organization solutions. With a wide range of products from binders to notepads to planners to pencils, anyone will be equipped for the new year. It also includes their “super stylish” Glass Water Bottle or Lunch Box in “Cute”. They also have a pencil case and mini organizer to hold all your supplies, as well as notebooks and sticky notes to jot down important information.

You can purchase the pieces here.

The Yves Béhar designed LOVE smartphone turntable is something old, new again, a portable audio device designed to bridge the strong resurgence of vinyl with app-operated accessibility, all the while promising “the intimacy of vinyl with modern-day convenience”.

The sleek device resembles an elongated mouse, handsomely decked out in a combination of glossy black with a copper base detailing; this one-piece device operates as a large rotating tone arm that sits atop records of any size placed onto its base, reading the grooves like a traditional turntable stylus, scanning the record to ascertain song information and the number of tracks. Output is handled all without any integrated speaker in sight. Instead, LOVE connects to a smartphone or tablet app using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, where users are offered output, playback controls options, and album art. There’s also the weird yet cool option to pick a track for playback by pressing down gently onto the LOVE itself: want to listen to track 2, press twice, skip over to the 5th song on side A, press down five times.

LOVE is powered by lithium battery and recharged via USB cable; different record size playback is chosen with a switch on the bottom of the player, alongside wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Portable turntables in a similar vein have long been around before the LOVE, including our favorite collectible, the 1983 Sony Portable Linear Tracking Turntable. And even though the LOVE is quite unusual, it still has a long way to go when compared to the turntable oddities of yesteryear.

Those interested in getting some LOVE into their life should keep eyes on the product’s Early Launch Notification happening this week. The LOVE turntable will be available for $299 for the first 500 backers, including a “Free for Life” LOVE app account with unlimited access to a wide range of premium features.

Melbourne Home

Lilli Waters and Jake Cole

View from lounge into the dining room of Lilli and Jake’s Pascoe Vale home. The vintage poppy painting is cherished as it was salvaged from an op shop and repaired, pictured with rug from IKEA, and macramé plant hangers from Etsy. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Charlie (the cat) loves the vintage velvet couch, which was a hand-me-down from a past share house. The coffee table was made by Kim Moir and the bookshelf once belonged to Lilli’s grandmother. Prints by Lilli, yellow cushion from op shop, with orange cushion from Pop & Scott. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Detail of Lilli and Jake’s home, featuring vintage mirror from The Junk Co, hand-carved wooden sculpture from an op shop, and candles from IKEA. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The dining table was made by Lilli’s uncle Kim Moir, while the succulent pot is from Anchor Ceramics and rug from IKEA. The large, Iceland landscape photograph was shot by Lilli on film, and the cactus print is by friend Sarah Hendy. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The chair and bookshelf in this cosy nook had belonged to Lilli’s grandmother and the ‘Car on Fire’ painting is by Sarah Hendy. Rugs from Ishka, white pot by Pop & Scott, with thrifted pots and bowls. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

A rug from Ishka behind vintage pots and bowls foraged from op shops and garage sales.  Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The painting of Jacob by friend Wynona Miller, gifted by Lilli as for their wedding is one of her most loved possessions. Also in the room, hanging rug from Ishka, rug from IKEA, and vintage print, pots and bowls from assorted op shops and garage sales. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Pot and stool by Pop & Scott in front of framed print from Lilli’s ‘Discolour’d ~ Floral Games’ photographic series. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Vintage side tables from The Junk Co and lamps handed down from Lilli’s grandmother are featured in the master bedroom. Framed print from Lilli’s ‘Pistil ~ Floral Seduction’ series, linen by I Love Linen, mud-cloth throw from Pan After, green cushion by Pop & Scott, yellow cushion from op shop, and vintage macrame plant hanger from Etsy. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Framed prints from the Lilli’s ‘Anja’ photographic series above Hans Hayson mid-century sideboard from Gumtree, with pots from Mr Kitly and other assorted nurseries. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The kitchen features an Australian landscape painting from a garage sale and 1950’s Formica table and chairs from Gumtree. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

 

Lilli and her husband Jake at home in their kitchen. The assorted vintage retro tins, jars, and bottles are from garage sales and op shops, while the iron teapot was a wedding gift. Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

 

If you’ve ever longed to sit on a cloud, this marshmallow-like stool, from Istanbul-based German designer Paul Ketz, might be your best bet. Its cushy, non-toxic polyurethane foam seat is a soft perch that looks good enough to eat, leading to its name, Marshmallow.

Its soft seat is made without a mold, expanding around the steel wire frame that supports it. As is the nature of polyurethane foam, it expands as it wants resulting in each piece being deliciously one-of-a-kind.

Want Marshmallow in your life? They’re available via kinder MODERN in four colorways: Sugarpink (blue/pink), Licorice (black/grey), Mint (white/green), and Tennislove (chrome/yellow).

Tennislove

Tennislove

Licorice

Licorice

Sugarpink

Mint

Photos by Matthias Ketz.

VitraHaus enlisted British designer Jasper Morrison to transform the Level I of their headquarters in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Spanning 150 square meters, the space he envisioned is part studio, part salon, and part office, designed for a fictional dweller.

For the installation, Morrison selected items he’s designed in muted colors, while electing to go bold with other people’s designs, resulting in a cozy, yet visually dynamic space.

From Jasper Morrison:

This is the apartment of Allard Pierson, an abstract artist who doesn’t exhibit his sculptures because nobody’s interested in abstract art anymore, so he lives at home with them and occasionally invites people to dinner, to show them his new work.

All of the products used can be purchased via Vitra.

The dining area features pieces made using natural materials and earthy colors to create an understated space.

Photos by Lorenz Cugini, Zurich.

Name: Irwin Gueco
Location: The General Scott — Washington, DC
Size: 495 square feet
Years lived in: Rented 6 years / Owned 2 years

"Your home should tell your story," says Irwin. And everywhere you look in his home there is a good story, providing insight into Irwin's personality. Filled to the brim with carefully selected mementos, artwork and furniture, his home feels like a lovingly curated museum. Which is fitting, because he spends his days at a museum.

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Pollution does not respect state borders

First of all, it’s ridiculous posturing to say that every clean water regulation adopted by the EPA under the Clean Water Act exceeds the authority granted under the U.S. Constitution. Second, even if the regulations were unconstitutional, the method for rectifying that is going to a federal court and requesting that a judge strike down the law. The Tenth Amendment zealots might claim that they shouldn’t have to go to a federal court — states are co-equal sovereigns, after all. But that ignores the Supremacy Clause. States can’t unilaterally invalidate a federal statute.

The fiscal note reports that Indiana would lose $24.7 million annually. In this case, it should also probably estimate the cost of fighting and losing the inevitable lawsuits.

And all of this is ignoring the more substantive point that there is a good reason for environmental protection to be the subject of federal regulations. Pollution does not respect state lines. Bad environmental policy in the Midwest can cause acid rain in the Northeast. Federal regulation can help ensure that Indiana does not, for example, externalize the costs of producing energy — reducing its costs and dumping them (literally in some cases) on other states.

The New York Times has an article on planned litigation to seek injunctive relief against the Trump administration over the Emoluments Clause. (h/t Indiana Law Blog). The Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution says:

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

An emolument is a profit or gain. The argument is that foreign powers are going to funnel money through Trump’s business holdings in order to curry favor with him. The Founders were aware that foreign powers would try to buy influence with office holders and this provision is an attempt to stop that.

One argument that caught my eye is that, because Trump’s businesses are corporate entities, profits received by them aren’t attributable to him:

Andy Grewal, a University of Iowa law school professor, argued in an academic paper published last week that a payment to a hotel owned by the Trump family, like the Trump International Hotel in Washington, would not violate the Emoluments Clause because the money is paid to a corporate entity and not to Mr. Trump directly.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a case on the Emoluments Clause, so I’m nowhere close to an expert. My guess is that the toughest challenge, and the one it would likely fail, has to do with standing. Who has the right to enforce the clause. The judiciary is likely to try to avoid a head-on collision with the executive and might well say that this is up to Congress to enforce. But, like I said, I could be wrong.

On the other hand, I’d vigorously challenge the notion that the corporate form insulates the President from receiving gifts by proxy through his corporations. Hobby Lobby said that the owners of closely held corporations can assert religious objections to laws that impact the corporations — despite the fact that corporations can’t have religious beliefs. I would argue that, if the corporate form does not prevent religious beliefs from passing through to the corporation, then foreign influence via gifts to a closely held corporation can pass through to an office holder such as Trump.

If the plaintiffs passed the motion to dismiss stage and were found to have standing, they could presumably have a lot of fun with discovery, trying to dig up the various ways in which Trump has wide-ranging conflicts of interest that previous office-holders did not.

HB 1470 was introduced by Rep. Ober and seems to have been significantly amended in committee by Rep. Mahan. As amended, it contains provisions which, as I read them, require local government units (and pretty much any other state or local governmental entity) to, upon request, provide whatever government information the Legislative Services Agency requests at the expense of the governmental entity receiving the request. And it has to be provided in a format and within the time frame set by LSA. Specifically, LSA can demand government information from: the state, a state agency, a political subdivision, an agency of a political subdivision, a state educational institution, a separate body corporate and politic, and any other entity established by Indiana that performs a governmental function. Governmental information to which LSA is entitled is defined as “recorded information, regardless of the form or the media on which the information is recorded.”

Idea: Try not to give litigation strategy about suing the State to the State.

I used to work for LSA, and I’m a huge fan of their work. But I’m not a fan of this provision of HB 1470. First of all, if the legislature wants the records, it should pay for them. This should at least make them judicious about what they ask for. If it’s all free to you, it’s pretty easy to just ask for the kitchen sink.

Secondly, (and bear in mind I have a huge bias here) —  but, if I’ve made strategic recommendations to my County government client, I’m not inclined to have that information disclosed to LSA. County government and state government are separate entities. Sometimes, we can be adverse entities. If the County sues the State, can LSA demand my memos to the County about the lawsuit? Can LSA demand the public defender or prosecutor’s thoughts about pending cases? This legislation does not seem to permit local government or state officials to withhold privileged information — rather, it simply requires LSA to “maintain the confidentiality of that information as required by federal law, Indiana law, or both.”

Unless I’m missing something that limits LSA’s ability to demand confidential information (attorney work-product being near and dear to my heart), this strikes me as pretty significant overreach.

The bill also has some generally laudable looking measures that are designed to streamline and make data more easily shared among state agencies, with local government, and with the public.

Watching millions of people across the globe gather to march for women’s rights was incredibly inspiring to me for a wide range of reasons. There were so many wonderful moments of unity and understanding, but there were also moments of conflict, differences of opinion and spaces where real discussions needed to happen about how women communicate with and about each other. It got me thinking a lot about women in fine art — the way we’re depicted and the way we depict ourselves. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to female-identified painters lately and how they choose to depict women in their work. French artist Hélène Delmaire caught my eye last week because her work raises so many questions, at least in my eyes, about the way women are painted and what is revealed or kept covered.

Hélène’s work has such a great sense of texture and color and uses bold, abstract swaths of paint to sometimes cover the figures’ eyes or faces. Her work makes me think about beauty, sexism and the ways in which women are censored or expected to be, act or talk a certain way. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the color palettes she works in are stunning. I found myself going back to her Instagram feed over and over again to indulge in the rich pinks, purples and greens she uses. You can check out more of Hélène Delmaire’s work online here at her website or here on her Instagram feed (which updates more frequently than her main website). I’d love to hear your take on her work and what it says to you. xo, grace

Sometimes it’s easy for me to see beautiful homes online and assume that those spaces belong to people without longing, grief or sadness. The photos are perfect and thus, their lives must be too. Objectively, I know that’s not true of my own life and other lives of the D*S team — that a pretty home doesn’t equal an easy life — but sometimes, it feels true, doesn’t it? If you were to just look at the photos of Natalie and Dan Seitz’s home, you might be tempted by the bright colors, fun patterns and lovely artwork to think that the last four years of their lives were fairly commonplace for an emergency room physician (Dan) and a social worker (Natalie) in middle America. But life is just settling down and getting “normal” for the first time as a family of five.

After getting married and living in a 2-bedroom apartment in Midtown Indianapolis, IN, Natalie and Dan started the international adoption process. They were matched with twin baby boys from a country in Central Africa and were told Theo and Elliot would be in their home within the year — but shortly after, adoptions from the boys’ birth country were put on hold indefinitely. The baby boys grew into toddlers and then kids without ever having met Natalie and Dan in person. During this time, Natalie and Dan were contacted to adopt a newborn domestically. “We brought Milo home in February 2015. We moved to our current home in November 2015. We were here a few months when we were told that at long last, Theo and Elliot were approved to come to the United States and into our home… three-and-a-half years after we started the process,” Natalie shares. “They landed in Chicago in March 2016. It was one of the best days ever. We grew from a family of two to a family of five in 13 months!”

When it was still just the two of them, they started looking for a house in the Midtown neighborhood of Indianapolis. The neighborhood had been changing drastically as rundown houses were being purchased and rehabilitated by development companies. A single-story house that the Seitz family had driven by several times was being turned into a 2-story home with completely new curb appeal. When they toured it, the inside was just as much of an improvement. “We saw it twice — once while still very much in progress and once when complete. We put an offer in immediately and bought our house before Dan officially had a job. As spiritual people, we had a strong and hopefully-not-too-foolish belief that God would provide. He did,” Natalie says. “Many of the homes in our area are either fully renovated like ours or in need of a lot of repairs. Most of the fully renovated homes were well outside of what we could afford. Though as dreamers, we loved the idea of renovating a house with good bones on a great lot, we knew as new parents to three kids we wouldn’t have the time. We wanted something already set up well, so we could devote ourselves to helping our little men feel secure and comfortable.”

Natalie and Dan and their three sons have turned what Natalie describes as “a little bit cookie-cutter” into a home full of life and interest. Natalie has decorated their space with color in furniture, rugs, art and textiles. Their home boasts a mix of bold colors and patterns while maintaining a modern and clutter-free feel. “We have been striving to minimize excess since before Milo joined our family. All the items that kids require can get to be chaotic, so we’ve pared down our own things a lot,” Natalie says. “We are big believers that fewer things can create a happier life. We’ve seen it affect our moods and the moods of our kids, too. We wanted to create a bright, light, simple, comfortable, colorful space enjoyable for us as adults and for our kids… the kind of space that can become a spaceship with alligators and superheroes during the day and a cozy retreat for reading and catching up on our favorite TV shows at night.” It’s a playful and peaceful space perfect for this new family of five to grow into. –Lauren

Photography by Natalie Seitz

loved these illustrations on top of magazine covers by ana strumpf. thought you might too. xx bri

very fun to look through!

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As the winter days stretch on and our neighborhood color palette is limited to beige, brown and grey, I find myself gravitating toward artwork that embraces bold, bright color unabashedly. French artist Inès Longevial celebrates the human body in such jubilant colors and shapes, and hints at sensuality and form in a subtle but palpable way. If, like me, you idolize people who have such a wonderful grasp on color theory and how to combine hues in a powerful way, be sure to check out Inès’ website and Instagram feed. They are sure to brighten your day. xo, grace

the eclectic decor in this apartment in paris, recently featured on socialite family, is the beautiful result of the creative coupling of Pierre Le Ny and Émilie Urbansky. the couple explains their approach to decorating their home as a perfect partnership: he shows her things, and she makes him discover others.

Pierre is a both a gallerist and artists’ manager at Modernist and Émilie works as the manger of image for sony music entertainment. And while their home is a stylish mix of both of their interests and personal tastes, Pierre admits he chose all of the furniture, inspired mostly by his love of 20th century French design, and Émilie selected all of the decorative objects, such as the photos, plants, etc. the cheerful blue wall color in the living room, however, was a mutual decision.

if the playful yet sophisticated home they created together is any indication, it seems as though these two perfectly complete each other. and it’s safe to say, we’re in love!

• photography via socialite family.

Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, now known as Wiener GTV Design, is the Italian/Danish design child of StineGam and Enrico Fratesi, better known as GamFratesi. They recently completed their Targa collection by adding two final designs that exemplify a new idea of comfort and style. The collection is small but robust, consisting of two different sofas, a pouf, and a lounge chair. Each of the pieces comes in striking but neutral colors that are bound to make a statement. The chairs are made of bent beech with an upholstered backrest and Vienna straw border. Soft and curvy, Targa is sleek and luxurious, but not too stuffy. Its round shape encourages intimate and cozy socializing, and is perfect for residential spaces with an unconventional twist.

Quarry House is set within Melbourne, Australia’s Brunswick East and the Victorian terrace house was recently renovated and and extended with a new addition by Hook Turn Architecture. Referencing the history of the surrounding area with its brick and bluestone quarrying, the design comprises two stacked boxes, with the ground floor as a brick box and the upper floor a bluestone box. The original part of the house was constructed of brick so the same material was carried on to the ground floor addition for continuity.

While the front of the house remains with its 1880s Victorian facade, around back the second story reimagines natural bluestone formations with its tessellated pattern. To achieve the look, folded zinc panels were installed to look like eroded columnar basalt that left behind an arched opening.

The arched, geometric opening outlines the window in the new master bedroom, which juts out over the ground floor box helping to shade its interior during warmer months.

Careful thought went into the interior layout to ensure each room would receive the maximum amount of daylight. Helping to make that happen is a central courtyard.

Photos by Ben Tole.

If you practice any kind of meditation, chances are you have your favorite spot to settle into – for me, a 2x a day meditator, I have a spot that’s part of my routine. Ariel Lynne was partaking in a workshop in Copenhagen when she decided to design a meditation seat for her home in Chicago that would allow her to incorporate meditation more often. The result is The Ginkgo.

The sculptural chair’s design began after a bike ride to a park in Copenhagen with a sandy area that formed impressions when she sat down. That planted the start of her immersion into Scandinavian design, with inspiration coming from Hans Wegner’s Shell Chair, as well as the works of Verner Panton and Bjørn Nørgaard.

The process began by milling and planing raw lumber – 18 different profiles to be exact. After rigorous sanding and sculpting, The Ginkgo’s curvy silhouette was born with a built-in handle for easy movement.

We love a good neon sign! Today we're sharing the home of Emily Murray, founder/editor of the interior blog The Pink House. Her space is filled with colorful, eclectic patterns and fun wallpaper designs. #Goals. Ready to see more?

"When I saw my current home, The Pink House (also the name of my award-winning interior blog) for the first time more than six years ago, it was white. This was my first day of house hunting, and only the third house I’d seen, but I was barely through the front door when I knew it was The One. I knew instantly I’d do anything for this house. I’m no fatalist or spiritualist, but its soul spoke to me in a way that meant all practicalities went out the badly-fitted sash windows. So we bought it, and began its transformation into a colourful, fabulous family home. 

Chairs/Kartell, Stool/Fritz Hansen.

"I rather like this vintage Rockett St. George ‘Archway Station’ bus blind–Archway was the last area of London we lived in before moving to Scotland. Two orange chairs and a walnut-veneered Fritz Hansen Dot stool, which is handy for supervising kids' tea time and tucks under the table when it's not being used. It's also the comfiest stool I've ever sat on.

Rug/Jennifer Manners. Sofa/Ikea.

Lamp/Horne.

"When it came to renovating The Pink House, the first job was to knock down the wall between the kitchen and living room to make a big family room, which is now my favourite space in my house. We then got to work, smothering the once-white walls with a bold Farrow & Ball Manor House Gray (we carried this colour through to the kitchen), picking out the skirting, shutters and mantelpiece. It was a revelation to see how the grey allowed the emerald green of the sofa (best buy ever) to shine.

"The now-redundant door into the living area we covered with blackboard paint and the frame with gold paint. What the door DID do, though, was provide the starting point for the kiddies’ art corner. The initial plan was they would do their painting, etc., in the playroom. But like all plans I made before actually having children, this never came to fruition: ‘But I no WANT go upstairs do paint, Mama.’ So an art corner in the ground floor living room it was.

Hardware/Buster + Punch, Rug/Anthropologie.

Radio/Amazon, Wallpaper/Cole & Son.

"When it came to the open-plan kitchen, we painted the existing cheap laminate bottom cabinets dark and the wall-mounted cupboards light, so they didn't feel so heavy. I like how the effect is quite bespoke and living room-y, aided by as many books as I can squeeze on the remaining shelf space.

Neon sign/Specialized Signs.

"The biggest challenge in the house was transforming the dingy basement into The Den, a room that works as a home office, sitting/movie room, home bar and spare room (with sofa bed). I hired Jessica from Jessica Buckley Interiors to help me realize my vision and make the space truly fabulous. I never used to put blue and pink together, but thanks to this room, it’s my new favourite colour combo.

"The bar is one of my favourite elements of this room. I went for an imitation gold leaf in the end—much cheaper than real gold leaf and looks just as gorgeous when lacquered. The hidden LED light strip makes the cabinet seem to glow from within. I knew I wanted a pink neon sign in this room and it’s turned out even better than I’d hoped—this PLAY sign was made bespoke in my own handwriting.

Curtains/Designers Guild.

Chair/Tann Rokka.

"It took a lot of effort, but I finally convinced the Pink House Husband that, along with the house’s exterior, we should paint the bedroom pink. However, this wasn’t the starting point for the room’s décor. As the room was now swarming with nature, I continued the theme with a pair of thick, moss-green velvet curtains. But my favourite thing in the room is That Chair. This hot pink tub chair is probably the first piece of furniture I ever fell in love with.

"Of all the rooms in The Pink House, this is the most radical makeover. Basically, we ripped everything out of the previously shabby, uninspiring bathroom, and, in its place, created my dream bathroom from scratch.

Brass Taps and Shower Head/Barber Wilsons, Wallpaper/John Lewis, Brass Wall Lamp/Balineum, Mug/Amazon.

"I knew there was something magical about this house the moment I first walked through the front door, and I was right. Although geographically the house is in Edinburgh, the six years we’ve been here have felt like living in our own colourful, fabulous little world, where anything is possible. I hope this home will continue to make people feel special long after we have left."

Thanks for the tour, Emily! You can find her blog, The Pink House here. and on Instagram.

PS- Emily's home is for sale! Click here for more info.

Credits//Author: Emily Murray. Photography: Susie Lowe.