Harry and Sal's Design Blog

HARRY: I do love breakfast in bed. So I am always in search of the perfect tray I stumbled on the one (below) at Room and Board. We've got Stelton's classic round tray (above) which is elegant but not really big enough. The only problem with the R&B one is the handles look like they would be uncomfortable. Has anyone tried one?

Labels: 94, Harry, Kitchen

posted by cerentha harris at 11/28/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: Holiday season seems well and truly here...I'm starting to think about christmas cards. I like the idea of a very simple card with no message that I can put a photo of the kids in. I've never seen one with a photo on the front that wasn't a bit tacky! I also like the idea of the kids making something. So may try that too. But I found this mix of cards around the web - click on each card for its link. Enjoy!

Labels: 94, Christmas, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 11/09/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I am so excited. We just 'won' a painting on ebay. I mentioned awhile ago that I was obsessing over the indigenous art on ebay. Well, the obsession paid off. I know I shouldn't think about it as winning - but we did win. We got it! It's the piece above by Louise Numina. Her aunts are Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre - two indigenous artists I really admire but cannot afford. They are Utopia region artists, about 270 kms from Alice Springs in central Australia. Numina's work is graphic, dynamic and powerful and I am so thrilled to have one in my house. It's the kind of thing you imagine passing on to your kids. The gallery that sells them has a great rating so I am feeling good about it all. I'll let you know if it never arrives!

Labels: 94, Art, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 11/03/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: Ahhhh...Christmas. My husband and I used to give each other art as gifts. And then we had kids and somehow we fell into the background and Thomas the Tank Engine and buckets of dinosaurs took over. Well, the kids are getting older and we are slowly getting back our focus. I want art again! I have always loved the work of Narelle Autio. She was (and still is) a photographer at the Sydney Morning Herald where I used to work. In her spare time she has perfected the art of underwater photography. You can see one of her pics above (to see more - and buy - go to Stills Gallery). She is also included in a beautiful new book (and exhibition at the Museum of Sydney) called 'Sydney Now: New Australian Photojournalism' (it'll be out in December). I interviewed the book's editor for Monument magazine - it really is an extraordinary snapshot of life in Sydney right now.

Labels: 94, Art, Gifts, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 10/30/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: Our renovation is on board to start up early next year. So I am thinking more seriously about....everything. I'm trying to figure out lights right now. DWR has picked up Tom Dixon's lovely copper pendants and David Trubridge's planet-friendly light fitting (below). And then of course there's the amazing Noguchi shades. I like the idea of these fine sculptural pieces. There's something ethereal and lovely about a paper light fitting.

I'm heading south to Melbourne for three days so I'll leave you in Sal's very capable hands til Sunday!

Labels: 94, Harry, Lighting

posted by cerentha harris at 10/24/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I bought my husband a rather selfish present for father's day last month (one of those gifts that was as much for me as him!) It was the new beautifully illustrated and researched book on Australian aboriginal art, One Sun, One Moon. We've been interested in these beautiful paintings for a long time but never known enough about them to feel confident buying one. Armed with lots of knowledge from the 'One Sun' I've now started doing my own research. I'm collecting info on reputable galleries - like Cooee, Annandale, The Artery and Flinders Lane in Melbourne (who ship to the US). But I've also discovered art on ebay. My brother's lovely girlfriend just bought two wonderful graphic aboriginal paintings on ebay so I checked it out and am now bidding on 6! I'm hopeless, hopeless, hopeless with this kind of stuff. But they all seem like such bargains - (and, best of all, most ship to the US). Of course, there are good dealers and not so good dealers but it's easy to check all that stuff out on ebay and with Google. Right now I'm loving the work of Mitjili Napurrurla (above) and the amazing Gloria Petyarre (below) and Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri (bottom). I'll let you know if any of my ebay finds work out!

Labels: 94, Art, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 10/20/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: even the most horticulturally challenged amongst us can enjoy this little bonsai. Such a sweet design. Joji Okazaki has created a cardboard tree that you simply slip together. No scissors or glue ... and no watering. For more Joji products check out the online store at Smoggy Mountain Home. Lumen, below, is another no fuss bit of nature for your home. Not as rustic or crafty as the bonsai I do love the shadow this little light throws.

Labels: 94, Green, Harry, Lighting

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 10/04/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I'm going to do the books page for Monument so I've started making a list of publishers to approach (I need to know what's coming out) and I came across this book. An interesting concept - 1000 things to see, do, eat, before you die. Plays into lots of interesting anxieties! I can't wait to get this book and check out how many of the buildings I have already seen. And with great buildings in mind I stumbled across German photographer Thomas Mayer's cleanly designed website a few days ago and have been trawling through ever since. One of the most beautiful buildings must be Le Corbusier's Chapel Notre-Dame Du Haut. I've seen a lot of shots of it but this series really captures the magnificent light. What an inspiration. I haven't visited it. Maybe that's my next trip?

Labels: 94, Books, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 10/02/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY I'm back again. Just. We're still up to our eyeballs in boxes and both the kids are sick (we've been juggling vomit buckets with dust rags all day). Brian just connected the Bose so at least we have music (this system is amazing...I highly recommend it. Great sound and it looks sleek). No TV til next week. And we seem to live at IKEA. I think those guys should give you free coffee after the third visit. Or at least a discount. The kids rooms has finally taken shape...so now they can get feverish in comfort. Got the dotty bedspread above, the rug below (which is a lot richer in real life - lots of earthy reds and greens). Finally got the Bookworm up - it took three of us, including my father who is a builder. Now it is home to everything from a Batman doll to books and weird little wooden Mexican winged things my brother gave the kids. Their room looks really cool. And ours? Well, it sucks. But I start on that tomorrow. Definitely no more IKEA.

Labels: 94, BedBath, Harry, Kids

posted by cerentha harris at 9/17/2007 1 Comments

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HARRY: Sal is absolutely right. We do get carried away roving the net. It's so easy to post something glam that we could never afford! And good design can so be expensive. But it doesn't have to be. My friend Ruth introduced me to the joys of Cost Plus World Market in Los Angeles. Such a bad name for a such great store! I'm looking for rugs for the kid's room right now and although these guys don't ship to Australia (such a shame) they've got some inexpensive graphic rugs. I got heavy white curtains yesterday for their room from IKEA that have a giant green leaf pattern ($59 for two extra long panels). I want to get a simple graphic woven wool rug for the floor. I'm now deciding between black and white (like the ones above) or warm red tones (like the one below). Something that they can run riot on and I wont be worried about. If anyone knows a good spot for rugs in Sydney ... let me know!

Labels: 94, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 9/10/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: I'm back. A few days by the sea has left me very relaxed. Maybe a bit too relaxed. It's hard to get back into work. We move back into our house on Friday (our tenants are moving out early...yippeeee!) So this week is going to be very busy. And just like Sal, I am obsessing over desks. I've decided on trestle legs and a white top from IKEA...it's definitely the cheap-as-chips option that will get us through to the renovation. Then we'll build something fabulous in. If I could choose anything? It's a toss up between the Eames desk and one by Modernseed (below). In the meantime, IKEA here I come...

Labels: 94, Harry, Office

posted by cerentha harris at 9/09/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY I got an elegant Stelton tray for mother's day this year. I really enjoy using it but for some things it is too small. It certainly doesn't cut it as a breakfast-in-bed tray. I found these lovely Deadly Squire trays yesterday (above top). I also like these bent bamboo trays from Portland-based Michael Arras that I found on etsy. And I am quite partial to these Marimekko trays. Then there is always Offi's walnut tray (above bottom) that seems the most table-like of the lot.

Labels: 94, Dining, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 8/26/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY I came across these paper clocks while trawling through the dedece+ online store. They've got some great stuff although the site takes forever to load (maybe safari isn't quite right for it). I like the way the Japanese designers at D-BROS have taken a very simple idea and made it even simpler. These clocks come flatpacked. You unfold the paper, attach the hands and a little mechanism to the back and viola! A clock you can pin to the wall. Love it.

Labels: 94, Clock, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 8/20/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY My dad and I just got back from a trek to IKEA. (My father and I clearly share the same shopping gene). I love that all that interesting design is being bought by every man and his dog. I don't love that every man and his dog is there when I'm there. What a crazy place. So packed full of stuff. So cheap. Some of it's great and some of it's just going to fall apart before you get it home. I did find this lovely cushion for my daughter. Also found good kid's beds and a simple cheap desk for me (until we finish the renovation and figure out what will happen in my office this trestle table will be perfect). If I had a bigger budget I'd order the kid's bed (pictured below) from notneutral - they've got wonderful furniture. Right now I'm glad to be home in one piece with a glass of wine, a bowl of corn chips and our pretty new pillow.

Labels: 94, Furniture, Harry, Kids

posted by cerentha harris at 8/19/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY This week I interviewed Emmanuelle Flahault, a wonderful French designer, for an interiors magazine. She has a very cool homewares and fashion range under the label Nell (she's also makes a lush chocolate cake...check out the recipe on her website.) Her apartment is very like her homewares range - but I wont give too much away before the magazine hits the newsstand. One thing I can tell you about is the cool National Geographic world map Emmanuelle had pinned up on her landing. It's HUGE and glorious. And I want one bad! (Sorry about this pic...you're going to have to look past the girl in the naf green t-shirt...) I also found this online map shop that sells cool map murals.

Labels: 94, Art, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 8/17/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY We'll be back in our house soon. Our furniture arrives from LA in a few days. I'm obsessing over the kids' room. My two year old keeps asking to go home - she has no idea where home actually is. So I want there bedroom to be wonderful. I love this vinyl wall decal from Ich&Kar. I can see it on their wall with little red ladybugs and blue birds dotted through it. And if anyone knows where to find a cool bunkbed please let me know!

Labels: 94, Harry, Kids, Walls

posted by cerentha harris at 8/16/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: OK. I can already hear Sal sighing. I know it's hot in LA but this is too good not to post and you guys - it will get chilly again. Plus, you're going to need time to save up for this one. It's around $6000 from a Spanish company called Climalis. Designed by Andrea Crosetta the Bubble Chimney can be wall mounted or hung from the ceiling. Amazingly it made it onto treehugger so it's got the green tick - although they do recommend using a certain kind of log to burn in it. I can definitely see this warming a corner of Sal's new house.

Labels: 94, Fireplace, Green, Harry, Heating

posted by cerentha harris at 8/09/2007 2 Comments

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HARRY: Clearly I'm on a colour roll right now. My Sydney-based cousin, Asia Upward, is a photographer and she just spent some time in Los Angeles casting her artist's eye over a new scene. I love the series she took on the way to Napa. They left very early in the morning and you can see the sun getting brighter as they leave the city. The first few are a wonderful eerie blue. Asia prints them on archival paper and says the best size is A3 (which is 297 x 420 mm or 11.7 x 16.5 inches) but she can print them any size you like! An A3 print is $100 (AUS). You can reach her by email (asiaupward@yahoo.com).

Labels: 94, Art, Harry

posted by cerentha harris at 8/07/2007 0 Comments

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HARRY: It's wrong, I know, to love a dining chair. But I do love my Eames DCM. Sal posted her new tag (711) for their house renovation - we will also be renovating our place in Sydney. We're working with great architects and can't wait to get started. And, although it wont begin til next year (2008) we've still managed to start shopping for a house that only appears on paper. I'll tag my stuff 94 (our house number) so you'll have an idea of what we're collecting. When we moved to LA two years ago we bought these DCM chairs for the new house in Sydney. Hilarious. But we needed an excuse to spend that much money. They were worth every penny. They are so comfortable and they look like a piece of sculpture. What more could you ask for from a chair? Best of all Herman Miller is releasing them in new colours this fall - imagine the chair in purple?

Labels: 94, Dining, Furniture, Kitchen, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 7/16/2007 1 Comments

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