Reviews

At Decor & U we’re always reading and watching the latest in interior design news - hence the HUGE pile of magazines, assorted books, website printouts and DVDs that are scattered around our studio!!
With summer upon us and the festive season looming ever closer, we thought we’d share some of our recent finds. Whether you’re planning a new project or are just interior design crazy like us, we hope you find these holiday browsing suggestions both useful and inspiring. They might also help you narrow the field if you’re trying to choose the perfect Christmas gift for a design savvy friend!

Books:

My Heart Wanders
Author: Pia Jane Bijkerk
Published 2011 by Murdoch Books
Available at selected bookshops or www.amazon.com

We love, love, love this book. Definitely a favourite of 2011, it is truly delightful. A whimsical tale that celebrates “taking risks, letting go and making a home wherever you are.” Gorgeous photographs of Parisian and Dutch interiors, lovingly created with antiques and found objects, are interspersed with the author’s description of her heart’s journey from Sydney to Europe and the true-love that she discovered there. Pia Jane Bijkerk is an Australian stylist, photographer and author. This is truly a lovely and inspiring book and one we highly recommend.
You can also visit Pia Jane Bijkerk’s website at http://blog.piajanebijkerk.com/
Just like her book, it makes for wonderfully inspiring reading.

Hand Made Home: Living With Art and Craft
Authors: Mark and Sally Bailey
Published 2011 by Ryland Peters and Small
Available at selected bookshops or www.amazon.com

Another fabulous read, with great photographs to tempt and inspire. This is the third book for Mark and Sally Bailey, owners of the renowned English homewares store Baileys Home & Garden. Here they have turned their attention to the real-life homes of various artists, craftspeople and collectors. The result is a wonderful guide through the elements of handmade style, colour, texture, textiles and the innovative ways to collect, curate and showcase treasures for the home. The simple layout and clean photography complements the duo’s clear writing style and this is a book that you will be happy to browse through many, many times.

Design * Sponge at Home
Author: Grace Bonney
Published 2011 by Artisan
Available at selected bookshops or www.amazon.com

Also a feast for the eyes! This long awaited and beautifully put together publication is full of good ideas for the home. The content is divided into chapters with self-explanatory titles such as Sneak Peeks, DIY Projects, DIY Basics and Flower Workshop. Sneek Peeks is a great opportunity to look inside the homes of creative people from all over the globe (including Lynn Gardener, owner of the iconic Melbourne homewares shop, Empire Vintage. See p 50). The DIY and flower sections are both practical and encouraging – there are at least three or four projects there that I intend to try myself over the summer break. Fingers crossed!
The author, Grace Bonney, is a stylist, designer and founder of renowned blog, Design*Sponge . It’s the most popular design site on the web with 75,000 unique daily visitors! Understandably, Grace has a well deserved reputation for her great taste and keen eye and even more for helping everyday people feel confident with making design decisions that are based on being comfortable and expressing their own unique individuality. That’s a philosophy we support 100% If you haven’t already visited her website and you’d like to check out some more sneek peeks or great DIY advice you can visit Design*Sponge at www.designsponge.com We think you’ll like it!

DVDs

Call us predictable but we just can’t go past Kevin McCloud and the Grand Designs Series. Each program features a number of couples bravely embarking on a major endeavour – building or renovating their own homes. Their circumstances are often difficult, budgets are usually blown and some of their design aspirations are truly mind-boggling. If you’re an architecture fan, it makes for compelling viewing every time.
We also like Grand Designs Abroad and Kevin McCloud Slumming It. In Abroad, Kevin embarks on a grand tour of Europe taking in some of the continent’s most iconic buildings. Slumming It is an ambitious journey through a densely populated slum in Mumbai - Dharavi. It’s completely fascinating, and a big wake up call to the West. Dharavi is now being hailed by architects and town planners as providing solutions to major urban problems such as crime and lack of sustainability. It’s both entertaining and educational – great watching!
Available at ABC Bookshops throughout Australia.

Magazines

Summer is the time to start thinking about new magazine subscriptions for the year ahead.
There are so many great publications out there that it’s hard to pin down just a couple, but we’ll give it a go anyway. Here’s just three we really like….

Peppermint is an Aussie publication that describes itself as “the green fashion magazine, celebrating eco and ethical style with a fun, fresh, intelligent and positive spin” and we certainly don’t disagree! It’s an enjoyable read from with interesting interviews and features on all things stylish.
Available in selected newsagents and through subscription at the Peppermint website: www.peppermintmag.com



Another quality Australian magazine we like to dip into often is Slow. Published quarterly, it’s a lifestyle and cultural mag that regularly features articles on home design, interiors and craft. Slow Magazine is focused on living life in the slow lane and making the most of the time you’ve got – just perfect for the sunny summer holidays ahead.

Available at quality newsagents throughout Australia , selected bookshops and via subscription at the Slow website www.slowmagazine.com.au

Frankie is a bi-monthly magazine that covers design, art, photography, fashion, travel, music, craft, interiors and real-life stories. Intelligent and friendly, it’s also beautifully presented. From cover to cover, Frankie is a consistently good read. Enjoy!

Available via subscription at www.frankie.com.au or to purchase in quality newsagents

If you liked our recommendations or think there’s a book, dvd, website or magazine we should feature next time then please let us know by sending an email to kate@decoru.com.au. We’d love to hear from you