Capital Kitchen Melbourne

Because I am supposed to be doing my taxes, not blogging, I'm putting up photos of the Capital Kitchen restaurant in Melbourne {designed by Mim Design} without my usual rambling.  I have no idea where I first saw this restaurant but I really do love it.

via Remodelista

Pictures like this one and also this one from the Friends of Mine Cafe in Melbourne appeal to the side of me that always wants to be super organized. I can't say I'm always this successful keeping my own stuff this organized.

via Remodelista

via Remodelista

via Remodelista

Friends of Mine Cafe, Melbourne

Recently I decided that I would start saving up for a 6 month trip around the world and have been adding to a google map I've started where I put all the places I'd like to visit when I go.  Friends of Mine has certainly made the list, if only for coffee since I'm pretty sure my budget will be of a shoestring variety. It looks like a great little coffee shop & restaurant in Richmond, Melbourne with an interior I love.

Snap-Story via Flickr

They have a walk-up coffee window which I think is fantastic. 

Snap-Story via Flickr

These little yellow stools remind me of something you'd see on a science fiction movie with their little claw feet.

Snap-Story via Flickr

The indoors is yellow, black, and white with a lot of natural materials and it has a rustic cafe feel with glamorous touches.  Brick and chandeliers.

Snap-Story via Flickr

Snap-Story via Flickr

Snap-Story via Flickr

Snap-Story via Flickr

I know these plants don't have much to do with the design of the place but am I the only one who is always tempted to pop the little bubble leaves?

Snap-Story via Flickr

Cocoon Fires

I fell in love with these tiny mod fireplaces at the ICFF by Cocoon Fires.  They stand or hang from the ceiling and run on ethanol.  It looks like they are currently only available in Australia and New Zealand.  That is a bit disappointing but perhaps they will be available in the States soon.  The only unfortunate thing about these fireplaces being vent free is that many places in the US don't allow vent free fireplaces anyway {NYC & California for sure don't allow them}.

Wouldn't it be great to have one of these on a porch for cold spring and fall nights?

{photo: jeanine}

Hotel Realm, Canberra, Australia

I love these simple images of the Hotel Realm, a 5 star hotel in Canberra, Australia. It's clean and modern but the designers had a bit of fun with the furniture and the hanging sculpture in the lobby so it's not quite so serious.












I also love the curved wall. I have found that I automatically put a curved wall in all of the commercial work I do, I'm not sure why and I'm not always conscious of doing it but at least one makes it's way into every project. It certainly breaks up long, straight corridors.





{photos: stevebaty/ / CC BY 2.0}

Rose Street Market

I've been cooped up sick all week. I'm sad that I couldn't meet a friend for coffee since I have a sore throat still. Equally sad is that Rose Street Market in Australia so far away. This would be the perfect place to meet for Sunday coffee.



With it's mix of colors it even looks cheerful on a rainy day.

(photos: spin_spin/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

Organic Fabrics, Fabulous Tea Towels & Modern Baby Toys

I occasionally go on searches for fabulous new organic fabrics. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not, but I always seem to find the most amazingly modern and organic fabrics printed in Australia. They appear to be ahead of everyone else on this effort.

My latest fabulous find is from spin spin handmade's Etsy shop!! The fabrics are a mixture of hemp and organic cotton and they are printed with water-based inks.


She makes some great tea towels which are almost too pretty to use....


....and stuffed alphabet elephants too!! They are the most adorable kid toys.


(photos: spin_spin/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

Ish & Chi's Studio

Speaking of artwork and DIY projects....

I found images of this studio, by Viv of Ish & Chi, browsing on Flickr, which led to finding her posts on renovating the studio on her blog and was instantly in love. The studio was created out of a portion of her basement and is used for her artwork. You can see a more extensive description of the process and space here.

Blue happens to be a color I can't stay away from, so I think that might be part of the reason I initially loved the space. But the mix of the modern and traditional furniture is perfect.



I am a huge fan of secret pretty things like wallpaper or shelf paper in drawers, behind shelves and in closets. Something that will make people smile when they look inside, and this sideboard certainly does that.


The butterfly mobile is fabulous. I saw a great image in Living Etc last year sometime with butterflies like this all over the wall of a nursery, and this mobile creates the same kind of feel (without all the DIY work).

Viv pays attention to the smallest detail, she even covered her clip boards with fabric before hanging them.


The best way to store fabrics, I have found, is to hang them on hangers and here is the perfect example of how well that works. It makes it so much easier to browse what you have and when you are done browsing you don't really have to straighten like you do with stacks of fabric.


Viv uses these fabrics to create fabric art pieces, like the one below, which she sells in her Etsy shop.


I think that this is one of the more fabulous studios I have seen lately. It has really inspired me to start to tackle all the projects I have been putting off.

Great job, Viv!

{photo: ishandchi}

Coffee Cup Mural

The Marilyn Monroe mural on the wall in Perth, Australia is made entirely of different brown-toned coffee mugs. When you look at it closely you can see the handles all pointing to the upper left.


It's sort of a large scale modern interpretation of a pointillist painting where the tiny dots are replaced with large mugs.

{photo: julieheron100}