Welcome to 2010...

i spy would like to say Happy New Year!
We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and that 2010 brings about all you are wishing for. After a long hiatus i spy will be back to blogging and (hopefully) inspiring you in 2010. We hope you will continue to visit us and leave your feedback — its very much valued and appreciated.
Heres to you! Cheers...
[image via The Society Inc. styling by Sibella Court - whose new book etcetera is an amazing treasure trove!]


Lonny : It's all the buzz...

Yes, your'e probably sick of us interior loving bloggers going on about Lonny magazine, so this is just a quick post to share with those of you who haven't heard about it (have you been without internet access? Perhaps living under a rock somewhere...) A big congrats to Michelle Adams & husband Patrick Cline on the launch of the online publication, I do love the feature on the Manhattan home of Ron Marvin [pictured above via Lonny]. So click away and enjoy...


Style at home : My house...

I thought I might try a few regular posts, one of them will be Style at home...an opportunity for you to submit some stylish pics of your place. I thought I would get it started today with my place. A little while back I was lucky enough to be featured in Home Beautiful's regular section Style Insight. I thought I would share the images from my home [although we have since moved and of course lots has changed] taken by the talented Sharyn Cairns and styled by Wendy Bannister. I'd always planned to share them for those who missed the article but have been so busy being inspired by others I had forgotten to do it!
The image above was our then living area, the colour scheme was inspired by black & white images of family and overseas travel. I added some framed black & white wallpaper as well, an easy diy project- and used gorgeous cushions from Linen House to glam it up and add some texture. I've since added a bit of colour to our living area but have kept it predominantly grey, black & white - the colour I added is probably only second to my favourite - chartreuse - perhaps images of that to come in a later post...

And here is the above mentioned favourite - purple, it was really the only colour in the living area and mostly shown in a group of vessels on the kitchen bench.

The dining area was inspired by texture, although it's hard to pick up in this pic, I love using white on mass, I only wish my existing old wall units were a washed timber like my gorgeous table newer from Surround, I do feel the orange toned beech veneer distracts from my concept of lots of white and texture, not to mention the very orange toned floorboards, had I been able to create the perfect area I think white washed boards or even a white textured rug on the floor and shelves in a really light birch or limed timber would have completed the overall look - plus a great pendant light...OK, now I am starting to daydream a bit - renting can be quite frustrating!

I also love to group glass vessels, my collection has grown since this shot above...

And lastly here is the master bedroom, with linen again from Linen House - I love their range of designs, always so on the mark for each season. As you can probably tell the painting is another diy job, but I like doing a bit of hands on artwork and its great to tie all the colours together with your art work...

I hope you enjoyed the first Style at home post, now I would love to hear from you, please send your Style at home pics and style notes to i spy via the email me link on the blog. It doesn't need to be your whole home, just one spot you are really proud of will do. Look forward to seeing your amazing pics, I know you are all so talented and creative...happy weekend!


Weekend inspiration: for spring & summer...

Just a short one, I found these images at rice in Denmark, they have the most gorgeous colourful pics that make me think of spring and summer - even the ones in their winter catalogue! And I just love the simple styling. Just felt like sharing them with you, here's hoping you have a bright weekend...

[all images via rice website]


Vince Letterpress: Text messages worth saving...

I already love Meaghan Barbuto from Vince Letterpress for her fabulously clever tagline on her recent advertising in Dumbo Feather - Text messages worth saving - I just love it, and agree with it. I love text messages as much as the next modern gal but how I do love the written word, a personally written note on a beautiful card.

So if you haven't already guessed Vince Letterpress is all about cards [and mustn't forget the limited edition prints such as the one shown at top]. The Melbourne studio fuses modern design and technology with traditional letterpress printing methods to produce quite unique cards. I love the vivid colour of the In the suburbs series [shown above] and the little details Meaghan creates such as the fact the envelopes for this series are made from old melways (Melbourne Street directory) maps. Another fabulous find at Life Instyle...For more on Vince and stockist info visit their website here. [all images via Vince website]