Things I have learned this week in Lady Darwin Land while plying my trade:

• Only other Designers (and maybe artists) know what colour ‘mineral’ is
• Drop sheets are necessary when painting even the smallest thing
• Cheaper is always cheaper
• Arguing with an old greek tradie is a futile pass time
• ‘Sky blue’ looks different in other peoples mind
• So does ‘grass green’
• People who like beige are boring
• Sometimes it is better to not say what you really think when viewing a new clients home
• You can fit a small dining setting in a tiny 4WD if you use your creative thinking
• If you cram solid timber dining chairs in your car you should take corners more carefully or you WILL smash a window
• Pointed toe pumps are a bad idea on building sites
• Expecting an electrician to know about light fittings and voltage is not a given in Darwin
• When rolling your eyes at people you should wait for them to turn away first
• When ordering samples be sure to first check that the person taking your request has a brain before proceeding or all your veneer samples will arrive as laminates instead
• Paint brands AND codes are very important when specifying
• Specifying that the brands you pick can’t be substituted is even more important
• You can get colour inspiration from market food
• Real estate agents are a shifty bunch
• It is very hard to infer sarcasm over the phone
• It is even harder to contain it when people ask stupid questions

Here’s what I’ve been reading this week…in between working away at my dining table cos my desk is a heaped mess of plans, quartz samples and bits of veneer mixed with coloured feathers, seashells and photographs. My beautiful mess is growing with each busy day.

A 2 part interview with Nahji Chu on art and the meaning of home. This part particularly resonated with me:

“Art is a tool for understanding how we behave and what our behaviour does to our psychology. Artists sit outside the temporality of commercial life, they deliberately live at a slower more considered pace – this gives them the perspective on all the speed and mayhem entrepreneurs like me create in the world. Maybe that is why so many entrepreneurs are also collectors – entrepreneurs know that artists are the key to different ways of looking at the world, a slower more considered gaze.”

All about Anne Ten Donkelaar and these most gorgeous and dainty flower constructions she makes from flowers, butterfly wings and other found treasures.

This most beautiful home of concrete, grey, white and oak in Brighton – see the full tour on Yellowtrace. 

PLUUUSSSS This week the Milan furniture fair was on, or the ‘Salone Del Mobile Milano’ for those of you in the know so I have spent some time this week trawling blogs for gossip on whats hot in design. LOTS is the answer to that! – there will be countless design wrap ups of it next week no doubt but for now you can see a guide to whats trending here.

Anyway it’s sunday and today I’m attempting to do some work around the pig sty /construction zone that is my house on my one day of  “not working” … Yes, that has become a long standing joke in my life – lucky I like early mornings.

Happy sunday to you! xox