1. Shelf/life- Cucumber Melon Candle

2. Shelf/life- Wire Mesh Oval Tray

3. Georg Jensen- Alfredo Glass Carafe

4. Georg Jensen- Alfredo Peacock Pitcher

5. Georg Jensen- Alfredo Oil/Vinegar Set

6.The Minimalist- Varpunen Handmade Sacks via The Design Files

7. Jen Booth- Leather Lockets via The Design Files

8. O’Clock- Interchangeable Watches

Image 5 from Concrete Playground

Arriving just before 9am, I was surprised at how busy the place was already. We were met by a friendly face and told that there would be a little wait and to take a wander around the garden until a table was ready. We happily strolled around the planter boxes filled with herbs and vegetables and were surprised to see a chook pen! The outdoor garden space is a breath of fresh air, scattered with old, rusted garden paraphernalia and quirky jar lights suspended over long, rustic communal tables. After being seated, we were quickly served coffee and bacon and egg sandwiches with a homemade tomato chutney – delish! The service was quick and friendly and the interior design is industrial-chic.

The Grounds of Alexandria

1.Paloma Picasso Marrakesh dome pendant, $750 Tiffany & Co.
2. Missoni Giacomo bath sheet, $165, Top3 By Design
3. Copenhagen Candlestick, $350, Georg Jensen
4. Long Moon Choker, $280, Dinosaur Designs
5. Yellow Stem tree coat stand, $1045, Top3 By Design
6. Toner $59, Hydrate + $120, deep cleanse $51, Aesop
7. Marimekko Unikko Teapot, $129 and mugs, $29ea, Nordic Fusion
8. Hula side table, $295, Beyond Furniture
9. Hermoine pony bag with leather trim, $420, Sambag
10. Leather Pony Travel Wallet, $119, Marcs
11. Pantone iPad2 case, $54.90, Top3 By Design
12. Breakfast at Tiffany’s book, $9.95, Penguin Books Australia
13. Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb Perfume, $99.99, Lasoo

Lower Two Images – the Marchetti stand brought the circus to town, using a white palette as a base, their latest range of furniture was inspired by the circus & featured warm finishes acessorised with quirky circus inspired accessories.

Clockwise From Top: All wrapped up; keeping count of their golf ball chairs at Gufram, some soccer chairs at Campeggi; Architect Jean Nouvel just chilling on the roof reading a book (a collaboration between the Architect and Bolon to launch a new material); upcycling old shirts at Casamania; the Grinza Chair & Cousin IT inspired Cabana’s from Edra.

And here is me testing out Normann Copenhagen’s Bunny Chair – yep comfy & cute!

Marc Newson’s ‘Rocky‘, Left, as seen at the fair and right, as seen in the Magis showroom.

Here I will provide a run down of the specific trends we noticed:

Colours:

- Grey: all shades, mixed together grey formed the base of the colour palette for most rooms with colours and textures layered on to it.

- Grey + Mustard Yellow: A winning combination that we have already been seeing, this colour combo was prominent so expect it to stick around.

- Mustard Yellow + White: We’ve been seeing the mustard with grey for a little while, the mustard with white combo was bold and fresh, stick to just the two colours for a statement bookcase or sofa

- Grey + White + Mustard Yellow + Timber + Metal + Brown: Yep, mix them all together in one setting, we saw this everywhere, and it worked amazingly well, choose the tones in various materials, such as timber, matt poly, gloss poly, glass, fabrics, leathers & paints, the overall tone is still muted and earthy so its surprisingly easy to work with, use a rug to tie the elements together.

Colour Trends: Mustard Yellow

(Colour’s Cont’d)

- Burnt Orange: Coming in second to mustard yellow, burnt orange was prominent, teamed with grey for a contemporary spin, or with timbers & brown tones for a nostalgic take, we also saw it worked into living room spaces featuring the mustard yellow, expect to see a lot more orange soon

- Teal Blue/Green: A close third in the colour pop stakes, the teal green was popular for rugs, prints, side tables & accessories, a lovely accent colour for warm interiors and it works well with the mustard yellow and burnt orange

Colour Trends: Burnt Orange

 Materials & Finishes:

- Matt Finishes: we saw a lot of matt poly finishes, it worked well as a base for mixing materials, it was most often paired with coloured glass, or timber

- Metal & Stone Veneer: Whilst not the most stand out trend, we definitely spotted metal cladding & stone cladding on furniture, including dining tables, coffee tables & bedside tables

- Luscious Leather: Thick, raw leather was the choice this year, luxuriously soft to the touch (like suede) & used in abundance on soft, oversized sofa’s, this type of leather is pure luxury, its expensive and hard to care for, so we don’t think we’ll see too many in homes, though I think the generous proportions, inviting ‘plumpness’ and exposed/piped seams will translate through

- Fabric Sofas & Beds: the ‘loose cover’ linen fabric sofas & beds were seen everywhere, which gives the furniture a lovely casual elegance, we also saw lots of unusual textural fabrics featuring on beds (fabric beds were everywhere, in all shapes and sizes), on fabric finished furniture expect to see revealed seams, contrasting stitching, piped seams etc.

Materials & Finishes: Fabric Beds & Stone Bedsides

Design & Display:

- Wall Units: This year, everything was wall mounted, everywhere you turned was a different interpretation of the wall unit, we know one thing for sure, wall units are here to stay, and there is a wall unit solution for every need, including media needs in the living room as well as the study, the bedroom, the dining room, the kids room, and just about anywhere else you have a spare wall.  The modern interpretation is less structured, ‘stick them where you want them’ for this latest trend & mix colours and materials as you please.  The great thing about these units is that with just a few modular pieces you can create an endless variety of solutions that solve media, storage and display issues, perfect for the modern home as you can customise to suit – so clear your walls and get ready to get hanging.

- Modular Bookcases: When their wasn’t a wall unit there was a modular bookcase, full height, double height, running the length of a showroom & turning corners, choose your height, choose your width then fill as you wish.

Design & Display: Wall Units & Bookcases

- Coffee Tables: With the walls taken care of, what was happening in the middle of the room? Well, one of two things, either 4 large square tables were placed together to make one ‘mega’ coffee table, great for those with cavernous living rooms, or clusters of side tables and ottomans were used, mixing different colours, heights and materials together for volume and interest, this look is highly functional as well as the tables & ottomans can be moved around as needed & adapted to what you’re doing.

Design & Display: Coffee Table Trends

Layered Rugs: This was a hot look, (as seen in the coffee table image above), multiple rugs overlaid for a modern bohemian feel, look for thin woven style rugs with a similar base colour tone, then choose one feature colour.  This is great for warming up large open plan rooms and helping to visually organise the space into smaller more intimate areas.

And the best of the rest:

A selection of images that show off the general Milan 2012 ‘look’

Milan Fair 2012 - The Look

So, now that I am home & recovered from the Jet lag I can share some of the experience from the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair.  The most impressive aspect for a first time visitor is the sheer size of the Fair, the pavilions and the exhibitions set up by the exhibitors.  There were 8 modern furniture halls in all to get through, and it took us 2.5, 9am – 6:30pm days just to wander through these, it was tiring and overwhelming at times, but the incredible array of furniture on display, and the fit out’s of the exhibitors stands were just incredible, and it was worth checking out every single one.  Not all exhibitors permitted photographs, but I have provided as many as I could of the stand out displays:

Estel’s huge stand featured metal construction with over sized drum pendants.

Brunner created an intimate space with black printed walls and a dynamic ceiling

The outdoor furniture companies always attracted attention with hits of bright green plants, this DeCastelli exhibition provided a private space with metal clad walls and an enticing setting to draw people in, the construction represented their new line well, as they showcased metal clad storage units, that opened up to reveal the storage inside.

The exterior of Pedrali’s space, which concealed giant ‘wheels’ inside, each wheel contained a set of chairs.

Dedon’s space was an enticing tropical oasis filled with greenery and butterflies.

Gruppo Sintesi led visitors through a converted warehouse with a barnyard feel to show off their wares

The internal ‘courtyard’ of Gruppo Sintesi’s stand

An enticing entry way & sneak peek into Felice Rossi

The bar at Rolf Benz, most stands would serve up refreshments to tired visitors! The bigger stands would feature incredible bar spaces.

I also love that Elk takes on a sustainable approach being a member of the Go Green organisation ensuring all timber is sourced from sustainable plantations.

The 7 Row Wood necklace- my fav from the collection, love the two tone.

A unique piece, the  Artichoke necklace is a great length made from a smooth resin.

Formed in the shape of gingko leaves the Gingko necklace is a simple yet elegant statement.

The Wide, Wave Wood bangle is handmade from smooth dyed wood and available in 4 great colours!

Elk also offers textiles and knitted apparel with a ‘cabin range‘ that offers some interior pieces made from natural materials including knits, felt and leather.

Alpaca Loop Snood- Looks great in Mustard!

If bought online they send your purchase in a lovely gift box, or you can also add a beautiful felt pouch which is great for storing and makes the Elk experience all the more enjoyable!

Like them on Facebook!

Images Source: Elk Accessories

Walking along the bays edge you really experience the beauty of this town with its quaint historic buildings to one side and to the other, a foreground of boats scattered along the jetty with the hazy mountain ranges behind.

Of course we stopped in at one of the cafés and order crepes and coffee.

With many French restaurants in the town we chose ‘the little bistro’ for dinner and shared a bottle of their own Wobbly Chair White. The meals were delicious and and we were treated to a yummy entree and not to mention great service.

On our way out of Akaroa we stopped at the lighthouse and were able to quickly admire its great view as it sits over looking French Bay.

With a multitude of artworks and installations on display, I headed down to check it out last week and was not disappointed. The sleek new addition of carefully designed ‘building blocks’ by local architect Sam Marshall allow for huge gallery space with contemporary finishes and the carefully positioned sneak peaks to the beautiful surrounding views.

Every now and then you faced with glimpse of the stunning harbour that is just outside. Whether it be through the clear glass encased lift, the windows in the learning centre or the awesome sculpture terrace on the rooftop, the Museum’s prime location is celebrated through the new addition.

‘Automated Colour Field’ 2011 by Rebecca Baumann – A series of flip clocks mounted in a grid with the numbers replaced by bright coloured cards – each clock flicks per minute, revealing a new pop of colour.

‘Sunrise #3′ 2005 by Robert Owen – This bold geometric artwork is all about structure, colour, perception and light. It is designed with the ability to be moved to another space and reconfigure by flipping and reorienting to suit different walls.

The main thing that I wanted to see at the MCA was ‘The Clock’ by Christian Marclay. It is displayed in the huge Level 1 Gallery in the new Mordant wing – this space features a massive screen with approximately 30 comfy sofas spread out to lounge on while watching the 24 hour video art piece.
“The Clock comprises several thousand short extracts from cinema history, each suggesting a particular time of day or referencing a specific moment, often through the appearance of a watch or clock-face.
They are edited together to form a continuous visual sequence synchronised with the real time of visitors in the gallery who watch the film; and they suggest countless interlocking narratives despite the constant changes in genres, eras, locations and plot lines.”
A must see!

Container Mall

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An attraction in themselves, these simple containers have created a space with a strong architectural element with their clean lines and industrial feel. Sitting in one of the container cafes it is easy to appreciate the remarkable design element that has been a result of what otherwise was a horrific situation.

Container Cafe

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Although Christchurch is in the state of rebuilding, the Botanic Gardens were largely unaffected by the quake, we spent half the day here and were able to appreciate the tranquil surrounds.

Christchurch Botanic Gardens

While in Christchurch we stopped for dinner at The Running Bull, they serve an amazing burger called the Big Billy Burger, definitely worth trying when in Christchurch.

The Big Billy Burger

Stay posted for more on my NZ trip!