Fabric & Rattan Beach Hammocks :: Philippines

The islands of the Philippines are not short of white sandy beaches, swaying palm trees and picture perfect ocean views so what better place to find your perfect hammock!

Here's just a few I found on my travels...

A lovely purple string hammock.

The local traditional hand weaved rattan hammock... these are quite popular and very sturdy!

My favourite had to be this contrasting purple fabric.

Have fun.

Interior Design Workshops, Brisbane :: Mailing List

Whilst away I have been busy thinking of topics for future interior design and decoration workshops to be held in Brisbane. I have had many kind email enquires regarding my workshops asking when the next one will take place. 

I am still away until the beginning of May so have been using this time (dare I say whilst on the beach) to develop workshop topics, content, dates and venues for 2012. 

This is where I would be grateful for your help…I have created another poll in my sidebar and would love to hear your feedback on which workshop you would prefer from the following:

• Discovering your own design style
• How to decorate - the first steps
• How to use colour in your home
• How to design your bathroom
• How to design your kitchen
• How to design a natural modern home
• How to design a French inspired home
• How to design a Balinese style home
• How to design a coastal inspired home
• How to design a sustainable bathroom
• How to design a sustainable kitchen
• Recycling glass bottles in the home
• Recycling fabric in the home
• Recycling furniture in the home

If you are interested in these new interior design workshops please email me here. You will then be among the first to be notified of course details, costs, registration dates and course topics.

Thank you so much and have fun.

images by Porters Paints, Designer's Guild & Udessi

Modern Beach House :: Batangas, Philippines

If you have ever visited a busy Asian city such as Manila you can easily understand why the brief for this house was to create a modern, serene and luxurious oasis retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. 

Designed by the Philippine based architects Archipelago, this weekend retreat is located in Batangas and sits on a sloping block facing amazing views of Nasugbu Bay and the South China Sea. 

Love the spilt level room with the living area below - great for sloping land

The design is light and airy, with open plan living areas and high ceilings making the most of both the ocean views and coastal breezes which is so important in any tropical climate.

The colour palette is also cool and natural with hues of white, beige and natural stone flooring, decorated with nature inspired objects and artwork.

Simple clean lines for the house style and facade

I am sure you would agree this style of house would sit comfortably in most coastal tropical climates.

Have fun.

Tropical Island Colours :: Coron Island, Philippines

What can I say... The Philippines really is your tropical island paradise.

I couldn't help myself so had to take a few photos of the amazing colours that are used to decorate their traditional 'Bangka' island boats.

More beach therapy awaits. 

Have fun.

Coastal Tropical Interior Colour Palettes :: Sabah, Borneo, MalaysiaFabric and

My trip around Borneo was an interesting mix of modern, traditional and indigenous design but what remains with me is the colourful natural environment that is seen in the outdoors; the wildlife, marine life, tropical beaches, rainforest and stunning sunsets.

The sunset colours are really like this... absolutely stunning!

A vast choice of floating accommodation.
This would be very relaxing to most but I must admit it felt quiet strange for me to be sleeping 500mm above the sea with the sound of the waves lapping underneath the timber floor boards. 

A mix of fabric and bamboo panels decorate the walls.

Some rainforest tent and villa accommodation.

Courtesy images from the Bunga Raya Island Resort, the Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort, Lankayan Island Resort, Gayana Eco Resort and some of my own photos.

From nature there is always an endless supply of inspiration for interior colour palettes.

Have fun.

Traditional Housing & Longhouses :: Sabah & Brunei, Borneo

It's been a busy month with travelling around Sabah, Borneo then a quick trip to the UK for my sister-in-law's wedding - and now I am on a week stopover in Dubai before continuing on our travels to the Philippines.


Travelling around Borneo was great fun and interesting to see other house styles in this tropical climate. There is a actually bit of a mix between timber stilt housing (similar to the Australian Queenslanders), new terraced and townhouse developments and traditional and new community 'Longhouses'. 

A traditional 'Longhouse' literally means a large wooden communal structure, raised on stilts (in the case of the modern ones there is parking beneath) and the home and communal dwelling to one indigenous community or extended family.

In Northern Sabah there still remains the traditional timber Longhouses, this one belongs to the Rungus community and was originally 90 doors long with each dwelling being 3 meters in width, making a 270m longhouse! 

A traditional timber longhouse

The timber and bamboo construction allows for shade all day long in the private family rooms and the communal covered area.

Massive open plan communal living areas with open wall construction to allow for cooler air flow

It is designed with slanted side walls to allow the occupants to sit comfortably without the need for modern furniture! This is quite important as the Rungus women are renown for their skills as bead weavers and sit with their legs stretched out in order to produce their handicrafts.

Slated walls for leaning against, sleeping areas and all with minimal furniture

I was also invited to a more modern Longhouse in Brunei which was similar in layout but constructed in modern materials and with car parking spaces below.

Some communal furniture

Room below for car parking

Nowadays communities favour the modern town housing developments which are still similar in layout to the traditional longhouse community, thus still allowing for extended family living.

I wonder how we would all fair if we all lived so close to our extended families? 

Have fun.

Fabrics of India :: Indian Sari Fabric

On my last few days in India I had the pleasure of shopping for silk sari material to send back to Australia. 

Inspired by this wall hanging from a restaurant called Dal Roti in Fort Kochi that had been created from hand loomed cotton sari material, I was looking to source some fabric that can be used to make artwork for a rather large white wall I have at home. 

Artwork from Dal Roti (Left Image)

Sari material would be perfect for the job as each piece is about 5 metres in length and can come with different patterns printed within the one piece. Each piece of the artwork can then be created from different parts of the same fabric used to make up a complete sari.

Shopping for the sari material is quite an experience! First you are asked what price range you want to choose from and are then seated at the appropriate place along a long wide table that weaves it way around the shop in front of the hundreds of shelves full of amazing material. After explaining the colours and styles you are looking for the sales staff bring you a range of 5m long folded silk saris to choose between. As they extravagantly unfurl each sari it soon becomes clear why you need such a long table to see the complete design!

Shopping and fabric overload!

In my case I was looking for fabric that I can hang on the wall and had to ask the staff to hold these impressive 5m long pieces of fabric high up so that I could see what it would look like. This selection alone needed three people to hold it up!

After what seemed like many hours I had to rationalise my selection to just a few saris and walk away from the many beautiful designs that remained.

My final fabric selections

The fabrics have now been sent back home and I just cannot wait to get back in May to take another peak and start transforming them into artwork.

Have fun.