Re-Thinking The Way I Live

Well it has been an extended blog-cation over the busy tourist season, but I'm back with more inspiration and ideas to share and there are a few house stories coming out in the glossies too.

Next on my list of things to find is a new desk for my kitchen. Yes, that's right, I have decided to install a desk in my kitchen as I'm always in there anyway!

This idea was re-affirmed by a book I received at Christmas, "Re-Think The Way You Live" by former UK Elle Decoration writer and stylist, Amanda Talbot.  Amanda, who is now a Sydneysider, writes frankly about how she fell "out of love" with glossies when the effects of the Global Financial Crisis started to hit home.

All of a sudden many people she knew no longer had the cushion of a well-paid, glamorous job, if they had one at all. Although the priority often became finding the next rent or mortgage payment, the design gene never got completely suppressed - it just morphed into a new, more "real" attitude about interiors and a more inventive approach to how we live in them.

One of my favourite chapters is about a Japanese family and their quirky box-like living quarters, shown above. Having lived in Japan myself I would have to say that the Japanese are no strangers to small spaces and have been living like this for centuries and have made it into an art form like everything else.

"Re-Think" is a tactile journey to houses on different continents which share in this new wave of resourceful style. It resonates with many of us who feel the responsibilities of making sustainable design choices but never want to - or could ever give up - creative expression in our surroundings.

Turning the pages is a sensual experience thanks to the thoughtful design of a former colleague Kate Dennis at Ikon. Great job, Kate and congratulations to Tracy Lines and Murdoch Books for taking a punt on such an a-typical interiors book.