Hamptons Style on the Sunshine Coast

Although we Kiwi's claim the 'pavlova' as ours, looking at this gorgeous Sunshine Coast home, I believe that Hamptons style may have snuck into Aussie first.

A Nantucket Beach House

I haven't posted a house tour for a couple of weeks, so I thought you would enjoy touring this gorgeous Nantucket beach house.

Making an Entrance - A Black Door

Just as a white door can look striking against a black or grey house, a black door against white or pale grey paintwork can look amazing. However, if you have a narrow door, painting it black it can make your doorway look smaller, so let's look at a simple trick to prevent this.

An Italian style Villa in Greece

Of course a Greek bathroom has to be marble

Today I thought I'd whisk you away to the blue skies and azure seas of Greece, where a short stroll away from the port of hydra, lies a stunning, 18th Century, stone mansion. Originally designed by Genovese architects, hence its likeness to an Italian villa, the mansion perches on a hillside with country and coastal views.

My New Build Hamptons Style Beach House - Revealed

Above: Excuse me being in this shot, I was too much in a rush

Everyone knows I love Hamptons style, so much so it has been my dream to have a beach house with an interior that depicts all that is Hamptons and finally my dreams have come true.

My New Build Beach House - Follow the Journey

I have been a little secretive the past few weeks hinting at something I wanted to share but have I've been so preoccupied with my eldest son's wedding that I haven't had time to post. However, today is the day I can share my news and some photos of the progress of the new beach house I have purchased.

Spaces to Love - Week 8, Curb Appeal

Above: A pergola can make a huge impact on an entrance way - Landscape Designers AHBL Above - Designers AHBL

I'm sorry I have been absent this week, the next few weeks I am under a little pressure with one of my sons getting married as I have been asked to act as the florist and decorator. I also have another exciting piece of news, I have just purchased a new house, in fact, it is so new it was literally a concrete pad when I first viewed it a couple of weeks ago. Now the framing is up and the roof is due on shortly I have had to make a few quick decisions about colours. While searching for ideas I came across some pretty homes with plenty of curb appeal, in fact, one belongs to Gwyneth Paltrow.

A Modern Farmhouse Built with the Character it Deserves

Reading over this post I realise I might have come over a little strong when it comes to my comment on some of the new homes built in New Zealand. I refer not to private, architecturally designed homes but those built by speculators to make a quick dollar. I also realise that not everyone can afford to have an architecturally designed home, however, I am sure that even with a modest budget, some re-cycled materials could be included to add charm and character to the lower end market. In saying this, the home I am sharing today is definitely the high end of the market but if you are thinking of building a new home that feels like it has stood the test of time, I hope you can draw some inspiration from it.

A Fisherman's Cottage in Black and White

In New Zealand, it is the second official week of winter, however, today felt like a mid-summers day. Abandoning my winter woollies for a T-shirt and trainers, Poppy and I set out this morning for a long walk along the coast. Two hours later I found myself back at home and hopped on the computer to find something nice to share with you, quickly discovering this cute fisherman's cottage, it seemed appropriate on such a lovely day.

New England Style in West Sussex

Once in a while you come across a single image that wows you, it doesn't necessarily have to be grand mansion, it may be the simplicity but boldness of a space that makes an impression on you and when I first saw the image above,  it was wow factor and worthy of exploring more.

Kitchen Inspiration Week 2 - A Must see Kitchen

I was working on a post for this weeks kitchen inspiration on 'traditional meets contemporary', when I stumbled upon this gorgeous kitchen and decided it was worthy of a post of its own.

Bungalow - From Heritage To Contemporary

Growing up in New Zealand I wanted to live in one of those cute little villas you see in the Auckland suburbs of Ponsonby, however, when we were searching for the perfect do up, we ended up with a 1930's bungalow in a tree lined street in Mt Albert. Although it didn't have quite the same exterior charm as a villa, we found the interior more spacious and loved the built in features. The NZ bungalow is now the focus of a major new book about NZ bungalow architecture, 'Bungalow From Heritage to Contemporary', a stunning book I was keen to review.

Shingles and Shutters Adorn a New Build

I love homes with character, especially the traditional look of shutters and shingles, they are almost like the 'icing on the cake', so to speak. Looking at this beautiful architecture you may easily be fooled this home is over 100 years old, however it is actually a new build in traditional style. 

Cape Dutch House - Florida

When I came across a Cape Dutch house in Coral Gables, Florida, the architecture reminded me a little of the Spanish mission houses built in the early 1900's in New Zealand. The stucco exterior and terracotta tiled roof, not to mention the architectural curves are similar to the Spanish mission houses, however, the architecture of the Cape Dutch style has a charming cottage appeal to it.

A New French Style Home With Grand Appeal

I am sorry for my absence on Monday, we were among the 80,000 homes that have had no power since the early hours of Sunday morning due to a fire at a sub station in Auckland. Unfortunately we were also among the 18,000 that were the last to receive power again, yesterday. No power = no hot water = no cooking = no heating and of course no Internet, which was for me was worryingly the most devastating part. It is scary how dependant we become on an everyday necessity that is suddenly taken away from us. I felt so very sorry for the elderly with no family nearby, I just hope that their neighbours helped them out. We have no elderly neighbours so I pretty well sat and wallowed in my own sorrows, surrounded by House and Home magazines and sudoku puzzles and wrapped in a duvet. So, Monday's post was not to be, although I did share a home tour on my facebook page yesterday and wanted to share more images with my blog readers today.

An Original Cape House Renovation - Cosy and Countrified

The kitchen in this authentic Cape home first captured my eye. The glimpse of the contemporary art work and the brass and glass pendant lights, combined with the traditional style faucet made me want to explore more.

A Coastal Cottage Renovation

At first glance the old stone buildings in the image above could easily be situated in France, when in fact they are located in coastal Britain. The real connection lies with French architect, Alain Le Masson, DPLG. Alain's vast experience of converting old French buildings into fabulous homes has left his mark on this wonderful conversion. Alain's design blends the original cottage and outbuildings to create one spacious dwelling. His renovations have been sympathetic to the original building, yet taken advantage of modern materials and the amazing coastal view. With the ocean just a few feet away and set in peaceful surroundings, what more could you want!

Images copyright Sophie Lloyd images Maison-Deco

I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of this home, I am sorry I couldn't source more images of the interior. Next week I hope to bring you part two of the Mediterranean inspired interior I recently featured.

 Lee oxo

Images copyright: Sophie Lloyd source via

Grand Mansions in Auckland - Sneak Peek

Although I live in a small cottage, the suburb I reside in is fairly affluent and walking around the local streets sometimes feels like I am flicking through the pages of House and garden. There are some really beautiful homes in my neighbourhood and some have inspired and influenced me with my own home. Although my modest house cannot be compared, I realise the importance of 'Curb Appeal'. I believe ones exterior (house), should portray a little of your personality and what lies beyond your front entrance. A few weeks ago the front of my home far from fitted into this category but using ideas I have gleaned from the Internet and walking around my local suburb, my front exterior is currently receiving a makeover (to be shared on the blog). 

In the neighbouring suburb of Orakei, however, there is a street whose homes are definitely not in need of makeovers. In fact, listed as the most prestigious street in New Zealand, last week one of its mansions, sold for a whopping NZ$39 Million (not a typo!). I have never walked down this particular road but had heard about it, so recently my girlfriend and I donned our walking shoes, camera over shoulder and decided to head off to see what all the fuss was about. The street, which I will  not name to allow a little privacy, is located on a cliff top overlooking the harbour. Views to the city, Devonport and Rangitoto Island can be seen from the mansions who certainly don't need any help with their curb appeal. Grand iron gates, waterfalls, vast walls of travertine, stone pillars, immaculately landscaped gardens with pristine hedges and mass espalier surrounds. In an adjacent street were some smaller homes which I equally loved and although they might not have had the grand views and vast sections they were a little bit more manageable in my eyes and so I snapped away frantically in both streets to share a snapshot of the grand side of New Zealand.

The most stunning entrance I saw today

 The scent of Star Jasmine from the front of this grand stone home was unbelievable!

An amazing espalier

Symmetry works fabulously on exteriors and interiors

Although this wasn't the grandest home, I love its character

 A grand Tuscan home so large I could only photograph the entrance

A smaller home, I love the way the trees on either side have been tapered off at the top

An unusual colour but certainly a statement in architecture

Some of the sea views towards the city and marina below

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these homes, in a few weeks time I will be sharing the progress of the exterior of my own home which is currently undergoing a makeover. After the mansions, mine may be a little bit of a let down, however, I want to illustrate how a little landscaping can provide a lot of impact. My home is far from grand but I do love it and get great satisfaction as I complete each project. My makeover is minimum expenditure with maximum effect, the type of makeover I love and I hope you will enjoy. And, I noticed I do have one thing in common with the homes above, the abundant use of Star Jasmine and topiary which feature in my landscape plan.

Have a great week, its glorious sunshine here in Auckland and I hope it is where you are too.

Lee x

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A 'Grand Design' House Tour

If your a fan of Grand Designs you may remember seeing this amazing conversion featured as its 100th project on the UK version of Grand Designs. A 150 year old London water tower was re-developed to form a stunning contemporary home.  From its top floor named, the 'Prospect Room', there are fabulous 360 degree views across London which clearly shows why the architects featured so much glass. The interior design leans towards contemporary with a few rooms retaining a more traditional look. I love the blend of design and colours in this eclectic interior.

A glass wall allows fantastic natural light into the structure

A contemporary uncluttered kitchen with an industrial touch to the decor

The kitchen extends to the dining area, personally I am not so sure about the lighting

The old bricks have been retained in this area which work wonderfully with the chosen floor covering

 I love how the mirror echos the porthole style windows in the corners of this more traditional room.

Now this is the style of decor I really love, I am pleased the building has retained some character in some of its furnishing

 A contemporary look and feel to the open plan living area. Vast  areas of glass allow a light filled room

Soft blues/white used for the furnishing. The gorgeous lamps work fabulously with the oversized clock

looking across the living area

 The Top floor room with views across the London rooftops

Keeping a contemporary look in the bedrooms

 I like the bold use of wallpaper as a feature wall

 Soft restful colours used in this bedroom. If you like the look of the headboard you might want to read my recent DIY post with step by step instructions to make a linen headboard

Clean lines in this contemporary bathroom. The texture of the sink unit reflects the textures in the tiles

A fabulous free standing bath

And of course an outdoor rooftop garden. My only comment would be that I feel this area lacks a few substantial plants which may offer texture and great shade in the summer

If you want to see more of this home, please visit the link... here.

Images are copyright of jjlocations. The property is available for film and photo shoots, if you are interested in further information, please contact jjLocations.