Savills

Everyone loves going to Open Homes, don't they? Even if you're not in the market for buying, it's kind of fascinating seeing how others live, and their decorating style. Well hold on to your hats, because today I have the ultimate sneak peek into, not one, but three amazing properties. All three are listed with Savills, a global real estate company with an international network of over 500 offices throughout the world - super impressive!

We'll start at 'Stilwater', an amazing Glasgow home set in over 6 acres with it's own private loch. Formed over two levels, it cleverly marries traditional material with modern building technology. Floor to ceiling glass wraps around the ground floor and provides the most spectacular views. Wouldn't you love to be curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, with a great movie, and the water lapping against the deck outside?!

Next we'll travel to 'The Lawns' in London, one of the most architecturally significant houses in Britain. Designed by Eldridge Smerin, it was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, British architecture's highest honour. The design wraps around the core of an existing house built in the 1950's, which was itself constructed on Victorian foundations - such incredible history!

And we'll finish at 'Somerset Place' in Bath. This exquisite home has retained it's original period features as part of a meticulous restoration programme. The interior decorating style is my favourite of all three - it successfully combines traditional and modern, it's elegant and just a little bit quirky - delicious!

I hope you've enjoyed the whirlwind tour. This was just a tiny taste, if you want to see more incredible properties pop over to the Savills website and see for yourself.

Thanks to everyone who has entered our Acapulco Chair Giveaway. We've had some fantastic suggestions for new stock. The winner will be announce at midday on the Cush & Nooks facebook page.

Perfectly Small

In Scandinavia the homes seem to be much smaller than your standard New Zealand house. They overcome their lack of space with super, clever storage solutions, and stylish minimalist aesthetics. Take this home, for instance. It belongs to interior and fashion stylist, Saša Antic, so it's bound to be cool. At only 24 square meters, this home has the tiniest kitchen I've ever seen, with only a half wall separating it from the bedroom. But it's perfectly stylish and gorgeous, and uses clever tricks like the floor to ceiling mirrored wall to give the illusion of space. I'm suitably impressed, and now I'm off to do some serious de-cluttering in my own home!

Inspiration from Bibby + Brady

Working with lovely clients and helping them create beautiful homes is so rewarding. This is what Dael & I do at Bibby + Brady. My favourite part is discovering the client's loves and quirks, expressing them in their rooms, and sourcing just the right products for them.

I absolutely love this dining room we've put together. The classic lines of the marble topped tulip table, teamed with some gorgeous vintage chairs from Mid Century Swag. Table top creations by Jonathan Adler and Minimalux. A stunning handblown glass and brass chandelier from Douglas and Bec. And the super cool surf artwork by Nathan Johnson of Blacklist Studio, which keeps the room from being too precious.

At Bibby + Brady we have broken our design process down into stages. Step 1 is to create a design concept board with paint colours, fabrics, furniture, and all the finishing touches. This comes complete with our design explanation. You can take this vision and run with it yourself, or carry on with Step 2. 

This is where we give you a shopping list - where you can find all your items, and we pass on any designer discounts that are available to us. You also get a floor plan and sample card. 

If you live locally, Step 3 involves Dael & I styling and putting your finished room together. But you don't have to live in Hawke's Bay, we are working incredibly well with several clients outside of Hawke's Bay via phone and email.

As a special offer to all my Cush & Nooks readers, Dael & I are offering Step 1 - a Design Concept Board - for the fantastic price of $149 per room. This is a limited offer, only available until the end of this month (March 2013). Let us help you create an amazing room that you'll love coming home to, and will be proud to share with others. Drop me an email and we'll get started.