Sunday, February 22, 2009

{Loving} Australia

Sydney!
Hello all! I'm finally back in New York and am so excited to share some inspiration with you from my trip! Australia was even more beautiful than I had envisioned, and the food was incredible, the people were genuinely kind (and SO good looking!) and the overall vibe was laid back and cool. I love it, and am already itching to go back ;)

On my first day in Sydney I explored the city with my camera and a bit of jet lag ;) Here's a sneaky photo I took in one of my favorite Aussie shops, Country Road. I love the neutral palette, linen fabrics and wood accents mixed with buffalo checks and lucite frames. Very chic and understated. The next morning I helped Diane Bergeron set up her booth at the Decoration + Design show, and took a little time off to help promote the show and Rubie Green ;) Photo: Jeremy Piper for mX. There were ants crawling all over my legs and biting me while this photo was taken! Back at the show, we unpacked one of my favorite lines, Of the Young and the Restless! Here's a shot of a chair Diane upholstered in the classic Fig Leaf by Peter Dunham! Loving how she paired it with a teal silk backdrop. My favorite ladies!! From left: Diane Bergeron, my dorky self, and my new pal Belinda Jamieson! The three of us had a blast working the booth and chatting with designers, architects and press. We were even lucky enough to meet Anna Spiro of Absolutely Beautiful Things in person, as she came to hear me speak at the conference! Thank you Anna! To see more of the collections Diane carries in her Melbourne showroom, click here. On my third night in Sydney I met up with some more friends, Amanda Harris from Oliveaux (who also reps Rubie in Australia!) as well as the talented Hayley and Tracey of Porchlight Interiors! The girls took me to Sydney hot spot The Ivy, where the four of us were absolutely floored by the decor! Click here and here to see more pics. Thanks ladies! ;)
Image via Flickr via Oliveaux

Melbourne!
After the conference and show wrapped up I headed to Melbourne for a week as Diane's guest! Her home is the epitome of style (and love:) and her family literally couldn't be more adorable. They made me excited to have one of my own someday :)
Here's a shot of Diane's bookshelf in her kitchen! The shelves run from floor to ceiling, and are packed with design titles, novels, and personal mementos. One of my new years resolutions was to be a better host, and after staying with Diane for a week I'm quite convinced I should be taking notes because this woman is a pro!! Here's the room where I stayed! I mean really...gorgeous!! Diane had the sofa custom made to fit a mattress on top, so it actually doubles as a bed, and the grasscloth wallpaper is a line she carries in her showroom. The rug is of course Madeline Weinrib, who Diane also reps exclusively in Australia. Here's a photo of Diane's showroom! On my last night in Australia, Diane threw a New York inspired cocktail party to celebrate its opening. We spent all week preparing - tasting wines and cheeses, meeting with caterers to create the perfect mini-cheeseburgers, hitting Ikea to find the perfect party lighting, and steaming fabrics for the big night. Needless to say, the event was a total success ;)The hostess with the mostess, looking chic in her showroom minutes before her guests arrive. (And hi, is your jaw dropped right now as well?! I'm in LOVE with her striped curtains! )Finally, Diane's wonderful family (who I already miss so much!) and another pic of Belinda! I cannot thank you all enough for allowing me to have such an incredible experience in Australia, as well as my readers for posting so many kind comments while I was away. I hope you enjoy the pics and find them as inspiring as I do :)

24 comments:

Megan said...

Looks like you had an amazing trip! I'm headed to Melbourne next week for an adventure too and hope to come back with as many fond memories :) I'm absolutely loving the black and white striped curtains and umbrella, great pics!

Kitty Kinsella said...

Wow, it looks like an amazing trip! I absolutely love the vintage / june carter-ish flowered dress you are wearing in the picture with your two friends. Can you provide some source information?

I love all your amazing photos!
Thanks for sharing

MABELLE said...

Thanks Meg and Ms. Kitty! Meg- I hope you have a wonderful adventure :) and ms. kitty- the dress is actually from Kate Spade! Most of their holiday dresses are 75% off right now, so it was an incredible deal!!

Suzy said...

I'm so glad you got to experience Melbourne and Sydney...so often visitors only go to one, but they are so different and I always recommend first timers check out them both!

Anonymous said...

oh it looks fantastic! and her home is GORG!

AphroChic said...

Absolutely amazing Michelle! Congratulations on all of your success. What a wonderful experience!

Anonymous said...

I want to be Diane.

No.35style said...

what an experience and fun time!! now, when are we going to get to see pictures of your new home? ;)

Pink Wallpaper said...

how much fun!! her house and showroom look amazing! hope you got lots of great press and new business...

Jen of MadeByGirl said...

Looks like such a great event...Your fabrics are so pretty! Wish I was there. : )


Jen Ramos
'Cards & Prints You'll Love...'
www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com

*SNYdesign said...

This is nice!!!

Crave said...

Well done Miss!! These photos are beautiful and very inspiring indeed! I'm obsessed with the striped curtains. In L-O-V-E!

Abby said...

It looks like you had a great time. Welcome back!

High-Heeled Foot in the door said...

Wow it looks like you had a great time. Diane has a fab sense of style and it totally shows in your showroom and home. Your fabrics totally fit in like perfection. I love all the same touches you did for the cocktail party. Your fabric on the silver tray was genius. Glad to see you are back home in NY.

We should make a date to meet up. I'm recently unemployed and now have time to be a lady that lunches.

Porchlight Interiors said...

It was great meeting you when you where in Sydney Michelle! Thanks for sharing these great pics of your time here - Dianne's showroom looks amazing! Hayley & Tracey xx

red.door.read said...

just found your blog and luv it.

some beautiful photos from aust - glad you had a great time in my home country.

Kitty Kinsella said...

Thanks for the dress info Michelle. I can't seem to find it on the KS website so it must be sold out. It's great, and there is definitely a fantastic vintage quality about it.

Brunch at Saks said...

I absolutely love your photos! Especially the chair with the chandelier above- perfect!

Anonymous said...

Michelle,
Thank you for this unbelievably kind post. I am so flattered!
We miss you so much already and can’t wait for you to visit again.
Visit my blog to see the fabulous photos Belinda took of you..
Love,
Diane

AMM blog said...

Wow! Everything looks so amazing. My husband lived there for a year & he's dying to take me there...no arguments with that!

cassandra said...

my jaw completely dropped at those gorgeous striped curtains, and immediately started laughing as i read your commentary. those are STUNNING! i think i need to do something similar for my office...

Julio Muao said...

yay! welcome back and what a great adventure you had. So inspiring. I've never been to Australia but am hoping to someday. Thank you for sharing

New York Hotel said...

It is looking like a fantastic tour. I am really very much excited to visit Australia. I hope i will go there very soon. Let me check hotels on ECT.

Unknown said...

How exciting! Congratulations for all your successes, networking and adventures.

With Love From Bali
http:annaelizabethpoole.blogspot.com/