SUN, COME OUT!
Posted in guest quarters March 28th, 2009 by piablog

We are not in April yet, but the showers are definitely here arm in arm with March winds. When I first moved here I let the weather dictate my day, and that meant I stayed in A LOT. A year on and I have adapted a more local approach, which is to just get on with it, rain or shine. I am not sure my little guy appreciates this attitude as the wind and rain whip at his face on the back of the bike…but he does know the words rain, raining, wind, windy, sleet, raincoats, rains pants, rain boots, wet, puddles etc..etc.. so I guess it’s good for his vocabulary.

Yesterday, as he woke form his nap, I heard him shouting form the top of the stairs “Sun, come out!” in a very firm voice. The voice you mother might use when you were really in trouble… you know, when she called you by your full first name, all your middle names and your last name. He ran into my bedroom pulled the curtains open and again yelled at the sky ” Sun, come out”. I of course used this as an opportunity to sing “the sun will come out tomorrow” but he looked at me shook his head and said ” nee singing” so that was the end of that.

Down the stairs, two peanut butter toasts and a cup of tea later and guess who made a grand entrance and then lingered around to make everything more beautiful? There is something about the sun here and the way it cracks open the sky. It reminds me of the Leanard Cohen lyric, “there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”.

Maybe we should all start shouting what we want from the top of the stairs.

Written by Riley Salyards.
Photographs by Riley Salyards.

the coolest kitchen ever…
Posted in interiors, photographers March 26th, 2009 by piablog

How perfectly dreamy is this kitchen? It’s real, it’s raw, it’s authentic, and just so cool. It feels like island living to me, I adore it!

Photographed by William Geddes (whose portfolio is full of the good stuff).

PS speaking of kitchens, Yvette has just posted her next recipe right here in the (blog)house kitchen! Oh it’s a goodie. It’s SUCH a goodie. Go check it out.

Yvette van Boven’s scrumptious pork belly roast…
Posted in kitchen March 26th, 2009 by piablog

Note from Yvette:

“This next recipe is one I drew for House of Orange Magazine*. It’s roasted pork belly. We serve it at Aan de Amstel**, with freshly made horseradish sauce its the best thing to eat after a night out.

I had it photographed for Margriet magazine as a part of a Chinese story.

Erik van Lokven took the picture and Juith Beahner was the stylist.

Eet smakelijk! (enjoy!)”

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*Pia’s note: House of Orange is also the agency that represents me here in Holland and they put out a magazine of their own some months ago. I loved Yvette’s drawing in there! px

**Pia’s note again:Aan de Amstel is Yvette’s restaurant and catering company.

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Extra note from Pia:

As you can see above, Yvette drew(yes,drew!! she’s so clever!!) this recipe and it is absolutely gorgeous, I think you will want to print it out and include it in your recipe diary! I know I will be doing exactly that. Just click on the drawing for the bigger version. Thank you so much Yvette!!

interior inspiration, island style…
Posted in interiors, photographers March 25th, 2009 by piablog

Photo credits, clockwise from top right: Anson Smart, bed – source unknown, Michelle Young (styled by me. that was such a fun shoot!), David Matheson (beautiful shutters), Paul Massey

Photo credits from top left: interior design by Jaya Ibrahim from Island Style (from the sadly missed All Things Bright and Beautiful), Paul Massey, Anson Smart(the chair on the wharf), more from Jaya Ibrahim, and the boy sleeping on daybed is from Ingalill Smitt

stunning bed, photographed by Jared Fowler, represented by Contacts. First spotted on the beautiful brabourne farm. I would happily rest in this bed after writing on that desk I mentioned earlier

From top to bottom: Anson Smart, Michelle Young and Anson Smart.

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Be sure to click on all the credit links above because there is plenty more inspiration to be found.
I do hope you’ve enjoyed my island living moodboard! No doubt this will not be the last.

xx

PS oh sofia, great idea! here are some waves, just as you requested in your comment a moment ago. please click on the play button and enjoy…

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(click here for the original source of this soundscape)

island life…
Posted in books, interiors March 25th, 2009 by piablog

Many years ago as I was perusing the impressively crammed shelf dedicated to interior decorating at my favourite local bookstore (which is Bookoccino’s in Avalon, Sydney, Australia), I came across India Hicks Island Life. And i felt ‘the buzz’. You know the feeling, as you open a book for the first time at a random page and are immediately struck by the structure and style and composition of an interior setting. Then you slowly lift to the next page, and the next and the next and your belly flips and you simply must have this book. Back then the book had just arrived on bookshelves around the world, so it was at top dollar. But I could not walk out without it…

images courtesy of india hicks, island living

Sure it’s fantastical, after all it is a book about a home (or rather a series of houses) dotted along the shoreline of a Caribbean island, nestled amongst coconut palms and pineapple trees, with ocean views from every window (dream on!!). BUT India’s style is so relaxed and natural that her settings can be translated into the simplest and most ordinary of abodes. So how does she do this? Well, let me tell you! It’s because her focus is on the found, collected, and loved (as opposed to new, flashy, and trendy). None of her spaces reflect the ostentatious inclination that you’d expect, and I have no doubt this is why her book has become so popular over the years.

One of my favourite pieces among her incredible collection of homewares is this desk which sits inconspicuously at the top of a staircase between doorways…

photography by David Loftus

Glorious, non? Writing away the hours at this desk would be rather marvelous. Certainly after having taken a wander along the shoreline, sand between the toes and lungs full of fresh sea air.

I’ve always been inspired by nature as you know, so it’s only natural that my interior impulses lean toward island living. As a result I thought I’d moodboard my interior inspiration, island style, in the next post. But first, here is a song that will surely get you in the mood… mojito, anyone?