Kerryn Dunshea Garden Benches

Bespoke garden bench by Kerryn Dunshea

Thorndon bench

Ponsonby bench

Khandallah bench

In the weekend I was outside my friend's deli in Kelburn and while chatting with them, they mentioned that they are keen to place a bench in front of their store. So I recommended to them to have a look at the classic and traditional Kerryn Dunshea Garden Benches.
Dunshea, a fellow Wellington interior designer, was inspired by the classic English garden furniture she saw while she lived in the UK. The benches are handcrafted in Wellington using traditional construction methods and there is a paint colour palette to choose from. A perfect piece for the garden (or in front of a deli) this summer.
Photographs via Kerryn Dunshea.

Conservatories and Sunrooms

Chiswick Restaurant, Sydney - a conservatory style dining area with polished concrete floor. Photo: Remodelista.

A conservatory on the side of this house brings in more light. Photo: Remodelista



A window seat area - the textile mimics the outside. Photo: Remodelista.

A country style covered patio with refurbished 1920's wicker furniture.
Photo: House and Home.

A sitting area in a screened off porch with mid-century style sofa and chairs.
Photo: House and Home.

An industrial style conservatory with in built seating. Photo: House to Home.

Fashion designer, Tory Burch's solarium with woven chairs and antiques. Photo: Vogue

In the Conservatory by Edouard Manet, oil on canvas, 1879. I really like the bench seat.

I have been researching conservatory images for a client of mine. We have refurbished most of her family home and the transformation has been fantastic. One of the rooms left to do is the conservatory, which will be next year's project - so I have been slowly building some visuals to get some ideas and have been trying all kinds of names to find them, including sunroom, patio, screened in porch, solarium, window seat, outdoor rooms, etc. Here is a small selection of what I have found so far.

Dahlia Galore in San Francisco

Have you seen anything as amazing as this? This is the Dahlia Dell at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco - and the dahlia flowers were in full bloom early this October. I did not know that the Dahlia is the official city flower for SF and when they're planted together like this, they look stunning. Read more about them here.
Photographs by Michelle Slatalla for Gardenista.

What Caught my Eye this Week

This is what caught my eye this week -
The London Design Festival is in action and at the V&A is 'Bench Years' from Established & Sons - 10 benches from 10 designers in 10 materials to celebrate 10 years of London Design Festival. This one is by designer Martino Gamper (the very gentleman who is sitting on the bench) and made from American red oak, soft maple, ash, yellow birch and tulipwood.
Photographs via Confessions of a Design Geek.

And to carry on the outdoor theme, check out this beautiful english garden below.

Spotted on Remodelista, this is Scampston Hall located in Yorkshire, north of England. This garden has been part of a massive restoration after years of neglect under the eye of Dutch landscape architect, Piet Oudolf. Isn't it stunning?
Have a great weekend.
Photographs via Remodelista.

Olympic Park Gardens

European planting by Sarah Price in the Olympic Park gardens.

Blue cornflowers and orange margiolds in the meadow around the stadium by Nigel Dunnett.

The South African border by Sarah Price with red gladioli and blue agapanthus.

A prarire inspired scheme with yellow rudbeckia and pink echinacea by Sarah Price.

A meadow of annuals by Nigel Dunnett.

The 'ribbon of gold' meadow by Nigel Dunnett.

The 2012 Olympics are over and there were so many aspects of great design throughout the whole event - from the buildings, the uniforms (and sneakers), the ceremonies, the Olympic torch and the branding. What I'm appreciating is the Olympic Park gardens - they were in full bloom during this epic sporting event and it is these gardens that soften the urban landscapes around the main Olympic locations. The overall effect of the planting is very 'natural', ie plants growing together in spontaneous drifts. However, they have been brought together deliberately to create a low-maintenance, long flowering display. Would it be great if all public spaces were like this? Lovely.
Photographs by Sarah Price and Nigel Dunnett via Telegraph.

Los Angeles Home of Amanda Peet from Vogue.

My, it's bone cold here in Wellington this afternoon. What is hard about this cold season is that all the northern hemisphere's publications come out with light and bright summery images - do they really need to do that?
Here is the delighful and summery garden/home of actress, Amanda Peet, located in Los Angeles from Vogue. Read the article here.
Photographs by Francois Halard via Vogue.

Garden Wallpaper

Varklocka wallpaper by Josef Franks

The clean lines of the Kartell pendant light works well with the detailed wallpaper.

I don't usually choose wallpaper as detailed as the one above - however, I have a job where the wallpaper will only take up less than half a wall above existing white painted panelling. So with the panels below to balance it off, more detailed and small patterns is welcomed for a change.
Love this botanical one above, found in a Sydney home, by Josef Frank (who emigrated to Sweden in the 1930's) - it's like walking through a garden.
Photograph from Come Over Sunday via Remodelista.

A Flowering Garden

I'm certainly not ready to leave behind the summer that didn't really arrive! However Autumn is here to stay and made its presence this morning with a chill to the air.

So to see the end of Summer, here is a flowering garden and home from landscape designer, Judy Tomkins - I love the appearance of the flowers both outside in the garden and inside the home. Happy Friday all and have a lovely weekend.

Photographs via Martha Stewart.