Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden on Versailles will be going on my ever-expanding wishlist. Apparently she was something of a master gardener and this book is packed with beautiful photography of her creations. '...an evocative, elegiac tribute to a woman whose gifts and passions are still too easily misunderstood,' says Vogue.
One of the things I love most about our garden is the little playhouse next to the apple tree. There are so many gorgeous things you can do for kids in the garden, from willow houses to mazes cut through meadow gardens. And I used to dream about having a gypsy caravan when I was little (for similar try Lavenders Blue).
Image 3 via Country Living
I always wonder what designers' own homes look like. Pretty impressive if these two are anything to go by. The top one belongs to Sir Terence Conran (that's him out the front) and the one below to Cath Kidston.
Mum and I often meet at Daylesford as it's halfway between her place and mine. If you ignore the overly manicured ladies-who-latte and the breathtaking prices it really is a pleasant place to visit. I was obsessed with Spencer Fung's chunky outdoor furniture (above) but prices being what they are there I discovered Neptune instead and bought this set:
The upcoming exhibition 'Home Delivery: Prefabricating the Modern Dwelling' at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC looks amazing. Wish I could go. I have a secret plan to one day buy a plot of land near the beach and plonk one of these on it.
Image via Zencaya
How great would it be to have one of these in your back garden/field? Stunning Tents have a great selection or you could treat yourself to a stay in a yurt at the Hoopoe Yurt Hotel in Andalusia, Spain. Lovely.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but you can't beat a few aspirations. One is to live abroad like this family who converted an old finca in Ibiza, Spain. They eat lunch alfresco for most of the year under an old apricot tree, then... 'afternoons are for hanging out around the pool or at the beach, but before you know it, dusk is descending and it's time for a glass of wine....' Their children go to the local school, their furniture is made from local reclaimed wood, they have a vegetable garden and she even runs her own interior design company, hiphouse.
They've also done some interesting things in the kitchen with painted concrete shelving...
Images 1 & 2 via Living Etc
