Saying Farewell to 2011

It's one minute past midnight here and my little family is tucked up asleep while I try to write on through the night. (I need to finish writing a book and sometimes the cruel hours are the best hours to do it.) It has been a sublime night here; warm and dense with the scent of jasmine and lamb chops being cooked on barbecues. The sky stayed pink for the longest time and the sight of it glowing rose was enough to make people stop jogging and take photos on their iPhones. It was such an exquisite evening that I took the dogs for a long walk, firstly through the village and then through the forest behind it. I met a handful of other villagers who were also walking their dogs in the quiet of the evening, and we chatted about how lovely the lilacs were, and how pretty all the hydrangeas looked after the deluge of rain.  I peered (as I always do) over the picket fences, admiring the planting schemes of the cottage gardens and wondering if ours would ever look as beautiful. It was a night of reflection, admiration, and quiet appreciation.

This year has been a terrible year for many people. Including us. In fact, some journalists are calling it a cataclysmic year, and for once I wouldn't say they're sensationalising their copy. It has been a truly appalling twelve months. Floods, storms, global economic woes, unexpected job losses, strange illnesses, career setbacks, relationship breakdowns, a plummeting real estate market and many other extraordinarily awful things have tested our collective spirit this year. Apparently, December 2012 is going to be a fairly apocalyptic few weeks, if you believe the "2012 Phenomenon", but quite frankly I don't know how things can get much worse. I think the world has hit rock-bottom, don't you?

The thing is, bad times never last, and this year – thank goodness – is on its last wobbly legs. It doesn't have much strength left and soon we'll be entering a fresh new era. 2011 will seem like a summer thunderstorm that's come and gone in a flash of lightning. And when it finally passes, the air will feel calmer and clearer – as it always does when a thunderstorm moves through. It's like a cleansing process that has to happen as part of the larger cycle of life. As Woody Allen once said, the rain helps wash away the dusty memories from the sidewalk of life...

So if you've had an atrocious year and are still feeling the pain of it, hang in there, as the new year is almost here. Take your loved ones, or your dog, and go for a walk in the pink light of twilight. Look at a garden, or a sunset, chat to a neighbour, or arrange to meet a friend in the park. Talk about happy things. Remember the good parts of your life. Then go home and hug your kids, or your partner. Pour yourself a Christmas drink. Pull a cracker. Open a box of chocolates. And sing a carol. Out loud.

Winston Churchill once said, "If you're going through Hell, keep going". It's a good philosophy.

Let's all look forward to 2012.

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Emerald City

Many of you design-savvy readers will know that emerald has been one of the key colours in decorating this year. (Elle Decor chose it as one of the Top 11 Trends of 2011.) And hasn't it just come out of the colour gates like Black Caviar at the Spring Racing Carnival? Green has not only shot to the front of the design stakes but shown its colours in a magnificent way.

Now I have to confess that I have never really been a green girl. Until now. I have always admired Ladurée's sugary shade whenever I visit their tea salons in Paris, and love Kate Spade's signature emerald whenever I pop into her store near the Flatiron in New York. But it took the burst of fresh, bold greens that appeared in decorating and design this year to really make me a paid-up convert.

Here, in a colour tribute to Christmas (surely the most beautiful green event of the year?) are some of the images that have helped persuade me that I should be joining the green brigade. (Some are a few years old, but their originality hasn't dated.) Forget the old regal greens. The new greens are dramatic, daring, sassy and oh so seductive.

Chanel's much-talked-about Spring 2011 RTW show at the Grand Palais, which was heavily influenced by the highly stylised film Last Year at Marienbad. One of the most beautifully staged fashion shows ever, according to many leading editors and fashion writers, Karl's formal, monochrome garden, complete with fountains and black box hedges, wowed those who saw it live. However, I was more enamoured with the architectural elegance of the Grand Palais. Isn't that building just incredible?

Keira Knightly's famous gown in Atonement – which was colour posing as seduction. Atonement costume designer Jacqueline Durran chose emerald for Keira Knightley’s character because she felt the hue symbolised temptation. Oh – and the library stepladder helped things along a little, too...

The exquisite shoes of Manolo Blahnik. If they did a modern remake of The Wizard of Oz, I think Dorothy should be wearing a pair of emerald Manolos like this, rather than sequined ruby slippers. And if they clashed with the Wicked Witch's costume, well the Wicked Witch can wear tangerine.

One of the most beautiful country houses I've ever seen. The sweep of lawn, the ivy, the charming setting, the romantic roofline, even the pretty terrace... It's all enchanting. Just enchanting. {Image via theenchantedhome.blogspot.com}

Tricia Guild's London home. The head of Designer Guild certainly has a head for colour and her London residence proves it. The dining room and stairs are painted in the most vivid spring-leaf green. It's so eye-catching and bright she often uses it as a backdrop for photo shoots. It shows that green can look gorgeous with anything – hot pink, white, even turquoise. {Image via December issue of Living etc magazine}

Green damask with pink taffeta. I'm not sure where this image has come from (please let me know if you do), but isn't it sublime? The lipstick-pink drapes, the wallpaper, the fashion illustration, the modern glass desk and the pink bouquet all combine to create a fresh, feminine and thoroughly sophisticated space.

The perfect party setting for either summer or Christmas, this table immediately looks inviting, thanks to the swaying lanterns, the cute cakes and the incredible floral displays. {Image via manolobrides.com}

Hermés has always done colour well and this lovely silk scarf shows just how good this famous French  company is at design. {Via Hermés}

Ladurée's signature green. Many people have tried to replicate this delicate shade but it's difficult to do. One of the closest paint shades is Fine Paints of Europe P11130. {Image via writeonthyme.blogspot.com/Kirsten Steen}

Kate Spade's Style book. Still one of the best books I've ever purchased, full of wit, whimsy and the most divine illustrations.

 Kate Spade cruisers. Simply irresistible. Shutters on the Beach hotel in Santa Monica and Kate Spade have partnered up to offer guests these cheeky little cruisers custom-made by Adeline Adeline for Kate Spade. The perfect vehicle for meandering along the Santa Monica boardwalk, they come complete with a chic bag to store your hat, camera, book and sunscreen, and a customised neighbourhood map showing suggestions for all the best stores and sights in the area. It would be hard to give back...

An image from the Ralph Lauren Home collection. If this is a typical tack room, I'm taking up riding again! {Image via Ralph Lauren}

A lovely green library, which looks like it belongs to a writer, architect or artist. I love spaces that are a little surprising. Look how the blue door leads the way to yet more books? Bliss. It just needs a comfy chaise there and you could be happy here for hours. {Image via apartment therapy}

Another green library, this time from an old Pottery Barn ad. I've always loved this ad. I think I wanted to marry that gentleman when I was younger. I think I wanted to marry him just for that library.

Kate Spade's iconic bathroom with the now-famous Zebras wallpaper by Scalamandre. {Image via World of Interiors}

Our home on the front cover of Yarra Valley & Ranges Country Life magazine this month.

The intimate dining room at George Washington's house, Mt Vernon. ({Image via jenningsandgates.blogspot.com}

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Christmas from NY to Savannah

I love seeing how other people celebrate Christmas. Many years ago I lived in Denmark in Scandinavia, where Christmas is cherished as an annual event. Imagine real trees, cut down from yours or a neighbour's forest and then dragged home through the snow; endless feasts of fabulous Scandinavian food; gallons of home-made schnapps (some of them with names that reflect their high-alcohol potency, such as "Grandpa's Underpants"), and a lot of dancing around trees, singing, laughing, and toasting each other with the word "Skål" – many, many times. Nothing has ever compared to those extravagant Christmases experienced in Denmark, but it's still lovely seeing how others accessorise their trees, decorate their homes, dress their pressies and generally gear up for this wild, cypress-lined end-of-year celebration. {Top image via Tricia Foley's book White Christmas}

Christmas in Savannah, Georgia, USA

Well, it's actually Christmas on a tiny island off the coast of Savannah, called Tybee Island, which has to be one of the prettiest islands in America. These Christmas images (below) come from my friend Jane Coslick, who is not only one of the country's most creative designers (her work is on the front cover of Coastal Living this month) but one of the funniest and loveliest. Her decorations are always bright, colourful and a little whimsical, which is just what you want in a beach house! {Via janecoslick.blogspot.com}

Christmas on Long Island, New York, USA

Christmas at the home of another friend, interior designer, stylist and bestselling author Tricia Foley. Nobody does Christmas like Tricia (below). Her decorations are simple, natural and beautiful. As she says, she simply buys green wreaths and roping at the local farmstand and then adds lots of berries and branches to add texture. She'll also harvest privet berries from the hedges, plus snips of cypress, and tuck them into the wreaths or baskets for the doors. The scent, she says, is as much a part of Christmas as the sight. And she should know – she's published a book on Christmas style! {Via www.triciafoleyinthecountry.blogspot.com}

Christmas in Washington D.C., USA

Christmas decorations in the countryside are always special, but these are particularly lovely (below). They're from one of the most charming homes in America's Pacific Northwest; the gorgeous country farmhouse featured on the equally gorgeous blog acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com. Take a look at Trine's blog for some of the most beautiful images of rural life (and Christmas) you're likely to see.

Christmas on Harbour Island, Bahamas

The Landing hotel and restaurant on Harbour Island is one of the most atmospheric little boutique hotels I've ever stayed in. Owned by a lovely Australian and a Bahamian I know and decorated by India Hicks, it's a sublime slice of tropical delight that's equal parts chic and casual. I haven't spent a Christmas or even a New Year on Harbour Island (when the Junkanoo parade brings the streets to life), but I'd love to one day.  It would be the perfect place to put your feet up, drink some of the hotel's Afro Head rum, read a good book and go for long swims in that stunning blue sea. {Via www.harbourislandlanding.com}

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Decorating With Books

On my most recent trip to New York I popped into Rizzoli bookstore to see what was new in architecture and design books (and to thank them for stocking my books, which they always do). I thought I'd quietly ask them which titles were selling well that month and their answer was astounding. The most popular books at Rizzoli were not interior design books or books by celebrity authors but books about books. Book lovers, it seems, want to buy books that show them how to display books, how to decorate with books, how to design rooms with libraries in them, even how to take books and carve them into other artistic and literary-inspired things.

Books are a big design trend at the moment. Even hoteliers such as Ian Schrager are now creating hotels with "libraries" in them, so that guests can entertain themselves with books rather than, er, whatever else they used to entertain themselves in their suites with. As The New York Times put it recently "hotels around the world are betting that books are the social lubricant of the future..." (NB I'm not quite sure what the NYT meant by this odd statement, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the idea hoteliers have that books will bring people together. As in, when you're in a hotel library and you see another guest reading The History of Sex, you can probably assume they'd be up for a night of swapping Cliff Notes. So to speak.)

Books are even being seen as a quirky decorating item. There are books that are being used as 'Welcome' signs (although choose your title carefully: you don't want a book that says the wrong thing), books that are being framed as art, paintings that look like bookshelves, or Penguin book covers (as in Courtney Cox's Malibu house), and – perhaps the loveliest idea of all – book-themed parties.

Here are some of my favourite bookish images, and some of our own decorating-with-books attempts:

The beautiful paintings of Queensland-based artist Victoria Reichelt, which have been getting a lot of media. These were from her 2009 portfolio. They're enormous canvases so the books almost look real. {Via www.victoriareichelt.com/category/portfolio/2009}

Literary-inspired art work in Courtney Cox' new bachelorette pad in Malibu. {Painting by Harland Miller. Photo by Simon Upton Via Elle Decor.}

Hand-made decorations created from book pages for a book-themed party to celebrate the launch of – what else? – a book! Created by the extraordinary blogger behind www.thenester.com. {Via thenester.com}

And here's one more (above). (NB There are lots more images on The Nester's website)

Olafur Eliasson's stunningly original hand-bound 'Dream House' book created with 454 laser cut leaves. Read the book and imagine your dream house. I love this. {Via www.funforever.net/archives/dont-try-this-at-home}

Pure fantasy. A book that comes alive. I adore this too. I don't think it's a 'real' book but imagine if it were? 

{Via www.funforever.net}

The studio of the famous Australian book artist Nicholas Jones. This inspiring space is available for public viewing by appointment. See www.bibliopath.org for more details. {Via

www.bibliopath.org}

And our attempts at decorating with books in our house... 

We even have book ends that say 'BOOK' – a thoughtful gift from my sister-in-law.

The 'Coats Here' sign was made from an old Phaidon book I found in a secondhand store. It tickled me to do this because Phaidon was our competitor when I was an editor at Images Publishing.

This year I've used postcards of book covers as gift tags for our Christmas presents. (As in the image at top left.) They're particularly fitting for people who love books, such as my sister-in-law and her husband. 

The books wrapped in the chocolate Hermés ribbon were old books that I was going to throw out. I know some purists hate this look and I'm not a fab of tearing books to bits, but this looked so cute I couldn't resist.

The framed prints hung beside the magaazines are pages from The Great Gatsby, my favourite book, used from a lovely old copy found in a secondhand store. The image of the gift-wrapped present features another postcard of a book cover used being as a gift tag.

In case you're wondering, there is a reason we have so many books in our house. Next year we are hoping to turn this place into a weekender, called The Old Library House, which will be available to rent. It will be tailored towards creatives who want to get away and find some space and inspiration (and yes,  books!) in the calm and beauty of the countryside. More details early next year.

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