People who know me know that I take sinks quite seriously. We have a marble one in our kitchen that’s large enough to wash a Guinea Hog in. This one below, in a farmhouse designed by Amber Lewis, is pretty stunning. I love that it’s shallow, and that the rough texture works so well against the lustre of brass taps. This is a laundry room. Pairing up socks just got a whole lot less choresome.

A beautiful stone facade in Zaria, one of the oldest Hausa cities in the Northern Nigeria.

Wayne Thiebaud’s cakes.

Matilda Goad’s fabulous kitchen.

Brenda Holzke’s fantastic black and white forms.

A small, uninhabited island (Lítla Dímun) in the Faroe Islands, often covered by a cloud of its own.

Let’s all paint our ceilings like Casa Taberelli‘s. Ensconced in the tiny northern vineyard village of Cornaiano is architect, Carlo Scarpa’s great masterpiece. The ceilings look like Rothkos. Oh, to have the chutzpah to bring a mustard brush to one’s ceiling. It’s daring, it’s original, and I love it.

I love the contrast of lines and curves in this beautifully sculptural house in Melbourne. It’s designed by architect, Susi Leeton and shows how versatile and free flowing concrete can be. Soft, pillowy furnishings, and a neutral, earthy palette add to the feeling of warmth. The facade is stunning, especially as the Birch trees cast shadows against it.

I just spent a few minutes in Vallabrègues, a village in the South of France known for producing artful basketry and chaiserie, and I’m now imagining myself curled up with a croissant in a wicker chair made with reed harvested in the nearby region of Camargue. This one is from Atelier Vime, the design firm that brought this 18th Century Vallabrègues chateau back to life, and that designs beautiful wicker furnishings that pay homage to the region’s long standing basketry traditions. Each piece is entirely handcrafted using natural, local materials. Designs are modern, but with a nod to the past. Atelier Vime also carries vintage wicker and rattan. 1950s French Riviera chairs? Sign me up.

This is the beautiful home of London based architect, Barbara Weiss, aptly called Upside Down House with bedrooms on the ground floor and living spaces upstairs. I love this idea of turning traditional norms on their head, and creating a design that makes sense for the people living in the home. Worried about losing the ground floor garden, Weiss created one, and now grows plants on the roof. “It’s quite difficult to define what modern living is about,” says Weiss in this lovely film about the Westminster home she shares with her husband. “It is really more about the individual, whereas previous house building was all to do with social mores. Today, I think people are not prepared to be living in the same way as other people are living.” Weiss is of Italian descent and her husband is South African; the house is filled with objects that reference both cultures. “Good interior design is a mixture of accommodating how you use the house and bringing in character and memories and objects that have some sort of connection to you.”

Sarah Steininger Leroux‘s mugs are terrific. I love her shapes and whimsical surface designs. These stoneware ones feel earthy, and yet modern, and I love the colourful patterns and playful handle on this chunky one. Steininger Leroux is the owner of a gallery/studio in Seattle that represents a number of local ceramicists. Have a look around. There’s a lot more than mugs.