Marylou Sobel - Designer

 

I have always maintained that South Africa is full of hidden talent and I have just discovered a new one.

Well, maybe I didn't actually discover her.....she has clearly already been discovered judging by the impressive portfolio of clients she has. And maybe she isn't strictly speaking a South African because she has lived in Sydney, Australia, for 30 plus years, but she was originally from South Africa so I feel we can claim her as one of our own.

So, who is this new/well-known, South African/Australian interior designer.



Marylou Sobel, owner of Marylou Sobel Interior Design. You can visit her website here to see more of her work. She has a very diverse portfolio of projects and I have chosen some of my favourite pictures to share with you.

The first few pictures are from her own home in Sydney which was renovated and updated recently. I love the muted colours and comfortable, lived in feel. The best decorators always manage to make a home look like it hasn't been "decorated" if you know what I mean.

I absolutely love this patio with it's stone clad fireplace and comfortable furnishings. It really is an outdoor room in the true sense of the word. No plastic "stoep furniture" here!

Set in a lush garden, the outdoor area is as beautiful as the indoors.

The next few pictures are from a family home that required a transformation of the kitchen and the addition of a conservatory. Look at the beautiful outcome.








Another conservatory like dining area for a different client...



....and yet another, below. Beautiful!



She is a master at creating beautiful kitchens...





...and this idea for hiding unsightly appliances is genius.



Amazing attention to detail is evident in every corner...






...and she has a real knack for making warm and inviting living areas.



And finally, this cute little boys bedroom is also her creation.

I hope you all have a happy week ahead. 

Till next time

Sharon x

Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in

Marylou Sobel - Designer

Cool Deep Green Swimming Hole on Hot August Day

Secret spot on secret river
I've been swimming here 3 times on this trip. It's about 8 feet deep by the rock. Not another soul in sight. Takes me a little while to decompress, for the barriers of disconnectedness with the wild world to drop away. Alone, no cars, people, electricity…lying in the sun, body 100% bathed in sunlight (Viva said in Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine in the '70s, "The sun is my lover."
Pretty soon I notice there are tiny insects buzzing around just above water surface; once in a while a silver flash when a baby fish will jump out of water and grab one.
I get warm in then sun, then swim…perfect.

natural world swimming

Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in natural world, swimming

Cool Deep Green Swimming Hole on Hot August Day

Breakfast This Morning With Louie, Titsch, and Kyle

I took off early Wednesday morning with Yogan, my carpenter friend from France. This is Friday morning, so I'm not posting chronologically, but this is hot off the press: at breakfast this morning with Louie and Titsch*, this little boy walked up holding one of our Tiny Homes mini books, showing it to me. "Where'd you get that," I asked.
"You gave it to me last year."

Earlier this morning, I'd given a Tiny Homes On the Move mini book to a 3-year-old girl sitting at our able and she started going through it page by page and then said, "This is really cool."

Made my day, to say the least.  Kids are with us.

Here's Kyle Radic, driving south to San Francisco with his mom and she said he'd brought along his favorite book:

Photo by Titsch Jones

*Titsch and I were born on the same day (not the same year), and my mother's maiden name was Jones, so I consider him my brother. He's from Wales.

books on the road tiny homes tiny homes on the move

Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in books, on the road, tiny homes, tiny homes on the move

Breakfast This Morning With Louie, Titsch, and Kyle

Deek Diedrickson's Tiny House Summer Camp in Vermont, Sept. 18-20

building tiny homes tiny houses

Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in building, tiny homes, tiny houses

Deek Diedrickson's Tiny House Summer Camp in Vermont, Sept. 18-20

Trusty Trestles

 

Our lives and lifestyles are constantly in a state of flux. We might go from single to married or the other way around. We might go from no children to a family of 4 or more, or from a home with toddlers to a home with teenagers and later, to an empty nest. Every different stage will lead to a difference in the way we lead our lives, how we entertain, how we interact with our children and our friends.

As we go through these various stages, our homes need to meet our needs in different ways. Having furniture that is practical and versatile is a clever way of ensuring that you can make the changes you need to without always having to spend more money.

 

The humble trestle table has been around since the Middle Ages which is a testament to its good design. It is both practical and stylish and remains popular today for a number of different purposes.

It is popularly used as a desk. The trend probably started as an affordable option for students, but has evolved into more stylish incarnations for home office use. Here are some examples...

 

 

 

 They are a clever option for a dining table. If you have babies and toddlers, you might find that you don't use a dining table very often and it could easily be stored in a garage for later use. If you love entertaining in different ways, it can easily be moved to your garden or pool when required. Think braais (barbeque's for the non South Africans) or kids parties.

 



You could even have 2 the same size which could be used together as one long table when entertaining a large crowd. If you are having a buffet style party, just relocate the table to one side of your dining room.

 

A trestle table can work well as a kitchen island and folded out of the way if you need more open space.

 Another popular use is as a table in an entrance hall, behind a sofa or against a wall to display decorative objects.

 

 

A low version works well as a coffee table.

 They can add a lovely rustic feel to a bathroom....

 

 

 ....and can be used outside as a potting bench or just to display some pretties.

If I haven't given you sufficient reasons to go out and buy a trestle table, then you haven't been concentrating hard enough and need to go back to the top and start again!  BACK TO TOP

Wishing you a happy week ahead.

Till next time

Sharon x

Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in

Trusty Trestles