Pure & simple

Crumpled linens. Greywashed floorboards. Buttery leather. The Avalon apartment Sasha and Nathan White call home is a complete retreat from the outside world  - and just the kind of place we’d love to return home to after a hot summer’s day. In fact, on the day of our shoot it took all our self-control not to run off with everything in their perfectly petite apartment – if they hadn’t been looking, we probably would have tried to prise their amazing floorboards from the floor.

Nathan, Sasha and their two daughters, Oak Louise and Selah Grace. Image via Mr & Mrs White Instagram.

The creative couple, who own bespoke furniture and textiles company Mr & Mrs White (no prize for guessing how they came up with the name) share a love for simple yet beautifully crafted design. It’s an approach that runs through their work and home – aside from a covetable grey couch from Bo Concept, all the apartment’s cabinetry and furniture was built by hand by Nathan, a boat builder turned carpenter, while the cushions and accessories are all graphic-designer-turned-textiles-queen Sasha’s own work.

Awash in soothing natural tones and textures, the space has a distinct Scandinavian vibe. Although it’s small, it’s definitely not suffocating – thanks to the gorgeous pale greys, whites and natural oak, it has a lightness and brightness to it that our photos don’t do justice!

“Because our home is quaint in size I try to keep the styling and decorating really clean,” says Sasha of the style-saturated sanctuary she’s created. “I prefer to let the furniture items speak for themselves – an oak chair with a leather cushion, a sheepskin thrown on the couch and a copper side table.” Scroll down to see for yourselves... 

The comfiest couch we ever did see.

 The simple yet stylish living area.

Living area details.

Those floorboards!

 Copper side table love.

Living area/entrance details.

Detail from Selah's room.

The living area (spot the goldfish bowl!).

The Whites have mastered stylish essentials, such as this amazing baby bassinet in their bedroom.

 Even  the entrance is divine.

Couch close-up, with Mr & Mrs White navy leather cushions and Icelandic sheepskin. 

If you, like us, want to pack your bags and move right in, you’re in luck: no, they’re not looking for housemates, but Sasha and Nathan sell their handcrafted wares here and at their Brookvale showroom. We have our eye on the navy leather cushions (navy leather! We’re in heaven) and silver-flecked cowhide cushions. And the copper side tables. And the oak dining table… 

In full bloom

In our minds, we simply don't get sent flowers often enough. If you, like us, have spent Valentine's Day, birthdays and anniversaries at work, waiting wistfully for that call from reception to say you have a flower delivery, only for the clock to strike 5pm without so much as a petal passing your desk, then this, dear readers, is for you.

Bloombox Co makes receiving a bunch of flowers a weekly (we wish!), fortnightly or monthly occurrence, depending on what you sign up for. Instead of a single bouquet, they send a huge box bursting with blooms for you to play with. Each one is a lucky dip - you might get ranunculus and roses one week, gumnuts and gardenias the next - so it's a beautiful introduction to flowers you might not know about, as well as a chance to find your favourites waiting for you by the front door. Boyfriends/husbands - your position has been filled.

Bloombox Co is the work of friends Melissa Whidjaya, whose background is in fashion design and marketing, and Philomena Kwok, a milliner who has worked for the likes of Escada and Carl Kapp.

Bloombox Co founders Melissa (left) and Philomena (right).

We were lucky enough to visit Melissa's sunny Dee Why apartment on the northern beaches of Sydney recently to see how she styles her flowers and her home. Vibrant and eclectic, it's filled to the brim with upcycled treasures Melissa and her fiancé have picked up on their travels, from far-flung destinations to side of the road finds. "Some of our favourites are pieces we've bought or found secondhand and restored ourselves," Melissa says. Check out some of them (including her amazing Louis XV-style dining chairs, picked up from the street!) below...

Candles, paintings and plastic figurines on a timber console Melissa salvaged.

A glorious bunch of blooms in an antiquated vase.

Q. Have you always loved flowers?
A. "I pretty much love anything that adds fun and colour to life, flowers included. That said, I've never much liked formal floral arrangements - I've definitely always been a fan of flowers put together in a way that reflects your personality rather than the 'way things should be done'."

Q. Have you or Philomena trained as florists?
A. "Phil's sister is a florist but neither Phil or myself are professionally trained. While we definitely follow guidelines when it comes to flower care, I actually think it's great that we aren't florists ourselves - it's allowed us to take chances and think totally outside the box. We love experimenting and mixing things up a bit. The whole concept behind Bloombox Co is that flowers aren't just for florists - it's totally up to you to play, create and enjoy."

Leather Louis XV-style dining chairs and a vibrant upholstered stool surround the rustic timber dining table.

Striking black birds of paradise and hot pink carnations atop the table.

Q. Do you always have fresh flowers at home?
A. "Yes, especially since we launched Bloombox Co! I usually at the very least have a vase of something on my bedside table and in the bathroom. If I haven't had a chance to buy flowers I'll just grab some funky foliage from the garden."

Stacks of magazines, a ceramic vase and a rainbow chandelier adorn the coffee table.

Q. What's your top tip for DIY floral styling?
A. "I would say firstly it's really important to embrace what's in season - that way you know you'll be getting the most beautiful blooms and they'll be fresher, so they'll last you longer. Then when it comes to styling, experiment! Pick a few colours you love and then make sure you have a range of textures and sizes to work with. As long as you love everything that goes in, it's likely you'll love the end result."

Melissa's covetable collection of jewellery is displayed in the hallway in an ornate photo frame she transformed.

Q. What size or shape vases should every girl own?
A. "A few bud vases for small arrangements dotted around the house, a decent-sized ceramic vessel in a fun  colour and something unconventional like a bowl or metallic urn."

Bathroom details.

Q. Where do you shop for homewares and furniture?
A. "Locally, I love Cherry Blossom at Narrabeen for kitsch, Mexican-inspired homewares and the Armchair Collective in Mona Vale for vases. The Bower in Marrickville is awesome for secondhand pieces with loads of potential."

Incredibly, Melissa hand-painted the intricate design on the leather upholstery of this armchair -  as you can see, the seat cushion is a work in progress! 

Q. What do you love most about apartment living in Dee Why?
A. "Being so close to the ocean is my favourite thing about it. I love being able to pop down to the beach for a swim and some sun. We've also got other friends and family living in apartments close by, which is really nice."

The turquoise chest of drawers Melissa and her fiancé restored and painted.

STYLE NOTES {melissa whidjaya} 
dream home: Somewhere by Freshwater beach.
style icon: I don't really follow anyone in particular but I am loving Bianca Cheah at the moment.
favourite flower: It changes all the time! At the moment I'm loving foxgloves and snapdragons.
best scent: the ocean.
colour palette: turquoise and hot pink.
music of choice: Bob Marley and movie soundtracks.
film that inspires: Baraka.
go-to outfit: denim shorts, big earrings and basic tanks.
era of choice: Now is pretty good! But the 70s for the music.
ideal holiday: dog sledding in Sweden followed by a nice thaw out in Bali.
perfect Sunday: sleep in, beach and a breakfast picnic, a surfing lesson with my fella, a seafood feast, some margaritas and a movie.

The most incredible ruby red peonies we've ever seen, displayed in a mustard yellow vase.

Visit Bloombox Co's website for Melissa and Philomena's floral styling tips and video tutorials - we love their video on how to fill a shallow bowl with blooms, here.

The look of Lust

Hands up who has a wish list stored on their phone (after the long weekend, our latest reads like this: Triangl bikini, Becca sunscreen, a Clarisonic...). But Sydney-based illustrator Sally Spratt of The Lust List has an infinitely more stylish way of documenting her favourite finds: armed with her paintbrush, watercolours and pencils, she beautifully hand illustrates her must-haves. Her motto? 'If I can't have them, I'll draw them.'

What started as a personal side project while in between graphic design jobs (Bassike is among her former employers) has rapidly morphed into an illustrated empire. Sally has a staggering 50,000+ Instagram followers waiting to see what she draws next and her A3 prints and cards are the latest lust-have for every lover of fashion and design (something else to add to those iPhone lists!). We chatted to Sally about her studio style, inspiration and what it's like to window shop for a living...

 Sally Spratt, illustrator of loveliness. Photo by Bridget Fleming.

"Throughout school I dreamt of being a fashion designer, but then I realised I only really wanted to do the fashion illustrations," Sally admits. "I love that fashion is a perfect marriage of art and sculpture." When she's not being commissioned by high end fashion and beauty houses (La Mer and Louis Vuitton are among her clients), Sally hits the shops for The Lust List. "I get inspiration from window shopping, trawling through blogs and social media as well as reading my fave magazines: Harper's Bazaar, Elle and Vogue," she says. So basically, every girl's dream job.

Above and below: The Lust List gift cards, available here. 

'Tuesday Training' A3 print, $100, and 'Surfing with CC' A3 print, $75.

Given that she's surrounded by luxury labels all day, perhaps it should come as no surprise that Sally can't pick a favourite product. "I'm in a position where everything I have worked on (and am working on) has been something new and inspiring," she says. A recent trip to New York Fashion Week is fuelling her current work. "You'll probably start noticing a shift in the posts," she reveals. You heard it here first. 

The illustrator at work, via her instagram. 

 Sally in her studio (shot via her Instagram).

There's no doubt Sally has an eye for style, and her studio shows it. "I love a fresh white space with succulents, throws and minimal clutter," she says. "However, I tend to work in organised chaos with artwork drying by my feet, so I need to at least start fresh so it doesn't get overwhelming." Her studio essentials? "Pencils, paints, little jar of water with my brushes, light box, laptop and all my posting essentials like envelopes, tissue paper, cotton twine and music in the background to keep me company."

Sally always has a candle burning - "it keeps me calm and the house smelling beautiful" - and a penchant for recycling Palm Beach Collection candle jars to store pencils and paintbrushes. The finishing touch? "A mood board is a great way to keep all inspiration in front of you and also little notes, photos or things that you have collected to remind you of something special," she shares.

STYLE NOTES {sally spratt}

dream home: Spacious beach shack in Palm Beach or Byron Bay.

style icon: Christine Centenera and Lindy Klim.

favourite flower: White peonies and white oriental lilies.

best scent: Gardenia and Jasmine.

colour palette: black, white, grey and navy.

music of choice: Something chilled like Bon Iver or The 1975.

best brunch: eggs, tomato, haloumi and spinach.

go-to outfit: denim cut offs, loose t-shirt, leopard flats and a leather jacket over the shoulders.

ideal holiday: Inspiration trip to NY or a beach shack in Bali.

perfect Sunday: A sleep in, brunch, long walk with friends, relaxing on the beach and finishing with pizza and red wine at The Corner House in Bondi. 

The Lust List gift cards and prints, available here.

To keep up to date with Sally's latest illustrations (and by default, designers' latest collections), follow her on instagram: @_thelustlist_. 

Artist in residence: Kerrie Hess

Commissioned by Chanel. Based in Paris. Featured in Vogue. Kerrie Hess' resume reads like the script of a fabulous fashion flick or Lauren Weisberger novel. But for this Australian illustrator, a glittering list of experiences and encounters is simply the by-product of an enduring passion for drawing. We've long been fans of Kerrie's beautiful illustrations (and yes, she's sister to Megan Hess, featured on The Apartment recently) and caught up with her to talk about her work, style and home.

An Australian in Paris - is it just us, or does Kerrie have a bit of Carrie going on? Photography by Carla Coulson

"If I could be any of the women I've drawn, I'd love to be one from my exhibition at Le Meurice hotel in Paris earlier this year," says Kerrie. "They were all dressed in styles inspired by haute couture." For those of you unfamiliar with her work, Kerrie's spécialité is depicting wonderfully stylish women - the kind you wish you could be. With each watercolour brushstroke comes a vision of a Dior-draped damsel on her way to the opera, a pair of sylphlike girls taking tea and macarons, or a well-heeled lady walking her dog to Tiffany's. 

While Kerrie's to-die-for drawings have graced billboards for Paris department stores, the pages of Tatler and a recent Louis Vuitton campaign, she also creates limited-edition prints (described as her "personal little passion project"), which you can purchase here. Our advice to fashion fiends: bag yourself one of these beauties to dress up your interiors.

 

Shop these prints - and more - at Kerrie's online store.

Kerrie created nostalgic paper dolls for Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2013 campaign. 

"Louis Vuitton actually asked me to write the brief for the project, which was scary!" she recalls.

It seems fitting - given the sense of style and sophistication infused in her work, not to mention the major fashion houses seeking out her talents - that Kerrie spent a "magical" 18 months in Paris. Here, she lived in a chic apartment decorated in timeless monochrome. "I've always loved black and white interiors with pops of metallic," she says, also professing her penchant for high-glamour statement pieces. "I think it's fun to add some unexpected elements to your home, like a chandelier in the office or kitchen."

 

Just like her illustrations, Kerrie's Parisian dining room is a vision of elegance.

 Artwork by Kerrie Hess.

Although Kerrie recently returned to Australia, the City of Light continues to inspire her work and lifestyle. "Aside from all the great shopping, style and fashion in Paris, the thing I miss most is my daily trip to the local boulangerie for a baguette," says Kerrie. "And my young son has become a food snob - he now prefers smoked salmon and goat's cheese to ice-cream and chocolate, which makes me laugh."

So what's next for this creative talent? "I'm currently working on some amazing projects with Laduree Paris and Lancome Paris," says Kerrie. And after that, well, we imagine she could be anywhere from exhibiting in New York to chronicling couture in Cannes... We await the next chapter of this fashion fairytale.

STYLE NOTES {kerrie hess}

dream home: It’s under renovation/decoration right now…

style icon: Emanuelle Alt.

favourite flower: Peonies.

best scent: Chanel No. 5.

colour palette: Black and white (but currently obsessed with pink and copper).

music of choice: Pink Martini.

film that inspires: Rear Window.

go-to outfit: An LBD, or jeans, t-shirt and blazer.

era of choice: For style, the 1950s.

ideal holiday: On the beach with my son, eating ice-cream.

perfect Sunday: A sleep in, breakfast out or a stroll at the markets, an afternoon of painting, then dinner somewhere cosy.

Image via totoi.com.au

Note: if fashion, Paris, macarons or flowers are your cup of tea, 

follow Kerrie's achingly beautiful Instagram account @kerriehessillustration.

Animal kingdom

There’s a little voyeur in all of us and here at The Apartment, we love a good sneak peek inside a celebrity home. So this week, we were thrilled to be invited into the digs of social media star and uber photogenic pooch Oskar (that’s @theoskardaily), oh, and his owners Angie and Graeme. The miniature dachshund, who boasts nearly 2000 Instagram followers and is a bit of a famous face on the streets, took us on a tour of his sunny Potts Point apartment, a personality-filled haven that truly reflects the family who call it home.

Oskar's position as top dog was written in the stars: twelve months ago, Angie and Graeme moved into their apartment - a spacious, light-filled Art Deco one-bedder - to make room especially for him. But while this pup may rule the roost, the apartment's interiors are defined by his owners' passions. "It's quite clear when you walk in the door that one of us is a cyclist, and the other loves plants, that's if you can get past our 'vicious' guard dog," says Angie with a laugh. "He loves cuddles and attention, but only from the ladies."

Serious cyclist Graeme's bikes double as an art installation, seemingly "pole dancing" on the wall, while every bay window - and there are three of them, which capture sweeping city views - are stocked with flowers and greenery. "I pretty much shove random things in our little window bays," says Angie. "As we don't have a balcony, I'm always dreaming of one and love having plants everywhere!"

Angie's penchant for plants is clear, but can you spot the cyclists too?

Thanks to the large windows, high ceilings and crisp white walls - one of Angie's obsessions - the space has that light, fresh and airy feel that apartment-hunters the world over yearn for. The couple have kept the scheme minimal, punctuating the abundance of white with pops of red and orange, not to mention some cool and quirky style finds.

Designed for leisurely Sunday brunches, the dining space hosts replica Eames 'Side' chairs, plus a red 'Rocker', from Matt Blatt.

Too good to dry the dishes with, Angie's favourite tea towel is casually taped to the wall. Find it at Able & Game.

A Page Thirty Three oil burner sits alongside more beautiful blooms, bringing with it a dash of apothecary style.

We found ourselves playing a game of 'spot the dachshund'! The adorable figurines were the couple's wedding cake toppers.

If you've noticed an abundance of designer candles (many of them upcycled as plant pots), it's because Angie is a make-up artist. (We spent a good twenty minutes tapping into her beauty expertise, and we only got as far as primer.) As such, her bathroom is filled with an envy-inducing collection of products, with an on-trend hexagonal tile splashback forming the backdrop.

 We've been coveting this copper lamp from Freedom, which makes a shining statement in the bedroom.

Sitting in this home that's been decorated with a focus on sentiment rather than stuff, the conversation turns to what the couple would save in a house fire. "Funnily enough, Oskar and I regularly experience fire drills within the building," says Angie. "While he's running up and down the hallway urging me to hurry up, I'm grabbing my handbag and the essentials. Most importantly, I grab Oskar's lead and treat pouch - otherwise he'd leave me for another woman!" Never, we say, despite his ever-growing list of admirers... "And as for Graeme," she adds. "He'd probably be stuck on which bike to bring."

STYLE NOTES {angie}
dream home: White walls, floorboards and marble and copper bathrooms (with heated floors!) Loads of natural light is a must and space to grow heaps of plants.
style icons: I would love to be as cool and stylish as Rei Kawakubo when I'm her age. Susie Bubble's quirkiness and colour is always refreshing, and I love the simplicity of Yasmin Sewell.
favourite flower: Magnolias and pure white phalaenopsis orchids.
best scent: Green, fresh and leafy and/or sandalwood-y warm scents.

colour palette: Navy, cobalt and pastel blue, concrete/slate grey, mint green and white.
music: The Fugees, Frankie Valli, Chet Faker, The Bamboos. And old school RnB/hip hop.

ideal holiday: Somewhere sunny near the beach (or a pool) with lots of good food. 
era of choice: 1920s and/or 1950s.
perfect Sunday: Sunshine, good food, Oskar and maybe a movie.