Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 58 i est living magazine

From Copenhagen to London, this letter comes on the heels of another design festival and an extended European summer. Taking this time away from my desk has meant that this magazine, more than most, is a credit to our advisor, Karen McCartney; publisher, Miffy Coady; head of creative, Jack Seedsman; and the editorial team. While in this part of the world, I travelled to Belgium, where I had the rare privilege of stepping inside Vincent Van Duysen’s Antwerp home, greeted at the door by his three dachshunds, Flora, Pablo and Vesta. In Ghent, I caught up with long-time contributor Thomas De Bruyne, who has photographed the Sestig Pavilion—architect Glenn Sestig’s 1970s home—for our latest edition, Creative Minds at Home. This issue enters the spaces where creatives live to see how…

LOCATION Gadigal Country/Sydney, Australia Australian fashion designer and Shona Joy founder Shona Thatcher wishes she’d been born in the 1970s. Her romanticism for the era and Mediterranean summers is the through-line for her label, which she started 25 years ago at Sydney’s Bondi and Paddington markets. “We’ve always needed to be close to the beach,” Thatcher says, who splits her time living between Byron Bay and Bondi alongside her husband and boys—all keen surfers. A few years ago, Thatcher and her husband stumbled on their clifftop home, just a five-minute walk from North Bondi, and were taken by the size of the steep, rock-formed site. “It had a big backyard, city and harbour views—everything we wanted.” They lived in the 1940s home for four years before engaging Andrew Burges Architects…

LOCATION Warsaw, Poland Warsaw-based food blogger and bestselling author Michał Korkosz has amassed more than 800,000 followers under the name ‘Rozkoszny’, which means ‘delightful’ in Polish. Rozkoszny isn’t just about the dishes Korkosz creates with a plant-based bent, but the cultural experiences, memories and vivid aesthetic that render his entire culinary universe so popular. Korkosz contacted Marcin Czopek, founder of interior design studio Mistovia, based in Katowice, Poland, to design his apartment. He wanted to translate his uplifting-the-everyday approach to cooking into a home that would also double as his recording studio. The 65-square-metre apartment sits opposite a former factory in Warsaw’s Praga-Północ district, an area Korkosz gravitated towards for its local markets, cafes, and confluence of modern developments and tenement homes. “Korkosz deliberately chose this location because it combines…

Thomas De Bruyne As an architecture and interior design photographer, Thomas De Bruyne describes his style as abstract and graphic but not cold. His training as a graphic artist is consistently evident in his portfolio of work, which spans Belgium, as well as abroad, including Paris, London, Amsterdam, and the South of France. In this issue, De Bruyne photographs the Sestig pavilion, near Ghent, for our series on iconic architecture, The Greats. @cafeine https://www.instagram.com/cafeine/ Anson Smart Sydney-based photographer Anson Smart captures beautiful food, spaces and places. Studying at San Francisco’s College of Fine Arts, he returned to Australia to begin his photography career in Sydney. Twenty years later, Anson has established a portfolio shaped by the work of the world’s best creatives across editorial, advertising and published books. Smart captures…

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0vlRt7gmrp0pAGJ59kwHWU?si=07f05b94493b4e68 THIS MUCH I KNOW A DESIGN CONVERSATION McCARTNEY Patchwork House by Decus Interiors Kitchen Closeup In the kitchen of Patchwork House, Sydney-based interior design studio Decus has crafted a space where ritual, function and gathering converge. More than a place to cook, it reads as a considered extension of the home’s multigenerational rhythm—layered with tactile finishes, sculptural joinery, and appliances that balance performance with refinement. Positioned at the heart of the home’s primary entertaining level, oak-lined cabinetry and a bespoke gouged-brass rangehood frame the stage for both quiet family mornings and milestone gatherings. With a passionate cook as the client, the brief went beyond traditional utility, evolving into a design that embraces the theatre of cooking and entertaining. Expansive benches encourage shared preparation, a central island becomes a gathering…

Sydney-based interior design practice Folk Studio’s profile is defined by people-centred design. Favouring Australian brands valued for their craftsmanship and modularity, the practice’s interiors balance function with longevity. In conversation with co-founder and director Mariah Burton, we explore Folk Studio’s design language, highlighting selected projects where King Living pieces are integrated as anchors. Folk Studio is recognised for its considered, textural interiors. How would you describe your broader design philosophy and what underpins the way you approach a new project? Mariah Burton: Our design philosophy is about creating interiors that feel tactile and deeply personal. Texture and materiality are central to our design aesthetic, focusing on what each material contributes, rather than solely focuses on layering. Each project we take on has to resonate with me personally and so do…

LOCATION Gadigal Country/Sydney, Australia Conceived with the intent of exploring the future of urban spaces, this small inner-city terrace has adopted mixed-use principles. The multi-award-winning home of SJB architect Adam Haddow and partner Michael Combs uses planting to challenge norms and subvert traditional expectations, resulting in a series of spaces that constantly surprise and delight, while reframing the concept of the city garden. Architect Adam Haddow has created an experimental space packed with charm and personality. What were the key inspirations for the landscaping? Tom Smith: Adam and Michael have a beautiful, lush landscape painting in their living room, nearly four metres long, called Eora by artist Nicholas Harding, who won the Wynne Prize in 2022. The painting depicts native bushland with dense tree ferns and cabbage palms. It was…

Villa Junot by Claves Paris, France The perfect expression of Parisian Art Deco, the main bathroom at Villa Junot evokes the glamour of ancient bathing traditions. Spearheading the project, Claves approached the monumental bathroom with a spirit of restoration rather than reinvention. Dating back to 1926, the volumes and tiling have been maintained, with the original mosaics painstakingly restored by master mosaicist Delphine Messmer. Contemporary insertions have been kept deliberately discreet: travertine vanities with rounded profiles, ecru upholstery, patinated brass and oak joinery, all chosen to frame rather than compete with the mosaics. “We wanted this bathroom to retain its grand, cinematic aura while also feeling like an inviting space to linger,” Claves co-founder Laure Gravier explains. The restored mosaic fountain wall, depicting cascading water, cements this bathroom as a…

LOCATION Bidjigal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal Country/Bondi, Australia Home for Sydney-based architecture practice director Nick Kent, his partner and their two boys needed to be many things, with flexible, multi-use spaces at the top of their wishlist. On a tight budget, the new two-storey residence in Bondi was an opportunity to be less conventional with materials while allowing for an expansive floor plan within a remarkably time-efficient 12-month build. Kent explains that to enable a faster-than-usual program, a complete structural steel framing system and “pre-finished off-the-shelf materials were selected for cladding and interior linings, with the structural steel and concrete left exposed as finished surfaces and trims,” making it “significantly quicker” than typical projects undertaken by the practice. No skirtings or architraves were required. As both the client and designer, Kent…

Pipe Mixer Marcel Wanders Aboutwater Boffi Fantini “Boffi Pipe mixer. The red handle always makes a great statement in powder rooms.”– David Flack, Flack Studio City Stik Brodware “Brodware has such good quality products in a wide range of finishes and profiles that suit any project type—be they modern or period.”– Felicity Slattery, Studio Esteta Scala Range Sussex “Classic and timeless, and Australian-made.”– Emily Watson, Studio Bright Limewash Bauwerk Colour “All natural, eco-friendly and a really beautiful selection of colour.”– David Goss, Studio Goss Murowash Natural White Murobond “I love the hand-applied finish and softness Murobond Murowash adds to spaces.”– Madeleine Blanchfield, MadeleineBlanchfield Architects Bluefin Porter’s Paints “Porter’s Paints colours are my personal favourite—their colours have real depth and feeling. I love ‘Bluefin’ or as we call it ‘Brem blue’.”–…