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A day in the life of an interior designer

Musings from the desk of an interior designer and design educator. How do I spend my time and  what do I find interesting? This is a photo of my design studio which is set in the garden of our Californian Bungalow. It gets plenty of natural light and has lovely views of our garden. It is also the repository of many of my books on design. Yes that is an old Imac that I am very attached to. I still do much of my graphic layout work, for projects on this machine, but internet and auto cad  I do on my MacBook Pro that I take everywhere with me.

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Blog resumed and it's winter in Melbourne

30/6/2014

 
Okay it has been a long break since my last post and much has happened in over twelve months. I now have much more time in my life to devote to the things I really enjoy, and the projects I would like to complete.

It's winter in Melbourne and it is wet. This is a good excuse to look at stylish umbrellas. I have on my wish list a Fortuny fabric umbrella, that I spied sometime ago while searching the net. I think it is practical to have a container that holds a few umbrellas by the front door, but they must be stylish. (I keep the ugly ones that somehow one acquires,  in the boot of the car.) A lovely umbrella inspires you to appreciate the rain and is a pleasure to put up and admire its design. I have a special old one that belonged to my partner's grandfather that has a silver handle and a couple of other smart ones that are nice and large, but a Fortuny one would be a lovely thing to own. We plan on visiting Italy at the end of the year so one of these will be on my shopping list.
In the meantime I have located some very old umbrellas that I found years ago and they have pretty handles, but the fabrics are perished. I have always planned to make patterns and renovate these umbrellas so stay tuned. 



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Which colour to choose will be a big decision to make from these coveted Fortuny umbrellas. This will involve contemplation for the next six months.

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This collection of umbrellas showing the antique silver handle.  The walking sticks have sentimental value, the one with the badger I brought home in my luggage from the UK twenty five years ago.

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Of course you need something to put your umbrellas in. A florist's flower bucket is useful I painted the family coat of arms on the side and yes they are rampant squirrels! The final pussy cat of a series of seven that makes a draft extruder, can be seen on the left.

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Sad umbrellas but waiting for a full restoration. The tortoiseshell handle saved this umbrella from extinction.

    Author

    Hi I am Elizabeth  an interior designer who lives in Melbourne, Australia in a little Californian Bungalow cottage with my partner, Max, who is also an Interior Designer, and our beloved furry children, Doris & Ernest. I believe that design can make our lives more rewarding and productive. I love, architecture and design theory but my everyday passion is fabrics and decoration, as I don't think we should get too serious but have fun with our homes and enjoy the process of creating our own environments.   I am interested in classic cars, and collect Georgian and Mid Century furniture.

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About Us

Design-Digest is created by the design team at Crichton Interiors. All images used in this site are photographed by the author unless referenced.

Company

Crichton Interiors was established in 1958, in Melbourne. 

Our Services

Working in both traditional and contemporary interiors, we specialise in designing and producing hand made soft furnishings as well as offering a full design service from documentation of concepts to schematic and working drawings. Incorporating antiques and artwork is our speciality.
Contact us at: crichtondesign@bigpond.com

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contrast lined contemporary styled curtains
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Werribee Park Mansion drawing room featuring specially commissioned silk damask