Inspiring Rooms V

Margaret Shiu's Residence - The Bamboo Curtain

This beautiful space is currently where Margaret Shiu, the director of The Bamboo Curtain (previous post) resides. It will soon be converted into living quarters for prospective artists in residence at the Bamboo Curtain when Margaret moves into a new home nearby.

I fell in love with the potential of this space. It has a rough and ready warehouse conversion feel to it, high ceilings, open plan, exposed steel framework, industrial style drop pendants, plywood cladding. It has huge windows that let in lots of natural light, which is such a rarity in Taiwan. They also permit fantastic views of GuanYin Mountain.

With a little nurturing during its tranformation this place could blossom into quite a special artists' haven. I'd love to get my hands on it and provide some interior design TLC.

Fred contemplates the Goddess' profile (GuanYin Mountain).

Wooden Chinese chairs with a simple modern table, and a grizzly bear on the toilet.

Open. Tall. Light.

A peek into the bedroom. The window ledge beckons, 'grab your book, sit down!'

Huge windows in the bedroom, overlooking the mangroves of the Danshui River.

Inspring Rooms IV

Beautiful Chinese Hostels

My sister, Kristy and I travelled through China in November 2010. We stayed in some lovely places. We stayed in two hostels, one in Beijing and the other in XiAn. I'd thought I had crossed a line, having left my cheap hostel dorm room days way behind. The pics on the websites looked fantastic, but I was dubious. We were more than pleasantly surprised when we arrived.

Not only were both hostels very reasonably priced and situated, but their interiors had me swooning.

The Peking Youth Hostel in Beijing was situated in one of the city's historic Hutong Neighbourhoods, five minutes walk from the Forbidden City. Originally, it was a traditional courtyard house and they've managed to maintain its charm whilst providing modern conveniences and a cosy atmosphere.

Some of the design features that stand out in my mind are; the glass conservatory style extension of the common room, the heavy army style 'doona doors' hung over entrances to help keep out the cold, the blue and white patterned ceramic basins in the bathrooms, red and green tones and lots of timber. I could have stayed here for our full three weeks, calm and comfortably tucked away in our haven from the sharp Winter cold. Oh, and their lemon honey tea was to die for.

Similarly, Shuyuan Youth Hostel in XiAn was originally a traditional courtyard house, though on a larger scale with three interior courtyards. It is a stone's throw from the city's South Gate and walking distance from the Bell Tower and Muslim Quarter.

Features of the Shuyuan Hostel; the generous proportions and natural light, the luxury of the lounge setting in the foyer, simple and elegant traditional chinese furniture, grey tones on the walls. The foyer lounge setting was my inspiration for this post.

The common area of the Peking Youth Hostel.

The lounge setting in the foyer of the Shuyuan Youth Hostel.

One of the three interior courtyards at the Shuyuan Youth Hostel.

Ms Ku's House

Fred and I spent a long weekend in Dulan, a small town thirty minutes north of Taitung with a strong arts community. Fred's family are native to this part of Taiwan so we took the opportunity to make the most of our time off and to visit his grandparents' tombs on Tomb Sweeping Day.

It's a beautiful part of the world. Small villages dotted sporadically amidst rice terraces, with a dramatic mountain ridge to the west and the Pacific to the east. Pace of life is relaxed and people are friendly. From the moment we arrived, wildest daydreams of buying some land, building my own house and setting ourselves up with a sweet idyllic existence, entered my mind and refused to leave. Even now as I type I have to pull myself back to reality.

I can only call it providence, that we ran into one of Fred's ex-dance teachers, Ms Ku. What's more, ten years previous she had bought herself some land and built herself a house here in Taitung County. So, the following day we visited her for lunch.

I had no expectations, but when we drove up her steep driveway and her home came into view my jaw dropped and I got a little teary. This woman had stolen my dream. I have been dreaming of designing and building a small, eco-friendly house somewhere beautiful near the beach or mountains (here she had both) for many years now. The similarities with the layout of some of my designs and my ideas for colours and finishes were uncanny.

Ms Ku, thank you for inviting us to your beautiful home and for the lovely lunch. I am totally envious of what you have created for yourself. You've inspired me, I want that too.

Just an idea of the Taitung landscape.

Blue and Grey. Sigh.

Mountain view behind, ocean view out front.

Inside: A drawbridge connects the loft bedroom to the balcony.

Outside: Huge sliding doors conceal or reveal.

They've used local timber throughout that has a

warm amber colour.

Inspiring Rooms III

In a city of endless blocks of buildings whose architecture is devoid of anything distinguishing, this place stood out like a diamond in a coal mine. Upon closer inspection we discovered it is a restaurant. Because it was mid afternoon it was empty, so the staff allowed us to check out the interior. The inside was even more impressive and other-worldly than the outside. The prices were expensive, but if the food is anywhere near as good as the decor it will be worth it.

Inspiring Rooms II

Julianne's Place

I'm a big fan of Julianne Moore (who isn't?). So when I saw the magazine (The World of Interiors, May 2006. Julianne Moore's Utopia: Movie Star's 1830's Town House) in the airport newsagency with the article featuring her home, I snapped it up.


Julianne's Living Room

Her muted colour palette and toning really appeals to me. I LOVE the grey walls. I have wanted my living room to be this exact colour for a long while, so I was excited to see it used by someone I admire. Grey is often associated with a feeling of coldness or sterility, but this room is a good example of grey creating a sense of warmth and comfort. It reminds me of small personal luxuries, like flannelette sheets in Winter, a tailored pair of trousers, or your favourite tracky pants.


Julianne's Bathroom

Instead of settling for the typically small bathroom that comes with a home in New York, Julianne converted what was the front parlour into a bathroom big enough for her whole family to use.

My favourite Julianne Moore films...

• Far From Heaven
• Magnolia
• Boogie Nights
• Safe
• Children of Men
• The Big Lebowski
• The Hours

Inspiring Rooms I

Like most designers I'm continually scouring books and editorials for inspiration. I cut out or photocopy anything that catches my eye and exemplifies my personal taste.

This room was the winner of the 2006 DIA award for Residential Interior. I love how clean and contemporary it is without losing the warmth or sensuality of the colour and texture.