Freelancing For Magazines

My good friend Allison over at Pink Fibro is what I would call a serious wordsmith. She is also a freelancer and did a post on breaking into this business which generated quite a bit of interest this week. Here is my two cents worth on the subject.

I am the first to admit that for the two of us, who have worked in glossies for many years, it is somewhat easier to crack this market as we already have the contacts and a "feel" for different publications.

If you have ambitions to contribute to magazines or newspapers, I would offer the following advice:

- try to write about what you are passionate about and the enthusiasm will shine through.

-what kind of writer do you want to be? are you a stylist as well? Do you write about houses or about general features as well? Have a focus. Know what area you wish to pursue.

- have a good look at the sort of stories the magazine/newspaper publishes and anticipate what THEY might be looking for, not what YOU think they should run.

-just pick the phone up and call the features editor or the homes editor. Who knows, you just might get through.

-always send in clean copy. If your copy is riddled with typos and spelling mistakes they will bin it.

-I usually put a suggested heading and introduction and sometimes breakout boxes if that is their style.

I have always been a writer of sorts although I spent most of my early magazine career on the visual side. Now I do both producing and styling as well as writing. And although I'm not as skilled a wordsmith as dedicated writers like Allison who writes on serious topics like finance and parenting, I do quite well in my niche of design and lifestyle because I am passionate about it and combining the visual with the words works well for me.

Room for A Dressing Room

Carrie Bradshaw's new old dressing room in SATC2.

Jenna Lyon's dressing room in a Brooklyn townhouse.

Carrie's bachelorette dressing room again.

The matrimonial dressing room in SATC2- fabulous but a bit precious for me.

My husband cannot understand why I have so many pairs of shoes, no matter how many times I have tried to explain it to him. I have stressed the practicality issue of having the right heel and colour for every occasion. How you have to keep a supply of dressy thongs (flipflops) and beach thongs for summer and boots for winter. Then there's high heels, kitten heels and cork platforms and wedges - all important to have on stand-by.

Then there's the archive. I have even kept a few pairs of fabulous designer favourites that don't really fit me since going up a size after becoming a mother. (Isn't that another strange motherhood mystery?).

So I am pondering the possibilites of having a dressing room which may have to share space with my home office. Jenna Lyons (J.Crew style maven) has converted a whole room in her townhouse to hers. Even gals in tight New York apartments find room for them. And then there is Carrie Bradshaw's in SATC.

I would settle for something like the closet in her bachelorette flat. In fact I would prefer it to the one she shares with Mr Big in the new digs. (I am not keen on men who have tie collections.)

What is your dressing room dream?

Before and After

This is a great contrast between before and after in a renovation in upstate New York (from Country Living). The magazines don't seem to show the before shots much anymore, probably because they look so unattractive!

Anyway, I do love a before shot. I can relate...

The Screened Porch

I had never heard of screened porches until saw Grace Coddington's in a magazine many years ago. I have wanted one ever since. A friend of mine who lives in a mozzie-prone area near the beach has one and she lives out there most of the year.

We are planning such a porch at the end of our school house which will look out across the fields to the mountains. Here are some inspiring examples I thought I'd share.

The Big SALE!

In My House, the extended pop-up shop, is sadly coming to the end of its lease in Berry.

The good news is that we have lots of amazing bargains for designers and home decorators. From big decorator statements like this amazing coral mirror, to gorgeous quilts and garden accessories. I have great new season map cushions plus plenty of beachy striped cushions - all at sale prices.

I even have shells and coral as well as french soaps and hand creams - there are lots of gorgeous things.

We can deliver to most parts of Sydney, the Southern Highlands, Illawarra and South Coast. We can also post to other parts of Australia.

There are also some lovely vintage pieces and furniture we have restored. Come and see us in Berry or give us a call or email!

Brands on sale include:

Ruby Star

Cath Kidston

Meizai

Savon de Marseilles

Styletto French stationery

Un Esprit En Plus

Pip Duck gumboots (50% off!)

In My House

Email: inmyhouse@bigpond.com

ph: 02 4464 1855

open 10am -4.30pm (every day except Tuesday)

Tree House

God love them, my aunt and mother have been gathering information on our family tree for decades. Like many who live in the "new world", our heritage is a fascinating patchwork of stories of adventure and heartbreak and the meeting of many cultures.

I have put myself in as the contributor from the next generation, partly because my curiousity knows no bounds. And also because I have the skills to research the internet and put it all together.

How can I string this back to an interior design post?

In my endless Googles about a certain Scottish ancestor who started the wine trade on the island of Madeira, I found that the ancestral home, near Inverness, is on the market for the first time ....and what a pile it is.

Designed by one of Britain's most famous architects, it looks like something out of a Jane Austen film.

As some followers may remember, I have been contemplating buying an old pile somewhere in Europe for a few years now. Our plans to buy in rural France however, were put on the back burner when the GFC took hold.

Yesterday I found myself grilling a friend who used to work for BBC Scotland just HOW cold it is there. She said that she used to come home from work, have a hot bath and get straight under the duvet in winter. Hmmm.

Anyway, its fun to entertain the thought of living here. I already have the Pringle twin-set (which is hot pink).

High-rise Makeover

Many people live in modern high-rise apartment blocks these days and it can be a real challenge to create a welcoming interior in what is basically a space that is more "office" than "home".

New York designers have been tackling this problem for years and this dining nook makeover by Celerie Kemble (from House Beautiful) is a great example of how they use fabric and texture to soften the hard lines and completely ignore the "office" room structure.

The banquette makes the corner particularly cosy and the circular rug defines the dining space.

One For The Look-Book

I recently found this story of designer Ginger Barber's guesthouse in Texas again, and realised how similar it is to my place.... or how I want it to be when its finished!

So this post is really just a note to myself to start thinking of how I want the fireplace to look, what finishes I want on the floors and benchtops. I have a pile of huge sandstone blocks waiting for a stonemason and this fireplace is probably close to what I want. I even have cows just like that one just over the fence!

Moving Outdoors

It's spring here and the annual Berry Garden Festival starts today. Can't wait to get around and see some of the beautiful gardens which have had lots of wet weather lately so should be very lush.

Its also time to start planning spots on the verandah to set up for summer entertaining. Here are a couple of lovely shots from West Elm for inspiration.

Kate Spade Pops Up

New York accessories designer, Kate Spade, has opened a pop-up shop in a town house in London's Covent Garden. Apparently this is a temporary thing to test the waters and build brand awareness while they look for a "proper" shop.

What a fab idea. Personally, I think this is much more interesting than seeing yet another slick, high street emporium. These interiors are quirky, inventive and a little bit edgy.

I'm inspired, how about you?

Berry Garden Festival

This weekend our local garden festival is on. The usually quiet back streets are full of cars and buses and people meandering from garden to garden. The weather has been unseasonably cold and windy, but all the rain has made the lawns and rolling hills behind the most vibrant shade of emerald green.

If you can imagine, Berry is a small, historic town just a few kilometres from the coast, nestled under a small mountain range. It is surrounded by dairy farms and unlike many parts of Australia, is constantly green.

The soil is mostly pretty good, and there are many stunning gardens - both in small town blocks and on rambling rural acreage. One of the stand-outs this year is the garden of our friends L & D who live in one of the grandest old houses in town, The Manse. D's surgical skills have been applied to creating the most perfect hedges I have ever seen.

Their garden, like the house, is elegant and formal as befits a former Victorian church manse. To me, the best domestic gardens respond to the architecture with a hint of the personalities of the owners as well.

Ralph Modern

Ralph and Ricky Lauren's wonderful NYC apartment is in the latest Elle Decor. It's really quite minimal for them, but so my clients tell me, the older you get the more you want to get rid of "stuff". Lots of gorgeous details and some quite stunning interior architecture.

The Height of Style

This came via my husband's architects' network - an apartment in a pyramid atop the oldest skyscraper in Seattle. Apparently the tenant, Petra Franklin, heard that the space existed (it previously housed a water tank) and lobbied the building owners to let her take a long lease and convert it into a home for her family.

What a space and what amazing views!