Get Smart

Hey! Shake out some of that Holiday stress, and let me show you a few fab finds that will inspire.

Today we're peeking into my new found love for smart home tech (Hey, Alexa!), along with a stunner of a Canadian designed and made lamp, and of course how could I say no to terrazzo that's this good?

Cheers, Arren

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It's true, after being - honestly - too lazy to figure out smart home tech we finally took the plunge and made it happen. The result? After doodling around with it over the last while, I have to tell you we won't be giving it up any time soon.

For us, the all-new Amazon Echo is where it's at. Love the styling, and the boss sound (it's given our old speakers a major run for their money), but the major thing for me is controlling all our lighting. And not just on and off, nope, we're using it to perfectly dim the lights, and even change the lighting temperature from cool to warm with the Philips Hue smart bulb. Magic!

The Echo is also on the ball from a sustainability standpoint. When you add it all up, you're looking at a sweet combo of both 100% post-consumer recycled fabric and aluminum, as well as 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. #amazonpartner

At home with Amazon Echo

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This ravishing little number is giving me total ooh-ooh-ahs. Designed by Calen Knauf out of Vancouver, each Stutter Lamp is milled from a solid block of aluminum on a hi-tech 5-axis milling machine. Okay, who else would absolutely looove to geek-out and watch one being made? Form an orderly line, please.

I'm all the simplicity and attention to detail, with smooth curves and an anodized finish designed by Knauf to be completely tactile to entice you to touch it. Snap your very own hand-numbered Stutter Lamp here up on 1stDibs, I do believe you won't be sorry.

The Calen Knauf Studio Stutter Lamp

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Speaking of recycling, I'm totally here for a peek at the custom made nightstands of Brooklyn-based jewelry designer, Caitlin Mociun. The tops are recycled from off-cuts from Dzek's fab Marmoreal slabs, the rest of which is now at home in Mociun's kitchen.

Made in Italy and available in two colours, with either a white or black background to the marble composite, Marmoreal is a collab between Dzek and designer Max Lamb, known for his love of working with primitive, old-school design methods in new ways. And, to keep those design-brain wheels turning, it can be used as a surface just about anywhere in the home, as well as for floors and walls. Want!

Photo: Aaron Bengochea

Hot seats and beachside villas

It feels hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, so thank heavens friends introduced us to Botica’s Spanish Valencian Orange Gin. Poured over lots of ice and served with good tonic (or, in our case Italian mandarin soda), it’s the perfect antidote to this July heat.

Cheers, Arren

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How incredible! Designed as an intensely creative endeavour between Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Design Studio and South African furniture makers Houtlander, the Hlabisa Bench features a stunningly sinuous pink basketweave backrest woven by Zulu master weaver Beauty Nxongo.

Watch Nxongo at work on the bench here, working in locally harvested palm that is all dyed by hand. Oh, and if pink is not your thing? The Hlabisa Bench is also available in a slightly more sober, though no less graphic pattern - Take a gander here.

Image: Beauty Ngxongo, master weaver of Zulu baskets, and Stephen Wilson of Houtlander

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“A creative village by the ocean where music, art, design, food and wellness play together,” is an apt description of the ace new Potato Head hotel in Bali. Sustainability is the focus, with award winning architecture designed by OMA and collabs on furnishings with big name design talents like Faye Toogood and Max Lamb. There’s a lot to love, but - thanks to the current situation - we’ll have to wait to enjoy it as the project is in hibernation until later this year.

In the meantime, you can ogle some of the fab pieces included in the rooms, like Lamb’s Study Chair. The cool seat is made by local Balinese craftspeople from a confetti-patterned recycled plastic material from Smile Plastics (watch the video below).

Each chair comprises of 833 recycled plastic bottles - seriously stylish and sustainable or, as Potato Head would say, #GoodTimesDoGood.

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We’re dialling in more of those summer vibes with interior designer Alicia Ruach’s take on a laid-back beachside villa..

As Rauch explained to House & Home, “I love the contemporary beach house vibe! The warm wood tones and crisp whites juxtaposed with black accents add a punch of drama and interest. This style is a sophisticated coastal retreat that you would find on the picturesque coasts of South Africa.”

It’s good to dream, right?