Drawing inspiration

If you haven't heard of Megan Hess, chances are you've seen her work. This fashion illustrator extraordinaire designed the cover of Candace Bushnell's Sex & The City novel and has produced dreamy drawings for the likes of Chanel, Dior and Tiffany & Co. Plus she's a fixture on the international fashion week circuit, often spotted in the front row, putting pen to paper.

Megan in her Melbourne home (image courtesy of meganhess.com)
Styling Julia Green  Photography Armelle Habib

Image courtesy of the-collectiveonline.com

Just some of Megan's exquisite fashion prints, available here

As well as chronicling couture, Megan has turned her talents to interiors, recently collaborating with Designer Rugs to create some serious fashion underfoot. Her collection of three rug designs, aptly titled 'Vintage Jewels', is dripping with glamour and old-world elegance. "When designing the collection, I imagined beautiful rooms filled with antique jewels, velvet chaise lounges, gilt mirrors and beautiful buttoned upholstery," says Megan. In other words, here's a ticket to your very own Parisian boudoir.

Hand-tufted from New Zealand wool, each rug can be custom coloured (although what's not to love about blush pink and antique gold), shaped and sized. And while the decadent designs reference bygone eras, we think they'd look equally enticing in a modern apartment. One of ours, perhaps? Visit Designer Rugs to get your hands on one of these beauties.

Booked up

So we know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but here at The Apartment, we think it's perfectly acceptable to judge them by their spines. And who wouldn't, when they can be used to create an effect as giddying and gorgeous as this?

Image via Lucyna A. Smykowska

We just love the rainbow of colour this kind of coding technique brings to a room. You can make it as vibrant or neutral as you wish, depending on your reading habits - we find magazines ideal for shelves of white, and have been stocking up big-time on the Pink Popular Penguin classics (the proceeds of which go to the McGrath Foundation) for rows of lollypop pink. 

Image via Design Sponge

Image via www.stadshem.se

Don't feel like you're limited to books - trinkets and precious pieces look divine displayed amidst tomes and create a lovely uncluttered effect. Just look at this row of pretty china teacups matched tonally to the books below.  

Image via thebowerbirds.com

Image via http://myidealhome.tumblr.com/

Shoes! In a coffee table! Oh yes, and books. Colourful, coded books. 

Get the look: Breakfast At Tiffany's

Somtimes we're secretly happy when the clouds roll in and the skies open on a Sunday afternoon - hello, lazy DVD session! Today's downpour gave us license to watch the 1961 classic Breakfast At Tiffany's for the umpteenth time - to laugh when Holly finds her ballet flats in the fridge, to cry when Cat gets lost in the rain, and to sigh over that definitive little black dress by Givenchy. And amongst it all, we noticed a somewhat forgotten style symbol: Holly Golightly's apartment.

Located on Manhattan's swanky Upper East side, it's the ultimate bachelorette pad - a place for spontaneous soirees, decked out in '60s style. Sure, it's not decorated with quite the same dedication we stand for here at The Apartment, but it's nevertheless a reflection of Holly's eclectic lifestyle and inimitable elegance. And surely we could all learn a thing or two from a character who drinks her milk from a champagne glass. 

While Holly's couch is a repurposed freestanding bath, this button-back sofa 
from La Maison is a classic - not to mention more comfortable - alternative.  

Cushions from Fenton & Fenton for a burst of colour.

We'd replace Holly's zebra skin rug - synonymous with bachelor pads - with 

this striking Christian Lacroix design, available from Designers Guild.

Every girl needs a LBD (or two, or three!). We've bought lottery tickets in hope 

of adding this Lanvin number, available from Net-A-Porter, to our collection.

Holly loved a good double-duty design like this trunk 
- part storage part side table - from Coco Republic.

A Smeg fridge, available in countless colours, recalls retro flair.

Holly would have found iPhones hideously boring. Give yours a 

glamorous (and nostalgic) new look with a handset by Native Union.

This Nina Campbell wallpaper mimics old-world plasterwork

 and adds a sense of texture. Find it at The Elephant Room.

In bloom: dahlias and david austins

After an amazing run of sunny days and balmy nights, it seems Sydney’s Indian summer has drawn to a close. We’re using this dreary Sunday as an excuse to buy up big on some of our favourite flowers: dahlias and David Austin (aka English) roses. Who needs sunshine when there’s masses of vibrant blossoms brightening up a room?

Sigh-inducing David Austin roses - image via acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com

White dahlias mage via megsplorations.tumblr.com 

Both are available in Autumn (although dahlias are here for a limited time only -  get in quick!) and there really is nothing dreamier than a vase full to bursting with these beautiful blooms.

Image via Cumming & Co

Image via countrystylechic.blogspot.com 

The beauty of dahlias and David Austins is they’re so striking that you only need a single stem in a tapered glass to set off a bedside table, or better yet, a row of single stems in mismatched vases along a mantelpiece…or a cluster on a coffee table… really, if there’s a spare surface, we say put a flower on it, stat.

Image via Fete {left} and Selina Lake {right}. 

 Image via This Is Glamorous {left} and Modern Bouquet {right} 

For floral styling ideas, we’re in love with Holly Becker (the design doyenne of decor8 fame) and Leslie Shewring's new book, Decorate with Flowers. It’s just launched in Australia – watch this space for a review!

Style essential: the bedhead

Chic, confident, on trend yet timeless... no, we're not talking about Alexa Chung. Meet the bedhead, a veritable "it girl" of the decorating world. She's graceful and understated, yet always manages to catch your eye and outshine those around her. Something of a style chameleon, she can effortlessly work any look, from Parisian elegance to modern bohemian and cool minimalist. Go on, be allured by her charms...

Image courtesy of Beige and Burlap

Image courtesy of molitili.nl

Image courtesy of heirloomphilosophy.blogspot.com

Image courtesy of blog.stylizmo.com

Image courtesy of The Family Love Tree

Despite their serious style status, headboards are utterly accessible (especially when you adopt a "cost per wear" philosophy) and widely available. Here are some of our favourites.

'Genoa' bedhead, from $549, La Maison.

'Baroque' French Provincial bedhead, $1495, French Dressing.

'Provence' rattan headboard, $920, Maison Living.

'Peacock' bedhead, $459, The Family Love Tree.

'Zander' recycled timber headboard, $990, Eco Chic.