I can’t possibly start this post without mentioning the ridiculously gorgeous feline, Pixel, distracting from everything else in this photo! He, and this coffee table, belong to stylist, designer and Real Living columnist Jacinta Preston, who is inviting us into her gorgeous north shore Sydney home this week.
When is a coffee table not a coffee table? When it’s a vintage luggage trolley! Although you can get faux vintage coffee tables in this genre everywhere these days, Jacinta purchased this one about 20 years ago from Adelaide Antique Auctions. “Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was often in a bidding war with David Bromley and Khai Liew. The serious dealers, only half-jokingly, referred to my purchases as ‘firewood’.” With a house full of boys and pets, Jacinta finds furniture with some patina works well!
“A coffee table always holds my favourite everyday things: Books, mags, flowers, and candles. Oh, and Pixel the cat! And it’s often the first landing position for new finds… this is my own little vignette station. The coffee table is a natural stage so fill it with things that mean something to you — ‘good things’ that you like to use or see everyday. The antique marble chess board adds a lovely graphic element and doubles as a tray!
“It’s no secret Tom Dixon is one of my all time design heroes and his scented candles are beyond perfection, with totally universal appeal. The Cire Trudon Ernesto room spray is in a gorgeous, handcrafted glass bottle with a classic gold poire atomiser. A lot like Tom’s candles, it’s simultaneously perfume and decoration!”
The Tom Dixon copper cast shoe is supposed to be a door stop but we agree with Jacinta in that it’s far too beautiful to be used as such. “It’s a little work of art!”
Where from?
The Tom Dixon Scented Candles ($95 each) and Tom Dixon Copper Cast Shoe ($253) are available from Jacinta’s own online store. The Cire Trudon Room Spray ($235) is from The Country Trader, the miniature carved bone skull on stand is from recent holiday in Bali.
Photography: Michael Malherbe
