the fresh wave of new coastal style

issue 56 ♡ new coastal is freshness, freedom & expanse. people living by the sea, creating worlds by the sea.

Jun 08, 2024

∙ Paid

new coastal by ingrid weir. words & drawings by dee kawai tang

so, what’s the new coastal vibe? love old coastal curmudgeon

dear new coasters & old toasters

last month we headed over east as sandgropers say — as if the entire east coast of australia is actually just one big state — like it is over here. we landed in sydney to celebrate the book launch of new coastal by fellow creative

Ingrid Weir

. in part I i share the story of meeting ingrid and interior shots in the the book, followed by part II where i asked the author a handful of questions about her new coastal journey.

part I.

a couple years ago

Ingrid Weir

asked if she could photograph our home for her second book — capturing homes that imbued a sense of new coastal. she was mapping out a journey that would take her from over east to the wild west coast of australia then up to the pacific coast of california before sojourning the east coast of the states.

ingrid arrived on a overcast winters day with a basket in tow, wearing a white blouse over dark capris, a black beret, a red check wool shawl and cowboy boots — refined theatrical i would call it. with no crew or apparent equipment in sight, she gracefully made her way around the property to capture our house and studio armed simply with a hand held camera and a designers lens.

afterwards she pulled out an old school recording device and proceeded to interview myself and

Desmond Sweeney

at our kitchen table over a cup of tea.

‘approach it like you’re in a new city’ was a friend’s advice to dee when she moved back to her hometown of perth. because you are a new being. with new values and beliefs, things you’re interested in. be present with that, and in that state you will connect with different people’.

i said apparently — and totally forgotten. so when i opened up new coastal two years later, it felt like i was reading my own advice for the first time. it was upon returning over east to the big smoke of sydney — the city that bestowed me a husband, two children, a business and immersion into a surf coastal community — that i would heed my own advice now imprinted forever in the book — to approach old sydney town like a new city, as a new being.

while grief lived with me daily and infused every action and intersection, i was no longer the heart-stricken mother and designer who left sydney seven years ago. so i reached out to friends where connection had not waned with distance and time — the handful who leaned into my strange habit of dead(ly) people conversation. old mates who met my new beingness with their present state of being and we evolved from old friends anchored by our past into refreshed friends.

to sum up new coastal in a word, it would be that — refreshing. it is refreshing to read a coffee table style book that while outwardly focuses on interiors, touches on the lightness and darkness, the spiritual and the physical make-up of homes and their inhabitants. it’s also refreshing for a book of this ilk to have the words written and photographs taken from the one lens. it creates a fully immersive storytelling experience — similar to a screenwriter who directs their own film, the signature is strong and present.

there could be a whole travel book about visiting seaside towns in the off season. you lose and you win. its the moon to the sun. no balmy days but bracing cold water swims. long walks on a windswept beach.

new coastal by ingrid weir. cover design by daniel new. published by hardie grant.

part II.

dee: ps. could i ask you a few questions about the book?

ingrid: i like your questions.

dee: where did the idea for new coastal stem from?

ingrid: coming out of covid — i was interested in freshness, freedom, expanse. the sea gives that to you. and people living by the sea, creating worlds by the sea — i wanted to see how they captured that feeling in their interiors.

dee: was there a house or place that unexpectedly resonated with you? or a location that felt like ‘home'?

ingrid: maine. i found it enchanting. it was actually the opposite of home. but probably that is what made it special.

dee: reflecting back on the journey to create the book — what have you learnt about humans/and their homes?

ingrid: something i was touched by was how warmly i was welcomed into the homes of strangers. there is a lovely greek word philoxenia. it means hospitality and welcome and is a very ancient custom. spaces really are about the people who inhabit them and a generous spirit animates a house, makes it a home.

dee: biggest takeaway or words of wisdom or a quote from an homeowner.

ingrid: in new coastal the photos captions are tips from the home owners. in their own words. so many interesting pieces of advice. one something that comes to mind is lukas haas saying ‘anything i can hang, i'll hang. pendants, bells. it creates an atmosphere and a magic’.

big coastal love.

d xx