Inspiration in the most unlikely of places

Who wants to think about house building on a weekend away? I didn't think I would but I seemed to find inspiration in the most unlikely of places. We took a trip up to Hardys Bay last weekend which is a one and a half hour's drive north of Sydney, near Killcare surf beach ...

Where boats bob in the bay and people are ingenious with their letterbox design ...

It is a place where original meets new, traditional meets designer but one thing will always stay the same as long as motorists pay attention to the road signs ...

The 'ducks crossing' road sign not only looks quaint but, as we found, is very necessary - ducks are everywhere and they have no road sense! It wasn't just duckling season either but Jacaranda flowering time. These trees would have to be one of my favourites and the mauve colour is so striking against the green foliage. It would be a great colour for a girl's bedroom.

The ducks not only like to cross roads but traverse lawns and even ride in boats ...

But I never thought ducks would provide inspiration for the colour scheme of a house and yet, after this weekend, I think they just have! I love the colours of these ducks: the chocolate brown and white bodies (I'm thinking white walls and dark timber floors), and the teal and forest green heads (perhaps for accent colours in cushions, lights, even wallpaper) and the caramel body of the third bird (for a sofa colour or light wood coffee table or dining table). Mmm ... could I add these pictures to a mood board, I wonder?

I then started thinking about the deck and how wonderful duck-egg blue coloured deck chairs would be - like these from Ici et La. The company not only has a beautiful range of deck chair upholstery fabric from France but striped textiles for cushions and lampshades.

Finally, on the topic of places to visit, I don't profess my photos to be anywhere near as good as Louise Hawson's on her 52 Suburbs blog (where she is visiting one Sydney suburb a week for a year and documenting it) but I try! Louise's photos are amazing and her captions fantastic. It is definitely worth checking out.