Books, beds and bathrooms

For me there's nothing nicer than a wall of books. Except my problem is I keep every book I ever get and, as I discovered during the unpacking, we have so many books - quite a few of which I don't know why I kept in the first place! And the sad thing is, second hand book shops are now pretty fussy about what they stock and even charities are being selective. So now I've made a pact to only keep ones I really, really liked and want to have on the shelves.

Here is a little corner of the study with flying ducks on the wall from Delilah Devine's Esty shop (aka Linda from Adelaide) who makes them from vintage wallpaper and eco ply. She also does flying horses! Have to point out another of homemade cushion and the old green phone I bought a while ago that our electrician has just spent ages on to get it working properly and restore its ring. Being the youthful age he is, he thought it rather quaint and couldn't get over how long it took to dial (I didn't like to tell him we had one of these when I was growing up!).

Through the door at the end of the bookshelves you get to the master ensuite - hence the continuation of the timber. I spent ages looking for bathroom mirror lights I liked (which hubby never quite understood!) and finally found these Italian numbers which fitted the bill nicely.

Then through the ensuite you get to the master bedroom (and another homemade cushion!).

And if you're lying there, you get to look here ...

Glad we went for the extra carpet underlay as the carpet is soooo comfy. And in case you're wondering the carpet is Cavalier Bremworth NZ wool and all the bedroom curtains are a sheer of some sort with a neutral blackout lining behind so you can get the best of all worlds: privacy, light and total darkness as required.

We're in #2: Bedrooms

As promised here are some more shots of the interior: the bedrooms ...

Our bedroom with the 'Tree Tops' wallpaper which has come up better than I expected.

Spare bedroom detail (the bed's not up yet as special screw thingys needed to lock the slats in place are missing - hopefully in a box yet to be unpacked in the garage. But, don't worry, English visitors - it will be up in time for your visit at Christmas!).

Daughter #1's purple bedroom

Detail in daughter #1's bedroom. The curtains have small silver sequins in the flower pattern which look gorgeous at night. 

Daughter #2's desk detail with its pale aqua colour scheme.

I have to say the girls have been fantastic at packing and unpacking their rooms. I've not done a thing! Well, the deal was if it doesn't get packed or unpacked then it's gone - in the rubbish or given away. Seemed to work!

Pale blue metallic tiles in the girls' shower (wish I'd put them around the bath now they look so pretty!)

I have more so will put them in the next post!

Homemade Cloth Cushions

There's been a lot of crafting going on here lately and I managed to make the two Cloth Fabric cushions for our bed without too much difficulty considering I've done nothing like this for about 25 years!!!

Well, I did sew one side the wrong way which needed unpicking and then some of the ribbon got caught up and that needed unpicking and re-sewing! But other than that, it went okay. Needless to say, daughter #1 helped with some of the sewing while I measured, cut, pinned and did the final sew.

I used offcuts of the lampshade fabric and then bits I'd bought as remnants.

For the backing I used Cloth Cream Hemp fabric and cream ribbon (I didn't want to attempt sewing zips!).

I think I could get into this cushion-making lark!

More DIY Lampshades

When I was doing our bedside lampshades daughter #1 decided to give her plain white one some TLC.

With a hot glue gun and some braid she had it done in no time and now it coordinates even better with her bedlinen!

DIY Lampshades

So ... I had a plain lampshade that I thought could do with a zshush.

And I bought another one so we could have two new bedside table lights.

I found some instructions on the Beach Vintage blog (because I am incapable of working out how to do these things on my own!).

I bought some fabric from Cloth Fabric (Kangaroo Paw in Surf on Cream), some cream ribbon and spray adhesive.

And began ...

It was trickier than I thought as the shades taper in slightly at the top so the fabric couldn't be cut on the straight and needed to wind around the shade so it wouldn't bubble when sprayed with adhesive.

The hot glue gun proved tricky too. I'd never used one before and didn't realise how quickly the glue set and can become lumpy if not let to spread. Cue: daughter #1 who is an expert and helped me glue on the ribbon.

Between us, the lampshades were done in no time and if you don't look too closely, they don't look too bad!

During the day and at night ...

I'm now going to make some cushions for the bed from Cloth Fabric remnant samples!

Look what I found ...

Naughty, naughty, naughty!

Never has Ruby been allowed on our bed. Ever.

And yet ... one rainy day she decides to make our bed her bed!

I think she thinks if she ignores me, I'll go away and leave her be.

Fat chance, my friend!

News & Views from the House

Well, I seem unable to find time to blog these days - ironically work on the house is becoming more time-consuming and then there's my work, a writing course I'm doing and the girls on school holidays.

Don't bring out the violins because it is all self-induced. I just need to say no occasionally but that's another story.

On this story, we are making progress but not as quickly as we'd like because there have been some dramas with the glass for the windows with it not fitting the frames when it arruives on site! I feel like we're on a series of the television program Grand Designs - although, thankfully, we don't have host Kevin McCloud doing a close-up to camera on whether or not we'll finish on time and on budget!

The plan, as I mentioned in a previous post, was to have lock-up by Easter but that's now not possible. The guys are working as hard as they can to fit the windows and then do the cladding at the same time and also prepare the area and foundations for the garage (which will now be done all in timber rather than brick which is easier, quicker and saves money - hooray!).

Anyhow, here's a few pictures ...

Weatherboard cladding going up around the front bedroom (below) and the study above. It will be painted Dulux Natural White and should look pretty good methinks.

Close-up of the cladding.

One of the girl's bedroom windows - sans glass.

Woodchips in the bedroom and purple converse feet (my daughter's).

The last of the original bricks being stored in the guest bedroom which were to go on the garage but will now be used in the landscaping.

The garage foundations and site being prepared.

A pier for the garage. Alice and the Mad Hatter may be down there ... who knows?

Good byeeee!

Up, Up and Away!

Yes, we're going up! What a great day it was on Friday when we could, not only walk up some properly formed stairs (and not a ladder as I thought we might), but stand on the second level of the bedroom wing of the house.

The beautiful (!) stairs that lead down to the girl's bedrooms and laundry ...

... and lead upstairs to the master bedroom and study. It's a little hard to see but this shows the small deck at the end of the master bedroom that overlooks the pool below, gets a glimpse of the sea ahead and the national park to the right (out of sight) above the rooftops.

The bedroom window with a tree-filled view. The reason the bricks are different colours is because the supplier delivered the wrong ones (!). But we didn't need to change them as the colour is the only difference and they won't be seen once it's all clad.

Entrance to the master bedroom.

View from the outside with the study window above Amy's bedroom and the laundry door to the right.

More pictures to come ...!

I'm Dreamin' Of ... well, definitely not a white Christmas!

I'm actually dreaming of a sunny one! Well, at least the rain hasn't dampened the start of my Christmas shopping. Am feeling quite good about having ventured to both actual shops and those online - although I can't post any of my good finds as I don't want to give the game away to the intended recipients! Needless to say, I'm feeling in more of a festive mood and am looking forward to spending time with the family in the sun (hint, hint oh sun up there!) at Christmas time. What about you? Have you started Christmas shopping?

In a bid to organise my computer files, I've also been going through my 'sources of inspiration' images I've collected over time. Here are some rooms that I love for being fun, eclectic and colourful and, I think, have a hint of Christmas spirit about them despite there being no green or red in sight!

 Image via Belle Maison

Am loving the coffee table and the sofa, even though I have to say, I probably wouldn't buy a teal-coloured sofa. Yet it really works here.

If you haven't heard about the UK's Bryonie Porter and her wallpapered furniture, you've got to check out her site - here - what cool stuff and she even commissions. Too bad we're not in London!

Well, okay, so I said there wasn't any red but it really helps bring alive this neutral room and it's unusual mix of styles.

Image via Australian Interior Design Awards

Now, if this doesn't scream summer time, Christmas time, relax-outside-for-a-bbq-by-the-pool-time I don't know what does. You could entertain a crowd here!

Image via Belle Maison

Okay, so maybe this isn't so colourful but after all that entertaining you might want somewhere serene and peaceful to retire to and this bedroom corner looks like just the spot. I've always wanted a mannequin to drape my jewels (!) over and a girly spot in which to powder my nose but hubby isn't so keen on too much girly stuff! I guess when he lives with a house full of girls (even the dog) he's allowed some respite.

Happy Christmas shopping everyone!

Building Progress: Second Level Slabs Get Poured

Finally we have half of a second floor slab! I thought the rain would never stop, but it did (although it's started again, I might add) and at the end of last week and on Saturday the guys were able to do this ...

They formed the slab and poured the concrete over the girls' bedrooms, above which will be our bedroom and the study. To the left is the guest bedroom and you can see the frangipani at the front of the property start to bloom. And although you can't see it yet, in the middle will be the stairway linking the two 'wings' (for want of a better word) and the front entrance, which will be set halfway between the two levels.

Hugh has been busy moving mounds of muck but the mound of rubble in front of Amy's bedroom has made the boundary fence start collapsing! Oops! But at least we were going to replace it anyway.

In the far distance, if you squint really hard, you can see the sea!

The next stage now is to do the same on the upper level wing and then the brickies can start building the second storey walls so the whole thing can start to look more like a house!