Views from Inside

Well, the camera has been doing overtime! While it does feel a little weird taking photos of what is now our home - rather than a work in progress - here are some shots of inside.

As an unconfident sewer, I have to point out the homemade turquoise velvet cushion - one of four I'm proud to say! The fabric was bought on a whim on a visit to Auckland last hols and it perfectly matches, as I had hoped, the rug.

Entrance to the living space and kitchen, capturing the view of the trees.

View from the deck through to the kitchen and dining space - plus an amazing floral creation of sunflowers and cabbages a friend made for me.

Kitchen/living wall niche painted in Resene Triple Masala.

The bathroom off the living room.

The wallpaper is from Laura Ashley if anyone's interested, bought on sale at an amazing $48 a roll which is a bargain in wallpaper-world!

Front door and stairwell detail. Finally the glass balustrades are in and are the correct measurements!

Am loving the sandstone wall but it does seem to attract the huntsmen! Although we have had two in the dishwasher so maybe there's just something about the house. Whatever it is, I'll have to warn our English visitors who are arriving in two weeks!

Until next time ...

Jx

We're in #3: Wallpaper, family rooms & buildings sites

Am in love with wallpaper and am so glad we've used it here and there, as in the rumpus room toilet (just for my English hubby!) ...

The mirror on the floor will, of course, go above the vanity!

And the Triple Masala walls in the TV room have come up a treat ...

 I'm so happy we decided to keep some of the original bricks exposed in the rumpus room ...

But let's not forget it's still a building site! 

External study louvres showing the entrance 

... and the front garden

Over the next two weeks we're hoping to see a lot of progress so watch this space!

Shady Designs Pendants and more chaos!

I didn't think things could get even more chaotic than they already are. But how wrong I was!

On site late yesterday afternoon, running through everything that needs to happen I discover the girls' bedrooms have been beautifully painted. But in the wrong colour! Yes, indeedy, two lovely coats on the walls and joinery were done without anyone realising they were using Dulux Bone White (a creamy colour being used in our bedroom and the guest) instead of Dulux Antique White (which is quite white). How this could happen when I itemised every room detail on paper, ran through it with the head builders and then they even wrote the paint names on each wall, I don't know.

We've asked for more painters to come on board today so it can be re-done and all the other painting finished as well so the carpet can be laid tomorrow. Then there's an issue with the bathroom mirrors which were to be bevelled and nothing's been done. And the wallpaper in the upstairs loo which the wallpaper guy (who supposedly has 40 years experience) is having trouble hanging - something to do with it being a foil with a raised suede-like flower pattern and so this is holding up the installation of the loo itself (plus vanity and wall mirror).

I could go on but you get the picture, although it does help getting it off my chest!

Instead, how about I show you the two pendants we had made by the lovely people at Shady Designs in Sydney's Lilyfield whom I'd highly recommend? The pictures don't really do them justice and they look kind of silly sitting on the cane table outside but the light's better there.

This one is for the study and is in Ink & Spindle fabric: Birch Forest in Robin's Egg.

And this one is for over the dining table. The wallpaper is Osborne & Little, Farfalla by Nina Campbell. The fabric is more charcoal in person and is called Lamba.

Have a great day folks!

Kookaburras, joinery, sandstone and baths

I have a confession to make: I haven't posted all week because I didn't want to moan. It's been quite worrying the amount that has to be done prior to September 10 and it seemed as if none of it would ever happen. But I'm now pleased to say that after my visit to the house this morning, I don't have to do any moaning! Yay! Because lots has been happening and is scheduled to happen every day from here on in.

The sun was shining, it was a balmy 24 degrees and even the kookaburras were happy!

First up, pretty much all of the joinery has arrived on site.

The girls' bedroom joinery was being put in.

The sandstone is coming along at a cracking pace - it's like a jigsaw putting it together.

The back garden has turned into sandstone city.

The bath in the master bedroom ensuite has gone in and the plumbing begun.

The bathroom tiling will start next week, then the interior painting will begin and the wallpapering. The appliances and lights are ready to come on site as soon as they're given the green light and finally, the rest of the gutter corners have arrived which means the scaffolding can be taken down so the landscaping can begin.
 
It now really does feels that a home is being formed and that very soon we might be in it!
   

Goodness knows who decided to take these off and wander bare foot around a building site - unless he had something more fashionable to change into. But I like their look of laissez-faire, don't you?


So, it's adieu from me and the lone work boots lying casually on the 'lawn' by the pool.
 

Have a great weekend!

Mood Board for the Living

Thought I'd show you a bit of a mood board that's starting to come together for our living space. I'm pretty much sticking with neutrals for the big stuff - apart from the turquoise rug of course, as posted here!

So, basically, what we've got as shown above is, from bottom left, up and around ...

Spotted Gum timber floors (wide planks with hidden nails)
Caesarstone benchtop in Snow
Osborne & Little wallpaper (Adara collection, design Zaria) for the washroom off the living/dining
Unique fabric - Barker in Flax - for the dining chairs
Resene paint - Triple Masala - for the wall that surrounds the dining space and goes into the TV room
Porters Paints - Donkey Grey - for the other two walls
Westbury fabric - Lugano in Rye - for the sofa

I now need to bring in some more turquoise with a few cushions and have yet to decide on the pendant light over the dining table. But it feels like it's finally coming together.

Interior designers, sofas, rugs and windows

Mystic Collection rug from De Poortere

Hello, everyone! I'm back! Had a rather longer hiatus than I'd intended mainly because of over-commitments and increasingly frustrating delays with the house which was making me feel less than inspired.

Update: still not all the windows have been put in! Can you believe it? How a company can be in such disarray for windows sizes to be continually wrong and for them to be unable to meet any deadlines that are put to them is unfathomable. But only in the building trade, I guess. As I have already mentioned, all we need now is Kevin McCloud (Grand Designs) to do a close-up to camera.

Nonetheless, I have been plodding on with interior stuff which is a little tricky when you have less than a 'done' house to work with. For instance, how to chose curtains/blinds when you have no windows? My solution: enlist the help of an interior designer. My friend Rachel of Olsen ID has been a godsend. She has taken away the gumpf cluttering my mind and turned it into something amazing. Well, that's what it looks like in mini samples on the floor - a mood board of sorts (sorry, no photos). She has managed to cut the wood from the trees, the daisies from the meadow, the birds from the bees ... what? Nevermind, you get my drift.

Having decided to upgrade our sofa, the mere fact of finding a new one became a bigger and ever more confusing job than we had ever expected. It seemed the pressure to find the 'right' one in the 'right' fabric that was going to suit our still incomplete living space that would last indefinitely proved all too much. And then hubby and I had to agree! Oh, hail, the interior designer. Thankfully, Rachel knew what I liked (the colour teal, primarily), where I was coming from (traditional contemporary, or something like that) and was able to pluck out suitable fabrics, wallpapers, paint colours and even a new twist to the underside of the kitchen island bench that all coordinated perfectly.

We managed to decide on the main fabric for the sofa (Westbury textiles, Lugano, colour Rye, if anyone is interested which sort of feels like velvet but sort of looks like linen - trust me, it works) but have yet to decide on the cushion fabric. Yet what I do have my heart set on is an amazing turquoise rug (something I never thought I'd have and neither did hubby who did require some convincing!) that is made from old bits of Turkish rugs and dyed the one colour. It looks like an antique sea (it's the one above and you can check it out and others in other colours here).

Tomorrow, I will be going back on site to see if maybe, just maybe, all the windows are in. And hopefully, I'll have some good news and some more pictures.

Until later ...
Jx

Tracy Kendall Wallpaper

Where have I been not to have been aware of British designer Tracy Kendall's bespoke wallpaper?

Thankfully my interior design friend, Rachel, pointed her out to me a couple of days ago and suggested I consider one of her text designs for the toilet/powder room in the upstairs living area which I was planning on wallpapering.

You could catch up with world news (not sure on what exactly!) while you're spending a tinkle and emerge feeling instantly more knowledgeable with the Newsprint design.

Or take in a bit of Shakespeare with the Midsummer's Nights Dream paper.

Or ponder books you might one day read with the Books' designs.

I wouldn't put a set of cutlery in a toilet but how great would they look in a kitchen/dining space?

And I doubt sequinned wallpaper would last long in a household with children and dogs!

But I think one that might work is this Text design which reads whichever way you want!

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!

The Swedes do it Again!

Now I have to give a big thanks to Sheila over at Folder of Ideas who, inadvertantly, helped me find out where one of the wallpapers I am quite keen on comes from. I blogged about it last week here and saw it in the latest Real Living magazine.

Image via Daily Imprint

The black and white wallpaper featured in this bedroom is from Swedish inspired design Funkis, from their Dejavu collection. It's so sweet and also comes in other colours such as textured grey and slate, gold and white, lime and purple.

They also do fabric ...

Lighting from Denmark ...

Jewellery ...

Clogs ...

Plus bags, clothing and homewares.

I can't possibly show you all their wonderful stuff but pop on over here and you may even want to visit their online store!

I can't believe I never knew this place existed, particularly as there are two stores in Sydney (Bondi Beach and the city). So thanks Sheila! And you can check out her post featuring decorating ideas with one of the Funkis fabric here at Folder of Ideas.

Black & White Wallpaper

Image: Daily Imprint

Have been checking out black and white wallpaper for behind-bed-feature walls as in this room above, styled by stylist Heather Nette King, because coincidentally my two girls have seen wallpaper they love that is black and white which could then be teamed with a bright accent colour of their choice - in the duvet cover, cushions, lampshades etc. And, now that they're older, I think this option offers a sophisticated but fun look that isn't too girly-girl.

The first wallpaper that took my eye is this picture frame wallpaper from Verve Designer Collections by Eijffinger, which I thought could be great in a teenagers' room where they could their photos or pictures on the wall in a stylish way.

Image: Desire to Inspire via Boligmagasinet

Then, I found this fashion wallpaper (in alcove) from Ferm Living for my eldest who is fashion-obsessed. (Am not so keen on the geometric number).

But the one she really loves is this shoe wallpaper from Verve Designer Collections, called Lillie by Hohenberger - glam or what?!

My youngest (who's nearly ten) is currently wanting a dog theme for her bedroom and I thought this Osborne and Little 'Dog in the Park' wallpaper would be perfect. So cute, yet elegant.

Who knows what they'll end up with as young minds (and sometimes old ones!) are rather fickle. But it's great amassing ideas!