Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Owl's Have It

Well I am not supposed to be shopping but ever since I brought the quilt set with the bird pillows I am kind of in love with all the different bits of bird and in particular owl decor I have seen around lately. They are so lovely and so calming, lets face it - owls are calming and who wouldnt want calm in their bedroom. So I have put together a list of bird inspired decor that I just love love love. The thing to remember is - although they are hot right now its important to remember that a little goes a long way so im sticking to one set thankyou very much!!!

This is from anthropologie -(here) - A little bit weird but kind of pretty.


This is a devine Owl umbrella stand from Burke Decore - (here) - which is think is just so cool.


I found these on etsy (here) and although I think they are great I think the colour is just taking away from how lovely they really are - I would be tempted to paint them black or even a soft powder blue grey....


Finally these I found on ebay -(here) - so so cute and bidding starting at $7.50.

Secretly, I may or may not have purchased my own little owl family.....

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A Little Confession

Ok - I have a little confession to make, I am a slight hoarder, well not really but I am a collector I suppose you could say. There are three things I will not part with and just keep adding to, firstly lets start with the easy one - cocktail dresses.


I think there is nothing better than opening your closet to lovely ruffles, frills and chiffon. I would have loved it if my grandmothers dresses were still around .... unfortunately they were thrown or given away and so I have nothing "vintage" to purr over. So I have started collecting, if I find something beautiful online I will buy it, as long as its in good condition (and I keep my clothes in very good condition) I see no reason to give it away, hey even if my daughter doesn't love it maybe my grand daughter will.


Secondly is shoes - I adore a good set of heels and really hate the thought of giving them away, again like the dresses, it gives me such pleasure to see all the pretty silks and satins, gorgeous leather and braiding and knowing that 99% of the time, I always have a shoe to match the outfit I am thinking of wearing. Saying that, there is always room in my wardrobe for new shoes....


Now the big one, as you know I love books, what you don't know is just how much I love books, I actually think about them ... oh yes, now we are bordering on the weird zone, I was thinking this morning how lovely it would be to re-read the first book I was even given, a novel by Raymond E Feist called Magician when I was about 12. It was a huge purple book and I have read this particular story at least 10 times in the last 15 years. Anyways, back to me thinking about the book and suddenly I realised I didn't have access to it, its packed way in a box in a storage unit about 10 minutes drive away, and then it hit me, this yearning (Oh yes I did say it would get weird) which actually knocked my breath away .... something I love is not really accessible. I don't think I realised just how much pleasure I used to get wandering around my library, looking at the books on the shelves and remembering just how good or bad the story was. I actually gained a lot of pleasure just from having them close.....


So in honour of my precious missing treasures I have found these interesting pictures. Books arranged by colour, it looks amazing and the last one almost makes it a plausible idea but how would you find anything, how on earth are you supposed to remember what colour cover the book has, no one looks at the cover.... its the inside that counts - Right?






Thursday, August 26, 2010

Amazing Australian Talent

I have found a really amazing new artist - an Australian artist from Melbourne and I am in love with her art work. Like really really in love with her artwork.

So let me introduce you to Tigtabâ. She has become an international sensation due to her passion for creating imaginative artworks using light and stencils. Much like famous British street artist Banksy, the Melbourne-based artist keeps her identity a closely guarded secret.
"I'm inspired by urban locations, and those places within our cities which have been left and forgotten - most of my light photography is introducing light into these urban spaces to highlight their beauty and impermanence," Tigtab said.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Holiday, Holiday, Holiday - Hey Hey Hey

Well this is my LAST holiday until the house is built, this is it, no more travelling, Margaret River is likely to be a break for the next two years and so I decided to go all out.... not really I only have 10 days but we are off to Vietnam in just over a week. Oh yes, I am the queen of last minute holiday bookings and I am actually really looking forward to it. Its going to be insanely busy with us running around with a guide EVERY day but I really want to see everything.

One thing I am really excited about is a place called "My Son" which is the ancient ruins of the Cham dynasty between the 4th and 12th centuries AD. Sounds interesting and I'm hoping to get there in the cool of the morning and just wander around quietly.

I don't think this style of architecture is going to match our house but to be honest, its pretty impressive, even with all our modern technology archaeologists cant work out how they made the bricks stick together!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Getting Storage to Look Good

Its hard making storage look pretty, its either really cluttered and congested or it could be hidden and never used. But there has to be a compromise between showing all of you "Stuff" and not being overwhelmed.

I think these houses have done well in combining the practical with the aesthetically pleasing... what do you think?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Final Kitchen Design

Well my kitchen designing days are over - its done and i think it looks pretty good if I say so myself......

I have extended the kitchen all the way to the recess in the dining area which gives me that little bit of extra space. I think it looks much more balanced now and a little bit bigger.

Not much more to say other than I am very happy its done.... now onto retaining walls!


Monday, August 16, 2010

I have Good News and Bad News

Well I went and saw our lovely neighbour last night and I have some very good news. While she has to confirm with her husband, both are quite excited about us building and are happy to allow us to put full length windows in the bedroom. So yay, very exciting, very good news. Its all so wonderful and good.


The bad news relates to the retaining wall separating our block and the block backing onto our block. The shire seem to have "misplaced" the engineering drawings for this wall so no one is sure how deep it is. My builder would like me to build a retaining wall to retain the soil sitting in front of this wall where I am sure we can dig it away and make the entire section flat. All this depends on how the wall is built and at this point, no one seems to know. So unless I find the structural drawings for this wall it looks like I am shelling out $9,000 to retain a retaining wall.... does this sound silly to anyone else besides me???

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Updated Kitchen Design

Well I have finally after much nail biting received my kitchen plans back and I think I really really like it. It looks great... I think. It looks practical and it looks warm. I am hoping the dark wood will really just draw you in and make it feel like its a very used space.

I am keeping the white stone - minor drama about coping with marks and constant cleaning but I think I'm convinced.

So what do you think?????








Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Divine Idea


I think there are some amazingly clever people out there in the world. Perfect example is Fiona Thomas from Antiqutea found (here)

In her own words "Antiquitea is all about bringing back the art and pleasure of the English High Tea. " What a lovely idea, I was only saying the other day I cant wait until my house is finished and I can actually invite people to tea - a very similar idea to the lovely Fiona above. Except I want a lovely silver tea set and keep eagerly scouring ebay for one........

Saying that I would perfer an alcoholic high tea with champers but really..... im building a house and most definately need it.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

New and Exciting Products

Well I have been checking out every ones blogs lately and have found some wonderfully exciting products which I would love to use in my house.... however most of these are not yet available in Australia but hopefully it will happen soon.

Of course I have my lovely 3-form splash backs..... beautiful Eco resin filled with organic material like sticks and bear grass but what about these for lovely beautifully designed ideas to make your house that little bit different.

This product is called Domino by a company called Pordata found (here) - beautiful and sleek and a great idea giving you storage without losing any of your light.



What about this product called Barkskin by Caba Company found (here )- hand pounded bark - Very natural and beautiful - they have some different and inspiring ideas on how to make things just that little bit more interesting.



This one I love - LitraCon found (here) - light transmitting concrete - I love this idea, it would make for some very interesting spaces ... hurry up and come to Australia.




And Finally Lamlux (here) - Resin and Wood mixed to create the most amazing patterns, they use it to make furniture and I cant help but think the lovely clear gaps help to make the wood look even more beautiful.




Oh and my husband did call me back ... at 2.45 in the afternoon all blustery about how I always seem to find new ways to spend money. Apparently the people he works with were divided on the linen costing issue - 60% thought it was a fair price to pay while 40% thought I was insane. In the end my husband did what any good husband would do " Honey - if this will make you happy and we can afford it - get it"

Thank you my love

Remember "Happy Wife, Happy Life"