Show and Tell - The Budget Black and White Bedroom

 

Ok so not quite finished but since its actually all going to be coming together this weekend I am so excited to show you what I have brought ... things are looking up up up and I haven't been this excited about finishing something since .... forever.

So in order to prove just how big my saving are I actually took a picture of one of my bigger bargains. A lovely chest of drawers at 50% off. Although lovely this stuff is just too expensive for the area and since no one is buying they are discontinuing this line.

Lucky for me I picked up not only the drawers but a book case all for a song!

I also found a chair that had been special ordered in a specific fabric only to have the woman cancel the order because it was to big for the space. Cue Little Miss V .... jumping in to save the day. I will take it off your hands at a bargain price because obviously you don't want it taking up space in your showroom.

Onto other bargains the bed I managed to do very cheaply - a cheap-ish plain white quilt, good quality sheets on sale and then an expensive throw at the end and I think its looking pretty damn swish.

Finally I put together my frames yesterday including some of my very own photographs and I am so happy with the outcome, cards, pages from an old calendar and my pics .... plus some textured paper and I'm thinking its going to come together so very nicely.

God I cant wait till Tuesday to show you the hopefully finished product.

Black and White Photo Wall

So the design on a budget continues with a series of images I have either taken myself or found and purchased.

Lets start with these fence post pics I found at ikea .... so so soft and pretty and yet the repetative details just make them so very interesting.

Next its a photo I found on Etsy .... there are so many photographers advertising on Etsy its so easy to find something fabulous ... I cant help but love this print .... heaven.

Now for my photo's, going through my millions of travel photo's I found two which kind of fit what im trying to do on this wall ... simple pictures that just seem to draw you in ... what do you think?

So im still working on filling my wall but obviously this is a good starting point - my next stop is the card department at the new agent ... nots of lovely cards with black and white vogue images .... and also maybe a lovely patterned wrapping paper??? Getting there slowly and still managing cheaply.

Bedroom Bargains Continue

The one "expensive" item I wanted in my bargain bedroom was a black and white chandelier. I think it would just MAKE the space however I have to say ... I have managed to find one on SALE.

I cant get over just how excited I am at being able to find this item on SALE! Not just any sale but 20% off! That's a $60 saving - how cool is that.

So the light fixture is practically brought and things are moving forward when it comes to putting it all together .... I just cant tell you how excited  I am to show you this room complete!

God I hope it turns out as well as I am hoping .... but we shall see. Can the bargain hunting continue?

Cheaky Birthday Pics

Ha ha ha - my poor husband is going to kill me when he sees this but I just had to show you the most adorable photo of him I have ever seen.

For our 30th we are putting together a DVD photo montage and in the process of collecting these photo's I came across this one. Isnt he just the cutest little boy ever .... sorry honey but you really are!

Budget Challenge - Setting the Budget

I suppose in order for me to feel I am beating the challenge I have set the big question is .... what type of budget is reasonable for a bedroom. Bearing in mind I am starting with a completely blank slate - furniture, curtains, bedding, decorating and lighting .... so much to incorporate and I really am unsure just what type of a figure I am looking at ... however I am going to say somewhere underneath the $3,000 mark. Now although this may seem high I am still looking for good quality furniture pieces and a room that looks impressive. Normally just a set of drawers are going to be somewhere in the region of $1,200 and a light fixture around $500. I am looking at around $200 just for the quilt cover not to mention pillows, mattress topper, sheets and a quilt just the bedding would be very expensive. Curtains for my bedroom were around the $700 mark and while there is one less window im sure I would be looking at around $400. So overall I am thinking to finish a room totally I would normally try to budget around $4,500 - $5,000. It seems like such a lot as I write it but really, when you start adding things up its amazing how quickly the figure climbs.

So to start with let us hope I can stay under that .... actually let us hope I can stay WAY under that.

As for my progress so far right now I am now onto art work and in order to save money im going to take advantage of cheap black and white photo's I have either found or taken myself. If I go for an eclectic kind of mix im sure it will look interesting and hopefully give it an art gallery type of feel.

Also - I have been able to find plenty of black and white frames .... everything seems to be on sale right now

so im amazed at how cheap the items I really need are!

Overall I cant get over how much fun im having trying to stick to a budget - i will keep you updated with my progress but right now ... Im right on track!

Budgeting and Challenges

I don't know about you but every couple of years one of our new years resolutions is to pay down debt. It is a way of getting things paid off and giving us a bit more freedom to do what we want. This year our new years resolutions were rather interesting ... pay off dept AND finish the house.

How on earth is that possible you say .... I agree .... as I type this my heart is in my throat at the challenge. Pay off debt ... and finish a house.

So it makes you start to think .... what type of things do I buy that I can live without. Well if I get to the train station 10 minutes earlier than normal I can park in the free parking ... that works out to an extra $10 per week which is 2 coffees.

Obviously although brilliant and it certainly helps its not really going to cut it when it comes to the BIG savings. So I have set myself a challenge. Can I turn out guest bedroom into something fantastic ... on a budget?

That's right I am going to try and create the pretty, luxurious space full of black and white glamour I showed you last week .... on a budget.

So first off - get rid of the old pine furniture - SOLD via facebook for $400. This will help when it comes to my more luxurious pieces.

Second find a cheap but super comfortable bed on gumtree. Check $50. This was sitting in a couples guest bedroom, only randomly used and now they have a baby its just in the way.  I'm going for a basic mattress and base so I can spend a bit more on a super luxurious headboard. Also im going to make it more luxurious by adding a super soft pillow top mattress protector.

So the challenge is on and you will be hearing updates shortly

A Birthday Brilliance

So if there is one thing that I know its that my style is slightly eclectic.

A stuffed owl in the entry, vintage maps over my bed and a black pool. Imagine the pressure on my friends and family to buy me house presents that I will LOVE.

Well this year my mum hit the brief square on with these lovely vintage prints. I love how the frames aren't even square .... poor Mr V had major trouble hanging them with no clear lines to work off. I love how they are actually interesting .... they are even this funny concrete texture and I just adore them in this space.

The space is the laundry and I love how its speaking ... its an interesting room now, well the start of one but the pressure if there to team it up with some fabulous accessories and I'm even going to try and find some embroidered hand towels ... imagine if i could find them with insects he he he

So things are moving ... slowly but moving, the house is starting to make its personality known. For me this house screams Sir Julian Perlmutter from the Clive Cussler books.

A loud happy English gentleman who is passionate about food and naval history books. Perlmutter's library is said to be the world's largest archive of marine history. He is described as an intellectual with sharp mental acuity. Perlmutter's house also has a refrigerated food locker and a 4000-bottle wine cellar. Perlmutter is a gourmet cook, but also enjoys eating and drinking to excess and thus would qualify as a gourmand. Perhaps as a result, the six-foot-four inches tall Perlmutter weighs over 400 pounds. He is often described as wearing a paisley robe, and has a full beard and long, twisted mustache. "Fritz", his pet dachshund puppy, also enjoys gourmet food.

Obviously I understand this is a character out of a book and also a house is just a house but if my house was a person I think this would be him. Slightly eccentric, a broad range of passions and a dog called Fritz!

I can only hope that I actually capture this properly as I continue to develop my design.

Happy Wednesday everyone !!! Bring on the weekend.

Double Duty ... Guest Bedroom to Nursery

So at the moment we are young (maybe not so young) couple with no kids and we tend to entertain so need a few guest rooms in case friends ever stay over. However it seems pointless and expensive to kit two guest bedrooms out when the intention is to eventually turn one of them into a Nursery ... if we ever decide we want kids.

So the second bedroom has to serve double duty ... a lovely comfortable guest bedroom now with the ability to remove the bed and replace it with a crib if that particular event ever comes to pass.

Obviously pastel blues and pinks are not the option here but after much thought, research and experimenting we think we may have a solution .... a simple yet glamorous black and white bedroom, lovely black chandelier, black prints with black and white frames in a photo wall, a white chest of draws that will not only suit guests but also be a makeshift change table for a baby and grow with either a boy or girl in the future. Similarly a black and white shelf unit perfect for now and the future .... 

Obviously not a traditional nursery and yet it might just work .... what do you think. Is this a practical solution in the long term or am I just wishing that it would work?



Frustration over Western Australia!

So in the news lately is the fact that within the next two years Aldi is coming to Perth. That's right you Eastern Staters ... WA peoples have only 3 choices when it comes to supermarkets and all of them equally expensive, Coles, Woolworths and IGA. The excitement is rampant and the 2 year countdown is on ....

See here is the thing, in WA everything is more expensive. Take my cladding for example. The cheapest product we have found in WA for such a big wall is this one at $49 per square meter - this means the wall will cost a total of $3,920. Now unfortunately as much as I like this product for me it seems to be everywhere and im worried that it will date quite quickly.

 

The product that im really wanting is a bit more rustic and textured.

Cue item number two from another place in Perth - this is exactly the look im walking to acheive however with a whopping $134.43 per square meter price the total of $10,754.40. This price seems totally and completely insane and I can tell you I think to myself ... ok its an expensive product HOWEVER this is where I get angry.

I contact a dealer over on the east coast with a very comparable product .... the price per square meter ??? $68.00. Thats right half the cost of the WA product. So for the same wall I am now looking at $5,440. Ahh but what about shipping you ask? Well a quote from a good friend who knows the industry has assured me that shipping is going to be below $3,000. Even with the shipping the price will only be around the $8,300 mark. Overall even with shipping across the country the price of this stone is $2,500 Less than here.

HOW ON EARTH IS THAT POSSIBLE. Is there that big a mark up on products over here. Uggh. Frustration is high .... patience with WA companies is low.

Ok vent over peoples .... what do you think of my wall?

Birthday Celebrations Have Begun ...

Well yesterday I had the rather surprising pleasure of being called to reception in my office ... I had a delivery that needed to be picked up. Imagine my surprise to find a dozen long stem red roses sitting in a box with my name on them.

Hubby had them delivered early of both my birthday (tomorrow) and valentines day (Thursday) so I can enjoy looking at them while I work all week long.

His quest to make me smile continued when I said I didn't want dinner ... just a few rissoles he delivered me this ....

Obviously right now I am feeling very loved despite my old age. Add to that the fact that 3 people who have found out I'm nearly 30 have stressed I don't look any older than 26 and I must say .... the end of a decade stuff isn't half bad!

Onto other news, tonight is my photo club meeting and as per my new years resolution (submit 3 photo's every month) I am anxiously awaiting feedback on my images. This month the 'theme' is framing either naturally or taken literally. I have done a bit of both and god am I hoping they like these shots!!!

We Beat The Heat - Progress Continues

Despite the ridiculously high temperatures forcing most normal people to hide indoors under their air con's or fans my darling hubby battled the heat and we now have the start of our garden beds.

To me the idea of doing a raised garden bed seemed simple, dig a hole, fill it with a concrete footing and then just plonk bricks on top.

However I have since been re-educated and now realise that levels and angles are involved and there is no plonking allowed. While it can be frustrating to have everything take so very long I am sure that in the end it will be worth it to have everything looking so perfect.

So all the footings for the pool area and the alfresco are done, one small wall by the pool is complete AND we managed to fit the glass gate for the pool fence so things really are moving forward.

I cant wait for more progress to show you but please remember ... "these things take time"

Landscaping Begins & General Ranting

Let me start off by saying I am an angel of a wife (cough cough...) and there is no reason for hubby to get snarky with me but every so often he makes up some offence I have apparently engineered and he feels he has the right to pay back.

How on earth does he get his own back against me .... you ask? Easy - he disrupts my perfectly organised pantry - he will turn all the tins upside down, take things out of neat rows.

What kinds of cruel person does that!!!

Ok so my rant is over - my tins and milk all neatly lined up and we have progress on our backyard.

Footings are in which is brilliant and things are going surprisingly well. Retic pipework and electrical cables are going in today along with the gate .... love it when things start coming together and I cant wait to show you more!!!