Im still on about flooring

As the title said I am almost finalised on my flooring decisions.

As much as I love the wood I know its not practical. So the winner is stone... honed stone. How heavenly does that sound. I looked into it and honed means they polish it but stop before it reaches a high polish, this finish is a lot more forgiving to scratches than a high gloss finish.

So the main part of my downstairs is going to be stone, Actually its going to be a Jura Blue Grey limestone from Germany.

The staircase and upstairs living areas are going to be spotted gum, its still has the chocolate colouring I'm after and the timber itself is really really interesting.

Finally the carpet, I am not 100% decided on carpet but I love the Carpets from Cavalier Bremworth, especially the Tussore or Elysium.

So that is the look that I am having for my flooring, now I have made the decision I just have to stick to it and find the balance between price and quality. Its exciting but its going to be hard justifying the expense of the stone however as flooring is something you really don't want to change down the track I think its important to get it right now.... lets hope I have.

Its Begining To Look Alot Like Christmas

Well I don't know about you but I hate the December rush, everyone busy trying to get all their presents out the way, you get frustrated because you cant figure out what to buy so you just settle on a gift your not sure they will like but you just want to get out of the shops.

Me - I like to start my Christmas shopping about now. I have brought about 50% of my presents and am feeling good about the way everything is rolling around. One thing I do enjoy is wandering through the Christmas departments at Myer and David Jones and picking all sorts of lovely little decks for my tree. In the new house I am thinking of having two trees, one is the lovely jewel tones, teals, purples and blues which I brought last year. Now my second tree I am thinking of going a bit bling. Domayne have some amazing bling jewellery and I am truly in heaven. Bring on Christmas people.... then I can go and buy up during boxing day sales.

Oh and dont forget about my love of owls - cant you just see these on a perfectly white tree.... so pretty.

Change of Name

Oh I almost forgot - The name Miss Vintages House of Pain is gone. As all of you will know I named it that because I thought it was going to cause me pain and heart ache and it seemed quite fitting at the time. However I have received more than one "interesting" comment from people thinking it might be a different type of house of pain. So I thought even though the actual blog address has house of pain when they see my new title "Miss Vintages Ivory Tower" they may just decide they have the wrong idea.... if my blogs about flooring and bamboo didn't already give it away.

Hope you all like it.

xox
Miss V

Bamboo Madness

Now I have shown you the above picture as something I really want in my house. But to be totally honest, the idea of bamboo scares me slightly. I know if you get the wrong species it will destroy everything growing everywhere and be totally uncontrolled.

So I have done a fair bit of research and found two amazing types that will work perfectly in the space near my front door plus give me the privacy I am looking for without paying an arm and a leg for a high fence or wall.

These are the two I am thinking of.

Bambusa lako

Common Name: Timor Black Bamboo

Size: 12m x 10cm

Temp: Minus 3 degrees C

Origin: Timor Islands

Type: Clumping

Chocolate black canes with lime green stripes, a truly beautiful bamboo. This bamboo will do best in a sheltered position. Direct exposure to the afternoon sun on the black canes will cause some ‘sun-bleaching’ to occur. For this reason it is best protected from direct afternoon sun exposure. The canes are erect and really stand out among the stunning lime green leaves. A fantastic specimen bamboo in any garden. Prefers a partly shaded position.

Bambusa Ventricosa

Common Name: Buddha’s Belly Bamboo

Size: 6m x 5cm

Temp: Minus 9 degrees C

Origin: China

Type: Clumping

It is said that when this bamboo is stressed the internodes become closer and swollen just like a ‘Buddha’s Belly’. This bamboo does very well in poor soil conditions and is quite drought tolerant when established. Prefers a sunny or partly shaded position.

Personally I am drawn to the Timor Black. I love the glossy black texture against the green leaves but I will go down to the bamboo grower place (I was going to say breeder but that's not right) What about Bamboo specialist and discuss with him first.

Looking forward to my bamboo screen - let me tell you!

Still Talking Floors

Ok - so my favorite and probably not so practical is parquetry floors. My second options is stone, nice glossy stone which just looks heavenly....

I also want to continue this from the entry portico like the pics all the way through to the alfresco however i am thinking with out site it will be Matt not glossy?

What do you think? Stone or Wood.

Thinking About Finishes

Well I am starting to budget for finishing, I know probably getting ahead of myself but still and I was thinking about flooring, what do I want..... how much do we need and the all important one ... how much is it going to cost.

On the weekend we went to the Subiaco Home Based Expo (A brilliant idea with lots of suppliers all in the same place) and fell truly madly deeply in love with parquetry floors.

Are they not the most heavenly thing ever???

Find of the Week

Well I was wandering through Myer today trying desperately not to buy anything and I have found the most amazing new product.

Its a brand called Fringe and its so pretty. Its almost vintage but still modern and just .... heaven.

I brought two pieces from their Christmas collection

but I am also in love with all their other stuff.