Lighting The Way

The luscious orange light I blogged about yesterday inspired me to search through all my inspiration pictures for some amazing lighting options I have found over the last year. Not all to my taste but all of them really bring WOW into the room....

This just goes to show that when you add more than one of something the room instantly looks expensive and put together. These lights could be $5 each but when you put 7 in a row they are bound to look like a million bucks....

This light is not really me, its a bit rustic but I still adore how it sits in the room. It just seems to make everything else that little bit more interesting. Oh and I love the contrasting fabric on the back of the dining chairs.

Ahhh, this light used to belong in a holiday home on the beach, it would tinkle gently on the breeze and just add to the lovely cheap tackiness that always seems to epitomise the Australian "shack" however add some glitzy mirror, some lovely upholstered chairs and suddenly this light looks expensive and not only that, it fits into the space.

Again, its all about multiples, however in this one they have thrown out all the rule books and have them randomly spaced and hung at different heights. I think this is very successful and its interesting, your eye is drawn down the length of the stairs without feeling overwhelmed.

My Name Is Miss V & I'm An Addict

Ok - not quite what you think but I am totally, completely 100% addicted to home, design and renovation shows. Missing an episode of The Block upsets me greatly and even the idea of series link not working on Grand Designs Australia would send me into a rash.

BUT on the weekend I discovered another show I quite like - its called Design Star and its very cool. The latest episode they each had a white room with a couch, a coffee table and book case - all white and had to create an amazing designed room using only paint and items you could purchase.... at a supermarket. Well I am totally amazed at what they achieved....

This is my favorite, firewood and apples. So so cool. So so clever and I love the design on the wall out of the firewood. I want this in my lounge room.

This one they mixed milk and paint primer together and dribbled it down the walls - plus look at the orange chandelier - beautiful.

These two have the mist amazing paint techniques I have ever seen, I love the idea of a feature wall but extending it down the sides of the other walls - brilliant.

Finally my worst pick room wise. This is horrendous and mismatched. It just doesn't work, there is bit of crap everywhere and in now way do I think it looks even slightly cohesive.

So - a new show to lust after - YAY to Design Star.

The Block - My Verdict

I am an avid follower of the channel 9 show "the block" and while usually I would be quite happy to keep my two bob to myself I felt myself screaming in shame the these people made so many mistakes. So I thought I would give my verdict on the lounge rooms they produced in Wednesday's show. Obviously my opinion doesn't mean much but its my blog and I can and will be disparaging if I want to.

So lets start worst to best.

The Winner of the Overall Worst room is - Mark and Duncan

They had the right idea, they really did, it looks calm and pretty, the colours are right and the bulkhead i really really like BUT two big mistakes, they used the horrible white TV unit with the lovely wooden coffee table, it just looks bad, really really bad. To many different materials in this space and I'm sure they could have found a TV unit to match ... if not a buffet would have looked great and given the room a bit of height. The second BIG mistake what - never ever ever put a lounge in front of the window. Not directly in front, if they had of left a bit of a walkway it wouldn't have been so bad but this is just tacky and unattractive 101.

The two in the Middle are really just in the middle. There wasn't alot of wow in these rooms and I was quite disappointed at just how bla.... they were.

The winner in 3rd Place is - Neisha and John

The layout just doesn't work for me. They are portraying this as a warm family home, imagine one or two kids, you would have to really stretch your neck sitting on the couch in this room if you wanted to watch tv. Also I felt the colours just left me for dead, boring ... bland and just uggh.

The Second Place Winner is - Brenton and Chez

I liked this room, it was a strong contender, I love the two armchairs, I love the way they used a glass hall table with the glass and stainless coffee table without looking two matchy matchy. My biggest disappointments in this room were number one - the rug. Way way to much, it takes away from all the lovely furniture in the room, it should have been simple and in a lighter colour. The second disappointment was the TV area. COME ON. I am 100% sure you could have come up with something better than this .... Pulllease.

The Winner in my book this week is - Erin and Jake.

Let me start by saying, in no way did they deserve the $5,000. You don't get told not to do something and then do it anyway and expect to be able to talk your way out of it. BUT their room was my favorite, I kind of wish the black sofa was a little bit more of a dark grey than black but it works, the pivoting TV is a clever idea meaning the space can really be used as more of an entertaining area instead of a big black screen dominating the space, I love the colour of the walls and I love love love the two arm chairs. Well don't to Erin and Jake for an amazing room. Also, I am really disappointed in them as team players.... get your act together guys and you may have a chance to win.

House Stalking ... Again

Well although I am building a lovely modern house I cant seem to go past some of the lovely old houses currently for sale in Australia.

Take this one for example - I would give up half of my library just for this house......

House Update

I just wanted to give you a quick update on my lovely little house. We received the final contracts and engineering drawings last friday and it still wasnt correct, there are still 23 changes I had requested which were either not added or were added incorrectly so they are back again for a third try.

Our pool is causing major problems with delays left right and centre. We went and saw them on the 23rd may - oh yes, it takes 5 months to just design a pool. The designer really has no idea what is going on regarding the delays but is looking into it. The building licence still has not been approved, apparently the shire were waiting for the house to be finished before they approved the pool and for the last 12 weeks no one has called to dissuade them from this idea. I have expressed my displeasure over their lack of organisation and their inability to chase things up and they are still stutteringly saying that this is fairly normal.

Because of this I doubt very much we will have a slab before christmas. There is no way we can get the the following done in 6 weeks

1. Check over and finalise plans
2. Get finance approval
3. Builder to Clear site
4. Retaining Company to build retaining wall
5. Builder to peg site
6. Pool Company to build pool
7. Builder to lay slab.

I think that this would just put me under way to much pressure which is already an extremely busy time of the year with weddings, Christmas parties, hens and bucks days, birthdays etc.

If we plan to get the plans finalised and contract signed, the finance approved and the block cleared and retaining wall build in the New Year we can start the pool and then the slab.

I believe this is possible before Christmas.

Sorry to do this to you, I an just as excited as you to get things rolling but with the pool company being so totally inept and me preferring to take my time and ensure everything is correct the January start seems much more reasonable.

Happy Anniversary

So on Sunday at a BBQ we were trying to figure out how old our friends baby was and I said.... we he was born on our wedding day so he has to be 2 in the next few weeks.... and then it clicked... "oh god! Its tomorrow"

Its been 2 glorious years full of drama, renovating a house, selling that house, designing another house, moving in with mum and dad, getting ourselves our little baby schnauzer Lacey, dealing with everything that life can throw at us and to be honest, I cant imagine doing it without him.

So nice and simple today.

Happy 2 Years My Love. May we have many many more together.

Something Old... Something New

Well obviously I'm not getting married but a friend is and I was thinking... the something old something new is very pertinent to a new house. Obviously it would be very easy to buy new things for the whole house, to start afresh and just have new "everything" but the thing with that is, does the house then have a deep and interesting personality. Old items scream stories and interest.

Wow what a wonderful painting... well we brought that in Canada 10 years ago, we almost missed out flight because I just HAD to have it.

Goodness, those decanters are different ... these are from my grandmother, she received them on her wedding day 70 years ago.

Having stories behind objects in your home is what gives it depth, it what makes them interesting and warm.

Obviously all this is leading somewhere and here it is. I walked into Elizabeth's bookshop on Saturday and saw the most amazing old books at the counter. They were red and worn and very pretty. The subject is a biography of Samuel Johnson or otherwise known as Dr Johnson, a British author who made lasting contributions to English Literature of the 16th Century as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer and editor. Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". Not the most exciting subject and to be honest I couldn't possibly see myself buying them... until I looked under the cover.

They were printed in 1887 and given to a new banker who had just completed his 6 month trial period. Amazing, totally amazing, and beautiful. They put this lovely little certificate on the inside cover of volume one. I can imagine just how lovely they must have looked in this mans home 130 years ago, maybe his wife put them in his bookshelf, he must have been young to have just started working and they didn't often change jobs by then so maybe she was a new wife with a new husband just starting a new job. Would these books have been carried from house to house as they moved up in the world. Were they handed down to sons or were they maybe sold off and have just sat in someones bookshelf waiting to be sold yet again... and now they are mine. How lovely is that thought?

So obviously I brought them..... had to. How can you say no to books like these? Maybe while I was in there I purchased a few other smaller sets.... I cant have these books feeling lonely now can I.