Laundry with downstairs toilet being built

Space was at a premium and there was no room for a vanity but rather a small wash basin. I chose the Parisi Powder Room basin.

I chose a back to wall toilet, as I always do, because I hate the spider trap of toilets that don’t sit flush to the wall.

Now I’ve been busy adding the final touches. The toilet is off the laundry so I’ve adopted the colours of the laundry for the accessories. The toilet itself was too small and dark (with no windows)to use the turquoise paint on the ceiling so it’s just ordinary ceiling white.

Laundry

I had been looking everywhere for a yellow framed mirror. Not only did I want yellow, but I wanted it round! Sometimes we get these ideas in our heads and then drive ourselves crazy trying to find them.

I had seen a round mirror at a homewares store. It had a grey distressed frame which could be painted. I waited until the mirror was reduced and then pounced when it hit $10.

Distressed round mirror

I took it home, sanded it back and gave it two coats of yellow paint, which I had from my yellow whiteboard (but that’s another story). After I painted it, I gave it a coat of Feast Watson Glossproof which I had left over from my Re-love Project. It gave the mirror a nice glossy finish, just the look I was after.

Mirror after painting and topcoating

I had carried around in my wallet a chip of the ceiling paint from the laundry. Eventually I found a hand towel the same colour to complete the room.

Completed Downstairs Toilet

Now the downstairs loo is fit for any visitors I have to my studio.

If you would like assistance choosing fixtures and fittings for your bathrooms, contact me for an online or in-person consultation.

Our house 12 months ago

The external painting is moving along but the landscaping has ground to a halt. It’s impossible to do everything at the one time so we just do what we can, when we can. (If my husband reads this he will be saying, “That’s the Royal WE!”)

Painting continues

Whilst he’s been busy outside, I’ve been trying to get everything organised inside. Being a Virgo, I can’t stand disorganisation and one thing that was playing heavily on my mind was the state of all the cupboards.

Untidy cupboards

When we moved out of the house 14 months ago, we offloaded alot of things. I’ve fallen into that trap before, putting everything in storage and then wondered what I was thinking when I finally took it all out. Anyway, we culled as much as we could and put what we did want to keep into mobile storage containers. We opted for a self pack deal where the company left us three containers, we packed them, then they came and took them back to a storage facility. Then when we were ready, we had them re-delivered back to the house and we unpacked them again.

Packing the containers

I must admit I was a nervous wreck as they were being packed. I had visions of everything inside tipping over when the forklift came to collect them. I packed everything to within an inch of it’s life.

Packing the good stuff

My husband was totally frustrated with me wrapping the good crockery and crystal in newspaper, bubble wrap and then newspaper again before putting it in cardboard cartons and stuffing scrunched up paper and packing beads around the edges.

My OTT packing

So you can imagine my delight when the containers were returned and the contents looked just like it did when they left. Nothing had fallen over and smashed anything!

The container returned

During the building process, I had visions of my lovely new wardrobes and cupboards looking like Martha Stewart‘s.

Martha’s Closet

One thing I was determined to have in the renovated house was heaps of storage space. With 3.2m ceilings I had wardrobes almost to the ceiling.

Wardrobes

However, when you have deadlines it’s a bit difficult to sort everything out before it goes into the cupboard.

We had 48 hours to unpack the containers. As the builders were still finishing off, we shoved everything into the two spare bedrooms. Then the builders left on Christmas Eve and our attention turned to celebrating Christmas. So you guessed it, the boxes were either put in cupboards as they were or quickly unpacked and put away for future tidying.

Storing the storage

It has occurred to me that there is never really a good time to sort through your life’s collections. There is really no time to do it before you move out of your house and there’s not sufficient time to do it when you move in either. I guess it’s just one of those processes that has to mulled over and done when the time and energy permits. After all, it’s not really going to make a huge difference to the way you live your life from day to day, is it? Just chip away at it, one cupboard at a time.

My Kitchen cupboards

But I must say, there’s something very satisfying about tidy shelves and knowing you can put your hand on things straight away.

Love my spice drawer

If you would like assistance with making your house a home, contact me for an online or in-person consultation.

The pieces in the collection sit beautifully in the Hollywood Regency style of decor. This style emerged in the 1930s when designers from Hollywood’s Golden Age, like William Haines and Dorothy Draper, encouraged West Coast film stars to decorate their homes with glitz and glamour.

Fretwork Mirror Console

This over the top style is not just for the rich and famous and with these affordable pieces being made available here, now everyone can have a touch of Hollywood glamour in their own homes.

Ava White Laquer Buffet

Kelly Wearstler and Jonathan Adler are the contemporary American designers who excel in this style whilst our own Greg Natale, (winner of the best residential interior in the Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards 2013) also creates beautiful spaces with a Hollywood Regency bent.

Cleo Gold Lamp

If you would like a touch of Hollywood Regency in your home, contact us for assistance and sourcing suitable furniture pieces to meet your budget.

Orange Bedside Table

So when I renovated my Queensland Workers Cottage in Brisbane I had a Mexican Plate rack made for the kitchen. All my plates were lined up on the rack and it added colour to my all white kitchen.

Brisbane Worker’s Cottage

Those plates have been in storage for the last 15 years as we’ve moved around the world and pending our home renovations.

Renovations underway

A few years ago I stumbled across Lisa Congdon’s kitchen and loved how she displayed her plates on the wall. So for the past 12 months I’ve been scheming as to which wall I could use to display my collection.

Lisa Congdon’s Plate Wall

To me, the most natural location for a plate wall is in the kitchen. After all that’s where you use plates! There is one skinny wall between the bifold doors and the kitchen sink so I chose that wall.

Wall between the bifolds and kitchen sink

I pulled all my plates out and measured the wall. I lay the plates on the kitchen table but it wasn’t wide enough to really work out how it would look. So I made templates of each and every plate. (Fortunately I didn’t have as many as Lisa) Now that I had the sizes I started to blutac the paper templates on to the wall. But I realised I wouldn’t know which was which with all white paper circles. So I drew an image of the plate onto the templates.

Plate Templates

Now I could stick them up on the wall and for about a week I would move the paper plates around until I was happy with the layout. I wanted a “sweep” layout. You know, as if  someone was standing infront of the wall and throwing the plates up and they would stick. Bang, bang, bang. That’s how I wanted it to look.

Finally I was happy with it all and was ready to hang the actual plates. But wait. I needed to make sure the colours were evenly dispersed and didn’t end up with all the blue and yellow plates being together. So a couple of final tweaks and it was ready.

I used plate wires, which I’d bought at Bunnings, to hang them all. So it was just a matter of measuring where the hook would go in relation to the rim of the plate, banging it into the wall, pulling off the paper template and hanging the plate.

Plate Wires

Now it’s a great talking point and makes the house look more like a home.

Finished Plate Wall

If you would like assistance with making your house a home, contact me for an online or in-person consultation.

The Cloche -Art Deco painting incorporating textiles and embellishments as a phone case

In my early years, I remember her going to Chinese Painting classes and has often said that medium gave her discipline with her brush strokes. Over the years she has studied with some of the greatest contemporary Australian artists and has used their styles and methods but changed it to suit the way she paints. Her work has always evolved.

Print of Carnevale original painting by Dulcie Clegg

I have no doubt my eye for colour and design stems from being surrounded by art and colour all my life. Mum has an uncanny knack of seeming to know the latest colour or trend. Many a time I’ve returned from trade fairs and rung her to say there was a profusion of dragonflies or purple or art deco at the fair only for her to tell me that she had just completed a painting with that colour or motif.

Taking Flight by Dulcie Clegg as an iPad Skin

Mum’s just been down in Sydney from her home in Brisbane. I took the opportunity to load some of her artworks onto Society 6. This website will provide giclee prints, ipod and phone cases as well as cushions from her artwork. It’s very exciting seeing her paintings transformed into cushions and other medium.

Enchanted Garden by Dulcie Clegg as a cushion

I feel very fortunate to have such a talented mother. Contact me if you would like further details of her work.

But the Cancer Council has created Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea and it’s a great excuse to pull out the pretty crockery and set a table fit for a Queen.

There are lots of great ideas and a planning guide on the Cancer Council’s website. And don’t forget to register and raise money for such a good cause during the month of May and June. I don’t think there’s too many of us these days who doesn’t know someone that this dreaded disease has affected.

Online homewares retailer, TheHome, is supporting the Cancer Council this month by making sure your tea party looks fab! For the next month TheHome is having an exclusive TEATIME sale, offering the latest designer teacups, saucers and serving platters at up to 70 percent off the recommended retail price.

If you are a first-time buyer at TheHome this month, use the code TEATIME at checkout and be rewarded with a $15 discount. (one use only)

Enjoy your morning tea!

Bold patterns and colours give that African feel

I know, it’s always been around but of late there seems to be a bit more of it and in all sorts of items. I don’t think we’re heading down the path of decorating a complete room in African style but more touches here and there. What do you think?

All the elements that make up African Style decor

Perhaps it’s our climate and love of the outdoors that resonates so well with the African Safari Style which is then translated into our decor. There’s also a big push back to handmade items which any ethnic culture has valued for years. And African style is more simplistic which balances our love of technology and helps create a soothing, relaxing space.

African Style Corner

Much of the strength of African Style emerges through texture. Natural fibres of Jute, sisal and seagrass are used for flooring while banana fibre and papyrus are used in woven baskets.

African Woven Basket

Rapee have recently released a range of cushions in bright colours and rich textures which would give an African lift to your room.

African Inspired cushions and throws from Rapee

Lighting is warm and golden, utilizing rustic iron candelabra and wall sconces. Table lamps incorporate palm or pineapple motifs in their bases, whilst unique shades made from feathers or quills convey the safari ambiance.

Lamp Base with Pineapple Detail

Furniture features rich timbers with stylised accents or folding furniture which would be used on Safari.

Campaign Desk

These gorgeous pieces are based on the campaign furniture used on Safari and are available from one of our suppliers here in Australia.

African Campaign Chest that doubles as a bar

Comfort is foremost in an African decor, with an overall effect of effortless luxury, a sense of adventure, but always relaxed and in harmony with nature.

Brightly Coloured Juju Hats

If African Style would suit your home, you may be interested in reading Safari Style by Natasha Burns or contact us for assistance sourcing your items.

The new carver to match existing dining chairs

I recently attended the launch of the new collection from Casa Mia. I have been specifying Casa Mia products for years and love their elegant shapes.

The bedside chest of drawers has lots of matching pieces

It is a family owned business and has been operating for over 30 years. The furniture is imported from Italy in it’s raw state and then stained and upholstered in the factory here in Sydney. Originally the furniture was classic but in recent times there has been a shift to a more contemporary look.

A modern twist on this classic shape

With loads of colour options including custom colours and numerous choices in handles and other decorative elements, there is a piece of furniture for everyone.

Detailed Upholstery

The furniture is on display in Paddington and the showroom was looking sensational for the launch.

Blue and white furniture, ceramics and fabrics

Even the dog was excited!

Happy Dog

If you would like new furniture for your home, contact us and we will source the perfect items for you.

Sometimes it seems like only yesterday and sometimes it seems more like fourteen years.

I started blogging as a way of documenting my inspiration, work, ideas and a way to educate readers on the ins and outs of Interior Design. I must admit, I was hoping a few of the readers would end up becoming clients. And that they did.

But I didn’t expect to come across such a lovely bunch of other people who blog. Sometimes I think it’s like a cult. There are so many talented and inspirational people out there and I love soaking up all their words of wisdom, encouragement and gorgeous images every day. It’s been fun, too, meeting other bloggers at various events and even when on holidays in a different country.

Linda and Me

So thank you for reading my blog posts, as intermittent as they have been of late, and thank you to those of you who also write a blog and continue to inspire me.

Cheers!

We bought our house 10 years ago and inherited a second bathroom with the house. It was a very small tiny bathroom with no room to move. It had a toilet, washbasin and shower.

As it was in the fibro extension that had been added to the house in the ’70′s, (yes that meant asbestos and care and cost to remove it) it was going to be removed completely and a new and improved bathroom would be added.

The new bathroom was built on the same footprint as the old guest bedroom. You have no idea how many times I paced out that room and tried to imagine myself in a bathroom.

Would it be big enough? The guest bedroom wasn’t that spacious with no built-ins and just enough room to move around the queen bed. It only had one bedside due to space being at a premium. Oh dear, was I doing the right thing or should I make it bigger?

After many months of demolition, excavation and rebuilding, the bathroom was starting to take shape. We had crimped a bit of extra floor space by building a bay window and sitting the bath in that.

I opted for opaque glass in the windows as although the window looks out to a private garden, it’s still reassuring to know that there is no chance of anyone peering in. Also the bay window was at right angles which makes it very tricky to add window coverings unless it’s shutters. I must admit I was a bit disappointed when they first went in. I was not listening to the advice I give my interior design clients, that is – wait until everything is finished and then you will see that it all works together.

I had spent months agonising over floor tiles, wall tiles, paint colours and feature tiles. It’s really hard doing your own place when you have been exposed to so much and your head is full of possiblities.

So, once again, I tried to take the advice I dish out. What feeling would you like when you use the room? That was easy, I wanted it to be a bright space with loads of light yet I wanted to feel calm and relaxed when I was there. A touch of luxury and femininity seeing my daughter would be the main occupant and I might sneak in there occasionally for a bath.(Must get around to doing that!) That set me on the right path and I was able to make the selections relatively easily.

I’m so happy with the end result.

The feature tiles add a touch of glamour while the white wall tiles and bay window makes the room very light. And surprise, surprise, when everything was in place the windows look just perfect.

If you would like assistance with bathroom design or sourcing fixtures and fittings, contact me for an online or in-person consultation.