Delighting in Nursery Times

I'm truly delighted with the nursery space I have created for Annabelle... and it makes me so so happy to see she is delighting in it too. Having created the decorative elements that she's enjoying so much just makes me smile...
cudos to Pinterest for some great inspiration for the canvases I decided to appropriate to suit the scale and colours for her room and cudos to Tinker by Printink Studio at Bowerbird Bazaar for the fabulous Garland I used create Annabelle's mobile. I'm so happy with how calm but cheerful and special I've been able to make her nursery... 

One of each please!

Well we've finished painting the bedroom, will post some pics a little later because for now, I'm on the hunt for the perfect wall decor... these fabulous 'framed objects' from the. are top of the list at the moment (hint hint mum if you're still looking for my christmas present!)

bedroom shennanigans - the renovating begins!

whoohoo! finally over tolerating the vinyl wallpaper peeling at every join and desperate to remove the nasty matted and pet stained shag carpet (hmm yes the previous renters clearly had low hygiene standards - eeww gross!) I decided to attack the bedroom! this meant peeling off the vinyl layer of the wallpaper first, to allow the steamer to more effeciently remove the paper layer glued to the wall... it was quite a lot of fun just ripping & stripping of the paper & H was certainly a little surprised when he came home from the gym that morning... "hi honey, soo... I've done a little housework - what do you think?" hehehe... this part of the process only took around an hour - not to bad a work out for myself...then it was time to hit up our local Kennards for the steamer... put your patience hat on and this process works a treat. Although some what time consuming, it saves a lot of money if you do it yourself & it's also a great work out for the arms, make sure you have a good platform too... the mini-skaff here was borrowed from Alicia's dad (thanks so much for the assist A!) but you can also hire these from your local Kennards too. Go H Go! Doing a great job - nearly half way now...The ever reliable site supervisor Indi, good boy! One slight delay in the process was that while stripping the wallpaper, a somewhat significant portion of the paint and plaster underneath also fell away from the wall and needed scrapping back, sanding and replastering and sanding again (go the skim coat to tackle those pesky hairline cracks that have the potential to ruin the fabulous new paint job... if you don't prep properly you'll be so disappointed in the cracked uneven finish in a brand new paint job - plenty of options are available for to fix this at your local hardware store).

This was all very time consuming but provided a great sense of satisfaction once all the prep work had finally been completed. If you want to give this a go yourselves, your best friends will be a steamer, paint scraper, 'No More Gaps', a flexible spatula, plaster skim coat... if your removing existing carpet do this last as it will provide a perfectly fitted drop sheet to protect your floor. Stay tuned, H & I have now finished removing the carpet, painting and sanding the great floor boards we found beneath that awful shag... We're searching for new curtains and deciding on artwork, and should have a few pics of the finished product soon... YAY!

a space for good dreaming

house mission number one: eradicate nasty old peeling wallpaper from bedroom & nasty pet-stained tired wool shag carpet (previous tennants obviously needed to better house train their extra family member - super gross! can't believe we've tolerated it this long...), destroy fading peach coloured curtains, & create a relaxing, peaceful sanctuary.

Planning begins... these are some of my favourite images from my rather exhaustive collection of inspiration for a new calm, fresh & light bedroom for myself & H. For a style kick start of your own check out some of these great blogs a paddington perspective, the style files, decor8 & lona de anna.

Me to a Tea

It's autumn, the mornings and evenings are getting bitterly cold despite the lovely warm sunshine throughout the rest of the day & for the past week I've had a terrible cold :( But it has also meant that I've rediscovered the joy of a hot cup of tea :)... and how much more lovely would that tea be served in these beautiful ceramic mugs by Australia Ceramicist Samantha Robinson... oh Bliss*

WHOOOOOOOooo!!

Yay!! The wait is over! Settlement is Settled and now it's time for H & I to do the same... well after a lot of packing/unpacking... but soooo excited! The keys to our new start...

The Longest 7 Days

This time next week H & I will be settling into our new home. It's not at all what we imagined we'd buy, we were actually after a character home like a villa or bungalow & colonial had never crossed our mind as an option - at all, as most we'd ever seen were just blah. But here it is... well, before we get to work on it... which is what we are both looking forward to the most - something to put our stamp on.

It's actually quite a super cute place - for a colonial - and the moment we walked in there was such a sense of calm and homeliness in every light filled space, that with the property ticking all the renovating potential boxes, it just felt right. The front yard is enormous & one of the first things we'll probably do is plant a hedge fence to keep our adorable Indi from exploring the neighbourhood at his own free will, but let me show you the before shots of the interior... It's going to be a relatively slow work in progress with renovations done as we can afford them... but goodness I love all the potential!

The Best Way to Feel Blue

The smile still on my face from reminiscing about Capri was turned into pure longing when I came across these gorgeous coastal blue hues featured by Ralph Lauren Home in their new 'La Plage' Collection... Fresh & Chic these pieces leave nothing but desire for 'having the blues'

A Little Bit Exciting

So begins the process of finding inspiration and motivation to enjoy every moment as much as possible. My ambition is that every entry will seek out a 'little silver lining' from what ever corner I find myself exploring.

The source of today's excitement is that it is 23 days until H (the husband) & I are making ourselves comfortable in our new home. YAY! Bye bye F (the home that was), hello G.O (the home that will be) with it's lovely garden and huge amounts of potential, whoo hoo!

Todays silver lining was discovered at Lona de Anna... I had not yet contemplated any of the possiblities for our new laundry, but these images have me excited at the thought that beauty can infiltrate the heart of what is normally the dreaded chore centred space... some wonderful opportunities to peruse...