Glitzy home... or...?

Isn't this the best home? At night, bathed in light, surrounded by glass walls... imagine it in the daytime!

I just saw it on my rounds in the 'hood... felt so voyeuristic! But just fell in love with the house!













Gorgeous huh? No, No I haven't become a peeping Tom, skulking around with a camera, spying on people living in glass houses at night :)

This is the fantastic work of Aburahouses, on his freaking-tastic dollhouse!







Want one? Contact Aburahouses here. Read More..

Inspiration: Elle Decoration UK Oct 2008

You know you have these whispers of ideas in your head for ages and ages... and then you flip to a page in a magazine and you see that someone else has gone and done it?!

Elle Decoration UK Oct 2008 has TWO of this images.

One:

I've wanted a set of those flying wall ducks for myself for a while now but they are quite dear on eBay... esp the good ones. Seems a pity to then spraypaint them! But I'm going to get myself a set that isn't so "good"... that I can coat with gleaming paint.

A good one on eBay Australia

Two:
We have a bar area which we have turned into our coffee bar. I've been wanting to start a Holmegaard collection to line on the back of this area which is mirrored.



Just like this one in Elle Decoration UK:


Or like this one I've had on my inspiration-board for nearly 2 years, from O At Home, 2004, featuring Muffy Nixon's home.


What have you read lately that inspires you? Read More..

Ensuite planning part 2

All of us have yucky-areas-that-need-serious-attention but budget only allows for so many things to be done yearly. I blogged in October 2008 about our master ensuite that we haven't used since moving in, but woulod be great to be able to use instead of running to the main bathroom for showers etc.

From that blog entry I included some gorgeous bathrooms that inspired my re-design.

No we haven't gotten to it yet... but I just had to share/record on my blog some features from these two bathrooms which I would love to incorporate into our redesign.

I really love a eclectic homes and this bathroom so chic-ly marries ultra-modern with rustic. The sink fixtures/hardware are so incredibly modern and sleek yet the mirror is rustic and simple and I do love the bright pop of colour with the orchids which do love a bright sunny but not dry area. I also love how the look is light and not heavy with furniture etc. 'Course, not sure where the toothbrushes go with this look! ;)

Scanned from Home Beautiful

The only spot for the sink is against a full length window so hanging a mirror above the sink (we're thinking of covering up the bottom part of that window for sink pipes etc) may not be best solution. I love bright bathrooms and this window adds alot of light into our bedroom.

So maybe a mirror that swings out into that space like this one.
Too understated, though... no?

Scanned from Country Home Ideas

Hope some part of this inspired you! Read More..

Un-beige cubicles

via Flickr user: Kristen Anna

I worked for a few years before falling pregnant in a small cubicle. While I wasn't one of the lucky few with a view of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, all I had to do for that was stand up and the window would be 4 feet from my seat. It was a rather open office and I didn't feel boxed in... and I guess my design passion wasn't quite so... intense as it is today.

But I think a few more years in that space and I'd be tempted to do the same as graphic designer Maria, seen today on Lifehacker. Maria got some inexpensive fabric from Ikea and created a personal and happy space for her daily 8-hour grind.



Good huh? And not much of experience and skill required, just a "that's it, I've had enough of beige", a staple gun and some pretty fabric. Read more of Maria's cubicle happiness on her blog.

Of course, that got me going to Flickr for more cubicle happiness.

Enjoy!!

Flickr user: creampuffles

Flickr user: jamalistics

Flickr user: lorihighfill

Read More..

London Home: I love so bad!

Daisy Pink Cupcake posted shots of an AWESOME London home.
Man, I wish I were given that freedom around here :)







Hop over to her blog to see more shots! Read More..

Decor vignettes

Just a few shots taken at Christmas 2008 of the decor at my in laws and relatives' places. While not all my taste, it does show good personal taste :)

My mother in law's (MIL) small but growing vintage perfume collection on a Matson gold plated vanity tray with birds and flowers


A shot of the guest bedroom. MIL has always had a more Australian country-fied decor sense. I went through a shabby chic phase about 4 years ago which has triggered the same in hers lately so she's been trying to move towards that too... it's a nice blend, I think, showcased in this bedroom.


Another shot of same bedroom. The side table with the Avon green perfume decanter, green Sylvac terrier dog and vintage clock. I don't know if you can spot this, but there are doll ballet shoes on either side of the Avon. Very cute. (No place to put one's glasses or cup etc, but not many sleep overnight in this room anyway!)


A shot of the guest bed. It's only a single bed, my sister in law's old bed. With vintage eiderdown and vintage black and beige hat. The pink one's not vintage, it's just there because I didn't want the dog, cat and my daughter getting near it!


MIL's sewing corner. She made that noticeboard above the machine herself! I love the result. Will be getting her to do one for me when I find the perfect vintage frame!


A boudoir and vanity scene at my aunt-in-law's place. She's got a beautiful house, completely redone in shabby chic sensibilities in pale greens and white. It's the last time we'll see this place like this: she's rented the place out and when she moves back in, she is going to redo everything in French gray-blue. This is her collection of expensive perfume bottles on a vintage-to-die-for vanity tray, sitting on top of a Carrera marble top she had cut for a ornate sideboard she's placed in her bathroom.


A green cane and seagrass settee in the living room with a kitcsh green and gold mantel mirror above. Austrian green vase at the top with that shot of brilliant green punctuates the green in this area. Both pieces are for sale.


A shot of her bedroom with the blue and grey bedspread and the upholstered bedhead. She has her hands on the most beautiful of items but she's always been great at editing her own work. The gold vintage clock on her bedside table is... well.. gold... but it's alone, not flanked with more kitcshy stuff... which I really liked.




A shot of the entry into her tiny kitchen. Her kitchen boasts white subway tiles, white everything with an oversized clock. I love the edited plates she's hung on the kitchen cabinet. Nothing expensive... just pretty.


Her small but growing collection of Mackenzies Child enamelware. I LOVE this stuff. Wish I could afford them!


I hope you enjoyed those few decor vignettes of my in-law-family :) How do your family decorate? Read More..

Today I'm inspired by

... vintage floral bouquets in simple white frames against a snowy white wall...


I've been trying to collect them especially since we moved and I painted my large and high living room 3-4 coats of white :) I don't have as many nice ones since they are getting expensive...

Here's my slowly growing collection:


This is my latest... a floral bouquet painted 2 years ago by my husband's 94 year old Nanna.


Coco+Kelley also posted a similar image here. (Actually looks like the same frames rearranged!)

James Merrell

Read More..

Tea Party ala Christmas 2008

While away for Christmas at my in laws we had such a good relaxed holiday there for once. Normally it's running around for family get togethers, spending 3-4 hours on the road amongst Sydney traffic. This time, we took it so easy.

(The holiday started badly with a smashed windscreen and oil leaking... so we desperately needed a good time after that.)

And we did.

Here's a shot of a tea party setting I set out just to play with my camera. My MIL has spent years collecting antique gorgeous china and I dragged out some of her best :)

Read More..

Marinna Kennedy inspiration

We're back!!!

Happy New Year!!

We got back from in laws about 6pm last night. Since then till midday today, we've been madly cleaning. Once I get home from holidays for more than a week, I have a desperate need to clean the entire place, even though I normally clean before leaving. Don't ask why.

Now we're relaxing. I can't be bothered thinking about dinner.



I discovered bespoke, a line of bespoked home furnishings created by Marianna Kennedy, a talented duo from London.

I'm now struck by a need to secure an old side table, getting me some black gloss and some pretty yellow paper (or fabric) and going all decoupage-crafty!

Marianna states her ethos: "The pleasure of antiques is not only the pleasure of beautiful materials skilfully put together - it is a sense of the mind and hand behind those things - the human element that speaks through the metal and wood, the sense that somebody made this, and that there is a connection between us.... There is no reason why new, modern pieces shouldn't have this connection - this feel for the human that mass production always fails to deliver."

I'm constantly looking for a cute cabinet to store my printer/scanner and workbags... might do me some of that gorgeous decoupage work ('cause I can't handpaint like Ms Kennedy and can't afford the super pricey tag!).

Some prettyChiyogami papers might do the job nicely... Read More..

Absolutely beautiful at Absolutely Beautiful Things!

Anna Spiro, fellow Australian design blogger behind the wildly successful blog Absolutely Beautiful Things, is an incredibly inspirational interior designer and she's recently posted her newly renovated, recently bought, home in Brisbane. It's right down my design style... with more money, of course! :)

I love it so much!









Read More..

Christmas at bijou kaleidoscope

Thought I'd show you a few snippets around the home with its modest Christmas decor.

Christmas Tree

Okay this is going to sound quite pitiful... but stay with me...

Since young, we have celebrated Christmas every year. Church, presents, food, caroling... the whole thing.

But this will be the first year I will enjoy a real Christmas tree at my home!! It's lovely having the smell of pine in the living room. It's even lovely vacuuming up the pine needles on the carpet.

I thought of decorating the tree very simply... while it looks great, I sometimes shy away from too busy Christmas trees. Gets a bit overwhelming. I thought of just white ornaments. Can you believe, I get to start collecting Christmas tree ornaments??!!!



Yeah... we got a tree with a crooked top.

I'll need to get an ornaments organiser... how do you organise/store your delicate ornaments?

Christmas Cards

I was inspired to make a move on finally realising one of the things that I've always wanted to do... a spot of luxury cards and stamping. So I thought I'd do it this Christmas. I normally make my own tags/cards but this time, wanted something more elegant and luxurious. I love Crane & Co papers and found some for a good price... and got all stampy-like.



Presents

Zero-budgets for wrapping the few family Christmas gifts we have has made me look around my home for wrapping supplies.
Inspired by an image that has been stash away at the back of my mind:



And I've just found that Martha Stewart has a Christmas version from Dec 2004 issue:

Via Martha Stewart

I grabbed me some of my oh-so-luxe plain brown packaging paper and some oh-so-even-luxe dollar paper doilies (we don't seem to have the array of doilies you guys seem to get in the USA!):



Not as swish as some other pretty packaging but to spend $0 on packaging, I think I did pretty well! Read More..