Searching For Pre-Loved Pieces...

With two little ones under the weather, it's been a fairly low-key few days in our household this week. We did manage a quick visit to Ikea yesterday to collect our 'finally in stock bookcase doors' for our home office / guest bedroom makeover, as well as a drive to our favourite riverside spot on Wednesday to soak up the sunshine and break that house-bound feeling.  However, the rest of our week has been rather quiet.

I've been continuing to slowly plough through my 'autumn action list' as well as doing my best to stay warm on these chilly nights in front of the fireplace, cup of tea in hand and laptop by my side, browsing on Gumtree and Etsy for some pre-loved items I'm hoping to find.  Here's what I'm after...




1.  During 'quiet time' while her little sister naps, Grace often drags a chair into her bedroom as part of her imaginative play.  I've decided that a sweet little cane chair for under her window-sill will be well used and have been hunting for a suitable one for some time now.  

2.  Down the track, I'd like a pretty set of bedside drawers to replace the current ones in Sophie's nursery. A style similar to those above, able to be freshened up with a coat of glossy white paint would be perfect...




3.  In Grace's bedroom, the play kitchen she received for her second birthday is used daily. For Sophie's room, which is gradually changing from a nursery to more of a toddler space, I'd also like a play corner. I'd desperately love to find a wooden doll's house that I can transform with a combination of minty green and white paint.  The sweet one above is a spruced-up Gumtree find, beautifully made-over by fellow blogger Bianca.




4.  When I visit secondhand or antique stores, I immediately head for the crockery section on the look out for cute vintage dishes, utensils and pretty tea cups and saucers.  The style and colour of the cafe au lait bowl above is gorgeous and the type of piece I would definitely scoop up.

5.  We already have a lovely antique Bentwood chair sitting in our entryway, but I'm now after a second one for our home office, something that can double as a spare seat as well as a bedside table of sorts and a piece that will bring some warmth to the room.  


What do you hunt for in secondhand shops?  Are you currently searching for any pre-loved pieces?

Image sources: #1  Roses Upcycled / #2 Melissa Esplin (I Still Love You) 

#3 Bianca (A Little Delightful) / #4 Petits Details on Etsy / #5 Lily & Bramwell

Bringing A Room To Life Through Art

Any progress in our house when it comes to decorating or renovating is always painfully slow.  Firstly, I am the world's biggest procrastinator and my perfectionist tendencies often work against me when it comes to making design decisions.  Secondly, any shopping is always done with my girls in tow and nothing makes browsing for homewares more difficult than a strong-willed toddler who detests being confined to a stroller.  However this week, a new piece finally found its way into our home...

Whilst we were in Fremantle having an anniversary lunch and collecting a print which was waiting to be picked up from the framers, a gorgeous painting caught our eye and is now hanging above our 'fireplace'.  I'm not usually drawn to bright colours and this piece is not what I had originally pictured for this space.  However, the longer this painting has been in its new position, the more it has felt 'right' for this room... a room which had been looking rather dull and uninspiring and in definite need of a lift.  It is an original acrylic on canvas titled 'A Stroll In Fremantle' by artist Anna De Jager.

I love that it depicts an every day scene in an every day Perth suburb.  I love the way your line of sight is drawn down the road in the painting as you walk along our hallway.  And I love the life and vibrancy that it brings to our living area.

So now, slowly slowly, as with any progress around these parts, I will look for ways to make the rest of our living area flourish and to complement our latest purchase.  This room is the centre of our home and I want it to feel warm and comfortable for both us and the girls. Now I need to look for ways to make that happen and to have the patience to accept that those 'perfect pieces' that are the right fit for both our home and for our family will find their way to us eventually... it just may take a little bit of time.

Home Office Inspiration

When Sophie was born and our spare room was transformed into her nursery, we lost our 'dumping spot' - somewhere to pop things to be 'dealt with' and where I could hide things.  I remember when I was planning Sophie's nursery, I thought a lot about how we could somehow fit a spare bed into one of our rooms but there just didn't seem to be the space and so instead, we made do with a folder bed borrowed from my Mum for a few months.  Paul spent many a night on that folder bed in order to get a decent sleep in the early days when Sophie was a newborn and I was feeding three hourly through the night.  That folder bed served its purpose but has since been returned and we've now decided we need a spare bed.  Not so much for sleeping on, more so that I can have that 'spot' again where I can dump things out of sight.

So, we've thought long and hard about the only remaining room that could possibly accommodate such a piece... our study.  We've decided that slowly over time, we'll transform this room into a combined home office and guest room.  Much of this room is currently wasted.  A chair in the corner of the room has never been sat in.  Our filing cabinet is too big for what we need.  Our cupboard holds endless books and other items we no longer want or need.  The built in robe in this room with its single hanging rail and overhead shelf is 'dead space'.  We've decided we need to make better use of what we have available.

For years, I've kept inspiration folders, including ones for home offices and guest rooms, often wondering why I did so when our study was already furnished and a guest room was something we would probably not see in our household for some time to come. But now?  Now I can plan.  I can allow myself to imagine a new space with new furniture and a new colour scheme.  I can picture new handy with neatly organised craft supplies (I'm taking inspiration from Jane for this one).  I can dream of the inspiration board I will create with pretty pictures and quotes.

Here are a few images that are inspiring me so far...

To start with, we're decluttering this room.  We're selling furniture.  We're donating old books to charity.  We're freeing up space.  It's going to take time though... there's a lot of 'stuff' in this room.

Do you have a home office?  A guest room?  Are you happy with your space or if you had the chance, is there something you'd change?  

Original image sources:

#1 House To Home (photography by Rachael Smith)

#2 almostbunnies via unclutterer

#3 kikki.K

A Few Bits To Share

After our little holiday down south, the rest of last week was spent with 'what will we do today?' type days, the kind where you wake up with no particular plans and see where the day takes you. Not only was it nice to have Paul around the house during the time he was off from work, but we also managed to get some jobs crossed off our long running 'to-do list' which was very satisfying.

One item on my list for Paul (which was actually ticked off on the weekend before he began holidays but which I had yet to share with you all) was to hang some decorative plates in our kitchen. Thanks to some pestering on my part, the blue and white trio above now fills up a patch of wall which has been bare since we bought our house. A two dollar op-shop saucer and a vintage Swedish side-plate I bought off Etsy (which matches the tea cup and saucer I purchased a while back) fit in nicely next to the Villeroy and Bosch dinner plate I bought as a Christmas present to myself last year.

A trip to Ikea was another 'to-do' we managed to complete.  After returning home from our holiday to Denmark last week, I managed to persuade Paul to come to Ikea to check out a chest of drawers I was interested in.  They turned out to be perfect for what we were after and have made me happy every time I've walked into our bedroom since the weekend.  We now have SO much extra storage with such big, deep drawer space.  Now I just need to decide what to display on top...

Grace’s Bedroom: Nursery To ‘Big Girl’s Room’ Makeover

I am so excited to finally be able to share Grace’s bedroom makeover with you all today.  It’s been a long time coming, pretty much since she went from her cot to a bed (remember the ‘big girl bed disaster’?) but I wanted to wait until most things were complete rather than show you bits and pieces along the way… although, I think this will be a room I’ll find myself always adding to.  For those who are new to my blog, you can see Grace’s old nursery here so you can picture how it’s changed.  The bedrooms in our house are all pretty small so my focus was on keeping things as spacious as possible.  Nothing I’ve used is overly expensive as I’ve made a lot of things myself or used items we already owned.  So… here’s Gracie girl’s special space…



The first thing you see when you enter the room is Grace’s bed.  She is happy in her low ensemble set up and I’m happy at how easy it is to make each day being on castors.  For her bedding, I’ve used a simple Indira bedspread from Ikea and the patchwork quilt I made her sits on top of that.  I also made the coordinating pillowcase which is at the top of the bed and she has a few others that she alternates between.  The small pillow is actually an embroidered vintage tea towel I bought off Etsy seller Granny Hanna’s Cottage and repurposed.  The wrought iron bedhead is a recent find on Gumtree.

    

A few weeks back, Paul returned home from his brother’s house with a cute little wooden cupboard that he was getting rid of.  It once belonged to my father-in-law so Paul rescued it with the intention of using it in his shed.  When I spotted it in his car however, I knew it would be perfect for Grace’s room.  I had been hunting for a cute little ‘something’ to use as a bedside table for Grace for some time and this find was perfect. I just freshened it up with some primer and a few coats of pale blue paint.  The lamp on top is from Kmart - I just glued some ribbon from my stash along the bottom. 

The artwork displayed above Grace’s bed includes an owl cross stitch I made (I bought the pattern off Etsy from Sewing Seed), a vintage children’s book illustration from My Sunshine Vintage which I framed and a gorgeous alphabet print from One Little Dicky Bird which is such a lovely piece of art for a nursery (it's also available with a pink background).  The ‘Grace’ letters were a gift when she was born.  Hanging from the ceiling above Grace’s bed is the paper doily mobile I made her a few weeks back. 

The previous Ikea Hemnes drawers in Grace’s room have been moved into Sophie’s nursery for use as a change table and have been replaced by the chest of drawers above.  They’re slightly less deep and give more floor space.   I kept the bird decals from Grace’s nursery as I didn’t want to completely alter her room.  They’re from Elephannie on Etsy.  I’ve also displayed a few bits and pieces underneath like a cute blue and white gingham suitcase which stores hair elastics and clips, a framed photo, a wooden box which I painted and covered with some cute scrapbooking paper, Grace's Toy Story figurines and a tissue-box which I covered using the a few tutorials I found via Janette.  

The window nook is Grace’s play corner.  The wooden kitchen in the corner was a combined birthday and Christmas present and has been one of the best things we’ve bought for Grace.  “Mummy, can you sit and play ovens please?” is a common phrase heard around here and she is often found having tea parties with her stuffed toys when she wakes in the morning.  Her play food is kept in a little wicker basket next to it.  Also in the corner is the curio display box I transformed for her (see the before shot here).  Grace displays all her trinkets here.  I love seeing what she classifies as ‘treasure’ (there is currently a purple sequin in the top right compartment).  Shells, feathers, buttons and small toys all have a place to be on show now.  The white Moroccan leather pouffe with pink embroidery I already posted about a while back when I ordered it online from Kuati.  Grace uses it as a little seat.  Next to her chest of drawers, a cane laundry basket stores all of Grace’s dress-up clothes for easy access.

Under the window sill we strung a line of baker’s twine and I made some little butterfly pegs (using mini-pegs from Kikki K I already had lying around and some butterflies which were off some old hair elastics).  This is where Grace displays her artwork.  The floating shelf above the play kitchen displays the vintage style ’classics’ novels I bought for her, some baby toys, a little framed quote (I spray painted a cute frame from The Reject Shop), a brass swan she has taken a liking to (bought from an antique store in Latrobe on our travels around Tasmania) and a pot of wooden tulips which were in my own bedroom as a little girl. You’ll notice the new roller blind in Grace’s room too.  I’m still debating whether some soft sheer curtains on either side of the blind would soften things up a bit and block out that little bit of light that creeps through on either side.   

Hanging beside her wardrobe is a cute little mushroom mobile I bought off Made It seller The Quirky Bird.  My sister brought back the cute bee hook from a trip to Venice.  On the door handle is the wooden bird previously from Grace’s nursery which is now a pretty shade of blue.

And that’s pretty much all there is to Grace’s room. It’s simply decorated, uncluttered, light, bright and pretty. Best of all, Grace enjoys spending time in there which in my book means ‘a successful decorating job’.

Pop back this time next week for a several giveaways I have planned related to Grace’s bedroom makeover…

Playing Dress-Ups

One of Grace's favourite activities at the moment is playing dress ups. Fairy wands, tutus, beads and scarves are all scattered around our house by the end of the day so I've decided to find something suitable to store them all in. The lovely clothes hamper above I discovered online at Berry Red caught my eye as it would look so pretty in a little girl's room.  However, I'm after something relatively inexpensive and I'd hate to even imagine the international postage on something so bulky.  I found a simple wicker one at a discount store yesterday, but am going to keep an on eye on Gumtree for a little while first as I'm sure I can find something cheaper still. Perhaps I could pretty up a plain one with some decorative ribbon? 

Here are some snaps of the dress-up fun that's been going on around here lately.  Even Sophie has been joining in...

Deliberating Over Colours

At the moment I'm in the middle of decorating Sophie's nursery and am about to order the cutest set of wall decals ever which I can't wait to share with you all.  The only trouble is, I'm having a real dilema trying to choose the colours.  Today, I've been stuck on the Pantone website while the girls are napping, trying to decide on colour swatches... mulling over what the difference is for example between 338c, 3375C and 3385C... it's been seriously doing my head in!  Is one sample too blue or grey?  Is another lighter or darker?  What would go better with the pastel tones in Sophie's nursery? 

I can see the exact aqua green and pink samples I'm after on the cute paint swatch notebooks above... now if only I could match them to the Pantone colour samples...

Why are such choices so overwhelming?  Is it just me or does anyone else out there take forever to decide on colour samples?  Or am I the only one who is so fussy?

Image above via 8balloons

A Productive Few Days

This week has been great so far. Rather than just making plans and adding image after image to my ‘Inspiration Files’ (I know, I must set up a Pinterest account), this week I’ve actually managed to get stuff done. I’ve found a great print I want to order for our family room, made some progress on decorating Sophie’s nursery and tomorrow, I’m heading to Bunnings to buy some blue paint to freshen up a little bedside cabinet for Grace’s room. It feels good to have finally brought to life decorating ideas I’ve had floating around in my head for so long.

Today, I whipped up a simple little mobile for above Grace’s bed. Using four inch paper doilies I bought from Wonderland Room and some pink die cut flowers I bought from Gr3een, this little hanging string literally took me a few minutes to put together.

Once I paint the wooden cupboard tomorrow and sort out a bed head, the transformation of Grace’s room from ‘nursery’ to ‘big girl space’ will be complete. I’m so excited and can’t wait to finally share some photos of what I’ve made and bought with you all very soon.

Now it’s onto Sophie’s nursery. I’ve finally settled on grey, white and mint green with some pink accents. I’ll share my ideas with you for her room as they come together...

On The Hunt For…

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you’ve had a great weekend and your start to this week has been good so far. With Paul back home now and able to help out with the girls in his second week of holidays, I’ve been able to spend a bit of time browsing online for some bits and pieces I’m after for around our house. Here’s what I’m on the hunt for…

… a striped throw, preferably in ivory and navy blue.  There was one that Country Road used to sell, but I took so long to make a decision, it’s now no longer available.  I’m hoping to check out one at Adairs later in the week.

…enamelware pieces.  I already have the Ikea jug above but I'd like a few enamel plates.  Donna Hay also has some lovely new enamelware pieces in her online store which I have my eye on.

…embroidered linen.  I’ve been searching on Etsy for some pieces to re-purpose and turn into other lovely things for around our home.  Last week, a cute embroidered tea towel I’d bought arrived which I plan on turning into a cushion for Grace’s room.

 …a retro looking radio. While the girls nap, I like to have music on for background noise. There’s a spot on our kitchen bench I have earmarked for a small, light wood coloured radio. I love the one above but its price tag is a bit hefty for what I’m after. I’ve seen some on ebay but I need to do a bit more research before a purchase is made.

I’ll let you know if any pieces end up in my shopping trolley…

Images sources: #1 unknown sorry, #2 erinnish, #3 FlorenceandRuby, #4 Tivoli Audio

Lounge Room Plans

Today I wanted to share with you all my thoughts for our lounge room and to get your input into how things should be decorated. A few weekends ago, we visited the Finishing Touch Gallery in Fremantle where we came across a limited edition print we both loved and bought for our lounge room. Painted by Greg Baker, it is of the Swan River around the South of Perth Yacht Club where we had our wedding reception. We had it framed up nicely and are very happy with how it looks.

I have since decided that a navy blue cushion is needed for the lounge chair beneath the print (I have draped a tea towel over the cushion in the photo above to try and picture this) as I think it compliments our new print better than the existing light blue one. Also, I think a blue patterned throw is needed to bring things together. I’m wondering if the one below would be suitable. What do you think?



As for our piano, a little Ikea stool has proven to be the perfect seat. It is easy for Grace to climb up and down on herself and a great height. I just need to decide what colour to paint it – at the moment, I’m leaning towards a steely blue. The top of the piano will probably remain relatively clear as I’ve found certain objects tend to vibrate when they’re placed on top and the piano is being played.



To bring this area together better, I’m on the hunt for an armchair. I had Paul temporarily place our chair from the nursery here to get a feel for what it would look like and while the Poang and striped cushion won’t be staying here, I definitely think a seat of some sort is needed in this space. I’m not sure whether a cane one like I’m envisaging (similar to the one below which is available in different stains) is the best option, or if a more formal looking armchair would be better.






As for the buffet in the dining area, this definitely needs some display pieces. I’ve decided on a collection of smaller artworks for above it rather than one larger piece. Some colour is definitely needed here to bring some life to the room and tie it in with the lounge area. I still like the idea of lighter slip covers for the chairs one day down the track too (the white table cover is not normally on there, I was just getting ready for this weekend’s Cooking Club).




Next week, I’m also going to get some curtain companies to come out and quote on curtains for this room. The current beige verticals clash badly with the cream lounges. In fact, with curtains, the blinds won’t even be necessary at all as I tend to either open these fully during the day or close them across at night. I’m leaning towards something light coloured and will probably do the same on the dining room window. Should the curtains draw to one side or both? Do I need a pelmet? So many options to consider!




So what do you think? Am I on the right track with my ideas? I’d love for you to share any thoughts or decorating tips you may have…

My Vision For Grace's Room

Happy Monday! I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. I feel especially good this morning as I finally feel as though I've made a small start on the weekend on the organising projects which have been bothering me. I've almost finished tidying our linen cupboard, I've taken photos of the furniture we need to sell and listed it on Gumtree and Grace's room is slowly coming along as I hunt for / work on various pieces.

On Friday, the Moroccan leather pouffe I ordered from the UK arrived and it is even prettier than I was expecting. To begin with it will have a place next to the bed in Grace's room and then later on go in the living room where it can add a tiny hint of the pale pink I'm after. I stuffed it with rags which I have found to be a good filling and a sturdy weight.

In recent weeks, my ideas for decorating Grace's room have changed slightly. I'm leaning towards slightly more colourful fabrics for the patchwork quilt I'm making with patterns comprising of pink, cornflour blue, white, green, yellow and red. My idea is to provide an eclectic room with different colours as well as modern and older pieces that create a space Grace will enjoy spending time in.



My vision so far includes:

• a pretty patchwork quilt / bed throw made by me in a combination of fabrics
• an older style bed head (either a wrought iron or a cane one)
• a Moroccan leather pouffe to add a pretty touch
• a display shelf of some sort to display trinkets and treasures Grace collects
• a small string of bunting in cute fabrics
• a hanging mobile of either paper cranes or butterflies or a dream catcher
• a magazine rack or wall rack of some sort for book storage
• a play corner for Grace’s ‘teddy tub’ and new wooden kitchen
• a combination of artwork made by Grace and me, including the cross stitch owl above that I have embroidered (remember this sneak peek?)



Any other suggestions for Grace’s room? I have most of the fabrics for Grace’s quilt now and will begin working on it in a fortnight when my friend Kylie is on holidays and able to get me started on the right track. I will give you an update once Grace’s room is looking more complete.

Hope you all have a wonderful start to the week.

Shades Of White

Image from Country Living via Brabourne Farm

You know how when you write a word over and over and then you start to look at it in a strange way and wonder whether you’re actually spelling it correctly because you’ve seen it so many times? That’s a bit how I feel today with the colour white.

After five quotes, we’ve finally decided which company to go with for our blinds in the children’s bedrooms, study and laundry. The company we’re happiest with seems to have better quality fabrics (they apparently have a higher thread count) and they come with a five year warranty. In saying that however, choosing between two different shades of ‘white’ is making our final decision a bit difficult.

I’ve moved the samples from room to room and tried them in different lights but everywhere I look, the whites in our home are so varied, which is something I’d never noticed before. Our walls are not pure white, they are more of an antique white with a slight stony touch. Our skirting boards are pretty much a true white and are different once again to our doors and trims (although Paul tells me when he has holidays next, he’s planning on painting these more like our skirtings). Our Ikea kitchen cupboards appear to be more of an antique white, Grace’s bedroom furniture a bright white and the white picture frames around the house have more of an antique shade to them. Who knew whites could be so varied?

At the moment, I’m thinking of going with the more antique white textured blind fabric which will blend in best with the walls. I don’t want our blinds to be a feature but rather a continuation of the wall colour so I think I’m on the right track. In any case, the other sample has a slight lurex thread through it which I’m not overly keen on and I’m sure this would bug me on a larger scale piece of this fabric.

Hope you're all having a terrific Thursday. I'm off to look at those samples for one last time...

Grace's Nursery At Present

We're in the process at the moment of making some changes to Grace's room to make it less of a nursery and more of a toddler's room so today I thought I'd share some photos of how it looks in its current state and explain my ideas of what we're going to do over the next few weeks. Not a lot has changed in here since I last posted photos apart from the new carpet, new white skirting boards and the previously dark wooden window sill and wardrobe door having been painted white. We added a little shelf from Ikea in the corner where the Poang chair is and from this I have hung some bunting I made. This has definitely finished off this corner better and now I just have to decide on a few final objects to display on top.







As for changes which are slowly taking place, the first is that we have bought Grace's 'big girls bed'. Paul picked it up today and it's lying in our hallyway at the moment ready to be assembled on the weekend. I'm hoping Grace will be able to sleep in it on Sunday night. I took the photo below in Harvey Norman the other day to give you a sneak peek of it, although the one below is a king single and we've just bought the single. Our mattress is also not quite as deep so the overall height of the bed is a bit less.

Next up are blinds and curtains. This decision is still driving me crazy! I have a few companies lined up to come and give me quotes this week as a few things have been pointed out to me which have led to yet another change in my decision. I won't go into details here, I'll leave that for another post, but the vertical blinds above will be going soon.

The Poang chair and the bedside table will be moving to the new nursery as will the chest of drawers which is currently used as a change table. With Grace almost toilet trained, I figure I can just change her nappy on the bed on the odd occasion I have to. We'll get her a new chest of drawers that perhaps aren't quite as deep as her bedroom is rather small and with the bed going in, I want to still give her as much space as possible. The area under the window is going to become a little play corner as we bought Grace a gorgeous wooden kitchen for her birthday which will fit perfectly here along with her toybox.

Above the cot (where the new bed will go), I have some more artwork planned and I would like to hang something girlie and pretty rather than the turtle (although Grace is quite fond of him). As for the bed itself, rather than a doona, to start with I'm going to attempt to make Grace a simple patchwork quilt for her bed. I'm thinking of sticking to pale pinks and yellow. I've never made one before so fingers crossed it won't be too tricky. Under the bed, I may get some baskets to use as extra hidden away storage. I also have my heart set on a pretty Moroccan leather pouffe I've seen for beside the bed - it would be perfect for Mummy or Daddy to perch on to read bedtime stories.

So that's where we're at and where things are headed in this room. I'll be sure to share some photos as things progress. As excited as I am to be redecorating this room, I must admit I feel a teensy bit sad to see Grace's baby things go. I can't believe how quickly little ones grow up.