To my mum: the bravest woman on earth

Tomorrow is the big day! And I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified but I'm also very excited. I finally get to meet the little one.

I spent some time this afternoon with my mum flicking through old photos. I don't know why but I woke up this morning thinking of this photo and I really wanted to see it again. So here it is, I'm sharing it with you.

Too sweet. My mum was pregnant with my sister here.

And while we were at it, here are some more of my favourites.

Perhaps this is where my love of wallpaper came from??

With my sister on the left.
Love you mum. I hope tomorrow I can be half as brave as you were.
Needless to say, I won't be around for a little while but I'll be sure to share photos of the little man when I return and get back into posting about interiors again I promise.
Have a great next week or so!

Saturday morning at Rozelle Markets

Ahh Rozelle - you never fail me.

The weather was beautiful today so my husband and I thought we'd take a quick spin through Rozelle before an appointment with the doctor.

We got there early and people were still setting up but that didn't stop the crowds. We only had about 20 minutes to walk through.

Look what we found on the $2 table!


You can never have too many platters and this one is LARGE.

But the most exciting purchase was this one:


We knew it was a mixed set and didn't bother looking through the whole basket - we just took it all.

I felt like a little girl on Christmas day taking all the pieces out of the basket when I got home. And this is what we ended up with.



There are 7 of this set. I love the white floral detail. A little hard to see in the photograph though:


And 3 of these cups below. The cups don't match the saucers but we can always mix it up with the saucers in the photograph above. They fit perfectly.


These are the matching cups to the saucers above. There are 4 of these:


And 4 of these also with matching plates. Perfect for a winter soup. Mmm, soup. Or a creme brulee:



I love that the pieces are a complete mixture but still work well together with their silver detailing.

They may not be Wedgewood but they are still too beautiful to hide away I think.


Now I just need to find an occasion to pull out the china. Or do I even need an occasion?

While we were in the area we stopped by the Salvos. We didn't buy anything because we were in a hurry but these caught my eye.


I have a soft spot for old floral paintings. They would look great grouped together on a wall or mantelpiece for that shabby look. And the clutches were brand new. I really don't think they had ever been used. $19.50 each.

Fun!

Thank you for the mentions!

I'm so excited about the feedback I've received on the nursery room so this post is to say a big huge THANK YOU!



Most recently I submitted the photo of the nursery chair to Apartment Therapy and they've added it to their Roomarks: Inspirational Interiors section. Exciting!


And the lovely Belinda Graham of renovate + decorate and mini meez has posted a tour of the nursery. I'm so excited to be featured on your blog and thank you for the really nice comments!



Also drey of bijou kaleidoscope mentions the nursery in her post here - thank you!


Please check out these blogs for some wonderful interior ideas. Highly recommended!

Vintage magazine interiors

How about a bit of vintage eye candy to see us off to the weekend. I was browsing this Flickr group and here are some of my favourite images:

From "House and Garden" magazine, April 1961

You can be excused for thinking this is a Christmas themed kitchen - it's crazy!

From "Better Homes and Gardens", October 1968

Dizzy wallpaper extended from the walls to the ceiling. Not sure how much sleep I would get in this room. And look! The bin has the same paper pattern.

If I could steal one thing from this room it would be the red Eames rocker.

From "Woman and Home", December 1963

Massive cushion envy.

From "Good Housekeeping", May 1968

Not sure about matching your wallpaper to your curtains to your chair fabric but it's still a cute room. I'd kill for the pink lamp.

From "Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book", 1956

Here's a look you could replicate now. Loving the same chairs in different colours and the cluster of 3 pendant lights above the table. Must resist trying to find similar chairs on ebay.

From "Australian Home Journal Budget Decorating", September 1979

Comfy, comfy, comfy. I would claim the pink stripe chair in the foreground as mine and stare at my reflection in the glossy ceiling just because I can.

Looking at these photos makes me miss my old yellow kitchen. But only just a little.
Have a great weekend!

Spicing up the bedroom

No, not in that way!

This post continues my obsession with wallpaper and finding interesting uses for it in the home.

So we have Exhibit A - our master bedroom.

I love that the room is fresh and light but my inner being screams for some added interest. I've toyed with the idea of either painting or papering the wall behind the bed. How predictable of me, I know.

Or finding a large print or painting to hang above the bed. Like this one on my wish list (waiting for the Australian dollar to improve before purchasing).

Image from the super talented ellemoss

But I have nightmares of waking up in the middle of the night with the print on my face having fallen from the wall (it's happened before).

So it's back to wallpaper. I stumbled across this image from Apartment Therapy's tour of Summer and Josh Thornton's home.

Summer installed the molding to accommodate the size of the wallpaper panels. I love how cosy and glamorous it makes the room feel. If my eyes aren't failing me it looks as though she's used Osborne and Little wallpaper. Beautiful print.

The paper works well in this room because her bed doesn't have a bed head. Will it work just as well with our bed though?

The same idea has been applied in the living area. I wonder if I can create something similar that can be removed in the future if, for example, we ever decide to move and it doesn't suit the next owner's taste.

Thinking calm thoughts

Image from Domino

The doctor told me today he'd like me to have a c-section next Tuesday - 5 days earlier than the due date! The baby is small and breech so he wants him out as soon as possible. I hope everything is okay.

I had a mild panic attack, then cried, then panicked some more. It's the surgery that has me scared. So this post is to help me have calm thoughts. I love this photo. Even though the wallpaper is busy there is still something so calm and serene about the room.

Oh and the silhouette pillows are an idea to steal - one day.

Florence Broadhurst SALE

I'm so sorry to be posting this after the Signature Prints sale but I had no idea it was on!

My husband and I were in the area and I suggested we pop in to take a look at the wallpaper from the Glamour collection. Much to my surprise there was a swarm of people and sale signs everywhere.

And I came away with these:

The cushions were reduced from $88 to $59. I've been eyeing them for a while but couldn't afford them. I'm so glad to have grabbed them up at this price (I can always justify a sale) and they brighten up my boring beige lounge.

I also bought 2 rolls of leftover Tropical Floral wallpaper. I have a display cabinet in the kitchen and plan to paper the back of it and fill the cabinet with milk glass.

Boring cabinet

At the moment, my tiny milk glass collection doesn't stand out against the boring white background of the cabinet. I'll post photos when I get started.

Oooh, can't wait.

Cuckoo over cuckoo clocks

I was browsing Belinda Graham's blog today over at mini meez and couldn't keep my eyes off the cuckoo clock featured in this post. Beautiful!

I checked the Hart & Heim website for the clock but no luck. So I called the company and unfortunately they are not being stocked anymore. Boo.

So the hunt was on and I managed to track down a similar clock from Cleverdicks (what a store name!).

A couple of clicks later and this baby is on its way to me:

Image courtesy of cleverdicks

Thanks for the inspiration Belinda!
And while we are on the topic, here are some other cuckoo clock finds from Etsy:
Cuckoo clock onesie by pepperhemBABY.





Handmade cuckoo clocks by decoylab. Love these!

i-spy mirrors

Australian design Cindy-Lee Davies has created a range of whimsical mirrors. Perfect for a nursery room or any room really!

Available for purchase from top3 by design for $189 each. Something to add to my ever growing wish list!

All images courtesy of top3 by design.

Inspired by jewel tones

I was browsing the domino galleries and came across this photo:


Loving the blue side table. I have a feeling this may be the start of a new project!

Before & After: Chair painted

Before photo

I was asked to post progress shots of the chair being painted and here they are. It was so incredibly simple to do.

1. Tools of the trade

- Wet sponge to soak up any spills
- Fine sandpaper
- Dulux white primer
- White Knight white gloss paint
- Flat angled paint brush

2. Sand the varnish back lightly
I'm sure I didn't get all the varnish off because there is so much detail on the frame but I did the best I could! I cleaned off the dust afterwards using the wet sponge.

3. Mask the fabric

I was really careful to cover up the fabric as best as possible. Very little paint ended up on the fabric and you can barely notice it so I'm happy!

4. One coat of primer

This took me 2 hours to do because of all the detail in the woodwork. I was also careful to get into all holes and detail to cover as much as possible. I left the primer to dry overnight.

5. Two coats of glossy white paint

I used the flat angled brush again getting into all the detail and used long brush strokes so it is as neat as possible.

The first coat took me a bit over an hour. It was hard getting down low with my pregnant belly in the way. The second coat took me half and hour because my sister helped me. I waited for the paint to dry overnight between coats.

6. Peel off the tape and VOILA! All done.

See? Told you it was easy.

After photo

I'd love to see other people's projects!

Nursery is done!

And in time for the party too. I'm so happy with the way the chair turned out. I'll post some progress shots separately with the paint products used. It was so simple to do!


I decided on the Nest Nursery sheet set. I couldn't resist the elephants.

That's a Cariboo bassinet in the corner. It will probably end up in the master bedroom so we don't have to walk too far to tend to the screaming baby.

The change table above the chest of drawers is removable so we can reuse the drawers when the baby grows up.

The Etsy prints are finally framed and hanging.

Overall I'm pretty proud of the way the room turned out. The best feeling is watching kids play in the room and give it the 'thumbs up'. I can't wait for the little one to arrive.