Category Archives: decorating

decorating with imagination

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As you know, I have a thing about decorating. I love looking at decorating books, websites and magazines. Last week I checked some books out of the library hoping to find some inspirations for our home (it pays to plan in advance) so I thought I’d share some photos from one book which really struck me as things to keep in mind.

Since I can’t link back to a website for these photos here are the book details:
Hand Made Home – Living with art and craft by Mark & Sally Bailey, Ryland Peters & Small ISBN 978-1-84975-155-1

Of course the book was jam packed full of great photos, textures, colours, spaces and wonderful ideas. I couldn’t include them all, but here is a taste.

This bathroom wall made from vintage ceiling tiles holds a collection of vintage garden tools. I just love collections of things. I have a few collections and I’m always expanding the number of collections and the collections themselves. So far, of course, the hands-down winner is the poodle collection. I don’t think any of the others stands a chance against the poodles.

But then, there’s only so much decorating you can do with poodle figurines and stuffed toys… unless you’re aiming for “early Sandra Dee”…

A wobbly handcrafted bowl holds a wonderful collection of old coppy and brass watering can roses. Now I feel the need to find and collect watering can roses!

A weathered old table, a new sink & mixer tap, an old framed mirror stripped to bare wood create a rustic feel in this bathroom. Gotta love that combination of new and old.

Ditto here, new sink and tap on an old cupboard for the kitchen.


I probably won’t do this in my kitchen, but I do want a butler’s sink, a long gooseneck tap and chunky timber benchtops with white timber cupboards. I don’t want a modern, all built-in kitchen, but I don’t have that kind of space to play with.

I just love this free, expressionistic painting of chickens. I am inspired…. I want to make one of my own featuring our own chooks.

Below, gorgeous simple curtains made from stitching together natural linen towels with pieces of gingham for a bit of colour. And a curtain made from pieces of sheer fabric sewn together in a graphic pattern to form a sheer curtain which allows filtered light into the room.

Love these handmade apples made by artist Eiko Yoshida, using twigs, recycled paper, magazines, envelopes (complete with stamps) and corrugated cardboard.

Clever and very pretty. If I had the patience I think I could make something like this.

Now, that I’ve lulled you into a false sense of security regarding the beauty of this blog contents, here is a reality check.

I went into the office to find this the other day:

Yep. That was the new, still in its box, magnetic flyscreen I bought to try out on the outside door. And yep, Barney got bored and ate it.

This is Barney – a wiry haired black mut of mixed parentage.

This is Mischa. His poor long suffering mother. She lies in the office doorway, guarding and being good while Barney finds things to chew.

If he doesn’t find some manners soon this house will once more become a Barney Free Zone.

Meanwhile, our plumber is finally here, replacing all those pipes. The yard actually looks worse now than when Wayne started digging up pipes over a week ago. Its rained this week, and let me just say, the poodles who were formerly white are now a dusty brown.

Hopefully this is it for the big jobs around here. For now at least. We’re both over the big stuff. Oh, I know there is more big stuff to come (don’t tell Wayne, but I have plans…) however it’d be nice to have water that runs out of the shower when it should, doors that close as they should, etc.

Then I can concentrate on the smaller projects I can take care of myself!

z


making pretty – the living room

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You already saw stage one of styling the living room, but here is a quick stage two.

Firstly, I got a globe for the lamp, that helps, then I cleaned the entertainment unit which had been sitting in Merrill’s garage for over a year. It came up pretty well… amazing what a wash will do!

I got out my knitting needles and put them and some gorgeous white wool into a felt basket I couldn’t resist on that infamous trip to Spotlight… (don’t tell Wayne). I think it adds that homey feel. After all, I always have craft projects lying around my living room… the fact that I don’t knit has nothing to do with it. I can learn!

Till now, the only use I’ve ever had for knitting needles is parting poodle hair!

The shelves below may be empty (I haven’t taken up a DVD player yet) but the top looks nice with one of my favourite vases full of decorative sticks, the obligatory decorating magazines (well I have to find somewhere to put them!) and a pair of old wooden stirrups.

 
(forgive the blur…must clean my lense)

Looking the other way you can see the square coffee table (thanks Merrill) between the couch and armchair which creates a cosy sitting/watching tv or chatting arrangement. The lamp consists of two tip shop finds: the base from one shop and the shade from another.

And in case anyone with a keen eye notices the wierd fact that the back door has a solid timber panel in the middle of what looks like a french door… well, thats the window Bonnard went through one night a couple of years ago – almost slicing his front leg off in the process. Given that I was keeping Bonnard I opted not to replace the glass!

Ah, good times…

On the other side of the living room is an L which leads to the kitchen and to the bathroom. This is one of those spaces which is kind of nowhere… not really part of the living room, not really part of the kitchen. But in a way its the perfect spot for the armchair… its a great spot to sit and read if you dont want to go into the living room, not to mention a good spot to sit and chat to the person cooking (Wayne) or the person washing dishes (me).

I had a big bookcase along the long wall there for a while, then a huge painting and a display cabinet and a small chest. Now I have a comfy armchair (mate to the couch) and one of Wayne’s cupboards I got my grimy little hands on a while ago (more on that later).

Lastly, a look into the living area from the kitchen.

Nice. Spacious yet cosy. Warm and inviting.

z

making pretty – the dining room

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As you know, I’ve had my house in Fentonbury up for sale since December. We came within a whisker of having it sold but the sale fell through, partly due, no doubt, to the fact that the place was rented out and looked like one of those houses that bring down values in a neighbourhood.

You know the type: long grass, overgrown bushes, 5 cars parked all over the yard plus various motorbikes, quad bikes and trailers, a caravan (naturally), a trampoline and swingset, a loose dog, loud music echoing across the valley, a cloud of suspicious smelling smoke emanating from behind the shed, black plastic on the windows of said shed, a worm farm on the front porch and a dead wallaby decomposing in the back yard…. and that’s on a good day!

Now the house is empty I’ve been working towards making it pretty again. Last week Merrill helped me take up some furniture, and today Wayne started trimming bushes in the yard. It was overgrown before. Now its like the Big Bush Massacre of 2012.

I tried to explain, there’s a fine line between pruning and killing.

He insists he knows what he’s doing.

Hm.

Anyway, I thought I’d share some photos of the house now. Besides the furniture I have on loan from Rosie at 20th Century Artifacts in New Norfolk and the items Merrill has loaned me, I pretty much used what I had.

So… first tour, the dining room. Its the first room you enter when you enter the house. This room, as well as the living room, bathroom and hallway, were all wood panelled after I bought the house. The paint colour in here is Dulux Vast Escape.

The table is an old 60s table which we had in our kitchen when I was growing up. When I moved out Mom gave it to me. It went from Griffith, NSW to Athens, Greece, back to Australia to Melbourne and now to Tasmania. Its a pretty well travelled table.

The chairs came from a 2nd hand shop in Melbourne many years ago. Since the colour scheme of the day is deep red, I bought a dark red table runner and red roses for the table.

The curtains were recycled from Merrill’s house to Wind Dancer’s guest room to here. Swapping curtains is another hobby of mine…

My collection of white vases comes in handy as display on the built-in bookcase. A couple of my wildlife paintings to add a bit of colour and an old fan, some old books and an egg basket full of balls of twine add a touch of interest.

The fireplace was painted grey when I bought the house, but I stripped off the paint to expose the original brickwork. The brown over the fireplace is Dulux Columbia and matches the feature wall in the living room.

 
Since I didn’t have any artwork to hang on the wall above the mantle, I’ve used empty frames, a shabby candle stick, a vase and some stars made of sticks and wire. Oh, and a small teddy bear I made with paper pulp – my first attempt at paper pulp and I really enjoyed it.
A cosy armchair provides a spot to sit and read near the fireplace on cold evenings. The hallway is painted a similar colour to the dining room, a shade darker, in Dulux Sand Dune.

The bookshelf next to the armchair holds some board games (cause I love playing on quiet evenings at home) and some art books. I added a lamp stand with a bare light bulb. I found this at the tip shop yesterday and love the height of it next to the armchair.

I needed a bit more colour in that spot and I had a basket… I went outside to where Wayne was hacking up a holly bush and grabbed some twigs…

 Some old books, a couple of jars of walnuts (why not?) and old kitchen scales complete the bookshelf.

That’s all for now. I gotta get some sleep! Stay tuned for the kitchen – coming next!

 z

just one more armchair…

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You know what they say? The best laid plans and all that?

Well, I had a plan for today. I was going to get up late, have a leisurely breakfast while I checked mail, had a 2nd cup of coffee, then moseyed on down to pay for 1/2 a lamb (the pre-chopped up bits for the freezer kind) on the way to meeting Merrill and picking up furniture to take up to Fentonbury to my house.

I got as far as the sleep in and the breakfast. From there the plan was derailed in a major way.

Merrill called to say Kuta (her dog) was sick and could I go help get him in the car and go to the vet with her for moral support. Kuta is an old boy with health issues, so every time something goes wrong we instantly go into ‘this could be it’ mode. Luckily for Kuta, today wasn’t the day. It was just the day for Merrill’s wallet, since dogs always get sick on weekends and public holidays.

But he’s fine, some antibiotics and maybe some minor surgery if the pills don’t do the job.

By then I was already running 2 hours late. Not that I had a timeline, but I did just want to get things done. We dropped off Kuta, I went home to get the trailer and returned to pick up Merrill to help with the furniture moving. And almost amputated her thumb with the handbrake. Don’t ask me how … one minute I was parking and cranking up the break, the next Merrill is screaming and I’m like ‘WHA????’

Thankfully, no permanent damage was done. We were able to load a couch, a cast iron single bed, a mattress and 3 armchairs onto the trailer. Not only that, we made it to Fentonbury with the load intact – looking rather like something from the Beverly Hillbillies, we had that sucker piled up so high.

I love my tie down straps!

Once there, we set about unloading, somehow harder than loading up considering we were already tired by then. Luckily one of my neighbours helped. Made the world of difference.

I love the way the house looks. Its so comfortable and cosy and welcoming now. Once the heater is replaced and we can have warm fires it’ll be wonderful.

We didn’t need a fire today though – the weather was glorious and it was so lovely being there… the fresh air, the peace and quiet, the trees. Ahhh.

There’s still a few things to take up, some small bits and pieces to do, and of course a bit of cleaning still left to do. But the feel of the place is right again.

We mainly worked on the living room and kitchen, only touching onto 2 of the bedrooms and dining room. The living room looks great though I somehow managed to lose the power cable to the tv. The coffee table is still in the casita – I haven’t finished it yet – but I rather like the living room without it…

We created a cute little sitting area between the living room and kitchen which I love. I’ve used an old cabinet I had a go at revamping a while ago. More on that soon.

The dining room is only partly finished, but its feeling right.

I’ll have more photos when things are all in place. I’ll have to go put my wrist on ice, but I feel good!

Meanwhile, just thought I’d share: I LOVE my new Facebook! Man! Now I finally get it! Now I understand why people like it! I’m finally actually reading news from my close friends!

Better go. Another big day looms tomorrow – Montana has her stitches out, a date with the bank regarding the extra money I have to now fork out once a week, dogs to groom, and, well… STUFF to do!

z

The best laid plans

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I had big plans for this weekend… I thought I’d rearrange the office, do some filing, some gardening, mow the lawn, groom some dogs (I had appointments set up for Saturday and Sunday) and then I’d take Monday off (neither Wayne nor I work Mondays) and finish a load of stuff I have to do in the office.
Well, I got some of it done. I mowed the lawn. The only other gardening I did was pick one ripe tomato and re-pot two plants (see pic) and put them on the electrical meter box on the porch.
Oh, I did buy a large glazed planter pot at Mitre 10 where they were on sale for $19.95. How can a girl resist a bargain? I’m going to put my young jasmine in there and train it up the post on the porch. Of course I have to paint the deck first…
I also re-arranged the office. That task took almost all of Saturday. See, when we first moved here we (read I) decided that the back room of the house would make a good office for us to share. I put a long desk under the window for Wayne and put my 2 part desk (meant to be a corner desk) along one wall minus its corner, making into a long desk. I put those wall mounted shelf thingies on the far wall and put up shelves to hold books, binders etc.
That worked great for about 5 minutes. Wayne didn’t like the office much. He set himself up in the kitchen. He put his laptop, boxes of pens, his drawing paper, rulers etc, and he’d work there, doing research and creating his weekly cartoon strip.
When it was time to have a meal we had to shove over all the accumulated detritus of his work just to make enough space for our plates. 
It got old quickly.
So I set up a desk in the living room for him. A small desk with a small table on the side to provide a bigger work surface. That was fine till I appropriated the small table for the sewing machine. For the last 3 weeks (ok, I haven’t finished sewing yet!) Wayne’s been taking over the kitchen table again. It was time to take matters into my own hands.
I decided to make the office more Zefi-friendly.
First I had to move all the crap craft stuff I had in there in boxes. It really was hard to move in the office which may be one reason Wayne avoided it… I piled all that into the living room, the bathroom and onto the porch to go to the casita where I plan to keep the craft stuff I dont need on hand. Then I pushed desks and shoved filing cabinets from one side of the room to the other. And vacuumed where they’d sat for a year.
What I ended up with is this:
My computer on the right, sewing machine on the left, books and other officey stuff on the shelves above. I put the smallest desk, a drawer unit and Wayne’s filing cabinet along the wall opposite (behind me when I sit there) so he’d have somewhere to pile up paperwork. I added a more or less comfy chair along the left hand side of the room where the window is. Now I can access the window and open it without busting my guts having to lean over the desk to do it. I have kept the small TV with the dvd player on the right hand side on its small table. The theory is that Wayne will sometimes be allowed to watch TV now as I can work in here and watch dvds as I do. 
At least thats the theory.
Other than that, I haven’t done much at all. My day of relaxing and working on the computer (mutually exclusive, I know) seems to have disappeared. We spent most of the morning driving into Hobart to pick up some new hens. We’ve added 6 young isa browns to Dennis’ harem. Dennis being our black rooster.
Wayne has finished stalag 13 and the 4 roosters (aka Boris) have been relocated. Hopefully they’ll be relocating further away soon. The chook man we got the new girls from said he IS interested in roosters (now, why didn’t Wayne ask him before we went down there??). I sure hope he comes and gets them soon. Two of them are looking decidedly scraggly as they’re starting to pick on eachother. I feel so sorry for them, but we can’t let them free range any more. Fingers crossed the chook man does come get them.
And tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I thought I’d share this gorgeous heart Wayne made me last year. 
And while I’m at it, I’ll share some more photos of stuff I’ve made or done as promised. Below is a great idea for a bedhead if you’re into rustic stuff like we are. I found this old ladder at a tip shop a year or so ago. I’ve mounted it to the wall and decorated it with all kinds of old horsey things which mostly belong to Wayne. I made the stars for Christmas using sticks and silver wire. The heart and a couple of other items are tied on with raffia. I love raffia!
Below is an old window made into a mirror. I brought this from my house in Fentonbury where it was the bathroom mirror. It now sits on top of my dresser so I can check myself out when I get dressed in the morning. (That’s why its up high, I can’t see if my bum looks big in it!)

And lastly, I made these little boxes a few years ago using tasmanian oak from old skirting boards from a demolished house. I sanded them back enough to expose the timber, leaving the layers of paint in places. I hinged the lids at the back and now I use them to store jewelry and hair accessories. They add a pretty touch to the bedroom in front of a very old wedding photo of Wayne’s uncle.

So there you go. I better get going. I promised I’d make ravioli for dinner tonight so I need to get started.

z