Desk & Chair Project for $25!

I love to up-cycle and refinish old pieces of furniture and give them a whole new lease on life! It's truly amazing what a difference a splash of paint can make.

My eldest daughter is at school and has reached the age where she is incessantly doing craft, writing on several thousand pieces of paper and basically just "creating masterpieces"!

Due to this love of hers, we decided it was probably time that she had her own little desk and chair in her bedroom. Of course I could have gone out and bought her a new desk and chair but that would have been too easy and not creative enough for me! So instead, I decided we'd find something old that no-one wanted and breathe new life into it.

When driving along in our local area some time ago I found an old 1920's dresser on the side of the road. I pulled over so I could ask the lady how much she wanted for it. To my surprise it was in very good condition and she was giving it away for FREE! My poor long suffering husband then had to help me get it in the back of our car & it sat in our garage for a number of months, annoying him I'm sure.

Fast forward to two weeks ago and I was again driving along and saw our local op shop had several different little chairs out the front. I pulled over and discovered a poor little old chair that was in good condition, but had it's ugly on in a big way! It had great bones though and was only $20...bargain! I then set to work on creating a pretty little set for my daughter's room. Pictures below...

 

This is clearly the desk "before" shot. She wasn't very pretty but as I said she was in good condition and had potential.

 

And here is the chair before it's make over. Again, not pretty but I liked the design of the back and hey for $20 you can't complain.

And here is the end result!

 

A bit of a change isn't it! She loves the light blue desk, soft green and pops of colour from the fabric.

It is always best to choose your fabric first and then pull a colour from the fabric to use as your paint colour. 

The good news is that because I had the primer, paint & the fabric from another job this whole thing only cost me $20 for the chair and a few dollars for some sand paper. 

Have you ever taken and old piece of furniture and updated it?

Keeping cool during a heatwave

Here in Australia we have been struggling through an insane heatwave over the last week. Today is set to top 43 degrees in Sydney which has only ever happened 3 times in the last 150 years! 

The heat is incredible and we are all hiding in our homes, curtains drawn and air-conditioner running constantly. I really feel for anyone who doesn't have air-conditioning on days like today.

As I keep my eye on the fire alerts for our area I thought I'd post a couple of images of lovely cool pools and interiors decorated in cool blue hues.

House of Turquoise

 

BHG 

Tracery Interiors

Keep cool fellow Aussies!

Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog  this year (when I've been able to post).

This year has been a great year and I'm looking forward to 2013 with absolute enthusiasm!

I hope you and your family have a safe and happy break.

Bill & Giuliana Rancic's New LA Home

I'm more than happy to admit that there are certain celebrity reality shows that I really love to watch and Bill & Giuliana is one of them!

Bill & Giuliana have recently welcomed a new little boy into their family and decided a new home was in order too. I love their new home it has such a beautiful classic style. I also love how little Duke's nursery has been designed.

 

Below are some photos of their gorgeous new LA pad...

 

 

Christmas Decorating

I have always loved this time of year, the build up to Christmas is always a fun and exciting time, now intensified for my husband and I by the fact that we have two little girls!

Of course there are downsides to this festive time of year. I don't like the build up of traffic that can be found around every major shopping centre in Australia. I also don't like the fact that some people seem to go out of their way to be rude and obnoxious around Christmas time, which I assume is where the term "silly season" may have stemmed from.

I love experiencing Christmas all over again through my children. Watching their faces beam each time they catch a glimpse of one of 'Santa's Helpers' and of course watching them light up when it's time to decorate the Christmas tree. And let's be honest, it's pretty handy having Santa's Naughty List to use as a negotiation tool with them too - yes I'm one of those parents!

Each year I'm tempted to decorate and put the tree up earlier and earlier, but I promised a friend of mine this year that I would wait until 1 December. She is absolutely right of course, a month to a young child is a VERY long time and with the stores getting their Christmas stock in from early October in some cases, the long wait can start to take away some of the magic of Christmas.

I'm pleased that I have waited and am looking forward to decorating on Saturday. This year we are changing from a traditional red and gold theme to a bright and colourful theme sure to impress the girls! Here are some other trees for inspiration...

House of Turquoise

Image Source Unknown

Southern Living

The Blythe Banner on Flickr

All following images sourced from Southern Living

For those of you that have also waited to decorate, have fun on Saturday!

Sarah 101

The new season of Sarah 101 began in Australia last Sunday and what a season it's going to be!

As many of you know I love Sarah Richardson and Tommy Smythe as a design duo and the images below will give you a sneak peek into what this season has in store.

The show airs on Lifestyle Home at 7:30pm each Sunday night on Foxtel, you'll want to Series Link it!

Linda McDougald Design

I love to keep up to date with what other designers are doing around the world. In Australia we definitely have our own style. This is obvious through our architecture and interiors, but more often than not, you can see our style has evolved from a base normally found in the Northern Hemisphere. Some of the most stunning interiors in the world were being created before our little land down under had even been discovered! So of course we are going to take cues from their designs and try to replicate it here. 

Linda McDougald is a designer based in the USA and I could sit and look at her portfolio for hours, I just love everything she creates. The house featured below is located in Palmetto Bluff and would have to be my favourite. If you'd like to see more of Linda's portfolio you can go to her website: www.postcardfromparis.com

 

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!