Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lily & Oscar

How is your Swedish?  Mine is pretty awful, so until now I've had to be content to just admire the beautiful images on the Swedish online store Lily & Oscar.

I was curious who were Lily & Oscar so I asked my lovely Swedish friend Carolina to do some research for me...  Carolina came back with the following:

Lily & Oscar founder Josefine, has always had a passion for interior design, and tends to experiment and mix her design style in order to achieve something which is harmonious to the eye and which feels comfortable. She likes to mix classic design, modern concrete tables together with ethnic design and kilim rugs and cushions in order to create her style.

I wish there was a Lily & Oscar here in Australia!

     
    
  


You can shop all of the above and more here.

M xx

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Rubbish or Treasure

You know the saying, one person's rubbish is another person's treasure... 

When we were living in Dubai I came across this chair on my morning run.  It had been put out with someones rubbish!  The chair was too big for me to carry home at the time so after what felt long a long day at work we finally got the chance to go back that night with the car... and it was still there!  Hoorah!

Unfortunately I don't have a before photo but the chair was in bad shape.  It had been left outside so it was covered in grime.  The rattan on the seat was ripped and the chair was extremely unsturdy.  Luckily for me I had a really handy friend who very kindly came around to help me repair the chair. 



The VERY handy Matty!

 We removed all the rattan from the bottom section and Matty built a new frame.  He also put new supports underneath to strengthen the chair.  He then made a new wooden seat to replace the rattan.  After a really good sand and clean the chair was looking fabulous already!

We layered a piece of foam over the top of the wooden base and then covered it in fabric to complete the cushion for the seat.  

So this item of someone's rubbish has now become my most treasured piece of furniture!




Sunday, January 27, 2013

Aussie Aussie Aussie

Happy Australia Day Weekend!

To celebrate this long weekend I thought I'd do a round up of my favourite 'Australian' products at the moment:

Australia 2



I think everyone needs a Hello Possum cushion!

M xx


1. Mini Possum Cushion.  Available here
2. Echidna Poster.  Available here
3. Koala Chalkboard Sticker.  Available here
4. Aussie Slang Tea Towel. Available here




Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Junk in the Trunk

 
I have long been a fan of vintage shipping trunks and have kept my eye out for one for years.  Whether they are stacked beside the bed as a bedside table or used in the lounge room as a coffee table I love their rustic look.  I'd love to find a trunk in good original condition, I'd like to imagine all the stories that trunk could tell about its travels.



Old trunk painted whiteLove this trunk



On a recent trip to my happy place we found the below trunk.  Although this trunk seems to be a cheaply made one out of fairly thin chipboard and coated steel joinery rather than brass* I thought it had potential and for only $20 thought it was worth a DIY weekend to find out.  




As much I would have loved to keep it as it was is, unfortunately it hadn't been looked after and had flaking paint along with the first signs of mould   So I decided I would try and paint it to give it another lease on life.  I decided on a gold and white stripe effect.  

First I had to scrape off the flaking paint layer.  The original joinery was in a decent condition so I covered these sections in masking tape to leave them as they were.  I then painted the entire trunk in 3 coats of white paint leaving a few hours of drying time between each layer.  I wanted to use fairly thick stripes so I measured each panel to determine the thickness of each stripe.  These were then marked out with masking tape before spraying the gold sections with spray paint..  





After a few hours of drying time, we now have a new trunk for our spare bedroom!





M xx








Images: here, here, here and here

* a quick test with a magnet will help you work this one out.  If the magnet sticks it is not solid brass.

Monday, January 21, 2013

My Happy Place

It has been a few weeks since we have been to my favourite place here in Perth and after going today I have decided it is my happy place.  Some people may like a department store, others may like a certain cafe that makes the perfect coffee or maybe the beach... but for me it is the recycling centre (fondly called the tipshop) in Balcatta! I love that you never know what you might come across, that anticipation of finding that amazing object that just creatively inspires you...  well today that happened!

As soon as we walked in I saw the below... beautiful right? And for the bargain price of just $20 it was an easy decision!



As beautiful as it was already it did need a bit of TLC once we got home.  There were cobwebs all over  and the wood was really dried out and starting to crack.  For an easy way to bring your dry wood back to life just brush over a blend of  turpentine and boiled linseed oil.  I used a 60:40 ratio and it worked fine but there does seem to be a lot of varying advice about what ratio to use on the internet.  Just make sure you give the wood a thorough sand first and then a wipe over to clean up any dust. After using the oil we just left it in the sun for a few hours to dry and to absorb the oil.  

So after a few hours.. we have a new tv cabinet!!




M xx

Friday, January 18, 2013

Wish List!

Manyara Home, the retail offspring of event and interior stylist Rouba Alamein, has recently launched an online store full of beautiful pieces that have been handpicked from around the world.  If I could choose someone to swap places with for a week then I'd love to swap with Rouba... what a great job!

I thought I'd put together my Manyara wish list of things I must have for my home!

1. African Lidded Basket.  You could use this as a washing basket but personally I think it is too beautiful to put your dirty clothes in! This would look perfect sitting in our loungeroom.

African lidded basket


2. Vintage Surabyan Mirror.  This beauty I would hang just near our front door.

Vintage Surabyan Mirror

3. Horn candle wall sconces.  To continue my love of horns, skulls and antlers these would go in our hall way...

Horn candle wall Sconces 

4. Rattan Clutch. Ok so technically not for my home and more for me but I couldn't not put this one in!  A perfect summer clutch.
Rattan Clutch w Striped Fabric Liner in Tan

5. Painting in Canvas. 
Painting in Canvas 3Painting in Canvas 2


I love both these images and can't decide whether I prefer the black or white background.  Although I would love to have them both from Manyara these images have made me wonder whether I could come up with something similar myself...  When we were in Kenya in 2012 I took the below photos, unfortunately I am no professional photographer so they are nowhere near as beautiful as the Manyara images (those eyes are just amazing!) but maybe after a play on photoshop I could get a similar effect?  I'll have a go and let you know the outcome!
















Check out Manyara Home website for more amazing pieces here.

M xx




Images: 1 - 6 from Manyara home and the final two are mine. 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Classic Bentwood

I spent today sourcing stools for an upcoming photo shoot at work and these gorgeous replica bentwood stools at Matt Blatt caught my eye.



I've long been a fan of bentwood chairs and would have loved to use them for our wedding ceremony.  I love their clean lines and classic design.  It is a testament to this classic design that these chairs are still so popular now considering the No. 14 chair was originally designed by Michael Thonet in 1859! That's 1859 folks!!  How gorgeous do they look as bed sides tables below!

Sf-girl_rect540



There are quite a few chairs on ebay for reasonable prices or keep an eye out at your local tipshop, recycling centre or auction house.  Although I prefer the natural wood style these chairs also look great painted.  A quick sand following by a gloss paint can completely change the look of your room.  

Bentwood Chairs - Before and After
 
Pinned Image
 
 
 
 
M xx

  



Images: herehereherehere, here, here and here




Tuesday, January 15, 2013

For a good cause!

Last week Hobart had its hottest day on record and devastatingly the hot weather helped fuel fires which have affected some of the most beautiful areas in Tasmania.  Out of such tragic fires it has been so touching to see the Tasmanian community come together and help those who have been affected by the fires.

One such lovely company is Dish Pig who along with a local graphic designer have designed a special tea towel for sale.  65% of the purchase price goes towards the appeal.  Not only are you helping a great cause you also get a stylish new tea towel for your kitchen.

Image of SPECIAL EDITION - Tasmanian Bush Fire Appeal Tea Towel 
You can pre-order these tea towels here

M x

Monday, January 14, 2013

The real deal?

On one of my first trips to the tip shop here I found these amazing chrome plated chairs that were being sold for the bargain price of $5.  For some inexplicable reason I didn't buy them at the time and by the time I realised my mistake and went back they had already been sold!
'THE' chair is the one on the left!

Since that day I have kept an eye out for a similar chair each time we have gone back there... persistence pays off as when we went back recently we found the below! 

Not quite the same as the original ones but I love this bucket style chair even more.  They are super comfortable and although double the price at $10 each they were still an absolute bargain!

As soon as I saw these chairs I knew I wanted to paint them.  Neon is everywhere lately and with the grey tones of our balcony I thought a pop of neon would look great.

How to Paint Metal Chairs : Home Improvement : DIY Network #neon #color #chairs #DIY




The chairs had a bit of rust on them so when I was sanding them back I found a small 'Made in Italy' sticker on each.  I thought perhaps I better do some research before painting them! So after some research they look a lot like a chair made by an Italian company called Cidue.  From what I've read Cidue were a high end Italian furniture company from the 1960s-1970s.  Could they be an original Cidue chair?

Until I do some more investigating they are staying as is.  I will keep you posted.

M x

Images: mine, mine, herehere, and here

Sunday, January 13, 2013

To head the bed?

Our second bedroom has an ensemble bed so I have been keeping an eye out for a bed head to sit behind it. Not only can a bed head have a useful purpose in ensuring all your pillows and cushions don't slip down the back of the bed... a bedhead can also help change the look of the entire room and add instant impact.
Pinned Image

Some do it yourself options are to buy some old doors or shutters that you could sand back for a rustic look.  You could also use an old pallet which you could pick up really cheaply from your local tip shop.
 
Pinned Image 
Window shutter headboards!
Pallet Headboards
 
 
Or there are gorgeous fabric options.  There are some great tutorials around if you wanted to make one yourself... try here or here.  A great idea with fabric bed heads would be to use fabric that you have had printed especially.  Spoonflower is a great website that allows you to upload an image and then choose the type of fabric you'd like that image printed on.  Imagine a handwritten note printed on fabric or your favourite childrens drawing... 
 

Finally, peacock bedheads are everywhere at the moment.  The cane is a lightweight feminine option that looks beautiful.

Queen Peacock Bed Head Lemon
Queen Peacock Bed Head White

So many beautiful options...  M xx

Images from herehere, here, here, here, here, here and here.