Living areas - The Cabinetry

I had fallen in love with the below image from Pinterest, it was cabinetry of Brisbane blogger, 'The House that A-M Built'. I looked longingly at the space in our entryway and suggested to Adam it would look great and solve one of our many storage problems.

To my absolute surprise he agreed and we called in the cabinet maker who made our kitchen for a quote. I opened the image on my iPad and said 'just like this!' (I wonder how many times he had heard that!) We were happy with the quote so gave him the go ahead to have it built and installed before the birth of Will.

It took the cabinet makers half a day to install due to the wonkiness off our home!

And complete! (And empty!)

It ended up being the day before Will was born! Here I am in early labour! My belly is so low!

And here is the gorgeous boy who waited for my cabinets to be installed. Bless.

Now to decorate the shelving, I have started, another post to come!

Living Areas - During the painting!

After writing about the before I have a few photos of the chaos during the paint. Namely toys galore! In the top picture you can see the pink in the hall and the trims were still a cream - the white has certainly made a difference!

This is our leather lounge, I know, white. We have an amazing cleaner that gets it back to new in half an hour - Adam's parents used to have a floor/lounge cleaning business so we are in the know. It is due to be done again so I'll take some before and afters! 

To be continued!

Madeline's Room - Old progress shots!

 

I found this photo today while I was searching for backyard photos. Since the original post I have moved the shadow boxes and introduced a big girl bed (from Snooze). I also purchased old season Sheridan linen off eBay as the pink was perfect - however due to the synthetic nature of the ruffles - Madeline slipped off one day and is scared of the linen! Haha! I have since changed it up a bit.

 

This photo was even earlier, pre-big girl bed. I wanted to post this as it is a lovely shot of the personalised cushion and others - excuse the non-styling of the throw!

And a picture of my little darling, I adored this Country Road dress so much I have kept it.

So a post for my own record really! As you were!

The Backyard - Part 2

 

Adam's vision for the backyard included a fenced playground for the kids. To keep the dog out and the kids in. I can't seem to find the images but Adam hired a mini digger and dug all the fence post holes with it. (His Dad was also an integral part of the build!) Once the posts were in and the general structure erected the fresh turf was laid.

 

 

Another productive weekend saw Adam and his Dad nail the palings on, and so the playground had a fence!

 

 

To be continued.

The Backyard - Part 1

 

We are lucky to have a large block, around a quarter acre. Unfortunately these pictures don't show the full back block including a gigantic Moreton Bay fig in the back right! Just off the back deck was a gardenia hedge, it was growing quite out of shape and was becoming spindly. It still flowered beautifully but was a bit of a barrier to the backyard.

 

 

So despite our big block, we didn't really use it. It was our Ollie dog's domain and quite honestly we weren't/aren't very good at keeping up with the pooper scooping so it was just a waste. So Adam had an idea and before I knew it, a mini digger was climbing the back retaining wall to tidy up a bit!

 

 

The driver absolutely loved the challenge and I emailed him a few pictures for his files.

 

 

Before we knew it (and with the help of a labourer who chopped and carted rubbish/greenery away) the backyard was clear and a blank canvas.

 

 

To be continued.

Living Areas - Armchair and footstool dreaming!

{Image via Pinterest}

 

How divine is the image above?! It was designed by resident interior designer to Coco Republic and showcased in Home Beautiful (I think)! Love the cabinetry, blue and white and of course the gorgeous armchairs.

The White Shed (http://www.thewhiteshed.com.au/) has something in black and white that reminds me of the above. It is quite affordable too.

{Image via Pinterest}

I have always had an obsession with armchairs, I am not sure why. Not that I have ever owned any particularly nice ones, I can just appreciate a beautiful chair! And hope to have some beautiful ones, one day! This post is a bit of my current stream of consciousness regarding their place in our home.

{Image via Pinterest}

Contrasting piping! Love it!

The following image is from a Home Beautiful and it is a vintage chair covered in fabric from No Chintz. I ordered a swatch and it is gorgeous in real life, however a cotton - I think I would need a fabric in a more hard wearing fabric for my family! Or maybe or bedroom chairs! I can't help but admire the NY pictures above it!

 

 

With that in mind I have been keeping an eye out for a chair to cover. I found this beauty at Paddington Antique Centre. It's a stunning chair but with a price of $800 it was an expensive place to start before fabric and covering costs. I want a real bargain! Haha!

 

 

The following image is from Home Beautiful October 2012, one of the 50 best rooms. I of course love the cabinetry but the navy armchairs with piping are stunning. The magazine suggests looking at Orson & Blake for something similar.

 

 

I also love everything about this image from Coco Republic, white, again! (Maybe I need those cushions for my couch!)

 

 

{Image via Pinterest}

 

I went to Ikea over the weekend and noticed a new range of dark blue covers for the EKTORP series armchairs and footstools. Madeline has the EKTORP armchair and footstool in her room but am now considering buying the dark blue cover for the footstool and bringing it out into the lounge. I could even add some trim as above.

 

{Image via Ikea}

 

For $69 it might not be a bad investment! I will have a think on it. The armchair obsession and window shopping continues! {As does the constant stream of consciousness!)

The Library!

 

I have recently joined the library after being a resident of Brisbane for 11 years! I was collecting titles of decorating books around the internet, from blogs, people I follow on Instagram etc. I was adding them to my Christmas list and then I had a brainwave - I will borrow them and if I love them I will buy them!

 

 

There are lots of handy pictures and little interesting bits I'm storing away in my brain. I am also borrowing magazines which I LOVE - I am a visual person! I have been taking photos of things I like as I go.

 

What an amazing resource! And even better, I order the books/magazines online to my closest branch.