Caribbean Style

Its been months since my last blog post so I was thrilled to notice the new improved blog layout, how much easier to load and size photos!

In this months House Beautiful I feel in absolute love with the home of Amanda Lindoth. Her Caribbean home is located in Florida but you would never guess, its perfect coastal living!

Have a great weekend x

House Renovation

Today our home went on the market for sale, ready for the next chapter in our life, its hard to believe this yellow house with a green roof was only a two bedroom home on one level, we raised her to seek amazing, panoramic city views, more bedrooms and living spaces for our family. It has taken two years and most our weekends but it has been worth the hard work, now we finally can start enjoying our home for awhile anyway x

Family Spaces

My last post was weeks ago and I mentioned that our house renovation was nearly complete. Well I finally get to say after today it really is complete, isn't it amazing how long all those little tasks seem to take, like painting the fence, gardens you name it! with a very old house I don't think you are ever finished, little things just seem to appear especially with an all white house!

Next week our home is going up for sale, I have mixed emotions, our plan was to down size but instead our renovation grew to become a very large home, with six children we now only have two living with us and one planning to leave home next year, so our family of eight is now three, so it has made us re think our plans. Several of my friends are in the same position all planning to live the apartment lifestyle, in the heart of the city, I'm sure if I said to my husband yes lets do it he would in a heartbeat. The idea of living in the city, the beautiful walks I could do daily, the cafes and restaurants we could just walk too, a pool, gym all in our complex, the little or no maintenance, my apartment would take nothing to keep clean the list goes on BUT in my heart I'm not sure if its me. I'm also imagining a cottage style Californian bungalow with a beautiful back yard not too big but enough for a pool and terrace, I'm happy with one large living area rather than three that we have now, basically a smaller home but with loads of character. So the verdict is I'm not sure yet, we are keeping our options open, but one thing is for sure our next life plan is for living life to its fullest, I want a healthy life work balance, I want to see so many countries of the world both for pleasure and for my work and I have some exciting plans for Verandah House!

Enough of my ramblings...I have posted some photo's of my children's TV room/library, I have continued the blue and white but in a more casual way, as you can see our family dog Milko has his favourite spot here too! tomorrow I will post the exterior shots for you.

All images: Verandah House

Loving Blue

I have always loved blue and white, for years I have collected antique ginger jars, fabrics, tablecloths and books all that share my passion for blue and white. My mix match plates are used daily, nothing is too precious to use as most of the pieces have been collected over time from antique stores, flea markets and my travels. The room above is a place I love to escape in, previously dark brown timber panels and moulding, dark floors to match the room screamed much needed natural light, so I decided this very room with its ornate ceilings had to be brought back to life, so over many long weekends of sanding and painting walls and floors (I have a whole new respect for painters) our room was complete. Next was the Dining room, we found a very old table for a bargain price and lovingly had it restored back to its former glory, our table that we thought seated ten had hidden sleeves, making our table now fit 16 people! I went completely out of my comfort zone and wall papered the entire room in a divine chinoiserie paper, the white ornate ceilings and glossy white floors added the perfect contrast. I mixed up the seating by custom making a frilled long bench ottoman and painting my Chippendale chairs a light blue.

Images: Verandah House Interiors

Simply Neutral

In a world of so much beautiful colour sometimes just the pure simplicity of very little colour creates the feeling of simplicity, calmness and a place of contentment.

Have a lovely weekend x

all images via my pinterest page

Snippets of my work.

Over the last few months I have been incredibly busy with my interior work, renovating my own home and just keeping up with the demands of life, my blog has always been such a important part of daily work life but as I'm discovering not always easy to do with so many commitments to juggle.

Last week I attended the launch of Country Trader, it was one of those fabulous nights when Brisbane's design industry all got together for an evening of inspiration and great company, to be in a room of so many people I have the utmost respect for, so many of whom were my friends which added to such a fantastic night.What always seems to surprise me is how many people actually follow my blog, maybe we don't always realise just how many people may look but simply don't leave a comment because like me, they may be time poor.

I blog to inspire, to share inspiration but mostly to connect with like minded people, whilst I am perhaps a little reserved in showing off my home. I thought it was time to maybe show a few sneak peeks. I was asked why I feel that way, well maybe its because I live in a real home that's not always perfect, like many of us I can't always afford lavish artwork and antiques, (Even if i lust after them) sometimes we just have to make do! When we bought our home we seriously didn't allow for just how much renovating would actually cost and to say it has been a struggle for us is the understatement of the year. During this time we lost a child so in perfect honesty I am amazed we managed to keep it all together. This home was not a labour of love but sheer and utter survival in a very difficult time in our life, that was then and this is now. I think we have spent nearly every weekend working on our house for the last year and a half, sometimes feeling like life is passing you by, but maybe for us it was also a time of healing. I think I sometimes need to pinch myself and look back and realise we did it, as hard as it has been no glossy story here, but it was worth it. I wanted to do so much more to the interiors but maybe even us decorators have to stay with our means and settle for its good enough!

I'm happy with the outcome and whilst I drive my family crazy that I could do so much more, secretly I'm happy and truly blessed with my home. I do have a feature coming up so I have to keep it under wraps for now but thought I would share just a few snaps of my home.

Market Day

Every Saturday morning Paul and I head to Rocklea markets to buy our weekly fresh produce. Whilst getting up at 6.30am is not easy, we never regret our weekly ritual. When we arrive its straight to the black sheep coffee stand because I simply cannot start the day without a good cup of coffee. This barn style cafe bar oozes rustic style with its empty milk bottles filled with fresh flowers, it really makes such a lovely atmosphere. I always get there early because the best flowers are snapped up quickly, this is by far the best part of market shopping. How can I resist tulips at $8 a bunch? This week I purchased some topiary bushes for my pots and I'm yet to work out where I can grow bougainvillaea, how I love these lush vibrant flowers. We then stocked up on fresh vegetables for winter soups and casseroles, lots of fresh fruits and herbs. I tried very hard to walk past the Noosa Chocolate Factory stand, but decided to take a photo instead! The baker then told me to hang on so he could build me a tower of rocky road; how could I not support him!? The girls were very happy! We have a large family so apart from saving a fortune and buying farm fresh food, we also enjoy our weekly banter with the regulars and that rare time its just me and my man.