Little Green Haus

Shopping for a baby

2010-10-05T01:15:00.000-07:00

Since finding out I was pregnant I've spent a lot of time perusing different shops looking for baby furniture, linen, clothes etc. I thought I'd share some of the places I have found good quality items at good prices and hopefully it will help someone else out there!

Furniture

I was really fortunate to find the bassinet, cot and change table I admired but thought was completely out of the question financially at a heavily discounted price for the floor model. I always thought of smaller baby shops as being more expensive than large chains and department stores but the lesson I learned is that perusing all kinds/sizes of shops definitely pays off. I purchased the bassinet, cot, change table, mattresses and canopy as a package for less than the normal retail on the bassinet alone (which is normally converted into a cot with the addition of extra pieces).

I chose to buy Stokke because I liked the design, I liked that it could convert to toddler bed and the change table to a desk and most importantly I had confidence that the brand represented quality. My husband sat in a Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair as a baby and we still have his chair today (after many more babies sat in it!) which we're happy to pass down to our child.

To make the Tripp Trapp a bit more safe and comfortable for the baby I purchased a safety harness from a baby shop (approx. $40), plastic back support and fabric cushion from Ebay. I bought these items (which carry insane RRPs) second hand at very low prices and was really happy with them.

Linen

One APPARENT downside to the Stokke bassinet and cot is that the mattress is the oval shape which means if you want a snug fitting mattress protector or fitted sheet you apparently need to buy Stokke linen. Stokke linen, in my experience here in Brisbane Australia, is outrageously expensive.

HOWEVER I said earlier that the shape of the mattress was an APPARENT downside because I've found that every regular fitted cot sheet I've purchased has had elastic that was tight enough that a snug fit for the fitted sheet was achieved. So my advice is don't feel you HAVE to buy Stokke linen.

I have found an Ebay seller who makes mattress protectors and fitted sheets to fit Stokke mattresses and I purchased a cotton mattress protector off her for the bassinet which I'm happy with and I'll most likely purchase a cot mattress protector too. I've also found Stokke brand linen for sale on Ebay second hand which is another more cost effective option if you want the genuine article and you're comfortable with second hand linen. And of course if you're good at sewing it would be easy to make some of your own linen! However I'm time and sewing skills poor and so didn't venture down that path... or yet anyway!

One thing that did shock me about children's linen was the price many brands were asking for what I thought wasn't particularly good quality and often attractive prints were a polyester cotton blend which I wasn't happy with. In the end I found soft, plain dyed, 100% cotton percale sheets and cotton flannelette sheets at Target (half price on sale), I bought some discounted printed sets and lovely cotton blankets from David Jones during their sale and Trade Secret and Peters of Kensington were also an economical place to find 100% cotton sheets (including department store brands like Bubba Blue) for half the normal retail. I should add that these places all had inexpensive cotton wraps/swaddling available at reasonable prices.

In short my advice: Visit Target and if you see anything you like use the price check scanner - I have been pleasantly surprised by unmarked discounts on SO many occasions now! Check out Peters of Kensington because they also have good prices on 100% Cotton Bubba Blue brand linen.

Clothes

Check out sales! David Jones and Myer frequently have discounts on baby clothes. Trade Secret had some amazing prices on baby clothes (including popular brands like Bonds and Marquise) and Target had great basics in organic cotton for less than I spent on morning tea. My mum bought the classic Bonds 'Wondersuits' for about $5 each from Woolworths supermarket which was a great price that only seemed to be available at her Supermarket - not at my local so be sure to pop down that aisle regularly in case there are discounts.

Beanies, booties, scratching mittens, bibs etc are ALWAYS going cheaply in the baby sections of department stores and chain stores so no need to pay full price!

Bathing

Now baby baths vary in price dramatically! I've seen everything from a miniature version of our freestanding bath tub for over $100 to novelty shaped bath tubs, tubs on stands, tubs decorated with licensed cartoon characters etc etc. In the end I purchased the simplest, cheapest bath I could find because I felt it was sturdy, easy to clean and good quality. I purchased my bath for $5 from Ikea. The particular bath I purchased was blue but these days Ikea stock the same bath in white for $15. Obviously blue was a discontinued colour.

At Target I found a set of 3 really soft organic cotton baby washers for only $1.88 and I purchased a few 100% cotton hooded towels from a linen shop in DFO... again heavily discounted.

Baby Decor... the little extras

I could have probably called this the 'Ikea' section because a lot of the decoration I've put in the baby's nursery was sourced at Ikea.

I was given a couple of animal tapestries made by a relative that would be nice to hang to add a bit of colour to the white walls. I framed the tapestries using Ikea Ribba frames in a couple of different sizes. I think these are lovely frames and look very professional at a much cheaper price than professional framing.

I bought a mosquito net to hang from the ceiling also from Ikea. I loved the bunting detail around the top and again thought it brightened up the room a bit... not to mention I'll be using it as an extra protection against mosquitoes in summer! We'll hang this over the cot but we'll probably remove it when the baby is more mobile so that it can't be tugged on etc.

I also bought this cute Ikea lamp which is lightweight and gives off just the right amount of light that it won't shock the baby if I need to turn it on in the night.

Mobile wise I plan to hang this brightly coloured Flensted mobile in the room (not directly over the cot though because it's fairly large)

Image from http://www.flensted-mobiles.com

And finally our big splurge was this Eames 'Hang it all'. We really hope that this is something our baby can use throughout its entire life and may even come to appreciate the classic design as an adult!

Image from http://modernfindings.com

Phew that's just about all the shopping I've done. In summary the best places I found for shopping for a baby were:

Target (who are actually starting a big baby sale tomorrow)
Peters of Kensington
Trade Secret
Ikea
Myer and David Jones (during sale time)

Other places worth a look are:

Ebay
Kmart
Big W
Best & Less
Woolworths supermarket

A blog I just discovered and I'm loving...

2010-09-29T03:42:00.000-07:00

Modern Findings

Thank you for drawing my attention to these delightful textiles from Finnish company Kauniste

An update... finally!

2010-09-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while... Fortunately there has been progress! On my Apartment Therapy 'Spring Cure' list of things to do from months ago (Spring in the USA that is... not Australian spring!) I wanted to update our guest bedroom. By the time we painted the study, hung the vintage destination blind, assembled the Ikea panel curtains and did a bit of a furniture revamp I'd pretty much run out of steam. On top of that something very exciting happened in the meantime that was a very pleasant distraction... I became pregnant!

So we decided to take things a bit easier and hired a painter to paint the guest room (white... like the rest of our place) and finish off a few bits of painting here and there. It was money well spent with the job being done in a day and a half versus a couple of weekends which it would have taken us since we're just not that efficient with painting.

In the meantime I've been busying myself with getting a nursery ready for my baby which will be born in February. I'll be posting more about the nursery and shopping for baby soon!

So what else is there to do now to complete the guest room project? We have to pick some new door handles for the bedrooms and a passageway, hang some venetian blinds, reassemble the furniture and I still need to paint those bedside tables!

Marimekko Kaiku

2010-07-18T01:32:00.000-07:00

One of the jobs I aimed to finish during the Apartment Therapy Spring Cure (the deadline for which has long since passed!) was to make a frame for my large piece of Kaiku fabric and stretch the fabric over the frame.

Finally just under 2 years since I purchased the fabric we have it on the frame ready to be hung! I can't take much credit for this though. My husband did all of the construction work of the frame and lets face it most of the 'staple gunning' too while I watched.

I love this fabric so much. It reminds me of the time my husband I spent together in Finland during our honeymoon. It was autumn at the time and the birch leaves were turning from green to lovely shades of gold and beginning to drop. I took lots of photos of them but in an unfortunate turn of events we lost them. It became a priority for me to buy this Marimekko fabric which really did remind me of the beauty of Finland.

This is how we... well... he... did it :)

A frame was made which he joined using dowels (and wood glue) and reinforced the corners with small pieces of ply.

We covered the frame with cheap calico (about $5 a metre from Spotlight) using a staple gun to attach it to the frame. This was so that the Marimekko fabric wouldn't wear against the sharp edges of the timber and eventually rip and also because the Marimekko fabric was translucent and we didn't want the frame behind to be visible.

Finally we used the trusty staple gun again to stretch the fabric over the 'canvas' we'd made.

I'm very pleased with the results! Here it is waiting to be hung under the skylight in the main thoroughfare of our house (opposite our open-plan kitchen).

FYI I purcahsed my fabric from Textile Arts in the USA who (at the time) had the best price on this fabric and shipping that I could find. Honfleurhome also stock Marimekko fabric and I have also purchased from them online before. Both companies gave excellent customer service!

Meetup - Apartment Therapy

2010-06-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Reading Apartment Therapy today I noticed that there were going to be Apartment Therapy meetups all over the place in July. I wondered if Brisbane would have one and headed over to meetups.com not expecting there to be one but lo and behold little ol' Brisbane is having an Apartment Therapy meetup!

See you there?

I would very much like a yard that looks like...

2010-06-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

...any of these images.

Lovely stepping stones...

A water feature that doesn't look so complicated that it's unachieveable...

More stepping stones and plenty of places to sit...

I'm really starting to notice a trend for rectangles/squares and places to sit...

I'm fairly sure all images are via Apartment Therapy

If I'm wrong I apologise and I'm happy to give credit where credit's due!

Spring Cure Success

2010-05-11T01:29:00.001-07:00

As I said previously I didn't quite get my guest bedroom finished which I was hoping to do in the Apartment Therapy Spring Cure but I am really happy with my study. I've already posted some pictures below but I wanted to post what I'm most happy with - the vintage tram scroll which we have displayed on our wall.

Last year, my Dad who is a rescuer of many interesting things gave me a vintage trolley bus destination roll/blind from Brisbane (my home town) which he had been given years ago and held on to.

I love vintage, nostalgia and typography and I have sentimental interest in many of the destinations listed on the blind (they represent where I live, where I have lived and where many friends and family currently live). So I wanted to display it in my house - the problem was that at just under 4m long at full length it was far too long to display on a wall in one piece. I really didn't want to cut it up into pieces so we scratched our heads about it for a while but we came up with a solution we were happy with.

We bought two Ikea TUPPLUR blinds and attached the blind to either end and fixed it on the wall. We removed the ball chain from the bottom roller but kept it on the top so that we could 'scroll' through the destinations. This solution meant we didn't have to cut the blind and so could display it in one piece. In fact we can change the destinations displayed.

Destination blinds have been given a bit of a bad rap lately with people saying they're becoming a ubiquitous item of decor in peoples' houses (or more specifically in the Apartment Therapy home tours!) but even if it's not your thing this is an idea that could be applied to other long items you want to display - artworks, fabric, banners etc.

Overall it was a simple solution, not horribly expensive and we're very happy with the result :)

Ikea panel curtains: a cautionary tale!

2010-05-03T00:42:00.000-07:00

Today we hung our Ikea panel curtains. You'd think this would be easy - we have already done it once before so the track is there and we know exactly how to attach the top and bottom rails. It's not easy. In fact the first time I assembled these I was planning to do the entire house in panels. I soon changed my mind on that!

I daresay be it the first or four hundredth time you've assembled Ikea panel curtains it is a PAIN. I can honestly say between midday today and 4pm getting these curtains up was the ONLY thing I achieved.

In the day time, curtains closed

At night time, curtains pulled across for open window.

Am I happy with the result? Yes very much so! I really like that they're plain white and the same style rather than a contrast of colour and texture we had previously. I also think they let just the right amount of light in - possibly too much for most people but I really like a naturally bright home. So I guess it was worth it after all!

Some words of advice if you're thinking of installing Ikea panel curtains:

You'll need ample floor space for assembling these curtains - vacuum and / or mop first to ensure a dust free surface (especially if you're using white!)
You're going to spend a lot of time on the floor doing this so try to have the right stuff handy to avoid getting up and down constantly - teeny tiny allen key, sharp scissors, measuring tape, possibly double sided sticky tape and a little bowl to put the miniscule screws in so they don't get lost!
It is a fiddly, arduous taks. Allow plenty of time. You might need regular break times to stop finger cramping
Regardless of the style you go for the edges of the curtain are raw so you need to be careful so as to not fray or bend the edges
If you're using a thin/meshy style fabric panel you might want to use some double sided tape to hold the fabric to the metal 'whatsy' that slides inside the top or bottom rail (you'll know what I mean if you're about to do this and have read the instructions)
BUY THE RODS that you use to pull these curtains. It will really preserve their longevity and protect the unfinished edges from damage. The ones we took down still looked brand new because we used the rods. You can see what damaged edges look like in the Ikea showroom where everyone's had a touch of the curtains.
Keep calm. It WILL work out eventually, it WILL look awesome or at the very worst, Ikea WILL exchange if it's still in saleable condition ;)

Before and after photos of the whole room soon!

Hooray for long weekends and PROGRESS

2010-05-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

Two long weekends back to back. WOW. It's been fantastic. I honestly don't know how I'll cope next week working 5 days rather than 4 though!

We've put the extra time we've had to good use - we've finished painting the study which means we're right on track to finish the Apartment Therapy spring cure. Originally I planned to have 2 rooms done (the study and guest room) but the guest room needs a bit more time and a bit more work so stay tuned for that one.

We painted the study plain white which is what we've done throughout the rest of the house. It's really amazing how much white can brighten up a space. The study was a cream colour and although that's not particularly dark when you compare it to the white you can really see the difference!

Tomorrow I plan on cleaning the louvres, hanging the new panel curtains and swapping the black leather cushion on our Ikea Poang chair for a white fabric cover. While I'm doing this my husband will be working at a solution for hanging our vintage tram scroll using roller blind hardware from some cheap Ikea blinds.

Then will come the last step - moving all the furniture back in and adding the final decorative touches.

In other news my husband has made me a cute graphic for the blog which you can see at the top. It's an illustration of the front of our 'little green haus' and I love it. Thanks!

Also whilst waiting for the paint to dry we visited our favourite antique centre in Brisbane the Woolloongabba antique centre. The visit was successful and I picked up a vintage Arabia 'plum' jam pot. I was really pleased!

Image from Arabia Museum

This is the fourth pot I have in my little Arabia collection.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

It's been a little while...

2010-04-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit quiet on here lately because in general work has been pretty hectic and very tiring. On a more personal note I've been wrestling with a variety of emotions that stem from a person close to me completely betraying my trust. This completely came out of left field and whilst I know its a reflection on that person and not me it has still been an extremely difficult time for me. I've been very fortunate to have a truly wonderful group of coworkers and friends do everything they can to offer me support and cheer me up. And of course, my husband, who has been so patient, understanding and comforting.

Suffice to say I was extremely glad that this was a long weekend which meant I got the chance to cook some nice meals, catch up with friends and most importantly get some serious rest while I spent quality time in front of the TV at my parents house watching Location Location, Selling Houses and other property and renovation shows of their ilk. I also got to catch up on projects around the house which my husband started while I licked my wounds at my childhood home.

This afternoon we finished painting the walls of our study white. Now all we've got left to do are the trims. By next weekend (another long one thank goodness!) we'll have finished that room and with any luck we'll be well on the way with the guest bedroom. Does this mean I'll be finished the Apartment Therapy Cure on time? I might... if not I'm happy to stretch it out to 9 weeks or even 10 if it means I'm relaxed and happy with the results.

In other news last weekend I finished painting my chest of drawers white and changed the hardware to the simple Ikea drawer pulls I bought. It looks nice. Thanks to the kind reader who suggested I rub the drawer runners with candle wax - it worked a treat. I still had to sand the paint back but the candle wax made a HUGE difference. Photos to come...

I hope everyone else out there doing the Cure is progressing well. I can't wait to check out everyone's before and after photos. I've been terribly lazy with flickr personally.

BEFORE: Furniture revamp

2010-04-12T02:26:00.000-07:00

Part of my 'to do' list for this home cure was to revamp some old furniture from my family home. In particular I wanted to keep a wooden chest of drawers that were mine as a little girl. I didn't have bedside tables for our guest room so I snaffled these ones up when my Mum was donating her old bedroom suite to charity. I'm not quite as in love with these but with a coat of paint I think they'll do the job just fine.

Before

I was thinking of painting the side tables a bit more outrageously e.g. bright turquoise paint (I'm on a turquoise kick did I mention?) but colour and I just can't seen to commit so we'll see...

Image from Flickr

On Sunday I started the process by sanding back the chest of drawers and painting the undercoat. It was a damp afternoon today so I decided not to do a gloss coat - I'll save that for another time this week.

W0rd of warning for anyone undertaking a similar project - I decided to paint the sides of the drawers white as well so that they weren't bare wood when they're pulled out. This turned out to be a bad idea - just one coat of undercoat has meant that the drawers no longer slide properly! Who'd have thought these 1970s wooden drawers were so finely engineered! Or maybe I'm just a naive DIY beginner...

Fortunately the electric sander made VERY quick work of preparing the drawers for painting in the first place. I'll use it to sand back the sides again. If you're planning any sort of painting any time soon try and get your paws on one of these!

After painting is complete I'm going to update the hardware on the furniture. I went to a variety of hardware stores, Early Settler which has quite a range of period hardware and trawled through literally hundreds of eBay items. Nothing really took my fancy. Then I received the news I've been waiting a LONG time for...

Anthropologie... shipping... Australia.

As soon as I found out I was at the website as fast as my little fingers could type and promptly filled the shopping cart with beautiful, unique drawer pulls and handles. I started checking out but I was stopped in my tracks when I was stung with a rude $70 shipping fee. Yes, I know you're in utter disbelief. Yes, I did write an email to confirm whether this was in fact accurate. No, there was no mistake unfortunately.

I can't justify that kind of shipping at the moment (or maybe ever for that matter given the relative price of the drawer pulls themselves) so I opted for these extremely modest and most importantly modestly priced Ikea Hedra drawer pulls:

But before we go let's have one last longing gaze and what's so close yet so far...

All images from Anthropologie

I think the turquoise ones are my favourite. Perhaps we'll meet again... when you don't cost so damn much to access! Sigh.

Sydney @ Easter!

2010-04-10T02:04:00.001-07:00

This Easter I was lucky to escape the Brisbane heat for a few days and had a relaxing jaunt to Sydney to catch up with friends who have made the move down there, see Wicked the musical, do a few obligatory tourist activities and even do a spot of shopping.

There are a couple of must-go shopping destinations for me in Sydney and whenever I visit I'm always chomping at the bit to get to them for a bit of retail therapy. For me the top 3 are: Peters of Kensington for just about ANYTHING you need for the home at a bargain price and Dinosaur Designs for their beautiful organically shaped resin jewellery and homewares in a cheerful array of colours. I'm pleased to add Chee Soon and Fitzgerald to the list for their great Marimekko fabric and homewares range (along with a heap of other delightful things for the home).

The "Top 3"

CBD Destinations

Dinosaur Designs - The Strand Arcade, Sydney CBD

Dinosaur Designs have another store at 339 Oxford Street, Paddington and to my dismay the day after I got back from Sydney I found out about their outlet, YES, OUTLET! It's called Extinct (how adorable!) it's by appointment only and you can find out more here. Spare a thought for me who didn't get to make it on probably my last trip to Sydney for a long time :( I did however spend a gift voucher to get a lovely little turquoise bowl and some earrings.

Funkis Swedish Forms - The Strand Arcade, Sydney CBD

While you're in the Strand another store well worth checking out is Funkis. They sell a range of products from Scandinavia including fabric, ceramics, glass and Swedish brushes. Lots of lovely little objects. Oops forgot to snap a pic!

Kikki- K - Several locations including the Strand and QVB, Sydney CBD

Okay so Kikki-K is everywhere so it's hardly a special destination but I just had to include this picture of the latest fit out - white white white! Lovely!

Peters of Kensington, 57 Anzac Parade, Kensington.

It's a huge pink building full of goodies easily accessible by bus* from the CBD. All sorts of things going cheap! Their website is awesome and I've ordered many times and always been happy. I bought some gifts for my future nephew and a candy thermometer for myself - don't laugh - I've been after one for a while and had no luck in Brisbane!

Surry Hills Destinations

I did a fair bit of exploring around Surry Hills while I was in Sydney. I think Louise of blog 52 Suburbs describes Surry Hills well:

"The beauty for me in Surry Hills - the way its tangled streets and lanes remain true to their history, peppered with handsome beauties that have seen better days but still stand tall. The street art that enlivens otherwise characterless walls. And the mix of residents, from seasoned old timers to fresh faced young hopefuls."

Be sure to check out her blog for beautiful photographs of Surry Hills!

Armed with Google Maps and the Urban Walkabout Guide to Surry Hills on my magical Internet enabled phone (seriously, how cool is technology!?) I found my way around easily and did LOTS of walking and found some gems of shops!

Mao and More, 267-271 Cleveland St, Surry Hills

This place has everything oriental. Even if you don't think it's your thing it's a shop that's worth a look if you're in the area and have the time. I particularly liked the retro-industrial Dulton Japanese furniture.

David Met Nicole, 382 Cleveland St, Surry Hills

This was a little shop we just happened upon on our walk that was interesting to browse through. It had an impressive range of 'curiosities' from a bygone era. Everything from vintage industrial pendant lights, print type, Asian lanterns to old rubber stamps and vintage glass milk bottles from all over the place.

The only drawback to this shop was not being acknowledged at all the entire time I was in the shop in plain sight of the girl behind the computer screen at the counter. But hey, maybe it's not always that way. It's worth a look regardless.

Vampt Vintage Design, 486-490 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills

I'd heard about Vampt before. I passed a small Vampt store that was closed on Cleveland Street *I think*. Later I walked past this huge HUGE Vampt store that was still open. IT WAS AWESOME. If you like mid century / Danish design this is a MUST. The range is enormous - the shop is enormous! I was so busy taking it all in in the shop I didn't take any photos - just one of the outside.

I'm actually fortunate there's no Vampt in Brisbane. I'd be in some serious financial trouble. Go there for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Chee Soon and Fitzgerald, 387 Crown Street, Surry Hills

I'd read about Chee Soon and Fitzgerald in a magazine once. I'd always thought of visiting and thanks to the Urban Walkabout guide my memory was jogged and I found my way there.

It's no secret that I love Marimekko. This shop has a lovely range of fabrics and carries the new range of homewares which are reasonably priced (well... as far as Marimekko goes!). I made a few purchases: 2 ceramic Marimekko cups and a decorative plate from the Oiva range and a Flensted Elephant mobile.

Marimekko Oiva Range of Dinnerware. More info and image at Apartment Therapy

I could have easily bought more and to be honest probably will in the near future by whatever means possible. I am coveting this Marimekko teapot (the plain white version though):

Image from NY Times

The staff at Chee Soon and Fitzgerald MADE the experience. They were so friendly, helpful and genuine. I was so thrilled with the whole experience I forgot to take photos of the inside or outside of the store. It's only small so be sure not to miss it!

Sydney Antiques Centre, 531 S Dowling Street, Surry Hills

I always like browsing in Antique centres. I went to a lot as a child with my parents who would tell me about things they had as children or their parents or grandparents had. So they hold a special place in my heart. Also, I like old curiosities. The Sydney Antiques Centre was very large, had antiques from many eras (and the obligatory mass produced reproduction stuff that seems to be creeping into antique centres scattered throughout). This antique centre was EXPENSIVE. This was probably the most expensive antique centre I have ever ventured into and I have been in many over the years. Would I go back? Probably yes to browse if I had the time.

There were lots of other places we visited in Surry Hills from design 'giants' Orson and Blake and Great Dane to little boutiques that you'd miss if you blinked. The ones I described above were the ones I found most interesting. Something to note: Shops tend to open later and close later (e.g. 6pm which is pretty late by Brisbane standards) so feel free to have a sleep in if you're planning a shopping day!

*Regarding buses in Sydney - all busses in the CBD are prepaid now apparently so you'll need to buy a ticket from a newsagent, convenience store etc. We were lucky that a kind bus driver pitied us tourists and let us on anyway.

**Urban walkabout guides are great and if you don't have a super-technological phone you can pick up paper copies at the usual touristy locations e.g. the lobby of a hotel or information booth. We also picked up guides for Paddington and the CBD.

Painted bottles as decor... your thoughts?

2010-04-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been spotting a DIY idea over and over again in blogs and magazines: bottles being painted (either inside or out) with oil paint for use as vases/decoration.

Here are a few examples:

Bold and bright

Image from Real Living magazine via Happy Mundane blog

Shades of one colour

Image from Apartment Therapy

Complimentary pastels

Image from Your House and Garden Magazine NZ via Table Tonic

I really like the idea of making everyday items beautiful and useful rather than spending lots of money buying new mass-produced things that come at a cost to the environment. I'm far from perfect but I am trying to make a conscious effort to buy quality and buy once, and not get sucked into too many trends when it comes to clothes and homewares.

I own quite a old fashioned glass milk and cream bottles (many different shapes from several eras)... how I came to acquire them and why I kept them is a bit of a story. Currently they don't serve a purpose but I thought this is something I could do to make them more beautiful and display them around the traps.

What do you think about this DIY 'trend'?

Lounge room inspiration and the official 'TO DO' list!

2010-03-28T02:45:00.001-07:00

So I've had 2 weeks now to get my planning done. I've created a style tray, played around with floor plans and gone shopping for the things I need to complete the study / guest room project. Now I need to start thinking about the actual hands on stuff to tackle the project. This is where I wish I could channel Faux Fuchsia who is excellent at actioning projects. She once painted every stick of furniture in her home white in one day. Yes, one day!

And as I mentioned in the last post my Spring Cure just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I've decided to do a quick living room update. Here's my inspiration:

Marimekko Kaiku Fabric - image from Scandinavian Design Centre

Isn't it a peaceful scene? It reminds me so much of my time in Finland. In fact I sought out this fabric in Finland from the Marimekko outlet but unfortunately due to the exchange rate at the time it was more expensive to buy it there than from an American online retailer!

Image from The Wall Sticker Company

I love the cushions in this photo. The fabric is from Australian company Ink and Spindle who make high quality printed fabrics on organic cotton. I found their website through The Wall Sticker Company who make the large scale birch wall sticker in that picture. Apparently they collaborate on designs. I thought the cushions would go great with the wall hanging and would also match my couch (which looks so similar to the one in the picture that I think it may even be the same!). I've procured myself the fabric so now all I have to do is make the cushions. Simple really if I had ANY sewing skills! Oh well this is a learning experience after all...

I also want to procure this coffee table for the lounge room. It would match our other oak furniture well (and we don't currently have a coffee table!)

Offi 'Scando' coffee table in Oak - Image from Apartment Therapy

I like that I could keep magazines in the bend!

Anyways enough of the pretty, fun stuff! Back to the real work that needs to start soon!

Because I'm a list maker by nature here's my list of things to do which I hope I will be regularly checking things off!

Prep study and guest room for painting (sanding, filling gaps etc)
Paint walls and trims (white)
Clean louvres thoroughly
Hang new panel curtains in study
Paint vintage bedside tables white and update hardware
Move book cases into study and attempt to group books in a way that doesn't make the room look like an old book exchange - perhaps group by type and then colour?
Fit new cushions to Ikea Poang chair and footstool
Hang wall art (vintage tram scroll)

Wish me luck!

The Spring Cure just keeps getting bigger and bigger...

2010-03-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

Why? Because I keep finding inspiring pictures of homes all over the internet! This one literally just posted on Apartment Therapy has taken my fancy:

Image via Apartment Therapy

Now I'm inspired to paint my old 'mellow-yellow' pine dining room table white!

Add it to the every growing list of things to do... :)

Time to cull...

2010-03-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

So it's week 3 of the cure so it's time to 'clear the path'. For me this means a big declutter of my study area. I did this a little while ago when I was on a massive decluttering bender but it's definitely time to do it again. The clutter is creeping back in!

Decluttering is seriously underrated. A good cull of unused/unloved stuff literally feels like a weight is lifted on your shoulders. The result is instantly gratifying - more space!

A 'cull' (as I like to call it) is not necessarily easy to perform though. It can be quite confronting and raise a whole range of emotions. For me personally I was confronted by my own poor choices and financial wastefulness. Interestingly though the more I dealt with the emotions that surfaced the more sure I felt that I won't be repeating these mistakes. And I'm pleased to say that so far I haven't!

It can also be very hard to part with items that no longer add to your life but you feel you are sentimentally attached to.

The Apartment Therapy Eight Step Home Cure book suggests that you designate an area of your house to be an 'Outbox' which is a "halfway house for your clutter, where things go while their fate is being decided". Here are the Apartment Therapy rules for the Outbox:

Anything can go in the Outbox
The Outbox is allowed to be messy
Everything must stay in the outbox for at least one week
After that you have several choices:

Take anything back out
Leave anything you're undecided about for one more week
Dispose of the rest by moving it to the garbage, recycling bin or a giveaway pile

I think this is a very useful tool but as someone who often talks herself out of getting rid of some things I do think it can be helpful to get things you're certain you don't need out of the house very quickly!

Here are some other tips for decluttering (as discussed in the now famous Vogue Forum decluttering thread!)

For things you've convinced yourself you 'might need one day' - put the items in a box and seal it. If you genuinely need something remove it from the box. If after a designated time period (a month perhaps?) you haven't required anything from the box then dispose of the box immediately (e.g. donate to charity)
For drawers that constantly fill up - take everything out of the drawer. As you need something replace it into the drawer. Things you haven't replaced after a designated time period dispose of immediately.
Ask a friend to help. It's good to have the advice of someone who is neutral to the situation (i.e. doesn't have the same sentimental attachments)
If you're going to sell something on a forum or eBay then list the item without delay! Don't let it sit around the house only to find itself back in 'regular circulation'. Also, have a backup plan for things that don't sell - are you going to offer them to friends or family? Donate them to charity? I must admit this is a trap I have fallen into a few times!
There's the age old decluttering mantra 'If in doubt, throw it out!'
Faux Fuchsia has 3 great decluttering questions she asks herself in relation to clothes and more:

Do I love this?

Does this flatter me?

Is this the image I want to project?

Need some reading material to further inspire you?

Makeunder My Life blog. The philosophy of this blogger is that life can be improved through "addition by subtraction" In her words: "...every Friday I get rid of something that I don’t need, use, or love anymore (I call this my “end of the week exfoliation“). I do this because I would like to have nice possessions, but I don’t have the money to afford lots of nice things. By getting rid of the items I don’t covet anymore, my ratio of nice to not-nice stuff increases, and I end up closer to my goal." Interesting huh?

Check out Miss Minimalist's blog, especially her post on spring decluttering

Book It's All Too Much! by Peter Walsh who has become somewhat of a legend since Oprah discovered him and added him to her bevy of gurus. It's a pretty interesting, quick read and there are plenty of strategies. The resounding message from the book (which I agree with) is don't buy storage solutions - get rid of the excess stuff you're trying to find a storage solution for!

Still no progress?

If you're still struggling getting started tackling the clutter then watch yourself some Hoarders. It's genuinely scary stuff. Nothing makes me want to declutter more than the thought I could end up in that kind of mess!

Got any tips? Comment below and share them!

Happy decluttering!

More Target bargains

2010-03-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the other day that I'd been enjoying some reasonably priced purchases from Target. Here's my latest acquisition which I think was exceptionally good value - a Modern Living Photo Gallery (8 frames in a pack, various sizes) for $34! That's about $4 a frame!

Here's the picture from their catalogue which I think ends soon.

Just be aware I did have to get down on the floor of Target and unpack multiple boxes (checking for flaws) before I got one that was perfect. You've been warned!

And what do you know there are others busily snapping up bargains at Target too! Check out Vintage Modern Home!

Now RUN! :)

Making a Floor Plan

2010-03-23T02:31:00.000-07:00

If you're following the official Apartment Therapy cure clock it's week 2 now which means if you're doing a one room remedy it's time to design a floor plan.

I've mentioned before I am seriously challenged when it comes to graphics software. I was thinking how am I going to possibly do this!? I decided I'd do a quick Google search and find what floor planning tools were available online and then possibly resort to using Google Sketchup (which is still probably beyond me!)

Fortunately I stumbled upon Floorplanner which might just be the best thing ever. It's dead easy and easy to share! I can see myself tinkering with this for hours much like a child moves furniture around in a dollhouse!

Here's an ultra quick 2D mockup I did of my study using Floorplanner.

Oh and if you're wondering what those weird yellowy-white flowery things are they're pendant lights (Norm style ones!) This was the only kind of pendant I could select. In reality I have Foto from Ikea pendants. I loved that this had some popular furniture styles built into it!

Want to move it all around and visualise it in 3D? Click Here to visit my floorplan online! Here's a sneak peak:

It's a work in progress and I'll definitely be working on it. I actually guessed the room size as being 5m x 3m. I was close at 4.6 x 3m. It'd be good to put accurate measurements in for the room size, space the windows out correctly and measure up the Ikea Billy bookshelves.

How do you make your floor plan? I'd love to find out what other tools are out there!

Useful ONLINE tools for the Cure

2010-03-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Today I had a very busy day at work. I'm quite exhausted. I had plans around emptying the study and doing some basic preparations like wall-washing for painting on the weekend but I don't think I'm up for any of that physical work. So I'll turn my attentions to some of these online tools I have found that are helping me plan the big cure!

Here are some tools I have found that are useful. I hope you find them useful too!

Sproost Style Quiz which I found from reading the blog The Zhush. This quiz requires you to look at a series of photos of interiors and rate them according to how much you like them. It then narrows down your style to a description which can help if you direct your research for inspiring images. According to this quiz I'm 80% Modern Elegance and 20% Nantucket style. I'm from Australia so I don't really know what Nantucket style means so it's something for me to research and I'm going to follow the blog.

There was some serious eye-candy on the blog and now I'm going to share some of it with you before we move on!

All images via Sproost blog

Another quiz can be found at Homegoods StyleScope which Belinda Graham blogged about on The Happy Home. This quiz is written by Deborah Needleman who was the editor for Domino magazine which sadly I never got the chance to buy in Australia (however I do now own the book which I think is fabulous). Today I did the quiz and was "Modern Elegant" but I have done the quiz before and got "Earthy Modern"!

Here's a picture of Deborah's living room which is really quite beautiful. Her style is apparently Bohemian Classic.

Image via The Happy Home Blog via NY Mag

ImageSpark I am totally challenged when it comes to Photoshop or any other graphics software. I am pretty handy with computers but I honestly am lost when it comes to all the little tools and buttons you need to press to edit graphics. That's why I like ImageSpark so much. I can make up a little moodboard with no effort at all. I downloaded the plugin for FireFox so I can just right click and add images to my library and then rearrange them to make a moodboard. Try it!

This has nothing to do with the cure but what the heck I'll mention it anyway. Picnik is the easiest, cutest graphics program whatsit I've EVER used. I use it to resize and correct images because as stated earlier, I'm useless with other graphics programs.

This Colour Palette Generator is really useful to pull colours from an image you like. It's mainly used for web design but I printed out the results and used it as swatches when buying home wares to match my Marimekko Kaiku fabric which I'm making into a large scale wall hanging. I'm sure there are others like this out there but this does the trick quite nicely!

I've heard about some iPhone apps - I'm off to check them out just for fun!

Well they're the online tools I've found helpful! Do you have any to share? Please do! :)

Shopping!

2010-03-21T00:16:00.001-07:00

Today (and briefly yesterday) I went shopping for homewares. I checked out Target (Australia), Ikea, Howards Storage World and Freedom.

Ikea and Freedom are probably my favourite for homewares but can I say that Target has really surprised me lately! Recently I picked up an over-the-bath caddy for about $30 (AUD people...) It was made of bamboo and matches my bathroom perfectly. I also bought a new bathmat in a lovely teal blue colour for about $20. I was really impressed.

This weekend I focused mainly on the Cure project - the study and guest bedroom. I had the most success in Ikea where I purchased a new cushion for our Poang chair and foot stool. It was a hand-me-down from relatives and is currently black leather which doesn't suit the light, airy feel of our house. The one we bought is very simple and white:

Image from Ikea Australian website

Since it's so light I plan on being very liberal with a can of scotch guard!

At Ikea I also selected some new panel curtains for the study. We currently have a combination of these and plain, dark grey panels. We are thinking of changing to either the Amorf or some plain white woven panels which we saw that don't appear to be on the Ikea website! With the bamboo detail the Amorf are not quite as plain as the alternative but I do worry about dust catching on the bamboo.

I'm trying to avoid patterns/contrast because I tired of the last combination really quickly. Also they did scream 'Ikea'. We will have to purchase 6 panels to cover our 3 sets of louvres so it's not a decision I'm entering into lightly! I'll wait until the room is properly painted.

Any thoughts about the panel curtains?

Guest Bedroom Style Tray

2010-03-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I again scoured Google and Flickr for inspiring guest bedroom images. I'm trying to largely work with things I own to cut down on costs. I already have the following:

Ikea Hemnes bed frame in white
2 x vintage Queen Anne leg bedside tables with drawer
Queen Anne chest of drawers
Plenty of bedlinen to choose from

So what I really have to do is just remix some of those things. I plan on updating the furniture with some new drawer pulls (why oh why does Anthropologie cost SO MUCH to ship to Australia!) and paint it gloss white. I have also toyed with painting it a bright fun colour but I can't commit to bright at this stage! Maybe when I see the room start to take better shape.

I find this picture very inspiring as it captures the mood of what I want: neutral, white, crisp, clean with just one colourful feature.

Image from Flickr click for original

I've made another moodboard (again using Image Spark which is good for those who are graphically-challenged). Click here to see it!

I'm going to spend this afternoon flicking through design books and my large collection of Real Living magazines for further inspiration and I'm going to catch up on the blogs of the other Curer's who I am following!

Making a style tray

2010-03-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I've been working on my style tray or mood board for the study. It's actually been quite a consuming project as I select photos and then refine my selections to try and capture the essence of what I want to achieve. It's definitely a work in progress and so far I've only compiled images from the web - I still have some design books and magazines to consult.

I jumped onto Image Spark to help me make a moodboard (which I'm still working on). Here's what I've gathered so far.

These are two of my favourite images:

From The Happy Home blog

From Apartment Therapy

I like neutral colour palettes and clean lines and vintage schoolhouse elements to add some interest. I do want to try and keep the room feeling a bit more feminine though with some pops of colour (turquoise or duck egg blue perhaps) here and there. Hopefully I can meld these elements together!

I already have some basics - birch coloured Billy bookshelves, a white Ikea desk and a little Magis chest of drawers for stationary etc. One decorative element I'm keen to include is my vintage tram scroll which is of sentimental value to me because it was a gift from my Dad who salvaged it many years ago and it also lists destinations around the area in which I live.

Apartment Therapy Spring Cure 2010!

2010-03-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

I am a long time reader of Apartment Therapy and a huge fan. When I first bought the Home Cure book I was so excited for the time when I could participate in a cure. I set out with the best of intentions but unfortunately I didn't get too far.

We began major renovations in our house which meant it was unliveable for a couple of months. A positive step towards the home we wanted but not an environment conducive to decorating.

The next fall cure rolled around and again I was excited. I jumped on the forum announced to everyone what I was planning to do but I was really already overwhelmed by the work we had to do following renovation so again, I couldn't make much of a dent.

This year I have no excuse. I've started this blog to journal my progress and hopefully if I get a few readers I'll also be accountable and have to finish projects I start! I hope that this is a step towards spending my spare time at home more purposefully. By that I mean getting more things done around the house and turning my home into the sanctuary it could be if I just spent the time.

And without further ado here are my before and after photos of my study and guest room which are the rooms I hope to have revamped by the end of the cure!

I don't like this leather poang chair but I would like some other kind of chair here to relax on. The view is through to a spare bedroom which we recently obtained a bed for. The whole room needs to be painted.

View of my desk etc. Yes I know it's a huge mess. I need to really declutter this area and give it some personality. I have bookshelves I need to put around the desk.

The guest bedroom. Part of the wall in this room was replaced during the renovation hence the 2 tone effect. Room needs to have the bar fridge removed, painted, furnished nicely and the bed dressed.