$3 Well Spent

Yesterday morning I made a quick visit to the local op shop and much to my surprise found this original Thonet chair. It has the label under the seat. And it only cost $2:

Two days ago I found these two original oil paintings:

They only cost 50 cents each. Less than a tube of paint. Now they form part of my oil painting collection (which admittedly two days ago consisted of one painting):

So, for the price of a cup of coffee, I now have some lovely additions to the boatshed.

Kitchen Inspiration

Now that I am committed to renovating my kitchen, I'm looking everywhere for ideas. These images are from a local vegetarian restaurant, Pilgrim's at Huskisson. I love the combination of mismatched timber tables, blue metal chairs, polished concrete floor and Ikea utensil holder:

The  industrial lighting against the pressed metal ceiling panels is gorgeous:

I love the stainless steel counters:

And the chalkboard and wooden blocks:

The burgers taste pretty good too.

Kitchen Makeover Time

The time has come and I can't ignore it any longer. This kitchen needs a makeover. It's not in the boatshed but is in another house not too far away:

I have a few ideas which have been helped along by the latest Freedom catalogue. I love this stool:

And this chair:

I would love a kitchen island and this free-standing one with stainless steel benchtop would look great:

Especially with this pot rack above it:

I'll post my other ideas this week.

Fleur Wood at my Local Beach

I have long been an admirer of fashion designer Fleur Wood. I love going into her store in the Strand Arcade, Sydney, just so I can step into the dressing rooms which are cleverly concealed behind these glass display cases:

And I love the placement of these mirrors and ballerina prints in her Chatswood Chase store:

I even own this dress, although it doesn't look like this on me, unfortunately:

So I was thrilled to learn that Fleur has a book out, appropriately titled  Food Fashion Friends:

Yesterday my copy arrived, and is full of beautifully styled events such as this Hot House Tea party. Aren't the pastel peacock chairs gorgeous?

And I can't wait to cook this rhubarb meringue cake. The recipes are all included:

Here is the Citrus Tea, Lemon Cake with Earl Grey Icing and Coconut Ice:

This image is from a beautifully styled dinner with a shell theme, including sea urchin shells threaded with fairy lights:

A gorgeous Southern Highlands picnic:

And here is a modelling shoot at Hyams Beach, which is my closest beach:

I always knew Hyams was stunning, due to it having "the whitest sand in the world", and the shots in the book have really captured its beauty.

My Lucky Day

I stopped in at the local op shop the other day and saw this lovely faded, hand-stitched, hand-quilted patchwork quilt for sale for $2. I was a bit worried they had stuck the wrong price on it as I expected to pay more.

When I took it to the counter the lovely lady said that because it was bit faded and tattered, she would give it to me for free. I guess the idea of shabby chic hasn't arrived in my town yet. I walked away very happy and have been spending a few relaxing hours patching the patches. What could be a better way to pass the day!

Why Can't The Boatshed Look Like This?

Wouldn't it be lovely if my bathroom looked like these ones?

Or if I could do this with just a few odd chairs?

Or put a curtain round a bed and make it look like this?

Or drape a quilt just so?

Or have a kitchen in this particular shade of Wedgewood blue?

But then I'd have to be Twig Hutchinson, the stylist known for her past work for Toast:

Well at least I can visit her website whenever I need something beautiful to look at:

First four images from Apartment Therapy

Last six from Leah-The Inside Story blog