Ice Cream Palette

Now that it's spring, all I seem to see are ice cream colours everywhere.

Spearmint, Lemon and Strawberry:

Cherry and Pistachio, with Coffee and Hazelnut in the background:

Strawberry, Lemon and Blueberry:

Spearmint, Orange, Lemon and Raspberry:

What happpened to the dark, monochrome palette I was considering? Oh well, changing our interiors with our moods is part of the fun, isn't it?



Chateau-Chic (with a touch of Coastal Industrial)

Here are some lovely buys I've found lately. This red cast iron cooking pot was at the op-shop for $5 last week. The enamel is slightly corroded, so it is now a fruit bowl:

This set of three white bowls cost less than $10, and has already been used every day:

Here is the fabric from Ici et La that I have chosen for my retro stools. They are at the upholsterer now:

I've also been shopping on-line from Pony Rider. The bird wall-spot on the left now joins the vintage bird print:

The black and white 'Blossoms' cushion is also from Pony Rider:

So is this 'Ribbons' design cushion:

And here is my seaside painting collection:

It's nice when you can finally say you have a 'look', even if it sounds a bit convoluted. 'Coastal Industrial Chateau-chic' - I like it!

This is my 300th Post, so I'd like to thank everyone who has been with me on this journey. I really appreciate your comments and the fact that you have hung in there, through the good times and bad. x

$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.

Spreading the (Cushion) Love

Remember this cushion I made a few weeks ago?

I decided the fabric would look better in another setting, so here it is looking very different on a chair from Ikea in a city apartment:

I put another one on the couch in the apartment:

I was so happy with the result I made another, larger one, which is perfect for this 70s chair in an 1890s house:

And one for the bed, which lifts the white bed-linen. Fairly economical considering all four cushions came from three metres of material:

Remember these ones that I made from some Ici et La fabric?

They have found new homes in the 1890s house:

I think they look great on the dark timber of these chairs, don't you?

And with a bit of leftover fabric, I covered a chair cushion for the bedroom:

Oh, I almost forgot, I made a cushion for a chair in the house above the boatshed as well:

These last four came from one metre of fabric!

Upcycled Cushion Love

During my recent stay at The White House at Daylesford, I fell in love with Lyn Gardener's beautiful French linen cushions:

She has loads of them all over the place and they look so understated and elegant.Unfortunately when I've seen them for sale they are way outside my budget. So I upcycled a teatowel and voila!:

While not as professional or gorgeous as those at The White House, I'm quite pleased with my cushion that began life as a teatowel.

Perfect Print

I've just spent two long-awaited days in Sydney, taking in the Sales. I went to one of my favourite stores, Ruby Star Traders and found this bag on sale. I just loved the bird print and grabbed it straight away:

In a case of overkill which is typical of me, I then couldn't resist a cushion cover in the same print. If I keep them apart from each other, maybe people won't notice I've overdone it. The cushion might have to stay outside for a while:

Thank you No Chintz

A few weeks ago I visited No Chintz in Sydney. While I couldn't afford the $100+ per metre for much of the fabric, I found the remnants basket and made some beautiful cushions. For ages I've experimented with several different cushion combinations for this seat and never been entirely happy with them. When I don't change cushions for six months, I know I've found the right ones. Hopefully these will be them. The fabric on the left is Designer's Guild:

I made this green and pink cushion over six months ago and from the minute I placed it on this chair with the vintage floral print one, they've stayed together in their cushiony perfection:

I've had these two for over five years. I made the one at the back from No Chintz remnants and the front one from the still-intact border of a threadbare vintage tablecloth:

These are also made from No Chintz remnants, the back one recently and the front one a few years ago:

Chic Cushions

Over the past few months, I've been re-covering cushions in a simple envelope style, generally using remnants from No Chintz in Sydney. These ones are a mixture of Amy Butler and other fabrics:


I've teamed these ones on the veranda with vintage fabrics from the op shop:



This one is patched together from Designers Guild remnants:


I recovered this op shop stool in Amy Butler fabric:


Recovering cushions has been an an easy way of changing the boatshed's look on a budget.

Pillow Talk

I found these vintage cushions the other day. I think they're fun and provide a nice contrast to the formal lines of the furniture.

Decorating Dilemma

What does one do when the reverse side of a newly-purchased cushion or pillow slip is as gorgeous as the front? I got this beautiful French pillow-slip for a great price in Sydney yesterday.

But I love the fabric on both sides equally.

I also picked up the fantastic cushions I ordered from Surf and Turf in Nowra. They have been made in a beautiful vintage fabric in colours that I love, and trimmed with black pom poms.

But the reverse side is made from a chenille with really cute buttons. (I'm starting to take a renewed interest in chenille lately).

So now you see my dilemma - so many gorgeous fabrics, so few cushions. I guess I'll just have to turn them over every couple of days.

Boathouse vs. Hither Hills Studio

I've just returned from a few days in Sydney, during which I indulged in one of my favourite pastimes - a trip to the bedlinen floor of David Jones. Imagine my surprise when I encountered a rather expensive throw cushion which appeared to be made from paint-spattered overalls and another apparently fashioned from patched denim. Further inspection revealed that these were from the Hither Hills Studio collection of Ralph Lauren Home from 2007. Sorry if this collection is 'so last year' to most people, but I've been living in a bit of a bubble up till now when it comes to design. Anyway, when I later looked at the collection on the website, I kind of liked the way it combines the rough bespattered and patched fabrics with a faded tea-stained floral, blue and white stripes, and natural materials such as wicker and leather. The video on the website is pretty cool too. The image below gives a limited impression of the look, and is from Apartment Therapy, which a few months ago asked for responses to the Hither Hills Studio collection, with mixed (generally unfavourable) reactions.

Another aspect of this collection I liked was the fact that it captured the kind of beachy atmosphere that I would like here in my boatshed (albeit on a massive budget which I don't have). The collection's blurb reads as follows: 'A weathered oceanfront retreat with an inviting, free-spirited vibe echoes its seaside surroundings with shades of indigo and a natural material palette'. What's not to like about the tufted sofa, leather chairs and wicker basket below?




Also, I was initially delighted to find a 'Boathouse' linen collection on the website as well, which I naturally thought would fit my boatshed aesthetic. However, I was quite dismayed to find that it combines a baby pink, a green gingham, a madras check, a chino and a beige floral in ways which I never want to see in my boatshed. And the cushion with the boathouse drawing? Yuk! For all its supposed staginess and preppy pretension, give me Hither Hills any day, Ralph.