Housewarming party

As you all may know, Jo recently moved to a new apartment. Because she lives on the other side of the world and shipping to Australia is astronomical, I thought I'd have a little virtual housewarming party for her. There's all sorts of things a new place needs - like the perfect furniture and lighting and fabulous accessories to pull it all together. So Jo, happy housewarming, and here's a few things I picked up (virtually) for you on my internet travels. ENJOY!

So let's start with some important pieces - couches. Now I know you are in the process of painting your suite, and it's looking FAB. But where is Mickey the wonder dog going to chill out? I was thinking the Milo sofa from Anthropologie. And you're going to need a place to nap after all your hard work decorating your new place so I thought a daybed from Mondo Trasho would be super-functional.
You mentionned you can't find a Malm console table at Ikea so I found you a couple of options. I LOVE this Louis console table from Anthropologie. It's a tad more exciting than a Malm piece. There's also the fun West Elm chunky console table. (Oh, and did I forget to mention that at a virtual housewarming the stores will ACTUALLY ship outside of the U.S.?)
Now I think everyone needs that one piece of furniture that's really unexpected and eclectic to spice things up. So I found you this Nubian side table set from Surfing Cowboys. Half-naked-men side tables ought to work. I also think a screen is a must-have in case you have unexpected visitors and your place is a mess.Perfect to place in a corner and you can chuck the mess behind it. (Ok - maybe not this one for that purpose). Love the pattern of this Mondo Trasho room divider.
Now for some accessories. Gotta have an amazing light fixture over your dining table. So I found you the beauty below from Mondo Trasho. Retro fabulousness. Maybe I'll get one for me too. And for some mod graphic art I'll pick you up this Rita Letendre Original Silkscreen from Found Design. Figured it would match your new living room colour scheme.
Every girl needs some fun colourful accessories to brighten up a space. Now because we both love anything Chinoiserie flavoured, I thought some foo dogs were in order. And in turquoise, these couldn't be more perfect. I know the carpeting in your new place is, well, not so special (especially after the toilet incident) so how about a fun rug to cover it up with?
And last but not least, some "outdoorsy" items. First up is something to keep Mickey company in your new courtyard. I was thinking these limestone dog statues. And I know you don't drive but if you need to zip around to get to your favourite thrift stores in a hurry, you may need some transportation. So I thought you could fly down the sidewalks in this Ducati Brio 1960 motorscooter. There's even a little rack at the back to tie your new chair purchases to.

If anyone else has any virtual housewarming gifts they would like to give Jo, please leave a comment with links to your gift(s). What's a party with only one guest???

Little Gorgeous Things

My little sister just got back from a week in Cape Cod with her boyfriend and found a shop called Little Gorgeous Things that she thought I might want to post about. Something in this shop caught her eye....the furniture art of Johnny Swing. He uses all sorts of junk to make his pieces like glass jars, a footrest on a dentist’s chair, coinage and car windshields. The following are some of his wacky furniture...the first is his butterfly chair made from 1,500 half dollars and 7,000 welds. The second is his leather disc couch that utilizes remnants of Italian leather floor tiles (8,000 pieces of hardware). The third is his quarter chair made from approximately 1,200 quarters and the last is his tack chair, that he claims is so sturdy it's "hurricane-proof".

I love ebay!

No time to go thrift shop hunting this weekend. Too many UFOs (unfinished objects) to work on. Didn't stop me from finding some great bargains though.

This fabulous piece of vintage fabric is "Moresque" from the studio of Ronald Charles Assoc. Enough for 2 or 3 pillow fronts $14. These will be going in my "living room on a budget". But the best bargain of all ......

2.7 metres of Florence Broadhurst Windsor - Circles and Squares from Signature Prints. The price? I was the only one to bid and won it for $15 the lot. Believe it or not these are the first two items I have ever bought on ebay. I think I'm hooked.

P.S. That's my winning bid and no I did not bid against myself. I was just upping my maximum bid in case someone out bid me at the last second. Can't you tell I'm a newbie to ebay?!!

Helen Crowther

I love these rooms that are part of the portfolio of stylist Helen Crowther. Happy, simple, real, inspiring. Doesn't Heather have a great eye!

Images from Achard and Accossiates

WINKS

edowney9

WINKS - weekend links. Here we list what has come in during the week, things we think you'll like to see. If you'd like to see your blog or website featured email us and if we think it fits with our readers we'll link you. It's a short WINKS this time. I'm up to my eyeballs in UFOs (unfinished objects) and the weekend list of jobs to do is huge!

• Lotta Jansdotter is offering her subscribers a free askö zipper bag on any purchase over $40 (excluding shipping). Simply use the code "asko" when you check-out to receive yours! Offer is still open till 21st August.
• Elizabeth from Laura Day Design whose work I featured here emailed to say that their blog has been updated. Laura sure has style. WOW!
• Kelsey sent a link to her blog Designage. Drop on by and check out her take on all things design. Don't you love finding new design blogs!
• And because I am so jealous of the West Coast party lifestyle he is living, click on over to Jordan Cappella's blog. Check out his tote bag line while you're there. Lucite furniture and bags. What's next Jordan?

Image via Lotta Jansdotter