Displaying posts from September, 2013

Beach House beauty

Posted on Tue, 3 Sep 2013 by midcenturyjo

The quintessential Aussie dream brought to life by interior designer Karen Akers. A place for family and friends to come together and celebrate summer. Once an old bowling club house that had been moved by previous owners to the dunes of Gerroa beach on the New South Wales coastline, the decision was made to renovate not demolish. No beachside McMansion this. No, Karen has created a casually elegant family home with a sense of place and style. And the view! It has been shortlisted for the 2013 Sydney Design Awards. Head here and cast your vote before September 8.

Reader’s home – Nelly’s rental cottage

Posted on Mon, 2 Sep 2013 by KiM

Nelly is an interior stylist in Australia whose work we have blogged a few times (1, 2, 3, 4), and she’s about to embark on a new adventure – home ownership! She sent over some info and photos of the rental home she had been living in and sprucing up – I love her vintage, funky style and what a cute home! It’s an early 20th century workers cottage in the very pretty, partially heritagelisted suburb of Guildford in Western Australia. It has old jarrah floorboards, super high ceilings, a front verandah, established trees (including a heavily bearing black fig tree and about five loquat trees – yum!), an incredibly prettylooking old meter stove, and enough quirks to melt my heart (I can’t list them all, but think along the lines of skirting boards that no longer reach the floor, house on stilts and wide gaps between each floor board which means any little thingy you drop on the floor may end up under the house, totally unreachable until someone blows the house, etc). When we moved there, it also had yellowing paint on walls and ceilings, a disgustingly sticky 20 year old vinyl in the kitchen and a matching, suspiciously looking carpet in the adjoining dining area, and an unpractical and depressing bathroom. With the landlord’s approval and his financial input towards the cost of material, we painted walls and ceilings and replaced the flooring in the kitchen and dining. Recently, we also entirely renovated the bathroom (new paint, new floor, new layout, new bathtub, etc) so it became much more pleasant and practical, especially for bathing our boisterous 16 month old baby! I prepared a moodboard and cost estimate which I submitted to the landlord, and he recognized the need to do the bathroom up and he approved my plans and financed them. And then, the opportunity to buy our first home arose and we jumped on it. It’s now with a little sadness that we are leaving our beloved rented cottage. Had we stayed any longer, I would have probably tried to convince the landlord to redo the kitchen – those cabinets made of reddish-brown timber-looking laminate and the super narrow benchtop could have really done with an upgrade! But it won’t happen. Instead, I’m now focusing on how to transform, on a tight budget, a generic, character-less suburbian house into a zesty and inviting home with lots of personality. For more details and photos you can check out this post on House Nerd. (Photos: Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography)

Monday’s pets on furniture

Posted on Mon, 2 Sep 2013 by KiM

If you’d like to send me photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow my basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, if the photo is dark or fuzzy then it may not make the cut. Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.comand PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet! Thanks! 

Nelson is a big fan of interior design especially duvets and sheepskin.
– Gabriela (UK)

This is Ruprecht. He enjoys sitting in on piano lessons and rehearsals. The vintage gold chair is currently his favorite place to listen to music.
– Amanda (North Carolina)

This is Waldorf. He loves our bed, but his black fur gets all over so we decided to make him a bed of his own. He is a huge fan.
Jordan (NYC) 

This Annie, our corgi-pit mix, as well as our household diva. She has taken claim to our overstuffed leather couch we picked up second-hand in Oxford. She’s a fan of our vintage pillows we pick up from antique malls around Mississippi. She says they taste good too 🙂
– Rose (Oxford, Ms)

I have a few pics on my iPhone that I snapped lately of my furry beast children that I thought I’d share. 
1 – It’s been a hot and humid summer, so Lucky suddently decided the cold stove was the best place to hang out (with Felix the beached whale on the counter)
2 – Mimin laying in a cat-designated cube of my Ikea Expedit shelving in the bedroom.
3 – Felix is a hoot. He’s laying on a shoe box on an Indonesian teak and steel bench at the front door. Sometimes he forgets he’s fat. 


Orchard Keepers

Posted on Mon, 2 Sep 2013 by midcenturyjo

Monday is the perfect day to dream of weekends away, of girlfriends and wine and fine food and a hideaway cottage in the countryside. Nestled between the vines and the orchards is a country chic getaway for up to 10 people on 10 acres in the heart of Red Hill, Victoria. Inside wood burning fireplaces, linen sofas and vintage furniture. Outside two large kitchen gardens to raid for the casual feasts we’ll be whipping up. That will be the most work we’ll do. I promise. That and trips to vineyards. Orchard Keepers is our destination. Count you in?

Up

Posted on Mon, 2 Sep 2013 by midcenturyjo

 

Up under the eaves sits an urban pad just right for inner city single’s living. Light streams into this warehouse conversion, bouncing off white walls and polished concrete floor. Small but not too bijou for entertaining with a weighted wall of glass and steel that opens up to the outdoor courtyard. Add a little of your own personality and you’ll have a stylish inner city base. Close to the action but safe and sound up under those aeves. Link here while it lasts.