Come on a journey of inspiration & adventure while renovate & restore a beautiful Victorian home 'St Elmo' in the picturesque Hunter Valley, Australia & laugh at a few of our family adventures along the way.




Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Kitchen style

This beautiful kitchen is the work of Jennifer Brouwer, who is definately becoming one of my favourite designers

Decor by Jennifer Inc contemporary kitchen
She regularly showcases her very stylish work on Houzz 

Decor by Jennifer Inc contemporary kitchen

My previous post was about a lovely bathroom Jennifer had designed

Decor by Jennifer Inc contemporary kitchen

Love those pendant lights

Decor by Jennifer Inc contemporary living room

A view looking back at the otherside of the kitchen from the family room

Decor by Jennifer Inc contemporary kitchen

The contrasting island bench is a striking feature

Decor by Jennifer Inc kitchen

I am really loving the shimmer on the tiles used for the backsplash, I find myself drawn to these small rectangular tiles in a lot of kitchen images of late, I think these are what I will be opting for when I build my house, not that much is happening in that department at the moment...unfortunately!

Having so much inspiration available to me thru blogging has helped me to make so many design plans for my dream home. At first it created a lot of  confusion, but now I am pretty certain about the style I love...I guess it will all come down to budget when the time comes.
Mmmmmm.....please don't let my ideas be bigger than my budget!!!!

CHEERS
Trish xxx

Monday, April 25, 2011

Beautiful Bathroom

I can't decide just what  I love most about this bathroom

Jennifer Bouwer Decor BY Jennifer Inc traditional bathroom

Generally I opt more for a white vanity, but there are so many things here I just adore, vanity included
It is the work of interior designer Jennifer Brouwer
I love the use of apothecary jars for your bits & bobs in the bathroom, who would have thought cotton wool balls could be so pretty!!
Jennifer Bouwer Decor BY Jennifer Inc traditional bathroom

 That bath tub is just devine

I found these images on Houzz where Jennifer shares a lot of images from her portfolio
Jennifer Bouwer Decor BY Jennifer Inc bathroom

Definitely a love tranquil room, with beautiful fixtures, fittings & finishing touches.

What do you think?

CHEERS
Trish xxx

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone


Hope the bunny delivered lots of delicious treats

& everyone gets the chance to enjoy some time with  family & friends, relaxing & catching up!!

CHEERS
Trish xxx






Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A barn door design to crow about

Fav Architecture Designs exterior
Image via Houzz

I am seeing an increasing trend toward  the use of barn or warehouse style doors in homes & I have to say I really do like this style when done right.

source unknown

Used as the entrance door to this house, a large door like this gives me a feeling of security, it looks like a big strong door that protects & keeps its occupants nice & safe

Shingle Style Basement Media/Office/Fitness Space contemporary media room
Image via Houzz
 
These gorgeous doors on the left really are a feature for this room


source unknown

Certainly an office space I could be inspired by...

Image via The Inside Story

The timber of this door along side the vase of sticks & leather couch really add warmth & texture to an otherwise all white scheme.

Source unknown

So many styles & uses for barn doors, they really add to the farm house feel of this gorgeous kitchen.

Image via SVK Kitchen & Bath

A fabulous pop of yellow would be a cheery sight to wake up to in the mornings, this door adds so much character to a more contemporary styled room.


Image via Massucco Warner Miller

Welcome to my humble abode....

Image via A View on Design

What an inviting entrance,
I can envision some wonderful little fairy lights entwined amongst the ivy, that lines the ceiling over the entry .
It would look rather magical, don't you think?

CHEERS
Trish xxx




Tuesday, April 12, 2011

An outdoor dining project

With the dream house taking a little longer to get off the ground than we ever imagined, we have begun to get a little tired of having a lot of our favourite things in storage.
The house we rent is much smaller than we are used to, it was only meant to be temporary, but, here we are two years later & no end in sight.


At our back door we had a nice big slab of concrete & nothing more, exposing the back of the house to the hot afternoon sun as well as the rain, so my ultra clever dream guy whipped up a fabulous alfresco area...


 We have a handrail all the way around with a gate to keep our enormous drooling dog out.This is what he does best mind you!



Its been nice to be able to have friends over & sit outside with nibblies & drinks


I stitched up some cushions from some bargain fabric that I purchased on sale at spotlight, originally
 $18.99 mtr, I only paid $4.00 mtr, YAY for me !!


My dream guy gave me this fabulous lantern as a birthday present, I burn a citronella candle in it which smells divine & keeps the mosquitos at bay....


Not only did we bring our outdoor setting out of storage, we also managed to find a place for my beloved "arles clock" . I got it at Freedom years ago, before big clocks became super trendy & I don't think I will ever tire of it!!!

Hope you love our new outdoor space, drop by & have a glass of wine with me anytime!!!

CHEERS
Trish xxx




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Birthday Bash times two

Ive been a very neglectful blogger this week & I'm very sorry!
Life has been kind of hectic here of late & when I haven't been crazy busy Ive been exhausted instead!!

As you know I recently turned 40, so I had a little party to celebrate & then a week later we had another party for dream child no.4 to celebrate her 4th birthday.
Two parties one week apart for over 30 people each time turned out to be an enormous task.
Not to mention a real estate inspection to ensure I keep this rental we live in in tip top shape.
Then there where the parent teacher interviews for all 4 of my children, I got to sit down with 11 different teachers across 3 different schools.
 Thankfully it was all pretty good. YAY!!!
 We have done an Easter hat parade at pre school & several doctor, dental & orthodontist appointments. Now it is the school holidays I can breathe a small sigh of relief...Ahhhhh!!!!
Any way on with the party pics....


This is me, last on the right, with my 2 sisters & brother at my 40th. I didn't take any food snaps or table scape pics, but I did have fun all the same. This party carried on until 6am the next morning, we did alot of dancing, which my sister has some fabulous action shots from our version of the nut bush, but "What happens at the party, stays at the party" LOL!!!


My sweet little birthday girl, she did have a lovely party dress on at the start of the afternoon, but, she was given new clothes in her first gift & promptly changed into them!!


I made a pile of these lovely tissue paper pom poms & because none of my party goers had seen them before everyone thought I was AMAZINGLY clever, hehehe!!


We had lovely little cup & saucers made from tic toc biscuits, marshmallows, 1/2 a musk lifesaver & a choc freckle, very cute & delicious as well.
( Not sure what happened to this photo when I uploaded it but it went a little wrong...ooops!)


nothing beats a mars bar car, these little chocolate treats are always the first to be devoured.


We had a cup cake stand for the cake & as I was pushed for time I let my kids do the decorating, they had heaps of fun & no two cup cakes looked alike.


Thanks again to fellow bloggers I was able to WOW my guests with cake pops, easy to make & a fantastic way for kids to eat cake. My 2yr old nephew enjoyed them so much he ate 4 before his mum had to say no more!!!


& this was our cup cake tower with a giant cup cake on top. The birthday girl loved it!

I have been sewing cushions & purchasing a few things to jazz up my house of late, but, that's for another post.
Have a lovely Sunday everyone & sorry for the neglect, shall be popping in to visit you all soon.

CHEERS
Trish xxx

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Keep Calm


Fabulously creative & fellow blogger, my dream child No1 ,  has alerted me to a really fun website where you can create your very own "Keep Calm" posters.
I did mine after a huge day with the kids & I felt I needed to indulge in a glass of wine to calm myself, LOL!!
Its called keepcalm-o-matic. which sounds like fun before you even get there!!


You should check it out, it really is fun & there are some really great versions made by others in the gallery to enjoy!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

CHEERS
Trish xxx


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