Monday Nook

Image Courtesy Harrison Designs Associates

Bit late to the party this morning. It's a public holiday here. I WAS the last to know. I had a big day planned but now I have no-one to pick up my orders so I am staying home. The joys of self employment...you don't get paid holidays. Actually you don't get any pay if you don't work. Funny that.

So for my Monday Nook today, I thought a pool nook would be nice. Isn't this beautiful? I am assuming this is the back of the house. This is what I love about Northern Hemisphere homes (I generalise of course)... they pay as much attention to the back elevation aesthetic as the front. Sometimes the back is even more beautiful as it backs on to a lake or a beach.

Sigh. Love the pavers and the pool furniture..... and the whole damn house!

3 more sleeps until my boy gets home. He emailed last night. His host family gave him Macaroni Cheese for dinner last night. It obviously made an impact as that was pretty much all he wrote about. He also said he had a huge story to tell that he can't write about in an email. My mind went wild. I hope they are treating him well.... fret, fret. He has tried to call via Skype but it is not working for some reason. What's with Japan and Skype?

Anyway, I have decided to sort and file today and maybe do some ironing #riveting
So glad I didn't book the weekend away down at the beach as originally planned. It's raining.

Over and out.

Happy Monday!

Remember That Kitchen? ....

... that I have been coveting... for my next house?

.. well I stumbled upon the whole house over at House Beautiful.

It's in San Francisco.

Check out the gold leaf accents.

They sort of got everything perfect....

...with Ralph Lauren furniture... and Mr Adler's cushions.

A black and white base with neutral textured accents.

Give. me. that. sofa.

A beautiful mix of old and modern.

How's that for a bathroom pendant light? ... a crystal ship chandelier!

Tiles are of course Ann Sacks, as are the splashback tiles in the kitchen.

Does it get any better than this? 

Oh Northern Hemisphere, I do love thee and all you have to offer architecturally.  

What's your favourite room? Mine's still the kitchen. I am so having a black island bench next time.

Happy Tuesday!

Speaking Of Fine Craftsmanship...

I want to do something like this off the main bedroom at the back of my next house, as it will be elevated with city views.

.... I tell you who'd be building my next home if I lived in Louisville, Kentucky! Stonecroft Homes. In a heartbeat. I stalk their instagram feed..... which never fails to stop my heart.

Beautiful homes in various stages of construction. Heck, I get excited when they post a concept drawing or a picture of a building at sarking stage! It's wonderful to follow their building projects on instagram ...as you only ever really see the completed product on their website.

And I must say, I am most impressed with their lighting choices.....

.... not to mention their trim work!....

.....be still heart....

.... and their beautiful kitchens!

They build some spectacularly grand homes, but this one is one of my favourites. Wooldridge Place. A custom home.

I love this design. This would be perfect for my block. I'd just flip it to the mirror image and continue the porch around the corner, as my block is a corner block. It would fit right in with the Brisbane character code and please our council no end!

Take a wander through it HERE, on their website. I wouldn't change a thing. I have mentally moved all my furniture in. Oh the daydreams! 

Their instagram feed is: @stonecrofthomes. Jason Black, I'm stalking you! ...... all the way from Australia..... and I think you know it! I'm the one who leaves the 'hyperventilating' comments.

Happy Thursday!

Farmhouse

Image Via Pinterest

Want to know which one of my Pinterest images gets repinned the most? This beauty.

Look at the pitch of that roof! I love the 'board and batton' exterior. Love the black and white contrast with the windows too. 

It's old I reckon.....and the lovely thing is, if maintained, it will still look beautiful in another one hundred years. I am sitting in one of those rocking chairs, on that porch, gazing out at those trees now as I type. If you squint your eyes, they could be gum trees and we could pretend that this beauty is in Australia somewhere.... Southern Highlands perhaps. BTW, I love L shaped porches! Gonna do an L shaped porch next time... with just a few steps up to it. That's a definite.

School holiday programme for today?

I am hoping the rain will clear up just for a bit ....as we want to ride into town this morning and just 'hang out'... and eat some of that fabulous $2/ roll sushi that people line up down Adelaide St for. We'll get in early!

Happy Thursday!

Now This Is What You Call 'A Before'

Remember this beauty? 

Well my friend 'K' found some photos of it in it's 'before' state. 

They were taken in 2008.

Built in the 1900's.

On 1000sqm, up on a hill, with sweeping views.

Sigh.

If you look really closely at the first photo of the 'after', the first photo in this post, you can see they kept the arched window theme.

Look at the windows on the porch to the left, in the first photo.

Nice.

Wow. Original.

Who lived here? What was their story? 

A generation passed.

I see 'work' in them VJ's. 'Lotsa work'.

Check out the fruit! Last minute prop! Hello banana.

Wow, now that's what I call 'original'.

... and the bathroom tacked on the back in later years. 

I bet the outhouse was still somewhere in the back yard too. 

Spruced up in the 1950's perhaps? That's a real 50's colour.

Now I've really got to get inside and see the after. I bet it's gobsmacking. Just going on how beautiful the exterior is, I reckon, inside, the new owners would have done her proud. My friend did mutter something about it having a Great Room with pressed metal ceilings. Maybe I should put a little note in the letterbox, saying "will bring cupcakes.... passionfruit ones.... from the Bulimba bakery.... the best in Brisbane". 

Happy Friday!

PS Oh, I am reconstructing my new blog roll, after losing it when my blog template was changed. If I have left you out, sing out and I will add you back on. I had been collecting blogs for years so off the top of my head, I can't remember all who were there!

A Local Beauty

After visiting my client yesterday, I drove past this beauty. It looks like the renovation has just been finished as there is still tape on those beautiful arched windows on the verandah.

I would have stuck my head through the gates to get better photos but there were staff with mops and buckets on the verandahs and I got scared.

Look, there's even a little pool out front.

Yep, it's gobsmackingly beautiful in real life. It has a real street presence. Would love to see inside. Maybe I should put my business card with a little note in the letterbox. I might just get an invite for a tour inside!

Happy Friday!

Wish I'd Seen This

... the 'Blog Cabin Giveaway' via the DIY Network, up in the 'other hemisphere'. What an amazing concept.....the viewers of the show designed the 1905 farmhouse renovation via internet voting on design features as the renovation progressed. Now it is up for grabs in a giveaway competition.

Check out the website for all the before and after photos.... of every room, every inch of the place.

That site...it is renovator's heaven... and everything has a 'how to' attached to it. There are tutorials on almost everything.

Oh, the attention to detail!

Ridiculously gorgeous.

Check out the outdoor 'firepit'. See Katrina, it's all the rage, even in the Northern hemisphere....you're ahead of your time!

Ok, someone please tell me this series is available in Australia and I have just been living under a rock?!!! ... or maybe just too engrossed in our own Block-y, Renovator-y, Top Design-y shows to notice.

They have a blog on the whole thing too HERE.

Link to site HERE.

Happy Wednesday! We have a public holiday here. We're going to play 'Hot Wheels' on the deck..... with lots of water....where the cars change colour, depending on the temperature of the water..... very scientific. See how exciting life can be when computer games are banned during the week (even on public holidays)! #cruelmother