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finishing touches – part 3 (and then some…)

2012
05.18

I am feeling like enough is enough with all my shouting about this little house make-over, so this is it. 

I guess the goal of all of this was to show how easy it all was. Everything we achieved was done in three weeks (amidst amazing sight-seeing, shopping, eating, drinking and laughing) and 90% of the stuff we used was already in the house. There was no major cash-splashing, no painting or wallpaper. Just a hammer, a sewing machine, some fabric, some nails and brackets and a whole lot of trial and error.

So these are the last of the finishing touches, as follows:

A tiered vintage first aid box becomes a wall-mounted treasure trove.

Walls get a dose of my silhouette plates trick in honour of my goddaughter and her brothers…

And the top of the fridge becomes an even cooler surface.

Next week, see the main reason I went out to Australia.

Category update&decorate |

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finishing touches – part 2

2012
05.16

My friend K (whose house I am design-storming) and I both go a little weak in the knees for a good drawer. Not a well-organised and slide-away type, but the vintage, sectioned drawers of old that are ripe for display.

Again, she had all these little bits in her possession, so it was just a matter of buying a wall bracket, mounting the drawers and sprinkling it with treasures.

So go on… hunt through your drawers for tiny treasures and honour your stuff the same way. Or pick up some new stuff as follows…

 

1 – THE OLD PRINT SHOP printers’ type case / 2 – HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES star ornament / 3 – ELK ceramic suitcase brooch / 4 – TILDA ribbon set / 5 – WORDLOVE scrabble tiles

Tags: ELK ceramic suitcase brooch, HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES star ornament, THE OLD PRINT SHOP printers’ type case, TILDA ribbon set, WORDLOVE scrabble tiles Category update&decorate |

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finishing touches – part 1

2012
05.15

So the rest of the main house was an exercise in positioning. K & C already had all this great stuff and all these big, blank walls and surfaces, so now we just needed to add two plus two.

Starting with the dining area, we clustered a bunch of books, art and pottery to create this surface story.

So easy yet so effective. Get the look this way:

1 – LIGHTLY laser cut porcelain butterfly / 2 – OH MY CAVALIER bird print / 3 – ORLA KIELY stem storage jar / 4 – ORLA KIELY pattern / 5 – TCH cream enamel jug / 6 – RUTH SINGER sew it up / 7 – TCH blue ceramic jug / 8 – KELLY DOUST the crafty minx

Tags: KELLY DOUST the crafty minx, LIGHTLY laser cut porcelain butterfly, OH MY CAVALIER bird print, ORLA KIELY pattern, ORLA KIELY stem storage jar, RUTH SINGER sew it up, TCH blue ceramic jug, TCH cream enamel jug Category update&decorate |

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pillow fight

2012
05.08

The next step was the quickest of quick fixes. My friend had been gifted this fab behemoth of a wooden bench as a 21st birthday present and it was finally back in her possession when she moved into the house.

There is sat: a dumping-ground for paperwork, crayons and spare socks. I knew this was too tempting not to use for these purposes, so I need a pretty way to say HANDS OFF!

Now B and I have had discussions (disagreements… counselling…) about my cushion obsession. Well I got to exercise some serious demons when I decided to just pile them on.

Some she had, some we bought, and the balance we made using her husband’s shirts (discarded, of course).

The first time I did this, I was 18 and had a favoured shirt that no longer fit (story of my life), but I couldn’t part with it. While I was not adept at sewing, I could manage four straight lines. FOUR STRAIGHT LINES people… come on! Anyone can do this.

INSTRUCTIONS: Turn the shirt inside-out. Mark a square, making the button panel the centre. Sew the square. Cut out the square. Unbutton and turn the square right side-out. You have a cushion cover. Easy.

Not only do you have a cushion cover, but you have no excuse to bump-up your cushion collection to create a cosy bench like this…

Tags: decorate with cushions, shirts cushions Category needle&thread |

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there’s no place like hallway

2012
05.03

So despite being surrounded by exquisite coffee, all-too-drinkable wine and absolute cuteness, my holiday had a purpose that, while may be considered work for some, was a thrilling prospect for me: getting a house in design order.

Recent inhabitants of a self-built house in a stunning Melbourne outskirt, my Goddaughter’s parents waited for my arrival to give their house a bit of a lift. They had all of the elements; it was just putting them in place.

Element number one was this…

A stunning cross-stitch that was made to order by the very nimble fingers of Mrs M, mother to my friend, grandmother to my goddaughter and the font from which all the craftiness in that family flows.

Mrs M – between making a wedding dress for her youngest, cooking up five-star family meals and being an active member of her community – welcomed her daughter to her new home with this wonderful gift.

Using the Alphabet Generator Tool on stitchpoint.com and a stunning wooden quilting hoop, Mrs M knocked up this family future heirloom with aplomb.

Now we just needed a way to hang it. And this was what we did. A length of black satin ribbon, a cup hook, and a bit of careful positioning, et voilà!

But it didn’t stop there. A further special order was placed to apply the same principle to the family initials, and this cluster was born.

A cluster that now occupies a little alcove in the entry hall for all to see upon arrival. Just as it should be…

Tags: Alphabet Generator Tool, cross stitch initials, decorate, hallway, quilting hoop, stitchpoint.com Category love'it&covet, needle&thread |

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happy valley!

2012
04.30

The following three weeks were spent primarily in the Yarra Valley, just outside of Melbourne. This vineyard-soaked coffee-loving vintage-shop-haven of an area was the perfect spot for all of the things I love and then some. We travelled around, but always came back to the Valley.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time doing this…

Visiting beached that either looked like this… 

Or this… 

Looking for (and finding and buying) vintage treasures, including (surprise surprise) this yellow briefcase… 

And spending lots of time with her…

Because the Valley is home to one of my three beautiful God daughters and this visit was primarily to meet her, spend time with her outstanding mom and do a bit of DIY and decorating in the process.

And after settling in, we were ready for the first project. Stay tuned.

Tags: Australia, coffee, vintage, Yarra Valley Category love'it&covet |

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AXCIS all areas

2012
04.26

So to cap off my time in Hong Kong, I wanted to shout about a brand I stumbled upon.

When I saw these adorable canisters in Mushroom
on Aberdeen Street, I nabbed the last two and made mental note to look into who they were made by. At the risk of cheating on my beloved Hong Kong, these turned out to be Japanese, but as I discovered them in Hong Kong, I still hold it to be my Far East Asian design love.

So on to this brand; say hello to Axcis.

When I looked them up, I was blown away! What an incredible collection of bang-on-trend home-style wonderments, like…
oh so covetable vintage-y glass jars

pretty printed enamel vessels

and pure white kitchen enamelware (how much do I want that wooden handled pot? LOTS!)

So how and where to get these remains a mystery to all but the Japanese speakers among us as I can not decipher the website to save my life. Perhaps it’s for the best as I can treasure my little lamb canisters as the true find that they are.

Next stop: Melbourne, Australia!

Tags: Axcis, axcis.jp, enamelware, japan Category love'it&covet |

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burning desires

2012
04.23

One of the more exciting adventures on the streets of Hong Kong was trying to find an effigy shop. At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I was desperate to get my hands on some paper versions of my favourite things.

To explain, there is a Chinese funeral tradition of burning paper effigies for the dead in the forms of items that they might need in the afterlife. This was historically money, but at the hands of the modern world, the offer has evolved to encapsulate life and all its foibles.

Take, for example, this shop we managed to find in Hong Kong.


It sold paper shoes, paper iPads, paper designer knock-off handbags, paper dental kits (complete with paper toothpaste, so now there’s no excuse for bad breath in the afterlife) and even paper houses.

To not appear like an interloper, I put on my best sombre face and went shopping. This was a tough act as I was giddy with what was available in paper (my favourite craft material of all time) and had to keep reminding myself that this was serious business.

So to take it seriously, I only focused on buying things to actually burn in honour of my death. This may be morbid, but hey, it’s going to happen one day – hopefully not soon – so here are a few things that I can not live (or die) without. And remember, these are all made of paper!

Loungewear

Anyone I know well enough who has visited our flat after 6.30pm on a weeknight gets greeted at the door by me in loose-fitting pyjama pants and a comfy top. I would wear loungewear 24/7 if social conventions allowed. These funky striped paper pyjamas will serve me well post mortem, no?

Next: Accessories

Accessories are a blessing to the larger-sized. I can’t fit into or afford whatever I want to wear, but fun socks, swanky hankies, jaunty scarves, cool watches and the occasional saucy brooch have been my fashion outlet since I was tall enough to reach the boudoir dressing table. This “Bubrerrt” accessories set is sure to add flair to my afterlife daywear.

And finally: Smokes

I burn these on an almost hourly basis in the here and now, so why stop when I’m gone. This pack should tide me over in the afterlife until I find the nearest corner shop, where I expect to find them both duty- and guilt-free (if I am in Heaven, that is).

Tags: Effigy shop, Hong Kong, paper accessories, paper cigarettes, Paper effigies, paper pyjamams Category paper&pencil |

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turn your head and Gough…

2012
04.16

Never before has a bit of graffiti been so apt as this artful spray on a corner of wall on Gough St in Central Hong Kong. If I were magically transportable to Hong Kong and given thirty minutes to shop and eat, the dials would be set for here.

Nestled in NoHo (North of Hollywood Road), Gough Street pretty much is NoHo – a rare cluster bomb of a small handful of shops that are worth visiting and revisiting (we went back three times). It represents the best of the best in every category: home, kids, fashion, meals and dessert, and at every price range.

So here is my very first design guide complete with map and everything.

1 – Mrs. B’s Cakery

Recommended to me by San Fran Social Nester and jet-set socialite Amy C, Mrs. B’s is more lickable art installation than bakery. The shop window may need a good scrubbing to thoroughly remove the traces of my face pressed against the glass. Gorgeous.

39 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
www.msbscakery.hk

*****

2 – HOMELESS

When a shop has three branches on the same street (and the street is tiny), you know it’s got to be popular. Homeless is a Hong Kong institution that has been providing lucky locals with the best of international design trinkets. Go there if you are missing a Euro design aesthetic.

7, 28 and 29/31 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
www.homeless.hk/

*****

3 - KISSES CUPCAKES
Delicious and interesting cupcake concoctions in flavours from Green Tea to Rum and Raisin. We scoffed some in our hotel room as a midnight snack.

24 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong
www.kissescupcakes.com/

*****

4 - KAU KEE NOODLES

Melt on the chopstick beef brisket floating above a saucy sea of wholesome noodles. Warming, delicious and CHEAP – it’s the perfect shopping pit-stop meal. Awesome!

21 Gough Street, Central, Hong Kong

*****

5 – PETITE BAZAAR KIDS CONCEPT STORE
UH-dorable two-storey munchkin wonderland with everything the stylish under-fives could possibly need to keep up a stylish life.

9 Gough Street, Central Hong Kong
petitbazaar.canalblog.com/

*****

6 – SIDEWALK
A too-cool all white interior plays the backdrop for a small but funky range of fashion and accessories for men and women. I was particularly coveting the MEMENTO sandal wood pocket watch.

4 Gough Street, Central Hong Kong
sidewalk.hk/shop/

and you only have to turn off Gough once onto Aberdeen Street to visit…

7 – MUSHROOM
The buyer for this shop obviously lives rent-free inside my soul. Objects that channel Alice in Wonderland if the pills had been a laced with absinthe. I could have taken two of everything.

14 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong
www.mushroom.hk

Tags: Aberdeen Street, Central, Gough Street, Homeless, Hong Kong, Kau Kee, Kisses Cupcakes, Mrs. B's Cakery, Mushroom, Petit Bazaar, shopping guide Category love'it&covet |

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and we’re back…

2012
04.12

We may be cold and jet-lagged, but we’re still basking in the afterglow of four fantastic weeks on the other side of the world.

I am so excited to have seen, bought or just been inspired by the things that I saw on this trip and want to share so much, I could kinda burst.

A bit of visual stimulation to start with, and nowhere more stimulating than Hong Kong, where old meets new in a big way…

 

old ladies look too cool just hanging out in the park…

as do fish on the street…

and these were the signs for the bathrooms at a shopping mall…

Genius was everywhere, so stay tuned for a bit of a shopping guide to the best street on earth and the inspiration for a paper project with a morbid twist. Right now, despite how much I missed you, I need a nap…

Tags: Hong Kong street scenes, pacman bathroom sign Category love'it&covet |

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