One for our gorgeous little boys!

papertreedesign.etsy.com


I don't know about you, but I have noticed that there seems to be a lot of art/decoration for girls rooms and very little for boys. This has led me to embark on a series of designs for our gorgeous little boys! The image above shows a close up of 'cowboys' taken from a rare book published in the 60's. I have also added 'rugby' to my etsy store and have a 'soccer' design in the pipework. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about our darling girls ...... I've the pink for a little while! Love to have your comments on whether you think there needs to be more 'boy friendly' room decor. Hope you all have a great long weekend!

I Wish .....

morganwills.blogspot.com

houseandgarden.com.au

We are currently looking at design history in my course, one of the best ways to understand how design has changed over the years is to look at the history of the chair. Todays lecture saw me daydreaming about one day owning an original Grant Featherston like the ones in the images above. These designs are my absolute favourites and are definitely on my wish list. Addvintage currently have a Featherston similar to the top one for sale in the store (needs new upholstery) ...... I always look at it when I go in and dream that one day I will also own an original!

Hearts-a-Flutter

Thought I would show you the paper art I have been creating with over the last few days. Hearts-a-flutter is the latest edition to my etsy store, the hearts have 'fluttered' in from a 1950's edition of a Mills & Boon novel. The second image is of some love heart tags also taken from a vintage Mills & Boon novel. The last image shows some of my 'story butterflies' depicting the story of Bambi, these vintage shapes can be used as wall art, tags, decoration, or anything your heart desires! I will be adding more tags and paper art over the coming days and weeks. I would love you to visit my store or leave a comment letting me know what you think. Have a good long weekend everyone!

Beautiful Butterflies

The Butterfly Man of Kuranda

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a cultural weekend with a visit to the Brisbane Museum to see the beautiful butterfly arrangements of The Butterfly Man of Kuranda. If you haven't had a chance to go along and see this magnificent display you are missing something quite amazing, even my 4 year old enjoyed looking at these beautiful creatures up close. Collected by F.P & A.P. Dodd from 1917 through to the 1960's, the insect and butterfly arrangements are presented by the museum as part of the International Year of Biodiversity. These painstakingly arranged collections are quite wonderful! At the Brisbane Museum until the 12th July 2010.

Relaxing Retro

Thought I would start the weekend off in style by posting some beautiful retro inspired images. Both of these images are taken from Apartment Therapy and show how you can incorporate vintage style with a modern interior. The top image is of an Egg chair designed in 1957 by Arne Jacobsen (on my wish list). No retro inspired interior is complete without a gorgeous vintage sideboard like the one being showcased in the second image. I love the way the sideboard and shelves are 'stacked' with vintage vases, books and bowls but that it doesn't look cluttered or over-the-top. The large retro lamp balances everything beautifully. These images make me want to rearrange my interior immediately! Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Vintage Paper Art

The top picture shows a few of the vintage books I am preparing to create my paper art designs from .... I actually have over 100 books in my collection (not all I am willing to sacrifice). Some of these books shown were purchased from the lifeline book festival earlier this year, if you haven't been to one of these festivals I suggest you mark it in your diary for next year, check out Lifeline for the next event. The bottom picture shows a delightful vintage book I picked up today from Lifeline on Oxford St in Bulimba (can't go past without having a peek inside). The book itself is quite yellow and, like most of my books, has been knocked around a little. The thing I love about it is the mauve-pink - yes pink - coloured accents on the illustrations - most books in this era tend to use yellow, red, or green, so it is nice to see a beautiful mauve-pink. I will try and salvage some of the wonderful tartan pink from the opening pages for my design also. If you are interested in viewing some of my latest paper art designs please go to my etsy store. I will be adding more in the coming days.

My Marimekko

Craig Miller-Randle's home

My Marimekko

Okay ..... I'm obviously in love with anything from the 60's. As mentioned in my profile I am currently studying interior design, part of this course includes a soft furnishings assignment on a selected historical period - no prizes for guessing my chosen era! While flicking through some back copies of Inside Out magazine, I was delighted to find the top image taken from Craig Miller Randle's home. Craig is the Director of MRD Home, and his style (altho' somewhat more minimalist than mine), shows just how you can juxtapose different eras to great effect. He has placed a Marimekko wall hung textile from the 1960's with an early 20th Century chandelier and then contrasted all of this with a 1970's table and clear Eros chairs by Philippe Starck. I use the same philosophy in my own home, placing mid-century pieces alongside modern and vintage pieces. Anyone can do the same, It all comes down to balance. Here, in my 'formal lounge' (who has these anymore?) I am also lucky enough to own an original Marimekko which I came across a while ago at Addvintage, I have teamed this with a delta lounge from King Furniture, a Noguchi coffee table and some vintage finds (on coffee table and shelf). The outcome truly shows my eclectic style with my inspiration for this room starting with this beautiful fabric from the 60's!

The Reveal

The finished product!!

After sanding and removal of old vinyl.


Finally, after a few hours and many chocolate eggs, my lovely retro chair has a new life!! The leather upholstery proved to be a little more challenging than I thought but all-in-all for a novice I think it turned out pretty well. First I sanded the teak back with a coarse sandpaper, then a finer sandpaper, and finally I gave it a buff with steel wool ...... and wallah the wood feels like silk! I then decided to apply furniture wax, instead of varnish, which has given it a gorgeous light glow while showing off the beautiful grain of the teak. I then cut the camel coloured leather to size (this was scary), and stretched it over the seat and back of the chair fixing it with furniture staples. My chair now feels wonderful and looks beautiful too. If you are up for the challenge you can find many vintage chairs for sale on ebay. Happy hunting!!

Easter Retro Revival

I picked up this chair from the old boathouse via ebay a month or so ago now intending to eventually add it to my retro inspired interior. After some pointers from the sellers, I have decided to make it's revival my Easter project. I have purchased some leather to replace the tired vinyl and intend to rejuvenate the teak by giving it a sand and polish ...... wish me luck! I will (hopefully) show you the results in my next post. I hope the Easter Bunny is kind to you all and that everyone has a safe and Happy Easter break!