Yay A Blogger Award!!

A great big thank you to Trish from A Dream House for Trish for awarding me with this blogger award! I feel very honoured. Trish has a wonderful site with beautiful inspiring images. Her blog is about building and decorating her dream home in NSW and is filled with ideas and musings. If you haven't already opened her door then you should as you will feel very welcome.

As a recipient of this award I am to write 7 things about myself that you may not know, so here goes:

1. I have two gorgeous little girls who keep me very grounded.

2. My wonderful husband is my greatest support, without him I wouldn't have had the
courage to follow my dreams.

3. I am a complete (Virgo) neat freak and cannot think straight if my house is a mess!

4. My favourite movie is Notting Hill (I'm a romantic at heart), I will watch almost anything on the Lifestyle Channel and will admit to being a closet Neighbours fan (I know!).

5. In a former life I was an Accountant and without the help of my mother looking after my girls I wouldn't be able to study or work on Paper Tree Design. So I thank her everyday for her unwavering support.

6. I drive my husband crazy with my constant need to move and renovate.

7. Last but not least, I am addicted to interiors magazines ..... I have tried to cut back, I have tried to go cold turkey - if I don't have the latest issue I feel I might be missing something.

Phew - now I feel like I need a glass of red, only its the middle of the day! I guess I'll go for chocolate instead. Oh, yeh maybe I should add in a number 8 and divulge my borderline addiction to this substance - I try to sick to only one 'line' a night!

The next thing I need to do is pass this award on to 15 other bloggers. The following beautiful blogs all constantly inspire me. Some are filled with amazing before and afters, others are filled with wonderful images and artwork, some offer fantastic advice and reviews - all are written by passionate people who love to share their knowledge, skills and lives every week. If you haven't visited these sites please take the time as I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I do. By the way they are in no particular order :)

Sprout Gallery
Thrifting Brisbane
Fun & V.J's
Chair Up
Laura Mitchell
Bell Johnstone
My First Room
The Old Boathouse
Tsk Tsk
Curiouser & Curiouser
Varnish
The Seventy Tree
Morgan Wills
Moth Design
Homely One

Sorry if some of you have already received this award - I guess it just means your blogs are well loved!

Thanks once again to Trish for passing this award on to me. I hope I do it justice. Michelle

Retro Lovers & the W.A.C.

Came across this image from Design Shrine and just had to post it. Love the simplicity of this room, the colours look great together, my favourite part has to be those pendant lights ... I wonder where I can find some of those?

Now to my fab W.A.C. finds ......


Don't you just love the Woolloongabba Antiques Centre (W.A.C.), not only does it have great retro finds but yesterday I bought this Mimco wallet for $14 (yes, Mimco - not a fake). It is in great condition, I still can't believe the price!

Now the best part ....



OMG, I bought this cocktail cabinet which sits in my office from Vinnies for $40 a couple of months ago (used for storage). Imagine my surprise when I saw an identical one yesterday at W.A.C. for $495!!!! Turns out it is by Fred Lowen who is an Australian designer (think Tessa Lounges)! I still can't believe it - okay mine did have some stickers on the front which you can see I have removed, and I still need to refinish the surface ..... but don't you just love it when you find a treasure!! By the way, the print sitting on the top right hand side is by Tsk Tsk, she does beautiful work.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Michelle

Sweet Finds

Hope you all had a great weekend. We had a fantastic time in Sydney, this trip was all about the girls so we did a lot of sight-seeing and going to places like the zoo - which my oldest agrees was the highlight of the trip! Back in Brissy and couldn't go past Anne's Second Hand shop in Oxford St, Bulimba without stopping in and saying hello - glad I did today as I found this glorious pin-board for $4.50 (you couldn't even buy the ribbon for that price). I have plans to put this in the girls play room as my oldest loves taking and displaying photos and cutting out colourful shapes (wonder where miss 4 gets that from?). If you come over this way a trip into Anne's store is well worth it, stocked to the brim with everything you can imagine it is a wonderland for op-shop fossickers like me, and don't worry Anne knows where everything is and what everything is priced at - she has been in the area a long time, is a lovely lady, and is one of our local 'icons'. Also displayed in the image above, on the lower left hand side, is a beautiful butterfly paperweight bought from Nest Emporium in Thirroul (near Wollongong), a gorgeous homeware store (I wanted to buy everything!). Other items shown on the pin-board are butterfly gift tags, a heart garland, and butterfly decorations which are all available from my store. The paper art on the right hand side is one of my own creations, a similar one - 'Hearts a Flutter' is also available through my store. The 'love' gift tags shown are given as a gift with the purchase of any of my products. The wooden tree was purchased from Freedom some time ago and usually houses some of my oldest daughter's jewels :)
I'll post an image when I get around to putting this pin-board in situ. For now I have to finish my assignments and exams (I know)!

Rock Star Retreat

All Netanya Noosa

Ever wanted to be pampered like a rock star? Well, you can if you choose to stay at the Starlight Suite. As many of us may not be able to enjoy a break in this sumptuous retreat, due to its rock star price tag, I thought you may just like a sneak peek! This breathtaking penthouse is part of the boutique resort of Netanya Noosa located on the beachfront at beautiful Noosa in Queensland, Australia. The penthouse was designed by interior designer Joan Moore for Mark Chapman, a songwriter, who wrote among others, 'Simply the Best' for Tina Turner and 'Pleasure & Pain' for the Divinyls. The penthouse, among many other glamorous features, includes a media room, a plasma and beach cam in every bedroom, a rooftop spa, coctail bar and state of the art entertainment system.

Love the interior design, especially the incorporation of some classic furnishings such as the egg chair and swan chairs by Arne Jacobsen which lend a mid-century modern feel to the penthouse.
If you want to know more (or make a booking!) go to the Starlight Suite. ( photo from Getaway)

A big thank you to curioser and curioser for letting me in on this little Noosa gem. She is one of the lovelies that I met over at the BrisStyle mother and child markets held in Racecourse Road, Hamilton on the 8th May - if you haven't been to a BrisStyle event then you really are missing out, it's best place to see Brisbane's hottest hand made designers.

I will be in Sydney for the rest of the week so I won't be posting again until next week but in the mean time I'd love to hear your comments - what do you think of the Starlight Suite interiors? Has anyone ever stayed there? I hope you all have a great week!

Berman Interiors

images all from karamatrendz

Well it's the end of another busy week. Mine has been filled with research on Harry Seidler ... its a hard life looking at all these beautiful images, but you know how the saying goes ... someone's gotta do it! I thought I would share with you some more images of beautiful Berman House - don't you just want to curl up with a good book in front of one of those glorious fires? You have to agree this is mid-century modern design at its best. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Iconic Architecture

Berman House - coolboom

I was so totally absorbed in research for my latest assignment that I almost forgot to add a post! Thought all you budding interior designers and architecture buffs would love a peek at a couple of Harry Seidler's iconic designs. Some of you will already know Harry Seidler's amazing work, for those of you who don't the first house is known as Berman House, completed in 1999 this house is absolutely breathtaking and appears to float over the landscape - the interior is typical Seidler style showing raw concrete, exposed stonework, and open plan split-level flowing spaces. The second house, built in 1967, is one of his most famous - Harry & Penelope Seidler House - in Killara, the interior shot (altho' hard to see) shows a space that could have been designed last year with its open staircase, high ceilings, and exposed stonework. This house that Harry (1923 -2006) built for his family is one of my absolute favourites. If you want more information about this legendary architect visit Harry Seidler & Associates.

Now to the dream - My husband and I hope to build a 'Seidler inpired' house of our own in the not too distant future (we were lucky enough to purchase in our dream location last year and it currently has a 'not-so-Harry' style of home on the block) ..... who knows, maybe I will be able to blog about our build when we are able to put our plans into action.

Harry & Penelope Seidler House - nsw govt website

Interior Harry & Penelope Seidler House - nsw govt website

Better in Three

As a budding interior designer I know that things look better in odd numbers. That being said, this week I have produced a series of paper artworks entitled Wild Wild West no. 1, 2 & 3 as I thought they would look great spread across three frames and grouped together. I know, still on the cowboy theme for boys ..... and just quietly loving it (particularly as I have two girls)!! I will be adding these to my etsy store this weekend along with a few other new items. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend ... and all you mothers get spoiled on mothers day!

(close-up of 'Wild Wild West no. 2)

Winter Retreat

home beautiful

my big topics

Well, I don't know what the weather is like where you are but in Brisbane it is raining and a little chilly. It's days like these I feel like getting into my slippers, pouring a hot cup of cocoa and curling up with a good book ..... of course this would be made all the more pleasant with a fire to cosy up to.
Both the above images show very different homes, the first shows a laid back style bordering on shabby chic - those squishy cushions look so inviting, while the second image is of a modern interior warmed up by loads of books - love how the television fits next to the fire - it would be hard to know where to look! So, while I carry on working I'll dream of a beautiful winter retreat with a fire to curl up in front of! Hope you are warm and dry where you are ... which look suits your style best?