Adding some Storage

I'm trying hard not to turn our house into an Ikea showroom, but its really hard.  Their furniture is just so functional and well, cheap!

On one of our recent trips we picked up 2 white Expedit .  I initially wanted to use them as nightstands in the master but they looked terrible.  They were waaay too big for the space and quickly made their way into the junk guest room.

This weekend I decided to move them into the kitchen to see how they looked, and I kind of like them there.

This is how it was looking before, with the extra slimline shoe cabinet also from Ikea (of course!).

Anything that gives me extra surface space for all my knick knacks is always a winner.  You can never have too much storage especially in a kitchen, and there is still plenty of room to sit at the table.

Yes, that is a real plant and no I haven't killed it (yet!).

This sweet little pear shelf was a couple of dollars from J&J Junk.  Any ideas what I should fill it with?

I love that I can finally display my green Catherine Holm bowl (even if it is just plastic!).

Extra points for spotting the wonky white lid, ha!  I didn't even realize it was at a jaunty angle until I uploaded it.  Note to self - must pay more attention to detail!

I collected most of my treasures from thrift stores and flea malls over the past year.  The Cafe print was only $7 from The Christmas Tree Shop and the round orange geometric tray was from Michaels.  It's definitely an eclectic jumble.

And I promise the big coffee table reveal will be on Monday, because I know you've all been eagerly awaiting the amazing unveiling, ha!  Just one more coat to seal it and it will be finished.

Have a great weekend whatever you have planned.

Kate

xxx

Table Time

I've been a busy bee over the past few days working on my first furniture project  (about time, right?).  I mean, I've tackled the odd flat pack here and there and changed out some hardware, but this is my first real furniture transformation, and I'm loving it!

I even splashed out on a sander!  Good grief, I think I aged 10 years just typing that, ha!

This is a sneak peek at the before. 

There has been a lot of drying time involved so hopefully everything should be sealed and ready to show off by the end of the week.

In the meantime, here are some pretty flowers that are defying all the odds and surviving in our garden (see Mum, I told you we had flowers!).

Also, has anyone else noticed that everyone in blogland is moving?  I can't wait to see how they all approach their new spaces and transform them.  Here are some of my faves:

Young House Love:

Little Green Notebook:

House of Hepworths:

I'm also keeping an eye on Yellow Brick Home as they will be revealing their new pad any day now - and it sounds like it's going to be a mammoth renovation converting 2 apartments into 1 family home.

Kate

xxx

Finding A Place

I've been on the lookout for a place sign for the past couple of months.  You know the ones with the list of streets or areas.  Some of them are like bus signs and some of them are just a fun list.

I really wanted to find one that meant something to me.  I was thinking about getting my DIY on, but when I saw this at HomeGoods I knew I had to have it.

I love that it's like 3 planks of wood, and I used to work in Paddington before moving to the US so it's a nice reminder of home.  And the cherry on top, it was only $25!

It's hanging out in the living room next to the french doors.  I'll hopefully take some wider shots this weekend (I just need a couple of days hours to tidy round first!).

Kate

xxx

Design Star

Did you catch the first HGTV Star show of this season?  I'm already hooked.  From the lovable David Bromstad, to the shameless product plugs (we get it Lumber Liquidators, we get it!), to the contestants soundbites that are guaranteed to come and bit them in the butt by the time this season is over.  I love it all!

The fabric and wallpaper design concept in the first challenge was a nice twist. And I liked that they were given free rein but I wish we could hear what their budget was.

My favorite line of the night had to be: "it's not going to be fine, it's disgusting".  How right you were Ann!

Other first impressions:

Jessi = Taylor Swift

Jeribai, news flash, the JT brand already exists and it belongs to Justin Timberlake!

Ann, matched her crazy red room to her crazy red hair.

Brooks, mad scientist, heavy on the taxidermy!

Tobin, token carpenter

Poor Cris, you know as soon as they say "I quit my job to be here" they're in trouble.

Tyler was my fave, even though we only saw his room for a nanosecond.  This is a terrible picture, but I promise it looked good as a whole.

Anyone else gripped?

Kate

xxx

Whale of a time

How's this for a cheapo frame filler - a gift bag!  I'm a big fan of framing wrapping paper but this is my first time framing a gift bag (groundbreaking, I know!).  It was a whopping $1.99 from TJ Maxx and I love the print - it looks a bit like a whale.

Not much of a tutorial for this one.  Buy cheap gift bag.  Cut up cheap gift bag.  Put cheap gift bag in frame.

Ta daaa.

In furry friend news, Murph is now sporting his Summer 2013 line (ie he had a hair furcut).

In his defense, we had just gone upstairs and the air hadn't been on so it was pretty hot.  He's not usually this much of a mouth breather, ha!

As soon as it cooled down, he was back to his crazy self.  The black and white blur is the first toy we ever gave him after bringing him home, and he LOVES that stinky thing.  We wash it regularly but it still always stinks. 

This will be the first weekend in a while with no travelling or working so I'm really looking forward to getting stuff done around the house.  Look out for more updates next week - I'm determined to have a productive weekend.

Kate

xxx

MIA in MIA

And I'm back - did you miss me?  We took a little time out to regroup and take a much needed holiday.  I'll give you one guess where....

The weather was beautiful, the beach was amazing and it was great to catch up with family and just relax.  No work, no emails, no ringing phones, perfect!

It wouldn't be a trip to Miami without a couple of gratuitous shots of palm trees and art deco buildings.

Fun times.

Not to say I wasn't planning and listing and thinking about all of the projects and updates I still want to accomplish this year (how can it be June already!).

First up was tackling the dreaded Ikea flat pack shelving we picked up on our last trip to the ATL (more on that HERE).

I was surprised at how easy it was to put together (although, to be fair, there were only 8 pieces).  One allen key and 20 minutes later, we have this:

The only surfaces we had in the bedroom were the 2 nightstands and the dresser so we were in desperate need of some shelving.  It fits perfectly next to the window in the master, and there is still plenty of room to open the closet door. 

I've also moved the TJ Maxx bench from the end of the bed to by the window to create a little nosey neighbor seat.

The bottom shelf is perfect for putting the cushions on when they're not on the bed.  The little white guy next to him is a Moomin (Google it!).

Most of the other item are either decorative or give us some extra storage.

The graphic magazine holders were from the Target dollar section and the cow photo was from Etsy seller Stephs Shoes.

And how could you not love the little smiling ceramic Russian doll.

Top shelf, front and center, is my all time favorite piece of art.

It's a vintage painting by numbers from a local flea mall.  I mean, I think it's vintage.  How can you ever really tell - it could have been painted last week by a 6 year old for all i know!  But I still love it!

Anyone else adding some extra storage or fighting with flat pack furniture?

Kate

xxx

ATL

If you follow along on Instagram (if you don't, then you should!), you'll have seen that this weekend we made the 2 and a half our trip to the ATL for a concert and for some light wandering.  It was sooo nice to have a break and escape from the daily grind.  Although I could happily live without the crazy Atlanta drivers.  Ooft, just thinking about the 8 lanes of traffic makes me nervous!

We found this great little area called Westside Provisons District that is packed with shops and amazing places to eat.

I'd heard of Room & Board but had never had the chance to visit a store (there are only 14 in the country).  The stuff they have is pricey but completely my style, and gave me lots of ideas (my main one being to pick up a winning lottery ticket on the way home so next time I can actually afford to buy something!).  It was worth visiting for the coffee table size catalogue.  Woo hoo, free stuff! 

Sorry about the phone pic, this was the only snap we were brave enough to take inside while the assistants were distracted.  It gives you a bit of an idea of the style - lots of MCM, tufting, graphic prints.

Of course no trip to Atlanta would be complete without a visit to Ikea.  We picked up a Lerberg for only $20 (it's available in white and dark grey).  Check back in to see how my fight with flat pack furniture and an allen key went.

Anyone else picked up an Ikea bargain recently?

Kate

xxx