Plantation Shutters - the solution to my design dilemma?

Morning stylemeisters, I have a favour to ask - I need some unbiased and honest feedback from you! I have a little dilemma that I've been mulling over for quite a while now, and I think I've come up with a solution, but you guys have so many fabulous ideas I want to run it by you first.

On the back wall of my kitchen, the previous owners have left a cutout between it and the formal living area. Take a look:

It's actually shown best in this 'stunning' before shot :) For those of you not familiar my kitchen makeover, you can pop over here and here for all the deets.

So - my dilemma is this: the cutout is great for the following reasons:

• It opens up the kitchen to the rest of the house
• Keeping an eye on the goings on of the teenagers - v.important 
• Excellent for looking over the shoulder of said teenagers while they chat on their laptops (but don't tell them) 
• Air flow and ventilation, especially in summer
• Keeping an eye on the tv while cooking dinner

The problem? Well, it does limit the options as far as separating the formal areas from the kitchen/family area, it's not great for heating in winter, as the warmth from the open fireplace is lost up into the cathedral ceilings. And from a purely aesthetic point of view, it makes the formal living room a horror to decorate! So what else is there to do when you need some inspiration but scour the net for stylish examples, and this is what I found:

courtesy Mabley Handler

Stunning right? This is the only image I've ever found of a cutout wall between the kitchen and formal living area - all the others have opened to either a dining or family room. But this ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned - the opening is now a stylish feature in itself, and doesn't detract from the design of the living room at all. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the living area is gorgeous in its own right, but you get my drift. Here are a couple of similar pics...

source unkown

and hey - Cam and Mitchell have one too! From one of the best tv shows ever, Modern Family. 

Courtesy recklessbliss.blogspot.com

via here

So - over to you, what do you think? I'm thinking I'll add bifold plantation shutters, so I have the option of closing the room off in winter, when I'd like a little separation from the formal areas, but maybe you have another solution? Or you have a photo stashed away in your files of just the thing? All suggestions will be gratefully received, so fire away!

Faux Inlay Mirror...the reveal

Ok, enough teasing...I've finally finished the makeover of my old timber mirror. Here it is now:

I love inlaid furniture, and when I looked closely at some of the originals, I realised that my mirror was the perfect candidate for a faux finish. The curvaceous shape was just right, and more importantly, I was really sick of it! If it didn't work out, no problem, I'd just silver leaf it. Those of you who've read my blog for some time may remember what it looked like:

I discarded the decorative pieces in the corners, and then undercoated the frame. The most time-consuming part of the whole exercise was the placement of the pattern - it needed to be fairly symmetrical to look convincing. Once that was done, all that was needed was a steady hand and lots of patience! It took much longer to do because I had to be in the mood to sit and paint - and it really can be quite theraputic to work on such a repetitive pattern! By the way, although it's not obvious in these pics, the pattern is painted in different mother-of-pearl tones, to give that lovely shimmer.

So, what do you think - could it pass as a reasonable copy of the real thing? I'm pretty happy with it, but there's just one problem....I think I've created a monster. I'm looking at some of my old furniture in a whole new light...

courtesy graham and green

irisfurnishings.co.uk 

....and I have a very similar chest of drawers in my shed! Stay tuned....

Oh, and I'm sharing this project over at Design Refuge, so go check out all the fantastic DIY projects on show

Btw, linking this project over here if you'd like to check it out.

A teaser...

..of a little project I've been working on. I'll be back tomorrow to show you, but for now here's a hint:

 

 source

source

source

source

Can you guess? 

A new painting for the beach house makeover

Well, we're still chugging along on the beach house makeover I mentioned here, where I shared a few of the pieces we're using in the master bedroom. While we're waiting for some of the accessories to arrive, I thought I'd show you what we've pulled together for a little vignette in the living area. We've already bought new sofas, dining chairs, an ottoman and console table, and the new paintwork looks sensational. I've designed a new painting for the space, which will sit above the reclaimed timber console table:

We may use these lamps, which echo the silver leaf in the painting, or maybe some with clear glass bases

and we have a vintage french dough bowl to add as well...

..along with lots more gorgeous bits and pieces. Suzi is such a joy to work with, and it's really been a dream job. As soon as my suppliers hurry up and send me the rest of our goodies, I'll show you exactly what we've been up to!

I'm really enjoying the first few days of spring here in Brisbane, the weather is glorious - 28 degrees yesterday - and I'm hoping to spend the day at the beach tomorrow. 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too,

Dive on in...

When we bought our house, the inground pool was a major selling point. With three kids, and the kind of sweltering summers we have here in Queensland, it's definitely had a workout over the years. Lately, it's been looking very tired, and we've had leaking pipes, broken pool pumps and filters, tiles falling off....you name it. This winter, we've had yet another leak, and at the moment it looks more like a swamp than a pool! So, we've decided to bite the bullet and give the old girl a bit of cosmetic surgery. New coping pavers, waterline tiles to replace the slate, and re-landscaping the pool area is on the cards, and not before time, I can tell you! One of the advantages of living on acreage is that we have space to play with, but it also can pose a few challenges - like where to put the mandatory safety fencing. Take a look at a few of my inspiration pics - and if my pool makeover looks half as good as some of these beauties, I'll be a very happy camper!

source

source

 source

 

paint these beams white and you have the perfect outdoor fireplace

this is a similar pool to ours - and that little poolhouse would be perfect!

source

sandstone surrounds maybe?

source 

Now that weekend sport is done for the rest of the year, (after my daughter's nail-biting one-point win in her netball grand final - nothing like giving your parents a heart attack in the process!) we'll have a bit more time to spend on getting this house into shape. Can't wait!

Reader redesign....the power of white paint

Last week, I received a lovely email from one of my blog readers, Karen. Karen and her husband had a common problem with their home, and one that I'm all too familiar with - the dreaded pine ceiling and brick wall combo! Karen had seen the huge difference a coat of white paint had made to my kitchen and ceiling, and is also a fan of Millie and Moth's work over at The Laurel Hedge, and so decided a white wash was exactly what was needed to give her family room a lift. Take a look at the before...

...and the afters

 

Karen is far from finished with her makeover - there are new lamps and accessories still to come, and her husband is building a cabinet to disguise the fridge and provide more storage. And if the transformation isn't amazing enough on its own, amidst all the reno chaos Karen underwent two eye operations! What a wonderful job, and thanks must go to Karen and her husband for letting me share their makeover success with you all.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend,

Blue cabinet...a little update

I know it's taken me absolutely ages to get back to this post, but better late than never I guess! Here are a few pics of my blue cabinet I posted about here - with a new coat of white paint and a few pretty vintage pieces to zhush it up a bit.

ok, and the before:

I only have this one photo to share today, as blogger and I are not on good terms - is anyone else having the same problem? I'm even struggling to log in at the moment. But anyway, I quickly popped some of my vintage pink china on the shelves, and thought the it looked rather pretty against the chippy, peely, aqua paintwork. You may remember my inspiration was the blue cupboard revamped by the lovely Maria over at Dreamy Whites :

gorgeous, no?

This cabinet will probably end up in my art studio, to hold all of my art supplies, but in the meantime I thought it might be fun to style the shelves in a few different ways - which I'll do over the next few weeks.

Ok, it's back to some real work for me, so I'll catch you all later.

Have a great day,

I've made my decision.........

Thanks to the gorgeous Maria over at Dreamy Whites, I've made my decision on what to do with this old cabinet:

Maria recently posted these stunning pics of her own cabinet (note to self - must try to take better pics, Maria always does such a great job with hers) and it was just perfect for what I had in mind. She painted the interior a combination of white and pale grey, which gives just the right, not-too-perfect finish to complement the cabinet's original patina.

must also track down a collection of grain sacks so my cabinet can look this good!

just right - perfectly imperfect

Thanks must go to Maria for letting me use her lovely photos. If you haven't already (and I find that hard to believe - her blog is hugely popular, and I'm sure you can see why!) go and check out her blog. She's also guest posting over at Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which is a now on my list of must-reads too.

So, I know what I'll be doing this weekend! I'll do my best to get it finished so I can show you the result next week. 

Have a great weekend everyone,