It'll be all white....

...with a few unexpected hits of blue thrown in for good measure. What will? My beach house, of course. I found this stunner some time ago, and it had me at hello. Whitewashed walls + killer views + pops of colour = perfection in my book.

all images courtesy atcasa.corriere.it

Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

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,

Dining table - which look to go for?

So...as part of my kitchen/dining room makeover, I'm thinking I might completely change my dining table. At the moment, we've been using a timber table we bought years ago, in a huge rush before the rellies arrived to visit our new home. We bought it purely for size and serviceability, and it's been impervious to the rough and tumble dished out by a family of five. Oh, and it was also sturdy enough to handle being used as a makeshift dance floor by one rather flamboyant toddler! 

Now, I just so happen to have a few dining tables stashed away in my shed. I know I sound like a crazy hoarder type, but really, how could I pass up the chance to buy antique timber turned-leg tables for next to nix? But - there's one little problem - at the moment, the largest of the tables has a nasty chip-board top. To replace it, I can't decide whether to go for lovely, recycled timber (either limed or painted white), or I might just top it with a piece of marble I also happen to have in the shed (don't judge me!) So, you know the drill, what do you think? Here are some ideas I like, and I'd love your opinions as usual.

a vision in white by the oh-so-talented Atlanta Bartlett

recycled timber via White Flower Farmhouse

marble + timber = gorgeous! Atlanta Bartlett's handiwork again

marble + white timber - is this the winning combination? via Domino mag

Oh, and don't forget this table will be paired with my soon-to-be-revamped mirror, with a sideboard underneath. I always have the same problem when making these decisions - I like so many different looks. But I need to remind myself that nothing has to be forever, so my plan is to choose a look for as long as I like it, and then change it up again! 

Hope you're all having a great day,

Lofty heights and ceiling lights...

So, before I released farewelled Bill on his holiday, (and sorry to all of you who offered working holidays, for some reason the lure of balmy New Caledonia proved too strong!) he worked his fingers to the bone and finished painting my ceiling. It's now lovely and white and fresh, and I couldn't be happier:

Now, of course, the walls will need to be painted, and those bricks will soon be history. But it's getting there. And not before time! Here's a reminder of what it looked like:

Oh, and here's the mirror I mentioned in my last post. It's on my painting hit list too, and now all I need to decide on is the colour. Here's a closer look:

So, decisions, decisions. While Bill's away, I need to choose a colour and get it painted, so he can re-hang it for me once the walls are finished. I do like the idea of black, but I'm thinking the size of the frame will make it too dominant in the room? And don't laugh, but the idea of silver leaf is quite appealing! I've done a lot of leafing over the years in my artwork, so I may just go ahead and do it, but with an aged, vintage finish rather than too bright and super-shiny.

Ok, I'm off to work now - painting classes await. Poor me, mondays are always so tough! Oh, and thanks to those of you who've asked about my classes. I'm in the process of arranging venues for some workshops, so once all the details are finalised, I'll let you know. 

Have a wonderful week,

Mirror, mirror....

So...now that my ceilings are all white and wonderful, I've organised for my mate Bill to cover those last few brick walls with gyprock, and I'm telling you, I cannot wait to be rid of them. But as Bill has a holiday booked and will be away for the next couple of weeks (very inconsiderate of him, don't you think?) I'll take this time to plan my decorating theme for the dining area. At the moment, I have a large timber-framed mirror on the wall, and a sideboard, and I'll be giving them both a facelift with a fresh coat of paint. These are a few of the images I've saved, and of course there's a definite theme emerging here:

 lavender grove via locationworks.com

via elle decor

via skona hem

 via content agency

The gorgeous work of Steve and Brooke Gianetti

via house and garden magazine

lavender grove via locationworks.com

via southern accents

As usual, I'm drawn to the idea of painting the mirror either black or white. I could, of course, silver leaf it,  which I'm sure Kerry would recommend! And I'm quite liking the touches of gold that have found their way back into vogue in recent times, but my house is a little too rustic and rough around the edges for it to work.

I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of my pretty new ceilings, and also the mirror and sideboard in question. In the meantime, feel free to give my your opinions - your ideas are always so inspired. Ok, must go - I have a game to watch! 

See you tomorrow,

Ceiling update - and a sneak peek!

Well, as expected, the painting of my ceiling ( remember my post here?) has taken a little longer than anticipated - of course - but I'm happy to report that all the yukky and annoying prep work has been done, and the first coat of fresh white paint is going on as we speak. And I LOVE IT! Already. Even though it's still a bit patchy, it looks soo much better than before. As I just can't help myself, here's where we're at so far:

The inspiration stage:

love this!

The reality (argh!)

yuk!

...the undercoat - better already

...and the first coat of paint - yay!

s

say hi to Bill, my new bff!

So, looking good so far, what do you think? And after a small flirtation with painting the beams black, I settled on white (as I'm sure you all knew I would!) It's amazing how different the room looks already, much bigger, and of course brighter. And the brick wall you can see in the above photos is on my hit-list too - which is the last area of exposed brick in the whole house. Somehow I know I won't miss it one little bit!

Ok, so I'm off now to ply Bill with coffee and chocolate - fuel for champions! I'll be back soon (I hope) with the final reveal. Have a great day all,

My big plan...the kitchen makeover (at last!)

And about time too I hear you say! Now of course, this 'little' makeover took much longer than first thought, but I'm so happy with the result it really doesn't matter. The whole room is much lighter and brighter, and so much nicer to work in. I still get a little thrill when I walk into the room, and yes, I can still, on occasion, be found just sitting and admiring my handiwork!

So this post didn't become too long and cumbersome, I'll show you all the pretty pictures today, and tomorrow I'll go into the DIY nitty-gritty for anyone who's interested. So without any further ado.....

 it now looks like this..

instead of this!

mmm, nice!

beadboard now covers those oh-so-chic bricks

So, a bit of an improvement don't you think? My only regret is that I lived with the horrible 'before' version for so long. But be warned, this is just the start of a renovation blitz! I have big plans people. Very big plans. So stick around and come along for the ride - it should be fun!

I'm also sharing this makeover at Design Refuge's Before and After challenge, so check out all the great DIY projects on show

all images good, bad or otherwise by me