Walk among the homes feature...

A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting Elizabeth from Walk Among the Homes blog. She is a Brissy girl who shares some great interiors from all around BrisVegas.  I love the local element of what Elizabeth does...she shares the homes of everyday folk who have a love of interiors and a flare for decor and design.  This is what makes me tick.  I love seeing how other folks live and how they design their homes to suit their lifestyles.  Every since I was little I had a list of homes that fascinated me for one reason or another and following along on Elizabeth's journey is a way of satisfying that undying curiosity.  

Here she is...a gorgeous girl in Holland Park West (and she means my house not me personally). Link below...

Walk Among the Homes 

Elizabeth Santillan www.walkamongthehomes.com.au

Elizabeth has recently photographed my dear friends amazing Queenslander that has a heart stopping mid century vibe with some of the most fabulous pieces of retro and Americana you ever did see.  I'll share that link when it's up.  Mrs Brennan does the pop of colour like no one's business!

Meanwhile, I give you my latest obsession...the bar cart. 

We don't really drink in this house but given the right Bar Cart I may develop a thing for G&T's.

Joydee xx

Getting lost lately...

It's really important to me that I live a creative life.  I need to think creatively and surround myself with creative people and inspiration.  I am fortunate that I find inspiration everywhere.  And while lately I have really struggled to commit to my creative outlets I find that a glance at some of my favourite images is enough to remind me of all that is beautiful in the world.  And whilst design and interiors are 'my thing' I find inspiration in all sorts of imagery...lettering, patterns, nature.  Here are some of the images I've found myself 'lost in' of late.

Lost in nature...

in travel and the promise of far away places...

in the simple things...

in colour...

and pattern...

and in people.  Always.

May you always find the inspiration to overcome the negatives and make time to 'get lost'.

J xx

Bag Lady!

I've discovered something about myself recently...I'm a bag lady.  I love bags.  I love them almost as much as cushions and throws and rugs and lamps and such. I didn't really notice until I moved house and had to put each of my bags inside their little travel bags and then into a box. And another thing I've noticed...they're all huge.  I'm currently getting treatment for an injured shoulder.  I have a funny feeling my injury may be FBL (fabulous bag related).  Oops.

Check out what has been taking my eye...

Exhibit A: The pom pom clutch from Table Tonic.

Exhibit B: I loooove this leather 'Banjo' bag currently on sale at Style Trader

Exhibit C: The fun Cray Cray tote from Lovestar.

Why didn't I order one? Why?  Grr.

The other things I'm loving at the present involve the following:

Am about to order one of these. It's 'The Charmer Pom Pom Tassle' to hang on a random door knob for a splash of colour.  This little burst of funshine is also from Table Tonic.

Hey look, it's Keith.  How did he get in there?

For those not currently in the know this is the Mark Tuckey eggcup stool with white painted top.  

It is top of my birthday list for 2014.

Exciting things are afoot in the Whoa Nelly camp.  We have shutters (finally) being installed in the family room next week and our photo shoot for a fellow blogger the week after. I still have a few jobs on my To Do List before the photos are taken...plants for the pots downstairs, new tea towels (for display purposes only) and I need to talk to my talented Florist Friend (I'm taking about you, Megan) about her thoughts on flowers for the pics.

Til next irregular post. 

Loving it sick!

I know...snappy title.  I'm a classy bird. Let's begin by glossing over the fact that my last post was on 5th December.  I'm calling it PMSD (Post Move Stress Disorder).  How do folks in the military do it? I'm normally a highly organised efficiency machine but the move paralysed me.  Not sure if it was the physical exhaustion or perhaps the hole that got punched in the wall hours before we moved out or maybe it was the the removalists being 3 hours late.  It was probably the fact that we were still having our furniture unloaded at 8pm on a Friday night that did me over in the end.  NEVER AGAIN!  From now on when I drool over gorgeous homes and make noises about dream locations etc I shall remember my furniture being sweated all over and my children eating a box of Chicken Crimpys two hours past bedtime (yep, that was dinner) and think....NEVER AGAIN!

But, all the stressy stuff aside we are in and I can honestly say my heart is full. This house feels like home.  Each day we add a layer of ourselves and it feels like the house that should have always been ours.  The neighbourhood is beautiful.  And it's not just the amazing 1930's Grand Dames we are surrounded by, it's the people.  I used to spend my mornings at the old house gazing out the window pretending I couldn't smell next doors passive smoke.  Here...I look out over Toohey Mountain and smile and wave as folks walk dogs and children and head to the coffee shop on the corner.  I'm not just talking it up....it's actually that good.

So, here are some of my amateur pics.  Stay tuned for some more snazzy versions coming up.  We have been approached by a fab Brisbane blogger to have our home featured on her blog.  I won't give away anything yet but I'm flattered, stoked and all kinds of excited.  I'll put up a link when it all happens.

Here she is...the one that stole my heart.

How beautiful are the entry gates.

The original french doors between the kitchen and dining room.

My dining room.  Where I am sitting currently typing away (cheesy grin on face).

The view from the deck back into the family room and kitchen.

The original built in cabinetry in the Formal Lounge bay window.

Swoon!

The window seat in our bedroom.

I've already changed the curtains since this pic.

We (of course) have changes planned and one of them is the splashback tiles in the kitchen.  We wanted something punchy but classic so we chose this series of 9 20x20 tiles and we are going to take them to the ceiling.  The kitchen update project is still a little way off but it was love at first site with these babies.  The heart wants what the heart wants.

So...plenty more photos to come.  The best way to keep up is via Instagram @WHOANELLY_

We're off to the California Design exhibition at GOMA today.  We're probably the last to see it but we're seeing it none the less...and kid free!  Followed by lunch...kid free! I guess you could call it Date Day.

Joydee x

State of flux

I've been meaning to share this clip for a while.  It's Moby talking about L.A. Architecture. Watching these images make me long for Sunset Boulevard, palm trees and Santa Monica Pier. I'm lucky enough to have been to some amazing corners of the globe but no place has stolen my heart like Los Angeles.  I think of LA all the time. I honestly do.  I think about all the fun I've had there and when I can go back.

Take a moment to watch this and maybe you'll get what I mean.

Not long.  We'll be back.

J xx

The latest.

Hiya!  I'm awarding myself the title of Laziest Blogger for 2013.  I've been so caught up with selling the house and obsessing over the decorating scheme for the new house that the ole blog has been at the very bottom of the list.  I've also developed a weird new obsession with Jamie Oliver's 15 minutes Meals (the tv series).  I've started watching it saying things like 'I could so do that' and 'we need to make some of those' and today I even committed to buying a bottle of black bean sauce to make homemade burgers!!!  In my defence I also have a job and a 2 year old that wakes with the birds so my life isn't all furniture shopping and tv!

So, we move in 2 weeks.  We finally have a SOLD sign out the front and we're down to the basics inside.  We ended up with multiple offers on our house and great feedback on our decor and presentation. This whole process hasn't been without drama and to cut a very long and stressful story short we accepted an offer from a buyer but ended up having to terminate their Contract.  I've never been so physically affected by stress in my life.  Hives, chest pain, no sleep...I swear I have aged 10 years in the last 30 days.  Anyway, the bit that matters is that we have a new buyer who gets to live here and call this place home in 2 weeks time.  I hope he loves it. I suspect he will.

So...now for the pretty pictures bit.  

I got this coffee table for the Formal Lounge in the new digs.

And this chevron rug in grey...

And 2 of these simple Studio Sofa's from Freedom.

In keeping with the simple understated look I'm going for in the new house I got this framed vintage travel poster from OzDesign. I love it.

And I'm dead keen on this Formosa Lamp from OzDesign....Santa???

The new house is a late 1930's with a new extension at the back.  In the original part of the house the plaster work is to die for and the colour scheme is black, white and grey so I plan to build on that and add pops of colour (see above mentioned lamp). 

So many exciting things to look forward to and blog about.  

Jxx

Scrap that! New plan.

Firstly, apologies for being the longest time ever since I have posted but things have been busy....crazy busy in fact.  I'll cut to the chase, you know all those architectural plans we spent 5 months working on? The ones I spent countless hours tweaking, researching, measuring and generally obsessing over?  Well, they are finished...and going to the new owner of our house!  That's right, we sold our house.

In true Joydee fashion I fell head over heels deeply in love with a late 1930's bungalow that came up for sale not far from where we already live.  It was safe to say I was a goner.  Fortunately Mr Whoa Nelly was bitten by the same love bug and in the space of a week we had a contract, our house was on the market, we had the first Open House and we are now sold. I'm crediting our swift and successful sale to several things, living in a great suburb (Holland Park represent!!), being the lucky owners of a very pretty 1950's home that anyone would be proud to call their own and last but definitely not least...this whole transaction has been overseen by the most professional, knowledgable and expert Real Estate Agent I have ever met.

Here are some of the pics of our house that went online as part of the marketing.  The photographer did a fantastic job.  Photo credit to Studiolane Photography.

We haven't gone unconditional on the contracts yet but all is on track for a move in early December.  The sorting and decluttering has begun.  And of course, the design concept for our new home is well underway.  That's a whole other post!!

I can't wait to share the journey of designing our new home.  Watch this space.

Jxx

PS: That brown lounge...bleh!  Maybe I can arrange for it to fall off the back of the moving truck.