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.
  

These are a few of my favourite things...this week.

Apologies for being so slow getting a new post up.  I've been brimming with ideas but busy with...life! So, quick update on the extension.  Had another long meeting with the Architect last week.  To be honest I always come away with more questions than resolutions but we're close. I hope.  How on earth do the Grand Designs people do it??  I take my hat off to those brave enough to build dream homes. In my research I've come across a few fun bits and pieces...cop a load of this gear!

I fell deeply in love with this pineapple lamp from Oz Design. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of 'stuff' in store that I'd have gladly taken home.

I ordered this fab original painting from Temple & Webster. I love the colour, the subject is kinda fun and it will be perfect in my all-white kitchen.  Did I mention that a new kitchen is now part of the extension? I'm excited but I have a feeling my fancy pants kitchen may come at a cost (the pool...ouch). 

I'm liking the vintage inspired travel posters from Freedom too.  

At $99 framed I think they add a nice pop.

And, of course, I love everything that comes out of the Kip & Co camp.

I'm looking forward to the release of the 2014 Ikea Catalogue so I can touch and feel this sofa.  I love the colour and think it would be fun in my lounge room. 

I really need to get 'handsy' with it first though before I can declare love. 

This is my flamingo lamp.  Do you love it? I got it at WAC (Woolloongabba Antique Centre).

I intend to spend any down time I have this week (and in all reality next week and probably the week after that) finalising the last details of the extension and to start collating all my ideas into story boards.  

Enjoy your week.

J xx 

 

Palm Springs

It's my fave place on the planet so far.  It's relaxation and coolness personified. I woke up thinking about The States this morning...the fact that Andrew was listening to the LA traffic report most likely had something to do with it. He has also been randomly emailing holidays snaps to me at work all week. I think this family is way overdue for a great holiday to the old U.S of A.

In the meantime let's take a slow Saturday morning to celebrate Palm Springs and all it's mid century old school hollywood glam for a moment. Because I can't find the right words to describe that feeling of desert heat mixed with perfect architecture, gardens, Country Clubs and people who play tennis and lunch...I'll give you a visual feast to set the tone.

The fire pit at The Parker.

Pale pink perfection.

The mountains really are that close you feel like you can touch them.

Maybe I could get myself a couple of butterfly chairs for out by the pool. Bit of Palm Springs at home?

We're off to do the grocery shopping and other non glam activities this morning. No fire pits or cocktails for us...maybe later!

J xx

Option B...The Pavilion

Now, where were we? Designs concepts.  We met with the Architect last week and he pitched 4 different concepts to us.  The one I was invested in (going up) turns out is a pretty expensive option with minimum bang for our buck.  And considering it will pretty much come back to the buck we discounted that idea very early on.  I do believe the conversation went something like this...
Me: I'm not sure I like that.
Architect: Good.  You're not meant to.
Me: Ok. Next.
Honestly, its a creative match made in heaven. So after a week of chewing it over and laying awake at night (that's me...no one else) and a lot of time spent standing in the back yard trying to imagine it all we think we have settled on Option B. AKA...The Pavilion!

Nick has designed a Pavilion that comes off the back corner of the existing house.  It involves opening up the existing kitchen (oh well, I'll just have to get a new kitchen...ho hum) and turning the lower part of the deck into a courtyard.  The pavilion will house a study, laundry and storage in a bi-fold cupboard style, and a master suite with dressing room and ensuite. The master will be accessed by a hallway that will be all glass looking out onto the courtyard.  Once we revisit our brief with this concept I will share some of the drawings.

I've been cruising the net for inspiration and have come up with a few gems.  It's funny, I have a kitchen to redesign and an ensuite to put together yet I can't seem to get past the arm chairs for the Master Suite. To be honest, it's all a little overwhelming. #firstworldproblems

I'm loving the Origami Coffee Table from West Elm for the sitting area in the Master Site.

I'm crazy in love with the Shibori quilt set also from West Elm.

I'm picturing an all white bedroom scheme with the only colour coming from this bedding and 

some well chosen pieces of art.

I found this lovely on eBay. Too far away and too expensive but this would be great under the TV also in the Master. Thinking this could be a good little building project for the Mister!!

Great styling in this pic too.  Kudos to the eBay seller.

The new kitchen design involves a bench seating area.  I'm in love with these metal bar stools from Freedom. They are kinda cool...and surprisingly comfortable.  They are also currently on sale.  Bet when it comes to actually buying them I won't be able to get my hands on them. #againwiththefirstworldproblems

These pendant lights (also on sale and also from Freedom) are the kind of natural/quiet piece I'm wanting for the bedroom and robe. 

Oh, did I mention raked ceilings in the Master??? Feast your eyes on my inspiration...

Our finish won't be as rustic as this but the concept is very similar.  Calm, all white, open raked ceiling, french doors opening to the yard. I can imagine escaping to this peaceful space when the rest of the house gets crazy. Not a piece of Lego in sight!!

Enjoy your week and thanks again for following along. I don't get to this blog as often as I'd like but I really enjoy it here.