Ruby red decor accents + living the dream

At the laptop in high waisted shorts and backless halter top, my nine inch,

fire engine red nails are clacking and qwertying away furiously while the

ice slowly melts in my Gn't highball ....I reach over to the crystal art ashtray 
to stub out the smouldering ruby ringed cigarette and my bauble laden

charm bracelet catches the light and I'm momentarily blinded...

I open my eyes and I'm shocked, utterly shocked to see that my high 

waisted shorts have morphed into tracky pants and the halter top suddenly 

feels cloying and suspiciously like polar fleece?

One day, oh yes..one day I will be Dorothy Lamour and swan about 

this divine house in a ruby red lipstick that perfectly matches 

my cushions, fingernails and ciggie stubs.

Enjoy the Lamour tour, courtesy of the talented Lorna Wallace  

classic white indoor | outdoor dining

awwgh pretty + clever indoor, outdoor visual

 lippy cushions | vintage rug | garden backdrop

 vintage trunk side table + atlas, in case you get lost

celadon green + musk pink with ruby red accent

Anyone for a bike ride?

ttfn Jo 

Beautiful Bedlinen | Expert Advice

VALANCE-ALOT

The Bedspread Shop's Kerry Whitaker reveals 
her Trade Secrets in the bedroom and why 
she still courts the trusted, ever faithful valance.

What can't you live without on YOUR bed?

C o m f o r t . . .

Electric blanket: My side of the bed only, cold nights only, switched off once there.  
Gorgeous goosedown mattress topper:  This princess has looked for the pea but can't find it under this sumptuous layer.
Egyptian cotton sheets: The REAL deal not the copies that fly in over Egypt on their way from China. Crisp fresh soft delicious, white.

My German batiste quilt: In super size king, no fighting in the bed. Beautiful quality light weight covers from Turkey, India, Egypt or Portugal.

Goose down pillows: Different fill heights for if I need to raise my spinning head. 

Where in the world do you like to source bedding?

Europe. In two weeks I leave for the textiles fair in Paris and then go on to Spain.
We usually also go to Portugal. They are all such horrible destinations
that sometimes I feel sorry for myself...(So do we Kerry, really)

Favourite product ever sourced?

The German batiste quilt. These quilts are amazingly light. When I make my bed in the morning I lift my huge super king quilt with a flick of my wrists and the quilt lifts, hovers in the air and then floats down on the bed like a beautiful cloud. Love it.

Styling tip for a sensational looking bed
Get the valance right. A bed is going to be poorly dressed wearing the wrong shoes!

Advice for anyone wanting to get into the industry?  

Find a niche that you love. Get the detail right and then make sure that you know how to market to your market. This is a very friendly industry. Many people will want you to succeed and will be very prepared to share their experience  and expertise with you.

If you are looking for gorgeous bedlinen and you live in Melbourne you must visit 
The Bedspread Shop or simply order online.

Ask Kerry about Bianca Lorenne (image above) a beautiful range of NZ fine linens available at her Malvern shop.

Enjoy Europe, Kerry

Jo x

Doily Spoiler

  Doily 101

I have a stash of lacey tablecloths and doilies courtesy of

St VdeP and I love finding new ways to put them anywhere but under a vase 

in the Good Room(affectionately referred to as 'The Delta' by a friend)

The sweet Doily balloon is from The Shady Fig, a heavenly florist shop in 

my favourite place in the world...the Fibro town, the not-quite-a-city, 

the end of the railway line and my beautiful south- 

you'll have to ask Allison Tait she loves the place too!

When is a doily not a doily?

 When it's a beautiful balloon.

When it's an almost finished, handmade vest. (sorry, Aisie)

When it's dipped in paint and used for printing on canvas.

When the little lace work is cut up to make pictures..aawwgghh

enjoy, ttfn Jo

Kids + Family homes

 

 

 

 

 Relaxed living on the Bellarine

 Mr D and I shot and styled this comfortable family home, on the
Bellarine peninsula for the Spring edition of Home Beautiful 

loving the...

 Layback decor | open living areas.

Pastel + ochres | liberty prints + textured fabrics.

Space for all creatures great and small.
Garden, a great place to run, jump, skip....
or cuddle a guinea pig and a golden retriever

For more great houses + spring decor  

Pick up the latest copy or check out the facebook page Home Beautiful

 ttfn Jo

Photography : Derek Swalwell

Winter gardens

  

Winterfelt,  baby its cold outside

Recently I have been engrossed in the HBO series Game of Thrones. I have ploughed my way through the first chilly season and according to Lord Snow, "the winter is coming". I'm no weather professor but if a walking furry mound of bearskin is proclaiming the onset of winter...I'm thinking Winterfelt makes Olinda look like the Sunshine coast and I'm never complaining about the cold again!

Winter gardens are majestic and graphic, I love the sleek surfaces, the naked twisting vines and the seasonal block colours. I like it even better when I'm on the inside looking out with a mug of Irish tea...but mostly I'm beating a brisk, weary path around the neighbourhood. I was walking very briskly last week, camera in hand as we had our first snowfall. A decent fluttering, not quite enough to get out the waffle walkers but it was very pretty and white...aawwwggh

 

I'm happy to proclaim "the spring is coming" and the garden in Olinda is covered in translucent little green soldiers, eager to bloom into Daffs and Jonquils while platoons of purple bulbs spring up underfoot like a David Attenborough time-lapse sequence. Can't wait to turn off the central heating and get out into the garden.

Vale Winter, Hail Spring

Jo ttfn