a country garden

 

 

More tea Vicar?

Colour moods

Life, and the year 7 colour wheel

primary colour days are pure buttercup yellow, my body takes over and spins 

me through the day until I collapse happily exhausted.

secondary colour days soon follow and the beautiful buttercup yellow has a hint of blue- changing to one of my favourite colours, celadon green. My body slowly shifts into a mellow, quieter gear and the little whispering voices start to chant.

tertiary colour days grind me to a halt and I'm locked in my muddy blue head...
so I guess I will just have to add a bit more yellow, to spin me out of that space 
and into the glorious sunshine.

ttfn jox

Colonial country Decor

door's open, have a stroll through a classic Sassafras cottage - mind the dogs

aawwgghh, I wanna live in the ranges too..wait a minute I do!

ttfn jo x

Winter decor

On the cover of a magazine

Shooting the very affable Justin Bishops house in Sassafras was a breeze- 

the brief from H&G was to source autumnal colours for the living area and 

make sure there were some manly leather boots resting comfortably 

at the front door. tick

MY MISSION, aside from bringing the warm white, not-too-girlie flowers and a 
cane basket full of leafy herbs was to muss up Mr Symmetrical. 

note throw on sofa....

Justin wasn't convinced with the fine art of the "drop and walk away" 
and there was some kerfuffling re a folded throw, placed neatly
in the dead centre of sofa. Not on my watch Mr.....drop the throw 
and walk away from the sofa!

More images from Justins home to follow...plus WAIT to you see his 
sister-in-laws Ferny Creek house in August, Home Beautiful...somebody is 
going to be very impressed, especially as we used his new interiors coffee 
table tome in one of the shots!

photography Armelle Habib


ttfn Jo

Papier mache

The papier mache theorem

Back in the fluro enlightened dark ages of the 80s I was an art teacher in a leafy 
all-girl college, Brigidine College- not to be confused with Brigadoon...although 
sometimes it did feel like a parallel Catholic universe. Papier mache was a year 7 
speciality and an exercise in Pythagorean art room economy - in any given term time, the sum of the budget is equal to the area of students, whose sides have 2 legs. Papier mache was an economically creatively way to occupy 80 girls on a budget of newspapers and gluey goop .....and here it is again at Anthropologie, San Fran looking decidely more exciting than our 1982 papier mache puppet heads.

I love creative economy, making something out of nothing is a wonderful thing. 
I went mad with the camera at Anthropologie (lack of focus due to predatorial shop assistants) The antelope head and the birdie were so cute...that I had to include one of my originals - an old ceramic vase that I gave the Funk'n Wagnells dictionary treatment plus a little wrapping paper Robin motif. My big, bumble bee papier pinata was also another fine example but it was sadly demolished by a group of rampant fairies many many moons ago.

Insider tips on the fine art of mache

Dont throw out the weekend papers
At least 7 layers of papier is tres essential
Alternate layers of white and printed paper 
Flour, water + salt make for very cheap, messy glue
Or just pick up some wallpaper paste 
Last layer always small/fine white paper strips

ttfn Jo

PS...did I mention I love  Anthropologie

DIY retro chairs

 

homewares usa

AFTER A TRIP TO THE US IT'S MANDATORY YOU RETURN with either a bulging 

suitcase or a thicker waistband..fortunately the only thing I split was the wheel on my suitcase, but we hung in there.

Most people generally research and plan a trip to the States very carefully and I would strongly advise those people to never, ever travel with me. It was a very proud moment when I sent my Aunt a postcard informing her, that despite my best efforts we all arrived safely in LA on precisely the same flight. My only research prior to the trip was the exact locations of Anthropologie, Pottery Barn and General Patons military tactics for the successful negotiation of Disneyland.

Anthropologie..aahhhhh

Anthropologie was high on my list of must sees..creative, whimsical and just too many styling ideas for me to process. The painted chairs above were a particular favourite. A series of landscape canvases and tapestries were used to decorate retro dining chairs- glued and, in some cases nailed onto the veneer.

Start scouting for old chairs now and dig out those 1990 tapestry cushion covers!

ttfn jo

Handmade & Recycled home decor

 

The nature strip

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY HANDS because they don't
create gorgeous stuff like this..I mean, c'mon why can't my fingers and
apposable thumb whittle a tree segment coffee table on caster wheels. Where
else can I rest my lime wedges? 

Darryn Treacy, homeowner and all round artisan is not just talented he also has
a discerning eye for good design and a bargain! Handmade tables, floorlamps, sideboards, fruit bowls (and not a driftwood sculpture in sight, p h e w ) are crafted from natural materials and retain a purity of form adding texture and warmth to a contemporary space. 

When he is not looking to nature for inspiration he is probably looking over your nature strip during the festival of the 'hard rubbish'. The classic Brazilian burn't orange Lafer chairs were resting comfortably on the side of the road before being rescued and restored by Darryn..and the 60's style chairs on the decking were an Op shop find...
oh, he's good, really good!

For more on the amazing Darryn have a look at this months Home Beautiful, 
it's the handmade special..who knew? And if you love the patchwork cushions
(also handmade, but not by Darryn)on the op shop chairs check out Igloo and 
the lovely Elizabeth on facebook.

happy nature stripping
ttfn Jo

Photography | Derek Swalwell