Refreshed Office!

I've been meaning to show you this for a while... the photos weren't coming out amazing (it's a small room) but hey, I'm fairly pleased with how it's all come out so here it is anyway!

Unfortunately I wasn't very good at taking before photos, so just imagine boxes of junk surrounding a tall roll top timber desk with random things blu-tacked to the wall... and that's about it. 

I sold the roll top desk and for the same price bought this white desk from a friend. I love that it has lots of storage and the rustic paintjob means I don't have to worry about the surface if I'm painting or cutting!

Did you know it's really cheap to make your own shelves? I purchased the brackets on sale at a local hardware store for $5, and the timber cost about $4 - so under $10 for a shelf exactly the size I want! I painted the shelf with left over paint from my window frames (a warm white gloss). I really liked the industrial type look of the brackets.

The floor lamp means I don't have to use bench space for a lamp, and it's adjustable for projects that need a little more light. The frame is actually from our engagement party decorations and the poem is:

"The sun brings forth beginnings,
The moon holds in darkness,
As above, so below,
For there is no greater magic in all the world
Than that of people joined together in love"

Cute huh?

On the wall, the wire organiser I found on ebay, and the J is also from our engagement party decorations which I bought from Typo! In the frames I have a cute little postcard made by a local artist to Bruny Island, which I picked up when I was over there about a year ago. If you have never been to Bruny, I highly recommend it. Beautiful beaches, great places to eat and so much inspiration! We camped for a week along a river right near the sea and it was lovely, I didn't want to come home... "Linger" is handwritten by me as a reminder to take time to be in the moment, relax and just enjoy the right now. I'm not very good at this, always looking into the future, the next step, and thinking about the ways I can make things better... but sometimes the truth is that life is pretty perfect right now, there is nothing wrong with the here and now so it's my little reminder of that. The third frame is actually a piece of wrapping paper! Its embossed metallic copper which I just love, it wrapped a gift for our engagement from my mum so not only do I love the paper but its a reminder of all the things that my mum has given me, and how even though I might not see her as much as I would like she loves and cares for me always. The little compass I have had for years, I love compasses, they remind us that no direction is the wrong direction!

I realised when doing this post that I haven't done a very good job of taking a photo of the shelf but as you can see I have my lovely print block purchased from A Creative Lifestyle and my timber pencils from Trees 4 the Wood. Also the brass scales from the market are up there too!

It's not finished yet, I want to get a board to clip up inspiration things (the frame won't be staying) and some more items for the shelf... I want to stick with the grey/black/white theme my house has but I'm feeling like its missing something. What do you think? Do I need colour, or a plant, or just some more things? 

Weekend Moments: Tea, flowers and fans

Have you had an amazing weekend?! I did! It was a long weekend here in Hobart, Monday being a local public holiday because of the Hobart Cup and Regatta Day. I didn't go to either (I don't support horse racing and I'm a little old for show rides) but what I did do was a rare treat - I was home alone for the weekend! My lovely man was off to Melbourne for a bucks weekend, and so I happily did my own thing for a couple of days.

When was the last time you had some time at home on your own? Can you remember? I know that for some people the idea of being home alone, especially overnight, can be a bit daunting - and maybe for some people they wouldn't know what to do with themselves without partners, kids or other people in the house - but I highly recommend spending some alone time at least a few times a year, because its amazing! You can work with your own energy levels, do exactly as you please and appreciate the peace and quiet. Of course if you have cats like I do, company is never too far away anyway, but I just love flitting between this and that, balancing housework with hobbies, sleeping with the curtain open so I can see the stars and watch the trees in the wind...

Now I don't want to turn this into a food blog (it's on my list of what this blog is not about - food!) but I'm making an exception for Pollen Tea Room. Have you heard of it? If not I'll tell you all about it later in the week - the image in the top left of my weekend moments box is of a lovely organic earl grey I had there.

Also, I can't wait to show you some photos of the amazing flowers I purchased from the farmers market!

Plus, I was lucky enough to come across an amazing market find in the most unlikely of places. More on that later too. 

Anyway I hope you had a magical weekend! Don't worry, by the time my lovely fellow was due back I was sick of my own company and ready to share my space with someone again - no ideas of batcheloretting it up for me that's for sure (which is lucky seeing as we just booked in our wedding in February 2016! Eeeeee!!)

Weekend Moments

The wild weather on the weekend saw me with the heater on, with a cup of tea snuggling my forever affectionate Zed cat... and some sunshine meant a nice catch up with friends and a bit of a drive as well! The office revamp is coming along nicely, it's so great to be setting up bits and pieces I've been collecting... pics to come soon! 

Oh, the mug in the top corner was a Christmas gift from my mum! I love rabbits, and the grey and turquoise is so me! It's by Ashdene, and the design is called Hedgerow (appropriate, right?!) by Belinda Strong. I love her work, it's so cute - there are other mugs in the collection you can see here. 

Market Find: Brass Scales

Wasn't the weather on the weekend just magic? I love the hot, muggy feel in the air before a storm, and it was so much fun watching the clouds roll in across the river. 

I decided to kick the year off with a visit to the Sorell Market on Sunday, and met a lovely lady with a great collection of vintage and antique items for sale. I almost didn't ask how much this lovely piece was, but when she mentioned the rock bottom price of $5!!!! I couldn't say no!

When I asked her where the scales come from, she said they lived in her dad's shed for many years. A lot of the items for sale were from her grandparents and dad's years of hording, and although its hard to let good items go, a person just doesn't have the room and after all you always have your memories! I'm glad she told me the story, I couldn't help but think of my own dad and all his collections, and how my sister and I are still wondering where to keep them all...

I couldn't wait to get the scales home for a polish, and posted a sneaky picture on Instagram to try and make everyone guess what my find was! The guesses were great (vase, hookah, candle holder, door knob, barometer!) but no-one guessed correctly!

And here they are all polished up! I love the little enamel flowers, and I think it looks so much better all shiny.

I can't wait to give them a home in my office revamp!

Transforming a step ladder - complete!

A few weeks ago I showed you my step ladder transformation project. I was a bit stuck on what to use as a bedside table in my teeny tiny guest room, until Pinterest inspired me and a little step ladder destined for landfill came my way - for free!

The stool was a little worse for wear and as the bed in that room is a timber finish, I wanted this little guy to be painted.

I would definitely encourage anyone to try a little project like this, it's so much fun, fairly quick and very rewarding! 

First step was to take the stool apart and give everything a sand. Sanding down creates a rougher surface for the paint to adhere to, and if the timber has been varnished you want to get most of that off. It also gives you a good up close and personal look at what you're working with, and if you are a perfectionist (not me) you can patch up holes with putty.

A good orbital sander definitely helps out with a job like this, but there's still plenty of nooks to get in by hand. The grit of sandpaper you use depends on how hard you want to sand the item back. I don't mind things with dents and holes so I just went over with a finer paper.

Next step is undercoat! If you were after a perfect job (see above, not me), you would need to use a stain blocking undercoat first. This will stop the varnish and colour of the timber coming through the paint at a later date. But word of warning! Your perfection comes at a price and that price is, stain blocker is a hard thing to use! I've tried a couple of different brands, and to apply with brush or roller it's stinky (being oil based), dries so quick you don't have time to smooth your brush strokes and is very annoying to clean off your brushes! This stuff comes in a spray in some brands and I would definitely say its worth a go to save the drama.

So this time I used a normal undercoat (one coat). I've found the trick with undercoat is to get your brush strokes all nice and pretty. It saves on sanding later on and makes for a nicer job, and I think its more important than a perfectly even coverage. But that's just me!

I also decided to paint the hinges and bars from the stool in black, as they had marks a sand wouldn't remove. Sometimes however its nice to leave the trimmings the way they are to leave some age on your piece of furniture. After all, you don't want to take away all it's story!

And here it is, complete and in place!

It's a perfect fit, and the pale grey fits in perfectly. 

I have no idea how other people do such a good job of hiding cords in their photos. Photoshop? Cable ties? Fake lamps?

I'm so happy with my little step ladder come bedside table!

Have you ever rescued a piece of furniture? Tell me about it!

The Market

I know it's already Wednesday but did you have a great weekend?! I hope you had the time to do a little bit of what you love (because that's what weekends are for!). It's been dark and gloomy here in Hobart lately, not summer weather at all, but we can't complain too much because all the rain is keeping things green and I do spare a thought for the many people on tank water who must be sighing with relief to have a decent top up before the hot weather arrives.

This weekend was extra special as it was the last "The Market" for the year. The Market is *the* market for boutique, quality items from local Tasmanian independent makers and designers. Held in The Masonic Temple in Hobart, The Market hand selects each stall holder to ensure the items for sale fit with their philosophy, and a packed hall on Sunday was the best indication that their formula works! And of course why wouldn't it, with so many beautiful items to buy direct from their maker. 

The Market is on 6 times a year, so you'll have to wait a while for the next one, but I can tell you now, the wait is definitely worth it! So much good stuff, every stall holder was unique, well presented and very polished, and the items were just so beautiful! Some sellers were so busy I couldn't even get in to see their range properly. Luckily The Market website is fantastic and even has a Look Book for each market which you can peruse, and then head to the Profiles page to find the artist and their beautiful wares. 

I'd already had a look through and pin pointed the artists I was especially interested in, so my first stop was Sea Soul Studio. I'm not sure if it was the dreamy and quaint porcelain pieces or the story of their creation in a beautiful 1800's cottage studio which made me fall in love - perhaps both - and I just knew a stunning driftwood spoon had to be mine. 

They were even more amazing in real life and I took a (bad) photo while deciding. When I asked Sarah if I could take a photo, she laughed and said "as long as you're not sending it to China to make copies!". Turns out that an overseas manufacturer had contacted her to say they could replicate her product in a factory for a fraction of the price! Can you believe the nerve?! When I said the photos were for a new and not-very-good blog, she asked for a card! I never thought a blog would be interesting enough to warrant a business card but perhaps its worth considering...

Anyway back to the market! Driftwood spoon in hand, I wandered through the other stalls snapping where I could.

Little Twig's display is their namesake

This pic is a little fuzzy but I still had to share their cute sign!

I would have loved to get better snaps of the gorgeous displays but unfortunately there were too many customers! What a nice problem to have :) I bet there are some very lucky people getting some beautiful gifts this Christmas.

Did you spot my terrible photo of this beautiful calendar?! Bon Mot Design - Bec Adamczewski - is the creator behind this lovely piece. Here is a better pic borrowed from the Facebook page - I love the colours, the woodland theme, and the beautiful saying across the top! Notice how all the little animals are in pairs?! It just looked amazing in the frame too.

You can purchase this calendar from the Facebook Page

The calendar isn't on Etsy but Bec's other sweet designs are, you can find them here. I can't stop thinking about the wall calendar, I'm thinking I might have to make some room for it in my office upgrade - which I am still working on, and will update about soon!!

Do you have a favourite market? Or is there somewhere else you head in the Hobart area to buy your local loves?

Transforming a step ladder

For the past couple of years I, with the help of my family, have been renovating my plain little suburban house in Hobart.  It was a "renovator's delight" back in 2011, and has slowly been transformed into a bright and modern home. By current standards, my house is small - only 10 squares, with a single bathroom and three small bedrooms. I love it though, especially now that the major works are done and it's just the trimmings to complete.

The part I have enjoyed the most is decorating and bringing together the interior with furniture and art and items I've collected over the years. I've had to be mindful of the potential resale as this house is also a stepping stone for me, which means a neutral interior - white walls, pale floorboards, grey tiles... perhaps not very inspiring but its a palate which allows me to bring in colour where I want it, and means when its time to sell I don't have any major changes to make with floor coverings and wall colours, and not doing things twice sounds pretty good to me!

Out of the three bedrooms, one is mine (obviously), one is a guest room and one is an office and craft room. The guest bedroom has a double bed, and even by putting the bed hard against two walls, I only have about 35cm for a bedside table - and let me tell you, there are not many options out there for very small bedside tables!

So when I went looking for inspiration I fell in love with these:

Aren't they just the sweetest?! Lucky for me, I just happened to have my eye on the perfect little ladder! I bided my time and when the poor rickety old thing finally gave in and its owner decided it was destined for landfill, I quickly whisked it home for its new life!

Here she is! Obviously in need of some serious TLC, I'm looking forward to transforming this little piece into something new and great!

This poor step will need repairing or replacing.

With old furniture, I can't help but wonder what it's story is. The marks underneath means its probably home made. Was it a school project, proudly bought home by a budding furniture maker? Did an experienced man whip this stool up for his wife to reach the heights of her pantry? Maybe it was a gift, or simply an item made from scraps someone had lying around....

I will never know its story (the previous owner can't remember where she got it from), but I look forward to adding to its useful life, and showing you how it comes out along the way!