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!

Creating a Living Wreath with Kate at Botanical

Botanical is at 139 Macquarie St, Hobart

Did you know that there is an amazing new florist open in Hobart?! The first I knew about Botanical was driving past on my way home from work, I couldn't miss the stunning window display which instantly reminded me of the florists and flower shops I've admired in Melbourne. I knew straight away that this was something different. Of course this meant my daily drive involved checking out the window to see what was new, because every couple of days the display changes! Wire cage Edison bulbs, terrariums, hanging pots and of course abundant blooms spilling onto the pavement, I had to know more!

Thankfully Botanical has a beautiful website and after reading all about Kate, her business and seeing the beautiful photos of her flowers, I was so excited to find Kate hosting workshops right in her lovely shop! Luckily that very day I needed a gift to celebrate the birth of my best friend's first baby, a perfect excuse to call in and sign up for the last spot for the Living Wreath workshop and collect a very cute succulent terrarium on the way.

Saturday couldn't come around quickly enough! What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than with 8 lovely ladies, creating something amazing among beautiful gift ware and the heavy scents of hundreds of flowers.

Kate's passion is infectious! Her style is organic, natural, simple and classy, allowing the flowers to be the star of the show - no leery cardboard boxes or glitter spray here! During the class Kate told us, "Do what you love. If you don't love what you do, you won't succeed" how true is that?!

No doubt like you, I've seen living succulent wreaths online, including how to guides. I've probably pinned quite a few but like a lot of these sorts of projects I've just never gotten around to actually making it happen. Plus why try and work your way through hard to follow online instructions when you can support an amazing local business and learn from their many years of skill?

Kate shows us how!

So the next few hours were spent getting our hands dirty, digging in to moss and peat and dirt all under Kate's careful guidance, upon rustic recycled benches with Tasmanian bubbly in hand.  We selected succulent cuttings from a huge range and arranged them where they will hopefully grow and look lovely for a long time! Kate has no hesitation in sharing her tricks of the trade, and happily provides all the details so you can go home and create more of these amazing wreaths, even offering ideas on collecting succulents for free!

I love my wreath! Now I have to wait a couple of weeks for the roots to attach, and then I will be able to show you a picture of it hanging in all its glory!

Needless to say I am so very pleased I went along to this workshop, and highly recommend them to anyone and everyone! Well done Kate, your shop is amazing and I can't wait to see how Botanical grows and evolves in the future.

Be sure to "like" Botanical on Facebook (especially now as she has a great competition on!) and head to her website, www.botanicalhobart.com.au, clicking on 'Workshops' to find out what's coming up. Or better yet, head on in, experience the lovely shop and grab yourself a stunning posie!

*Obviously, all views on this post are mine, and this isn't sponsored in any way - I simply just want to share stuff that I love, and you might too!*