The new man cave

In preparation for #babybuchanan2014, one of the tasks I have particularly enjoyed is decorating his new room. I'm not big into 'theming' and I am certainly not into the typical kid colour palette which can assault the senses. I wanted somewhere calm, and quite neutral for my little man so I decided to go with a grey paint called Centurion. Now when I first bought this colour, I was given Centurian and ended up with a lavender (PURPLE) room, so back to Bunnings I went, making sure that the paint I left with was spelt correctly. Who knew one letter could make such a difference!

I chose a white cot and change table, and used pops of teal and yellow to brighten up the room. Knowing that we would soon only have a two bedroom house, I wanted to include a double bed to make sure any guests had somewhere to sleep as the little man will most likely spend his first 6 to 12 months in our room in his Moses basket.

I have picked a mixture of Ikea, Mocka and our own furniture to use, and to decorate animal prints from Zazzle.com, classic picture books which hold special memories for me, Cocker Spaniel book ends (yes, crazy dog lady) and some divine plush toys from special friends and family.

The overall feeling of the nursery is one of calm. Hopefully this transfers into a very calm baby (haha). I love the colour scheme and although it is quite tight for space, I hope it is a room in which much love and many memories are had (and this is not counting explosive poos).

Hx

Design inspiration

Isn't this just amaze?? Clearly stolen off Instagram, but very inspiring.

Hx

Easter Craziness

Sorry I have been a bad blogger lately! Times have been cray busy with work and the Easter long weekend.

 

A man and I received the first draft plans for our renovations on Thursday which was very exciting. We decided to hit a few bathroom and kitchen shops for inspiration, and we did surprisingly well with agreeing on various colours and designs. Can I just say that I never realised how many options there are!

 

Friday saw me hosting Supper Club with friends J, K and T. Everyone brought a dish, with the only rule being that you have to make something you haven't made before. Here is my attempt at an asparagus salad and lamb with feta and eggplant from Donna Hay's Fresh and Light cookbook.

On a trip to the Barossa Valley last March with K and J, I entered a competition and won this magnum of delicious Shiraz. It was absolutely amazing!

 

Saturday and Sunday involved gathering with family and friends on several occassions, eating and drinking waaaayyy too much, resulting in most of Monday being spent doing nothing more than this.

 

 

Now after five days off I am back in the slammer, dreaming of my next getaway!

 

H x

Building outwards and onwards

 

It seems like forever ago that A and I purchased our little shoebox house which I am totally still in love with. But the time has come to look at expanding our humble abode (so it can be ready for more little people - that's my plan anyway!)

 

So we have had a couple of renovation people over to take a look and give us a rough extimate of the $$$ we will be up for. We have decided to go with Kerry from Dale Alcock Home Improvements and she will be helping us get closer to our first dream home. We only plan on being here for about 5 to 7 years, but hopefully these renovations will provide us with a good sale price as a stepping stone to our second dream home, closer to the beach.

 

It is hard deciding what you do and don't want in your home when building or renovating, but these are my must haves.

 

 

Stacker doors leading out to an entertaining deck (lots of glass and lots of light).

 

A bright white kitchen with an island bench.

A big bath!

Jarrah floorboards throughout.

I am sure I will add many more 'must haves' to the list, and I am sure a gazillion changes will occur with the design, but we are aiming for a more open plan, 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home (for the kids!)

 

H x

 

Image 1 credit here

Image 2 credit here

Image 3 credit here

go-go? Yes please!

I was lucky enough to stumble across this fabulous furniture store purely by chance. go-go is located in the northern Perth suburb of Osborne Park, adjoining an industrial kitchen fit out store which I visited for a project I am coordinating at work.

I have been eyeing off these stools for a while so you can imagine my sheer joy when I spotted them at $46 each! 

The showroom has only been open for eight weeks, and the online store can be found here.

Here are some other delights that are on offer.

 

 

As you can see, the stool I purchased has been approved.

H x

Last minute decorating...

I was quite excited to be hosting Christmas Eve with the family. A's Mum P flew over from Sydney, and my parents and sister K made our party up to six.

 

A and I had a test run of the paella we intended to make the week before with friends N and V. It was suprisingly easy! We used this recipe from Poh's Kitchen with a few personal tweaks to make it just how we like.

 

I had ordered some bits and bobs from Lark to decorate the table. I chose bunting (I'm in love), classic red and white napkins, and vintage jars with the hope of picking up some pretty flowers on the day. I was super excited to have a chic setting.

 

But the order never came! So this is what I came up with last minute.

 

I did feel quite proud of myself, and lisianthus are my new favourite flower. Divine.

 

H x

Tea time...

With Christmas fast approaching there has been a flurry of gift buying, including several Secret Santa presents. For my girlfriends at work we decide on a 'T' theme as our daily ritual is to meet in the lunch room for a cuppa at 10am. Every. Single. Day.

 

Secret Santa gifts usually have a small budget, and I cannot stand buying someone trinkety junk. So I opted for a simple tea cup from Typo.

 

 

I was inspired by these lovely tea cups from Pigeonhole (amazing store!) that I bought for my walk buddies J, K and S.

 

 

They are super cute heart shaped tea cups. Divine.

 

H x

 

Too Much?

I am rather fond of gardening...but is this too much?

Possibly?

H x

Lark

I was on the hunt for a funky tin to hold coffee and I had heard about Lark, a six year old family run gift and homewares store based in Daylesford, a historic country town in the forest, close to Melbourne. They specialise in a mix of trendy homewares, garden wares and accessories. I could spend hours browsing their online store!

 

I selected these tins - aren't they so adorable?

 

I love the retro look.

 

Here is a snippet of what else is available.

 

The sugar tin and the Scotty dog lamp are so cool!

 

Go on, check it out. You know you want to!

 

H x

I heart Ecoya

I have always thought of myself as 'not a candle person'. I can't stand little trinkety candle shops, and loathe those generic Secret Santa presents when your SS buys you soap or candles as they clearly don't know you.

 

But all of this changed when my girlfriends N and V bought me a Sweet Pea and Jasmine Ecoya candle.

 

It smells amazing!

 

Ecoya is a New South Wales company based in Botany Bay. They have just opened their first store on Queens Street in Sydney's Woollahra. Ecoya specialises in natural, hand crafted soy candles. They do not contain the traditional petroleum based parrafin, and even their wicks are made from pure lead-free cotton. All of their hand and body care products use the finest botanical natural bases. Here is a glimpse of some of the other products on offer.

 

They are a wonderful gift and can be found online, or in store at several stocklists, including Bed Bath N' Table or Cottage Garden Flowers and Gifts in Subiaco.

Enjoy.

H x

 

 

Elroy ink. is the bomb

I spotted an article on Elroy ink. in the latest Marie Claire mag. Ken Lawson (Elroy) is a Geelong based designer who focusses on simple, abstract, hand drawn designs.

Check these out!

Primitive One

Tendrils

Bird is the Word

Figures Eight
 

All Hail the Doughnut

I bought Figures Eight and Bird is the Word. Love!

H x

A Grand Challenge

Grand Designs and Grand Designs Australia are two of my and A's favourite shows. I love living through another persons architectural dream, from the tiny seed of an idea through to the reality of seeing the house finally finished.

There are plenty of houses that personally are not to my liking, but what impresses me the most, is the 100% commitment that these people have put into getting their ultimate home. Some are rediculously excessive and out of this world - a nightclub in your basement (?!?), but the creativity and courage has to be commended.

Here are just a few snaps of some Grand Designs Australia.

How amazing is the last one! Could you imagine yourself living there? Season three started last night on the Lifestyle Channel so there is plenty more where these came from.

Have you ever renovated or built from scratch? I hope that when A and I renovate it's not too traumatic!

Happy Friday!

H x

Plums plums plums

So I am a bit obsessed with my garden right now. This is my first time living out of home and actually having a garden of my own. Knowing that it is my garden to do with as I please, I have been inspired to really get my green thumbs dirty.
 

However, having such a rowdy pup, our garden has taken many hits. Finally after moving pots, replacing endless plants and attempting (and failing) screening off our ‘special’ trees, A has put up fencing to protect our budding green life. It does look kind of silly, but the plants are loving living in peace without the threat of cyclone T coming through at any moment.
 

I do like the idea of an edible garden, so we have several pots with an array of herbs, as well as lemon, lime, orange, mango and olive trees. My most recent addition has been two plums trees.

 

 

Originally I just bought one until neighbour J informed me that plums need a ‘friend’ to ensure pollination. As she is the resident plum expert (check out her plums below), off I trekked, back to the garden shop to get my plum a buddy.

 

 



We have had a lot of rain lately and my plums have just started to bloom.

 



The experts say it takes three to five years for your first proper fruit harvest...I can’t even wait for my tea to cool slightly before I drink it! It’s going to be a long wait for my plums.

 

What have you got growing in your garden? Do you have any tips for a first time gardener?
 

H x
 

PS – Check out the new screen door we got installed yesterday. It was my birthday present from A. How times have changed!