I give you this stunning image this morning as a parting gift ...
This is a great house ... beautiful Hampton's - shingled - fitted interior - dark floors - white walls - tongue and groove - heaven ... where do I sign?
Fabulously detailed hallway - many attractions for the eye but still quite simple - I adore the collection of baskets and the interesting sky-light in the ceiling ...
A gorgeous sunny spot ... Americans certainly do these windows well, they seem to be everywhere ... we Aussies need to catch on ...
The windows again! Brushing your teeth from here would be a real pleasure ... sublime pressed metal sinks and matt black counter ...
I love-love-love this cupboard that opens on both sides ...
These sconces for bed side lamps are just lovely great forethought in the planning - you can never have a whim and move the bed though - might be a problem for someone like me who is constantly moving furniture ... my living room has flipped 3 times this evening ...
I'm sure this stunning view doesn't hurt either ... imagine soaking in that pool on a hot summers day ... these architects certainly have outdone themselves here ... 
I love cotton for weddings. 
I am finally moved in! Yippee ... unfortunately my place looks nothing like this stunning room ...It is a flat completely devoid of architectural features and has not been painted in well over 10 years I would say. But I have stripped it back to the basics - all curtains and lace things are down, all hooks out of walls (there must have been 50!) and spacked up the massive holes I made, and all the windows are washed. It is a little bit better now ...
I have done one coat of paint in the spare room and it is a massive improvement. Did I mention I got Dulux Antique White USA? But there is a built in wood veneer cupboard in there with one door missing and it is wrecking the aesthetics big time! I will have to wait for the hospital maintenance man to find it - where can a cupboard door go though?
The main bedroom is fine, the bedside tables are a bit ugly but I will make some ticking stripe covers for them. I will be painting it this week in the same lovely bright white. This room is the least of my worries ...
It is the open plan sitting room/kitchen that is the major dilemma ... and for the first time in many, many years, I am at an absolute loss as to the furniture arrangement! I think this is mainly because the furniture is nasty, hideous and cheap and I will have to hide it all in the shed and start again. It is a tricky room for a reason I can't work out yet, but luckily it gets lots of light, has a huge window and the carpet is sort of grey flecked colour but is fine.
Woe is me. This is my biggest decorating challenge yet. But I think my brain will clear when the entire house is freshly painted. Doing it on my own though, it could be a few weeks ... people have offered to help but I like to blast Elton John and Michael Bolton greatest hits, and I need to sing along, not make conversation ... I will just have to grin and bear it!
I do apologise for the lack of before photos - I have completely wrecked the zoom on my camera and I just can't zoom back out enough to get a good shot - I will have it fixed in time for after shots, but I am sure you can appreciate now that I could, under no circumstances, wait to get it fixed before I started painting!
Will keep you posted xxx
I wish I could stretch out on my back like this cuddly puppy and relax this weekend ... But happily, I am finally moving house! After 2 months in a cramped and style devoid Nurses Quarters, I am finally being given my own flat! Yippee ...
It is 5 months until Christmas and I am already planning my decorations ...
If I had a wall of windows like this I would be so sublimely happy I would never ever leave my house ...
Half submerged flowers really are such a favourite of mine ... perfect for table arrangements at parties and these fish bowls are great for achieving this effect... 
What a pretty french house ... my first from this country and won't be my last ...Luce is obsessed with France, having been there numerous times, but I have unfortunately never gotten there on my trips to Europe. I will have it up to go with her - much easier since she is fluent!
I wonder if all the houses are as lovely as this...?
Normally I would run screaming from an arch way - it brings back memories of some highly dubious student housing ... ugh! In this case though, the arch is redeemed by being made of panes of glass - an interesting feature that I really quite like ...!
Eric d'Herouville for Cote Maison
What a fabulous prop - a bowl of paper popcorn!
I love this scene ... 
Mrs S, I provide you with a third decorating scheme, slightly different to the last two, but still in keeping with the general theme ... enjoy my dear x
This kitchen is great - I know I go on about kitchens but they really do make or break a house ... a great place with a skanky kitchen is disastrous ... and vice versa ... ugh.
I love how this u-shaped kitchen wraps around the island ... and the detail of the beams inlaid into the ceiling with those lovely pendants hanging down ... not to mention my favourite tongue and groove topped with that grey slate counter top ... classic country sophistication ...
I really like the proportions of this living room ... I am not completely sold on the floor rug but I really like the dark boards, flat whitest-white paint and those lovely 4x6 windows ...
She uses lots of mangle fabric ... another favourite of mine ... and lovely white linen for slip covers ... always chic.
This room is particularly pretty. Nancy is known for her collections of utilitarian objects, particularly folk art and reclaimed objects to be used in different settings ... chess boards as serving trays is just one example.
I love the styling of this scene ... the doors of this cupboard flung open to display the neat precision of its contents, the casual drape of a vintage quilt, and the giant tub of hydrangea blooming happily in the sunny window ... just gorgeous xx
While I could never be described as an eco warrior (although most of my furniture is recycled!), this picture is very thought provoking ... and lovely ...
This is Alfred ... I think he is cold judging from the snow on his nose ...
By all rights, this house shouldn't look so good - its bones really aren't that great - It has quite low ceilings but they are saved by the lovely planking, and it has small rooms, but they are all open to each other with door-less doorways to give the house a lovely feeling of flow.
Drenched from floor to ceiling in lashings of white paint, this house is light and bright and warm and comfortable ... and my beloved Tolix chair appears again ... a set in black and white is just plain greedy!
The standout features are really the furniture and props, not the architecture, which is much more to my style of decorating ...
These giant silver tubs of olive trees are a very unexpected decorating tool - normally seen in a courtyard, they look just lovely in the kitchen and the bedroom (below). And the very simple light fittings are just lovely.
This is a perfect kitchen. It's not showy or sophisticated but it is got everything it needs to be a lovely family space. I love a window over a sink ... being able to look out over the garden while you do the worst chore in the house should brighten even the grumpiest of days x
And here, another rambly over-sized topiary, an unusual but eye-catching choice for a bedroom. Paired with a vintage park bench and shutters, this bedroom is casual and understated.
While it is way too hot in Australia for spending time in a conservatory ... you would die of heat exhaustion and so would your plants ... I can still dream ... 
What could be prettier than this vintage-sourced-tea-cups-and-jelly-mould chandelier?
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