More home ...

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your lovely comments on the living room/study that I posted earlier in the week ... I was very touched and fingers crossed can make a living from my favourite activity in the near future! Here are some bedroom photos to finish off the week

Let me tell you, it is very tricky to take photos of ticking stripes, so I took 2 shots in different light ... really have to get a photography course under my belt!

In the first photo you can see my scrubby old jib... I pinned it to the pelmet and I love imagining it weathering out in some storm in its past life...

My swathe, stapled without any measurement, is lovely to sleep under ... I think I will simply always have to have one...

The pillow in the centre is a vintage French pillow case that I paid way too much for in Candes St Martin last year... it is strangely the wrong size for all pillows so I have improvised a folded cover for an old cushion and pinned it shut with a gold crown brooch studded with navy stones that I inherited from a late Aunt ...

And the trunk at the end of the bed is a junk shop find with a new padded seat on the top ... again in my favourite ticking stripes...

The framed reproduction Theatre list is from the V & A in London, and was a Christmas present from my lovely twin sister Lulu... I love it's colourful typography and I think it looks right at home on my red magicians trunks...

Its sister sits on my high table in front of my inspiration board ...

Over on the left I have a 'Let's get it on, I'll just brush my teeth' print from Etsy, and standing in front of it is a Man Ray quote that I drew onto this little canvas ...

In front is my collection of baby dishes and map boxes on a vintage Indian tray ...

And here is a close up shot of my FABULOUS new tassels... Mum spied them in a very dubious shop in Canberra and thought they would be a perfect British Raj accent for my swathe... how right she always is! Not sure if you can see that well in the photo,but they are made of rope and the bottom section also has interwoven golden thread ... everything is better with a dash of gold.

I love them to death!

I am about to head off for 2 weeks interstate, starting with my 30th birthday present to myself ... a week at the Coco Republic Design School in Sydney - I am jumping out of my skin with excitement! 

I then head to Canberra for a few days to redecorate my lovely little sister Georgie's house, and finish off with 5 days in Melbourne for the trade fairs with my best girl Kim, and a big joint 30th with the gorgeous Sal and all of my Melbourne friends.

Phew!

So, posting will be a little bit staggered but I will have lots of shots to post on my return.

Happy days my dear friends xxx

Home ...

Righto kids... I have decided to take some photos of my rooms (tiny apartment) for you ...

In case you didn't know, since returning from India I am living once again at home. My parents have been wonderfully generous and donated their downstairs dining room and study to the pursuit of Studio White and Wander... plus I get my own entrance so I don't wake them up at night!

I'm so lucky to have inherited many of my parents pieces of furniture, since mine was mainly all sold or lent out... It's lucky Mum and I have such similar tastes really ...

  Keep in mind I've only been in about a month so it is still a work in progress, as all my houses always are!

Enjoy xx

Above is the view when you first come in from the main part of the house - this lovely old farm table is simply divine to work at... I love all the space. Normally it is cluttered with all manner of laptops and text books but of course I styled it up a bit for the shoot! I have run the cords under my sisal rug so I can power the lamp in the centre of the room... an old trick that I'm sure you all know well...

Note my new foot model? Love at first sight... he has ligaments inside still! And my shiny silver Pug called Horatio - he never leaves my side...

 To the left of the table in the bay window is a pew that I painted white and covered in ticking, beneath sits a vintage pigeon crate, and on top you can just see my new (vintage) rope and pulley that lovely Kate kindly gave me... Dad's telescope stands over the top ... no idea how to use it but it looks pretty...

On the wall behind the desk is my high table and inspiration board (and a big pile of yet to be done work!). I patched it together from an old board of my brothers, stapled some calico over it and finished with a nail head trim. In the old drawers are all my paints, and on top is one of many globes and my 3 precious Venetian masks ...

I'm so lucky to have this gorgeous fire and mantle piece running the entire length of the wall. Nothing like a prop shelf to keep me happy! Have spent hours rearranging it but am happy with this composition for now ...

In the centre are my big buck antlers, and above the mirror is my Dad's 1971 2nd year Medical Students photo - I love old class photos!

And on the right are some vintage draftsman's rulers... one of them is slipping but I kind of like the off kilter look!

Taking pride of place to the left of the mirror is my lovely new Ampersand print from Bespoke Press; I think it works really well against da Vinci's naked man anatomical illustration ... but what doesn't work well against a naked man? 

Also in the shot is my vintage painted food warmer - hard to tell but it has the most fabulous illustrations of a hunting scene ... one of Mum's brilliant finds.

And some apothecary bottles under one of my cloches thrown in the mix for good measure...

On the right are more globes, my gold letter 'E' from London, the camper-than-a-row-of-pink-tents Dukes from the Loire Valley in France, a tiny vintage Danish flag,  and some apothecary bottles/candle holders from Kim's beautiful shop ... 

Also, just seen to the right is an architectural drawing by my talented little brother Ben, and of course there are the twigs... these had nasty spikes and were a bit of a struggle to get in the house, but I persisted in the interest of beauty!

I had to get a shot of the big baby Henry on his favourite spot in front of the fire. That dog could sleep for Australia.

I made the map pillow from a scarf I bought in France, the pillow with a cross is from Ness's Etsy shop,  and in the background is another that I made from a vintage flag and tied up with string ... the Union Jack one was bought for me by K Rudd in last years stimulus package!

In the background you will notice Rembrandt's Soldier in a Gold Helmet, and underneath on the music stand is my lovely new book from Kim by Thomas O'Brien - it was hard to choose a page to lay open because they are all so good! I intend to have some sort of shelves on this wall but for now Rembrandt and Thomas look quite at home...

I don't think I have ever posted pictures of my own space before but it feels like the right time... don't laugh at my style though - I just can't help decorating like a French sailor who lives in a museum...!

You get a glimpse of the bedroom in the first shot but I'm still styling it up with some new purchases, stay tuned xx

YSL ...

Some gorgeous shots of Yves Saint-Laurent's apartment ... of course such a visionary man had fabulous taste in interior design... I love that giant egg sculpture ... useless but oh-so-necessary!

Vanity Fair via the very first blog I ever read and loved, Silk Felt Soil xx

Animal Letters ...

No pup's today... instead I give you a peacock, a flamingo, a rhino and many other animals fabulously made from letters and symbols on the keyboard! How amazing and talented some people are ...

Happy weekend dear friends xx

See more at Bembo 's Zoo, discovered via the gorgeous Lox Papers blog

Baby Navy ...

Can't get enough of that navy coupled with that jumbled assortment of garden themed illustrations... heaven. So fresh to see it in a baby room instead of the usual pale blue... 

Check out Lauren's beautiful and super chic blog Pure Style Home for more photos of this gorgeous room she created for her tiny person Justin xx

Fleabag ...

 

Kitty needs (wants x a million) a Fleabag... heaven on a stick!

Wow ...

Jaw droppingly fabulous explorers room ...

Of course now I need a bugle ... and a top hat ...

Creative Space: Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators via Seesaw xx

Ship Shape ...

Loving how this room is so fabulously ship shape... note the rope surrounding the bench? Gorge...

And am always a fan of a mezzanine... nothing must be more fun than waking up up there!

Southern Living via A Life's Design

Gentle Breeze ...

Can't wait for spring to hit the Adelaide Hills... nothing compares to the fields of blossom gently swaying in the breeze ...

Of course I am making up the gently swaying bit because I am desperately hoping that no massive gusts of wind make all the flowers fall off... we are counting on blossom en masse for my brothers wedding at the start of October and big winds blowing all the petals off will just not do!

Very much looking to this big event on the family calender... am chief decorator and just can't wait xx

Photo via the gorgeous Desire to Inspire

Beat ...

Goodness gracious, this is a darling!

For US$349 I think I'll just keep scouring auctions for more vintage drums, but this one sure is cute. A bit of a pain that my beloved rare drums are entering mainstream decorating but I suppose I can cope ... hehe.

Seen over at the always stylish Hollister Hovey blog, originally from Restoration Hardware ...

Thrifting Day ...

Had a lovely, gorgeous, beautiful day yesterday with my girls from none other than Brown Button and The Polkadot Pantry - that is Kim and Kate in long hand!

Kate kindly started us off with some scrumptious corn fritters with salsa and smoked salmon (and champagne!) and then we hit the doggiest second hand shops I could think of ... bargaining is one of my favourite hobbies and I might say, we did well!

Check out the full posts over at Kim's and Kate's places... but yes, that is me above, measuring a bedhead that eagle eye Kim noticed through a window... what a find! And it will be even more gorgeous when we are finished with it!

Zebra ...

Oh, the zebra ... oh, the bust ... oh the crazy tall tapered candles!

Loving the details in this room - unusual really that this new-classical Hollywood style works in what appears to be a cottage? Clearly a brave owner (or interior designer), a risk that has truly payed off!

Seen over at the lovely Table Tonic (originally Celerie Kemble)
Addt: 2 lovely bloggers have reminded my sieve brain that this is in fact Eddie Ross' house in the country... seen in the first edition of the gorgeous Lonny mag... thanks!

Lovely Present ...

I was down at Kim's place last night having squillions of fun wrapping candy jars orders for dispatch (this isn't sarcastic - sticky taping bubble wrap to the base of the jars is actually the most fun I've had in ages and clearly a good indication of just how bad my last job was I would say!) when she clearly couldn't help herself  any longer and presented me with an early birthday gift a thankyou-for-helping-bubble-wrap-things gift!

It is hilarious how well she knows me... she had been warning me for weeks to please not buy anything for myself before my birthday knowing full well that if I saw a copy of this I would climb over (and probably hurt) small children to get it!

Thomas O'Brien has been one of my very favourite designers for ages now... I suppose I like his style so much because despite seeming so simple on the surface, to me it actually seems quite unattainable...

Let me try and explain ...

Sometimes when I look at the work of very famous designers I feel like, for the most part, I could emulate their style - not that I could do the job better, I would never be so bold as to profess that, rather I feel I can quickly analyse the elements of their style, their formula can be pulled apart so to speak..

With the gorgeous Thomas O'Brien though, I feel like the interiors are layered so precisely with history and meaning while still maintaining their quiet simplicity ... it is certainly a 'style' but I would say it is much less formulaic...

Am I making any sense? Hehe...

Anyway, without all the philosophy and theory behind it, I still just love the way he does things... 

It inspires me to control my strange desires to make things look overly theatrical... my natural instinct as a Leo I would say!

I saved this picture for last because it is my very favourite ... not just because of the little dudes on the chair, but because that glass side table is the most fantastic thing I have seen in a million years...

Thankyou bella, I love it to bits xxx

Photos by Laura Rensen via Habitually Chic

Shade ...

What a fabulously theatrical hallway ...

While I normally steer away from these paper shades, their use here to draw the eye towards what appears to be the dining room is quite impressive. An inexpensive solution with graceful impact...

(Don't mind that Walton Ford-esque flamingo either!)

Architectural Digest via AtticMag

Deer ...

I've been decorating my rooms like a demon this weekend! 

Will properly clean up and take some photos ... not quite as cool as the above shot (can't find the link, sorry!), but I am yet to win a few taxidermy bids at auction to super cool it up...

Don't tell my brother though (staunch vegetarian and just doesn't understand, as much as I try and find him evidence, how deer can 'drop' their antlers!)

This girl looks pretty cool...

But I think her apartment looks even cooler!

Seen over at a new favourite Myleshenryblog, but originally from Freunde von Freunden

Head ...

More anatomical art for the one you love... I really have to get off Etsy today and do some work!

3 Lambs Graphics at Etsy

Heart ...

The perfect present for someone you love xx

Roll and Tumble Press at Etsy

Navy and Lions ...

More inspiration which confirms without a doubt that I am obsessed with decorating! 

I love this room above to death! It is masculine with the navy and brown with splashes of gold, but with just the dash of scrubbiness in that weathered couch to keep the room from looking over decorated ...

J'adore black lampshades ...

And this photo just fills me with hope! I have inherited a motley collection of chests of drawers and a free standing wardrobe, and as lovely as they are they just need a little bit of sprucing up  ... me thinks a lick of navy paint and some lion heads will do just nicely!

Photo 1- Mrs Blandings of course ... Photo 2 - evil again and can't find the link, help please!

UPDATE: The lovely Trish from Trouvais sent over the link to Photo 2 - it is Monica's house from the stunning Splendid Willow - I knew someone brilliant had made it!!

Swathe ...

I have a serious obsession/crush on bed canopies ...

Not the ones that go all crumpled and frilled around the edges coming from a central point though, rather I love a clean swathe of crisply ironed fabric smoothly running down the wall and up over the ceiling ... I have no idea why, but it is truly my idea of heaven...

I especially love a masculine stripe (devoted to stripes), it just seems to make the room look a bit less twee and a bit more clubby ... do you agree?

Have been staring at my bedroom all morning trying to resist staple gunning my 12 metres of black and white ticking to the ceiling but I think I am losing the battle... I just can't help myself! In Melbourne I had a little cave of a room and the swathe made it look much more intimate, but here in my palatial Adelaide suite (AKA my parents downstairs dining room and study!) I feel I need a swathe to give the bed a bit more focus ... fingers crossed!

Photos to come dear friends xx

Photo 1 - am evil and can't remember... Photo 2 - from the gorgeously swoon-worthy Style Saloniste

Pantone ...

I certainly don't need chairs, in fact have just relegated at least 6 from my parents dining table-now work desk down to the shed ... but if I did I would happily have a set of these... bright and fun!

Pantone, seen over at  the lovely Splendid Willow.

Henry and Rugs ...

My gorgeous girl Kim sent this over saying it looks like me and the hilarious retriever Henry... and I tend to agree! We love Mr Henry even if he is a big baby most of the time ...

And today marks exactly one month until I turn 30 ... eek! I am excited but also a little exhausted as it has been a busy few weeks and likely will be busy for many more. I would love to be curling up in a rug like this with Henry ... I will have to dream of it instead xx

Mantle ...

What a well thought out composition... Mum is reading over my shoulder saying 'We do love a bit of anatomy...' ,I am definitely my mother's daughter!