Trendspotting: Houses

Kanelikauppa

Hello-tiger

Ferm Living

Gretel Home

House and Hold

West Elm

Femke Pastijn

Finnish Design Shop

Have you noticed this? Could it be that houses are the new owls? I think they are less cutesy and have more staying power, don't you? I am a fan!

House Tour: Will's House

Don't you love house tours on blogs? I know I do. I surf and drool. So here I am, posting my first ever "real" house tour! I met Will while I was studying Architecture. He's always been amazing, and his pics of his house reno don't disappoint!

His little house that he shares with his partner, Myles, is in Sydney's inner-city area of Lilyfield. Here's what he says about their reno:


The house is a 1930's worker's cottage with a simple weatherboard extension at the back. When we moved in we gave the garden an overhaul (it was literally just paving with 2 concrete slabs under it) and ripped out and rebuilt the bathroom. The back was opened up to the north and we extended the rear deck. We really wanted to just look at layers of green in the backyard (whilst screening the building behind us) and borrow the view of gum trees in the park beyond the property.


Thank you, Will and Myles for sharing your beautiful house with us!

Yard Sailing

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that Rachel is the Queen of Yard Sales (or Yard Sailing, LOL).

We went to a neighbour's sale this weekend and I came away with the most adorable mid century memory game for the kids! I just LOVE the illustrations!

There are so many cards that I would love to be able to preserve them somehow.
How about these ideas:

House of Young Children

Inspired Whims

What would you do?

Black

Classic, timeless, it grounds the space...

Joanna Laajisto

Marion House Book

Bloesem

Door Sixteen

Sfgirlbybay

Fjeldborg

Helt Enkelt

I really like this look and would like to incorporate more of it into my home...Perhaps a little fun with paint is in order...

Edi's Wonderful Wedding.

erin and tara

My dear friend Edwina got married in December and her photos just wowed me! Her Dad is English, so they went with an English theme. I love all the pics from it and they were taken by the amazing erin and tara. All the pics in this post are courtesy of them.

We had a tiny, tiny wedding, but if I was going to do a bigger one, this one hits all the buttons for me. So lovely.

Love Edi's dress, love the bridesmaid's dress!

This pic makes me totally homesick.

Here's a great example of bunting used with taste and appropriate-ness (is that a word? Probably not. But you know what I mean)

Love, love, love these luminaries.

This makes me think of 40s wartime in the summer. Love the sandals, girls!

Now I've never met the lovely Hugo - and apparently he is a great guy. Plus, who could resist such a cute couple?

Love the bouquets. Don't you?

2-up. Awesome. If you're an Aussie, you'll know what this is. The fairest and the best.

I'm so happy for you, Edi - we all wish you the very, very best.

Living Room Reveal!

This is the moment I've been terrified of - letting you actually see larger portions of my house!

Today is the day, though, and I'm feeling quite chuffed because I've finally finished decorating my mantlepiece. Rachel's Mom (garage saler extraordinaire) had a garage sale on the weekend and she was getting rid of a lot of milk glass. I thought it would look nice against my grey walls and I think it works, don't you?

I'm also happy with the stacked wood in the fireplace. It works as a great kid-proofing!

The colour on the walls is Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Grey.

The magazine rack is still only primed because I haven't decided what colour to paint it (orange? pink? What you do you think?).

And here are some more shots:

And here's a before shot when we looked at the house. Obviously, this isn't our furniture or decor! The whole place was painted that beige and the guy in the pic is our realtor.

Best. Sister. Ever.

After the weekend in Orillia, my little sister gave me a birthday present! Understandably she did not want to drag these to the cottage:

 

They are a beautiful gray-washed wicker, perfect height for resting your feet but my kids have been itching to sit on them. They come from a beautiful store called Quantum downtown London which you should surely visit if you are ever here (or already live nearby!). My question is; where is a good place to put these poufs? I don't mind them here but they are not very useful in my dining room. Should they be in the living room? In front of a lounge chair? or in the front hall perhaps? Either way, I am happy just looking at them. Thanks, sis!

Cute dishsoap storage

Remember the cute milk bottles at Emmett's mustache bash?

Well I've found a great new use for them. I loathe the look of dishsoap containers on the sink so I put it in one of the little juice bottles with a liquor nozzle (what's the proper name for these? Speedpour?). I find that some brands are a bit too thick to pour easily so i just water them down. Seventh Generation seems to be the perfect consistency.

Do you have any cute and cheap fixes for ordinary ugliness?

The Landing Strip

Our hallway is probably the worst area of the house. What was originally the foyer has had chunks shaved off it for a Powder Room (totally worth it!) and a large Coat Closet that blocks light from the sunroom and makes the foyer almost unusable as a mud-ish room (said closet should be leaving soon!).

In any case, we certainly have to create some sort of Landing Strip so I have been scouring the internet for some inspiration.

There seem to be some essential elements:

Hindsvik Blog

Coat Hooks. We have a lot right now and this is what we use on a daily basis. But I like these ones quite a bit. And then of course one can always dream of an...

Design Sponge

Eames Hang-It-All. I especially love them when there are multiples!

Martha Stewart

A boot tray is essential kit for Canada's winters, but as much as I love this pebble filled one, this is definitely an item that isn't babyproof!

Jonathan Adler via chairsmith

Somewhere to sit, combined with storage? Yes please!

What do you do to fight foyer clutter?