My Office Transformation

Today I thought I would share with you a peak into my crazy decorating world. I don't proclaim to be a decorator at all, I just like to move things and paint a lot!

Most of you who know me from my personal blog would have seen some of these pictures before, but not in a story like this.

I will commentate how a brand new house (now 12 months old) has received THREE makeovers in the office already.

This is how it looked on the very first day...blank canvas.

The 3 photos above are how it first looked. Ok, it's gross. I was going through my 'black and green' stage. Readers need to know that this little ‘duck’ waits for nothing. Nope, I do not sit back looking at an empty room; I find ALL the crap left over in my house and throw it together. I am not one of those normal people that waits until I have enough money to do something special or fantastic... I do not sleep very well knowing there is an empty room. Poorly done Katrina, I know.

 Oooooo... looky here.. it's my 'pink and something' stage. Again, just a shuffle of random left-over bits in my house. The chalkboard was cool, but I just slapped that paint straight on the wall (don’t even ask how I got it off – think electric sander).

I must explain the desk bench and shelf. I had a brainwave (I have these often, whether they are successful or not is another story). I had seen on TV where someone bought a door from Bunnings and used this. So I made my husband buy a series of doors and brackets, and drill massive holes into the walls of our newly built house. Was he happy? No, but I am the boss. Next picture please...

 What have we here? Hmmm.... was my husband right? Could I admit to him that the whole office looked awful and rushed? Yes, I had to. I had to admit this to him so he would pull every bit of it down and start again (this time I had saved some money!). So now the process began of filling up all the holes - in our newly built, less than 6 months old house.

What is he doing?? Ssshhhh... please DO NOT say anything about that piece of devon on his head (aka bald spot). He is tricking us here in the photo; he did not do this wall! So what's the wall all about anyway? It's paint (not a sticker). I saw this idea over here and I decided I had to do one. I stayed up late one night sketching it all on and with a fine paint brush I started filling it in. I was a nervous wreck. I had never done anything like it before.

 Coming together and making a big mess as I go!

And... finished! Oh gee I was so happy! The paint was ‘Taubmans Shale Grey’.

So in went some new furniture I saved to buy, and a few other bits and pieces. With some fancy photography I think it's looking pretty good. What do you think?

Watch the vlog above to see me talk about it only for about 1 minute (warning - turn DOWN your speakers - I have irritating loud voice, I know this!)

Last days to enter our Giveaway - hundreds of entries!

Also, I will be chatting with the gang at The Decorating Forum today.

Ready, Set, Dissect.

Ready for another one? Last week's response was amazing! Thanks so much. We loved laughing at some of the comments.

Gail said she was agitated.
Annie needed a nanna nap.
Nanny Pickle said the stylist was on some sort of hallucinogen.
I liked it, except the colour was a bit too much.
Kerry said she would see herself in a whole new dimension - 'does my bum look big in this'?
Julie-Ann agreed that the mirrors were too much, but said the colours are coming back in.
AimeeN really loved it.

Please go back to this post to read what you have to do if you missed it last week.

Pic here

Don't forget our GIVEAWAY too.

And again, lots of chatter over here.

PS. I am endeavouring to visit all our new readers - so I will see you soon over at YOUR blog.

 Get to it! 
Ready, Set, Dissect!

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Wednesday's Walk-through

Hiding behind the tag Brismod is Anita who writes a blog called Fun and VJs, which chronicles the renovation work on a tired old Queenslander home. Anita’s background is in corporate communication but she has a particular interest in architecture, design and vintage furniture. She is married to Jason (famous for his shirtless renovating) and has three young sons.

Fun and VJs – Lounge room

Earlier this year, we renovated our lounge room in our 1930s Queenslander home. It wasn’t an overly complicated job but with three boys running around the house (the youngest is one year old), it was still an arduous task.

It took approximately three weeks from go to woe – removing and replacing architraves, sanding and preparing the walls, then undercoating and painting the three metre high walls. The noisy work was done on the weekends, while painting was done at night.

The old cream colour scheme in the room made our vintage mid-century furniture seem particularly drab. Therefore our main mission was to make the room appear brighter and airier.

For me, it is still a work in progress in terms of decorating, but at least we have a decent blank canvas upon which this room will evolve over time.

Most of our furniture and art in this room has a story or family connection and is vintage Australian mid-century. I believe a home should have objects with personal resonance to make it a real home.

Furniture, rug and objects – thrifted or handed down from family or friends

Lighting – David Trubridge Coral pendant light

Large art work is from a photograph of my great-grandfather when he was in French Polynesia

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Large modernist screen print by late Gold Coast artist Veda Arrowsmith

Retro telephone table with teak lamp

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This photo shows the breeze way with tulip design which is characteristic of Queenslander homes

The art work is a portrait of my Tahitian mother and the landscape is of bungalows over the water in Tahiti

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This is the shelf directly under our wall mounted flat TV. This is the corner I’m not enthused about. We have the dreaded visible TV cords which are left dangling.

Lack floating shelf from IKEA, objects thrifted or were gifts

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Art deco side table with salvaged Station of the Cross.

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So pop over and visit Anita and feel free to ask her any questions about this room!

We are also discussing lots more houses over at The Decorating Forum today. 

And don't forget our GIVEAWAY!

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Special Touches

Julie-Ann and I have been discussing elements that can make your home feel special, fresh and enriched. We decided that these 10 tips are easy to achieve and thought we would share them with you!

We would love you to share your ideas in the comments too.

1. Flowers - if you are like me you will have to buy them for yourself. And why not? After all, I am sick of cleaning up after stinky boys, listening to my husband snore and battle the supermarket. I deserve them! So do you.

Pic me.

2. Books/magazines - what's not to like about a bit of sweet fantasy? Whether it's a beautiful home book, an inspiring novel, or a trashy gossip magazine, I think we need a collection of these to help us escape from our monotony. Who doesn't need a good drool or a laugh?

Pic here

3. Aroma - kids and men? This is why we HAVE to have nice aroma. I love swanning around in a fresh smelling house. Natasha (who owns this photo) sold me some of these candles a while back. She wrote on her facebook last night that her husband rang on his way home from work and said.... "Hon, can you run me a hot bath, and put some of that stinky stuff of yours in it?" Coincidence but so true and hilarious! Even men need a good scrub up at times!

 Pic here

4. Cleanliness/no clutter - I know, I know, I am a little over the top. Yes this is my office at home and it stays like this. I can't concentrate or produce lovely blogs *wink* if I work amongst mess. It feels good to have everything in its place.

 Pic me.

5. Colour - a little bit of colour puts a spring in my step!

Pic here

6. Grouping accessories - grab all of your favourite things and group them in a little arrangement. You don't need to scatter everything all over the house. Leave some spots bare as a statement and group other things.

Pic me.

7. A bit of bling - whether it's perfume, a sequin cushion, chandelier or a lampshade with crystals, every girl needs a little bit of bling in the home. Show it off!

Pic here

8. A throw rug - the weather is getting cooler in Australia and this time of the year calls for a throw rug close by. I love cuddling on the lounge with one. My boys love them too and it actually doesn't matter what time of the year it is, they love a little rug across their legs.

Pic here

9. Fresh sheets - need I explain? Who doesn't love fresh sheets? Go on, tell me who irons them too??

 Pic here

10. Comfort food - coffee, chocolate.... what's yours? What's a home without some comfort food handy for everyone?

 Pic here

Please don't forget that every comment gets you an entry into our House Beautiful magazine giveaway.

We will be discussing lots of topics today over at The Decorating Forum, so we would love to see you there. Feel free to join in. We won't bite!

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Win this.

Julie-Ann and I would like to reward one of our lucky readers with 10 issues of House Beautiful. We want to thank you for being so kind and coming back to visit us.

I am going to make this super easy - just leave a comment anywhere on this blog and you are in the running. Comment on more than one post and you will get more entries! I will let you know when I am closing the draw and announcing the winner.

I subscribed to House Beautiful myself earlier this year, so I promise you won't be disappointed.

How nice will it be to receive a gorgeous magazine in the mail each month rather than dreaded bills every day?

Did you play along with us yesterday in Ready, Set, Dissect? If not, click here to see what some of us said about this room.

So keep commenting and keep coming back as there is plenty more to come.

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