Second Choice

The floral patterned fabric above wasn't my first choice colourway for the curtains in our bedroom at home.  My first choice was the lavender colourway.  However, like so many fabrics we have ordered over the past 12-18 months it was out of stock and not available.  Has this been a problem for other decorators out there too?  With only a few weeks to go before Christmas last year I made a very rushed decision and went for the green colourway instead.  I must admit when they first went in I had regrets because I am not usually a huge green lover.  However, they have grown on me and now I absolutely love them.  Has anything like this ever happened to you?  I'd love to hear your stories!!!

xx

Anna

image 1 - anna spiro bedroom photographed by elouise van riet-gray

No!

Our first born child knew the definition of No well before he ever got himself into too much trouble.  A simple No would always result in him moving away from something I didn't want him to touch. 

Over the years I've had many clients ask me how I am able to keep all my books and bits and pieces in place on our coffee table with a little one in the house.  I have always been a firm believer in leaving all my precious objects around the house and teaching  my children to respect my things which will eventually become theirs {whether they like it or not}.  

HOWEVER, I have to say that I have entered into a completely new way of life with our Max.  Ever since Christmas I have had one very tall pile of books perched right in the middle of our coffee table.  Not because this is a new way I am experimenting with arranging my things.  It is the result of a child who seems to have determination which rivals my own.

Late this afternoon I had an appointment at Betty's lovely home and as I was leaving I spotted her big old amazing tree bearing lots of fruit.  She very generously offered me a few which I brought home and placed into one of my vintage blue and white plates.  I bravely placed it on our coffee table amongst my other things.  It took Max about 5 seconds to arrive at the coffee table.  He snatched his very own lemon out of my lemon bowl and then proceeded to put it into his mouth.  I said no and then I said no again and then again...I think I am starting to sound like a broken record!

I caught the moment with my camera and then I moved the lemons to higher ground.  It seems I need to work out a plan of attack as I can't keep this Leaning Tower of Pisa book arrangement thing happening... 

Any tips?xx

Garden Ramblings

This is our garden yesterday with the round garden table Harry and I filled

with pots and also our vegetable garden to the left.

If my ramblings about my garden are becoming annoying just take me off your google reader or stop reading because I am thoroughly enjoying the excitement my garden is bringing me and I hope that these posts might inspire you to get your gloves on too.  I am actually quite a highly-strung, stressed-out maniac most of time however, I am finding that my garden is a place where I can relax.  I tend to drift off into another world when I am out there.  So, this is what I got up to on the weekend.

Harry and I planted up 10 little pots with succulents, herbs, pansies and another little plant which I can't remember the name of.  We arranged them on a round wire garden table which I placed near our vegetable garden.  I think this idea is such a great idea for interest in a large garden like ours but also would be wonderful on a verandah in an apartment or in a courtyard in a small garden.  I originally got the idea from a story on Deborah Needleman in Lonny magazine.  I think it was in one of their first issues...

We also started planting up some terracotta pots with Hyacinth bulbs which won't flower now until Spring but we are prepared and I think I might plant a few more this weekend as they will make nice gifts when Spring comes around. We also planted 30 Daffodil bulbs into the garden.  This weekend we will plant the Ranunculus, Freesias and tulips {which are currently in the fridge}.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will like it here in our red soil and will flower in Spring.

On Saturday we spotted 2 capsicum growing in our vegetable garden along with some corn.  We collected a small basket full of beans and cherry tomatoes which I cooked up on Saturday night.  This week we are planting some pretty sweet peas...this is the perfect time here for planting them.

And just to prove that I am making some headway in the garden compare the top photo in this post to this photo above as this is what one area of our garden looked like just before Christmas last year.  What a difference some effort can make and some help from my Uncle Robbie and Merv our lovely 84 year old gardener.  I can't claim all the accolades although if I didn't work I think I might be out there 24-7!

PS...One day she will be painted white but for the meantime we endure the red, green and yellow...xx

My Wonderful Weekend

My plans for a weekend in the garden had to be slightly altered due to the weather.  However, despite the rain I did achieve some gardening goals.  I went to my favourite nursery at Wellington Point yesterday.  If I could put their garden surrounding their nursery onto a truck and deliver it to our house I'd be one happy girl.  I just love wandering around the little pathways through their beautiful established garden. 

My aunty and my grandma {the one I photographed here on the blog last week} dropped in for morning tea this morning.  Aunty Jane brought me these pretty roses from her garden.  I love garden roses.  They are my favourite.

As you can see I did go a little crazy at the nursery.  I love the mix of plants I chose.  I really want to add lots of different colours into our garden.

I can't believe our little Max turned 10 months old yesterday.  He is almost walking.  Time really flies...



This morning my brother Sam and my mum, Harry, Max and I went to the Chandler Markets.  I hadn't been before and was so excited by what they had.  I found some beautiful orchids and fresh flowers and a few little vintage surprises too.



Yesterday I collected this bundle of fresh lettuce, beans and tomatoes from our kitchen garden.  I placed them into a basket and took them down to my mum's house.  Today she and Sam made an amazing salad which you will probably find the recipe for over at Sams' Table this week. 

Weekends at home are my favourite.  I always feel so inspired and rested and ready to go back to work on a Monday when I have been pottering around the house all weekend.

Perfect

I have been searching for the perfect blue and white tiles for a wall above a bench in our kitchen and I have found them.  Patchwork blue and white tiles....could there be anything more beautiful than this?! And they have used brass taps which I love.  A huge thank you to  my blogging friend Emily for posting about these.

I Still Love Pink...

Last night whilst preparing the post about the birthday gift wrap dilemma, Harry was snug in my bed beside me watching t.v. and out of the blue asked me where the pink background had gone on my blog. I was surprised as I really didn't think he knew anything about my blog. I told him that I was a bit over it. He was disappointed {like many of you have been} and said "but mum how will we know that it is your blog as everyone has white blogs". I couldn't believe it. I had no idea he was so in-the-know about blogs! So, to reassure him and to reassure you here are a few little tidbits at home to show you and him that I still love pink and will do so forever but I just needed a little break from it on my blog for a while...maybe it will come back again in the new year.

xx

Anna

My Weekend at Home

Ever since we've moved into the homestead {the term our family and friends use when talking about the house} we just don't seem to want to leave. Weekends are spent here with lots of family and friends dropping in for a swim and for lunch. This weekend was no different. Whilst pottering around the homestead this morning I rearranged some of my blue and white things in the cabinet in our kitchen. I must say I think I really am turning into my mother now...should I be concerned? I haven't used one bit of pink in this cabinet which is such a refreshing change for me.

Whilst Brad was standing in the kitchen this morning preparing lunch for our friends I couldn't stop looking at his navy check shorts and immediately made the decision to get our new dining chairs made in navy and white check. I have been trying to decide on a fabric for our new dining chairs for a while so now, based on Brad's shorts, the decision has been made!

We seem to have a standard menu for kid's at the homestead....sausages on bread with tomato sauce. It's so easy and it seems that most children will eat sausages on a bread roll.

Whilst enjoying a bit of sunshine around the pool today I also enjoyed looking at my orchids which have just bloomed.

I also tried to enjoy a few moments reading one of my gardening books around the pool but Ned just wouldn't leave me alone.

It seemed that all he wanted was my hat.

Ever since we have started swimming in the pool over the last few weeks Ned has been angling at diving in and today he did it. He dived in and then we just couldn't stop him from diving in. It was very funny, I must say.

How was your weekend?

xo

Anna

My Type of Wardrobe

Julie over at Shelter posted this wardrobe a little while ago and I must say I do love it. The thing I really like about it is that it has a combination of useful and lovely-looking pieces of furniture instead of very expensive cabinetry. I would so desperately love to create something like this in a room at home considering I am currently using the {supposed-to-be} linen cupboard for my collection of bags.

Serious Undercushioning

Finding the time to work out a few little things I need for home has proven to be a bit hard lately with a baby in the house and a busy shop to juggle.

If my friend Faux Fuchsia could see my very undercushioned sofas right now she would be in shock as undercushioning {her very own term for not enough cushions} in her world as well as mine is a big NO NO. Actually, I think many of you would be in shock. So, late this afternoon I spent a few little minutes with myself and my collection of fabrics in our stock fabric room at Black & Spiro. I found a few old pieces of fabric I have been saving for a rainy day and let me tell you my rainy day has come. So I whipped them out and packaged them up and off to the workroom they will go tomorrow.

I can't wait to get some fresh cushions in the house. It really is amazing what a few new cushions can make to a room!! How's your cushion situation at the moment?

The Reality Is...

The reality is that although our house looks pristine and white in the lovely spread Canadian House & Home did in their current issue, it really isn't like that in real life...

I thought I would share a few images with you of Ned and my mum and dad's Golden Retriever, Gus from the weekend. We had Gus over to stay for a couple of days and look what they got up to!

Obviously Ned became very scared once he spotted me...he jumped off the sofa very quickly and couldn't believe that Gus had the guts to remain there without any worries what-so-ever. If you look closely you can see that the white slip covered sofa is in a terrible state...I think it might need a new cover in some hardy denim next time round!!

Just a bit of evidence to show you that we actually live in a white-with-dirty-smudges-everywhere house!!

Decorating A New Home {Over Time}

When I look at these images I love that they are all so casual and not overly decorated. I am leaning towards this more pared back look in our new house. I want it to be a home where we can relax and not be too worried about the white slip covered sofa when the big 1 year old {yes he turned 1 yesterday} Golden Retriever jumps up on it.

I am dreaming of faded denim fabrics on sofas, washed out florals and checks and stripes and mismatched pieces of cane furniture on the verandahs - not new cane - old mismatched cane collected over time. I will retain all of our Antique pieces of furniture which Brad & I have collected over the years. That's what I love about Antiques...they transcend fashion and trends, they are the pieces we hold onto and they are the pieces we pass onto our loved ones. I find I never tire of my Antique pieces. It's the mass-produced pieces I tire of very quickly.

This time round Harry and Brad have made me promise not to have the floors painted white. My obsession with keeping our current white-painted floors clean is all too much for my boys. All the internal walls will be painted my usual white but this time I think we might just sand back the old wide plank floorboards and apply an oiled, not glossy finish.

Everything about this house will be about living and enjoying and adding to it over time. I find that so many people {me included} rush into renovating or decorating a new home. I have learnt that you must live in a house for a period of time before you start the process of change....something my mother has been trying to instill in me for years!!

This time, I am going to take my time and enjoy the process of decorating the house which my children will call home for many, many years to come.

image 1 - pamela easton's home via creative homes, image 2 - deborah needleman's home via lonny, image 3 - via charlotte, image 4 - via charlotte, image 5 via lonny

Happenings

Life as I know it just doesn't seem to be getting any slower or less hectic. Sometimes I crave a more subdued life but I suppose that's just not me. I am one who loves things happening and if I wasn't complaining about how hectic everything is then I would be complaining about how boring and uninteresting everything is.

You see, I am juggling a few large balls in the air at the moment along with being pregnant with our second child, due to arrive early May {thought it was about time to disclose this information as clients have been looking at me in a strange way too scared to say "have you put on weight or are you pregnant?"}, we are renovating the shop which is very, very exciting. After being there for 10 years now, it is time for a freshen up and as the business has grown we are desperate for more space.

We have taken over more floor space in the upstairs section of our building which will accommodate a large client meeting room, my new office which I will share with Kelly who project manages all our work, and a large fabric sample room. This will enable the shop downstairs to extend through to the back of the building where my office and client meeting room is currently. With the arrival of our beautiful Stuart Membery pieces of furniture due late April/early May this extra shop space is going to be wonderful!

Here's a sneak peek above of upstairs. I took this photo on Friday. The painters are almost finished. The floors are still to be sanded and painted {white gloss} and lighting installed. We should be up-and-running upstairs sometime within the next month. I can't wait to have a special room to meet clients in. Downstairs has become so crazy and jam packed...an obvious sign that it was time to expand upstairs.

Not only are we renovating the shop, with the arrival of a newborn on the horizon, we have bought a new house which is larger than our current cottage with more land as well. Although I will be so sad to say good-bye to our little house {and the fact that I didn't really get to finish it off the way I wanted to} it just won't accommodate our needs with our growing family. The new house, which is actually a very old house and was built in 1887, is going to be a wonderful project which I will keep you all updated on as we move forward.

So, with all that is going on it was nice to spend some time pottering around the cottage this weekend. I was inspired by the vignette I posted on Friday to move a few of my things around. I purchased some orchids and clustered them on our entry table on a silver tray my mother gave me. Whilst I pottered around, Ned just couldn't help but bring lots of mud into the house on the white floors. So many people ask me how I feel about our white floors. I must say they are so hard to keep clean with a big Golden Retriever bouncing in and out of the house but I do love them and continue to put up with having to have them cleaned 3-4 times per week.

Anyway, that's it from me for now. There are a few more very exciting things in the pipeline but those things are for another day. I just thought I would bring you up-to-speed with what's been happening in my world lately.

xx

Anna

all images - anna spiro

A Tidy Up

We have a little sun room off our bedroom which, since we have been living here, I have used as a dressing room. Although I try to keep this room tidy, it always ends up looking like a bomb has hit it by the end of the week.

I was prompted to have a big clean up recently when Harry came into my dressing room one morning as I was getting ready for work and just shook his head in disbelief at the mess I had got myself into. I had shoes, bags, clothes and jewellery sprawled across the entire room. It started to occur to me that when a 7 year old boy thinks it's bad, then it must be bad!

After a few intense hours of tidying and sorting, it was so nice to see the top of the built-in drawers again. To celebrate my clean-up I purchased some fresh flowers, arranged them in an old crystal vase my grandmother gave me and placed them on the drawers with some magazines and other little bits. I also decided to bring home an Antique still life oil painting which has been in the shop for well over 6 months. Nobody else wanted it and I loved it from the moment I found it, so home it came. It really is amazing how great a tidy up can make you feel. Hopefully I will be able to keep it this way...well at least until next weekend.

Cupboard Makeover

I have an old cupboard at home just like this one however, at the moment mine certainly isn't looking as chic as this one.

At the shop I have lots of bits of left over wallpaper from displays we have done. I'm thinking I might use some of these bits to paper the back of my cupboard door.

My little cupboard is in a hallway near our kitchen and currently it is bursting at the seams with sheets and towels. I think I should move the sheets and towels into my larger laundry cupboard and fill this little one with some of my special pieces of china.

This pretty image has inspired me.

Image - Vogue Living

Home Work

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing a few little finishing touches at home. Last week I collected together some paintings I have and had them hung in a cluster on a wall in our kitchen. There are a couple of drawings Harry has done for me, a painting which I picked up down in Bangalow last weekend and a few other special things I have collected over the years. The trick with cluster walls is laying the paintings down on the floor in a layout you like first and then hanging them. I always have a professional picture hanger hang them for me, after I have laid out the design, as my husband is {unfortunately} hopeless with a hammer.

Fresh + Flowers = Happiness

After not having {bought} flowers at home for a couple of months, I just couldn't hold myself back anymore. Over the weekend I filled the house with lots of fresh flowers which made me so happy. You know they really do put a smile on your face and I think my florist was so happy to see me walk in the door too. Take my advice, head out and buy some fresh flowers, bring them home and arrange them in your favourite vase. I guarantee they will put a smile on your face!