Unveiling our future home

Finally, FINALLY I have some images generated by our architects of what our villa extension will look like!  It's so exciting to be able visualise it - it makes it so much more real!  There's still a long way to go.  We're just on the brink of applying for our resource consent from the council and then there's building consents to worry about not to mention saving, saving, saving to make our dream come true.  But let's just enjoy this little milestone for now.

I'm back

After a month long sejour from blogland, I'm back.  I hadn't really intended on going off the air so to speak and don't really have a good excuse either. Perhaps I wasn't feeling very inspired or maybe I've been a bit lazy in the evenings after work.  Anyways, to settle me back into the blogging way, here's three things that are currently delighting me.

1. Fresh strawberries from our garden each morning on my muesli and yoghurt

2. The 3-d image of our future extension (more on this soon!)

3. My swarovski Havaianas (who can resist a touch of bling?)

Glimpses of Summer in our Garden

Pear Tree Blossoms

Strawberries

Lemon Tree Blossoms 

Blue Skies (and an air display)

Inspiration Station: Guest Bedroom

Oh dear, oh dear!  Here's the state of what we currently refer to as "the spare room":

Yes, it's currently a dumping ground, a place where we dry clothes and store odd bits of furniture.  I'm determined though this summer to turn it into a gorgeous guest bedroom.  Not sure yet how exactly I'm going to go with this, but here's what's inspiring me lately when it comes to bedrooms:

Stripy Rugs

Interesting Headboards

Black & White...

... with Pops of Juicy Colour

Etsy Lovin'

Here are some items I'm currently hearting on Etsy.

Cushions from alexandraferguson for our living room

Mustache cufflinks for himself from beautyspot who's based in the Ukraine

Wild side animal prints from pixiepixels for our bedroom

And this leather handbag (with tassel!) for me from Opelle based in Toronto

All above images via Etsy

The house with the glass stairs

I think I may have mentioned our future renovation plans, maybe just once or twice! I also recently posted about the villa next door to ours, which has had the full reno job and featured in the property section of the NZ Herald. This time I'm posting about a villa reno in our neighborhood that is a bit of a legend...the one with the glass stairs.

When it comes to period houses, I really like when there's a clear definition between the original house and the new extension. This is one of the requirements we've included in the brief to our architect (see here). In this house, they've taken the concept to the extreme by building a new pavilion style extension and linking it to the main house by means of an ultra modern and very cool glass staircase. And if this isn't enough of a feature in itself, underneath the glass stairs is a lap pool!

 Feast your eyes on the rest of these images and me know what you think!

Ready for a before picture?

Et voila...

And now for the rear...

Ta da!

All images via trendsideas.com

White bedding...

... is a mainstay of many a stylish interior including most if not all of the best hotel rooms.

Some printed duvets and pillow covers are tempting, particularly those by designers such as Diane Von Furstenburg...

Paper Cheetah Duvet via dvf.com

...but it's hard to beat the versatility and the crisp, freshness of pure white bed linen.

Here are some of my current favourite bedroom images featuring white bedding.

above 4 images via Lonny

In these examples, simple white bedding is the perfect counterpoint to colourful and often patterned elements including cushions and blankets on the bed itself as well as soft furnishings, curtains and wall treatments.

The only drawback?  Keeping your whites pristine!!  However I recently came across this method for getting your whites really white.  Here's how it goes:

• Fill bucket/sink with hot water and add 2 tablespoons of washing up liquid.  Soak whites for 15 mins.  Remove and rinse with warm water.
• Fill bucket/sink with hot water and add 2 tablespoons of ammonia.  Soak whites for 15 mins.  Remove and rinse with warm water.
• Fill bucket/sink with hot water and add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.  Soak whites for 15 mins.  Remove and rinse with warm water.
• Put whites in washing machine on hot cycle (I also used a pre-wash) using your regular detergent and an oxy-action product.  Dry in the sun if possible. 

Et voila - even my yellowed pillow cases (yuck I know!) came out whiter than white and worthy of any 5* hotel room (if I may say so myself!).

A nice cup of tea and sit down

Mug and Tray by Freedom
Chocolate Brownie by me!

Sometimes, it's the little pleasures in life that bring you the most satisfaction.  I'm a tea addict and always feel like a good cuppa will go a long way towards sorting most things out!

By the way, what so you think of this little red lacquered tray I bought today?

It's from a set of five by Freedom and all for the very nice price of 69.95 NZD.

via Freedom.co.nz

I think these are going to be great for organising bit n bobs and doing little displays around the house.  It wasn't that long ago that I was lamenting the complete lack of nice trays to buy in NZ (see here) so thank you Freedom for introducing these lacquered numbers!

Another great little purchase I made lately is the ceramic owl vase.

This one is a bargain from Ezibuy (cost around 30 bucks).  I think it's very Jonathan Adler-esque!