Category: DIY

Have you ever fallen in love with a piece of furniture or an interior accesory?  What happens if you can’t really afford it, is that you start justifying why you absolutely need it, and you start making calculations on how to afford it; if I take so much from this month’s salary and so much from next month’s salary and I cut back on these groceries ets etc etc…

I had that experience last week when I spotted a beautiful Duvet Cover set from Linen House on Spree.  I knew that although I really need a new duvet cover set, it would be irresponsible of me to buy it as there are still too many other priorities when it comes to the finishing of our new house.  To extinguish my online buying desire for that moment,  I got a  pink mosquito net for my toddler daughter’s bed instead – which also proved a great buy.  Her bed has become her haven with her very own “tent” covering her bed.

So, for the rest of the week I was making plans to obtain this stunning duvet cover which I just have to have to have… in the meanwhile I spotted on their website that Biggie Best was going to have a warehosue sale. (I sometimes love browsing their webshop for beautiful pieces of fabric which I buy and keep in my cupboard until it tells me what it wants to become)…

I popped into their warehouse sale and found a 100% cotton Duvet cover set in plain white (but stunning quality as Biggie Best always has) at a great price.  My responisble self bought the white linen set, as most of the linen in my house is white – and white is not only versatile, but it is classic and elegant.  Luckily I also spotted off cut pieces of fabric with beautiful blue flower prints…  I got a brilliant idea!  I was to buy the fabric and alter this white set to something a little different.

On the weekend I got out my old, but reliable sewing machine and started the project…. whoalla!! a vintage duvet cover set that fitted right into my monthly budget!

(I must say the desire for the other beauty has not really disappeared, but the burn has at least dimmed for now)…

    

 

  Long weekends are great for home DIY projects!  I sometimes feel that I just need a full day to get a few things done that I don’t always have time for over normal weekends….

My baby is now due in little less than a month, so the “nesting” effect they speak about has started taking its toll on me.  My mother made my firstborn’s name (Elizabeth) with beautiful letters for me to put above her bed.  The letters are covered with every piece of left over ribbon or wool or piece of material – a multi-coloured artwork!

Now the ‘new to be born’ also needed her name above her bed!   Because I love beautiful pieces of fabric, I have to guard against falling into the trap of having too many different colours and patterns in the girls’ room.  I thus decided to take the leftover fabric from the scatter cushion which I made for Elizabeth and cover the letters of HENDRIEN with it.  Underneath the fabric, I put some batting to give the letters another dimension… and “whoalla”!

I also finally painted the shelf for their room!  This was also painted with Annie Sloan’s chalk paint, and I mixed my own colour:  a bit of Paris Grey, Original and Anitbes Green.  I probably cannot call this shelf a specific colour, but I do think it looks much better than the dark oak version, perfect for handmade dolls, vintage tea sets and the pretty things girls want to display!

    

 

 

As I have been booked to have my baby delivered by a ceaserian this coming Monday, 14th of July, I am really doing a last few things before I just take it slower for a while.

I have painted the wall against the back of our bed in the main bedroom a grey colour.  I wanted to do this, as I was inspired by the many pictures I saw of grey walls in bedrooms.  The grey in the pictures, was always a darker grey – almosy charcoal.  I was a little afraid of darkening the room too much, so I opted for a lighter version.  The white bed posts which got lost previously against the light wall, now stands out beautifully, and I think the white bed linen also gives a lovely contrast.  You will see the ceiling with exposed trusses is still painted white – giving a feeling of space.

I have a very small version of Monet’s Impression, Sunrise (1873) which I painted a few years ago.  It almosts belongs against a grey wall as I feel it becomes part of the back drop and then a lively picture emerges as you spot the hints of red and orange.  I can get lost in this picture, and I love waking up to it in the morning.

Our wedding photos in elaborate silver frames just do so much better against the grey back drop!

They say an artist is never really totally satisfied with his/her own work.. and I sometimes like to think that my house is never finished.  There is always something you can do to improve your decor and interior concept.  That is also why I even decided to go for a really bold pink back drop to have my “new to be born” baby’s name stand out better.  It was a bit risky, as when the painting part was done, I thought I had gone a bit overboard with the brightness of the pink, but as the white dado rail was put up and the letters of her name, it all formed a harmony.

Thanks to my husband who puts up with my ever changing ideas and rooms! ( and also need to give a hand in making them happen)

 

    

 

 

 I am very excited with my new BLUE door.

My back door was a mundane wooden door which you find at every hardware store in town.  When the plans for our house were drawn up, we failed to realise that our back door which goes out of the scullery to the washing lines is right in full sight.

Concentrating so much on the details of “more important finishes” like lights and cupboards and cornices etc, we once again failed to pay enough attention to this back door in full sight.

Someone once had wise words, that when you have a furniture item which does not really go with any of your other stuff, or it is an odd colour, or a different, out dated style -then instead of hiding it; make it a feature…and the ugliness of the item can be turned around into something really striking.

It is exactly what I did with my mundane door – I painted it blue!.. and now it is a great asset to my home.

 

 Our house is standard in size and not very big, but we live comfotably in it.  There are however a few additional rooms that I can think of that would be nice to have.. one day.  One of them would be a play/ tv room for the children.

a Few nights ago, my husband and I were having a glass of wine around a fire on a lovely summers eve.  We came up with a great idea… we were going to transform the small little storage room underneath our stairs into a make shoft play room.

The first weekend that came up, I relocated all the things that was stored under the stairs to the garage and other cupboards so that the room was empty.  I then got a small dvd player as well as a small tv, and arranged the room to have a table and chairs for painting, drawing, playing with clay etc.  I put a mattrass in front of the tv so that she can lie there and watch her movies, and I put her creative box (sciccors, crayons, paint, etc) close by.  Her blocks and puzzles are also right there.

I painted the walls with fun pictures to finish it off.

Even though it is small, she absolutely loves her own little playing space and often retreats there to keep herself busy.

   

When it comes to making your house pretty, which rooms are most important to you; if you were to draw up a list in the order of most important to least important?… I doubt anyone would even have their scullery at the bottom of the list?!

Well, I was thinking that even though the time spent in the particular room is not necessarily fun to the person spending the time there. why not at least make it good looking around them.  Who knows, the work done there might just feel a little lighter.

I roped my husband in for this one and asked him to make me 2 square shelves.  We bought the wooden plank from Builders for only R80 (it was enough for 2 shelves), and the paint was just over R100.  I decided to use a bright, happy yellow called Field Daisy.

With fresh cur flowers or any fresh and interesting part of a plant from the garden, why not smile when walking into the scullery?

 

 

 

 

  So, in two days my dream is coming true…

I am starting to work for myself from home.  Ever since I can remember it was a dream of mine to one day work for myself or have my own business, and since having two children that desire has increased, especially to have the luxury of being flexible in order to be there when they need me.

When we built our house, an office was not really part of the budget, so I don’t have a room which I could convert into a office,  It was time to be creative about clever usage of space,  We have a rather wide corridor leading to our spare room, and I saw the potential to create a long thin office space.  I had the tresles made by an acquintance, as well as the table tops.  The shelves were solid wood planks from our nearest Builders Express and so are the brackets.

My darling husband was the most important tool in assembling this master piece.

For bookstops, I fished for interesting objects throughout my house.. and whoalla.. Here is my simple, yet modern office…  Classy, don’t you think!

Writing today from the US, I have brought my bathroom pictures along to share.  I have thus far added some accessories to two of my bathrooms; the spare room bathroom as well as the girls’ bathroom.

As with most of my décor ideas, I tend to stay away from clutter and try to have one or two focal points of something special, rather than having a room look the my grandmother’s display cabinet.

In the guest bathroom, I have added 3 simple pieces; a collection of white crosses above the “loo”, a “rubber tree” in a white pot in the window sill, and a lovely linen “basket”.  The white crosses echo the white mirror and also break the big dead space above the toilet.  Since deciding to add plants to the bathroom décor, I have loved the feeling of freshness they give when you walk into the room.  The linen basket is a lovely find from Loads of Living, and makes a beautiful container for magazines or toilet rolls – or both!  I just love how the colour and texture goes with the wall finishes.

Since my daughters’ (the one is still to be born in upcoming July) don’t really have a traditional pink bedroom, but rather a room that reflects a traditional “lappieskombers” (blanket made from a mixture of leftover pieces of material) – I have decided that their bathroom will be more mellow.  Pink is a prominent colour (tying up with the colour of the year – which is a pinkish Radiant Orchid) in the bathroom.  What I have added here as accessories, is a spotted rabbit door stop with pink ears, a beautiful pink and white orchid in a weathered white pot; and vintage pink  photo frames with a collection of pink vintage hearts.  Lastly, I have also added heart shaped numbered hooks in pink and green.  Usually I would not really personalize a bathroom with photos, but since this bathroom is en suite to the girls’ room, I thought it a nice touch to add pictures of Elizabeth playing in the field.

Just to end off, I found the loveliest shop in Manhattan, called West Elm Market, and I bought two things for my kitchen.  Check out their funky bird Salt and Pepper Shakers.  A pity I am going home by plane and not by ship – otherwise I would have gotten some larger items!  Perhaps not such a pity for my purse : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I have been absent from my blog!  …all for good reason.  We were so busy with the finishing touches on our house, and the snag list (which seems like a forever list) that it has stolen all my precious time that I would have spent decorring (is there such a word?)…

My bathrooms are not tiled, but they have a cement finish done in a colour screed (allmost like cemcrete), but it is done by a company called Cape crete, in the colour bone. Both the walls from top to bottom, showers as well as the floors are done with the same finish.  The counters for my basins, are just done in cement, with a plain crete stone finish with freestanding basins on top.  (I must admit that expensive taps are in my long term planning – hopefully 2015).  I have white painted wooden shelves in the open cement counters for towels and other accessories.

Decorating other rooms come naturally to me, but when it comes to bathrooms, I usually like to follow a “less is more” approach, with clean lines and surfaces, pretty towels and good quality hand soap and hand cream.  I am hungry for new ideas on how to decorate my bathrooms without too much clutter.  I have found tips and inspiring pictures on the website, The Inspired room on how to decorate bathrooms.  White remains a favourite to me when it comes to decor, and there is a lovely old bathroom with a cabinet redone in white and new inspirations for an old bathroom.

My current thoughts are leaning towards getting basic accessories like getting a magazine and toilet roll holder for the guest bathroom for Mr Price home, and perhaps a kubu Utility basket or two for the white selves. Another think that would be absolutely crucial is to try to find an old wooden container that is desperately shouting out for some white paint!

Anyway, these are my bathrooms currently – watch this space by next week and who knows what it will look like!?

If all else fails, fresh flowers in one’s bathroom beats any bought item ; )