Window Seats

Rustic Window Seat

One of the loveliest additions to any home is a window seat.  There is something so romantic about the idea of curling up with a rug and contemplating the passing world outside.  Window seats are full of the promise of quiet, solitary contemplation, a little nook to escape to when life becomes too hectic.

Window seats can also provide a great opportunity to incorporate some built-in storage or even an extra bed.  Add a thick, comfortable seat cushion on top in a beautiful fabric, combine it with some feature cushions and hey presto, you have yourself an enchanting, whimsical space.

The above image uses the Hemnes Daybed from Ikea - a brilliant and affordable solution!

If you have a space crying out for a window seat, why don't you send me a photo and I can advise you on how best to achieve the look you want.

Bay Window Seat

Traditional Window Seat

Contemporary Window Seat

Images

Nature's Child

Leo and I like to wander up and down the streets around our house collecting things to photograph.  Mostly we pick up interesting leaves, funny looking sticks, pretty flowers and clusters of berries, all of which get piled into the tray of his trike with stern-faced, serious care.  I love that he is learning to open his eyes to the natural world around him, that he is learning to see beauty in the most seemingly insignificant details of life.  My greatest hope is that it will lead to an ability to be completely present in the moment - a moment filled with wonder and glory.

Photography: Angela Steyn

White Painted Floorboards - A Veteran's Story

I have spent a vast proportion of my adult life hankering after white painted floorboards.  Looking back, my infatuation probably began the very same day that I discovered the simple, fresh, austere beauty of Scandinavian interiors.  One look at all that blinding whiteness and I was completely brainwashed.  

So finally, one day, after endless discussions with my husband, we made the trip to our hardware store and purchased a very large tin of white paving paint. Having researched it to death, we concluded that regular paint wouldn't be tough enough to withstand the beating it would take in our home studio.  The first strike of the paint roller was nerve wracking to say the least, but not quite as heart-stopping perhaps as the point where half-way through the first coat we looked at each other and silently screamed "Mary Mother of God, what the hell have we done"!

Two coats later and our floor looked so sparkling and spectacular you needed sunglasses just to be in the vague vicinity of it.  It was breathtakingly gorgeous and serene.  We leapt and hugged and patted each other on the back, congratulating ourselves on our "fearless" and "brave" decorating choice.  "Ha!" I shouted, "We are designers God damn it and we shall have white floorboards no matter how fool hardy my mother thinks we are"!

I did love our white floor (we have since moved to a different home) but by crikey let me tell you it was not the easiest of loves to live with.  Everything, and I mean everything showed up on it like it was being examined in a science lab.  God forbid you should attempt to eat a biscuit at your desk or cut fabric.  Let alone the endless shedding of hair (me, Andre, Daphne Cat).  To clean it - which we did every other day, first with the vacuum, then the mop - I would get down on my hands and knees and scrape icky goo off with a kitchen knife.  Be warned, it is a particularly exhausting floor colour choice for anyone suffering even mildly from OCD.

So while I still love to look at beautiful homes sporting stunning white floorboards, I'm not sure my sanity (or my marriage) could withstand living with them again... unless we got a cleaner... who came every single day.  

For our floor, we used White Knight paving paint in White and applied it using a roller.

Images

Feather For my Soul

"Hope is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I've heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Emily Dickinson

Photography: Angela Steyn

Soulful Gift Wrapping

Little Brown Packages Tied Up With String

I have always believed that gifts wrapped with love inspire the soul and make us remember that the joy of giving and receiving is often found in the anticipation of the unwrapping.  The contents of the package can be simple, but if it comes wrapped with care and imagination, the feeling it evokes will be treasured all the more.  AND the best bit is that it doesn't need to cost the earth... here I used cheap brown paper, cooking twine, leaves, sticks and shells to create an autumn theme present.  Total cost = $1.

Photography: Angela Steyn

Mood Board: Rustic Country Kitchen

Through all my recent meanderings along the beach with Leo, I have been totally inspired by the coastal colour palette and the rough, natural texture of the shells and driftwood that we collect.  It makes a perfect reference point for the home, bringing the inherently soothing qualities of the cool tones and organic materials into everyday living spaces.  This rustic kitchen is a stunning example - it combines the authenticity of bleached timber and Calcutta marble with lots of fresh white paint and subway tiles.  The result is absolutely breathtaking.

Details that I love:

• The rough hewn shelving
• The choice of pendant lighting
• The timber cladding that carries the theme through from the kitchen cabinetry

Interior Mood Board

Cabinetry: Custom fabricated drawers and doors in Bleached Oak
Benchtop: Aquagold marble from Sareen Stone 
Splashback Tiles: White Subway Tiles from Tiles By Kate
Butlers Sink: Belfast Sinks
Pendant Lighting: Magins Lighting

Bleached Oak 

Aquagold Marble

Butler Sink

White Subway Tiles

Boston Pendant Light

The Magic Power of The Blue Bean

What is the number one treatment for all ailments in our house?  The humble blue jellybean.  The miraculous healing properties of this colour-coated bullet of glucose goodness completely astound me.  From bumped heads to bruised toes, this little gem can take away pain faster than you can say "pass the Detol".  Leo has ingeniously discovered that in order to activate its magic powers, you must first rub it on the injury - vigorously, preferably leaving a bright blue mark - before popping it in your mouth and requesting another one.  Tears are stemmed, laughter returns and equilibrium is restored, all in the blink of an eye.  

If you are planning on using the magic bean treatment remember that only blue jellybeans will work - other colours are for other things.  To save confusion, here is a list as dictated by my son:

Red: when you want to transform into a superhero  

Yellow: feeling sad (1 bean = 1 happy sunbeam)

White: exceptionally good behaviour 

Pink: for girls

Purple: for mamas

Green: for papas

Orange: for colds
Black: for the cat

It has been proven that a little shot of glucose does wonders for shock, so while the placebo effect of the blue bean cannot be denied, the sugar hit will also help calm a distraught child.  So I would highly recommend that you keep a jar of these babies right next to the First Aid kit for fuss-free toddler trauma.

Photography: Angela Steyn

Sunshine of my Life

My child.  You are the embodiment of sunshine.  You are love personified.  You are a mirror for my soul.  

May the Gods always be present in your heart and lay petals on your path.

x

Photo Play: Vintage Books

Littering our bookshelves with their faded spines and musty smell, our vintage book collection speaks of times long gone but treasured still.  There is something undeniably romantic about the battered covers, the thick starchy pages, the weight of words.

Photography: Angela Steyn

Sunday Wanderer

We are officially old.  Yesterday we went for a Sunday drive.  Partly so a small boy would sleep in the car, partly so we could sit in air-conditioned comfort on a hot day, but mostly because we just wanted to get out of the city and look at stuff.  Yep... old! The thing with these sorts of outings is that you invariably discover little hidden gems that you had absolutely no intention of discovering.  Our meandering drive took us to the little riverside village of Brooklyn, about 50km from Sydney on the Hawkesbury River.  In amongst the rusted out old dinghies and fishing paraphernalia that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, we stumbled upon Hang - Nicole Ruiz Gallery and coffee shop.  Heaven I'm telling you!  As we sat on beaten-up retro vintage furniture sipping our chilli-infused chai tea and eating ice-cream with chocolate sauce, it occurred to me that some of the most lovely moments in life come quietly and unexpectedly, tapping you on the shoulder with a gentle hand to remind you that happiness and simplicity are the very best of friends. 

Photography: Angela Steyn