A little photoshoot...

You can tell I just love taking photos of my new dining table can't you? I think I've taken just about every angle of it and it seems I just cant get enough lol

It's amazing what a great camera can do for a photoshoot too, I've been using a Canon EOS 60d which is a far cry from my last camera which was a Nikon d90 (which I loved) but due to dropping it one day while on holidays, it would've cost an arm and a leg to fix so I opted to buy (and try out) the Canon to compare since it was a little cheeper

I'm still learning how to take great photos with it and using it to it's full potential, but as you can see... I've still got a ways to go

And trust me, the kitchen doesn't always look this tidy all the time! That's the OCD in me, I have to have a clean and tidy work area before I take a shot and god knows how loooooong I spend trying to get everything right!

On a different note...I love how the dining setting gives great contrast to the dark kitchen and can't see any other colour giving the same effect...well done to me lol

Sometimes I wish I had nice dark stained timber floors so I could've had my nice white and timber kitchen to go with it, but since hubby was against timber floors (deep down I think he really would've liked them) I had to go the opposite somehow to compromise :(

That's why I came up with the look that it is now, and being quite found of charcoal anyway, as soon as I saw it in the Polytec display book, I knew I had to incorporate it into the home

Should I have combined it with another colour...perhaps white top cupboards....probably

Should I have gone for a whiter bench top too....probably

Should I have gone with a lighter splashback as well...probably

But I love my kitchen the way it is and at least I can change the decor to suit my ever changing mind whenever the need arises!

Until next time... 

What a bargain!

I couldn't believe my luck when I won these items the other day from my favourite on-line store... eBay!


The first picture is a timber Buddha wall hanging that is 1200x800 which we want to hang on the large blank wall (outside) near the front door. I'm not too fussed with the colour of it at the moment so no doubts I'll wave my magic wand...aka paint brush, and stain it a little darker.

We've been after something for the entry for sometime now but everything we see is really expensive. I only paid...wait for it...$20 bucks, well $20.50 to be exact (the bid started at $20), what a bargain!

The timber buffet next to it is from the same seller and I bought that for the office...that I'm still in the process of doing up!

It was another bargain at $122.50, and solid as...and look at all that storage! I'll go ape filling this little beauty with all my craft...and office stuff of course!
I love the colour too, dark chocolate perfect for what I want to achieve in the office (bidding started at $75)

The little black leather chair is still yet to be won (finishes today) but I thought I'd show you what I wanted it for and yes again it's for the office as I'll have a spare corner which will be perfect to house it. It's currently still $20 bucks and I won't pay anymore than $50 as it's a little warm on the bum but otherwise it's perfect

The desk was won last Sunday at a bargain of $300 (bidding started at $300) and currently still worth $1000 brand new! It's in perfect nick with no scratches and a leather in-lay and 2 filing drawers....not that master J will need them but they're there if he should one day!

This will be going in the activity room in the alcove already provided. I wanted to just have a slab of timber (floating so to speak) but we couldn't get anything decent and didn't want to pay mega bucks for so this will have to do and besides, it came with it's own leather high back chair and once again...in perfect nick!

We'll be picking the items up on Saturday, so once we put them in place, I'll do another post!

I tell you folks, eBay is the way to go and you can always...always grab a bargain if you know what to look for and do your homework.

My personal tips:
1. Never pay more than what it's truly worth
2. Be patient and don't bid over your head just because you want it.
3. If you miss out the first time....there's always something else that'll come along and sometimes something better and or cheeper!
4. If you have been bidding and still miss out, you may get a second chance if the sale doesn't go through.
5. As with the step above, always let the seller know your still interested
6. If the pictures are not clear enough, ask the seller to send you extra, they won't mind and after all, a sale is a sale. Alternately you can arrange to view the item before bidding depending on time
7. Sometimes the item isn't described in great detail, so ask the seller every question you need to to be sure your getting what you want.

If your selling something on eBay:
1. Always take more photos than needed, there's nothing worse than seeing something for sale with only one picture to go by.
2. Take nice photos of the item/items just like you would see it in a shop...dress it up a little and if selling furniture, have photos with a little decor and definitely no MESS!
3. Always include correct measurements
4. Describe your item clearly and if there's any marks or defects, make sure you take a photo and add a clear description of it, people will appreciate your honesty and you'll be covered should anyone say they weren't aware when picking up
5. Make sure you have some type of change when they come to collect their item if paying by cash

Until next time...

Be Our Guest...

Delivered at last!

We finally had our dining room suite delivered today and not a day too soon. I cant begin to tell you how frustrating it's been since ordering the darn thing. 

When we decided that the other one (seen here) was going to be too small in such a large area, we found the perfect size and probably a bit better quality (not to mention a few extra $$), but none the less we think this one would be better suited. 

So once we ordered it and paid our deposit (back in Oct), we were assured that we wouldn't have to wait too long for the next shipment and we should have it in 3 weeks.

Well that certainly didn't happen and because of a minor (to them) error, we had to wait for another shipment which was due to be docked mid December.

Again waiting patiently (not), I called the store to chase up our order only to be told that the table was in the store but the chairs hadn't arrived.....are you freaking kidding me!

So we waited some more and were notified just before xmas of their final arrival, but due to the docks being on strike we were told that they couldn't be delivered until sometime in January!!!!!! Arrrrrrg, it was the most annoying time I've ever had to wait for something and especially since we were having family over for xmas day, yes 12 people = 12 bums needing to be seated for a xmas spread fit for a king. 

Alas, I made do with what we had by way of the outdoor setting in the alfresco and borrowed a small table and some chairs off a very willing and helpful neighbour...phew!

Suffice to say, I love our new dining suite and cant wait for our first dinner party to christen it lol.

I guess once all the chairs have been sat on and used, those creases will flatten out. 

I'm so glad I talked Geoff into letting me have white chairs and as much as he hated the idea at first, he's more than happy we didn't go with his pick of the chocolate colour. 

I'm also glad I changed my mind about the bigger table of 3m long (that I ordered first) and got the 2.5m instead as I think it suits the area better and doesn't shrink the kitchen like the 3m one would've.  Although it still would've fitted nicely by having all the chairs like above and none on the ends, having such a small kitchen (the only downfall to the design), wouldn't have given it balance and perspective.

Check out these great finds....

If your like me, one cushion just doesn't cut it, so today is your lucky day with these great finds.

These affordable UV & Waterproof (who doesn't like the sound of that?) cushions are a must for the coming season and, they'll even spruce up your decor 

Starting with the very affordable price of $14.95 for the rectangle size of 30cm x 45cm

$19.95 for the medium size of 45cm x 45cm

and only $39.95 for the larger size of 65cm x 65cm

See these and more here

D.I why?

Because it's fun, it saves you a heck of a lot of money, it'll be a one off and well...why not!

Since I'm all about saving money (and really, who isn't these days?), I want to spruce up the spare room to make it a little more cosy and give it a different look all together.

One thing I loooooove about up-cycling is that it makes it a one off item instead of something that everyone else has and it's so affordable.

I've spent many a "DIY" time in the shed sanding back old paint or varnish on numerous goodies that I've collected over the years and I looooove it.

I'm starting off with the 2 side tables just to give them a much needed lift from the "drab" state they're in at the moment.

drab 1 |drab|adjective (drabber, drabbest)1 lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull: the landscape was drab and grey | her drabsuburban existence.2 of a dull light brown colour: drab camouflage uniforms.

I remember giving these a makeover (re-paint) about a decade ago so it's time for new makeover

check out 2 of the dictionary description of the word drab...mmmm

Since they're only made of MDF, it's not like I have to spend hours stripping back the paint and sanding until smooth, so that's less time I have to spend in the shed!

There's so many options I could go for here, namely just a new coat of paint and some new handles might just do the trick and keep the costs low....but

that's just not me, I'm going to turn these babies into something that looks like it cost an arm and a leg ...hopefully :)

So keep watching

Btw....I'd love it if you would tell me what you would do to update them (maybe your ideas will be better), so don't be shy make a comment below and if I use your idea...I will give you kudos!

Home Office Makeover...part 1.

Another project I've been wanting to start is my home office.

At the moment it's just a pig stye and not at all a pleasure to be in. Sadly I have to admit it's desperately unorganised as stuff just gets thrown either in the drawers or the bookcase.

I've been sourcing a few ideas off the web which I think will work for me but the only trouble is, if I'm to take note of my Feng shui, I should have the desk in front of the window and facing the doorway, mmm!



But I'd love to have a large enough desk (see pic no 1.) so that 2 people (Geoff works from home sometimes) can be working at the same time so this will need to go along the garage side wall (see pic below) and unfortunately that means that my back will be toward the opening (doorway)....Feng Shui no no!

Since the desk I'm using at the moment is a corner desk, and at first (when we moved in) I had it... look at the picture below and imagine it to the left of the room.

My Kitchen Rulez!

Well I put the finishing touches to the kitchen yesterday and I'm so happy with the outcome. 

I managed to take some pictures before the kids got home from school so they didn't devour all the apples again...especially if I was to have an explosion (as always), of teens and pre teens popping in too!

Going Green!

In this post, I told you that I wanted to add a splash of colour to the kitchen as I felt it needed something to make it POP. I found exactly what I needed at 'The Lifestyle Warehouse' in the Rouse Hill Town Centre, North-West of Sydney.

Having bought a great deal of items from here over several years now, it wasn't until I walked into the shop, when I was faced with the most beautiful display of home decor' (my kind of home decor') of all things Green right in front of me! 

As promised in my previous post, I thought I'd show you what the display looked like 

But if green doesn't take your fancy, how about... 

Just arrived

 New arrivals just in with these lovely Giraffes, Zebras and Cats in all sizes ranging from small, medium and large

Candle holders and Zebra book ends are definitely on my Christmas wish list this year!

A splash of colour!

Making the kitchen POP, was something I've had on my 'to-do' list for ages and I've finally got around to adding a bit of colour.

At last...

We finally hung our house plaque this afternoon and though I think the black background would've looked better with the Dune render, it's nice to have a different tone of grey to go with the pillars. 

SOLD!

I'm sad but excited at the same time as tomorrow we say goodbye to our beautiful dining table.

Hahaha, and you thought I was talking about the house didn't you!!!!!!!

After having it for well over 6 years now, it's withstood 4 moves. The first being when we moved from WA where we bought it brand new when we moved there in 2004, then back to Sydney in '08 where we rented a home while our previous home was being built, then to that home in '09, then to the rental we stayed in last year while this house was being built and now here

Remember when...

we decided to move the outdoor setting from the smaller hut to the alfresco way back? I didn't realise until now that I hadn't added a post of how it looked and what I did to the sun beds that replaced it.

So here's a little look back (beginning of May) to remind you of why I love my private 'Oasis'

The Day Spa...Pure Indulgence

Laundry Today or...

Naked Tomorrow!

I put my skills to the test and put a twist to the everyday modern wash room - The 'Laundry'

I've been putting it off for some time now, and with not much else to do outside, well it was just screaming for 'help'.

Sure I've said many times now, 'I'll do it over the weekend when I have a spare hour', but there's never enough hours in a day and there's never enough days in a weekend! 

So while I was 'doing the washing' the other day, the last straw was when I couldn't find where I had put the stain remover that I knew I brought home from shopping last week. 

It turns out that the more you look for something, the more often that something is right in front of your eyes. 

The Hub...

My goodness with all the workings going on out side, I forgot to do a post on my favourite place to be in of all time....the kitchen. 

Like all of us mums, it's where we tend to spend all of our time in, either cooking, cleaning or even the odd homework from time to time. Having a central kitchen is wonderful as it allows me to still see what's going on outside without the need of being there!

I love how it just opens up to the alfresco making it a great thoroughfare for indoor/outdoor entertaining. Just to the right is the home theatre with it's own Lin 1 cavity sliding doors, and the billiard room which has it's own view to the pool area, then to the left of the meals area is our additional formal lounge which in turn pushed the master bedroom further back giving us an extended alfresco area as well. 

This in turn has given us the perfect view to the pool area from the master suit...a major bonus! 

I would've loved to have had timber floors, but Geoff was adamant that we were not having them ever again....wahhhhhh.

I think they'd set the theme off perfectly but I can't have it all my way I guess and we had to compromise on some things. I do love our Polished Porcelain tiles none the less and they're relatively easy to keep clean...that's once you've spent days on your hands and knees polishing the protective wax off. 

I swear I looked like a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger with my arms about to fall off by day 2 of hand over and the morning of the 'Move'.

I had just finished the main areas by the time Geoff and the boys arrived with the first truck load, leaving only the entry to finish off as there wasn't any furniture going in there! 

They're an off white colour and some of the photos (depending on light situations) show a yellowish tinge, but that's due to lighting and my camera settings.

You can see why I looooove my bifold doors...with the kitchen being in the middle of the home, I have no window to let in fresh air. The westerly breeze goes right through the house which was a godsend during summer and saved having to put the air conditioner on. 

these 2 bar stools were outside in the bar, I just brought them in to take a photo until we get our new ones that'll match the new dinning suite.

see, no handles....I loooove my kitchen!

I soooooo wish we had gotten 40mm caesar stone bench tops for the island and perhaps waterfall edges wouldn't have gone astray either, but we had to stop spending $$$$ somewhere. Having the Polytec cupboards, Lin 1 doors to pantry, extra bank of (soft close) pot drawers and C-chanel was budget blowing enough!

We've decided it's time our old dining suite had a new home, so this one is for sale if anyone's interested. She just doesn't suit the new colour scheme which is sad because many a story or joke has been told sitting here during dinner parties and get togethers. 

this will be our new one (when we finally get around to ordering it) with white leather chairs, the bar stools will be the same

one day I'll get time to sort the pantry out!

Plotting along nicely

Well the turf had it's first haircut last weekend thanks to all the rain we had after it was laid...talk about great timing!

Lights...

Thanks to http://www.lights2you.com.au we now have our kitchen pendants and theatre wall lights...applause!

This is what they'll look like

this is our pendants x 3 in black bamboo

5 x wall lights for theatre

Outdoor Lights

We bought 8x marine grade up/down outdoor lights from here so that Sam can install when he comes back to do the electrical fit-out