Friday, March 7, 2014

Top tips for 'How To Get Those Treasures Home'

I am often asked ‘just how hard is it to actually get your treasures home?’  For those planning to travel on my Brocante Tour this year, this is very useful information in the planning phase!

The short answer is that it's really not that hard!  All it takes is a bit of preparation.   

Firstly, what you or I think of as 'treasures' can be quite different sizes, shapes and degrees of shipping difficulty!  One woman's french linens is another woman's armoire!



Sunday, March 2, 2014

Is Autumn here ....



Gorgeous morning here. There's a slight nip in the air; autumns on the prowl but hasn't settled in yet.  Birds' morning cacophony louder than usual, .... feels like we're just on the cusp of the season's change.

Jennifer x

Monday, February 17, 2014

Marine Lighting Choices for a Boy's Room

Monday is my office day.  My day to grab a well-made coffee, and sit in my office and work away and get lots done.  Quiet day, no interruptions, lots of productive work.


What a fantasy!  ... I usually end up fielding phone calls where my straight forward list, turns into multiple steps that need organising first ... just to get a "simple" thing done on my to-do.  And at the end of my day I wonder if I've made any progress at all judging by the new size of this list!

And not to mention when you get side-tracked completely!

Via Vogue Living
Like seeing this gorgeous light fixture, on a Vogue Living feed this morning!  It's from this year's January 'Objet and Maison' Trade Fair in Paris a couple of weeks ago.  Beautiful crystal decanters reworked and hung perfectly in this arrangement.  Now where could I put this?

.... I digress ....

Back to my task du jour: finalise the lighting for the boy's rooms and end (what has become) the 'saga of the pre-teen boys' bedroom'!

I have found a great look in lighting that will work well for us - marine lighting - which injects either a beachy or a vintage vibe depending on how you style the rest of the room.

These light fixtures are for above the boys' beds and to be used as a reading light.  Wall-mounting lights is a great choice.

{image via Restoration Hardware}
They do not take up space on a bedside table which is already prone to clutter; and there's no chance of being knocked over by a stray bat or random cartwheel.  I love that wall-lights can be so practical for this, but they need to be chosen well to give good, effective and non-glare reading light.

{image via Pottery Barn}
Placed above and behind the bedhead like this is ideal, as the light source is behind the reader and should not cast shadows. It's also not in eye-line to create glare or be distracting.

I am down to a choice of two lovely vintage-style light fixtures and would love to know what you think...

The first candidate is from Restoration Hardware - the "Mariner's Sconce".  I think this is my perfect choice, but the delivery time means it will be a little longer before it's arrived and installed.



{images Restoration Hardware}
Another option I found at Magin's Lighting here in Australia - the "Maine Antique Nickel".   The delivery lead time would be less and so project completed all the sooner!


And so you see?  Much research and many candidates discounted .... I am down to just two ... but still no definitive decision!!  I think either would be great.

And as there is no 'client' to pass the decision to for final approval, I will turn it over to you.  

What do you think?  Which one would you choose?

Jennifer.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sunshine and flowers .... and other painting mishaps!

Some days you just need to focus on the sunshine and flowers.  You know those days?

I have been painting furniture for a couple of days, and between a wrong colour choice and a spray gun with 'unresolved issues' ....

I walked past our dining table ... and the light ... and the flowers ... 


Sometimes you just need to focus on the sunshine and flowers!

I hope your day has gone better!
Jennifer
x

{image Vintage Finds}

Monday, February 10, 2014

And today is a painting day....

One of the projects I am working on is changing the boys' bedrooms up to give them a little more space and reflect their ages.  Nine year old and eleven year old boys have different likes in colour than three to five year olds!


And their needs are different as they get older: dedicated work space for computers and projects and homework.  And larger storage for all their sporting equipment.


So today is a painting day - I am taking a previously red 'little boys' bedside table and a previously white bed, and turning them into matching grey bedroom furniture.  


We are channelling these teen boys' room that we found on the Restoration Hardware website.  Restoration Hardware does not ship to Australia as yet, so I'm giving it a go to recreate this look.  

What do you think?  Something you like for a boy's bedroom?

I'll let you know how we go over the coming weeks and show you the complete befores and afters!

Jennifer x

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