Quick Lamp Before and After.

Before...

...After.

Just wanted to share a quick lamp makeover that I had been meaning to do for quite some time.

Painted the brass base leaving the alabaster natural. The brass is painted white.

 (Sorry, I didn't have a 'before' photo of the base)

The old shade was then covered in my favourite white delicately stitched doily's that I have been  collecting.  

There was a bit of crafty 'doily patchwork' going on because I wanted the whole shade filled in with crochet. I had no problem cutting them to fit and fill up the spaces.

I attached the doily's with spray on fabric adhesive, using only a single side spray so that they can be removed at my whim.  I kinda like this lamp and will be keeping it like this for a while though.  

Just one little tip regarding the spray adhesive: The best way is to spray the adhesive on to the fabric of the lamp fabric of the doily, as sometimes the adhesive can add a nasty 'yellowing' effect to your white doilys. I found this out the hard way and no soaking or bleaching will remove it.

You may have noticed the armchair to the right...well....it is still a work in progress.

I will show you this space when it has been completed.

Have a wonderful weekend x

Ottoman Before and After.

Before..

...After

 I had been searching high and low  for suitable fabric to make a slipcover for our sad ottoman. I had no idea what I was really looking for but when I saw the colours on this fabric - neutral  and roses of course, and that was it. (Thanks  to the Sotlight sale)  None of our furniture is covered in floral fabric so this will become a feature in it's own little spot.

The chair and the ottoman are from Freedom furniture purchased a few years ago. As you can see it is a light neutral colour and does not keep itself clean, especially around here. There is no way I could have a white slipcover on it, which I would love by the way, just not practical for other members of our home.

Making a slipcover has always remained in the too hard basket for  me,  but I  thought I would give it a go. I  read many tutorials out there in the blogging world and got the gist of what I should do and worked out the easiest way for me.

I am really pleased how this turned out, it fits in well with our lounge area and .....written with a huge hint of sarcasm...I can't wait to cover the chair!

Have a great weekend.

A Sneak Peak into Miss18...

Amongst all this seasonal madness at our place we are  I  am trying to get Miss 18's room completed. The original plan was to finish it off before I went sailing. Well, it didn't quite happen like that.

I do remember a conversation with my daughter in my second week away and she mentioned she hadn't moved into her new room yet. Just as I thought mmm..... wait until Mum gets home and she will do the rest...guess what?...yep...I did!

Needless to say we are nearly there. A temporary wardrobe, power cords to be hidden away and curtains to be hung,  cushions to be sewn... The great news is that Miss 18 wants to keep her black and white Ikea bed linen. She just loves it! She also loves the Super Mario head on her bed!

This was Mr 21's pad until he moved out a couple of weeks ago, so we have been juggling rooms around which means I  have a guest room back!

Garden Before and After

I have always been inspired by the English and European style of garden, must be part of my heritage I guess. I love curved pathways around garden beds and the magic of secret gardens. At the same time I love the formality of hedges, toparies and the balance and symmetry. Roses and creepers, rusty gazebos and urns....so...here is my garden. Hope you enjoy my journey in my Brisbane garden...

(Please excuse some of the photos as they are older and a tad over exposed taken with my previous camera).

.

My front garden embraces garden beds in shapes that have been followed by existing garden bed edges. Being quite an established garden around the lawn I was loathe to take out the existing tropical foliage which determine the boundary of the yard. It seemed such a waste and has now grown into a screen of privacy.

I had to find a way to bring tropical and semi-formal together. Sound like a weird combination? Well I think it works. The catalyst was when I fell in love with an iron gazebo that I thought I would make a feature of. The gazebo was placed in position and we basically dug up all of the lawn around it.

This is a 'BEFORE' shot  of the front lawn with the new gazebo being placed into position. Yes it looks wonky but this is the initial 'placement' stages, you can slightly see the pink paint outlining the pathways and the garden beds.

The lawn was of poor quality and very badly laid with craters and holes beginning to appear. Little did we know that the storm water pipe that ran through the garden had been previously crushed and covered over with lawn. I am convinced it would have contributed to the uneven ground level for years.  That plumbing problem was only recently fixed.

This is the view from upstairs looking down on the front yard. It gives a better perspective of what I was trying to achieve. We recycled some old cement pavers that were around the pool and laid a fine white 5ml chip stones in between. The garden beds are odd shapes which I love.

Photo not the best, taken through a net screen! Sorry.

The best part begins! The planting....I could not plant a garden without my beloved deciduous tropical birch trees, geraniums and roses.

Existing tropical on the left down this pathway, frangipani, palms, and strelitzias. More formal on the right, box hedging, orange Jessamine and a row of five conifers that are now planted on the right - a larger photo below.. My bit of Tuscany!

Tr

It's all coming together.

Apart from the initial watering until plants were established there is not much maintenance at all. As the lawn has gone - no mowing either!

Always something to take photos of ...flowers from the garden this morning...

My front garden has been a labour of love for the past 3-4 years and changes madly with the seasons. The rose patch is combined with colourful cottage garden annuals and perennials that appear to co-exist harmoniously. Geraniums are cut back when they become unruly and grow back even more lush. Gardenias and jasmine contribute to the sweet scent in garden when it is their turn.

Can you tell I am infatuated with this garden?

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Crafty Hearts Before and After

 From this...

When dining alfresco at our house, I sometimes use a tablecloth on our dining table on the back deck. As we always enjoy the bay breezes the tablecloth always flips up and it begins to become an all-round pain in the neck.

Well, on my travels today I stopped into a Costcutters store. (equivalent to a pound shop in the UK) Just checking it out and not wanting anything in particular I came across these stainless steel heart shaped tablecloth weights. Perfect and four for $3.50!

Came home, covered them in colourful fabric on both sides with my trusty Mod Podge and guess what?...they are fantastic, the tablecloth stays down and you get a pop of colour as they hang around the edges.

They are surprisingly quite heavy and I am sure I will only need one on each corner.... I am hoping that the fabric will fray a little, that's why I have left them as is. Fray away fabric!

Simple, cheap and easy peasy!

Florals and Checks on the Deck

Anyone who reads this blog will now that I have a passion for florals, especially roses, and if you caught up with my post here  you would know I have been madly jazzing up our home with cushion covers from my never-ending collection of vintage fabrics. This time it is red gingham.

Inspired by Anita's post from Fun and VJ's and her images of her rear deck, I was spurred on to finish my daybed. Although we have different decorating styles our QLD deck railings look similar. There is also a dining area at the other end of the deck but I will leave that for another post.

    Our daybed on the deck is our place to relax, to snooze, to curl up with a good wine and a good book. A spot to gather together and share...nevertheless, it was in dire need of a re-vamp...a brighten up, a complete change!

Something rosey, something red, something blue... so I made more cushions covers, covered the bolsters and painted the frame and here it is.

Nothing like a few pieces of rescued rose fabric and some plain old gingham to brighten up ready for the hot lazy days of summer!

White Magic Makeover

Remember my post  showing my small dining area? Well things have changed and it's all white!..no pun intended...not really!

When I bought this dining table about 6 months ago at our local 'Everyday Living' store, I did mention to the sales woman that I probably would paint it as I could not find exactly what I wanted. The look she gave me indicated that she thought I was mad.

 All the comments from my blogging friends inspired me to change this setting into something I would be happy to look at everyday. So thank you!

Anyway, this orphan table was drastically reduced in their closing down sale...even better. The chairs are not part of their 'Hamilton' range as is the table, they were actually from a local secondhand shop. Brilliant condition strong and sturdy - just right for men in the family... you know what I mean.

I could not bear to paint the top of the table as it is a really rich recycled pine with knots, and gnarly things. So I left it as it is.

I lightly sanded the table and the chairs, painted three coats of 'Ibis White" Bristol paint. Just have to do a bit of tweaking around the tile detail on the leg posts and then a coat of satin varnish to protect it and all done.

I am really pleased with how this turned out. I love it!