Sex & The City

Sex & The City was fantastic!! I absolutely LOVED it! The clothes, the hand bags, the shoes were all divine but I especially loved Carrie's apartment!! The turquoise blue walls and the mismatch of furniture was gorgeous! Elements of Style has done a fantastic blog post on the interior of Carrie's apartment so if you would love to try to re-create this look for yourself or if you just want to have a sneak peek head on over!!

Image 1 - via Hollywood.com

Image 2 - via Chicago Tribune

Girls Night Out

Hi Friends, sorry I have no post tonight as I'm off to the preview of Sex & The City with 5 of my girlfriends. I can't wait to see Carrie's shoe closet!!! Oh BTW - this beautiful shoe illustration above is by talented artist Leanne Shapton which I found via Ez over at Creature Comforts.

For The Library...

Just in at Black & Spiro are these two gorgeous books - Bazaar Style by Selina Lake & Joanna Simmons & Chinoiseries by Bernd H. Dams & Andrew Zega. I absolutely love the bohemian styling in Bazaar Style - so pretty. Chinoiseries is also wonderful on a completely different level - the illustrations are beautiful and the information it provides is fantastic! Two more great books to add to the design library wish list!!

Black & Spiro Today

We've got lots of lovely things in the shop at the moment. Here are a few pictures which I took today. Lots of green and yellow coming through as you can see.

Etsy Love...

Loving these little cuties from My Folk Lover @ Etsy...wouldn't they be gorgeous hung in a child's room!!

More Mollies

A few weeks ago I posted a beautiful picture of a room at Mollies Boutique Hotel in Auckland as a link to a post This Is Glamorous did on Mollies. I recently stumbled across these images of the exterior of Mollies on Trip Advisor and felt I had to share them. Such a pretty building!! Enjoy!!

It's the Weekend...

Thank goodness it's the weekend! Unfortunately the weather here is a little different to the weather in that glorious picture above. It's cold and rainy here today and I believe this weather will continue into the weekend. To be completely honest, I'm thrilled as I can't wait to spend the weekend snuggled up with lots of magazines and possibly a bit of cooking for my boys on Sunday!! Hope you all have a great weekend!! See you next week. xx Anna

Image from Martha Stewart via gorgeous blog A Room Somewhere

{Current} Favourite Things

Personalised Stationery from Whitney English


Sunshine Pillow from Hable Construction

Moroccan Key Table from Burke Decor (via Creature Comforts)


Love Heart Map Scrap Art from Bombus


Pair of Vintage Cane Armchairs from C. Bell


Chinnoiserie Cushion from Thomas Paul


Vintage Pagoda Chandelier from C. Bell

Xi Li Chair from Burke Decor

Here are a few things I have been obsessing over lately...

Happy Birthday Avril!

Today is my gorgeous, beautiful, happy, organised, best in the whole wide world Design Assistant's Birthday. Happy 20th Birthday Av! If you all remember back a couple of months ago I posted a vintage brass chair which I was about to get recovered. Well of course things got a little hectic around here and the precious little chair got pushed into the back room. Av has always loved this little chair so the girls and I decided to cover it in her favourite fabric and give it to her for her birthday. She was beside herself this morning when we presented the chair to her! I hope you have a wonderful day Av and I hope you treasure your special vintage chair always!! xx Anna

Colour Connections

Just a quick post today friends as I am a little pressed for time but I couldn't go to bed without leaving you a little piece of inspiration. I know, I know I keep on posting Chloe's hallway but how wonderful it looks with these three new images I just came across a couple of weeks ago - green, white and natural is today's Colour Connection!!

Image 1 - My Home Ideas - Coastal Living, Image 2 - My Home Ideas, Image 3 - House & Garden, Image 4 - Saipua Flowers

Get Simone's Look!!

I've had such a lovely response to my House Tour post from yesterday. Thank you everyone who either left me a comment here at ABT or emailed me directly. It was so lovely to hear from you. The obvious thing we all loved in Simone & Richard's house was the framed vintage swimsuits. What a fantastic idea for a beach house. Simone purchased all of these swimsuits on Ebay so keep your eyes peeled!!

In response to yesterday's post I thought it would be fun to put together a few things currently available on Ebay which would be similar things Simone would have purchased when decorating her house. Enjoy my selections and take a leaf from Simone's book - don't pay too much for anything vintage as there will always be something else just around the corner!!

Note - Click on label under each picture to be directed to the item listing on Ebay.

Vintage Shabby Chic Rose China Jug - Current Price - $5.00

Vintage Cane Writing Desk - Current Price - $65.00


Lady Head Vase - Current Price - $20.50


Old Cane 2 Seater & 2 Armchairs - Current Price - $99.00


Shabby Chic Antique Dresser - Current Price - $169.99


Vintage Cane Daybed - Current Price - $50.00


Cane Bedroom Dresser - Current Price - $19.99


Vintage Milk Glass Vase - Current Price - $15.50


Oh damn it these ones ended but sold for a mere $18.88


Cane Hall Table - Buy It Now Price - $89.00 (Probably a bit exy!!)

50's Shabby Chic Bedroom Chair - Current Price - $40.00


Vintage Linen Tea Towels - Current Price - $3.00

House Tour - Simone & Richard's Beach House

Vintage ladies swimmers framed and hung on a wall in the breakfast room.

An Australian flag flies in the wind on the property next door.

A vintage tea towel framed in a vintage frame which Simone has given a fresh coat of white paint.

What's a beach house without a set of vintage oars??

Vintage vases filled with flowers from the garden adorn table tops throughout the house.

Jody's house warming gift - perfect pink and white cupcakes from The Cupcake Company.

As time passes Simone will collect more bits and pieces to fill this gorgeous little shelf.

Vintage cane dining chairs - another fabulous Ebay find!!

A sailing boat with a navy blue hull sailed past in the afternoon....so pretty!

OMG - It's a head vase!! I LOVE head vases and this one is gorgeous and was filled with fresh flowers picked from the garden.

The 2 wing chairs came from Ebay with a 4 seater sofa. They work so perfectly in the room!!

A beautiful collection of vintage things above.

My favourite thing was the pair of vintage child's swimmers framed and hung on the wall. What a beautiful idea!!



This vintage chair was in Charli's bedroom...so cute!!




I think I might have been bidding against her on this yellow cane chair on Ebay not so long ago...

Inside Simone has opted for mismatched vintage dining chairs around the breakfast room table.

I am so thrilled to be able to share with you these pictures of the most beautiful beach house owned by my friends Simone & Richard and their little daughter Charli. Yesterday we were invited to lunch with 4 of our other friends and their children at their new home which they just moved into only a few months ago.

Simone is one of the most creative people I know. She owns a gorgeous little shop in Bulimba in Brisbane called House & Doll which is filled to the brim with pretty children's toys. A lover of all things vintage Simone has decorated their new home from scratch with the most fabulous pieces of furniture and accessories all of which she has either purchased on Ebay or at the shop at their local tip. Everything in their home is cherished and loved and put together with so much style and creative genius, something that money can't buy.

We were all treated to a special lunch cooked by our friend Jody and as we sat and enjoyed the view of the bay on a perfect day we chatted and watched the children play on the grass in front of us. I cooked my famous lemon and coconut cake for dessert (well only famous within my family and friends) and I topped it with fresh flowers which I picked from Simone's garden. Jody also took some gorgeous cupcakes from The Cupcake Company as a house warming gift which we all enjoyed.

It really was the most perfect Sunday lunch and I was completely in awe of their beautiful home and Simone's amazing creativity. It just goes to show that even working on a tight budget you can create something very, very special. I just can't wait to go back for another visit!!

All Images - Anna Spiro - Richard & Simone's House