That's a Great Idea

The scanned quality of this image is so terrible I know but if you look really closely it has a great idea shown...they have used large mismatched door knobs as coat hooks - I love that idea! I also love the mix of that modern vibrant rug with the soft grey and white floral wallpaper.

Image - Inside Out Magazine

Tumbling

Woops been a bit busy tumbling over here....

http://www.annaspiroloves.tumblr.com/

I thought I would set up a tumblr site as per the address above just to post images and quotes to on a whole range of things including fashion and weddings and entertaining if I so desire. I also want to post pictures I may have already posted here at ABT way back in the archives just to re-visit them and to enjoy them all over again. When you click on the images I post over at my tumblr site it will direct you to the image source. Oh and don't worry I will still be posting here as normal!!!

Today I Love...

Just a few rooms and images I am loving from Country Living Magazine today....

Friday Flowers

It's been another big week and I am glad to be heading into a couple of days off with my boys. I am very excited about a few things I have in the pipeline which I will be sharing with you all very soon. This image above is a little sneak peek of what I am working on. Also, a reminder to anyone who may be interested in attending the seminar I am holding at the Reed Gift Fair in Brisbane this Monday at 11.00am. I hope to see some of you there.

Have a lovely weekend!!
xx
Anna


Image photographed by Elouise Van-Riet, styled by Anna Spiro

Lunch Outside

If only I had the energy to hold a beautiful Sunday lunch just like this one. I adore the concept of the floor rug on the grass and all of that wonderful upholstered furniture outside...


Image found over at M.A. Belle from Country Living

Black & Spiro Today

Some more lovely things have arrived in the shop this week. My favourite piece is the Antique chest of drawers which you can just see the top of in the picture above. I snapped this terrible hazy picture as I was racing out of the shop tonight. We also have some really beautiful blue and white and orange and white ginger jars back in stock too for those who have been enquiring.

A Collar for Ned

I just came across these very cool Mascot dog collars and leads. I think I am going to have to order one in for Ned. Only problem will be trying to decide on which colour.....probably Navy.

A Beautiful Vignette

I am in-love with this beautiful vignette in the home of Melbourne based artist John Young which was featured in the July/August 2009 issue of Inside Out Magazine. I think the composition of the simple, natural tones of the objects with the divine, earthy coloured portrait is very beautiful.

Loving Ruffled Kitchen Skirts

I love the informality of ruffled kitchen skirts. I'm thinking from a budget conscious point of view this might be a fun option when we renovate our kitchen at our Stradbroke beach cottage. Are they a pain to use and keep clean?? I would love to hear from anyone who has had these before...

image 1 - mary ruffle, image 2 - skona hem

Pretty Yellow Wattle

Whilst I have been out on my morning walks of late I have noticed the wattle trees in flower all over the place. When I went down to the park with Harry yesterday there was one large tree in flower. I picked a few branches and brought them home and then arranged them in an old crystal vase my grandmother gave me a couple of years ago. I just adore the vibrant yellow of the flowers against the grey-green of the leaves.

Saturday Vintage Shopping Trip

A friend asked me to go hunting for vintage pieces with her yesterday {Saturday}. I warned her before we left that sometimes it can be hard to find things and sometimes we can come home with no great finds. Well, didn't I eat my words. We had one of the most successful vintage hunts I have had in a long time. We filled the boot of the car and then filled the back seats with things too. We even have a few pieces which need delivering next week!! Now, that's what I call a successful day...

Friday Flowers

I was very lucky to be given these pretty mottled roses from a friend today. I arranged them in a pretty yellow vase we have at Black & Spiro. I placed them next to our beautiful vintage lamp and shade {note the beautiful embroidery on the shade} on a table in the shop and then a very lucky young lady came into the shop with her mum and her sister and they took the lamp home for her bedroom. I am sad to see this beautiful one-off vintage lamp go but I know it will be loved and cherished by it's next owner...

Happy Weekend. See you next time.

xx

Anna

Black & Spiro Today

It's been a while since I posted some pictures of the shop so I thought I would post some today. We have some lovely new pieces in at the moment including some beautiful vintage/antique pieces.

Summer on the Otherside

One of the things I love about this time of year {Winter in Australia} when it comes to my magazine subscriptions is the beautiful Summer homes featured in my favourite American magazines. Even though we are a little lighter on this year without the likes of Domino to give us our hit, this month's issue of Elle Decor looks like it's a cracker!! Loving this house belonging to Scott Currie {Elie Tahari public relations} in Southampton, New York.

The Origins of Taste

I've been talking a little bit about my mother's style in comparison to my own this week and I happened to stumble across this article by Anne E. Collins the Executive Editor over at Point Click Home in which she talks briefly about the origins of taste. I think it's a good read and applicable to my posts here this week. I hope to talk more about this topic in the coming weeks on ABT.

Geraniums

My mother has always had lots of large pots of geraniums growing on her verandah. No family dinner or lunch is complete without some sort of flower arrangement on my mothers dining table and geraniums have often filled the void when other options aren't flowering in her garden. I thought I'd post a couple of her little geranium arrangements. You won't believe it when I tell you the last image is actually in her old bedroom at my grandmother's house. The black and white ticking wallpaper which you can see in the background has been on those walls for around 40 years! Mum chose the wallpaper for her room when she was a teenager. Now doesn't that spell timeless....

Alice Temperley Cushions

I am in-love with the cushions Alice Temperley has designed for The Rug Company. I would love to add the one at the top to my mismatched cushion collection. I've noticed a few fashion designers dipping into the interiors side of things lately...

Image 1 - the rug company, Image 2 - via the city sage

Elegant Tailored Style vs Eclectic Style

Following on from yesterday's post about a more simplistic, tailored, elegant look I thought these images Joni posted last week fitted right in. I know my mother loves reading Joni's blog and has probably already seen these beautiful images and saved them in her 'I love' files. I too saved them in my files as I thought they were divine.

After thinking some more about my discussion with mum yesterday I wonder whether as I grow older I will crave a more pared back classic look. I think I have developed my look of mixing styles because it is unique to me and maybe because it is a younger version of my mother's style. I certainly won't be changing my style anytime soon so don't worry but as I said yesterday I do question my look every now and then and it will be interesting to see it evolve over time. I think that's the great thing about having a blog in that it can be a record of one's personal style and it's evolution over time.

I'd be interested to know what style you love. Do you prefer an eclectic 'uniquely me' look or a more pared back elegant tailored classic look?

Conversations on Design with Mum

My mother and I often have conversations about design, usually on a Sunday sitting in her lounge room surrounded by her collections of magazines and books. Although we do share a very similar aesthetic my mother's style is a little more tailored and matching than my own.

Today we were talking about architecturally beautiful houses requiring very simple and understated decoration. It actually reminded me of this beautiful house in Maine which I've had in my files for sometime thanks to Heather. The owner of this incredibly elegant home, Gwen McCaw is quoted as saying "Because it's such an architecturally beautiful house, I felt I could decorate in a really clean way."

I suppose after talking to mum about this today and then reading this article again it makes me question my love of bright patterned fabrics and mixing furniture styles. But then again my mother always makes me question things...isn't that what mothers do? I think it's great to be able to appreciate design in all shapes and forms and certainly our conversations always keep me inspired.

Friday Flowers

Have a lovely weekend. See you next week.