Ben & Phoebe's Daybed

I recently helped my cousin and his gorgeous fiance {they just got engaged on the weekend} with the cushioning on this lovely daybed which they purchased from Cotswold for their beach house. We selected an array of brightly coloured exterior fabrics for the scatter cushions and a trusty navy and white stripe exterior fabric for the seat cushions and voila this is the result. I just love it and apparently they do too!!

Friday Flowers

This morning, whilst running very late for school drop off, I raced around my new old garden and cut some foliage for an arrangement I was wanting to create for the shop today. Here is the result above. The arrangement sits on a beautiful oval Antique table which actually just sold to one of my lovely clients this afternoon. I am loving big glass vases filled with masses of leaves at the moment. Luckily my garden seems to have the perfect plants for this type of arrangement.

Black & Spiro Today

We installed a new window display at Black & Spiro today. There's lots of pretty colour in the lovely fabric drop we have hung and a beautiful Antique piece of furniture sits in front with a few bits on top including my favourite Staffordshire Dogs. Also a few people have been asking about the fabric on our lovely Antique chairs. It is a Mexican embroidered Otomi. We have this textile in quite a few colourways. It is divine.

Chairs I Covet

If I lived in America I would snap up this pair of fabulous orange painted chairs from Lyn over at Paris Hotel Boutique immediately. For some reason I can see them recovered in something Lilac. DIVINE!

Pink

As Diana Vreeland once said - "I adore pink. It's the navy blue of India."

I am in agreement. It's a staple. I never tire of it. I can't live without it.

image 1 - simon kenny photographer via canadian house & home, image 2 - susannah conway, image 3- black & spiro antique chairs, image 4, 5, 6 via pretty stuff via habitually chic

Colour Photos

I recently showed this image to one of my clients who is wanting to create a wall of family photographs. I told her that I thought it would be lovely to go for colour photos instead of black and white. I think that RL's wall above is so gorgeous and I just love seeing the colour come through in the images instead of the monochromatic look of black and white.

image ralph lauren's home via elle decor

Wearing

This post isn't really anything to do with anything other than to say I am so in-love with gorgeous, big, fabulous, jewelled necklaces with white tee-shirts, blazers and jeans at the moment. I feel like this look is my uniform lately. My only complaint is that I sometimes get headaches from wearing lots of necklaces...do any of you have that same problem??!!

PS. The new Vogue Living just arrived on my desk. I can't wait to open it!!!

image 1 & 2 via pretty stuff via habitually chic

Loving Fluoro

I love bright colour, that's no secret but lately I've been loving fluoro.

fluoro bike via dobbybrain, birds image source unknown

Wallpaper by Otto

I adore this wallpaper created by 8 year old Otto. What a clever boy! Click HERE for details.

Black & Spiro Today

Pretty cushions fill the shop at the moment. The 2 above are some of my favourites.

I came up with the idea of covering this little pair of antique gilt chairs in black and white gingham and then Kelly wrote on the fabric in hot pink fabric paint - "I love old gold chairs covered in big floral fabrics with pretty coloured trim". We used fluoro yellow tulle frilled around the edges.

I love these hand painted Staffordshire dogs which are from a UK artist.

These glasses come in green, blue and clear. I love them!

We have lots of blue and white ginger jars in the shop but also lots of gorgeous colourful ones too!

I was going to use this one-off eastern embroidered cushion above in Max's nursery however, it ended up being too big so it's now in the shop.

I thought I'd do a "Black & Spiro Today" post. It's been a while since I have done one as the shop has been closed. Here are a few bits and pieces I am loving which are in the shop at the moment. Look away now if you don't like lots of colour!

Tulip Tub

I can't be credited for finding this fabulous image. Joni posted this over at Cote de Texas the other day and I immediately fell in love with it. It is the work of the famous garden designing couple - Isabel and Julian Bannerman at their own home or should I say estate - Hanham Court. {All of this info was provided by Joni!!}.

I have a few of these old galvanised tubs which would do the trick. Although, tulips won't grow too well here. I'll have to plant them with something like Lavender I suppose. Any other ideas? I also love the wisteria growing so wildly over the house in the background.

Out & About

A great set of postal scales. I love the colour they are painted.

If only I was decorating a ski lodge as that deer head would be perfect!!

The old pub which is directly across the road from this fabulous little Antique shop.

Today I went to visit one of my clients in Toowoomba {a country town 1 1/2 hours drive from Brisbane}. Toowoomba is such a pretty place. The houses and all the amazing trees are just so beautiful. On my way home I stopped in at Marburg a little town along the highway as there is a fantastic little Antique shop there. I thought I'd show you some pictures of some of the lovely things they had. All there is in Marburg is this Antique shop, a little newsagent and a humongous pub across the road. It was definitely worth the stop!

Gardens & Garden Furniture

I like these gardens pictured above because to me they are informal. I don't want a formal garden. I want one which is filled with lots of different plants just like these are. I also adore the gravel pathways which to me seem less formal than paving. The chairs in the top image remind me of the furniture we are now stocking at Black & Spiro which is all handmade by a lovely man down South using timber from his property.

Here are some of the pieces which we are having made at the moment. We are having them custom painted for us in lots of different bright colours. We currently have some white rectangular side tables and one orange round table at the shop.

Kiki & Coco in Paris

I stumbled across this gorgeous little piece of fun on photographer Stephanie Rausser's website over the weekend. If you haven't already seen it click HERE now to see the most gorgeous slideshow ever!

My Garden Project

To my absolute delight we have a pretty serious garden at our new house which I am hoping to improve, extend and make even more beautiful over time. We also ended up purchasing the block next door which is a big, ugly mound of dirt at the moment - a perfect blank canvas. One thing I definitely want to put in is a Kitchen Garden or a Jardin Potager as the French call them and I also want to add more flowering plants so that I can cut flowers for the house and for Black & Spiro too.

With lots of ideas swirling and no idea where to start, I have decided to create a garden file and if it's okay with you I am going to post a few more garden inspiration bits here on the blog too.

My Uncle Robbie is going to help me put all of this into action as he is a retired Landscape Architect. He actually just did our front garden beds at Black & Spiro and although my instructions were very vague; "I just want them to look like a field of pretty flowers", he nailed it.

So, watch out for lots of pretty garden pictures and maybe I might even pose a few questions to you along the way as gardening is a whole new ball game for me!!

image 1 via nibs blog, image 2 jennifer garner's garden via habitually chic

Happy Times

My beautiful dad.

The beach houses surrounding the house we stayed in. The agapanthus grows wild in front of these houses. I would love to see them flowering.

The gardens in this small sleepy beach side town are to-die-for.



Table set for Dad's Birthday lunch.






I spotted this cute beach shack when I was out picking flowers and loved it. In New Zealand I've noticed they paint many of their houses black and white which I love.



I had a bath in this huge clawfoot bath every day we were there. I love the little vintage butterfly prints on the wall.




When we eventually renovate the kitchen in our new house I definitely want to have a cabinet built just like this one which was in the kitchen at the beach house. It was so perfect for all the plates, platters, cups etc.

The beach in front of the house.

We've just returned home from a week in New Zealand where we celebrated my father's 60th Birthday. After spending a few days in Auckland we caught a plane down to Napier and drove down to a beautiful beach house my parent's have been frequenting over the past 12 months in a sleepy beach side town in Hawkes Bay. We spent 3 days here with my parents, brothers, cousins, aunty & uncle and our grandmother. It was the most wonderful holiday with lots of laughs, lots of tears and lots of reminiscing. Mum cooked an amazing lunch for Dad on his birthday. I went down the street and picked some gorgeous roadside flowers which I arranged for the table. It was the most amazing week away from work and the craziness of life. Happy 60th Birthday Dad. You are one in a million and we all love you so much.

If anyone is interested in staying at this beautiful house click HERE for details.

And More...

Stuart Membery and I before the guests arrived above.

Melanie, Kelly & I before the guests arrived above.

A better shot of the tutu desk.

Me speaking to our guests and introducing Stuart Membery...I look like I'm about to fly off the hot pink stool I was standing on!!

The store front before our 170 guests arrived on Wednesday night.

Melanie with some of our guests

Are you getting bored yet of my photos??!! Sorry! Here are a few shots of our re-opening party. I have lots more but I didn't want to post photos of my clients just in case they were not happy to be seen on the blog. Anyway, I am now taking a few days off. It's been a very hectic couple of months and I feel like I need to spend a few days with my boys.

xx

Anna