New Window Display

We installed a fresh new window display at the shop this afternoon. The pretty blue, yellow, green and white floral fabric in the background is a current favourite. We teamed it with some classic blue and white lamps, fresh bright yellow roses and a set of Antique Victorian jugs. Over the next few weeks we have lots of lovely new things arriving which is always very exciting!!

Blog Browsing

Hiding from the rain - via Moodboard {allure magazine}

A great pink sofa - via the Neo-traditionalist



A pretty cluster wall at Kate Spade - via Delight by Design



LV Balloons - via My Little Paris Blog via Pink Lemonade



Old glass bottles filled with flowering branches via Shelter via Fric and Frac




An original marble topped Victorian sink - via Moodboard

These days I am finding it harder and harder to put aside some time to spend reading my favourite blogs. Once upon a time there was only a handful of blogs I considered my favourite but these days there are just so many great ones out there I find it difficult to keep up!

Last night I spent a few hours trawling through back posts on some fantastic blogs I have recently stumbled across. I thought I would post a few things I loved from these blogs here today to end the week.

Maybe if this rain continues through the weekend I might just snuggle under the blankets and do some more blog browsing. My boys are away on a father/son trip so there should be lots of time for me this weekend!

See you next time.

xx

Anna

Allyson's Moths

As seen in Vogue Living 2002



Our moth painting in our lounge room at home

The pair hanging in the Number 16 Hotel in London

I remember the first time I spotted one of Allyson Reynold's moth paintings. I was in my early 20's flipping through one of my mother's Vogue Living magazines. I have posted the exact picture I spotted at the top of this post. I immediately fell in-love with that painting and the room it was hung in.

A few years later my husband and I purchased one of Allyson's moth paintings and to this day I absolutely adore and treasure it. I am often asked about this painting. I believe that Allyson had a couple available at Doggett Street Gallery late last year however, I think they are a little hard to come by these days.

Kit Kemp selected a pair of Allyson's moths for her Number 16 hotel in London. It seems however that Kit has revamped Number 16 as I just checked out their website and the paintings are still there but the room is completely redecorated. I was thrilled to see she kept the moths in place.

Allyson currently has an exhibition at Doggett Street Gallery in Brisbane. Unfortunately it seems there's no moths in her latest works.

And Another One

Wow this mantel certainly has lots of bits and pieces collected on top of it...

image - johnny valiant photographer/australian vogue living via moodboard

Light My Fire

One thing I can't wait to do when we move into our new house is light a fire. I have always dreamed of having a house with a fireplace and our new house has three beautiful old fireplaces. There is one in the lounge room, one in the kitchen and one in what will become our main bedroom. My collection of vintage cane baskets will be put to good use as log baskets and I love the idea of clustering lots of candles on the mantel just like they have in the top image. I'm excited to think of the wonderful vignettes I will be able to create on the mantels...

image 1 via this is glamorous

Another Great Inspiration Board

Inspiration boards certainly have done their dash through Blogland but I still love how individual one can look in an office or like this one above hung above some lovely pieces of furniture. The bigger the board, the better the look I think.


image - canadian house & home via delight by design

Aged & Gilded

'Every flower must grow through dirt' - Anonymous

It's not often that I stumble across a blog which I need to read from beginning to end but Aged & Gilded written by Ursula is one I would love to spend a few hours reading through. Her images are seriously divine. I thought I would post a few little things above which I loved from her blog.

images via aged & gilded blog

Friday Flowers

It's lovely when you receive a little bunch of unexpected flowers especially from your brother and especially hand picked from the garden. He obviously knows me very well to have thought to bring me these pretty pink flowers which are currently blooming on a tree in his front yard. They made my day.

Debra Dawes Paintings

I am a little besotted with these paintings by one of Australia's leading abstract artists, Debra Dawes. I love the clean, geometric lines and of course the vibrant colours. I think they would look wonderful mixed with some more traditional still life pieces. I enjoy mixing artwork styles in a home. Collecting and displaying fabulous art is another area where we can express our own unique individual style.

Rug Love

I have been obsessed with this Matthew Williamson rug from The Rug Company for a little while. I would love one of these for our new house but I think it will definitely be way out of our price range. The colours used are divine and I just love the pattern. Doesn't it look beautiful with that pink sofa and I especially like it placed on the white painted timber floors!

Set of Vintage Plates

A pretty set of plates are available on Vintage by Lou Lou's Ebay store as above. Don't they look wonderful hung on that aqua wall?!

Christie Brinkley's Dining Room

I adore this image {above} of Christie Brinkley's dining room as styled by Kim Ficaro. In particular I am in-love with the April Gornik painting hanging in the background with those gorgeous silver vases filled with peonies on the dining table. Such a beautiful composition!

Love the fabric on her sofa too!!

Happenings

Life as I know it just doesn't seem to be getting any slower or less hectic. Sometimes I crave a more subdued life but I suppose that's just not me. I am one who loves things happening and if I wasn't complaining about how hectic everything is then I would be complaining about how boring and uninteresting everything is.

You see, I am juggling a few large balls in the air at the moment along with being pregnant with our second child, due to arrive early May {thought it was about time to disclose this information as clients have been looking at me in a strange way too scared to say "have you put on weight or are you pregnant?"}, we are renovating the shop which is very, very exciting. After being there for 10 years now, it is time for a freshen up and as the business has grown we are desperate for more space.

We have taken over more floor space in the upstairs section of our building which will accommodate a large client meeting room, my new office which I will share with Kelly who project manages all our work, and a large fabric sample room. This will enable the shop downstairs to extend through to the back of the building where my office and client meeting room is currently. With the arrival of our beautiful Stuart Membery pieces of furniture due late April/early May this extra shop space is going to be wonderful!

Here's a sneak peek above of upstairs. I took this photo on Friday. The painters are almost finished. The floors are still to be sanded and painted {white gloss} and lighting installed. We should be up-and-running upstairs sometime within the next month. I can't wait to have a special room to meet clients in. Downstairs has become so crazy and jam packed...an obvious sign that it was time to expand upstairs.

Not only are we renovating the shop, with the arrival of a newborn on the horizon, we have bought a new house which is larger than our current cottage with more land as well. Although I will be so sad to say good-bye to our little house {and the fact that I didn't really get to finish it off the way I wanted to} it just won't accommodate our needs with our growing family. The new house, which is actually a very old house and was built in 1887, is going to be a wonderful project which I will keep you all updated on as we move forward.

So, with all that is going on it was nice to spend some time pottering around the cottage this weekend. I was inspired by the vignette I posted on Friday to move a few of my things around. I purchased some orchids and clustered them on our entry table on a silver tray my mother gave me. Whilst I pottered around, Ned just couldn't help but bring lots of mud into the house on the white floors. So many people ask me how I feel about our white floors. I must say they are so hard to keep clean with a big Golden Retriever bouncing in and out of the house but I do love them and continue to put up with having to have them cleaned 3-4 times per week.

Anyway, that's it from me for now. There are a few more very exciting things in the pipeline but those things are for another day. I just thought I would bring you up-to-speed with what's been happening in my world lately.

xx

Anna

all images - anna spiro

Pretty Table Vignette

I love a good table vignette and this one by Kim Ficaro certainly ticks all the boxes for me. So pretty! Have a great weekend. See you next week.

Image - Kim Ficaro Stylist via Aubrey Road

Working On

Here's a little scheme I put together today for a client who lives in the country. She is wanting a simple, classic look. She loves blue and white and natural but wanted me to inject some colour to liven the look a little. These are the fabrics I selected for her for some new cushions, curtains, blinds, recovering of 2 chairs. Her room is all-white and she has timber floors....a perfect backdrop. We are going to use a sisal rug on the floor in the lounge area and some colourful accessories mixed with piles of books in the new built-in bookcase.

Betsy's Office

I know everybody has probably seen this but I just had to post it. I absolutely ADORE Betsy Burnham's office as featured in this month's Lonny. It is very much in tune with the look I love.

Rita's Sofa Update

Sofa Before

It really is amazing what some new fabric on a sofa or chair can do to a room. Look at Rita Konig's sofa update above. I think the fabric she chose is perfect. Doesn't it make a difference?! I often encourage clients to recover existing pieces. It's one of the most effective ways of updating a room along with adding some beautiful new cushions and maybe a few accessories as well.

Rita Konig now writes a blog for the New York Times. She is the daughter of Nina Campbell fabric designer. Images by Rita Konig.

Today I Love...

I adore the photos Julie posted of her home today. I have posted a couple of photos above but you must visit Julie's blog, Shelter to see more!! It is stunning!

Colour Connection

There is certainly lots of things to love about this month's Vogue Living which I just received in the mail today. In particular I loved this shot of Hamish Bowles' living room and thought it went so well with the beautiful child portrait photograph at top by Jenifer Altman.

image 1 - jenifer altman photographer, image 2 - stewart shining photographer for vogue living

Thomas Meyer Portrait

Today I was searching for some pieces of art for a client for a cluster wall we are creating in her lounge room and I came across this gorgeous piece by artist Thomas Meyer via Jamie Shelman's website.

Pink & White Roses

Instead of just one lovely vase of pink and white roses {my favourite} I divided my Valentines Day flowers into three and placed them in some old floral jugs I have....I will absolutely love looking at these pretty flowers all week!

Happy {Love Filled} Weekend!

I thought these lovely aqua and pink images were perfect to post for Valentines Day. Aren't they just the prettiest pictures?! Have a wonderful weekend!!

image 1- Marcus Hay via Delight by Design, image 2 - Lynsey Fryers via Pat Bates

More Photos As Promised

Here are some more photos of our Kathryn Ireland book signing which we held at Black & Spiro earlier this week.