Visiting Auckland - Part 4

My brother Nick lives and breathes surfing so on Easter Friday we hired a car and drove from Auckland down to Raglan which is world renowned for it's consistent left hand surf breaks. It was actually a sight for sore eyes as it was a freezing day in Raglan and my brother entered the water with no wetsuit {he had forgotten to bring one with him} - the only surfer in the water without one on! Onlookers couldn't believe he was going in. He caught a few waves and exited the water saying that it was the coldest he had ever felt but thrilled that he had surfed Raglan!

Raglan itself is quite a sleepy town but so pretty and remote. I think I could get lost in a place like this!

Visiting Auckland - Part 3

Taking a ferry out to Waiheke island is a must do when visiting Auckland. We arrived at this beautiful island after a 40 minute boat trip across Auckland Harbour. Upon arrival we jumped straight into a taxi which took us on a very short tour of the island before dropping us at Mud Brick Winery where we enjoyed a long lunch amid beautiful surroundings.

I particularly loved the houses on Waiheke. There are some extremely beautiful new modern homes as well as some gorgeous renovated beach cottages which New Zealanders call Bachs.

This house above was my absolute favourite house which we spotted on Waiheke. It was very hard to get photos of it as it is surrounded by the most beautiful trees and gardens. Can you spot the outdoor fireplace? It overlooks the beach and bay. I absolutely loved this house!! What is it about simple white cottages with black and white stripe awnings?! They get me every time!!



This house and the one below were right down on the waterfront with a pretty, narrow laneway in front of them.

Waiheke's beautiful vegetation is certainly what makes this island so special. As you can see from the photos I have posted above there is no shortage of beautiful trees and gardens. I think this place is heaven on earth!

Visiting Auckland - Part 2

Another lovely inner city suburb of Auckland is the historic suburb, Parnell. Whilst strolling down Parnell Road, set amongst many other lovely shops, galleries and restaurants, Mum and I stumbled across French Antique store, Baran de Bordeaux. This 2 story shop is filled to the brim with the most beautiful Antique furniture. Owned by Chrystelle Baran, who was born and raised in Bordeaux, Southwest France and her partner Nick Ferneyhough. The couple live between New Zealand and France collecting beautiful treasures for their Parnell store.

I spoke briefly to Nick when we were in the store over the weekend. He said they ship their pieces all over the world and he did mention that they do sell many pieces to Australian customers. Their website is updated regularly with their current stock.

I am so thrilled we found this lovely Antique mecca. We will definitely be returning to Nick and Chrystelle's store when we revisit Auckland later this year.

Images 1, 2, 3 - Via Life & Leisure Magazine

Visiting Auckland - Part 1

Over Easter my family and I visited Auckland, New Zealand - the city of sails. What a pretty city it is. Perched on the harbour, the city isn't large which I found to be quite lovely as it was easy to see everything within the few days we had there.

I found the houses to be particularly charming. The streets were lined with beautiful old trees and the weather was so cool and refreshing coming from a long hot Brisbane Summer.

Over the next couple of days I thought I would take you on a little virtual trip to Auckland by posting some photos I took of this charming town and a few favourite little places I found whilst we were there.

I very much liked the beautiful old houses in Ponsonby {as pictured below} which is very central and has a lovely view over the city. We walked back to our hotel through the streets of Ponsonby and I took a few photos of a couple of houses which took my fancy.

In Ponsonby we ate dinner at Prego, one of the most established Italian restaurants in Auckland.


I found this pair of vintage chandeliers in a shop in Ponsonby which I have emailed to one of my clients for consideration. They are very pretty I must say!

Unfortunately most of the shops were closed in this area when we visited on Sunday due to the Easter weekend however, I do plan to visit Auckland again soon and I will definitely be returning to Ponsonby for a more detailed visit!!

Happy Easter

I'm signing off a little early as we are heading away tomorrow morning for Easter. I don't know about you but I am really looking forward to spending some time away with my family and I must say the {slightly} cooler weather is definitely beckoning me to eat lots of warm hot cross buns and snuggling under blankets!! I can feel a few long sleep-ins coming my way too!!

Happy Happy Easter to you all. I will look forward to being back here next week sometime.

xx
Anna


Image - Thayer Photography

A Must Read

If you haven't already read Joni's post on Caroline Lee Bouvier Canfield Radziwill Ross sister to icon Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis then I highly recommend you visit Cote De Texas for an amazing account of her life.

Image via Joni

Room Love

I love this room for the sheer fact that it is so simply compiled. There's no fuss about this room just collections of things loved against an all-white background...my favourite!

Image - Malin Ngoie Photographer

Stumbling Across Kim Parker

On Saturday night after dinner at our local Thai restaurant, Harry and I walked into Riverbend Bookshop on the way back to the car.

Whilst Harry headed for his section I plonked myself in front of my favourite section. I was scouring through the interiors books when I stumbled across a book by US artist Kim Parker.

I actually ended up purchasing a different book. However, it didn't stop me googling Kim Parker when we got home.

I must be a little behind the times as I didn't realize she was the artist behind one of my favourite rugs at The Rug Company!

She has also created some beautiful floral embroidered cushions which I think would be a beautiful addition to any cushion collection.

I think I might head back to Riverbend Books to pick myself up a copy of her book this week to flick through over Easter.

Another Week Ends...

Thank you so much for your amazing comments this week. I'm so thrilled you all loved Jody's home!!

See you next week.

xx

Anna

Image - Nicolette Camille Flowers

Justin & Jody's House

This is my beautiful friend Jody!

Yes, that's me taking lots of photos of all the pretty things!

FINALLY, here are some photos of my friend's house. Justin & Jody have just finished building this modern house which they are planning on selling very soon as they are about to embark on another project.

Jody wanted a really pretty look which is a big departure from the look she had in her previous house which was taupe and natural.

They had lots of old pieces of furniture which they had collected over the years which we painted and recovered. There are some more pictures of their bedroom which we did in navy and white which I will post sometime soon as well! Hope you like this fun, happy, bright house!!

They're Coming!!

It seems I am experiencing a few technical camera/computer problems. I know I said I would post images of my friends house tonight however, it's just not going to be possible as I am so hopeless at computer problems! Here is one more image to keep you going for the meantime! Please bear with me. I hope to have the complete set of pictures posted here tomorrow sometime. Thanks for your patience!!

More Photos Tomorrow

I will post the photos of my friend's house, which I just finished working on, tomorrow as I didn't have time to upload the photos before I left the office this afternoon...sorry!!! However, here's one sneak peek picture to whet your appetite!!

Image - Anna Spiro

The Week Ahead

I thought I would post this pretty blue and white image to begin the new week. I love the simplicity of this little corner. I would love to sit on that gorgeous cane chair whilst I chatted on the phone to my mother or a close friend!

This week we have a number of big installations happening which will mean a very busy, yet exciting week ahead. I also have a gorgeous house to share with you all which I have just finished working on for one of my lovely friends. I hope to post photos of it tomorrow night so stay tuned...

Image - House Beautiful