One Day

One day, I have vowed and declared to my husband and our son, we will have a house which we will paint pale pink with white trim, black gloss front door and black and white stripe awnings. Call me mad but I would just adore a pink house. I loved this house which was featured in a new favourite book - Rooms to Inspire in the Country by Annie Kelly. It seems to tick all my boxes except our house would definitely be smaller.

Tropical Style

We went over to our little beach cottage at Stradbroke Island on the weekend. We haven't been over to the house for a couple of months as things have been busy and the house has been heavily rented by holiday guests. I must say the weather was divine and we really did have the most relaxing weekend we have had in quite some time.

It was great to look through a few of my old books and magazines at the house. I was really inspired by these tropical style images I found in a few of my old Vogue Living magazines which I thought I would share with you. I for one am so excited that Summer is just around the corner....well on our side of the world that is!!

The Black & Spiro Website Is Here

Well as my mother always says, good things come to those who wait......

You have all waited so patiently and I am so thrilled to announce that just minutes ago the Black & Spiro website was launched. The portfolio will be updated regularly with new work as I finish each project so do keep watching the site as I am hoping to add new images within the next 4-6 weeks of some beautiful jobs I have been working on lately.

So, here it is http://www.blackandspiro.com.au/

I hope you enjoy the site.

xx

Anna

PS. If you have any trouble viewing the site you might just need to refresh the page a few times...

Oh, and in the portfolio page - just click on each house as each house has a slideshow of images...

Any queries, just email me anna@blackandspiro.com.au

More Flowers

Following on from Tuesday's post here are some more flower images we have been using to inspire us at Black & Spiro lately.

Image 1 - book source, Image 2 - Vogue Living

Room Scheming

I would love to be asked by a client to prepare a room scheme around these two beautiful pieces above. They are simply breathtaking, in my opinion.

I could imagine an {almost} all-white colour palette with recycled European parquetry timber flooring and beautiful blue and white patterned fabrics on cushions and possibly on a couple of accent chairs here and there. I think I would use white slip covered sofas with frilled skirts {like the ones Joni posts}. Oh, and of course I would fill the room with blue and white ginger jars.

What would you do if you were given these two beautiful pieces to work with?

Woodblock painting by celebrated Australian artist Cressida Campbell and beautiful French antique mirror from Baran de Bordeaux in Auckland.

Flowers Flowers Everywhere

I for one am thrilled with the abundance of floral designs popping up here, there and everywhere. I have been collecting a lot of floral images lately as we are about to embark on a very floral inspired look at Black & Spiro in the coming months. This week I thought I would share with you a few images which we have been using as inspiration for our new look. Maybe they might help you to be inspired too.


Image 1, 2, 3 - Vogue Living - Photographed by Mikkel Vang, Styled by Christine Rudolph

Image 4 - Veranda Magazine - Photographed by Mick Hayles, Styled by Sylvie Becquet

That Bed Head

You might remember this DIVINE guest bedroom belonging to U.S. designer Krista Ewart which was featured in Domino magazine last year. I remember absolutely obsessing over this room and that bed head. Well, you wouldn't believe it when I tell you that on the weekend some of LA's top designers had a tag sale in which they sold off some amazing things. Fellow blogger and friend Megan Samuels from Beach Bungalow 8 was there. I loved seeing the photos she shared of the sale. But when I saw the Krista Ewart bed head in the photos I nearly fainted! I emailed Megan straight away and said that if I was there I would have strapped myself to that bedhead and not let it go. Megan emailed me back and said she purchased it. I can't believe how lucky she was!! She is going to put it in her daughter's bedroom and apparently Krista threw in the ticking stripe bed skirt as well. Gosh, I can't wait to see what Megan does with it.

There it is....and look at all of the other amazing things!! I would have been almost hyperventilating!

Megan with Krista Ewart and look at the bed head peeping through in the back of the photo.

Congrats on your fantastic buy Megan!! I wonder what Krista Ewart will do in her guest room now?!

Top image - Domino Magazine via Style Court, image 2 & 3 - Megan Samuels.

Before & After

Sideboard After

Sideboard Before

I recently came across this lovely old Puerto Rican sideboard which I purchased for Black & Spiro. The girls and I decided to have it painted in a very soft mint green colour. We just had the piece delivered into the store on Friday. We placed it in our front window display with lots of pretty old jugs and vases filled with fresh flowers on it. I was so excited as one of my lovely clients came in to see me on Friday afternoon to go over a few things for her new kitchen and she instantly fell in love with our new piece. It is going into her new kitchen and she plans to fill it up with her collection of old mismatched china. I think it will be so perfect along with her pale pink retro Smeg fridge!!

PS. Sorry about the terrible photos however, it's really hard to get a good photo through the front glass windows of the shop...

Friday Flowers

These pretty flowers are in our Black & Spiro window display at the moment giving the impression that Spring is near. I must say I am very much looking forward to a restful weekend. I will be back here bright as a button next week...

xx

Anna

A Silver & White Collection

Isn't this such a beautiful collection of simple silver and white pieces all collected together in a white cabinet. Are they Dahlias in that vase? They look so fresh and pretty.

Sorry I haven't been here much this week. Things have just been a bit crazy around here. I have got some beautiful things to share with you all but they may just need to wait until next week when things have settled down a bit {hopefully}. Hope that's okay...

xx

Anna

Image - Vogue Living

A New Favourite Room

To be greeted this morning with an email from my friend Courtney Barnes with this image attached of a room in Windsor Smith's house was truly exciting. I think I have a new favourite room. Windsor's house is featured in the just released September '09' issue of House Beautiful. I am busting to get my hands on a copy. I seem to be drawn to Windsor Smith's aesthetic time and time again. I could move right into this room tomorrow and not change a thing.

Photographer - Victoria Pearson for House Beautiful Magazine

That's All Folks

Well, that's all from me this week. I am taking an early mark and heading away for a few days. I'd just like to thank the Skirted Girls again for having me over at their table this week. I really did have such a wonderful time. Thank you also for all of the beautiful comments you have left me this week too. You are all very, very kind. Looking forward to being back here next Tuesday. Have a great weekend!!

Image via Lolitas blog

Blue & White Lamp Heaven

I am so excited to say that we finally have some beautiful blue and white lamps available at Black & Spiro. As you can see above the girls have just unpacked them this morning and they are about to be put into the shop. We have some white crackle lamps and some really great orange lamps available too. Oh, and we also have some more new blue and white ginger jars which just came in this morning as well...just in case anyone is interested!!

Talking Around The Skirted Round Table

A huge thank you to Linda, Megan & Joni for inviting me to their Skirted Round Table for a chat. I had a fantastic time talking with you all yesterday. If anyone is interested in hearing our discussion click HERE to be directed over to The Skirted Round Table.

Vintage Chairs

Sorry about the terrible photos however, I just had to snap a few shots of these pretty chairs I recently had recovered for one of my clients. They were her mother's chairs which we have worked into her lounge room scheme. We covered them in a black and white ticking and had box pleated skirts put around the base of them. I wanted to keep the timber frame in it's original condition so as to show the age of the chairs.

Friday Flowers

Here are some beautiful tulips which I just arranged in a vintage jug for the shop. I love this little corner in the shop at the moment and these fresh tulips fit right in. I hope you have a great weekend. See you next time!

xx

Anna

Cupboard Makeover

I have an old cupboard at home just like this one however, at the moment mine certainly isn't looking as chic as this one.

At the shop I have lots of bits of left over wallpaper from displays we have done. I'm thinking I might use some of these bits to paper the back of my cupboard door.

My little cupboard is in a hallway near our kitchen and currently it is bursting at the seams with sheets and towels. I think I should move the sheets and towels into my larger laundry cupboard and fill this little one with some of my special pieces of china.

This pretty image has inspired me.

Image - Vogue Living

From the Files

This image {above} is one I've kept on file since mid last year. It's from an article Inside Out magazine did {May/June 2008 issue} on former Vogue Entertaining & Travel & Vogue Living Editor, Sharyn Storrier Lyneham's home.

After spotting this image in my files earlier this week I remembered that Vogue Living had done a story on Sharyn's home too {January/February 2008 issue}. I found a copy of the story and thought I would post the image Vogue Living published of this very same room.

I just adore the look of this sunroom - it's so fresh and pretty, inviting and mismatched and how divine are the fresh Hydrangeas?! Apparently those to die for cushions on the cane chairs are vintage.

These days Sharyn is in partnership with Australian Fashion Queen Belinda Seper in their unique concept store, Edit.

Image 1 - Inside Out Magazine, Image 2 - Vogue Living via Edit

Looking Forward To This...

Michelle Adams is at it again with her business partner, photographer Patrick Cline. Here's what they are about to launch into;

{Excerpt taken from M.A. Belle}

In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages...

OUR MISSION is to reopen the doors of accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means that we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live. At Lonny, we value independent thinking and believe not in following trends but rather in making choices that lead to happiness. We believe that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces.

Coming Fall 2009 ;)

I will definitely be checking back for updates on their new venture!

A Fresh New Life

In my work I try as much as possible to encourage my clients to reuse, repurpose, and reinvent their old pieces or pieces which may have been passed down to them from family members. I often get little old stools or chairs or lamps dropped into me from clients wanting me to choose a fabric which would work with the rest of their things. They usually just leave it up to me and then I deliver the piece back to them with a fresh new look.

I was recently asked by one of my lovely clients to make some cushions out of some old embroideries she had. I thought I would post them here today as I have become a little obsessed with them myself. I wish I could take them home and add them to my cushion collection. I think they look great mixed with the black and white geometric cushion. They even have the old pencil markings on the fabric which we kept.

Images - Anna Spiro