I am heartbroken

Today I went to Merewether beach to see the process of demolition of one of the last true Art Deco bathers' pavilions on the east coast of Australia. It was heartbreaking. The building was designed by one of Newcastle's most prolific architectural duos - Pitt & Merewether. Merewether was the grandson of EC Merewethe who not only lends his name to the suburb, but gave generously to create the economy of Newcastle as it is today. Pitt & Merewether forfeited their design fee to create the working drawings in 1936 as a gift to the citizens of Merewether. The local residents raised the 6000 pounds required for construction and the Merewether family gifted the land to the community for the erection of the grand Art Deco bathers' pavilion. The building was in an OK condition, but developers had been eyeing off this site for years, and so, the local council permitted demolition to give the land to a private corporation. The building was so beautiful, and would have made a fabulous venue for live music and good food.

Vale you lovely blonde building and shame on those who have no imagination by failing to recycle and re-purpose.

Revitalised sofa

Here it is folks, Grandma's lounge fully re-upholstered and back where it belongs. I'm happy with the work and I like the neutrality of the fabric....I will be getting new cushions very soon - ordered from the creative folks over at Etsy.com. And the search is on for a textured ottoman and a new coffee table, I'm thinking a rustic piece of old hardwood. See what you think

So I entered a best bathroom contest and drum roll, my entry has been shortlisted!!! Its one of ten, its actually the last one of the 10!, but if you click the link below it will take you to the voting page where you can cast your vote - hopefully for my "Inspired Ensuite" - their words. Its part of the Reece marketing campaign and two of the voters will go into the running to win themselves a $5000 Reece voucher. So that's an incentive to vote huh*! I feel quite humbled and flattered to have made it to the final shortlist because as you'll discover there are quite a few outstanding entries. And my photos are grainy and the bathroom is not dressed with either fluffy towels or flowers, doh.

http://www.reece.com.au/inspirational/vote

My Sweet Valentine

It was a lovely surprise to wake up to this lovely pair of Bison pots as my valentine gift from Trevor, and in my colour of the moment too - duck egg blue. Bison homewares have a to-die-for range of earthenware and ceramics inspired by the artefects of the pre-modern age, and best still, made here in Australia in our nation's capital, Canberra.

Avian Architecture

I have been collecting birds' nests for about 8 years now and I have 8 in total. Guess it must be the chick in me hahaha. It first started with a magpie nest found on the ground, at the base of a tree, and neither egg nor bird were anywhere to be seen. So I took it. And then I found more and then my family found more and gifted their finds to me.



A nest is an awesome piece of engineering - sturdy enough to support the live and dead loads of birds + eggs, as well as stiff enough to resist wind loads, inclement weather, and keep the young eggs warm.

I have nests of varying sizes and shapes and I'm drawn to fabrics that reflect the patterns and texture of the nests, browns and coffees and bark colours.

The Wet Area

Dah da!! Here it is. My ensuite bathroom all clean and fresh from its make-over. Well, complete strip out, demolish and re-build if you must know. But what's a few thousand dollars between friends anyhow....

Grandma's Lounge

We know this lounge is old and scungy, thanks to Andy using it as a claw sharpner, but it was Grandma's, it has a story, and re-covering it will save space in landfill, conserve its embodied energy, and prevent us from consuming yet another cheaply produced piece of furniture from China. Only one problem, Trevor thinks its drab, dated and uncomfortable.

I've now looked at many options and spent heaps of time trawling the internet for new sofas and visited many of the local department stores and sofa retailers. A pure cost benefit analysis would indicate that recovering is a good option if longevity and quality are at the top of the slection criteria, whereas on a pure price basis, buying a new Australian made sofa from local store Plush may be a better idea if we want to change the look of our living room.

So far, I've got three quotes from local upholstery houses with the prices coming in at betweem $3000-3500AUD, including fabric. I have my heart set on an organic linen in a raffia colour which will be contrasted with a patterned linen for the back and sides. Scatter cushions in textural stone, delft blue and duck-egg blue will complement the oceanic look I'm trying to create in my home.

Still a ways to go to convince Trevor that this is the best option on the basis of energy conservation and recycles a historic piece of furniture.