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!!

How to Makeover your House Interior with Green Color

Green color scheme is one of best color in creating a convenience interior, these post is talking about how to makeover your house interior in green color scheme. The most important thing before 'makeover' is choosing the right color combination and consider it with the function of the room, lighting system, size of the room and another related thing. Here are several steps in makeover your interior:

• color combination is everything, choose just a similar or two another smooth color such as pink or sky blue.
• maximize your wall decoration, this can make the room alive, caused by the naturally of the green color
  
• use just a little dark color as a strip or another small decoration,
• lighting is all. Lighting is the most important aspect, so use a health, cheap and convenience lighting system.
  

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.

Green Home Ideas, Bring the Nature to Your House

A green house is a trend of home design today, the concept of green house is using more of natural material and maximize the function of nature to make the room convenience. We can also use a natural green color to decorate our room and interior, so, by bring the nature into our house, the house looks matched with it's outdoor natural environment.

The overall design was meant to harken to the classic interiors found in the English country house of a century ago--rooms filled with antiques, sculptural furniture pieces, and botanical patterns and prints on the walls.

The trick to combining many patterns in a room is to choose a common color scheme, A variety of bold patterns won't clash when linked by a limited palette, To avoid overwhelming the space, its better to using no more than two large-scale prints and keeping other patterns geometric

To keep a room visually exciting, its recommends to combining furniture of various sizes and heights so the eye is drawn to different points. By putting a few pieces of large furniture in a small space, a room feels bigger, It's a trick of the eye and a fact about decorating that surprises.

Tips to Decorate a Small Space Bedroom

Many bedrooms have limited space, which makes decorating easy in some ways and difficult in others. Taking a fresh design approach can transform a crowded bedroom. Such as decorate a small space on bathroom, here are several tips on decorating a small space bedroom for your family and especially for your kids.

• Look under furniture for extra storage space; a good under-bed organizer can help keep toys, shoes and other goods hidden from view and better-organized.
• Go vertical; when floor space is limited, one of the easiest ways to maximize space utilization is to use every inch of vertical space.
• Create an illusion of more space by painting stripes on the walls; vertical stripes give the room a sense of greater height while horizontal stripes will make the room seem wider.

• Don’t place tall furniture near windows; this only blocks the natural light. Do place a low bookcase or, better yet, a chair or bench near the window.
• A corner bookcase or display shelf unit can be a great way to utilize diagonal nooks and crannies in your smaller-sized kids’ bedroom.

• Look for “combo” furniture pieces such as an armoire with drawers and space for hanging clothes to free up closet space.
• A well-lit bedroom will seem more open and spacious than a dark room; augment the ceiling light fixture with a bedside table lamp, desk lamp, etc. to provide plenty of ambient and task lighting in your child’s bedroom.
• Keep it simple; more than anything a small kids’ bedroom will suffer greatly if you try to overdo a theme, use too many colors and cram in just plain too much stuff. --raftertales--

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

Kenyon Square Interior Design by Hickokcole

Here are several beautiful interior design of Kenyon Square. Beautifully design by combining red color with another color make this room looks elegant, designed by Hickokcole, an Architects is a youthful, high-energy firm, they work collaboratively, closely with their project teams, with the principals, and directly with the client. Ideas and expertise are sought from all levels. On above picture, there is a main upstairs from first floor to second floor, completed with red carpet, this is a convenience upstairs with ideal size and shape.
Description:
Kenyon Square
Washington, DC

Client: Columbia Heights Ventures Parcel 15, LLC
Project Size: 4,000 sf
Project Type: Common area build-out of multi-family residential development
Completion Date: 2007

Award
2008 AIA|DC Award of Merit, Interior Architecture
A living room with a fireplace to make the room more warm, still completed with red wall and minimalist lighting to make this is one of a romantic room.
Here is another living room with a similar color composition but with different sense.

Interior Design Project of Vagg Residence

Matt Gibson has a creative hand to create a beautiful interior project, such as his project on this project, an interior design project of Vagg Residence. This project involved the sub-division and renovation of a semi-detached Victorian bluestone cottage with an individual heritage listing. The client purchased this property with pre-existing Planning & Building permits to sub-divide the site and construct two 2 storey precast- concrete dwellings over 2 property Titles.

The existing site contained a 19th century derelict bluestone fronted Victorian Cottage residence that was severely run down. A Special Heritage Overlay was placed over the front bluestone bedroom that fronts Highett Street. The brief meant dealing with from one end - the notion of a 2-storey utilitarian pre-cast concrete box normally common place in multi-res / high rise construction, versus at the other end a now Heritage Listed single storey bluestone cottage front. A decision was made to restore the interior of the existing construct in a clean but typically Victorian detailing, whilst the interior of the new pre-cast construct contains a newly inscribed contemporary architecture - open, light filled, flexible. Source: http://www.mattgibson.com.au/

Small Space on living room solutions

Small space in our living room is a serious problem that we should handle it as we like to get more efficient space used. Here are several photos of small space of living room and several tips on decorating a small space living room.

1. Use lighter shades of green, blue and yellow for your walls. These lighter colors or pastels help open up the room and give it a more airy feel. If you want a cozier feel to your living room, use darker shades of red, blue and brown.

2. To help further open up the room, use mirrors and glass table tops. Mirrors reflect light and give the illusion of a larger room. Make sure that the mirror reflects a view or an ornamental item to enhance the room. Use glass table tops to give your small living room an open feel, rather than using hard wood table that further shrinks the room.

3. Avoid using heavily printed upholstery for your seating and sofa. Use light, monochromatic colors that match. Avoid mix and match of colors as well, as it makes the room look smaller and tight.

4. Use light gauzy and filmy fabrics for your window treatments. These fabrics let natural light pass through and adds more personality to your living room. Do not overdo and avoid using heavily printed fabrics in a small living room design. --exteriorshutters--

Light and Soft Hues A room looking hip is typically a matter of the walls. In a small living room you can try painting it with 'cool' colors like blue or green. Make sure the shades in the room are of darker color, to compliment the entire room. If you follow those rules, you can actually give the appearance of a higher ceiling.

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

Little Bits of Loveliness

Just because I think they are pretty.

Image 1 - Domino Magazine, Image 2 - Tiny Happy

The Hart

The Hart Lodge in Tauranga Bay of Plenty New Zealand looks like it would be a beautiful place to visit and if you were feeling a little extravagant you could fly in on your own helicopter and land at the property's helipad. If only I could flit off over there for a few days. That would be nice!!

Lighting Ideas for Your Interior

A different room need a different lighting too, a living room with brightness color need more attractive and bright lighting too, such as on above picture, this is a lighting idea to maximize and make the room more live!

Look at this above picture!, a romantic dinning room with minimalist lighting design, and see these below beautiful kitchen lighting, the kitchen was completed with full lighting on every space. All of these picture may be your ideas on house remodeling, or just kitchen remodeling.

Interviewed by Holly Becker

I feel like this week is becoming thank you week here at ABT. Today I would like to thank Holly Becker for the very kind post and interview she has done on me over at Decor 8. I very much admire the way Holly always supports up-and-coming young designers, artists, crafters and shop owners on her blog. Thank you again Holly!

Stepping Outside

I've been collecting a few pictures of some outside areas I like. I thought I would share a few of them here with you. Creating a space outside which feels like it could well be inside is something I love especially living here in sunny Brisbane where we practically live outside....in Summer that is!!

Image 1 - via the libertines, Images 2, 3, 4 - via sweethome style