I am working on a great apartment in Warners Ave, just across the road from Bondi Beach.

The brief was to create a relaxed and smart environment, that would be durable enough to accomodate 3 teenage children. We started by replacing the floors, a mix of timber and carpet, with a floating floor in limed oak to create a consistent finish that would help the space feel larger and more cohesive. The cream walls were painted in Resene’s Half Joanna, a really soft and subtle grey, that instantly freshened up the apartment, creating a clean palette that could be added to.

The sofa has been ordered and all other furniture and light fittings are coming soon….

I have included some images of the work in progress below.

We are going to use these wicker chairs, really durable, light weight and look amazing.

Blue and white is such a great classic combination. I loved these ceramic side tables from Orient House and luckily so did the client!

These fabrics will be the sofa and scatter cushions. The sample for the Armadillo rug is in granite and we will be using the widest stripe.

The patterned fabric is by Kravet and will be used for the bedhead, paired with a plain pale blue/grey linen from Unique for the bedroom chair.

The one thing that has been firmly established in the last few weeks is this; I am not a gung ho decorator destined to appear on reality TV, able to paint, whip up a curtain and assemble a flat pack of anything. I have always believed in hiring people who are experts in their field and I am now convinced of this more than ever.
I spent one Saturday “cutting in” a colour called cougar. It all ended in tears. The colour proved to be more Grandmother’s lilac hair rinse, than sexy 40’s sophisticate. It took 6 hours and I proved to be a dreadful failure as a painter. Forbidden to continue painting by my husband, I watched as he re-painted over the purple with the fabulous string and quarter linen.

He had a low energy moment by the second wall…

The dining room is in quarter linen.

We have lots of walls available and not enough paintings. I have taken huge amounts of photos over the years on various trips, so we ended up back at Ikea looking for frames. I had some of them printed and then took them all to a framer who made the mounts the right size, so it all fitted perfectly. It’s a great way of getting somthing framed inexpensively….the only real cost is braving Ikea, we lost focus and ended up circling the same kitchen bench 3 times. I’m with the desperate mother shouting at her offspring “follow the arrows……”

Sadly there is a hole in one of my 3 x 3 arrangements, a casualty of Matilda stepping on my carefully laid out pictures and breaking the glass on the frame – oh well back to Ikea…

I love flowers and these potted orchids make the guest loo look glamorous….

Well, we are now officially post move, we even have a phone line again! It’s wonderful to have a house with somewhere to put everything. There is a lot to do and it will be a gradual process (filled with raking leaves)…The next step is to start talking to landscape architects, the potential is enormous. I would love to build a series of wooden and stone decks to make a gradual descent to the garden…I have included some shots of the interior – can’t wait to paint it, the existing colour has been accurately described as “nicotine cream”…