Numero 2: Carrie's Place

This is Carrie’s Place.

Carrie and I have very similar likes. Needless to say, shopping together in Antique Centre’s, Vintage Fairs, Markets and anything that sells interesting objects can cause who saw it first ‘oh whatever, you have it then …’  kind of banter. All in good fun (or so we say...)

In the time we’ve known one another Carrie has collected remarkable pieces of furniture all of which she has transformed to fabulousness. Like these black cane chairs. They're actually a set of 8 and are a cracking style. Carrie had them sprayed a nice satin black and has recovered the cushions herself. One side black and white polka dot and the other a cool citrus mix.

The cabinet to the right is a drinks cabinet which services the dining and lounge which is not pictured (but a cracker) you need to leave some things to the imagination.

There’s always a bit of quirk and colour around these parts. Something left field and most things you’ll be hard up getting your hands on again – or you’ll struggle to (and pay through the teeth).

One of two Bitossi bedside lamps (stunning, stunning, stunning). The Magnolia is homegrown.

I love this picture with the whale as a silhouette. It's in lovely blue tones and rocks from side to side. Super cool purchase from a shop in Surry Hills. The lamp base was from Gold Coast Antique Centre.

There are items you just don’t let go of and that mantra is something that will always ensure Carrie’s place is a feast for the eyes. I love this print. An op shop buy for $8! Where was I?

When Carrie renovated the home about 7 years ago I remember her care in choosing tiles, benchtops and the design in the kitchen. Although these pics don’t show it all, this is the most workable kitchen ever. It’s contemporary and everything is in arms reach. Would you think it’s 8 years old? It’s a separate room, but sits between the lounge and outdoor area beautifully allowing both areas to be engaged without being a big open plan space. LOVE that clock.

Being that the home is one level it allows entertaining to work seamlessly. This rear floating deck literally floats out from the kitchen and hovers over a very well maintained garden and very green front yard lined with trees.

Carrie seems to think that the gardens are in terrible shape as it was alot more lush until a racetrack was created through it and destroyed all the ground cover ...

Not bothered by the accusation at all is she? Naughty little cutie. As far as I’m concerned, when you’re a green thumb – anything can happen and it’ll still look fab. And it does.

This black lounge is covered in a gorgeous outdoor fabric by Warwick and is super comfy. The buttons really make it.

These cane chairs brighten my day every time I see them. We were both bidding on them on ebay a few years back. I was outbid and mortified to then hear the good news that Carrie had new chairs. Good friends get over things. I love that I can visit them. This tables about to be sprayed white. Nice mix is black, white and yellow with some natural timber and greenery thrown in.

Another piece that has recently been recovered is this 1950s wire suite. This citrus green is just divine. It overlooks the yard and screams 'cocktails on a Saturday afternoon' doesn’t it? This is Sunbrella outdoor fabric as is the red on the Iron setting. Really lovely with the grey tones.

Carrie’s always been ahead of the trend. She was buying G-Plan mid century furniture before any Antique Centres in Brisbane considered allowing it through the doors. One of the pieces is beautifully displayed here in her daughter’s bedroom. She snagged it on the road at a Garage Sale back in 2002.

Glorious example of fine craftmanship. It has a matching bed head with connected bedsides for when pp grows up and Carrie used the chest of drawers in the main bedroom.

And check out the dolls house. Mid Century Magic! Carrie spruced it up a couple of xmas’s ago. Cool right? I would really like a room with an angled ceiling that high. I really would.

Look at Ken rolling with the homies on the rooftop deck. He's up there with Lucy and her diamonds I think ...

The picture on the wall is part of a 3-part series of small watercolours Carrie (oh, I mean Barbie) purchased in Paris, 1999.

I gave this little Peacock setting to pp for a birthday. She treats it with much care. If only it came in a giant human size!

A great deal of thought has gone into this doll house. Real wallpaper, real lino flooring, astroturf. Here's the other two watercolours below too. Magnifique.

So that’s a snippet of Carries Place. Over the years it's evolved with additions that have been made. Rendering, flooring, converting the garage into an extra room with doors that open onto the garden. That's the magic of lowsets. If you have the space you can make additions easily without disrupting the flow.

She’s got a great eye this gal and a creative mind that places things together eclectically but with enough restraint to keep it fine lined.

Don't you love looking at homes that are all so different? Me too!

Fiberglass Suite & DIY Buttons

I bought this suite a few months ago. It comes with two planters as well. I love it's proportions. The yellow suite that used to be out here needed to go. It was just being ruined with the weathering. This was it here.

It had recently been recovered in this brown very durable material. I decided not to fight it and go with it.  So ... I added some buttons myself.

I commenced with covering the buttons in an offwhite linen (that's the sort of buttons they are). I did two but didn't like it with the fiberglass. I preferred them in their uncovered state which is a plastic. Turns out, recovering buttons is super easy. I've already pulled aside stray throws around the house that are getting a button treatment just because I can.

The plastic works with the little Kartell side stools. These flower cushions I bought in Sydney last year at the Surry Hills Markets. They're vinyl and in mint condition. The colours are superbly crisp for their vintage.

Now I just need a few throws to lighten her up and she's ready for relaxing autumn morning's with a coffee and paper.

Have an enjoyable weekend.

Small Vintage

Quite often when shopping for vintage fashion, majority of the gorgeous frocks I find are miniscule. Teeny tiny Vivienne Leigh size waist. V Small.

‘A’ found this punch bowl still in its box about 8 months ago, somewhere. It’s been sitting on the back deck on a bench collecting dust so I decided it was time to wash it and bring it in. This is it

Dime a dozen, and probably shoved in the back of most of our parents cupboards, but a good little piece nonetheless and still in its box with its plastic hooks and ladle.

 

Of course my first thought was, ‘there’s one sip to be had out of this cup’.

So I did a direct comparison with a normal sized glass of today, and compared my Poppy mug with the daily coffee mug I actually drink out of

Ridiculous right?

 

And then i felt a plate comparison was required

 

I realise that this isn’t news to anyone. We all know that the size of these things has increased and nowadays, when a woman seeks to lose weight, she has her meal off a side plate instead to assist in portion control.

What I’d love to know is why we even needed to make things bigger? Because it's 'trendy'? Other than making our entree of scallops look incredibly small and glasses of wine pitiful, it enables us to eat more than we need without even realising.

40 years ago women (and men) drank out of little glasses, ate off small plates and scooped out of shallow bowls. Women didn’t go out and hit the pavement, box, do yoga or run on a treadmill to slip into a frock. They just ate and drank smaller quantities. Actually, aerobics was big in the 80's. Is that when our plates got bigger??

Anyway, my punch bowl cups are very small and this is the punch recipe book that came with them

 

There’s a June punch. My month of birth, so I might have a little morning tea in June with small portions of caramel slice and scones. I'll be in the market for teeny vintage frocks in no time.

Bushells 'Tea of Flavor' ...

What magical weather we had here in Brisbane on the weekend. Let's pray it keeps up and spreads its gloriousness to our friends in St George and other regions who are experiencing weather gone bad.

I achieved a few things on the weekend and one of them was finalising some dimensions for the study downstairs. I've opted for a skinny room for sole 'office' purposes, in order to have a larger bedroom rather than having having a small bedroom and a small bedroom/office.

So while stepping out measurements for downstairs I was using these teaboxes as the study desk, well, where the desk will be. They looked so lovely lined up I thought i'd take a pic.

I've had them for about 5 months now but they just get moved around and used as imaginery walls, desks, baths etc on a slab of concrete.  I like them together so I think down the track, somewhere, i'll put nice big leafed pots in each of them. Use them as a screen or space divider. The Bushells my fave. The shade of blue's v pretty.

The inside still has remnants of the foil. All-in-all externally they're in pretty good condition. The woman who  owned them used to work in a tea factory, i'm guessing a Bushell's one? She did say, but I forget.

And speaking of tea, I met the lovely MMMC from Make Mine Mid-Century Saturday. Knee deep in boxes and packing paper and still smiling. You're a better woman than I. 

Doing a pre moving declutter, MMMC was offloading this teaset below which I've been lucky enough to get my greedy little crockery loving hands on.

Thanks again, they're so cute. I do like birds. My coffee cups have birds on them too.

Our front garden is being strategically dug up by the new addition to the family. He digs up just Bromeliads. They've all been dug out as if i'd used a shovel myself. Weird. Is this normal? Just bromeliads. Nothing else.

So pretty .. for $1

Aren't these just so pretty?

$1 each from a local op shop. I'm looking forward to framing them. You can see the plastic they're still in is discoloured and a little ferol, but underneath,  the pics are in super fine form.

I've reached around 9 paintings/prints kicking around the house wedged between cabinets and walls which require 'space'. I have no wall space left. I mean, i do, but i'm living in comfortable clutter at the moment - the white walls that are available need to stay that way or the tide will change very quickly.

These are flowering in my garden at the moment. So vibrant. They soothed the fact it's Monday again. I have some gorgeous lillies just beginning to flower too - a lovely gift from friends who came to dinner Saturday night.

On that topic. 'A's "latest" is a spit roaster. We went to a dinner party last Saturday night and F's husband cooked up some cracking meat on this little roaster. A was besotted. Absolutely enamoured with it. He's been wanting one for years and seeing this little sized one sealed-the-deal.  So, of course, one appeared at home and spit roasted lamb was on the menu Sat night. This is one purchase i highly recommend. The meat was diiiivine! Buy one for him for christmas. It spins on batteries and you just put those coal things in to heat it up.