Garden cabinet

This is the sweetest idea - a greenhouse cabinet on a balcony. Makes me make to have one in my lounge room - just so lovely and soothing to look at.

Isak Ceramics Tray

Oh goodness me. This is superb. Yes, yes and yes.

Polka Dot Wall

This wall has my heart a-flutter. I'm tempted to do it to our bedroom wall with removable decals or at this point, really anything. Looks so, so wonderful. And that dresser is adorable, too. 

House Progress VII

Oh I know. No photo = no progress? Actually, no, there has been some progress, but I have been in Singapore for a week and haven't had time to take a non-nighttime photo. So photos soon: in the meantime, the Ever Growing List.


To-do list: (I'll be posting this weekly as a personal reminder of where we're up to - please feel free to ignore or to play along). Obviously much of this will cost a lot, so we'll do it over time, starting with the most urgent.

Kitchen
Get a new plug for the sink-
Line cupboards with non-adhesive mats-
Possibly get an eat-in table and chair or a centre butcher's block/workspace. (Going to wait a bit on this one)

Butler's Pantry
-Line shelves with non-adhesive mats-
Maybe get curtain to block the pantry from the kitchen? (or go crazy with a beaded curtain?) (Mixed responses to this last time! I'm leaving it in just for the record!)

Bathroom
-Put up shower curtain cotton liners-
Think about towel warmer/dryer? (Arrived! Toasty, toasty bathroom with dry towels).

Mudroom
-Buy a sideboard to house linen and to use as more bench space for the bathroom.
-Buy a washing basket
-Buy a clothes rack
-Maybe buy a plant for the sideboard when we have it. (Got one for my birthday! Thanks AB!)

Bedroom
-Buy a mattress
-Buy a bed base
-Buy new, darker curtains
-Buy wall hooks for the picture rails

Closet
-Line drawers with paper liners


Dining Room/2nd Bedroom
-Research and buy an airbed and linen and guest towels
-Buy dining table
-Buy dining chairs
-Buy rug (this is a lease condition)

Lounge room
-Buy couch (ordered but not arrived)
-Buy coffee table
-Buy rug
-Buy a large plant - maybe a Fiddle Fig?
-Buy small desk for this space
-Buy a chair/stool, too
-Buy a desk lamp
-Buy thicker curtains for the front windows
-Buy a lamp
-Buy a cabinet for electronic cords/wires

Hallway
-Buy a rug (runner style) - this is a lease condition

Misc
-Placemats for hot things on dining table
-Polish up dining table
-Vacuum cleaner/Mop + bucket
-Sewing machine (eventually!)
-Braun kitchen blender/chopper
-Iron

Amazing scarf pattern

A paper-inspired spotted scarf, you say? Well this is very interesting....

Beautiful ceramics

Have been on a bit of a ceramics-craze lately. Not buying, but just looking. A lot. Loved this set above from Canvas and the series below from Heath - a California-based ceramics company that I actually discovered in Tokyo back in June. 

Modern quilts

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I haven't written about quilts in a while. It's not because I've stopped loving them - it's much more because I haven't seen any that I've loved especially. Until now. These three are so wonderful - like quilts for grown ups.

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Karel Capek Japanese Teas

Ever a sucker for cute packaging, these Japanese teas have got me. Yup - I'm hooked. Who could say no to a cup of tea from a tin like this?

House Progress VI

We finally made a trip to Costco and have managed to stock our enormous walk-in pantry  with supplies that will last us to the Apocalypse. Truly - I will never need to buy another tinned good, bottle of mineral water, paper towel or tube of toothpaste for about two years. Despite hating the Costco experience with a passion (too big! too overwhelming!), it feels good to be stocked up like this.

To-do list: (I'll be posting this weekly as a personal reminder of where we're up to - please feel free to ignore or to play along). Obviously much of this will cost a lot, so we'll do it over time, starting with the most urgent.

Kitchen
Get a new plug for the sink-
Line cupboards with non-adhesive mats-
Possibly get an eat-in table and chair or a centre butcher's block/workspace. (Going to wait a bit on this one)

Butler's Pantry
-Line shelves with non-adhesive mats-
Maybe get curtain to block the pantry from the kitchen? (or go crazy with a beaded curtain?) (Mixed responses to this last time! I'm leaving it in just for the record!)

Bathroom
-Put up shower curtain cotton liners-
Think about towel warmer/dryer? (Arrived! Toasty, toasty bathroom with dry towels).

Mudroom
-Buy a sideboard to house linen and to use as more bench space for the bathroom.
-Buy a washing basket
-Buy a clothes rack
-Maybe buy a plant for the sideboard when we have it. (Got one for my birthday! Thanks AB!)

Bedroom
-Buy a mattress
-Buy a bed base
-Buy new, darker curtains
-Buy wall hooks for the picture rails

Closet
-Line drawers with paper liners


Dining Room/2nd Bedroom
-Research and buy an airbed and linen and guest towels
-Buy dining table
-Buy dining chairs
-Buy rug (this is a lease condition)

Lounge room
-Buy couch (ordered but not arrived)
-Buy coffee table
-Buy rug
-Buy a large plant - maybe a Fiddle Fig?
-Buy small desk for this space
-Buy a chair/stool, too
-Buy a desk lamp
-Buy thicker curtains for the front windows
-Buy a lamp
-Buy a cabinet for electronic cords/wires

Hallway
-Buy a rug (runner style) - this is a lease condition

Misc
-Placemats for hot things on dining table
-Polish up dining table
-Vacuum cleaner/Mop + bucket
-Sewing machine (eventually!)
-Braun kitchen blender/chopper
-Iron

Polka Dot Teapot

Um, yes. That's all.

Perfection

Oh those light fittings. Goodness me. And the sideboard! Wow, wow and wow. That's all. 

Trays and more trays

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I've been doing some thinking about a nice tray for a side table - one to put some drinks on - and even to use on the coffee table, when we get one. Here are some totally different ones that have taken my fancy. What do you think?

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New lamp

Apologies for the dark photo, here, but our new lamp is a dark corner. This is a sneak peak into our 'study nook' off the main hallway. Our beautiful mid-century desk is now lit up by this silver-based lamp with a sunny, yellow lampshade. Looks pretty great if I do say so myself. And it's awesome to sit at this table and do the mountains of paperwork we still have to do :)

House Progress V

We ended up going with this grey and white rug and I'm really happy with how it looks. We haven't set it up with the dining table in place, as we have some friends coming to stay - I'll show pics when it's all in place. 

To-do list: (I'll be posting this weekly as a personal reminder of where we're up to - please feel free to ignore or to play along). Obviously much of this will cost a lot, so we'll do it over time, starting with the most urgent.

Kitchen
-Get a new plug for the sink-
Line cupboards with non-adhesive mats
-Possibly get an eat-in table and chair or a centre butcher's block/workspace. (Going to wait a bit on this one)

Butler's Pantry
-Line shelves with non-adhesive mats
-Maybe get curtain to block the pantry from the kitchen? (or go crazy with a beaded curtain?) (Mixed responses to this last time! I'm leaving it in just for the record!)

Bathroom
-Put up shower curtain cotton liners-Think about towel warmer/dryer? (Arrived! Toasty, toasty bathroom with dry towels).

Mudroom
-Buy a sideboard to house linen and to use as more bench space for the bathroom.
-Buy a washing basket
-Buy a clothes rack
-Maybe buy a plant for the sideboard when we have it. (Got one for my birthday! Thanks AB!)

Bedroom
-Buy a mattress
-Buy a bed base
-Buy new, darker curtains
-Buy wall hooks for the picture rails

Closet
-Line drawers with paper liners


Dining Room/2nd Bedroom
-Research and buy an airbed and linen and guest towels
-Buy dining table (more on this later this week!)
-Buy dining chairs
-Buy rug (this is a lease condition)

Lounge room
-Buy couch (ordered but not arrived)
-Buy coffee table
-Buy rug
-Buy a large plant - maybe a Fiddle Fig?
-Buy small desk for this space
-Buy a chair/stool, too
-Buy a desk lamp
-Buy thicker curtains for the front windows
-Buy a lamp
-Buy a cabinet for electronic cords/wires

Hallway
-Buy a rug (runner style) - this is a lease condition

Misc
-Placemats for hot things on dining table
-Polish up dining table
-Vacuum cleaner/Mop + bucket
-Sewing machine (eventually!)
-Braun kitchen blender/chopper
-Iron

A Whale of a time

Well hello little whale! This is used to pack up kids' toys after a bath and to store them (great idea) but I can't help but think it could be fun for adults, too. I have nowhere to affix him in our bathroom, but he's bookmarked. Oh he is bookmarked.

New side table

Does this just look like it was made for the space? We were looking for a side table, and it may also turn into our drinks cart, too. It's killing me that I don't have all my accessories over here yet to add to it (yes, that's an Orangina bottle with some Lavender in it!) but that will come. For now, it's just nice to have a place to actually put things. The picture below is inspiring me to put some artwork up there, pronto. We'll see!  Updated to say: it's from World Market.

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Arran Gregory sculpture

These sculptures are so brilliant - what stunning pieces. Desperate for a mirrored rhino head near our dining table. (Yep, chalk that up with the other 'phrases I never thought I'd say'!)

House Progress IV

Well hello little runner! We ended up going pretty plain for the hallway - it's a high-traffic area so the Pal and I chose a thick jute, with a black border, which we both really like. It was Labor Day this weekend, which means we had an extra day off. And happily, it meant we got some shopping done. We hired a car and hilariously almost didn't fit everything in it! Which I guess is a good sign. A few more things crossed off the list - I'll show them over the coming week. 

To-do list: (I'll be posting this weekly as a personal reminder of where we're up to - please feel free to ignore or to play along). Obviously much of this will cost a lot, so we'll do it over time, starting with the most urgent.

Kitchen
-Get a new plug for the sink-
-Line cupboards with non-adhesive mats
-Possibly get an eat-in table and chair or a centre butcher's block/workspace. (Going to wait a bit on this one)

Butler's Pantry
-Line shelves with non-adhesive mats
-Maybe get curtain to block the pantry from the kitchen? (or go crazy with a beaded curtain?) (Mixed responses to this last time! I'm leaving it in just for the record!)

Bathroom
-Put up shower curtain cotton liners
-Think about towel warmer/dryer? (Arrived! Toasty, toasty bathroom with dry towels).

Mudroom
-Buy a sideboard to house linen and to use as more bench space for the bathroom.
-Buy a washing basket
-Buy a clothes rack
-Maybe buy a plant for the sideboard when we have it. (Got one for my birthday! Thanks AB!)


Bedroom
-Buy a mattress
-Buy a bed base
-Buy new, darker curtains
-Buy wall hooks for the picture rails

Closet
-Line drawers with paper liners

Dining Room/2nd Bedroom
-Research and buy an airbed and linen and guest towels
-Buy dining table (more on this later this week!)
-Buy dining chairs
-Buy rug (this is a lease condition)

Lounge room
-Buy couch (ordered but not arrived)
-Buy coffee table
-Buy rug
-Buy a large plant - maybe a Fiddle Fig?
-Buy thicker curtains for the front windows
-Buy a lamp
-Buy a cabinet for electronic cords/wires

Study nook/Entraceway
-Buy small desk for this space
-Buy a chair/stool, too
-Buy a desk lamp

Hallway
-Buy a rug (runner style) - this is a lease condition


Study nook/Entraceway
-Buy small desk for this space
-Buy a chair/stool, too
-Buy a desk lamp


Misc
-Placemats for hot things on dining table
-Polish up dining table
-Vacuum cleaner/Mop + bucket
-Sewing machine (eventually!)
-Braun kitchen blender/chopper
-Iron