Time Worn Style

White bedlinen

Loving the beautiful light and the warmer weather

around the hills at the moment...

Time to bring a bit of fresh crisp white into the home

now things are warming up..

Am also loving the ruffles and gathers of fabrics

that I'm coming across lately too..

and I especially love them as part of the bedroom..

so when I found this complete set

at a bargain price

I snapped it up quick smart.

love how it lightens up the room..

 

I love colour too much to have an all white house..

but I do love some touches of crisp white

and the textures and layers of fabric..

just

like

this

School holidays here at the moment so am busy with my daughters

Will have some wonderful new treasures available at my online store very soon however so do check back..

French Linen shoot

Firstly don't forget to come and say "Hi'

at the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza

coming up REAL soon..

oh my the treasures I have for you

and if you buy an early bird ticket you get first pick!

See you there!!

I love taking photos of treasures for my ebay store..

Its good fun to "style" them and get the shot just right..

and sometimes they turn out just how I want..

like this one..

 

Nice and simple

straight from the camera lense

 

 

And I get to play with my French linens too

from Metisse here in Olinda..

and you know how I love old mirrors...

layering more treasure on top of treasure..

I love these rainy, cold days where you get to play around the house..

Alicia

 

by the way, the mirror and stand are available for sale in my ebay store

along with this..

 

and these...

 

Vintage Wallpaper & boxes

Was chatting to some lovely friends on the weekend..

and the conversation came around to vintage wallpaper

and the pretty things that can be made from them..

I've started a little collection on top of my wardrobe

Of boxes that were covered many many years ago in luscious layers of vintage wallpaper..

Showing off in the last bastion of rosey girlishness in this big old home..

Our bedroom..

 

I can store away some not so pretty things inside..

and still have those gorgeous designs on show..

That little square box is a recent Wallpaper box with Vintage paper

made by Kirstie over at Adeline Country Cottage

she has the most stunning collection of Vintage wallpaper..

 

I think they do look a little better than a stack of plastic boxes..

 

Don't you?

Alicia

Not long now to the big event, hope to see you there!

Painting....

I don't know what it is but as soon as I get a paint brush in my hand

I have to keep painting

I've told the kids not to stand still..

they could be next..

heaven knows there is a child like shape somewhere against a white wall..

So as I mentioned in my last blog post, I painted me a large bedroom..

with all that bead boarding..

It took a while

Lets just say..

which didnt help me get over my Autumn flu symptoms..

But I had the brushes out so thought I might turn this..

 

 

Into a little French Shell Grey number...

 

Holds a stack of books

and a cuppa

and of course rather than clean the brush..

I thought I might finish these as well..

 

Two of them infact...

I think they would look perfect next to a white slipcovered sofa..

You do share my vision don't you?

 

Both are available in my ebay store

if you are wanting a little French Grey in your life..

Now..

what else can I paint...

Alicia

 

My summer painting project..

At the end of last month I realised I was posed with a problem

You see, each summer I set myself a large decorating task

This summer just gone was to paint out the red in our bedroom.

Great idea..

Then suddenly I realised that there were only two days of summer left..

so I had better get cracking

I've never liked the red

Its a large room our bedroom ~ used to be a seperate cottage to  the house ~

with large french doors to the verandah

but the colour made it dark..

And it is lined completely ~ roof and walls ~ with wooden panelling

(the name of which escapes me, do remind me someone!)

~ Tounge and Groove ~ thanks Sue

So painting with a roller was out of the question

It had to be by hand

I was going to paint it a lighter colour

this maroon red...

so it would take several coats to cover it

So with only two days of summer left

I got stuck into it.

 

Decided to spend a little more and use my favourite undercoat sealer

Zissar ~ and the oil based one at that as didnt want any of this red seeping through

I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone (small tip though, get them to mix it for you at the paint store on their shaker machine first as otherwise it is very runny initially)

 

All the grooves painted first

(note my special painting technique of leaving treasures in place till the last minute ie. laziness)

then the boards themselves

I can't believe the difference in light it makes by doing such a simple thing..

The room has always had big windows but the colour just swallowed it up

So now it looks like this...

 

with the light streaming in...

 

 

Its so nice to be in here during the day now...

I still have to do the trims and the french doors which are still in a red "stain"

however I did do the walls..

which is what I promised myself this summer..

 

It was a lot of work...

 

 

and it did involve a lot of ladder climbing...

and a few coats to cover that red...

 

Will share some more "after" photos soon..

I'm still deciding which treasures I will put back in..

Some I am moving on through my ebay store such as these..

 

and this...

 

so do check back for more "afters"

as I'm not quite finished yet..

 

Linkity Linking with Miss Sarah over at ....

The Girls bedrooms....

Finally had a bit of a "day off" today, by that I mean I didnt have to work at my business but I still had to do work around the house..

When you have a hundred year old house

you dont really get time off

because I am SURE it has a life of its own and continues to grow and change without me doing a thing to it

anyway....

SO

after bashing the inside corner of the roof of the family room to shut the possoms up who have suddenly realised its spring and obviously feel their own sap rising...

I started picking and putting

and worked my way into the girls rooms..

threw the feather quilts into the Lloyd loom trunk at the end of the bed..

put the heavy winter jackets into the suitcases on top of the wardrobe..

(see that basket chandelier.. that was in my own room when I was but a wee child. Mum let me take it with me when she sold the family home ~ my chandelier obsession started VERY young...)

Then I shook out and hung up the super fluffy lace infested mosquito net ~ our pond is full of wrigglers, soon they will have wings..

 

but ran out of steam by the time I got to the dressing table..

I mean just how many flavoured chap sticks does a 10 year old need??

So this is the cluttered dressing table shot..

 

 

Then onto the next bedroom...

Remember these tissue poms made by Tamarah and Matt?

Well this is where some of the multitudes ended up..

On my most favourite windows in the house

 

I REALLY want to decorate this room

BADLY

but my teen wont let me

I have the sads about that

But I have sneaked a few things in ... antique bed, day bed and quilt for one

And I mean you gotta have an Axminster on the floor to keep the draughts out.

I had other plans

but my Teen wont let me

**pout**

 

 

Playing house..

Hi one and all..I'm finally back in the land of the living after a very busy month with the SVJ extravaganza and then having my head shoved in paper work trying to sort out the filing cabinet and all it involved..

Was a nice feeling to get all my "ducks in a row" finally and finish everything off with a big tick!

So now today I had a little time to play house at Greystanes..

I bought this little picture from Samantha at the Extravaganza so it was great to find a place for it.

Probably will end up on the wall eventually but its on the bedroom mantle for the moment..

I like the little punch of black frame amongst all the whites..

Of course once you are on a roll you cant stop there...

I have a bit of thing for ladders at the moment..

They are great for displaying items so I brought this gorgeous old mint green painters ladder upstairs to fill a spot in the hallway that leads to the main bathroom..

Because I wanted to display these little beauties that had been hiding away on top of a cupboard for quite some time..

and these too..

 I thought it might be nice to walk past a little display..

That can also be seen from the bathroom...

Looks pretty nice against the baltic pine doors..

You'll have to excuse all that rolled up Axminster carpet behind the door, our elderly dog is having trouble getting outside quickly enough to avoid little "accidents".  Currently our wooden floor boards are fully on show, not a rug to be seen, not ideal in the winter!

Also had a lovely surprise from Megan over at White Cat Vintage blog ~ an award for moi! ~ see there over at the side...

Will be spreading the love shortly and passing it on so keep a look out!

A few people have mentioned to me that they are having trouble leaving comments on this blog. I'm not sure why that is as I have left it pretty well open to everyone with no codes to fill in etc and they assure me at typepad that everything is working, so.... do keep trying as I have come to realise lately that a few people do actually read all the carrying ons of this here blog so would really love to receive your comments!

Personally I really just thought I was yapping on to myself so there you go!

oh and a little tip on finding these old quilts at the op shops here in Australia.

Have a look in the "dog blanket" box

I have found some of my best quilts hiding in there ;)

Alicia

Vintage White Bead Board Bedroom

I'm just so very pleased to have my Ruffled Slipcover featured on

Pink & Polka Dot

Some amazing slipcovers and tutorials too, do pop over for a look!

When we bought "Greystanes" we also purchased the previous owners choice of wall colour.

Two of the rooms were purple (both since painted white)

One of the rooms was green (still living with it)

And our bedroom a deep red maroon..

But I've found some lovely items for our bedrooms makeover (all on a budget too!)

So here's a little sneak preview of what is to go over our vintage bed...

 

And on the dresser next to the bed..

The fireplace I have already painted a lovely white...

From before (the old hearth)...

 

To after...

But that wall colour has to go....

Our bedroom was originally a seperate cottage on the property, since joined to the main house.

I wonder if it was the original kitchen as a lot of these old Australian houses had their kitchens quite seperate from the main house.

All the walls (and roof) are original bead boarding...

AND the roof is held up by heavy dark wood beams...

Its going to take a LOT of work to paint but it will be so light and airy when done.

I dont think I will be able to show the AFTERS for a while..

but it will happen....

So do check back wont you?

My very first MOSAIC MONDAY at Little Red House

Of course I have joined Cindy's Show and tell Friday, come and see!

AND

there is a super dooper fantastic giveaway over at

You will LOVE me for sending you over for this one!

Antique & vintage Monogrammes

So beautiful and elegant, I love them on linens ...

as an accent to a room hanging on an antique washstand...

or on silver flatware...

and doesnt it feel wonderful when you find that monogramme that belongs to YOU!

Recycling continues...

 I do love to repurpose old finds into something functional.

This pink Art Deco sink was a roadside find from last year. I'm hoping to get a few flowers from the primroses before Winter sets in (fingers crossed).

The old pram makes a great portable herb garden ~ although the herbs are looking a little tired as Autumn comes upon us..

How to...

Line the pram with thick black plastic and put a few holes in the bottom for drainage with a fork (or other sharp instrument)

Fill with potting mix and herbs and you are away.

Wheels are perfect for making sure your herb garden is always in the sun!

This is another Queen Anne bedside table I restored recently.

Don't you love those cabriole legs?

Added some pretty crystal knobs and here she is....

She's been SOLD and ready to go to her new home..

School holidays are upon us here in Victoria, will have to put my other restorations on hold till the kids are back at school, in the meantime I get to do lots of fun kid things!!

I've joined COASTAL CHARMS NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY, check out all the wonderful links there, make a cuppa, sit back and enjoy!

Also FADED CHARMS WHITE WEDNESDAY so make that cuppa last whilst browsing through these lovelies too!

Currently ready for purchase at my EBAY STORE

VINTAGE FRENCH SHOE LAST