Time Worn Style

The Australian Verandah...

One of the main things I loved about this old house when I first saw it was its long and deep Australian Verandahs..

We have them on both sides of the house

You can fit a good size table and chair set on them

and in summer they are the coolest place to be sitting back with 

a G & T and enjoying the serenity..

but of course being such an old house

this more "original" section is in dire need of a makeover

the uprights are sagging

the decking rises and falls with the weather..

more to do with some earlier poor repairs rather than anything else..

 

 

and the bases of the uprights are rotted out..

the railings need to be added back in..

and the stairs replaced..

 

Theres another little room underneath..

the boards need replacing..

 

 

I think this is going to be our next renovation project

over Summer..

its a big one

we may just sit on it for another year

enjoying the serenity..

and hoping it doesnt collapse from under us

and available for purchase now in my ebay Australia store..

 

Antique boudoir clock..

 

Our wild mountain garden in Olinda..

Spring weather up here..

on our mountain top in Australia..

its unpredictable..

nice and warm one day

then foggy and cold the next

with lots of rain..

which of course means

that the garden does go a bit wild

which I actually love

and is also good

because it works in well with my poor weeding skills..

I think this is called a "flower field" garden..

all these bulbs have taken it upon themselves

to shuffle their little new bulbs

across the expanse

of field

to create a sparkle of colour

that I would like to say I planned in advance

but nature took it upon herself to do it for me

in a wonderous dance of bright green bling and a hurrah of colour

the previous owners may well have planted a bulb or two..

but its natures show now

in all its controlled chaos..

a show that I look forward to

each and very year

with a standing ovation

from my back row in the stalls...

Some lovely items in my ebay store this week too..

Postage / shipping from Australia

 

 

 

Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza ~ Decorating with Vintage and Antiques

Well it sure has been a very busy time around here.

Was a part of the very successful Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza

where I parted with a large number of my treasures

and met some fabulous people

even some lovely ladies I know from my blog

and my ebay store

(thanks Natalie for the lovely present ♥ )

It was just SO wonderful to meet everyone

I only had a small stall this year

but was able to fill it with lots of treasures

most of which sold on Day One

so we all had to restock again for Day Two!

What is left though I am clearing out in my ebay store right now

Prices are low and I'm happy to combine items where possible for postage

 

Here at Greystanes we have settled back into a cold winter..

We have had snow already

I love the effect it gives to the garden..

 

we don't get snow that often so when we do it's a bit of a treat..

because the kids get to make strange snow animals

that sit in the freezer for months afterwards..

 

Enjoy the real winter we are having this year everyone!!

Alicia

And so to next year....

Had a lovely Christmas here on the Veranda with family and friends

Three long trestle tables with old white linens ruffling in the breeze..

Old silver flatware ..

The weather was mild, the food delish, the company lovely...

I do love Summer on the mountain

our garden is so lush and green this year with all the rain...

 

Christmas has passed and so onto next year..

What shall it hold for us all I wonder?

Alicia

do visit my ebay store, items are reduced so grab a bargain!

 

 

A white obelisk for the roses..

So much going on here at Greystanes at the moment I can hardly keep up

And haven't even thought about Christmas yet

although I do know our family lunch is going to be here

out on our Verandah under the trees on our old Art School stools

with a few trestle tables

and the Kookaburras laughing in the background

 

I did tidy up a rather leafy garden bed nearby

There has been a lot of rain so far this year

which is good because the  drought here has finally broken

but the garden has gone a bit mad as a result

Was pretty happy to find this white obelisk for my rampant climbing rose over the weekend

so finally have that under control at least..

Hope its a nice hot Aussie day this Christmas on the Verandah so we can sit there with a few beers and enjoy..

Alicia :0)

and of course my goodies in my ebay store this week...

Some Sanderson chairs for your own Aussie Verandah...

Georgian Spode in original box ~ A great Christmas present!

My thumb... a shade of green?..

My mum has a green thumb

Her garden is small

but its glorious

and her roses this year

well they are just glorious...

big blousey and divine..

My mum has a green thumb

on each hand..

I hope that I have inherited some of that green too..

Will share some of my roses when they flower...

its 5 degrees cooler up here on our mountain so

our roses are not quite in flower yet

hope the possoms stay away from the buds..

Alicia

 

check out my ebay store wont you??

 

 

A few flowers and a bit of sewing...

 

Our garden is quite old so each spring we are lucky to have a field of bulbs bursting through in the front yard where the horses used to be kept..

I thought it was a good time to bring some of those beautiful blooms inside ~ or onto the Verandah as the case may be...

A pitcher full of bluebells to grace the entry..

 

and some of these red delights ( I still do not know the name of these flowers ~ can anyone help at all)?

 

in some vintage milk bottles and my clay tags

 

 

Isn't it lovely when you sew?

Isn't it even better when you get the machine out and actually use it?

Well yesterday was the day

I finished my project in a day

I mean it really isn't a problem once you get started is it?

In fact it's actually quite enjoyable...

I wanted to make this...

A floaty, voluminous bed skirt,

or a slip cover for the bed base

Not a pinch pleat one..

Not a gathered one that finishes 5 inches short of the floor

See that is the problem with old beds

They are too high for modern linens

So I had to make my own bedskirt

That draped

and pooled

Like this

 

It took a while but I can tick it off the list

Next are cushions

But I had to pack the machine up again

So bare with me wont you, it could be a while...

Want to know how to make a draped pooled bed skirt?

Buy floaty drapy fabric

Use an old modern day bed skirt

Gather and sew the floaty draped pooley material over the top of the hopelessly modern and short skirt..

Too easy

Well ok a little fiddly cause it is big and a little hard to maneurver

but stick with it those of you have old high beds

You know you want it!

 

 

and now for my shameless promotion of my Time Worn Style store...

  

 

and a little Industrial chic cause don't we love it?!

 

I've joined....

Cause that skirt is a bit of a slip cover for the bed!

Spring Fest on Mt Dandenong..

One thing (amongst many) that I do really love about living on our Mountain here in Victoria, Australia is Spring.

To put it mildly it is AMAZING

It just bursts with colour, life and sun (with smatterings of rain)

This year we were again lucky to have a few open gardens close to home...

The one I am featuring here is my favourite and belongs to a neighbour of ours just down the road.

We strolled down to this garden on the weekend ~ I'll let the pictures do the talking

Keep in mind that when they purchased this property it was covered in blackberry, holly and weeds...

 

(most photos taken by our youngest girl who is loving photography at the moment)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trough garden, loved this area...

This kookaburra was getting narky cause the owners hadn't given him his minced meat yet... (he gets fed at our house too so he's a demanding little fella!)

You know like when you have a cat that belongs to the street and gets weirdly fat

Cause he's eating at three different homes.

This kookie is like that...

I think thats why he laughs so much..

 

and of course we tiptoed through the tulips...

 

I'm thinking I would like a lawn like that (once i get rid of the onion weed..)

 

and a garden shed with leadlight windows ~ dreaming...

 

and some garden paths without weeds in them like this...

my youngest commented, well at least we have the hedges...

did I mention how I want that lawn?...

and elegant steps like these?...

 

and maybe a little greenhouse for those rare woodland plants..

 

And those rough Australian tree ferns...

 

Yes feeling very inspired after visiting our neighbours garden..

They are only a few houses down from us..

So I figure

If they can do it.

We can do it.

It only took them 30 years..

I had better get started...

Alicia

A slightly Industrial Aussie Verandah ...

on the hills overlooking Melbourne..

Which we actually can see now some of our hedges have been cut down and the light is pouring in again..

Found some great little treasures this week to help out with some entertaining issues we have been having..

Something simple with wood and steel...

Have been thinking for a while about those old stools you used to see at Primary School in the Art Room. Beautiful wood, SO functional and they stack!

So was very happy to find not one or two but Fifteen of these beauties looking for a home..

I think our seating problems might be over..

Cant wait for the weather to warm up a little bit more and start using our Verandah again..

Our Kookaburras think its time, they have been hanging around waiting for a few scraps from the table, not quite yet fellas, be patient!

How's the serenity??

As much as I am enjoying  the sleek simple lines of a bit of Industrial, I still havent forgotten my first love of Roses and Crystal..

Really love this gorgeous Comport I found this week..

oh and this most stunning petite mirror..

Come and get 'em over here at my ebay store

Alicia

Hedging our bets...

To those who are considering putting  a hedge around their property.

Consider these points..

Be VERY careful about what hedging plant you choose...

For example:

DON'T choose Leyland Cyprus as the previous owners did.

Why?

because they are HUGE and they dont stop getting huge..

and they get more and more HUGE every year, 30 feet or more

AND

it costs a fortune to keep them trimmed at the top..

Also for a bush fire prone area such as this they go up like a match!

So we bit the bullet and brought in the heavy duty tree loppers to trim them down

to a more manageable 6 foot (ish)...

The cost to get this done was HUGE but at least now we will be able to maintain them ourselves.

Before...

  After... 

Before...

 

 

After...

 

(scuse Box hedge clippings, I decided to trim those as well)

All thanks to these guys...

it's now all done..

Personally if it were me choosing a hedge plant it would be ~ drum roll...

Sasanqua camellias.

these make a beautiful hedge, I put in a hedge of them in our last garden ..

And whats more they flower too.

You can't deny that the effect is totally gorgeous

(gettyimages)

Not as fast growing but certainly 100 times more manageable.

You have been warned..

Leyland Cyprus = No

unless you are a farmer and require a windbreak for your paddocks

ps. now i have more light in the house from having the hedge lopped I was able to photograph more treasures for my ebay store ~

I mean, who doesn't need a beaded gogo top??