First visit to Pottery Barn and West Elm

Pottery Barn and West Elm finally opened in Sydney, Bondi Junction at the beginning of the month. With all this putting-the-house-on-the-market business I didn't even have time to pop down until 2 weeks later! Incredible when you know how impatient I was for them to open!

I was actually a bit disappointed at the selection they had. One thing I really like from Pottery Barn is their lighting... and they hardly had any on display. 

The new place we bought is quite contemporary anyway so I think I'll be shopping more at West Elm and online where they seem to have a larger selection!

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Before and after: bedside table

With all the chaos of selling the house, one big issue was at the top of the list: what do to with all my projects!

Well, some people got bargains on eBay where I had to sell some of my unfinished projects! But I couldn't bring myself to selling this little bedside table without giving it a new lease of life.

I think this is quite an old piece. The wood had an interesting patina but was quite damaged and some of the mouldings were missing. Obvious before painting but not that big an issue now that the piece is unified by the paint colour.

The mouldings are quite intricate so I decided to highlight them with a light distressing.

I created my own chalk paint with some plaster of Paris I bought in France a year ago (finally got around to using it, yeah!).

And painted the piece a bluish grey that we could call French grey. 

The hardware was missing so I made a quick trip to Chippendale restoration. I think these new handles work nicely.

And here is the finished piece:

It's for sale for $150. Give me a shout if you are interested!

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We are selling!

I have been very quiet on the blog front lately as we have out the house on the market.

Here is the link.

http://www.domain.com.au/Property/?adid=2010471442

I know it might not seem obvious that putting the house on the market would keep me away from the computer but the process is a lot more painful that it seems! Well at least more painful than I thought!

The estate agent recommended we speak to their staging expert. Oh my! What a pain!

She was trying to empty the house all together. I let her have her way with the lounge room but stuck to my guns for most of the house! I didn't spent the last 9 years making the house cozy just so she could make it feel like a showroom.

Still had to put a lot in storage (include my home office - not all that practical for a freelancer!), fix the house up, sell some furniture I don't want in the new place, sell countless projects I won't have time to work on (I won't even mention my failed garage sale - where I sold a grand total of 3 items for about $17!)... Painful I'm telling you!

If you are thinking of selling, think twice!

Anyway, here are the professional shots:

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Pottery barn opening next week

Only one week left before the opening of the first Pottery Barn shop in Australia on May 2nd. Luckily for me it's in Sydney's Bondi Junction and I'll be able to go and spend hours in there!

Seems that West Elm is opening at the same time too! Yippee!

Just hoping it will be as nice and reasonably priced as the American version!

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Moving sale!

We are thinking of putting our house on the market which has prompted me to sell a few pieces of furniture. You know what it's like... new beginnings, new furniture!

These guys are for sale:

Small kauri pine table with dipped legs - 117cm (w) x 70cm (d) x 76cm (h)

Buy it today for $90 - SOLD

Queen Anne dresser - 

Dimensions: 93cm (w) x 46cm (d) x 76.5cm (h) - mirror is an extra 79cm above that

Note: one of the back legs has been repaired.

Buy it today for $150 - SOLD

Armchair with steel frame - 

Note: this has been professionally reupholstered recently in a high quality upholstery fabric

Buy it today for $150

Tripod stool with aqua wool felt seat - 

Buy it today for $50

If you are interested drop me a line though the contact form. I'll probably sell a few more things. Stay put!

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I spy with my little eye... Heath Hall

This property has appeared on "Selling London" and is just amazing. Apparently one of the most expensive places in the UK. The good news is that they just reduced the asking price after having been on the market for close to one year. So now they only want £65m - instead of the £100m they were initially after! Apparently buying the brochure alone cost £5,000.

It has 14 bedrooms, six reception rooms and a panic room!

Do you think anything could be worth that much money?

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My 5 Etsy favourites this week

I've decided to start a feature post of the stuff I like on Etsy (prices in Australian dollars). I will try to post every two weeks. Enjoy!

By Alex Bender

Multicolor leather tote with matching clutch $229

By Atelier 51 - The Annex (it's me!)

Retro drip coffee mug set $50

I know it's a shameless plug but I really like this set!

By Arminho

Whales canvas from $45

By Wind and Willow

Mini dipped bowls $8 each

By Brown St Paper

Fish Under the Sea vintage print (from a children's book) $8

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New furniture website: Max Sparrow

I was wasting time browsing for ideas when I came across an ad for Max Sparrow on The Interior's Addict blog.

They seem to have a range of great looking American style furniture. The kind of stuff you've only been able to get through Coco Republic until now. And the prices are really good. I'm intrigued... Maybe I won't have to wait for Pottery Barn to finally open.

Belaware hall chest AU$755

Roland Tilted Roll Arm Chair AU$895 

Avalon Turned Legs Side Table AU$195

The only catch seems to be the waiting period of between 10 to 12 weeks but then again I bought my dining table through Coco Republic - locally made - and it took 14 weeks.

I would be interested to know if anyone has bought anything from them - let me know if the quality is like if you do.

Check it out: http://maxsparrow.com

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Happy belated Easter

We were away fro Easter and I didn't take the time to post anything. So Happy belated Easter.

We went for a little trip in the middle of the country.
Here are a few shots of Uluru (Ayers Rock).

We had a huge amount of rain on Saturday. Made for an unusual site!

 

Lucky the sun came back!

and if you are wondering, no we didn't find any eggs.

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Introducing you to my latest find

I just ducked out for half an hour yesterday and found this great framed print at the local op-shop.

The gilded frame looks really stylish and the print seems to have been created on high quality paper. Love the combo and thinking I might keep it for a while... I know it's becoming a bit of a worrying trend lately!

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A trip to Masters

Made a trip to Masters the other day. I was intrigued to see what Woolworths could do to make it more attractive than Bunnings. I mean, I'm aware Bunnings are usually pretty ugly warehouses but as they have the market cornered I wondered how Masters would try to make a difference.

I was quite happy with what I saw.
The one I visited was in Chullora, actually much closer than I thought to Leichhardt!
I literally visited the shop which means I got asked about 10times if I was looking for something. I did get weird looks when I said I was just visiting!

First thing I saw was a heap of specialty paints. Then I came across American products I had been looking for for a while like Purdy brushes (still a bit exy) and frog tape (won't have to bring it back from holidays anymore!).

Then I came across the lighting section which was pretty good - I must say that Bunnings have been improving too in that area and then came across some wall stickers, wallpapers...

It looks a lot more like the French hardware shops I like (Leroy Merlin for example) with not only DIY stuff but also decorating items.
I still prefer the French version but will gladly go back to Masters once in a while!

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