Dreamy Bathrooms

I am about to start renovating my bathroom. I love this freestanding shower (above photos). Not so rapt about the price tag though...

This is the same shower in a more informal quirky setting.

I would love a chandelier in my bathroom but my ceilings are not high enough. Sigh. And this bathtub is country and elegant. I am pretty sure I will have French lime washed oak in my bathroom. Why not?

And you can't really beat classic white, or a free standing towel heater.

And this is a girl's bathroom. The frameless shower has definitely given me some ideas. I am not so sure about the vanity though, I am hanging out for a white pedestal basin, to keep my look classic. I will post my (slow) progress.

French champagne riddling racks, armoires and garden pots

This French oak champagne riddling rack was featured in the most recent issue of Belle magazine, picked by an interior designer who took inspiration from the iconic and ultra stylish Belgium designer, Axel Vervoordt. Riddling racks, or pupitres, were originally used in the hand riddling process of making the champagne. Most wineries now use mechanized riddling equipment,however some still use the traditional approach...I know which method would look better!

They are making their way into homes, where people are using them for wine storage. Also, check out the French butcher's block in the background of the above photo.

We plan to give the riddling rack above a wax using our natural beeswax polish to enhance the oak timber, which is 19th century.

And I adore this photo, from Belle magazine June/July 2009 issue (page 95). The dress on the antique French mannequin is exquisite. I love the detail of the shoot from the globe to the Louis Vuitton trunks, and the hat box on top of the armoire. I think the armoire would look better if it had mirrored doors to reflect that beautiful dress. Just like the one below! It is a French rosewood armoire.

This photo shoot is also from Belle June/July 2009 (page 96) I like the terracotta pots strewn across the floor, and the old wheelbarrow, flowers, tin buckets etc. The terracotta pots are available in Sydney. I am not sure whether they would have any left after this photo went into publication! They would have been highly sort after.

These pots are French and are actually hand-thrown, a method they do not use anymore. Some people have bought them to cook little breads in. I will have to trial that one myself and report back.

Amazing London Interior!

One of my favourite features of all time in the World of Interiors magazine was in the February 2010 issue (page 104 to 113). The home belongs to designer Anouska Hempel in London.

These round fanlight windows are beautiful! She turned them upside down to form circles - very clever! I love her daring use of dark colours. But mostly I adore the way she uses multiples of objects to make a striking impact. She does not have just one hanging engraved glass lantern above her dining table, she has nine! And I count six glass smoke domes in front of the window (see above photo) Hanging glass lanterns are my favourite light fitting, they always look elegant, particularly in entrances and hallways. Both mum and Donna have these in their hallways. And the engraved pattern sends of dancing patterns onto the walls. The lanterns pictured in the above photo are some that we have in our store presently.

And here is a collection of 19th century glass smoke domes that we have in the store. They would look great hanging in a window as Anouska has done in her dining room.

She has plenty of dark lacquer, glass candlesticks, storm lanterns, red Chinese pottery and plaster intaglios. It certainly makes me want to be more bold with decorating!

Aprons for the Store

How clever is my mum and sister, Rachel? They created these beautiful aprons from French linen and stamped them using vintage wooden printers letters. They look really unique and we are very proud to be wearing them in our store. They actually made them while we were in the UK and surprised us with them upon our return. We have the wooden printers letters in our store. A lady bought some that spelt "baby" on the weekend, as a gift to her friend setting up a nursery.

Salamanca Market - Early Morning Finds

At Salamanca Market on Hobart's waterfront this morning I rugged up against the elements with the mission of brightening up my kitchen with some fresh flowers. I found a stall selling dutch hyacinths, he only had one white one left (white is my favourite flower colour) so I was in luck. I potted them into a small French white porcelain tureen base... I was utterly mesmerised by some cabbage roses or ornamental kale on the same stall, I had to buy one to take home just to admire. I have popped it in a glass vessel that I bought from The Vintage Rose in Launceston (see below photo). I also bought some tulips which look great in English creamware. This jug is one of my favourites in my cupboard, I bought it on last year's UK buying trip. Here is another type of ornamental kale - amazing! This one was grouped with some native flowers, which I didn't like, they look best just as they are. I plan to plant some next year, I have to wait til Autumn. The frosts actually enhance the depth of colour. But the seeds need some warmth in the soil to germinate, so I will plant around 6 weeks before the expected first frost. There are numerous fruit and vegetable stalls like this one. I bought some fresh produce including some organic apples, leeks, butternut pumpkin, beetroot etc. Plus a red onion and chedder bread to have with roast pumpkin soup. Yum.

And lastly, I could not resist a few vintage pieces... I found a French white porcelain juicer (very small, I will use it for limes) and a strainer...

Pictures of Venice

The petite canals with the famous gondolas. We chose a warm night for our gondola ride, see photo below... Going under the Rialto bridge on the Grand Canal. This courtyard with arched ironwork and stone statue was out the back of the glass museum on the island of Murano. On the island of Torcello we stumbled across an antique shop. Inside was a fabulous Russian icon for 6000 euros and a French still-life painting for 3200 euros - a little outside our budget. They also had garden statuary for sale, see photo below...

Also on the island of Torcello was the above villa. It was actually for sale, it would make the perfect holiday home. We can dream...

Within Venice itself we saw a couple of stores making and selling these aprons. And they were a real steal at only 10 to 15 euro each!

Ladder frenzy

This collection of English country ladders are available in America on 1stdibs. I would think we bought as many as this on our buying trip! We love ladders, from the more refined faux bamboo ladders to the English country farmhouse steps, not to mention French orchard ladders.

We bought some pine library steps very similar to this one (which is also on 1stdibs). Ours does not have quite as many steps, but the steps are nice and wide. It may be one that we want to keep as a shop fitting, we will see...

I love these folding ladders as they make a great display shelf (just add some planks across the steps). The one above is on 1stdibs, the one below is one of two that we bought - one has original green paint, the other is waxed pine. Both will have a few planks with them as shelves. Donna bought a ladder very similar to the one above. I love the complex construction. Not only does it look great, it makes them very, very strong. This is the French faux bamboo ladder that I bought last year from our store. It is now in my kitchen and I use it to reach into my high cupboards. It is very strong as it is not bamboo, but oak made to look like bamboo. There is one on 1stdibs at the moment, I bet it would cost a small fortune! We have a tall pine faux bamboo ladder in our shop at the moment with hooks at the top (not folding). It would look great in a library, hallway or bathroom. And we also bought another darker coloured one (see previous post). And I have saved the best for last. This is the dreamiest ladder of all time and is also on 1stdibs. And I would think that this one would not cost a small fortune, but a large one!

More buying trip finds

This delightful pine chest of drawers was one of Donna's finds in the south of England. The powder blue painted finish with white detail and the bracket feet give it oodles of character - it is both cute and sophisticated at the same time if possible. The French faux bamboo ladder came from the same trade contact, as did the leather screen in the background. I have a thing for faux bamboo ladders, I have one in my kitchen and absolutely love it! And speaking of French faux bamboo and painted chest of drawers, here is a faux bamboo chest of drawers that we bought quite early in the trip... It would look great in a bedroom, boudoir or bathroom...