Study makeover

I've been working on a little project for a few weeks now and it's finally ready to share with you.  Since Paul made me the desk out of reclaimed timber I've been giving our little study nook a makeover!

For those of you who are familiar with the style of a Californian Bungalow house, you will know that often what was previously the front porch gets built in to use as inside floor space.

In our house, this little nook has been used as a study off our lounge room.  I haven't spent much time or energy on this room, as eventually it will be reopened up to become the front porch again. But with my beautiful new desk and increasing time spent on the computer, I decided that I wanted to make it easier on the eye as well as more practical.


You can see from the before picture that it was pretty boring uninspiring, with some bare necessities and a second hand (not to mention ill fitting) desk.

Look how lovely it looks now! A desk which fits perfectly in place, less clutter and some pretty accessories. 

The prints on the wall were wedding gifts from our friends Jess and Lach.

I decided on a blue and green colour palette with pops of yellow (and some of Paul's things in red). I love the calm of blue and green and it reminds me of being by the sea- the different blues and greens of the water and the blue of the sky.
 
To increase the amount of storage in the study, I've used two 2x2 Expedit shelving units as storage (behind the desk) and they couldn't fit better if they were made to measure! I already had one in the spare room so only had to get a second one to sit beside it.

Now we've got plenty of storage including a place where we can keep the printer so it doesn't take up space on the desk.  We also finally a have a practical filing system (including in and out trays) and I think that it looks good too!

I tried without success to find a new home for the Ducati models (top left).

Adaptability of the items that I used in the study was a key factor given nothing is permanent right now! Everything that I've used will also go well in the renovated house, either in a study or reused in other rooms. I did a lot of shopping around to find things that I liked and cost was also a consideration, given the temporary nature of the space.

 

I love having pretty, personal things around me and it's definitely the many small pieces that make a room homely and inviting to me.

 

This gorgeous print is a custom order made by my talented friend Nat at Little Puddles.  She has lots of other gorgeous prints as well as jewellery and if you like this one, you should head to her page and take a look.

The blue Tempo fan is from Bunnings (only $8.00!), the clock (which you can't see in this pic, but can see above) is from Typo and the notepaper holder was part of (another bargain) clearance stationery set from Kmart.

It's fair to say that I'm currently obsessed with glass and all things upcycled.  The pen holder is an upcycled jar wrapped in brown paper and twine that I used at Christmas as a vase, but now has another new life!

On the left side of the desk are a set of black and white Ikea canisters (that I've had for some time), and the turquoise and yellow bowls are an op shop find from last weekend. The frame I got for my birthday contains the chorus of our wedding song (I downloaded a handwritten font I loved and made it myself on the computer- easy and cheap art!) and you can also see an origami mobile that was a gift from my friend Rach.

The milk bottles are by Morgan and Finch from The Works Hawthorn (who strangely don't appear to have a website).  If you're into homewares this place is massive and worth a trip to check out. The milk bottles are holding drawing pins and clips also in blues and greens.

So there you have it, my new study! It's been a little while coming, but I think it's been worth the wait. I'm so happy with how it's come up and it's now somewhere that I love to be and work.

Weekend Project: Reclaimed timber desk

On Australia Day weekend we went on a mission to find some reclaimed/recycled timber so that Paul could make me a table top for our study.

I've been wanting a timber top on trestle legs ever since I saw a one in a magazine about a year ago. I decided I would wait until we did the reno, so that I knew the space that I was working with and to be honest the study has been more of the boys domain (I'm an iPad on the couch kind of gal!). But now that I'm doing more writing, I decided that I deserved a nice desk to work on as well as one that actually fits the space!

I found a great picture on Pinterest which was very similar to what I wanted, and it lead me to a great blog called Creature Comforts which has all of the DIY instructions. Seriously, I know I've said this before but what did we do before the internet? There are so many creative and talented people sharing amazing things!

So, back to the timber! We found a beautiful piece of wood and after measuring it out to make sure it was the right size for what we wanted, Paul cut it into three pieces so we could bring it home.

Apart from providing instructions and direction throughout this process, I really had nothing to do with the construction and it's probably better that way! I took photos along the way, but if you're looking for more detailed instructions, I'd definitely recommend the Creature Comforts blog. We essentially followed instructions and made some minor alterations along the way.

The three pieces of wood in the clamps after Paul planed the edges to make them even and then glued them together. The glue was left to dry overnight.

After being sanded back and adding the three support beams (old floorboards!) underneath to hold it firmly together.

This one thing I did do, finishing the the desk top with a clear lacquer. Don't you just love the wood grain?!

And here's the finished product complete with the Ikea trestle legs!

...and here's Millie doing her final inspection!

How clever is my husband? I'm so happy with the finished product and I love the fact that we've used reclaimed timber. Paul thinks that it probably comes from inside the roof of an old house and I'm so glad we've given it a new life, where it can be seen and appreciated! 

The materials cost us;

• Reclaimed timber and floorboards- $55
• 2x Ikea Vika Lerberg Trestle legs- $15 each
• Bunnings flat top screws- $6 per pack
• Clear lacquer- a tin that I already had at home

Total cost- $91.00

Can you believe that?! Freedom sells a Trestle desk for $399 and maybe I'm biased but I think ours looks better! This project actually spread over a couple of weekends because we've had a lot on, but it could be done over a long weekend allowing for overnight drying time for the glue and then another night in between the coats of lacquer.

The desk fits perfectly in the study and I'm taking this opportunity to give the whole area a makeover (yay!). The computer has been set up, and I've started pulling the area it all together, but there's more work to be done.  You guessed it... keep your eye out here for pics and details of the makeover when I'm done!

My Australia Day weekend

Happy Australia Day long weekend everyone! We've had a house focused weekend which has been great and very productive.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and given how much has happened this weekend I think it's the best way to tell you all about it...

The weekend started off brilliantly when my much awaited copy of How to Decorate arrived in the mail- I think it may have set the scene...

Saturday started at this junk yard in Reservoir (I can't even tell you what it's called, because I don't think it actually has a name!) where we were on the hunt for some timber to make a desk (more about that later).

We came away with this beautiful timber (left) and 2 vintage ladders which I had been looking for, for ages! All for a grand total of $75- bargain!

While Paul started work on the desk I planted some rocket and baby cos (in a pot on the deck so the possum/s hopefully won't eat it!) in this half wine barrel we picked up from Bunnings...

...and some more tomato plants in the herb garden where there was some space.

On Sunday we went for Bunch with friends at our favourite place Cheshire.  If you're in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne and are looking for great brekky food, I highly recommend it! The others all went for a motorbike ride in the afternoon so I had the opportunity to kick back with a peppermint tea, and my new book! I was kept company by our babies; Maddie (left) and Millie (right).

After a clean and some repair work, one of the ladders was ready to come inside.  I've put it in the spare room with some of my treasures on it.  See the Elephant and Bunnies? My Mum painted them for me back in the 90's when ceramics was the thing to do- pretty cute!

Monday morning I made us brekky in bed.  We lazed around for a bit before mustering up the courage to face Ikea where we going to pick up the trestle legs for the desk.

After Ikea, we took a well earned break on the rooftop deck at Naked for Satan in Brunswick St...

...and admired the view on this amazing Melbourne day.

On the way home, I picked up these beautiful flowers and now it's time to start getting ready to face the week- urgh!

Paul's still outside transforming that beautiful wood into a desktop.  Not only will we have a new desk, but I'm taking the opportunity to makeover our study, which I'm super excited about! I will be sharing what we did with you as soon as it's done, so keep your eye out here!

Vintage...or not to vintage

While the ideas, "what if's" and general renovation chatter continues to pick up pace in our house, I am very excited that I have purchased our first post-reno light fittings!

My love for vintage industrial light fittings started when Sophie and Dale and Brad and Lara used them in their kitchen's on The Block 2012.

Since then I have been keeping my eye out for some (I mentioned in my post last week about the amazing story of the vintage pendants from Department of History in Thornbury) but I have to say that I was finding the price of $250-300 per pendant a little hard to swallow.

Then, late last year I came across the Hektar Pendant lamps when I was at Ikea and I was impressed. As you can see below, the are black with white inside, exactly what I was looking for and in the last place that I expected to see them! Unfortunately it seemed I wasn't the only one who thought this, and there was only one of the small pendants in stock.  So I took the one that was there but I decided I needed two of the large pendants and two more of the small pendants.  I'm planning on using them above the island bench in the kitchen and above the dining table. I will figure out the specifics of which pendants go where when the time comes and I can physically see the space.
On the weekend I discovered that there were some in stock at my 'local' store in Richmond.  I was down there in a flash!  I have to admit that the large pendants were much larger than I expected and it probably would have been helpful to either have an extra pair of hands or a trolley, but I struggled through! After the nightmare that is the Ikea pick up zone (and one stubbed toe later!) I had my full set of pendant lights home.

So, why did I decide "not to vintage" on this occasion? I have to admit that I sometimes get sick of things quickly and I actually can't guarantee that I will love these pendant lamps forever (not to mention that when/if we sell the house I can't take them with me).  I'd rather invest in the long term and big ticket items such as the kitchen and bathroom fittings and appliances and also on the furniture that I know I will have forever. I agree that the Ikea pendants don't contain quite the same character or story as the real deal vintage ones do, but considering it cost me $300 for all 5 of the pendants compared to that price for one, it's a compromise that I'm willing to make.

It's my house, my style and I have to go with what I love- and I do love them.  I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything and it makes me really excited about the day when I can finally hang those pendants in my new kitchen and dining room.  Here's hoping I still love them by then...