The Beach House Kitchen Reveal

And so the kitchen came about...

And I love it more than Christmas.

It's become the total centre of our home.

Every part of it makes me smile.

There's been a lot of planning, hoping, drawing and love gone into this kitchen...and this renovation.

I'm no renovator (that's been made clear...LOUD & CLEAR!)- I don't like dust, or time changes, or cooking on a camp stove...or dust.

But I am a decorator with endless idea's and a need for changing it up a bit.

This space, with it's beautiful light, wonderful louvre windows, simple dark floors and large white walls, has proved already, to be the most gorgeous blank canvas for me to *play upon*.

Did I mention the subway tiles?

If you follow me on Instagram, you will know I'm a little obsessed with subway tiles.
And totally obsessed with dark grey grouting.

Our Irish tiler, not quite so, but they grew on him...

I'm ok with others not being ok with our renovating decisions.

I've learnt that no-one does anything better than a professional.
I've also learnt it doesn't mean they have similar tastes, your tastes, or any taste.

It just means that they put your taste, into a building just as you see it in your head.

That's renovation 101 with the guidance of an Architect.

I still hate dust.

It's been a wonderful journey to get to this point...I'll share the kitchen details next post, as I've a coffee brewing and a chocolate slice in that oven there!

Happy Days!

Mxx

Hello January 2015.

Hello January 2015!

It's been a long few months for us here....

Life is like that- just when you're thinking I've so nailed this thing, it throws you a few curve balls.
I'm all up for curve balls.
I truly believe it makes you a better person, but I'd not say no to a week in the Maldives either...

Or a month in a garden chair with a pile of books, and an endless jug of lemon, lime and bitters.
Just sharing it all...

We've been renovating the beach house here since September last year.
I love architectural drawings.
I love architects.
I love our home.
I love our builders.

But...

I'm not a renovator!
This shocked me a little a lot!

I'm a decorating, mooching, styling, moving furniture, finding spaces kinda girl.
I'm up for making a wonderful home- rearranging spaces endlessly and embracing our days in them.
I'm not a renovator.

We've renovated 'small time' before.
This was bigger.
My favourite elements to the whole process hands down, were designing the kitchen, and drinking a glass of red once a week with our wonderful architect over the plans and drawings.

I'm OK with that.
The spaces we've designed and had built are incredible.
Our three kids are in heaven.
Our family is in heaven.

Now that we're at the really lovely part of just making the space ours I'm crazy happy!
I've promised not to hammer nails into new walls. 
And I'm a big believer in the simple nail.

It's good to be back here.

Hoping your having a wonderful start to your year....x

Melissa 

D.I.Y~ Painting the beach house

I've come up for air...

Literally...

I've had my head over a 20L bucket of paint, delightfully called *Stoneboard* for the last few days...

I have *Stoneboard* trackie pants, and a *Stoneboard* black tee and hoodie- {now my official paint gear}.

I have *Stoneboard* nails, and a sassy streak of *Stoneboard* in my hair...

My sweet husband, who finished the area's around the *too-high-for-me-to-reach-windows* dropped his Tom Baker glasses in *Stoneboard* this morning.

He momentarily lost any sign of D.I.Y proudness.

HE cursed the *Stoneboard*.

Anyway...it's been a few intense days- in terms of an arm work out and balancing life and a head cold.

But it's officially done, and I can return to blog-hopping and tea drinking, and clean nails.

As this is our year for renovating this little house by the coast, I figure I'm semi-project managing the whole gig by saving cash where I can.

I'll paint what I can and save hiring a painter...and that's more money for my windows out the back!

So, it's been head down and paint up here over the last week- and it's been soo crazy satisfying!

Instantaneous jobs always get me.

I change the sheets way to regularly because it's an *instant job well done*.
I wash towels way to often because I like *instant* piles of clean, fresh linen.

The house front also had an instant element to it. {Once I'd washed and readied it for painting}.
Soo satisfying!

There's been much tea drunk here this past week.
I've also indulged in good gourmet coffee for the machine here, and I've been baking bite sized cup cakes for the workers. ;-)

Job now done- TICK.
Next up~ painting the balcony floor and sorting all my pots around the front door.

Thinking the door may need a pop of something?
Is your front door a colour?
Happy {yellow}?
Dramatic {black}?

I'd also like a {cool house number} on it?

I'm on a roll people!

Happy long weekend if your from our 

neck of the woods!

 Happy Monday to the rest of you lovelies

Checkout this post from one of my Bloggy faves if you're craving a little reality and colour
{She is just too lovely}

Melissa
xox

Beach house renovations- an Architect with ideas

Good morning from the windy Autumnal Coast of Oz...

I'm rugged up against the cool air, hot coffee in hand- my mind racing with ideas!

We've had the morning with our architect.
He threw idea's at us.
We grabbed hold of his sketches, and imagined our family sharing the spaces before us on the page.

We agreed.
We brought new thoughts to our little round table of ideas.
We 're on the journey.

I've never worked with an architect before.
My husband's father was a brilliant architect.
We had great vision's of sharing this process with him- but that opportunity just never came up with us living over sea's...the timing was never right.

We now have another brilliant architect- older, wiser, focused on family living in the new world but with an old world understanding of life.
I feel we're very safe in his experienced, firm but gentle hands.

My decorating of the spaces we live in isn't remotely perfect.
It doesn't follow any mantra, or set of design styling guide lines, except my own.

I truly couldn't put our *style of decorating* in any box- but it's ours.
Imperfect, but perfect for us.
A melting pot of industrial, creative, wild country, fresh coastal and simple- yet entirely us.
It's the result of the way we chose to live,  regardless of trends or styles.

I'm embracing this vision with our new designs...I'm open to it all- but will know what is us when we eventually get there.
It's the paper drawing, idea's throwing stage- and it feels good.

{this is the kitchen that will be redesigned & extended- just a little excited!}

Have you used an architect?
Do you love the imperfect, yet perfect for you way your home works?
Are you a style embracer, or do you work with what makes YOU happy?

It's an interesting world- we're design focused in so many ways.
But I truly believe that no design is wrong, if you follow what you love, and embrace the way YOU want to live.

Happy Thursday- Out into the wind for me, coat on...!

Melissa 

xox