A Big Tick for These Crosses

There are many design elements that stand out when looking at an image, sometimes they are architectural, sometimes they are furniture and sometimes soft furnishings. There are elements that jump off the page at you and there are others that are more subtle but without them the image would be lacking in some way.


Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? Well I don't, lol. All I know is that for a long time I have been drawn to images that contain a criss cross design in some way, shape or form. I have included some in this post. Some are obvious and some are a little hard to decipher due to the picture quality (or lack thereof!). Feel free to click on the image to enlarge them. How many can you find?

HINT: Soft furnishings (above)

HINT: Lighting (above)

There are 2 in this image (above)

images 1-12 via El Mueble

images 13-19 House & Garden

Wagga Wagga

If you click on the photo above you can see that the paving slabs went all the way down the side.

We made up a template so we could lay 8 paving slabs at a time...it was still a mission though! This was my first attempt at building concrete block walls, even if they are only 1 block high:o) Click on photo for a closer look. You may notice the top is not on the crushed granite outdoor table...that was because we needed to co-ordinate 6 strong men to lift it on!

This dust storm got me thinking about the 2 years we lived in Wagga Wagga. Dust was fairly common there as the countryside was in serious drought. Being a newbie I couldn't understand why locals would laugh when I mentioned that we would be painting our new house white....I soon found out. But it was worth it to have the house that I had envisioned. We couldn't have the black roof tiles we wanted as they didn't comply with the basix building restrictions.

We almost broke the drought both times we had turf ready to be laid. On seperate occasions for the front and then back lawns the heavens opened the day we needed to lay it....and this, after months of no rain.

I've added a few pics for anyone interested. I was sad to leave this house as it was nice and spacious with so much storage. Unfortunately, with Gold Coast land and real estate prices being what they are, we had to downsize :-( and buy a house that needed some work. We are slowly getting things done but on a tight budget (private schools are more expensive here too), it can get a little frustrating having to prioritise and knock some things off the list altogether (like a pool).

Anyway, enough of that negativity. We're halfway through the week so it'll be the weekend soon, yay.

Ange

Side-Tracked

Had to re-arrange the lounge today to make room for the 2 sofa's that are coming first thing in the morning. (I got them for a song on ebay $25 for the pair). They're only going in the lounge because there's no longer room in the garage. They will only be in there until I have time to recover them and flick them on (unless I get attached as is usually the case...is it only me?) I think I'll do them black with grey trim.

So while I was moving furniture around I got a tad sidetracked and ended up with a camera in my hand...how does THAT happen? Took a few shots of the coffee table.....I wish I was better at arranging displays....my favourite mirror which I have painted since I got it, a corner in the lounge and a sideboard I got at an auction which I painted black and added shiny chrome handles. Am tempted to paint it white but don't want to be impulsive and regret it...tell me what you think.

Ange

Outdoor Bliss

images via El Mueble

It looks (and feels) as though we are heading for another long, hot summer....I don't know how this little kiwi is going to handle the heat and I would like to apologise in advance to my long suffering family for my ensuing crankiness!

Now if I had somewhere like the beautiful outdoor spaces in these images to retreat to, it would be just that little bit more bearable.

Ange.

My Upholstery (revisited)

Sorry to those of you who have seen this post before. I did a little editing of it and assumed when I re-posted it, it would go back to it's original spot (duh). I am really just posting it so I have a record of my old projects.

Our computer is on the go-slow and just about driving me crazy. I am sooo wanting to read all of your lovely blogs but it would take me all day :o( I've put in my order for a new computer so hopefully all will be well soon.

My first ever project (above)

Above is the chair of a lounge suite (2.5 seater and 2 chairs) I bought at a garage sale for $50. I sold it for $1000.

Before (above)

After (above)

Above and below. I bought these 2 at a garage sale for $20. They were identical until I covered them and changed the feet.

So now that I have got the hang of the scanner I can put up some photos of my upholstery projects. I did a 12 session upholstery class and then basically taught myself. As sometimes happens, word soon spread and I found myself inundated with requests to upholster lounge suites and chairs. It was a fast learning curve and yet I am still (10 years later) still learning as I go. I love a challenge...even if it does have me in a crying heap on the floor saying "I'll never be able to finish this". The end result is always worth it...bit like child birth huh? Okay , nothing like child birth, although I do recall having a few staples removed, ouch, lol.

Today's images are of some of the projects I did for myself. I prefer those as I get to choose the fabric. It's hard to spend so much time and effort on something when the fabric you've been given is not what you would have chosen but I did learn to appreciate that everyone has different tastes!

Once again, sorry about the poor picture quality, argh.

Ange

Just Reminiscing

This rose is called Loving Memory. We planted it in memory of my little brother who passed away aged 21.

This picture was the one in the real estate window before we bought it.

So I have finally worked out how to use the scanner. This has opened up a world of possible posts for me. I went through several large boxes of photos yesterday, very time consuming as I didn't just have a "boy look" but revelled in all the memories that photos can evoke. (I think my husband must hold the world speed record for looking through a pack of photos!)

Today I will share a 100 year old villa we lived in (in NZ). We were only in it for 2 years but managed in that time to get a garden established...such fertile soil in Hawkes Bay! How is it that we could get so much done with an 18 month old and new baby, whereas now we don't have time to scratch our noses,lol.

I loved this house. It was so full of character...high ceilings (board and batten at that!), wide skirtings, timber floors, lead-light windows, back to back red brick fireplaces, ahhh.

Peter (hubby) hated this house. It had a leaking roof, draughty windows, old wiring, 2 fire places (that's a lot of kindling to chop), grrr.

I wish I had those rose coloured lenses in my glasses with our current house, haha.

PLEASE excuse the poor picture quality, it is truly cringe-worthy!