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This is a gorgeous little drawing by my lovely friend Fiona Lee (www.bonsaifoi.com) - it's her with her two kitties Vadar and Numchuk. It's currently in the hall next to the bathroom.
I found this pinboard a couple of months ago at KMart for only $20 - I love the ornate frame. It hangs just inside the doorway of our office/second bedroom.
This damask lamp was a housewarming gift from a good friend when we moved into a new rental property a few years ago. It's now followed us to our own home, and creates a lovely warmth in the living room. The damask box sitting just behind it comes from KMart.
This little guy is Reddy, a handmade little treasure from Woollyhoodwinks. He was another gift from the same friend, and made his way in a suitcase from New York all the way to Brisbane.
This is Enid, a foot-tall figurine of the Ghost World comic book character. I bought her as a birthday gift for John about five years ago. She sits on the bottom shelf in one of our living room bookcases.
And, finally, another new addition. This little ceramic tile, a birthday gift, was made by Brisbane artist Mel Robson. I haven't yet decided where its permanent home will be.
Other accessories include a new charcoal retro-looking toaster (Breville), black capsule canister (Typhoon), spice rack (Maxwell and Williams), cement mortar and pestle (Loot) and red Modern Living knife block (Target). The oil pourer next to the knife block was a $5 find from Lifeline today (Gary Rhodes for Typhoon).
The dinner set (a gift from my sister last Christmas) is from Living by Deborah Hutton.
Thankfully when we bought the unit it had a kitchen that was only about three years' old - new fan-forced oven and stovetop, white laminate cupboards, dark blue laminate benches, grey and white lino, and a HUGE pantry (to the left of the stove).
Although it's not a massive kitchen, it does the job.
On top of the drawers on the left of the bed is an old gift box from Peter Alexander, a red fabric-covered notebook (Lantern Paper), a bone china Mini Bird Feeder bowl to hold all of my rings (Have You Met Miss Jones?), a carved jewellery box (Oxfam) and an old drawing of me by Fiona Lee (www.bonsaifoi.com).
Under the side table in the reading area are a couple of old suitcases. The red one is from my childhood and holds all of the paintings and drawings I did as a child. The blue one is a recent find from Lifeline, and holds all of my home decorating magazines (mainly Real Living, Inside-Out and Home Beautiful).
To make use of the rest of the space, we decided to add a reading chair and lamp on the right as you walk into the space. After much searching, we decided on an Italian leather replica Barcelona chair (eBay), combined with a Lersta floor lamp and a Lack side table (Ikea). The grey throw rug is just a cheap one from KMart. The chest of drawers next to the chair is our old furniture with white handles instead of red. The two long mirrors (Target) will eventually move to the inside of the cupboard doors.
