Down the rabbit hole...

Hooray! Yesterday I picked up my Peter Rabbit mirror by Lightly (available from Nook in West End).I've put my new little friend in the bedroom above where we used to have the two long mirrors leaning against the wall (as seen in my earlier post here). The long mirrors have now been moved to inside the cupboard doors, and I decided to fill up the floor space with one of our shoe racks - we had three stacked inside the cupboard, all full! It will make a handy spot for us to keep the shoes that we wear regularly, as well as somewhere to put my handbag.
The carry bag hanging on the door is the Reusable Bicycle Bag from Kikki-K, and on the shoe rack is the Girl and Bunny printed tote bag by Love.

Happy Friday...

I have had the luxury of a day off today, which has pretty much entailed sleeping in, eggs for breakfast, watching Dexter and United States of Tara, and flicking through the new Ikea catalogue (after I found an 'unclaimed' copy a couple of doors down - the first time my 'no junk mail' sticker has made me resort to theft).
This afternoon I pulled a whole heap of nasturtiums out of the garden and put them in my retro jug - pretty! They don't seem to bother my sensitive nose either...

Study: After (continued... again)

The plastic drawers we have stacked behind the door in the study have been bugging me, and for a while I've been thinking about covering them with some pretty paper. Yesterday I went on a search, and found some lovely flocked damask wrapping paper by Hallmark. You can see how the drawers used to look here.After measuring and cutting out the five pieces, I attached them using double-sided tape. For an investment of $6.00 and about 45 minutes, I think they turned out quite nicely. Perhaps one day I'll cover them with something a little more permanent like a good-quality wallpaper.

In the pics you can also see a silver mesh bin I bought from Officeworks for $10 - which has given us a place to neatly store umbrellas, rolls of wrapping paper and poster tubes on top of the drawers (rather than just shoving them under the bed).

Study: After (continued)

There's been another new addition to the study/spare bedroom. I decided to have a look through our huge poster archive to see if we had anything suitable, and I came across this old promotional screenprint for the Morning After Girls.I decided to make use of an old blue Ikea frame we already had - I just painted it in the same shade of red as the frame in the bedroom. I then created a border out of black card and mounted the poster using acid-free magic dots. I'm really pleased with how well it matches the rest of the decor!

Cute stuff...

Today when we were out shopping John found this cute tiny easel, complete with a tiny canvas - the perfect size to display the lovely little Mel Robson ceramic tile given to me for my birthday. It sits underneath John's original Joey Ramone print by Shepard Fairey, and is flanked by a Maxwell and Williams jug and a cheap Ikea vase. (We currently have 10 of these vases in the cupboard because we're using them for table decorations for our wedding in April - so I thought I'd put one to use!)And this little Gocco print was sent to me by Fiona as a late birthday present! It matches the invite design for her wedding earlier this year - which has also featured in my bedroom accessories. You can view more of Fee's work at Studio Pounce (along with the work of her husband Ryan and friend and colleague Chris).

Study: After

The study is still a work in progress, but I've done a little bit of decorating in there this weekend which I thought I'd share.

Earlier in the year we painted the room the same as the rest of the unit - Dulux Image Tone Quarter. It really brightened the space, especially since it doesn't get the sun until late afternoon. When we moved the furniture back in, we reconfigured everything so it was a little more spacious. With time, I'd like to replace the old desk (which has been repaired many times) with a corner desk - computer and study area on one side, and creative area on the other (sculpting for John and, hopefully, sewing for me!).
Yesterday I bought a double quilt cover from KMart and put the mattress inside - it looks soooooo much better than the old ugly blue thing! I also bought some plain red cushions from KMart to tie the colour theme in with the rest of the unit (I was going to go green for an accent colour in here but changed my mind!). The eye chart cushion is by Aunty Cookie - purchased yesterday from Michelle's lovely new Nook store in West End!
The 21 Jump Street Johnny Depp poster has been moving around with John for many years, so we had to find a home for him here too. The bookcase mostly has reference material, and the pin board (featured in a previous entry) is from KMart.

Next I have to paint an old Ikea frame red to hang horizontally above the sofa - I need to find something to put in it first, but hopefully one of John's Lomo photos.

Study: Before

Ahhh, the spare bedroom/study/junk room. So many hopes built into one little room.

Thankfully the second bedroom in our unit is of a fairly decent size, complete with large built-ins. Our main requirement for the space was as a study area where we can put a desk and desktop computer. We also wanted to use it as a spare bedroom for when guests visit (especially since both of our families live out of town). And, of course, we also needed somewhere to dump the clean washing before it's folded. The study was painted the same ugly beige colour as the rest of the unit when we moved in. This, combined with the hideous blue patterned futon mattress, meant one very ugly room. We weren't quite sure how to configure everything either, so it was a little cramped to begin with.

Old stuff, new stuff...

I thought I'd update on a few of the accessories we have around the place.

Another new internet purchase turned up last week - this fabulous retro jug! I have no idea what make it is, but it looks to be 1970s. Currently it resides on our replica Saarinen tulip dining table. I think it would look great with some nice long-stemmed flowers in it (hint hint John).
In the kitchen, I've decided to keep my Nanna's old GE crock cooker out of the cupboard after using it for a yummy casserole last weekend. I've also never put up a photo of John's Care Bear cookie jar, which sits next to his Grandma's mint green c.1957 Sunbeam mixmaster.My growing pile of home decorating magazines was getting out of control, so last week when we were at Ikea I bought a couple of packs of Kassett magazine boxes. Three of them have ended up under the TV bench, where they do a great job of hiding all the extension cords and power boards. Why are power points never where you want them?!And, finally, a few things have moved around this week. Fiona's drawing has moved from the hall to the living area, where it's now on show next to the bookcases. The Artin flip clock has also moved, as the 'flipping' was just a little too distracting in the bedroom! At the moment it's on top of some magazines in the bottom of the display cabinet in the dining area, but it might find a better home in the study once I get to decorating that.