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Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Guest Room - AfterIn one of last week's posts I threw in a picture of our old house. I really enjoyed all your comments, but one in particular has caused me to do a lot of mulling over the weekend.
'Ok Millie what do you prefer your old place or new. How about posting some photo's of the interiors then we can get an idea of your style. I know it's going to be classy. What you like is hard to pick from your blog. Kind Regards Karen.'
Well Karen, it's true confession time - I just don't have a definable style, I used to but no more! This weird & wonderful house c.1972 has thrown any chance of that out of the window. Despite extensive research, that one fantastic reference book 'Decorating & design tips for bringing a 1970's house kicking & screaming into the 00's' has eluded me. We purchased for the fantastic location & the big rambling garden, & we always knew the house was going to be a 'challenge'.
So in looking for an answer to the question, I thought it may be time to post the pics on our very recent Guest Room renovation. I haven't added all the final touches (large mirror still at the Framers, comfy chair for the corner still not found, but I know what I want & a few more prints waiting to be attended to ). Oh, & a padded headboard for the bed on the sooner-than-later Wish List- so please be kind! Unlike our previous house, where because of its 1899 vintage it very much dictated to us, this time it's our turn to dictate our needs & wants to this house.
Regular readers at The Hedge know that this renovation is ongoing & huge - with every room needing major work & the kitchen & 2 bathrooms total gut & replace jobs. We have a strict budget to work within, so I've tried to reuse furniture from our old house, most times stripping, repainting & adding new hardware. However, our main objectives are:
- To banish the dark, cave-like feel that all the rooms in the house had due to the dark exposed brickwork & varnished woodwork.
- To let the grounds & garden be the star of each room. The large expanses of glass allow for this, so we wanted to create simple, unfussy interiors.
And we're doing it ourselves without any outside assistance (other than electrics & plumbing)MOTH's done it all when he's had a spare moment from work & with me acting as his builder's labourer.
I'd like to revisit the question in another year, with more rooms complete it will be interesting to see if my answer is more definitive & maybe even half-pie sensible!
The Guest Room - Before (as we saw it on the first day with the previous Owners stuff.)
MOTH's first job in this room was to pull up the disgusting carpet!
Dark, grotty & cave-like.
Like all the other rooms, it had a 1970-style sloping ceiling with exposed beams.
While pretty ugly, the built-in wardrobe was functional & very well built, so MOTH saved it, but relocated it to another wall.
MOTH had been pondering the ceiling for some time, & about a second after I took this pic, he turned to me & said "That's it, I've decided to build a new frame, drop the ceiling & install down-lights.' And so he did!
So here it is almost complete, with new curtains & carpet. The blanket box (a must for chilly Hills living!) on the left has received a Millie make-over. It was the boy's toy box for ever & ever & I just repainted it from a yukky reddish-brown. 
I picked the first camelias for the year from our garden yesterday. A padded headboard will set this wall off a treat. 
I gave these prints from our old house a make-over with simple black frames from IKEA. The bedside table is nearly 30 years old, was a light brown with doors & scrolly-things which I ripped off in a fit of pique one day. It held the sound system in our old house & I hated it, but once I stripped it & repainted it, I think its found its niche. The external shutters will get a paint once we get to do some outside renovations. 
The wardrobe relocated by MOTH. Once he'd moved it, the whole room changed for the better & I was really able to place the furniture exactly as I wanted. He built a bulkhead at the top & is still thinking about how to finish it off, so it's still a work in progress.Thursday, May 28, 2009
.......transplanting all the hundreds of 'Babies' that our gorgeous Christmas Lillies have just presented us with into lots of smaller pots &
.......telling the 'Parents' how proud we are of them!
........dashing around the corner to the Organic Market to pick up some fruit & vegies &
.......and a couple of loaves of yummy local Hills bread.
........responding to a request from MOTH for a big dish of Millie's Moussaka &
.......opening a bottle of red to enjoy with it &
........ doing an encore performance of this yummy Macadamia, Port & Prune Cake from the lovely Anna @ TOXTETH. MOTH said is was best cake I'd made in years! Get the recipe here.
.....and best of all, sneaking up the road to the Mount Lofty Golf Course for some important negotiations with the local wildlife & my handicap!
So whatever it is that you're planning this weekend, make sure it's FUN!Image 1:Country Style Image 2:Millie Images 3&4:The Organic Market Stirling Image 5:News Ltd Image 6:Paul Whicheloe Image 7:Toxteth Image 9: iseek golf
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Image Country Style (Caroline Zoob).....to my work Lap-Top! Just when I needed you to perform at your best, you decided to go belly-up first thing yesterday. Don't worry that it's the end of the month & I need you desperately, so that I can extract data & financials to write all my reports, I've got a zillion Quotes that need to get out to clients before next Monday & the only way I can access my email is via crappy Webmail on the back end of our global Server. Oh & then there's the small issue of all my appointments being on my Outlook Diary. So back you've gone to the IT experts in Sydney, wrapped in bubble wrap with my stuff trapped inside you! So let's not muck around here, instead of one big raspberry, here's a whole damn bowl of them just for you!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
I want to be an actress like Nicole Scherzinger. She is famous actress from Hollywood.
Nicole Schwarzinger is famous actresses. I want to be an actress like her.
Nicole Schwarzinger actress career from Hollywood
I want to be an actress like Nicole Scherzinger
Top actresses is Nicole Schwarzinger, Hollywood actress has sexy body and perfect of appear.
Another big day in the Bathroom From Hell - Russell the Plumber is finalizing all the channeling of the brickwork & the setting in of all the new pipes for the double shower, sink & loo. Too late now if MOTH's measurements are incorrect, if they are we're done for! I've decided to go for a single, very schmick looking tall mixer that will be set in the stone top of the cantilevered vanity, rather than individual tap/faucets on the wall or ones set into the sink. This does involve more work, but Russell said those magic words to me very early on 'Millie, I can do anything you want.' & I've taken this & run with it! While I really love the bathroom I posted on Friday, this one from the talented designer Helen Green is very different, but just as gorgeous. Send your prayers to the Gods of Perfect Measurement for us today!
All images Helen Green
Monday, May 25, 2009
Adelaide's architectural style is easily recognizable to our interstate friends. Classical stone (bluestone & sandstone) houses set on large blocks of land laid out on a well-defined grid system of streets - that's what we're all about. Because I just can't help myself when it comes to these beautiful old buildings, here's a few offerings currently available at the moment for anyone tempted to cross the border & discover our hidden treasures. And still at very affordable prices - shhhhh!
A sensational double-fronted Edwardian sandstone villa in wonderful North Adelaide.
This very imposing Edwardian sandstone villa c.1910 with bay-window is in Fitzroy, a couple of minutes from the CBD.
A very cute double-fronted bluestone mid-Victorian villa in one of Adelaide's prettiest suburbs, North Adelaide.
A stunning bay-window early Victorian sandstone villa in magical Medindie.
A double-fronted sandstone Edwardian villa c.1910 in inner suburban Dulwich.
A big return verandah bluestone Edwardian villa c.1912 in Malvern.
A double-fronted Edwardian sandstone cottage/villa c.1908 in Parkside (in between Eastwood & Unley).
A double-fronted Edwardian sandstone villa c.1901 in fabulous Malvern.
A cute little single-fronted Victorian workman's cottage in Eastwood. So named as these were often a 'starter' house for a young couple. Eastwood adjoins the CBD, & often the residents worked in the big mansions close by, so they were able to walk to work each day from their home.
This bluestone villa in gorgeous Rose Park looks to be very early Victorian.
A cute Edwardian semi-detached (these properties were built as pairs sharing a common wall) in our old suburb, the lovely Unley.All images Realestate.com.au
And lastly, a picture of our old house, a late Victorian return-verandah (triple fronted) villa in Unley, complete with MOTH's much-loved standard Roses. A labour of love for over 15 years, much blood, sweat & tears were expended here, just as we're doing all over again here in Stirling!
And lastly, a picture of our old house, a late Victorian return-verandah (triple fronted) villa in Unley, complete with MOTH's much-loved standard Roses. A labour of love for over 15 years, much blood, sweat & tears were expended here, just as we're doing all over again here in Stirling!Sunday, May 24, 2009
Image Garden VisitOn Saturday Son # 5 (the Landscaper) completed a big job he's been working on for the past 2 months. I drove past the house yesterday & wow, I may be biased but the results are just spectacular. I showed him all the wonderful comments from my previous post on his work & in his own quiet, reserved way he was really delighted - thank you all so much for your lovely feedback. I'll post on his latest project in the next couple of weeks.
We were talking about formal gardens & the subject of Knot Gardens came up. He's had a request from a client to do a small version in a walled, semi-shaded courtyard, so we've being doing some research together. He loves the challenge of precise, formal work & by the speed of referrals he's receiving & his long waiting list, it appears this has become his trademark brand.
Originating in the Elizabethan period, knot gardens are traditionally placed in a courtyard & are designed to look like the pattern in a woven rug or tapestry. Low growing hedges & gravel walkways were used to simulate the interwoven effects of the pattern & clipped trees & shrubs are used to form the central pattern generally in the form of rectangles, squares or circles. Often, perfectly balanced topiary trees are used as a feature in the corners of the design. They are best seen from upper storeys or balconies of a house & they look particularly spectacular from the air.
Because of their precise layout and reliance on geometric shapes, knot gardens are traditionally high maintenance, as the hedges and plants must be constantly trimmed and pruned. Traditionally, knot gardens use one type of hedge only to border the walkways, & it's generally Buxus because it's easy to shape. Then various types of plants, shrubs, flowers or herbs are used to fill in the various compartments. In Elizabethan times, knot garden compartments were often filled with colourful medicinal herbs.
Because of their precise layout and reliance on geometric shapes, knot gardens are traditionally high maintenance, as the hedges and plants must be constantly trimmed and pruned. Traditionally, knot gardens use one type of hedge only to border the walkways, & it's generally Buxus because it's easy to shape. Then various types of plants, shrubs, flowers or herbs are used to fill in the various compartments. In Elizabethan times, knot garden compartments were often filled with colourful medicinal herbs.
Image Rafter Tales
Image Garden Visit (Little Moreton Hall)
Image House to Home
Image My House & Garden (Hatfield House)
Image NGS
Image Magical Heritage of Essex (Layer Marney House)
Image UK8 (Sudeley Castle)
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