Eww to ahh

This lovely tranquil spot above, used to look like this (below). What I like most about this transformation is that they haven't seemed to have made any structural changes, just got rid of all the 'stuff' and repainted and resanded the floors, then added in some lovely vintage pieces including a reclaimed fireplace, just casually propped up. Even I could do that. All you need is a place that is solid, not too old and has 'good bones'.

In the same home, this very red living room becomes.....

....this! So much lighter and brighter. They just used loads of white paint and refurbished some flea market finds. Superb!

For more before and after images from this lovely home, go here.

I've been getting itchy feet lately. I'm longing for a little place that I can turn from 'eww' to 'ahh'. I love my home, but I want a challenge! So I trawled the net today for a look at what is available in my price range, which isn't much given that I would need to put money aside for the horrendous stamp duty, as well as a renovation budget.

I have my eyes set on a suburb just a couple of kilometres away from where I live - it's closer to my son's school and a little more of a pleasant neighbourhood (but not much more). My search on the net quickly revealed I could only afford a tiny two bedroom unit in this suburb - ie a major step down from my light-filled, modern three bedroom home, albeit in a slightly more downbeat neighbourhood.

So I guess I'll just stay put in my current home for a little while longer and just keep looking at other people's before and afters!

Best wishes,

Before and after: living rooms

Time for some more before and afters!

There's so many things that you have to get right for a renovation to be successful.

First and foremost you have to have the vision to see beyond the ugly and find some redeeming factor that gives you a glimmer of hope that this unattractive space is worth spending time and money on.

Take this living room above - it is from a home that won Australian Home Beautiful's House of the Year in 2000. Here's the living room before: lots of seventies brick (minus), ugly bar (minus), exposed beams (plus), soaring ceilings (plus, plus).

Now I'm sure many potential buyers would take one look at this living room and walk straight out again - all that wood makes it look not only dated, but closed in - claustrophobia inducing.

But some clever and talented person had the vision to see that if you painted that wood white, the room would open up, especially if you added some mirrors to bounce the light around. The drab fireplace becomes a feature with a beautiful new surround, while those rickety looking shelves look fantastic painted white and artfully filled with antique silverware, books and other small treasures.

Check out this next living room before - very dated, furnished with uninspiring furniture, but check out the soaring ceilings, and the sheer size of this room.

Here it is below, renovated so tastefully. At last this little lady gets to show off her assets!

I love the pitchforks as art. Gorgeous! And the staircase looks so more open and lighter with the clunky bannister replaced with something fresher and quirky.

Change of subject: Aussies please note that Coles (on Friday the 13th) and Woolies (on Friday the 20th) will donate all profits from sales Australia-wide to the bushfire victims. So if you can, please save your supermarket shopping til then. It's been inspiring to see how generous Australians have been, raising more than $10million already.

And thank you to those of you from around the world who left lovely messages of support yesterday.

Best wishes to you all,

Kitchen transformations

If you've read my blog before, you'll know that I just love 'before' and 'after' house transformations. And I think many of you do too - it's so inspirational to see what can be done with some imagination, hard work, time and a little (or a lot of) money!


In today's post I'm focusing on kitchens. So many people get put off buying a house because of a dated, dirty kitchen, and yet you can sometimes grab yourself a bargain-priced house if you are prepared to put in the hard yards and renovate your kitchen. And when it is done you can sit back and admire your brand new glistening new kitchen, knowing that you have also increased the value of your home greatly.


Starting off with this stylish white beauty....white cupboards, stainless steel benchtops and splashbacks with a stone-topped island bench.

Now look at it before.....cheap and outdated looking....

Here's another view of the same kitchen after it's transformation. Ikea's Kalcuim pendant lights add a slight industrial edge (and are cheap too!). Love the use of turquoise accessories to add a bit of spark. And look, they've even colour coordinated the little girl with the kitchen accessories! The wooden floor, wicker storage baskets, and custom-made rangehood add a little bit of country.

Take a look at this sad little kitchen: cheap, dated and boxed in....

And now....

Travertine benchtops, industrial light fittings and stainless steel splashbacks make this white kitchen extra special.

And finally for today we have a dark, outdated 70's kitchen, complete with the brown laminate and orange counter tops that were so popular back then.

Here it is today. What inspires me most is that this kitchen makeover cost less than $6000

New doors were placed on the old frames and new splashback and countertops were added, while panelling was added to the island and Ikea pendant lights installed. Then the kitchen was simply tricked up with some stylish accessories. Simple, but effective!

I love the baskets on top of the cupboards. They remind me of this basket:

I love this delicious photo of the textured blankets folded in the basket. It is from the gorgeous Swedish blog dreamhouse. The creator of this blog, Camilla, has the most exquisite taste! I'd been looking for an excuse to put this basket picture in a post, and now I've found it!

Pictures 1 - 5 Australian Home Beautiful, 6 - 7 For Me (no longer in publication), 8 dreamhouse

More charming transformations

Here are two more classic Australian houses, transformed from unloved eyesores to the best house in the street.

The charm of this house below is overwhelmed by the overgrown shrub (blocking out all natural light, no doubt) and a clunky brick fence, utterly out of keeping with the era of the house.



But look at it now, with a smart new coat of paint, new fencing and landscaping. The owners retained the bottom part of the fence, rendered it and topped it with clean lined picket fencing. This house stays true to its heritage, but the modern colours bring it up to date too.

Here's a house stripped bare of its character features, waiting for someone to nurture it back to its former glory.

And afterwards, what a transformation! New fencing, cladding, windows and trim make this a picture postcard home.

I'm packing my bags and moving in!

Images Australian Better Homes and Gardens and Notebook Magazine

Charming transformations

It's the time of the year when we are full of enthusiasm, with a fresh page before us just waiting to be written on. Its a time to tackle new projects and turn our visions into reality. So I thought it fitting to show you two fabulous renovations, two of my absolute favourites that really inspire me.

First up we have a 1914 Federation house, in a beautiful heritage listed suburb of Melbourne. This house had been lived in by an elderly couple for more than 50 years, and as you can see, the house's needs obviously got too much for them. It was so painfully in need of some tender loving care. Such a sad state of affairs. The house leaned to one side, all the timber fretwork on the porch was rotted and the corrugated iron roof badly needed replacing.





Take a look at this baby now! Lovingly brought back to its former glory, painted a gorgeous clotted cream colour with white trim. Beautiful classic landscaping was added.

The back of the house was extended to add a new open plan kitchen and living area, with three sets of french doors opening on to a newly landscaped courtyard.

Here's another tired, sad little home. The owners, in their inexplicable wisdom, had covered up the charming weatherboards of this single fronted cottage with horrid brick cladding and a dreaded aluminium window, stripping this heritage home of all its charm. Sad, sad, sad. I bet many potential buyers ran away screaming....

.....But not Tina Buchanan. Tina (who had tackled 15 previous renovations) had the vision to see what this house could become. Take a look at this beauty now...

I am in love! This home deservedly won Australian Home Beautiful's home of the year competition in 2001.

I feel totally inspired by people who have the vision to see the potential in the old and unloved, and the bravery and tenacity to make it happen.

The lovely thing about Australia is that all the cities and older towns have many charming, single fronted cottages like this. They are usually in old, leafy suburbs oh-so-close to the city, so they are right by great shops and cafes. If I win the lottery any time soon, I'd being buying a lovely little single fronted cottage like either of the above homes for me and my son. I'd even be prepared to buy the ugliest and see what I could do with it! Time to buy a lottery ticket....

All images Australian Home Beautiful

Come over to the dark side

I adore a white kitchen. So much so that I've collected quite a few pictures of ones I love, which I'll post another day. And if I ever build my dream house, the kitchen will probably be white. But today I want to tempt you to the dark side. These gorgeous kitchens appeal to my monochramatic tastes, and are truly sophisticated and glamourous.

First up is a kitchen that I found in US Country Home. Here is the before picture:



And now the after.... Note the ebonised oak cabinets, counterpointed by the Carrera marble countertops and splashbacks and brushed stainless steel hardware. Love the modern designer lights.

Next up is a kitchen featured in this month's Australian Home Beautiful (my hands down favourite magazine). This is the kitchen of Gaynor Groome, who owns Shades of Pale in Sydney. I'm always noticing bits and bobs from her shop pop up in magazines, and this shop is definitely on my 'to do' list next time I'm in Sydney. The pewter-finish stools were originally in a French Bar. The benchtops are again Carrera marble. The whole house is divine.

And finally, I've left my absolute favourite kitchen for last. This kitchen is in the newly built St Barts home of the owners of the fabulous Day Birger et Mikkelson. It was first featured in UK's Living Etc (another favourite magazine) but is also featured in this month's Australian Home Beautiful (Living etc and Home Beautiful quite often feature the same homes). The whole house is stunning. I love everything about this kitchen - its british colonial monochromatic vibe, the texture of the lights against the sleek cabinetry, and don't get me started on the exposed beamed white ceiling! Perfection on a plate.

Before and afters....

If there is one thing I love more than a beautiful room it is seeing a 'before' picture of it. I find it so inspiring to see a plain old room (or an eyesore in some cases) being transfored into a thing of beauty. It is making the world a better place....one room at a time.

So here are some of my favourite before and after transformations - from the very talented Nancy Fishelson. From reading other blogs I can tell I am not the only one who is a big fan of her work. I love her liberal use of white, her simple wooden furniture, and her taste for texture and simplicity. And she has an amazing eye for potential, judging by these photos.

before

after

before

after

before
after
I just want to pack up and move to this charming little home.



NANCY FISHELSON'S HOME IS FOR SALE!!


You can actually buy a little piece of Nancy's paradise - her current home is for sale for $US1.795 million. It is called Rosebush Farm and here it is...

before

after
You can view more photos of Rosebush farm on Nancy's website http://nancyfishelson.com/

This must mean Nancy has another house she is working her magic on. Can't wait to see the results.

I'm not in the market for a new home, so perhaps I should just buy this beautiful rockinghorse from Nancy's website instead?

all images nancyfishelson.com

It never ceases to amaze me how many amazingly talented people there are in this world.

Well I'm off to a Halloween Party, hosted by my lovely and talented friend Fiona who has gone all out this year - she's even made gravestones for her front garden. Can't wait to see how it all looks.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!