Television Taboo

traditional bedroom design by Portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

I love how this TV is recessed into the wall, minimising its impact on the room.

Do you have a TV  in your bedroom?

 Its okay if you don't want to tell us, after all, it's certainly NOT a stylish design feature & apparently the dreaded black box messes with your sleep patterns.

This might explain MY poor sleeping habits as we could,nt live without one in our master bedroom. The dream guy & I have very different sleeping habits, so he will watch TV well into the night, whilst I rack up a fews zzzzz's & when he is on night shift I use it to drown out the little sounds that spook me in the night. I am a big fraidy cat!

Image via DIY Show off

Building a frame around your TV to make it look more like a piece of art certainly helps to reduce it visual impact on the room

I don't recall where I found this image, but  you can purchase a system like this where your favourite piece of art is mounted to a mechanical device that lifts up to reveal a TV that is recessed into the wall.

Another perfectly framed black box....

This one really does look classy....

The rest of this room is so stunning, I think you could have built a monkeys cage into the ever so stylish cabinetry & no one would care.

So.....

Do you have a television in the bedroom?

 Is it just cluttering up your tall boy like mine, or have you put the time into making it a stylish, yet somewhat camouflaged feature in your master suite or dare I say boudoir?

I have some wonderful plans for the TV in the master bedroom of my dream house....ssshhhh...don't tell my dream guy, I don't want to scare him, LOL, my ideas list that requires is fabulous handiwork is growing by the minute!!!

CHEERS

Trish xxx

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Progress Update

I can imagine by now everyone is wondering just where we are up to on the "Dream House", well its still just that at this point, a dream!!!

For all of my lovely new followers, our dream house got put on hold as the quotes we got to build it ended up being A LOT over budget. After lots of thinking & planning we decided we couldn't abandon our house plans & have opted to sell our investment properties to fund the short fall.

We listed them with the real estate in late November ( bad time of the year to try & sell a house) but hopefully something positive will come our way soon, fingers crossed!!!

My dream guy has however been working adding a driveway from his shed up to street level,one slab at a time. He has done 3 segments over the holidays & has many more to go!

 Next will be some fences & planting a few trees, we feel we might as well get a few things done while we wait.

Dream child no3 is his right hand man on the job & he really does work hard

Daddy's little girl likes to think she helps, but thankfully is bored within 30 seconds & retires to something far more interesting, like....

feeding her face, he he he!!!!

this is all that's left to do

OUCH

another 40 metres until he reaches the top!!

Once a we off load a little real estate we will be able to rev this baby up & start digging a house site

so we can enjoy this view from our back verandah EVERY day

or perhaps we might sit on the front verandah & enjoy this one.

Oh it will be lovely to have choices!

So I need everyone to start thinking "handy house sales for Trish" & perhaps the real estate fairies will shine on me & end this frustration of living in limbo...ARGH!!!!

What sort of projects have you got going on at your place?

CHEERS

Trish xxx

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Hello 2011

Hi everyone,

I found myself dropping off planet blog over the Xmas/ new years period,

life was just a bit hectic,

filled with family & festivities!

Here's a bit of an update of how we filled our days...

We did Christmas dinner at our house twice, 

The first time was a few days before Chrissy for our family that were travelling elsewhere for the big day & then again on Christmas day for us & my parents.

It was a really lovely day & I was lucky enough to be given my first D SLR camera....

I haven't stopped taking photo's since, mind you I have NO idea what I'm doing.

Thank goodness for all of those talented bloggers that enjoy passing on tips to the newbie photographers!!!!

Although this is an old photo from my last house, I really did get to share a bottle of Moet with my lovely neighbor & friends for New years.

Maitland put on a fantastic fireworks display on the Hunter river each year & we had a fabulous view of them from our street, which was great!!!

Then it was time to take down the tree & put my house back together, the living area seems so much more spacious without a giant tree in the room.

We have enjoyed some great family days, this is my 2 favourite men fishing at Stockton beach

of course you cant go to the beach without building a few castles

dream child no.1 also got a DSLR off Santa so we had a lovely day snapping the sights of Newcastle & Stockton

My ultra gorgeous little sister is also the proud owner of a fab camera & the 3 of us wandered around like crazy tourists snapping up the sights & experimenting with different features on the camera....sooooo much to learn, soooo much fun!

We have also had to have a couple of skate park excursions for dream child no.3 to hone his scooter skills!

So this is what Ive been up to lately, plus a trip to the movies to see "Mega Mind", a few shopping adventures & several trips to our local pool.

We have so many exciting adventures planned just exploring Newcastle & The Hunter Valley, we don't have time to go on a holiday & that's why I love where I live!

What have you been up to so far?

CHEERS

Trish xxx





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Fancy a Faux Fireplace

Image via wicker & stitch

When we finally build our dream house I really do fancy the idea of a faux fireplace in the master bedroom...

Something to add a little romance to the boudoir

I don't want an actual fire, just the mantle to give a hint of what could be...

Image via My shabby stream side studio

A lovely arrangement of fragrant candles is all the flame I require!

Image via Urban farm girl

Accompanied by a pretty pendant light or chandelier

Image via My Summerhouse

with a mirrored firescreen to add a little extra spark & give it a stunning finish

of course a lovely accent chair would also be fitting in such a romantic space

mirrors really do add that extra bling a girl needs...

Image via Dreamy whites

I know this isn't in a bedroom but still its so feminine & pretty I just had to include it...

Now a bit of the romance will be lost when I place the TV above it, but, what better way to display the big black box...

Image via DIY Show off

Perhaps I could get my dream guy to build a picture frame around the TV to make it look like art & help keep the romantic look of our dream bedroom.

That is IF I can talk him into the Faux fireplace to start with, at least this is a decorating item that can be added to your decor any time, so I can work on this one at a later date. The poor man, lucky he doesn't read my blog, he would know just how many ideas I have for decorating this dream house, he would probably run a mile, LOL!!!

CHEERS

Trish xxx 





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Splash back uncertainty!!!

Well my dream kitchen is all on the drawing board & the floor tiles chosen...

eclectic kitchen design

Turns out I have expensive tastes, with Shaker style being in the expensive choice range, Oh well!!!

The kitchen guy was fabulous, the tile guy was extremely helpful & my dream guy was so well behaved, Ive never loved him more xxx

I am hoping to have sea grass or bamboo blinds in my kitchen, something like these ones...

Images via Cotedetexas

My dream guy loved all of my ideas & added a few very good suggestions of his own. We selected tiles for inside & outside, designed a kitchen, laundry & vanities, without one single disagreement.
AMAZING!!!!

The colours aren't so good in this image, but this is a sample of our floor tile, wall colour, kitchen door colour & ceaserstone bench tops.

 I want to paint my walls with

 Dulux-Hogs Bristle in quarter strength

The bench top is

Ceaser Stone-Ivory

The Shaker style Cabinets are a

 Classic White, semi gloss

The floor tiles are a shade darker than the bench top,

a sandy colour

I love the look of a white subway tile in a shaker style kitchen, BUT, I have gone for a 30cm x 60cm rectangular floor tile to be laid in a running bond or brick style pattern, essentially it is a giant subway tile on the floor & I feel it would be overkill to do the same on the back splash.

 I am thinking of perhaps just a plain glossy white square tile 10cm x 10cm, but I am unsure.

What do you think would look awesome. I want to do it in tile rather than a glass panel or matching ceaserstone  so I add some extra texture, hence the choice of a glossy tile. I have such a limited colour scheme I need to add some interest with the different textured finishes.

HELP!!!

Okay my fabulously stylish blog friends, your opinions & ideas are seriously required :0)

CHEERS

Trish xxx

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Bathroom beauty

bathroom design by los angeles interior designer Elizabeth Dinkel

Subway subway subway!!!

bathroom design by new york interior designer Kristina Melo w/ The Rosen Group Interiors

I am a huge fan of white subway tiles in the bathroom paired with some small square tiles or mosaics for a feature & a nice border tile like a chair rail , then on the floor either a large square tile in a cream colour or a white hexagonal tile. 

traditional bathroom design by los angeles interior designer Lori Gilder

Just a little colour with some glorious white...

traditional bathroom design by los angeles interior designer Lori Gilder

I love the detailing in these tiles

traditional bathroom design by vancouver general contractor John Whipple - By Any Design ltd.

A very nice feature light, great for when you want to apply a bit of make-up

traditional bathroom design by chicago kitchen and bath Rebekah Zaveloff, KitchenLab & Design in a Bag.com

Oh look, more subway tile & they're white, I'm sensing a pattern here!!!

traditional bathroom design

I love the hexagonal floor tiles...

Especially with the subway wall tiles, I think I am definitely a modern traditional
kinda gal, with a few Hampton's beach house desires!!!

traditional bathroom design

The Moravian star light fixture fits just perfectly in this setting, don't you think?

traditional bathroom design by san francisco architect Mahoney Architects and Interiors

I love the look of a chandelier over the bath, but I don't think I would like the responsibility of having to keep it clean.

How about you?

I'm off tomorrow to choose my tiles & all of the joinery for the kitchen, vanities &  laundry. I know exactly what I want & I plan to take plenty of inspiration pics to visually explain my ideas. I have made a bit of a design portfolio for every room in the house, to make it simple to explain myself to the trades involved & my dream guy of course.

I have spent the entire design  process asking my dream guy if he likes this idea or that style & he has always given me a very uninterested response, such as "Do whatever you want babe, its your house" OR " Whatever babe, I trust you to do a nice job of it, Ive got NO idea"...Sounds like every girls dream...RIGHT... well it hasn't been bad until now. He is going to come along while we meet with the tile shop etc, which sounds lovely, finally he has become interested, BUT, what if he now wants to have an OPINION!!!

I have it all planned & I don't want to have to compromise, EWWW!!!

Someone PLEASE call him with an electrical emergency in the morning so he is busy & I can have my own way....He He He....sinister plot, I know!!!!

All jokes aside, I'm sure he will be a good boy & I won't need to divorce before lunch, after all, he has free design range in his man cave!

How do you go with your other half when it comes to decor decisions?

Do you have the same tastes or are you like us & live on completely different decor planets, or in my dream guy's case, era's. The 80's where a good time & mission brown was a real feature!!!

I will update you on how the day pans out!

CHEERS

Trish xxx

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A light find

My dream guy is an electrician, who runs his own electrical contracting company.

 I realize now is the moment to give his business a little plug, after all this is a subject in his area of expertise, & he made this fabulous find. SO if you're in the Newcastle/ Hunter Valley are & your in need of a VERY GOOD sparky, he is your guy.

He does all manner of  electrical work from domestic, commercial & industrial. Whether its a new build, a renovation, air con installation, garden lights, lighting layout or a simple power point he is the man for the job. He is a perfectionist, a neat freak, he has awesome time management skills, which make him very efficient & he is very good at fault finding.

 He has completed many projects including tunnel lights on The Great Western Highway at Leura  for the RTA, nursing homes, retirement villages, maintenance, repairs & installations in large factories, shop fit outs, testing & tagging of electrical appliances for many businesses, he even changes light globes from time to time.

MJE ELECTRICAL

0417 945 526

Okay Okay, that's my dream guy's moment in the spotlight, now onto his fabulous find....

Isn't she pretty...

He replaced this 3 tier pendant light for a lady & she asked him to take it away for her....

This was about 2 years ago & he has had it sitting in a box in the workshop ever since...

Today he happened upon it & thought I might like it or Know some one that would...

I have to say I really do love it & so did my dream child No.1

We thought perhaps we could hang it in one corner of her bedroom in the new house, placing an accent chair underneath, giving her a place to dump more stuff  little reading nook in her room. We would then need to add in a couple of gold accents around the room to tie it in.

Ikea  Levanger Mirror

Perhaps a gold full length mirror...

A few gold photo frames...

Or possibly a sunburst mirror.

What do you think, should we keep this one ?
Sell it on eBay?
 or possibly even paint it or rub it back to silver?

CHEERS
Trish xxx

  

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