HOW TO PAINT OVER VARNISHED WOOD When the painter left our little house a few weeks ago it was looking whiter, brighter and beautiful; with the dated wood balustrade gone I had high hopes of a builder following with lovely new skirtings and doors. My hopes faded as I realised that the builders were all too busy with the big jobs and so I set about with a little DIY. I am no stranger to DIY, back in My Little House
How to paint over varnished wood
HOW TO PAINT OVER VARNISHED WOOD When the painter left our little house a few weeks ago it was looking whiter, brighter and beautiful; with the dated wood balustrade gone I had high hopes of a builder following with lovely new skirtings and doors. My hopes faded as I realised that the builders were all too busy with the big jobs and so I set about with a little DIY. I am no stranger to DIY, back in 
A Guest Room Joosh Up
A GUEST ROOM JOOSH UP My Guest Bedroom is a tricky space to furnish, the pitched ceiling means a much lower bed which means that most bedsides towered above or just looked a little, well little. This clever shelf, part of the Made of Tomorrow Fold range is the perfect alternative. Being wall-hung it can be positioned perfectly, its powder coating is durable enough to take any knocks and its curves add a bit of softness to the History Never Repeats
HISTORY NEVER REPEATS Well lets hope not! When we originally viewed my little house we were feeling rather desperate, we had sold and nothing on the market was exciting us. It wasn’t what we were looking for, in fact it ticked no boxes, but we drove into the drive of number 7 and knew it was for us. The driveway led us upwards and it was dusk on a Friday evening. The agent was in a hurry to How much White is too much White?
HOW MUCH WHITE IS TOO MUCH WHITE? I’ve always loved homes for their quirkiness. This said there is sometimes a need for simplicity or peace that can only be achieved by removing the very thing which makes a home unique. For me the exposed beams created a point of difference but painting them white would provide me with a light and airey space. In the end paint won. The beams added character and a point of difference, but Lagom
LAGOM What do we kiwis know about Lagom? Is it a way of life that we could adopt to create a better place to live? New Zealanders will argue that we are the greenest country on the planet, but perhaps that is only because we are such a young country with more space than population. At-the-moment! While sitting in early morning traffic in Albany, on Aucklands North Shore I took a really good look at the construction going Book Worm
BOOKWORM Book Depository and I have a special relationship… I give them money and they send me beautiful books. Perfect! A match made in heaven. I’ve piled up a few of my favourites to share with you. Eat Drink Nap, Soho House Full of recipes, interior design tips and how to make a peaceful place to rest. A gorgeous natural textured cover with black print, inside it opens up to elegant spaces and food styling to get you Anzac Bliss Balls
ANZAC BLISS BALLS I’m usually a Anzac Biscuit Baker but this year I’m all about the Bliss Ball! Actually I burnt them, so a quick internet search brought me to this somewhat trendy and easier option. Traditional, perhaps not, and sadly lacking the crunch, but the good old Chelsea Golden Syrup gives you the Anzac-ey flavour that we kiwis are all about this time of year! We spend our Anzac Morning at the local reserve where the service Nooks & Storage
NOOKS & STORAGE Old homes have their idiosyncrasies; the not-quite-level floor, the mismatched skirting boards and the somewhat annoying lack of plugs. All of these can be lived with or fixed quite easily, but perhaps the most annoying of all is the lack of built in storage. Creating extra cupboards means you lose floor area and so often it is up to the dweller to find extra space by using clever little methods that adds both an aesthetic A Daybed – A bed for the Day
A BED FOR THE DAY I’ve been blogging a little lately, off the track of interiors into the world of life, simply because I sometimes feel so overwhelmed with everything that I need to just take a breath and a step back to appreciate things as they are. This doesn’t mean I am stopping my interior dreams and aspirations for my little house (which I must add seems to always be a WIP) certainly not, but sometimes I Lavender Spray
LAVENDER SPRAY We all need a treat, right? It seems to me that we often live our lives on a roller coaster of being really good or really bad. Why we can’t just find a middle ground I’m not sure. Perhaps its media; eat this, don’t eat that, do this, don’t do that. Perhaps its the whole Adam and Eve and the Apple thing. Can we not live a life where the little things can bring a form