cake stand up straight

Gotta love Etsy, gotta love cake stands! They are so simple, they make a mellow 1 tiered cake look dramatic and a real focal point. They can be quite arty as well and really make it feel like home.

link

small bird

scallop

customised - with your own names!

Love the customised name one! They advertise it for weddings but it would look so cute in your home! It would also be the perfect gift for a baby shower, or birthday....hmmmm...

liquid lamp

How original is this! You would need to have a fairly funky home for this one!

This arty lamp appears to be an overturned bucket spilling milk (the white version) or blood/paint (the red version). The lamp has no visable base, held up instead by the 'frozen' liquid oozing out the bottom, onto the table or down the wall! Very very cool!

White would blend in with a neutral toned room, and red would pop for that something different. Definately no ho-hum!

It can be bought from here - via freshome

loo space

It should be pretty apparent by now that I love storage solutions! I love a clever use of space!

Most home now days have a seperate toilet and I must say that it seems like a long room of wasted space to me. We're all used to sitting in cubicles so how much space do we really need?

I love Ambience Bain's solution of having a permanent cupboard behind the toilet. Brillance! It appears that they have used a Hideaway toilet - the cistern hides away behind a wall - or in this case, the cupboard. European styling, space saving design and best of all...you don't have to clean behind the toilet anymore!! - via freshome

I am also loving this shower, hidden behind a wall. I am not a fan of glass (aargh - the cleaning!) but I like how each of the bathroom facilities aren't spread out along all the walls. I am sick of seeing rectangular, unoriginal bathrooms!

the insert clock

How fabulous is this clock?! Its art and a timepiece all rolled into one!

Designed by Hong Kong industrial designer Leo Yiu, the Insert Clock was designed as a simple idea to change the way we see a clock. There is a slice cut from the side that makes it sit against the wall.

Some may say its impractical but :oP to them! Its original and would really pop in a room...put a bit of modern personality into it! No ho-hum!

I want one!!!!! - via freshome

Dezeen has a great pic of how to feature your Insert Clock in an even more modern way..

maps de art!

A home on the Home Beautiful magazine website has a great idea for some personal art!

It appears as though they have gotten a big copy of a map / picture in birds eye view, cut it up into pieces and framed each individual piece. The colour of the black frames against the stark white walls works well in their chic monochrome home.

This has gotten me thinking - what an inexpensive way to hang personal art!?

Hubby Piggy and I have been talking about what art interests us. We have similar tastes and we love things that are different. I'm the crafty one so no doubt it will come down to me doing it, but I think it would be a lot of fun!

Things you can frame in this way...a

• poster (even a big picture would work)
• photo - blown up and then cut up - a close up of a face or an eye for those more modern, a photo of a meadow or a garden for a country house..
• map from a holiday destination - somewhere overseas, something from your childhood, a place you would love to go (great inspiration for saving!)
• birds eye view of a place (I would love a picture of Paris - would remind me of looking down on it from the Eiffel Tower!)

home beautiful - eternal sunshine

Home Beautiful Magazine has some gorgeous homes. Their website is a great source of inspiration. Its great when you can find pictures of a home that is close by and say " I can do something like that!" Sure, their finances may be better, but why can't you look at something you like and find alternatives, or scrimp elseware?

This home is a renovated 1890s cottage in Cammeray, Sydney. It holds a family of Mum and Dad and two young girls.

What have I learnt?

• when in doubt - make it white
• don't be afraid to have desks/cupboards run the length of a whole wall (a la study and home theatre)
• natural light is essential
• keep things simple
• use a few colours and use them well
• i love window seats! (a la home theatre) comfy to relax on, for extra guest seating and clever storage

its not burgulary, its...

Why look at decor before you even have a house?

• its fun
• gets the creative juices flowing
• helps us to create our dream house

The more we talk about building/ buying / buying and renovating, the more we realise that we need to know what we want it to look like inside! How can we get the package if we don't know what our wants and needs are?

Sure, we have to factor in how close we are to good schools (no lil' piggies on the way yet, though! Phew!), parks and recreation (love a bit of cycling and walking the dog), local shops, somewhere you feel safe etc. BUT if we don't know our decorating style, how are we going to know if the house is right for us?

I have a very strong feeling at this point that people probably do it the other way around. Sure, you might talk about what decorating you like and dislike or point something out in the shops and say "ooh how good would this look in our house!" but how good would it be to be able to walk around a display home or one thats up for sale and be able to say with certainty "we could put those shelves in here" and "this bathroom is the right size for that bath we like?"

No more justifying - I'll confess - I am obsessed with homes and want to see more, more, more!! I'm keeping my eye out for any pictures of inspiration in real homes (ok, they're more like display homes, but whatever!) so I can steal ideas! Steal is a bad word... appropriate - thats better! I a going to post all the beautiful homes I find so I can appropriate their gorgeous ideas into our own home!