I can't go past beautiful Swedish homes - seriously, are they born with this taste or is it slowly acquired? And I wonder what the typical Swedish home looks like? Is it anything like the images projected around the world - all white and light and wood? (All images via here.)

And of course, there are the details. Isn't the turquoise splash back tile below beautiful? How great to grow up in a home with this sort of confident approach to interiors.

working...

More paintings are coming out of my studio, finding temporary homes amongst others, until I decide they need more work and I scamper back to the paint. Definitely not finished, but progressing. As often happens, at one stage I had almost given up, but I think something good is coming from this one. We'll see.

I think the colours are a little out of balance - too much yellow? It will be interesting to see how this goes, but it's progressing well - a little frustrating - but well. Also, the camera isn't quite picking up the details - I blame the cloud cover.

Yet another crammed week. I feel the need for a holiday coming on. Finding a free weekend? Not so much. At least the sun has been shining, even amongst the fallen leaves and the wind, there's been pockets of brightness that aren't just uplifting, they move me to be creative. And they bring beautiful light into our home that makes my days so much... brighter.

And this little mirror catches all the light. It was the first thing I bought for this house when we moved here 5 years ago, from an Oxfam shop. It's the perfect place for keys, and a great spot to check my hair before I leave the house! Happy Monday - 2 days till winter!

in progress...

As life begins to settle back down again, I've been finding more pockets of time to paint. And as always, with each time I begin a painting, a new direction comes forward, often taking me unaware. My approach is changing once again. The softness has shifted from previous work, harder lines are transforming my paintings, and I can see the figure emerging again. It might be time to go back to my life drawing classes.

Not yet titled, not even complete - or perhaps it is. I'll sit with it, spend some time with it, and we'll see...

Domesticity

In theory a large home is pretty great - plenty of space to move, lots of rooms to decorate, entertain in and enjoy. The reality however, is cleaning, and lots of it. I must admit that when I first moved out of home, I was not particularly good at this kind of stuff. I can't even blame my upbringing - we were shown how to look after ourselves and expected to maintain clean and tidy rooms for ourselves. And I did. In fact, I knew how to look after our home, I just wasn't particularly interested in doing it.

Living area

Flash forward a few years and a few children later, and I've realised that domesticity is actually a bit of a practice. It takes time and effort to learn how to live in a home, and to strike the balance between maintaining order and having fun. When I had my first child I didn't know what to do with myself all day, beyond taking care of him. And the effort of doing anything beyond taking care of him when I was completely sleep deprived and shell shocked at the newness of parenting, was beyond me. Our home looked like a storm had passed through it.

Living area

But now... it's actually something I take a bit joy from. I'm scheduled. I'm strict with myself, but still able to cope with a relaxed atmosphere. Anything else with small children would be impossible to maintain without severe levels of heightened stress. But it really does take time and practice to learn to strike this balance. This is the advice I give my friends when they have their first baby - give yourself time to learn how to be at home. It doesn't come naturally for everyone, and you'll get there eventually.

Lovelies

A little email arrived recently, informing me of some pretty new wares from one of my favourite on-line retailers, Lark. They have a beautiful selection of stylish things, and I am regularly popping their items in my wishlist. I've spotted a number of not-so-necessary but oh-so-lovely things to share.

Stripey fabric tape

I love the look of this tape. It's fabric so I imagine it's a little more durable than the decorative paper tapes available.

Spice tins

It really bothers me that the spice jars available in the supermarkets are all brown - seriously, brown? Does anyone voluntarily have a brown kitchen any more? I would love to have these spice tins, but they wouldn't fit in my spice rack, so not very helpful but lovely to look at. Pantry space is a valuable thing, and my spices take up most of the vertical space in there.

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These swallows are just beautiful. I would love to have some in my home, though I don't quite know where they would fit other than my daughter's room - Kitchen perhaps? I love the mix of fabrics, very feminine.

Geninne D Zlatkis

I cannot believe I haven't come across this artist before, but I've fallen completely and utterly in love with the detailed and beautiful watercolours of Geninne D Zlatkis via etsy.

Friends

Elephant

I'm considering purchasing the Ahoy print below for my son's room makeover. On that subject, I managed to pick him up a simple pine bed - very understated - for only $25. I'm considering painting it as pine isn't the most beautiful colour, but for now it's comfortable and much more grown up. As a bonus, it takes up much less space than his last bed, so we're on the right track for his new room.

Ahoy

Feeling in the mood for something a little edgy and eclectic, One Teaspoon is a great Australian brand to inspire and long for.

All photos via One Teaspoon

A fantastic mix of wearable designs with a bit of grit and sophistication - not a typical combination, but definitely worth a look. I love the extremely wide leg of these 9924 Ranger jeans, and they're high waisted, too.

Found Friday

Something found, and my new favourite quote.

Beautiful blue type writer (including case) - the Blue Bird - made in West Germany, I believe in the 1950s. Did you know that there are only 500 typewriters left in stock? Luckily we picked up this beauty, in perfect condition, from a garage sale.

Trying to do this every day.

'Imagine a new story for your life and start living it.'
Paulo Coelho

Scandinavian love

I am a total Scandophile - I don't know whether it's all the white, the light, or the natural materials - it's probably everything. It is the epitome of relaxed, earthy sophistication, and I can't get enough. All photos via here.

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In many ways the image that appeals most to me is the one that is most stark, the hallway with virtually nothing in it. Perhaps that's it, longing for a simpler, less cluttered interior - difficult to come by with 2 small kids and all their stuff!

Are you a bit of a Scandophile? If so, what is it that draws you in?

Hectic

This last week have been really hectic, and I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything I need to do. Unfortunately, painting often gets put at the bottom of the list, but this can have advantages, too. 

Sometimes taking a rest from painting is enough to energise me, and make me look at things in a new light. I'm still working (and re-working) this series of smaller 'Surface' paintings, and with more than a dash of efficiency I hope to get back to these today.

Wishing you a productive and energised Wednesday.

New work in its new home. It's been a super busy weekend, starting a super busy week. Hopefully I'll be back in tomorrow.

Found Friday

I am always on the hunt for gorgeous vintage treasures for our home. This beautiful hand made cushion I found this week, and it seems to fit perfectly in our living room. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, and had to dig through some other junk to get to it.

No doubt it will take on many forms as my kids throw it around our living room (cushions become cars, buses... basically any form of transport), but when they go to bed and I finally get to clean and have some sanity, I will happily admire it. The cute little horse if from kikki-k, which I have two of - I am always moving them around, often using them as book ends.

My weekend is looking pretty light, so hopefully some good painting, maybe some shopping, and hopefully some rest. Happy (scary) Friday!

Sick of bemoaning the lack of international brands that sell to Australia, I realised (far too late - I'm often slow to catch on) that what I should really be doing is looking to Australian brands for inspiration. Once I started, I could hardly stop - I knew Australia had some great designers out there, I just hadn't gone out and looked for them. I'm impressed. First find, Fleur Wood.

Delicate but edgy, Fleur Wood's designs are wearable, but the attention to detail is beautiful. Her collections are so flattering and feminine, but I love how she incorporates some boyish styling, like the one above. Lovely.

Boys rooms - they're just not as fun as girls - or perhaps I'm wrong about that. Maybe I've been looking at it the wrong way? No, there aren't any frills or pinks (and I'm a bit of a frilly pink girl), but there is an opportunity to have fun, an adventure, and a stylish room.

via sfgirlbybay

via poppytalk

We've decided my son's racing car bed has to go - it doesn't allow any airflow through the base, and I'm worried about dust and potentially mould (serious design flaw). Plus, I think we're losing half his Lego to this toy Bermuda triangle. So, with that in mind it's time to start re-designing. I'm thinking a good mix of vintage and subtle colour, and plenty of free space. Now that he's getting a little older, it may also be time for some sort of 'desk' space.

via Country Living

via Bloesem Kids

via Baby Space

Mostly I want it pared down, easy to clean, with good storage for all his stuff. So there's the inspiration, now the actual doing...

Decorate

Because I have a lovely husband, I got 3 beautiful books for my birthday, one of which is an instant decorating classic: Decorate: 1000 professional design ideas for every room in the house, by Holly Becker of decor8 fame, and Joanna Copestick.

There are already many reviews out there, and from what I have seen they are all very positive. I know why. It's beautiful, it's pretty, it's useful. There is real information contained in here, along with all the beautiful pictures. Holly's taste is impeccable, and while it doesn't align entirely with my own, that doesn't matter. There is advice in here for numerous styles, but beyond that, there is advice for anyone who wants their home to reflect themselves, who they are, who they love, their story. And all with style.
And as a bonus, it's a beautiful book! As a lover of books and book shelves, I can't get enough of a great looking cover. It doesn't fail to deliver, though I suspect I'll be referring to it quite often, so it won't be on my shelf for long.

New work

Some recent painting, another one of my larger works. It has taken a long time to get to an equilibrium for this painting, which I guess is one way to describe how I paint. I keep working the painting till it reaches a point, a sense of balance, and I know it's done. Although, I often re-work paintings for weeks, even months after I've claimed that they're finished.

'Waves 3' Acrylic on canvas, 30x40"

This is the third and final painting of this large scale, but as I suggested above, I am reworking one of the previous ones, the second in the series. Hopefully I will complete that soon, as it's wearing me down.

inspiration

The weekend is going to be busy. My son will have his first soccer game for the season, which will be hilarious, given that they're all 3-4. Just a big mass of small bodies surrounding a ball.

And of course, it's mother's day, which comes so close to my birthday I get spoilt two weekends in a row. A nice breakfast is all I'm after, and some peace and quiet to paint. And maybe this pillow from Crate and Barrel (found via 13bees). It's actually called the 'Paint pallete' pillow and it really works.

The colours remind me of my own paintings. In fact it reminds me a lot of this painting which I just completed.

'Waves 2', Acrylic on canvas, 30x40"

This is actually a re-working of this painting, which after a lot of thought I had to go back to. I'm glad I did.

Wishing all the mummies a happy and creative mother's day!

Cocoa & Hearts

One of my favourite bloggers, Jennifer Ramos of Made By Girl, is also a talented artist. Not only does she produce stylish stationary and gorgeous prints, she paints some beautiful abstract work. I'm so excited for her success on the release of her new website, Cocoa & Hearts. I've been waiting to see what she would be releasing, and it's beautiful, I'm not at all surprised that she's already sold a large portion of the work.

'Rejoice' Acrylic on canvas, 48x24"

Jennifer's 'Love' posters are also popular, so much so I noticed one in an ad on TV for a solar hot water company, here in Canberra!

Definitely worth checking out, her work is beautiful.

I found a beautiful roll of vintage vinyl wall paper in my local second hand shop for just $1. Thankfully it had never been opened, so it still had the instructions. It only needs to be soaked in water as it's self adhesive, apparently making it easier to hang. I had other intentions for it.

The walls of my studio were looking a little bland and I wanted something gentle to lift the room a little. I'd been looking into wall decals, but I tend to be more of a DIY girl, so when I saw this paper I had an idea:

I cut the floral parts of the paper into little rain drop shapes to create a little wall decal of my own. The light in this room is quite strong in the afternoon (perfect studio light, though not all day) so they're a bit difficult to see in photos:

I have no idea how long they'll last or whether they'll ruin the wall if I ever take them down, but that's the great thing about having your own home - experimentation! I love it - simple, pretty and understated.

Some beautiful tulips, a lovely birthday gift from a girlfriend. I had a beautiful weekend, including afternoon tea with friends (and gossip), dinner and a movie, and some beautiful home made raspberry and white chocolate ice cream. It's all gone.

I also did rather well on the present front, including some gorgeous new books and a trip to a day spa! Now just to find the time to use it...

Book available here

I've just started reading this gorgeous book that I was given - Pale and Interesting: Decorating with whites, pastels and neutrals for a warm and welcoming home, by Atlanta Bartlette and Dave Coote. So far it is beautiful, with pages full of inspiration and some very good advice. If you love white and a bit of vintage and leather, this is a book for you. I love it.