Turning 40

A few people have asked me what I got...  

A framed vintage scarf. 

 R confessed me to me that he had no idea what to get me and I pointed him in the direction of the Table Tonic shop in Avalon.  A few weeks ago Jane from My Pear Tree House wrote a lovely post on blue and white scarves and included a photo of a divine framed scarf available for sale in the Table Tonic shop.  Lovely I thought but almost certainly snapped up already!  Then just before we left for Byron I was having a quick coffee with Carolyn and her lovely Beach House Brat in the cafe just outside Table Tonic and spotted it immediately.  If R hasn't bought me a present for my 40th this is what I want I announced to her and well... now it is hanging in my kitchen and looking beyond fabulous!!!

I only picked it up on Tuesday but it has already given me so much pleasure!!  Thank you R!! xx

The Dulux House

Investigating my stats recently I discovered that a great number of visitors to the blog were searching for images of the Dulux House, so I thought for all the like minded house stalkers out there I would provide you with some more images of it's fabulousness!

The front entrance, so pretty with the frangipani tree and scattered flowers on the lawn.

The gorgeous backyard.  The whole of the downstairs looks like it is a huge open plan room, this now seems to be a pre-requisite when designing a beach house.

Love the old milk bottle basket full of vintage bottles and flowers on the dining table.

Gorgeous tap and butlers sink in the island.  Do you think the little room off to the left might be a butlers pantry with the fridge in it?  I would seriously love to have a good look at this kitchen!

Living room with an open fire and stone surround.  I am not convinced by the very high mantle though.

Another living area in the main part of the open plan area.

With views out to the backyard.

A perfect beach bathroom.  The vanity is lovely and simple and not unlike our one.   I am also pretty sure that they have used the same travertine tiles on the shower walls that we used on our bathroom floors.  

Such a pretty house.  All images are from here.

Seal Rocks

We have just had a fabulous week away up on the mid North Coast of NSW at Seal Rocks.  A gorgeous little spot that reminded me so much of Depot Beach.  Perfect beaches that are totally unspoilt by development, surrounded by national parks.  No cafes, just a tiny little general store and best of all no mobile service.  Woohoo, it was bliss.  The one significant difference from Depot though was that Seal  Rocks has a lighthouse.  The boys having had the fabulous Lighthouse Keeper stories by Ronda & David Armitage read to them from a young age were just besotted with it!

These two are their favourites!

                  I think I could have quite happily lived in the lighthouse keepers cottage on the cliff!

                               I think that they had my husband in mind when they whipped this particular sign up.

          

 This is the house we stayed in for the week.  Yes, we lit the fire every night, despite the fact that we didn't really need to.  There is just something ever so cosy about having stories in front of the fire in the evening after a lovely day at the beach.

                                   


    The locals call this little corner of the beach kiddies corner.  It was divine.   Crystal clear water at a gorgeous temperature, the kids adored it and so did we.  I can't wait for our next visit!

                             

Exterior/Street Front Inspiration for Chez Pirate

The renovation is about to begin in earnest and the pressure is on to make some decisions.  For some time I have been photographing houses in our neighborhood and the surrounding suburbs for inspiration and one of my husband's hobbies is to spend hours perusing real estate sites so we have amassed quite a collection of images to inspire us in our latest renovating endeavour!  Currently concentrating on exterior colour, weatherboard style (ie. classic,rusticated etc) and fretwork...

Love the colour of this house (am pretty sure it is the house in the Dulux ad!) and we are also planning to do a similar path of sandstone pavers across the back lawn to the pool.

Closer shot for y'all of the colour!

This house is in my Aunty's neck of the woods and everytime we drive past I swoon!

Another divine weatherboard!

Love the porch light!

This house is even further North at Palm Beach and is truly spectacular.  Image is from Architectural Digest and if you want to see more photos of the interior (divine) see here.

Love the colour of this house as well, in fact I love it so much that I knocked on the door once on my way back from the beach with dripping wet hair and still in my bathers and asked the owner what the colours she had used were.  She was just gorgeous and very kindly shared with me!  (Image originally from Domain.)

Another jewel on the Northern Beaches.  The pirates often play at the playground across the water from this house and I find it very distracting! (Image originally from Domain.)

Here are all the colour samples painted onto the side of the house... we are leaning towards the centre one.  Any thoughts?