Pretty, Shiny Things

Whoever said you don't get anything out of a rewards program never met a Chinese person! This is our shiny new toaster courtesy of Fly Buys. I'll admit it took me a while to accumulate the points but we didn't change our shopping habits or buy extra items to get the points or anything stupid like that. My Mum and brother both have cards on my account and they both also shop at Coles and Target normally so the points just accumulated nicely in the background.

I love the contrast of the cherry red against the white of the kitchen and I love the retro look of the range. It's why I chose it! Oh, and also cause we really needed a toaster. Our temporary $8 toaster from K-Mart died a while back so we've been using the oven. The OVEN. To make TOAST. Both inefficient and not very toasty.

We also have enough for the matching cherry red kettle as well. That's next!!

The Study

A few months ago the company I worked for was bought out by another company and downsized significantly. We went from an office staff of about 43 down to just 15 and a two storey office block down to a much smaller space about 1/6 of the size of the old one.

We'd been in that original office for over 10 years and there was so much stuff we simply couldn't keep.  We spent over 2 weeks sorting out furniture, archives and just...stuff. We threw out 3 large skiploads of rubbish and archives and pulled apart furniture for storage as we just couldn't fit all the furniture into the new office.

The office manager was very generous and knew I was trying to set up a dedicated space for Josh to study. They let me have this awesome desk, which had a scratch on it and dodgy leg, but it was easily covered up and we managed to fix the leg. The matching return was destined for the skip because it had a big bow in it, but we just turned it upside down and put a heavy printer on it for a few days and it flattened out. They were both from Ikea so the only thing I had to buy was the matching set of drawers.

I'm getting pretty good at putting Ikea furniture together, but this one took a little longer than the other ones.

There were a LOT more bits and pieces than the other items I'd put together and it took me over an hour to put it all together.

The drawers were the hardest part and there was actually a mistake in the instructions...took me a while to work out what was right.

I got there in the end and so the basics of the study is complete. I also rescued a perfectly good office chair and set of intrays that were all destined for the skip.

I did buy a new printer ($48...so cheap) and this work lamp from Ikea. Josh loves this new study space, it's really the first dedicated space he's had for his school work and I think it really makes a difference.

To finish it off we just need to put some roller blinds up (like the rest of the house), maybe a world map, a notice board and I think a big rug would make it the perfect study.

Very grateful to work for all the giveaways and throwaways. The timing was perfect.

You've got mail!

We finally have a mailbox! It was one of those things on my to do list that I just hadn't got around to doing and the postman kept putting my mail in the neighbour's mailbox.

It's only a cheap temporary one until the fence goes up and we get a proper one. But it does the job. The very next day it was stuffed full of junk mail. Hmmm. I have a new item on my shopping list... a no junk mail sticker!

DIY Wall Art

I love, love, love the White on White Dulux colour on the walls and ceiling, it makes the house so fresh and bright but...

It also makes the house very stark without wall art and decoration.

I LOVE fabric covered canvases but they were all so expensive, especially the Florence Broadhurst and Marimekko ones that I loved. They looked so easy to make, I couldn't understand why they were $300-$500.

So I thought I'd make my own.

I found this graphic print fabric at Spotlight on sale for $11 a metre. It was a thick, duck canvas and I loved the contrast of the black and red semi circles against the taupe. It reminded me of a Japanese cushion I fell in love with at Shibui Homewares in West End.

I found the canvases at a junk store in Inala while we were having an "authentic" Vietnamese lunch :-). It was 1m x 75cm and only $20. I'd seen the same size for almost twice the price at Toowong. It's crazy how prices differ in suburbs.

It was pretty easy to stretch the fabric over the canvas. I bought a super industrial size stapler from Bunning because I get the feeling I'll be doing this often. The whole exercise took about 15 minutes. Easy peasy.

The 3M hooks cost almost as much as the canvas but I used double the recommended amount...just to be sure. I hung them in the dining room, but not in the centre of the wall. The dining table is off centre so I hung the canvases on the opposite end to balance it out. Josh thinks it looks weird but I like it.

Ta-da! Mission complete! I'm pretty happy with them. The next space that needs to be decorated is the hallway downstairs. Watch this space! (Hahahaa...get it?)