Working On

This afternoon I visited some lovely clients who I have been working with for quite sometime. We are just finishing off the final bits and pieces in their home like framing and lampshades.

You may recognise the green vintage lamp on their antique entry chest of drawers which they purchased from the antique shop in Marburg I posted about a few weeks ago. Although I love the colour of the old shade, we are making a new one as this one is a bit too vintagey and also has a few dints. We decided today that the new shade would look best made in a very similar vibrant green silk.

We are also having a set of antique copper etchings framed and hung above the chest of drawers. The etchings are actually of entry facades which is so perfect. We have selected a gold bamboo frame to work back with the gold detail on the lamp base and handles on the chest.

Throughout the house we have used lots of blue and white and we have also added some green. I love this fresh palette. The blue and white plates pictured above are from Black & Spiro. We are hanging them on a wall in their informal dining area.

My client was also inspired by the post I did on green leaf arrangements the other day and has used some golden cane palm fronds from her garden in a blue and white umbrella stand which she placed on the antique oval table in their sitting room.

I know I have said this in the past but sometimes, lately more than ever, I feel I am writing this blog for no reason and I also question my ability to continue to inspire with so many other wonderful blogs out there nowdays. However, when I see that my clients are inspired by my arrangements, selections and finds it really does make me understand why, after nearly 4 years, I continue to write this blog.

Ben & Phoebe's Daybed

I recently helped my cousin and his gorgeous fiance {they just got engaged on the weekend} with the cushioning on this lovely daybed which they purchased from Cotswold for their beach house. We selected an array of brightly coloured exterior fabrics for the scatter cushions and a trusty navy and white stripe exterior fabric for the seat cushions and voila this is the result. I just love it and apparently they do too!!

Teena's Office

I thought I'd post some photos of an office I just completed for one of my clients as above. The factory lights came from an old factory in South Australia. I actually purchased about 20 of these lights in an auction and have installed some into our new Design Studio as well. Teena fell in love the the MC Pagoda fabric so I worked up a scheme around it for her. The desk skirt is one of my favourite things in this office. It works so well and hides ugly computer equipment which is stored underneath...

Happenings

Another snippet of our new Design Studio.

Some cushions we have just had made for a lovely client.



A fun little playroom which Melanie has been working on.



A pair of wing chairs in the process of getting recovered in a beautiful Manuel Canovas fabric for another one of our clients.


Downstairs is in a huge mess as you can see above!

Just days before I had Max one of my clients dropped into our new Design Studio to see me. She couldn't believe what we had going on. As she walked up the back steps past the humongous pile of rubbish we had waiting for our rubbish man she proclaimed - "This is the most severe case of nesting I have ever seen!" At the time I didn't think anything of it but now after having Max and stopping for a week or so I realize that I have had some major things going on and I still have some major things to achieve in the next 2 months. Not only are we renovating the store, next week we move into our new house which is very scary considering I haven't even started to pack!

As the renovation progresses at Black & Spiro we have also been working on some great jobs. I thought I'd post a few snippets of some things we have been working on as above.

Next week I am back at work full-time. That is also a bit scary considering how much sleep Brad and I are getting at the moment with our new little one! However, as usual I will take it all one step at a time. The new things we are having made for the shop are looking so beautiful. I can't wait to share it all with you in the coming weeks.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

xx

Anna

Annie's House

I thought I'd share some photos with you of my friend Annie's house which has just gone on the market for sale. No doubt you can see lots of things she has purchased from Black & Spiro over the years including her most recent purchase of my 2 black and white wing chairs from my dining room at home. Don't they look gorgeous with her Antique table and chairs. Annie shares my love for colour and mismatched style. She has collected the huge number of cushions on her bench seating and sofas from me over the years - she has even been known to snatch a few from my own sofa at home with a "bill me" as she gets in the car to leave!! I'm sure her beautiful house will sell very quickly. Click HERE to see more.

Fun Chair & Update

I thought I'd share some photos of this fun chair we just had painted and re-upholstered for one of my clients. We used plain hot pink felt to cover the seat. We wanted to keep the chair all one colour and not cover the seat in a busy pattern. I can't wait to deliver it to my client. I am sure she is going to love it!

I have also had so many people ask me about the progress of our renovation and expansion. As usual, things have taken a little longer than anticipated. Upstairs is ALMOST done. I took these photos of the pink chair in our upstairs area. As you can see the cabinetry is almost complete and we are just waiting for our lighting to be installed. This should all be done in a week or so.

We will then be closing the shop for approximately 1 month from the 10th May to complete the renovation and expansion of the shop downstairs. So it is all systems go with a big re-opening party planned for mid-June! Oh and in amongst that we are moving house and having a baby so it is very full-on in my little world at the moment!!

The Billboard & New Project Unveiled

The scheme we originally presented to Mirvac

Late last week a new billboard went up in Brisbane which was being unveiled as my brother was coincidentally driving past it.

He dialled my number excited to advise me that my latest project was being unveiled as we spoke on a humongous billboard down in the Valley.

That afternoon, Harry and I went in search of the so-called humongous billboard. We went around and back and down and up the street approximately 5 times with great excitement. I nearly crashed the car 2 times trying to take a photo of it.

Saturday morning my parents couldn’t help but take a drive past the billboard.

Monday morning a client emailed us saying she had seen the billboard.

This morning another one of my clients commented on the billboard.

And tonight my husband said – “Where’s your billboard in the Valley? I’m heading down there tomorrow and I want to drive past it…”

The billboard has created a bit of a stir amongst family and friends…

One of my favourite things was selecting all the books and accessory pieces {some new and some vintage} for the shelving we had installed.

Remember that little snippet of a job I posted a week or two ago?? Well, that’s the one on the billboard.

Being invited by Mirvac to design the furnishings and accessories for it’s latest display apartment in the Newstead development was exciting and very rewarding. I was recently asked by Mirvac to explain my design and my thinking behind my scheme for the Park display apartment for a media release...


“To be working on one of Brisbane’s finest developments is truly exciting. I feel that my fresh and uplifting design for the Park display apartment is in tune with Mirvac’s philosophy of excellence and vision. When I think of Park I imagine expanses of lush green grass, leafy trees with natural bark clad trunks, colourful clothes and celebrations, mixed with urban elements such as vibrant graffiti and eclectic retail offerings. These are the things that have inspired my design for the display apartment. I want it to be fresh and colourful and I want the design to show people that they don’t have to have a ‘catalogue’ perfect interior to match a Park apartment. It can be colourful, it can be collected, it can be made up of vintage furniture mixed with more modern pieces. There are no rules. My vision with Park is to inspire people with my designs and encourage them to embrace their own unique style with their own Park apartment.”

I hope that my colourful design will be something different for Brisbane. We are so used to seeing ‘SAFE’ display apartments here. It is so exciting to be involved with a company like Mirvac who does think outside the square and who wants to be seen as different to the pack.

The cluster wall as conceptualised by Tony at Thyme Design

And on a final note…

Feedback on the apartment so far has been very positive. However, I have to share this with you…

My mother’s dearest friend and probably one of my biggest supporters went and had a look at the display on the weekend. She overheard the conversation of an older couple...

The husband said – “What were they thinking with those green chairs?”

The wife replied – “Oh Darling, get with the times – it’s for the young ones. They love it…”

An Exciting Project

Sorry I've been missing in action since earlier this week however, I have been extremely busy installing a very exciting job we have been working on over the past couple of months. I cannot share any details of the project at this stage but I can share these 3 very sneaky photos. We have a few finishing touches to complete and then it will be launched to the public late next week. I'll do a full posting in the upcoming weeks about this project which we are thrilled to have been asked to undertake.

Working On

The lounge room started with these 2 vintage chairs which we had for sale in the shop. The clients loved them so much that we worked the entire room scheme around them.

I placed the art pieces on the floor first {as below} and then we had them hung on the wall once everything was in place.

Here are a few snippets of a lovely house I am working on at the moment. We hung the art work cluster wall this morning in the lounge room. The sofa is yet to arrive so once we have that in place I'll post some more photos. The clients just moved into the house at Christmas. Since then we've had it painted all-white inside and out. It is the most gorgeous cottage and looks wonderful with all the white paint. We are using lots of fabulous colour in the furniture and accessory pieces. More photos in a week or so, I promise!!

Working On

Here's a little scheme I put together today for a client who lives in the country. She is wanting a simple, classic look. She loves blue and white and natural but wanted me to inject some colour to liven the look a little. These are the fabrics I selected for her for some new cushions, curtains, blinds, recovering of 2 chairs. Her room is all-white and she has timber floors....a perfect backdrop. We are going to use a sisal rug on the floor in the lounge area and some colourful accessories mixed with piles of books in the new built-in bookcase.

Ashgrove House

Images above and below you may be able to spot the floor in the sun room to the left which we had painted in a green and white stripe. We will be doing some beautiful white cane pieces upholstered in lovely bright fabrics in this area in the New Year.

Here are some photos of a job I finished off this morning for a lovely, lovely client at Ashgrove. The brief was to create an area which was fresh, bright, colourful and family friendly. This is what I created.

In It's Home

You might remember this old Puerto Rican cabinet we had painted in a soft mint green which was in our Black & Spiro front window for a little while. I thought I would show you it in it's new home. My clients have placed it in their new kitchen which was still having the finishing touches done to it when I was there snapping away these photos this morning. The pink Smeg fridge is definitely something I covet along with the lovely set of old scales!!

Clayfield House

Here are a couple of photos of a job I have been working on over at Clayfield. I thoroughly enjoyed working for this lovely couple and their 2 young children. The floral armchairs we made are my favourite thing in this house and work beautifully with the colourful Chinese drum stool which we placed next to the slip covered sofa.

A Little Project

I thought it would be fun to show you a little project I am working on for a client. Not only do we love to work on large jobs, we love to help clients with small things too. This little antique stool was dropped into me a few weeks ago by one of my clients who had picked it up in Melbourne. Although there might be some protests from a few of you with regards to us replacing the original tapestry on the stool, the client wanted it recovered in a more vibrant fabric. We chose a beautiful pink and yellow painted silk and we are trimming it with hot pink gimp. I am looking forward to seeing it when it comes back from the upholsterer in it's new cover.

One More Ormiston Photo

Here is one more photo of the Ormiston house which I thought I would share with you. We delivered a pair of these beautiful blue and white armchairs down to the house late last week.

Black & Spiro Today

Here is our current window display at Black & Spiro {above}. It's very bright, I must say, even for me! It's been a crazy week here at B&S. Usually the September school holidays are a quiet time for us. It is usually a time we call the lull before the storm with the onslaught of Christmas coming! However, for some strange reason these September holidays have been crazy. Lots of deliveries arriving as you can see below. A few clients will be very happy at the end of this week once they receive their beautiful armchairs!!