Home Staging a Rental Property

The perfect living room - Image via 

Last week I posted tips to attract the right tenants to your rental property, focusing on it's exterior and curb appeal. However, before you can lead them up the garden path, so to speak, how do you get them physically out to your property in the first place, especially if you are advertising on line.

Interior Spaces to Love - Week 4

1. Touches of raw timber in a predominantly white space add warmth - use the link at the end of this post to tour this Sag Harbour home

Sorry for not posting Wednesday, I have had a hectic week with family commitments and almost didn't have time to put together this weeks 'Interior Spaces to Love'. However, as I am addicted to browsing gorgeous homes there isn't a day that goes by that I don't spot something on Pinterest or Houzz so here are this weeks discoveries...

Updating My Bedroom For Winter - Exploring Black and White Checks

The fastest way to update a bedroom is to change your duvet and throw pillows, however, if you do introduce a change of colour and pattern, remember you could change the overall feeling of the room. I purposely wanted to take my bedroom from coastal to country and have been seeking some black and white inspiration.

Bedrooms - Natures colours you May Not Expect

Mehditash Design

If I was to ask you to design a room using natures colours, I wonder what you would choose. For me, I look at the deep blue of the ocean or the gentler blue of a winter sky. Varying shades of autumn leaves, from the palest orange to a more vivid, burnt orange. Deep red leaves fading to soft pink and of course touches of green. All the bedrooms I have chosen today reflect colours of nature but maybe not the ones you would expect.

A Mix of Beautiful Bedrooms - Monochromatic

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More often than not, the interior design of our bedrooms can be a little neglected compared to other areas in our homes. However, considering we spend around 26 years of our life sleeping, it is clear to me they should be seen as one of the most important rooms. A bedroom should be a restful safe haven, beautifully decorated in a style that you feel comfortable with. Decorating a bedroom however, can be a little bewildering with the vast choice of colours, bedding and furniture around. 30 years ago you would never have found such creative use of fabrics, wallpaper and furnishing that we see today, so yesterday I set out on a mission to look for some inspiring ideas that might help if you are thinking of re-decorating this part of your home.

Winner Of The Minted Stationery Credit - Plus a peek at my bedroom

A mixed post today as I wanted to announce the winner of the US$100 Minted credit. Thank you to everyone who took time to  leave a comment either at the blog or my Facebook page.

Feeling A Little Blue?

Feeling a little blue? then I hope these pretty blue and white interiors will brighten your day. When blue is used as a solid block of colour it can become overpowering but mixing small prints in blue and white can look fabulous. Blue and white stripes are timeless, wide stripes are more contemporary and look wonderful in a coastal setting, whereas narrow stripes are more traditional and suit a classic or country interior. Large checks such as buffalo checks and gingham will add a country touch. Bolder tones of blue work well in a contemporary home but keep them to the minimum and mix with smaller prints.  Whatever you do (I have said this before), I do not advise having a blue kitchen or dominating your house in this colour, it can put off prospective buyers if there comes a time to sell. No matter your style of interior, you can easily integrate a little blue into your home making it feel brighter.

Images above via House to Home a great place for inspiration

 Image via Pinterest

Image via

You can visit my 'Blue & White' board at Pinterest for more inspiration or you may want to catch up on a previous post on Blue and White where I shared more traditional interiors and a few images of my own collection of blue and white ginger jars.  

Lee oxo


Sharing this post with "Anything Blue Friday" at the Dedictated House

Creating A Coastal Feel - Home Inspiration

Down at the beach this morning as Poppy and I walked along the promenade, the day was so perfect we decided to sit down and soak up the sunshine. While sitting silently I realised how immersed I was in the colours surrounding us. The differing shades of blue of the ocean and white sails of the yachts bobbing around the harbour. Grey and white gulls squabbling over fishy morsels and the soft, beige sand, sparkling like the sugar crystals my mother used to offer her visitors with their coffee. These subtle colours combined with the right textures, can easily evoke a coastal feel to your home.

Creating a coastal feeling, is about creating a relaxed atmosphere using colours and textures relating to the seaside. It can be as simple as placing a pretty bowl of shells beside your bathroom basin or a seaside inspired vignette on a bookshelf. You could use a piece of art to inspire a coastal feeling or you may want to go all out and devote a whole room to this theme. Whether it be with art, accessories or furnishing, a coastal look can easily be achieved.

When trying to create a coastal look, don't go all out and choose everything with a nautical feel, mix and match your pieces so it doesn't become too predictable. I began by putting together a mood board of textures and furnishing that would help create my coastal look. Most of the items on my board are from http://www.scs.co.uk. SCS are a UK nationwide furniture company where I spotted a few unique pieces such as their drift wood table and pebble look lamp. I combined them with a few of SCS understated pieces, and added some accessories from elsewhere to complete the look.

1. Sandy table lamp 2. Dundee Sofa  3. Driftwood table  4. Dundee footstool   5.  Carpet 'Arran' in twine...(All from SCS Sofa carpet specialist).

If you want to learn more about how to create a coastal mood board, selecting the right textures and using word association to help you create your board. You may want to read an earlier post on....'Coastal Themed Interiors & Accessories'.

Inspiring coastal interiors...

1. Coral and shells - "please make sure you don't take coral or live shells from the sea☺"

2. Blue stipes mixed with beige and grey and botanical shell prints create a restful area

3. Soft greys reminiscent of the colour of seagulls wings

4.  Create a coastal feel to an outdoor covered porch with ever popular blue and white

5. A combination of some of my favourite textures; rustic wood, sisal, rattan and bleached linen

6. Seaside colours and a nautical painting

Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5|6

If you haven't had enough coastal love you may want to tour a few coastal inspired homes;

ACoastal Interior

A fabulous seaside interior

Shabby Chic By The Sea

Sharing this post with the following blogs;
Dwellings

I should be Mopping the Floor

The Dedicated House
A Stroll Thru Life

Alderberry Hill

DIY Showoff

Savvy Southern Style

Not Just A Housewife

No Minimalist Here

The Real Housewives of Riverton

Guest bedroom makeover underway

Finally the weekend is here and I am happy to say the guest bedroom is well on its way. After a little indecision about colour and a huge collection of Resene test pots, I finally narrowed it down to 1/8th Bison hide. I wanted a neutral colour with a touch of beige, bison hide was perfect, I would describe it as the colour of drift wood and would look great in a coastal home. My previous wall colour, rice cake is a lovely neutral colour, however it didn't appear to have much depth, the new colour has depth and the decision to use flat rather than low sheen paint was a much smarter choice for a bedroom.

My theme is my own take on the Hampton's versus Ralph Lauren. I wanted a room with a touch of masculinity, hoping to entice my Air Force son home on his breaks. The images below are part of my inspiration, as you can see my palette is completely neutral and very beige..."oh no!" I hear some of you say, "how boring!" However, my cottage is only 103 square metres and as much as I love colour because of its size I try to keep a neutral palette, adding interest with texture and pattern. From time to time when I do get a little bored, I simply introduce a few bright cushions to provide a lift.

1.  Wall colour -  Resene one eighth Bison hide

2.   Picasso dove print from All Posters

3.   Cosy homestead sheets and two pillowcases - Wallace Cotton

4.   Bungalow duvet cover and two pillowcases -  Wallace Cotton (link above)

5.   Picasso camel print also from All Posters (link above)

6.   Nickel desk lamp adds a touch of masculinity and doubles as an easy reading lamp

7.   Linen headboard with studs (I will be making my own)

8.   Pineapple lamp will work great with the camel print

9.   Black iron tripod tables beside the bed

10. Toile from Martha's for cushions

11.  Quirky cushion seen over at Interior Design online (still thinking about this one)

12.  Beige tartan for bed cushion

13.  Rattan trunk for storage - adds interest and texture

14.  Possible storage unit

15.  Beige linen for curtains (these may go either side of the wide slatted alabaster blinds).

16.  Sisal flooring  from Artisan flooring - wall to wall or large edged rug, (budget may factor here)

I am planning on making my own padded headboard similar to the snippet in my mood board, (Later I will be sharing this step by step). The top of the little iron tables I plan to stencil with a simple design such as fleur-de- lis rubbed with gold furniture wax. I was going to purchase some black and white prints, however, I have decided to use my artistic skills and create my own pictures, one idea I have will tie in beautifully with the pineapple lamp seen in my mood board.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

If you love neutral interiors you may want to tour this stylish  Manhattan apartment.

Note: Since posting, you can now see the final reveal of this makeover here.

Sharing this post with the following blogs:

I should be Mopping the Floor

Savvy Southern Style
Not Just A Housewife

No Minimalist Here

My Romantic Home

Guest Bedrooms - What's your style?

I'll be busy this week with brush in hand, not a new painting unfortunately, this time creating a guest bedroom. I've been running around the past few weeks looking at bed linen, paint colours and fabrics trying to decide a theme. I am creating a mood board and I guess you could say it is an eclectic mix of New England versus Ralph Lauren style. Previously the room was set up as my studio and is currently storing bits and pieces left over after I sold my mums home, however, I'm keen to turn it into an inviting guest room for visitors. I am not giving too much away at the moment, lots of ideas and images in my head but finding it hard to make decisions. Meanwhile, it never ceases to amaze me how many creative designers there are and the bedrooms below show how varied styles can be...

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Such different styles, lots of inspiration for me to draw upon for my guest room. If you were creating a guest room what style would you choose?

Images 1-2 via Traditional Homes Images 3-8 via House to Home 

Since publishing this post,  you can see my mood board & inspiration for my  guest bedroom... here and the final reveal...here

linking this weeks bedroom inspiration over at the following blogs:

I should be Mopping the Floor

Savvy Southern Style

No Minimalist Here

My Romantic Home

Bedroom inspiration - Mixing textures to create the perfect bed

I am currently designing a mood board for my guest bedroom and while looking for ideas for bed linen, came across some wonderful examples below. I love how the designers have mixed textures and pattern to create such divine beds. Long gone are the days of matching sets, how boring it would be if we walked around wearing a white jumper, white jeans and  white shoes, it should be just the same for our beds don't you think?

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Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8

All these wonderful images are via Stylizimo

I will be sharing this post with the following link parties:

I should Be Mopping The Floor

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
 Stroll Thru Life

Contemporary Interior Behind A Victorian Facade

Lying behind the exterior of a typically English Victorian house, lies a contemporary surprise. An eclectic mix of modern and Mid Century furnishing with the odd homage to its Victorian era and a neutral grey palette which works wonderfully. The open plan kitchen/dining/family area is large at 16 metres long with glass doors that lead to a lovely garden. The surprising interior retains its period features such as the fireplaces and ceiling cornice, yet other areas of the house have been completely modernised. A house truly  full of surprises and I love them all.

This interior is available for film/magazine shoots, more images can be seen at JJ Locations.

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks interior as much as I've enjoyed sharing it. We seem to be in the middle of an "Indian summer" in New Zealand with our temperatures still high and no sign of rain on the horizon, so as you can imagine its hard to spend time sitting at the computer. 

Have a great weekend.