Bedroom For A Tween

Renovations at my own house are starting to move along (again) and I am getting ready to do up my daughter's bedroom.

There is plenty of decorating material available for small children's bedrooms but once they get past about 7 years old they are growing out of "cute".

We are facing a challenge. She is not old enough for more a sophisticated look but doesn't want bunnies and teddies. or cutesey icons either. She does love flowers and gardens so I think we will go with that.

There is an exposed brick chimney which is right in the middle of the room which, instead of plastering, I think I'll get the carpenters to sheet up so I can make it into a wallpapered feature.
I am a huge fan of the way Designers Guild use colour and pattern so I thought I'd share my inspiration board with you.
I love the eclectic mix of old and modern furniture.
As far as colours go, I think I will be going for pink and orange, with accents of purple and green. Sounds a bit garish doesnt it?
Does anyone have any tips for decorating a tween bedroom?

Photos from Designers Guild and Graham & Brown

Renovating & Decorating Bargains

From the Ikea blog

Don't get me wrong, when the mood takes me I can go shopping and spend some serious money. But more often than not I find its not always necessary to spend top dollar and I love finding good deals and inexpensive but stylish discoveries in unexpected places.
Its all part of that thrill of discovering a bargain. Who doesn't love it?

Here are some of my tips:
Jump On It:
Sales can pop up when you least expect them and when you're not ready. If you see something you absolutely LOVE and its on sale at an incredible price, think seriously about buying it.

Someone who was demolishing an old house some months back asked my husband if he wanted some of the old windows as they were going to the tip otherwise. He jumped at the chance even though he didn't think he could use them at the time and storing them was inconvenient. Sure enough they have come in handy on a project we are working on now. It saved us something like $10,000 in joinery costs.

Top: Some of my bargain buys - stools at The Reject Shop
and a Kas suzani cushion for half price.
The "Daisy" light from Ikea is cheap and makes a real statement.

Go Mass Market:
If you are a regular reader you'll know I have mentioned this before...
I am not a fan of cheap, mass-produced tat but I do love going to places like Ikea, ideally with my husband who has an eagle eye. I like to have a really good look around, searching through the crowded bins as well as standing back and looking at the big view. Sometimes you miss things if you are just looking at eye level or up close.
In the overwhelming sea of mass-produced STUFF you can find some great quality decorating items - these are some of my favourites:
- slip covers in a variety of sturdy cotton fabrics
- feather cushion inserts
- loose cushion covers in plain colours or bold patterns
- inexpensive but stylish light fittings
- linen/cotton mix curtains
- christmas decorations, festive table-top ideas

For my beach houses sometimes I even look in those kitch beachy shops or $2 stores and on the odd occasion I actually do find something. (Which reminds me of something I found the other day in the Reject Shop which I will post).
I also keep an eye on the racks of K-Mart, Target, Spotlight and even Aldi.

I recently found some fabulous upholstery fabric on the sale rack at Spotlight. It cost me $8 per metre and it was 2m wide. I had some old chairs covered in it and they look a million dollars!


Bargain Karma - Garage Sales, Recycling Centres, Second-hand Stores, Online:
This is a pretty obvious bargain source but I find the trick is, make your visits random. Whenever I'm looking for something in very particular, it just wont find me. When I'm not "looking" I find great things. Go figure?
If you are driving past a second hand store and something catches your eye, stop. If you are looking for something, ask the salesperson as more often than not they have lots of stuff out the back and "it" might be there.
Then there is the plethora of stuff you can find online on sites like Ebay, Gumtree etc. To be perfectly honest  I don't often find things this way but I know others do. Maybe you readers can share some tips?

Colours for a Bedroom

Yesterday I popped in to see a friend who is redecorating her bedroom and as it is such a typical decorating dilemma I get asked to help with I thought I would share it.

My friend L has recently turned an unused veranda off her bedroom into a walk-in closet and moved her bed back into the alcove that formerly housed the wardrobe cupboards, minus the doors.
She loves all things French and has chosen a lovely colour combination of palest green and linen taupe for the room but is stuck on how to proceed to bring the room together.

Melinda's own bedroom features a banquette covered in pale aqua,picked out from the headboard fabric.

My first step to get any project moving is to look for inspiration. Both the bedrooms I have shown here are by Brisbane decorator and store owner, Melinda Boundy from Lily G.  Melinda's own bedroom, above, is a similar colour scheme to L's and in this case the starting point was the fabric she loved.
The second bedroom was designed for a client of Melinda's and the starting point was the gorgeous wallpaper, "Emperor's Garden" by GP & J Baker. The colour combination was again, taupe plus  french blue found in the wallpaper, mainly used in accents like the lamp bases and scatter cushions.

What makes both these bedrooms work is the use of eclectic elements such as mis-matched bedside tables, layers of different fabric textures and just one central area of pattern, namely the fabric headboard in Bed #1 and the wallpapered wall in Bed #2.

The injection of personality comes from the antique furniture and accessories such as the daybed in Bed #2. Some of the items are inexpensive reproductions, some are the real thing, but they have been cleverly mixed together.

For my friend L, I would suggest she wallpaper the alcove behind the bed, or if she is feeling more adventurous, upholster the alcove, French style, in padded fabric.
For the curtains, I would take a cue from Melinda's bedroom and do a generous two-tone linen swathe.
I would grab a luxurious linen bed cover from Aura or Bianca Lorenne and look for some interesting bedside tables - and maybe a dressing table, painted in a French white.

Wrapped Up in Beautiful Bedlinen

Love the bold yellow blooms mixed with charcoal.

In this cold and windy weather we have in August, staying in bed is rather more tempting than usual. Recently I treated myself to some new cotton flannelette sheets, on sale of course, but all this sleeping in has got me lusting after some luxurious bedlinen from Australian designer Tracie Ellis.

Her label AURA is all about understated luxury, heavy textured fabrics and interesting details. Here are some of my favourites from the current catalogue which appeared in my mailbox recently...

My favourite hot pink teamed with linen.

A bold complementary mix of turquoise and orange.

This is not a paid post by the way, I am seriously loving these! Love the styling, too.

Winter Planting: Red Roses and Red Peonies

I seem to be doing more garden posts than decorating updates lately, but that will change soon enough!

It is just past mid-winter here at Sky Meadow and its now or never to move the roses before they spring into life. This afternoon I am also moving a lemon tree that has been shaded by a pink grapefruit tree. It is a bit risky but it has to be done.

The roses I am transplanting are the climbing Red Pierres I received in a rose mystery box last year. Their brother, the climbing Pierre de Ronsard, is one of my all-time favourite roses with its pale pink double blooms tinged with mint green at the base.

My husband curses my roses as he is always being pricked by the thorns, but they are a must for me in a cottage garden - and as someone who loves cut flowers, I can't grow enough of them!

Today at the nursery I was looking through the summer bulbs and spotted a red peony. I have tried in vain before to grow peonies in our temperate climate and it is just not cold enough. After some discussion with the lady at the nursery, we decided to give it a try. I will chill it in the crisper for a week, plant it somewhere it may catch a frost and then water it with ice cubes.... sounds a bit fool-hardy but I am up for the challenge.

Does anyone have any advice?