Spring has Sprung! (or not)

 September the 1st is officially Spring Day here in the Southern Hemisphere. I'll ignore the fact that it's actually cold and raining at the moment and honour the occassion by showing you some pictures of fabulous brights.



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I usually tend towards neutrals in decorating, so this is a step out of my comfort zone! But a departure from the norm makes things more interesting, doesn't it?  I usually associate bright colours with more modern and contemporary furnishings and decor, but these images I found have mostly traditional  French style furniture. I am amazed at how beautifully they go with bright fabrics, objects and art.



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Aren't these rooms just gorgeous!



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I would never of dreamt of covering chairs in such a bright, acid yellow - but look how wonderful they look.



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The pink chaise above and daybed below are both so inviting!

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I would be more likely to include colour in small doses like the picture below. Whip away the cushion and vases and I'd be back to my safe neutrals!



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As pretty as this chair below looks, I think it would be too much of a commitment for me.



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Mmmm... I wonder what my household full of boys would feel about these pink chairs?

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Love the aqua colour above and below!

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Spring dining at its best!



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Even bedrooms can look wonderful with an injection of bright colour!



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I would never in a million years have chosen this wallpaper above and look how fabulous it looks!

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Love the toiles!



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And to round off some lovely spring pictures which I couldn't resist!



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Could you live with brights like these or do you prefer neutrals or paler colours? I'd love to hear from you.

Till next time

Sharon x

Guestroom Blues (and Reds)

I am back from my little break, my boys back in school and the pup very settled in his new home. Thank-you so much for all your lovely comments. I can see that you have all been busy with some wonderful posts so I have a lot of catching up to look forward to!

Onto today's post...

 

We did extensive renovations to our home less than 2 years ago and the only rooms that didn't get any updating were the guest bedroom and bathroom, previously the main bedroom and en suite. We had no furniture for the room and no budget left to furnish it. For a while we used it as a dumping room for bits and bobs. Then when a friend was coming to stay, we were forced to buy a bed and make it somewhat livable. I have slowly tried to improve it,  still with almost no budget. Besides the bed, the only new purchases I made for the room were the bedside lamps and a few accessories and bed linen.

My starting points were a collection of blue and white china that had been in the kitchen of my previous house, and a lovely piece of red toile that I got on a fabric sale. I had a picture in my mind of the look I wanted. These are some of my inspiration pics.

I repurposed my changing table from when my twins were babies.  I would love to replace this with a lovely French chest one day. The wicker chair was previously on my patio. A French Bergere chair is on  my wishlist.

I would really like a French bed like one of these flanked by a lovely chest on one side and a round table on the other.

But I settled for a headbaord made by covering a piece of wood with batting and calico and making a slip cover out of the red toile I had.

 

The prints above the headboard used to belong to my late grandmother. They are of brides from the 19th century.

 

This side table was a butlers tray with the tray part turned upside down and topped with a bigger piece of wood to house my newly purchased,  fairly large lamp. One day I will replace it with a lovely round wooden or iron table.



 

This side table is also an "el cheapo" pine butlers tray that I had from previous years that was given some paint and embellishment. Hopefully one day to be replaced by a pretty painted French chest.

 

 

Also on my wishlist is a dressing table and chair along these lines...

 

...but for now have settled on using the cane dressing table from my student days, painted and adorned with new handles.  The little table at the end of the bed was my boys homework table when they were younger. I would really like an ottoman here. Perhaps I could turn this table into an ottoman. I'm sure one of you fabulously creative people out there have done something like this. Any ideas?

This old pine corner shelf from my cottage style phase was painted and used to house some more blue and white china.

The dressing table chair is one of my old dining chairs which I recovered in the same red toile.

Now onto the bathroom....

These are some of my inspiration pics.

 

I decided to just stick to blue and white for a fresh look. The bathroom is very plain with white tiles. I repainted the area above the tiles for a warmer look and just added some blue accessories.

 

Another old dining chair was painted and recovered.

 

So, would you be happy to stay in my budget beating guest room or perhaps you would rather wait for my ship to come in!

 

Till next time

Sharon x