From The Farm to the Beach

Yesterday at the crack of dawn I headed out to the newly renovated beach cottage trio to oversee the final stage, the fixing up of two more bedrooms.

I have to say, the drive from the farmhouse to the beach, which takes about half an hour or so, is quite lovely. Yesterday as I drove down my driveway the sun was coming up and the second day of winter put on a spectacular display of low-lying clouds which looked like glaciers dripping down the mountains.

The trip takes me across an old iron bridge over a wide blue river, though the edges of "fibrotown" and down winding country lanes that mark the borders of the emerald green paddocks of dairy farms. It occurred to me that early morning building inspections were really not all that bad as the dairy coast was looking particularly crisp in the early morning light after a week of torrential rain.

In the third stage of the drive the landscape turns into bush where you have to be on the look out for darting kangaroos and doddling echidnas and wombats before the bush thins out into salty coastal scrub and wetlands then finally sand dunes.

Anyway, I share this as it is all part of my daily experience and I must say it takes the stress out of the renovating day.

Back to the cottage. So here are some pics of the as yet slightly unfinished interiors of the biggest cottage where I found myself going instinctively with a taupe and white palette with a few injections of bright colour, without really thinking too much about it.

My favourite architectural detail is the cantered ceiling, quite a folly for such a humble, early 20th century beach cabin. To finish off the decorating, I have some old surfboards and some retro hawaiian fabric which will inject some much needed spot colour and add a bit of casual beach funk to the rooms which were starting to look a bit polite for their context.

The few pieces of vintage furniture like the grey dressing table and the aqua painted seagrass table also add a bit of quirky retro charm.

I'll post the new bedrooms in a week or so, if and when they finally come together!

Seafarers Cottages: All In The Details

Now that the Seafarers Cottages renovation is almost at the finish line, I thought I'd share a little about the story behind the project, some before and after pics as well as some of the tricks of the trade.

History of the cottages:

These three cottages, built in the 1930s are the original "beach shacks" in what was a fishing camp that became a village on a remote peninsula jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, about 2.5 hours drive from Sydney. Very little had been done on their upkeep over the past 20-30 years and they were in a pretty shabby state.

Why did we buy the cottages?

Though they were identified as heritage items, they like many other gems in this part of the world, remain unprotected. We are quite passionate about preserving some of the beach shack heritage here and love the challenge of turning them into stylish beach getaways for people wanting a break from their busy city lives.

The village of Currarong is just about our favourite place. It remains a rare time capsule of beach village chic and is in a stunning, unspoilt area surrounded by nothing but rugged coastline, deserted beaches and national parks. So we went out on a limb to buy them so they wouldn't be demolished to make way for a quite probably ugly, unsympathetic juggernaut.

What did we do to update the cottages?

Almost nothing was done to the actual footprint of the cottages. Most of the work involved replacing bad improvements and upgrading the kitchens and bathrooms. There were cheap aluminium windows installed in the seventies which we replaced with reclaimed timber windows as close as possible to what would have been there originally.

One of the biggest changes was putting in a new picket fence to replace the old "hurricane" fence which was bent and twisted in parts. We put back lots of the architectural detail like architraves around the windows, fibro cover strips and picture rails.

We kept the old fireplace hearths. One now houses a TV, the other two now have kitchen cupboards in them. We turned the old shed that housed the generator into the laundry.

Reinstating and reinventing the period features gave the cottages back their soul and charm. It also makes a great backdrop in which to decorate!

Bye the way - please leave a comment as I love to hear what you bloggers out there think!

SATC 2 - the "Other" interiors

OK, OK, much has been blogged about Carrie and Big's apartment in Sex And The City 2, but I only saw the movie last night!

In between burning breakfast pancakes and blogging this morning I am enjoying the afterglow of the inspired set decorating. I just love the elegant arm chairs in the main apartment and I imagine that this shape will be appearing in living rooms everywhere soon.

Here are some pics of the not-so-talked-about interiors in the movie.

I have to say I LOVE the new colour of Carrie's old "bachelorette" apartment though in my opinion the decor lacks some of the Boho chic and girly touches it had in the old days.

Decorator Jeremy Conway used a custom mixed colour close to Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue and I like the fact that it is slightly "marine", rather than a clear sky blue. Marine blue is my husband's favourite colour and it may be popping up at the beach cottages soon.

Charlotte's pink nursery is just gorgeous and nicely eclectic. The set decorators had fun there. Love the striped commode next to the spotted wing chair juxtaposed with the modern yellow desk chair and acetate shelving.

Contemporary Country

Sometimes you only have to look in your own backyard for inspiration. My friend Louise, who lives only a few of paddocks away, has an amazing house. I did a story on her (of course!) for Country Style Magazine a while ago and now that I'm thinking of the possibilities for my own house, I don't have to look far for ideas.

Like us she had the old farm cottage to start with. It was completely renovated then two more contemporary pavilions were added - the largest for the living area has dramatic, recycled wharf timber beams framing the ceiling. The smaller pavilion is attached to the old cottage and houses such modern amenities as ensuites, walk in robes, powder room and laundry.

It's a great marriage of old and new and has made a great home for a family of six.

Limed Floors

One of my friends mentioned the white floor thing on twitter yesterday. It turned into a heated debate about the practicalities of white floors, particularly for households with messy, small children.

So I have been asked for an alternative option for those who like the light look but don’t want the commitment to all white.

In our city house we have wide spotted gum floorboards. As the rooms are quite small and potentially dark, I went for a light Swedish-inspired look for the interiors which have lots of pale grey-blues and limed the boards. Many years later I can say that this has worked really well and has also worn well. The liming looks good on spotted gum as this species has a grey cast to it anyway. The liming is light but still hides scuffs nicely and looks particularly good with the French or Scandinavian style grey wash furniture.

A note of caution. Your floor sander or paint shop may tell you to go with the lime-and- sealer-in-one product because its easier and quicker. Don't do it. I have seen unfortunate results where the floor finish has cracked and de-laminated. I recommend liming floors the traditional way. That way you get to control the amount of lime on the boards.

In the bathroom photo there is a board which is not limed to show you the difference the liming makes.

Good luck with your floor choice!

White Floor Recipe

This morning I am blogging from the beach cottages on a beautiful clear winter's day.

Quite a few people have asked me about the best way to do white floors so here is a post on it!

First of all pull up any carpet tacks.

Step 1: Sanding

Get a floor sander in to sand the floors even if they have been carpeted. You can hire a machine and do it yourself, but I find this is more trouble than it's worth. You can graze the boards or sand them unevenly if you're not careful!

Pure White Floors:

If your floorboards are patchy, not in great condition or a colour or wood you don't like, I suggest painting it a solid white. I have had pretty good success just using 2 or 3 coats of white paving paint, without any sealer.

I find this method is fairly hard-wearing and we used it in our beach house "Sirena" just up the road here. When it gets a bit too scruffy on well-worn areas you can just touch it up. We do not use a sealer as this makes touch ups much more labour intensive.

Whitewashed Floors:

This is my preference as it hides the dirt a little better than the pure white look. Our latest recipe has been done in all the Seafarers Cottages so it is still in testing stage, but a friend of mine just tried it at her place with a sealer and is very happy with the results.

The recipe is : one third white paving paint, one third extender, one third water. It's a good idea to try it in one room first to get the strength you want as different timbers will soak up the white more than others.

Paint it on with a big brush or lambswool pad on a pole and have a rag handy to rub in areas that need it.

You may need 2 coats depending on the look you want. Finish with a sealer that wont yellow - ask your paint shop about this.

You can use this same technique for other colours. Paving paint now comes in some pretty greys and blues. I am wanting to try a french grey wash next time. There is a outdoor decking wash in a colour called "Snowgum" I have used on furniture which would look great on an interior floor.

Live With What You Love

This post has been inspired by a wonderful comment made on yesterday's post by Pam at Red Ticking all the way on the other side of the Pacific in Seattle.

"Live With What You Love" and why not? Life is too short to live in an interior half lived. I love colour and have painted some pretty colourful rooms in my time and most people love it but say "oh I couldn't live with that, it's not practical!"

Why not paint a room in a colour you are passionate about? If you do tire of it it's only a coat of paint.

These photos are of our old beach house and are about 10 years old according to the date stamp. Go the feature wall - so nineties!

What are some of the things you would do in your decor if you were more daring? I'd love to hear.

BTW: Those floors in the top pic were a great success - they were a disaster to begin with but it goes to show how you have to persevere. The finish is Porters white Wood Wash, with a top coat of white vinyl paint watered down and finished with water based sealer.

Reclaimed Windows

While I'm in the mood for offering practical advice, here is another renovation post on windows.

My husband Rob collects old windows and doors. We have sheds full of them. It's quite overwhelming, particularly when I am longing to turn the old chook shed (hen house) into a Martha Stewart-style greenhouse but can't because it is stacked with old windows.

However, these old windows do come in handy with our renovation projects and if you ask me, nothing looks as elegant as an old casement window.

They also cost a fortune to get made up or to buy new and recycling an old window saves on land fill and saves trees from being cut down.

We will sometimes design a room around a fabulous set of old french doors we have found. In the old church hall we are renovating, we put some old casement windows in the laundry and scullery and they really add character to what would be fairly bland service rooms.

The pics above are some good examples of how we put old windows to good use. These beach cottages were given a new life thanks to these recycled windows.

Reclaimed Windows-Inspiration

A comment from Paula in the last post reminded me of an inspirational example of reclaimed style. Sue Southam, author of the book Velvet Pears, has a fabulous outdoor room that her husband Pete made from old windows.

Sue uses this "room", which is really just two glass walls and a roof, all year round as an outdoor dining space. The day bed is also a sunny place to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book.

I have been lucky enough to work with Sue in the early days on getting the book deal for Velvet Pears as well as on stories about her house and garden at Foxglove Spires (and here) for Country Style and South Coast Style. I am looking forward to what this talented and focussed girl does next!

Renovating Costs

A reader from Sydney is a single girl wanting to do some renovations to a typical "fixer-upper" in the inner city and is wondering how much she should have to pay.

Managing the costs can be the most stressful part of any renovation project but armed with a bit of knowledge you can tackle it and your builders with confidence.

You can get a rough idea how much your renovation should cost by the working out the size of the space in square metres.

What you can expect to pay a builder for renovations:

•An average job should cost somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 per square metre.

Up to $3,500 per sq metre for premium finishes.

•Very small jobs or sites with difficult access can also be more expensive per square metre.

•For decks and verandas you should allow somewhere between $1,500- $2,000 per square metre.

•For bathrooms and kitchens add another $10k to $15k per kitchen and or bathroom on top of those rates.

Some of the inner city Sydney councils (such as Waverley, Leichardt, South Sydney, Sydney City) are using between $3.500-$4000 per sqm in calculating DA fees.

Why is it so expensive?

Building materials have gone up by about 30% in the last few years. Insurance and labour rates have also gone up.

Something else to consider:

Even on a small job it's really important to find a builder you can have good communication with and is someone who "gets" what you are trying to achieve.

If you are like me and want things done a certain way, it’s no use engaging a builder who is not into aesthetics or architectural detail.

The costs quoted above are a rough guide only. The photo above is from a renovation of a typical small terrace house in Erskineville my husband designed for a client some years ago.

Bold Design Personality

I must say, no one does a lifestyle feature like US Vogue magazine. I love the mix of bold personalities, fashion and interiors, often put together by Hamish Bowles and photographed by Francois Halard.

These bold and stylish individuals are:

Alexis Trinca in her striped San Franciscan hall. How about the mix up of Chinese antiques and modern graphic artwork? And the Chloe coat is just fabulous.

The Thompson family in their Russian-inspired Brooklyn brownstone. Coveting that blue Farrow & Ball wallpaper and Olya's vintage Geoffrey Beene dress.

Interior design maven Kelly Wearstler in her LA home. Who else would think to team up a Hollywood-era staircase, a zebra skin rug and mad graphic wallpaper?

Channeling Kevin

The British TV series, Grand Designs has been around for a few years now and has really raised our awareness of the quality of the spaces we inhabit and how we live.

According to series host Kevin McCloud, environmental issues are here to stay: 'Eco-building is no longer the domain of the knit-your-own-sandals brigade. Legislation and the Rio and Kyoto protocols require us to consider the environmental impact of everything we do, and clearly our homes are big producers of pollution both in their construction and in day-to-day running.

Like Kevin, I moved out of the city a few years ago to live a more balanced, in-touch-with-nature sort of life. As much as I loved the buzz of the city, the prospect of raising a toddler in a polluted inner city neighbourhood meant all that excitement began to lose its charm.

Home now is a 110 year old former dairy farm house in the middle of rolling green fields - within easy reach of a decent coffee and a handful of stylish shops. Being more eco-conscious does not have to mean going to the the trouble of building an underground house like the one on an episode of GD, however.

I like the fact that we are "recycling" an old farm house, which we have gradually updated and are extending with an old church hall which was saved from demolition and moved to the property from a local school yard just before Christmas.

I am no hippy - believe me! I'm a former Fash-Mag-Slag with a penchant for designer shoes, but I must say I take great satisfaction in the fact that we harvest all our own water supply, grow our own fruit, vegies and herbs and have huge, tumbling compost bins.

Gone are most of our incandescant lightbulbs, replaced with those energy efficient ones that take a while to kick in and give a ghostly fish and chip shop sort of light (!). When the budget will allow, we are hoping to install some wind power in the form of an old windmill as well as solar panels which will be the next step for reducing our environmental footprint.

The one thing I have yet to tackle to complete the whole tree change picture is having chickens. Everyone of my new-found country friends assures me they are no trouble but something about their beady eyes unnerves me. That and the fact they attract snakes.

I wonder if Kevin has chooks?

Through The Looking Glass

Fashion photographer Tim Walker creates amazing images that are quintessentially, eccentrically, English. When I think of his elaborate sets I think of the imagination of Lewis Carroll and Alice In Wonderland. I love the way he uses beautiful interiors as a backdrop for his models.

I met Tim way back when we were both starting out in magazine land. I was the fledgling art director at Harpers Bazaar and he was in Sydney on a sort of working holiday from England and assisted our equally talented and imaginative fashion editor, Jane Roarty who has been a mentor for many of us.

Jane Campsie: Vegie Patch Inspiration

While on the subject of living more sustainably and tree-changing, I remembered a particularly nice exmple.

Jane Campsie is a clever stylist and beauty writer (we used to work together at Marie Claire) who gave up her life in magazines to do a tree-change to a small village in Hampshire, England. Here she has created a lovely, textural home and an enviable garden, the feature of which is her vegie patch. Love her rustic potting shed, too.

Jane now has a florist and gift shop called The Garden Inn in the nearby town of Stockbridge.

One Year On...

It's early - before sunrise at the farmhouse - and I just can't believe that it's been exactly a year since I started this blog. It would not have come into being if I had not met and interviewed Anna Spiro of Absolutely Beautiful Things for a story in Vogue Living. Anna is one of this country's best known design bloggers and has an impressive following all round the world. She, like many of us, is vexed with a driving passion for good design and an eye for finding the beauty in every day things.

I know that like me she has to juggle the demands of a young family and working life to find the time to blog, more often than not in the wee hours of the night. So thanks - I think - for the inspiration, Anna!

Looking back, it seems my most popular posts were the ones where I talked about my own design and renovation projects. The posts where I talked about practical solutions from a design point of view, such as how to do a whitewashed or limed floor, so that it looks 'right' also were well received.

My farmhouse renovations will be the focus in the next little while and there are still the finishing touches to do at the beach cottages (will they ever be finished?). I'm happy to cover any other renovation topics you might want to know about. Just send me a comment.

The most intriguing thing about blogging is the connections you make with people with similar interests from all walks of life, from all over the world. Thank you for reading and commenting!

Room For A Teen

One topic you don't often see much of in design magazines is how to decorate a room for a teen. This is a great example from Louise's place which her eldest daughter (who had just finished design school) put together for her 15 year old sister.

There's a cool chill-out zone for the teen and her girlfriends, where they sit around, chat and sip tea, an elevated sleeping area above the well used wardrobe and the all important study area underneath.

The girls are forever out shopping for vintage stuff and I love the way they have created a very personal, funky vibe with the old standard lamp, painted picture frames, nanna rug and chair painted bright red.