Jo's place

Like Kim I realised I hadn't shared anything from my place lately. This weekend I started changing out the look in my bedroom. Fresh and bright for the hot summer months ahead. Vibrant yellow, shades of green and lots of 70s and 80s florals. Once again almost everything is from garage sales, thrift stores and eBay. The rug is IKEA on sale and great for covering the ugly grey carpet. I'm using three in a U shape around the bed. The theory is to whip stitch them together with kelly green wool but that's the theory. We stretched some retro bird of paradise fabric over a frame and it really brightens up the room. A lick of citrus green livened up the thrift shop side tables and yet another moss pot sits on a papier mache tray. My taupe bed throw is a concession to a large Labrador dog that won't take no for an answer when it comes to lying on the bed. White would be wonderful but would stay that way for a millisecond.

At the foot of the bed sit two ottomans. They were originally covered in eBay sourced fabric to go with my patchwork couch from hell but now that I've changed my scheme in the living room, they have found a home at the foot of my bed. They need their legs repainted .... white I think. Speaking of repainting what do you think of kelly green for the cane headboard? It's a small room but wonderfully bright now. A friend has helped me with the roman blinds for the bay window but do you think I can make them hang properly??!! I can't take the old hardware down. Ugly vertical blinds once hung from ceiling tracks. The problem is the tracks are GLUED to the concrete ceiling and I'm in a rental and loathe to try to pull them down. So the new shades are still a work in progress. They are fab though :) Vintage Vera fabric in fabulous greens and crisp white I scored on eBay. Maybe next time I show the room they'll be hanging beautifully.

Jo's place and a cautionary tale

I have been excitedly waiting for my new "old" sofa. Excited but also waiting with growing trepidation. You see I did something I have told clients never to do. I took on a new upholsterer without doing enough homework and without holding the reins as tightly as I should. I trusted a new tradesman and I shouldn't have.

I won't make this a long story (you can find the whole story here) but I was in a hurry. I couldn't wait for my usual very very good upholsterer and I took on a new guy and ..... OUCH! What a mess of a couch!!! Shoddy workmanship and extremely rude and sloppy customer "service". This is the only section of my patchwork couch I can share with you without cringing at the mess I received back. I'm not paying. I'm starting again. Time to order new fabric and apologise to my regular guy. Moral of the story - wait for quality. Don't rush and take second best. (Email me if you live in S.E. Queensland and looking for an upholsterer. I'll recommend who you shouldn't use.)

Winter at Jo's place

I'd love some antique famille rose Chinese pots for my patio area but it ain't gonna happen on my budget. Thought I'd cheer up the space with some teapots and teacups from Chinatown instead. It's still winter here (if you can call 23° Celsius winter) so by spring my little plants should be green and lush. And the dump truck? I couldn't resist a 50c rusty truck from a garage sale around the corner to hold a few transplanted daffodils. When they're out I'll move it onto my kitchen counter for some fun. Can you believe it's mid winter here and the daffodils are almost out? I love the subtropics!

Jo's place

I hate my kitchen. It's 80s grey laminate with chunky wood trim and it's ugly. Alas I rent and what makes it worse is that I rent in Australia, land of the "can't do anything to your apartment" rental laws. I'm in the process of sewing a new roman blind and looking for handles to swap out the chunky wooden ones (which of course appear not to be of standard size - sigh!) but I thought I'd cheer the place up by painting my fridge. No new shiny fridges were harmed in this exercise. I don't have a new shiny fridge. My old faithful has been with me for a while but the seals are good and it's energy efficient(ish) and I just can't justify a new fridge. I shop for fresh food everyday (love doing this) so I don't need a big gee whizz bang refrigerator. This one will do me just fine. The chalk sayings have changed almost daily as does my "favourite" postcard art. Decal from here.

Cleaning chrome at Jo's place

I had a wonderful score on eBay this week. I've been after some 70s chrome chairs for my living room. Of course I don't want to spend much but still want the "look". These are by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio for Framac, an Australian furniture company specialising in office furniture. Soooooooooooooo heavy but so comfy and by the time I'm finished they will be so retrolicious. First things first though. I have to clean the chrome before they head off to be recovered. I had heard that vinegar and aluminium foil are great for removing tarnish from chrome so as it was a rainy afternoon I thought why not! Surprise surprise it works! A little elbow grease and a soft cloth to finish. There is some deep scratching at the ends of the arms but I think the chrome looks fabulous. Cheap and a lot more "friendly" than harsh commercial cleaners. Just wish I'd worn gloves. My fingers have black gunk all over them! You can have a closer look at how I did it here.