Patchwork Tiles & Mothers Day

Whilst having a flick through one of my old decorating books today I stumbled across this image which reminded me how much I really like the idea of these blue and white patchwork tiles for our new kitchen.  Oh and look at those big fabulous blue and white bowls...definitely something else to covet!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Mine was lovely.  The boys cooked me lunch.  I set the table with succulents and our mismatched old blue and white plates.  It was relaxing and happy and I loved every minute of it....xx

Good Old Blue & White

I have posted this bedroom before but I thought I would post it again today as I still love it and it reminded me that blue and white can look so beautiful in a bedroom.  I also love the black iron bed and the mix of furniture styles in this room.   {image - country living magazine}

Here are a couple of new blue and white fabrics which hit our fabric library this week.  I'm sure the die hard blue and white fans will be excited to know that we have had a very big influx of beautiful blue and white fabrics over the last few months into our library.  

PS.  It seems that the fresh flower post I wrote yesterday has created a bit of stir amongst readers from areas where it is hard to grow and buy fresh flowers/produce.  I am very lucky to live in a sub-tropical climate where flowers/foliage/fruit & vegetables are accessible and easy to grow.  I apologise if I have offended anybody with my post.  That certainly wasn't my intention.  I was purely stating my own personal preference and in my haste I didn't consider the circumstances of readers in remote/barren areas.

Natural Cane

We spent lots of time with my family on the weekend as it was my brother's birthday and birthdays in our family tend to be celebrated over a few days. 

Whilst at my parent's house this afternoon, I couldn't help noticing how beautiful the Stuart Membery cane chairs look with the older pieces of cane on their deck.  This is one of the chairs from Stuart's Home Collection above which we sell at Black & Spiro and when you look at it mixed with mum's old cane chairs as below, it looks like it has been part of her furniture collection for years.

I have been collecting a few of these old cane chairs {like mum's above} for our house which I have also mixed with Stuart's chairs on our verandahs.  I really love the look of this natural cane and I think it looks particularly nice mixed with Antique furniture and blue and white fabrics and china.

photos by me at mum & dad's house

Room Scheming

I would love to be asked by a client to prepare a room scheme around these two beautiful pieces above. They are simply breathtaking, in my opinion.

I could imagine an {almost} all-white colour palette with recycled European parquetry timber flooring and beautiful blue and white patterned fabrics on cushions and possibly on a couple of accent chairs here and there. I think I would use white slip covered sofas with frilled skirts {like the ones Joni posts}. Oh, and of course I would fill the room with blue and white ginger jars.

What would you do if you were given these two beautiful pieces to work with?

Woodblock painting by celebrated Australian artist Cressida Campbell and beautiful French antique mirror from Baran de Bordeaux in Auckland.

The Week Ahead

I thought I would post this pretty blue and white image to begin the new week. I love the simplicity of this little corner. I would love to sit on that gorgeous cane chair whilst I chatted on the phone to my mother or a close friend!

This week we have a number of big installations happening which will mean a very busy, yet exciting week ahead. I also have a gorgeous house to share with you all which I have just finished working on for one of my lovely friends. I hope to post photos of it tomorrow night so stay tuned...

Image - House Beautiful

Happy Spring!!

Oh, I am so glad Spring is here. The cold weather has certainly been taking its toll on our little family with the dreaded flu!! I took this pretty photo over at mum's yesterday. I purchased the little hand made blue and white owl in Aix-en-Provence for mum when I was away recently. She absolutely loves him!! He fits in so well with all her other blue and white things! Happy Spring Everyone!!

Blue & White Plate Collection

You all know how much I love Blue & White and I know so many of you out there love it too. I was recently excited to find this image of a Blue and White vintage plate collection displayed so beautifully in a kitchen by US designer Darryl Carter.

Charlotte Street Hotel

Loving the pretty blue and white colour scheme chosen for this guest room at Charlotte Street Hotel in London!!

Another Week Begins

I love filling my blue and white ginger jars and vases with fresh pretty flowers just the way Meg Braff has done above - so pretty!! I hope you all had a great weekend! To start the week here at ABT I would like to thank Grace over at Design*Sponge for featuring my 2 wing chairs in her before & after series - thanks Grace for your continued support. I'm looking forward to lots of great posts here this week so stay tuned!!

Image via House Beautiful

Blue, White & Vintage!!

I absolutely adore this Domino feature - full to the brim with a few of my favourite things - blue, white and lots of vintage!! I seem to be in a blue mood this week but then again I think I'm always in a blue mood and a pink mood and a white mood etc. etc.!!

Into The Blue

Some pretty blue inspiration above. I love how the girl's swimmers in the top image look just like the blue hydrangea in the bottom image!!

Top image - Cig Harvey Photographer, Bottom image - Madison Magazine

Frangipani & Ginger Jars

I just had to show you - she has 3 cabinets full of blue and white as above! She definately has a major obsession!!

Yesterday we went to Mum & Dad's for a Christmas lunch they held for 18 people. The house looked so beautiful. My mother is a very creative woman. She filled her numerous blue and white ginger jars with fresh flowering frangipani from her garden and they looked divine!! I had to share some pictures as above. As you can see, I meant what I said last week when I said that I certainly got my addiction for blue and white from my mother! I didn't realise she had so many pieces.

I Love Blue & White

I just can't seem to get away from my love of blue and white. Recently I was very excited to find this gorgeous little still life original oil painting on Etsy by Artist Polly Jones. It just arrived in the mail this week and I am so thrilled with it. I feel like it is a painting of some of my things sitting there on my kitchen bench. My mother has collected blue and white things her entire life and I think her love of blue and white is instilled in me forever!!

A Blue Moment

Blue is just one of those colours I always love. It's such a classic colour which never seems to date; pale blue, navy blue, aqua blue, I love them all. Today I thought I would post some pictures of a chair I've just had recovered for my mum's bedroom in a pale blue and cream basket weave fabric on the front and a pale blue and cream broad stripe on the back. I've also posted a little snippet of my new kitchen in which I have hung some blue and white Spode plates (given to Brad & I as wedding gifts). Mixed with white, blue is just so fresh and summery. I also love it mixed with hot pink too.

St. Lucia Bedroom Completed

A little while ago I posted a sneak peak of a bedroom I was working on in St Lucia, Brisbane. I finally installed the last bits and pieces today and thought I would share with you some pictures of the finished room.

Crisp Classic & Beautiful

I love these images of Victoria Hagan's work. So fresh, crisp and classic. I love the navy and white striped floor rugs and the beautiful white painted built-in cabinetry filled with collections of beautiful things.

Blue

I have been collecting some "blue" images in my "I Love" file lately so I thought I would post some of my favourites. Thanks to Kim at Desire to Inspire I found some more last night at the beautiful site Ditte Isager. Blue is one of my favourite colours and can look classical and striking when mixed with white but I also adore blue and pink together as well. Other great blue combinations are blue and brown, blue and orange, blue, red & white and even blue, orange, chartreuse and pink all mixed together. What is your favourite blue colour combination?

Images courtesy of Domino Magazine & Ditte Isager.