The irony behind "A Dunny with Dignity!"

 

I will take any progress I can get, Yay!!! 

As a general rule, I like to keep my blog posts mostly about all things interiors and inspiring if I possibly can; it is the voice that I am truly passionate about and the one that I am motivated to use... but please, allow me a quick whine (or wine is good too) if I may. The past week and half of our bathroom renovation has felt like an eternity. For many reasons (including our little family in tow) it is exhausting and I cannot wait until it is finally finished. I don't mean to sound dreary, just attempting to be at peace with life’s ups and downs, I guess. Maybe you also get the feeling that I am not really the outdoorsy type?? Yes, camping (i.e outdoor loo loo's and showers) for an extended period of time is possibly not for me!

 I realise this time will not last forever; it will pass and will be worth every ounce of pain. However I think the hardest thing is and as crazy as it sounds, I actually feel a little homeless without a bathroom in my house. Word is that I am a blessed creature of comfort and I think it’s quite true! Imagine if I were born pre 1950's where in-house toilets were uncommon, or even if I was actually homeless? Would I cope?? I don’t know; I hope so! What I do know is that I am indeed quite blessed to be finding this a difficult time in the first place and I see that! In the meantime, I am trying to enjoy the funny side to our outdoor living situation, and I hope our neighbour’s, bless them… will see it too ;-O.

Some random, possibly even helpful facts about about Portaloo's and showers.

• Portaloo's need to be within 10meters of kerbside so that they may be serviced/ hmm emptied... however it is quite possible that your visitors may actually knock on both your front doors ;-). 

• Get used to venturing outside during the night and try to not wake up too much so that you are able to get back to sleep more easily.

•  Portaloo's and Portashowers have no electricity, therefore your entire family will need to shower before dark and invest in VERY fancy robes/ dressing gowns.

• Outdoor showers are more suited to private areas ok; just saying a high fence is a sensible idea and preferably away from your neighbour’s entertaining area...

• Although the slogan is "Dunny's with dignity", bear with me... I am yet to discover the D for dignity in our outdoor dunny just yet!

Rach xx

Bathroom palates and big commitments

 
Tadaaaaaaaaaaaar! 
 As you can see, I am sharing the colour palate that I have chosen for our new bathroom renovation. Can you tell that I am getting just a little bit excited about it?! Just a wee bit ;-). I have also been busy choosing bathroom accessories... most of these have to be organised before the tiles are laid so there are lots of decisions that need to be made early on. 

I am still searching for a bathroom mirror and I am not feeling any of the modern ones that I found so far. I want the mirror to be a feature piece so am specifically after one with hmm... oodles of style and character. I would preferably like it to be rolling in that stuff! Fingers crossed I may have spotted a little something on gum tree, will let you know how I go.

I do heart white and olive and especially texture! My thoughts are that interior fashions will come and go but if I stick with what I love then I should be content for a very long time. What do you love most about your bathroom??
Rach xx

Vintage glam for wine time

Hello to you lovely ladies, 
This week most of my projects are on hold... well, that is until I finish the current one I am working on. Boy oh boy, this one is taking some discipline not to wonder to some other needy "nook and cranny" of my house! I am not going to lie to you, making a couch cover is just no fun. Yes, the rewards will come when I get to enjoy the fruits of it actually being finished but until then, between you and me, I am not really feeling this job at all. Believe me, when I say that I have searched high and low to purchase one but unfortunately for our couch (yes it had to be our couch) it could not be done. Unfortunately, I have learned that some household styling/ renovation jobs involve some pain and one must grin and bear it.

Until, I can post you a big glossy snap of my lounge room looking all divine-ish, I will post this picture of my latest trash and treasure find instead. Can you imagine the stories that this vintage ice bucket could tell? Yes, I did sneak in a quick vignette during a weak moment of distraction... A girl has got to take a little time out to play hasn’t she?? I am thinking it will glam up wine time with the girls quite nicely! Do tell me what projects you have going on this week? Rach xx

My Ceramic Jug Weakness

 Lately, I have had quite a consuming case of jug envy and I had been wanting one of these style jugs since forever. Do you have a thing for jugs too?? They are seriously my new weakness!!! I love how elegantly beautiful they are in shape and style.

This jug is a treasure from one of my latest thrifting adventures. I do love reusing old things especially when you get to make them somehow fabulous and all new again. I totally believe a great home is not about owning expensive things but more so about the love and energy you put into it.

It was originally quite a revolting shade of terracotta when I found it. Who would have thought! I painted the outside white and used a clear gloss spray to seal it. I love how it turned out, it has the most divine shape! It totally makes my heart sing every time I look at it. Have you any thrifty finds this week?

Rach xx

Roadside finds and the unsalvageable table

 I tried very hard to save it

 

  but unfortunately it could not be done.

 

 It was the sweetest wooden coffee table, charming in size and on so many levels already super shabby and chic!

I thought, that I could simply peel back a few layers of wood and then maybe I would find a layer of unaffected dry wood and then it would look super fabulous. As you do! Unfortunately... each layer that I pulled back looked as water affected as the next, it was also a tad smelly and I had to let it go. Do you think it was a case of wishful thinking?

I have to admit, that I was quite attached to the idea of resurrecting this table and I wanted to salvage it instead of a life of dumpster rot.

 The silver lining is that I have managed to salvage these cigar legs.

 I am thinking, that with a good sanding and a new paint job these legs could look quite rad paired with a lil something else maybe. So whilst this table itself is no success story for The suburban stylist maybe these legs soon will be!

Rach xx

Sharing at the very fabulous Scandi Coast Home.

Revamps in Suburbia

I did not intend for things to be so quiet around here this week. So on that note, let me show you how productive I have been. I started off the week with a quick vintage lamp revamp. This lamp was all kinds of $3 ugly, seriously! It had a coffee- cream light shade with pink puffy lace and the base was a nasty shade of maroon. No, for obvious reasons I do not do before shots on this blog ;-O! Having said that, I still think it was quite a thrifty bargain and $3 well spent! Here is my vamp. I chose this lovely neutral grey linen fabric to recover it and then sprayed the base a light grey (it looks purple-ish in the above snap but it is actually more of a soft grey). Sprayed ceramics do come up a treat!

 

Then on a more beachy- vintage kind of note, I also revamped this roadside stool find. This one needed screws, a thorough sanding and paint and restyle to save it. It would have been literally reduced to dust during a scheduled council kerb/ shrub clean up... I do hate to see things just disregarded!

 

This particular re-style turned out a tad more coastal looking than I am actually used to, it's amazing how a simple change in paint colour can do that. I do love a simple white wash! Would you too have saved this one?? I have also registered an ebay user name: TheSuburbanStylist. It is a tongue and cheek name but also very deliberate; I do want my listings to stand out from the rest. No I am not selling up, it's just that I physically cannot house everything that I lovingly save, revamp or restore; we just do not have the room. Its a good idea in theory but shall we see whether I can actually part with these treasures or not?? Rach x

Linking up at Ivy and Elephants and Scandi Coast Home.

Re-styled fusions and mini tango's

Hello,

Sharing a table with you that my hubby made over the weekend... I know, he is rather clever isn't he. He whipped it up using wood he found from underneath our house. I love how it’s very country- industrial without overly trying! As you can see I gave it a quick vintage re-style because I do think fusions between these particular styles work really well together! He made it for our kitchen to house my handbag; just between you and I, I think my handbag kind of annoys him ;-0. I am not sure that we are in full agreeance on the finer styling details for this table just yet. It's an ongoing tango that we are having right now.

I am thinking, if I find a simple housing solution for my handbag then maybe we can find a suitable styling purpose for this table that would please us both… I can see this table working in our work space as a inspiration table to house those ever changing, everyday items that often inspire me in some way. That would be fun right? 

Or alternatively as my husband suggested I too can also see it working in our kitchen especially if we popped some wheels on it and made it into a Kitchen/ Tea trolley. Then it too could house everyday items/ things that inspire myself and my husband! That would be fun too, right??

Rach xx

Will be sharing this post over at Ivy and Elephants

and Scandi Coast Home