A mantel update - nice and neutral

I recently made fresh display for the mantelpiece in the loungeroom.

This time I went all neutral which is a little unlike me ( I love my colour), but I am liking this display.

My lace tealight holder has had babies, or rather, I smashed it and glued it back together in such a dodgy fashion that I decided I had better invest in two more. Isn't it funny the week it happened I looked up the artist to discover she was having a stall at the craft market that is held where I work. So easy!

I love old printing blocks.

A little bit of mercury glass doesn't go astray either :)

I did have a nice hurricane lamp full of pinecones up there as well, but the ants found it very appealing, so it had to go. Pesky ants...

Thanks for looking!

xx

Fresh mantelpiece

I have been a bit slow to post my post-Christmas mantelpiece. I decided to go with fresh, clean colours.

A very quirky raku-fired ceramic bird by Valerie Willy. Hasn't she got character?

A beautiful hand-printed paper dress by my talented friend, Leonie Oakes, flanked by some cute white bits and pieces.

A close-up of my gorgeous dress :)

A pretty Tord Boontje vase with a couple of candles, both too pretty to burn. The jar is a Voluspa candle and the other is from Vintage by Lou Lou and smells divine with its French Pear fragrance.

I am still working on some art for over the mantel. I have printed a couple of images which I'll show you soon.

xx

Tord Boontje garland

Obviously this is NOT a Tord Boontje garland :)

But, I was lucky enough to receive one for Christmas from my sister. Thanks Rachael :)

I love Tord Boontje design.

SO, I decided to set it up in the hallway in place of the grotty paper lantern shade that had been hanging there since we moved in.

It was so dirty!

Here is the garland flat packed.

I had read on Anna's blog Door Sixteen that setting up the garland is like organising a pack of wild ferrets.

But there it is! It wasn't too difficult at all.

Look at the shadows..

Not the best pics, but you get the gist.

Ooohh, pretty!

Studio update + curtain dilemas

It was a very busy weekend here at Molly's Maison. It was probably a good thing that it rained non-stop as it meant we weren't itching to get outside. Instead, we painted my studio room and finished off a bit of plastering. Lyn has installed two downlights in the verandah part of the room and today I ordered a nice chandelier for the main ceiling.

Things to do:

- get the floor finished

- install main light and ceiling rose

- fit cornice

- order, paint and install replacement skirting and picture rail

- fit new window hardware

- clean, clean, clean

- curtains??????

- move in and enjoy!!!!!!

Regarding curtains, I keep changing my mind. Due to the replacing of the floor, my curtain budget is now about $10 (sort of) so unfortunately no fancy Designers Guild fabric for me. Boo hoo!!

Because they wont need to be insulating curtains and I will probably not ever draw them (privacy is not an issue) I was thinking maybe something sheer? I was toying with the idea of the Tord Boontje "Until Dawn" panel, but would need two unless I do a centre panel and then a simple drop at each side, perhaps just a cotton voile. I could even replicate some of the shapes in a hand-made print on the drops?

Any ideas/suggestions from all you creative interior design folk out there would be greatly appreciated.

xx

1st image by me, 2nd and 3rd from dedeceplus

A fresh look

There hasn't been much renovating going on at Molly's Maison lately so I thought I would freshen up the mantelpiece. Above is another of my paperweights - this one is a contemporary weight by Peter Raos of Aukland, New Zealand, inspired by the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe.

The little vase is by Tasmanian ceramicist Sara Wright and the silver vase is Tord Boontje.

At the other end is another Reter Raos paperweight, this one inspried by Monet's garden. The tiny one is  from the 1980's by a company called Perthshire in Crieff, Scotland. They are no longer producing but I was lucky enough to go there in 1997. The very large green weight hidden by the candle is a Victoria era weight often called a 'dump'. They were made in glass factories producing domestic goods such as bottles and at the end of the week the left over glass was used to make paperweights - just for fun.

The iceberg flowers came from the garden. They are still doing really well. The clock was Lyndon's grandfather's and it's amazing how after a while you don't even hear the loud chime on the hour, even during the night.

Have a great week!

Tord vase

Yay, my lovely new Tord Boontje vase Thinking of You: Forever arrived in the post from USA this week. It came flat-packed and all you do is slide the little tabs in together. It sits over the top of a glass ( or pasta sauce jar in my case).

I had to run to Salamanca markets for some flowers.

I discovered these glass artists the other day. Their names are Leanne Williams & Jim Dennison, who are also known as 'The Crystal Chain Gang'. They're in New Zealand (love NZ). This birdcage is stunning!

Tord Boontje

I love the work of Tord Boontje. The book is stunning. I was lucky to win a "Forever" vase(similar to above) on ebay yesterday so am looking for that in the letter box. I also discovered that he has designed some lovely wearable charms.

On a housey note, Dad and I planted the fruit trees yesterday and I also transplanted some more roses. I also dug about a tonne (slight over-exaggeration) of concrete chunks out of the rear flower bed. Getting fitter...