Have A Happy Trick-aTreat Weekend!

It's Friday & you know what that means... it's the weekend again! Wow - did we just have one? My week has gone unexpectedly super fast... but it has been a fabulous week with some great news along the way, and I delivered part 2 of a project to my lovely client last night for their styling & decorating needs, which I am am happy to say she was really excited & pleased with it all - so much so she ordered some of the hall way & dining furniture recommendations today!

I also got to see all the efforts she had put in to implementing the colour consulting - with all the rooms & trim newly painted, a kitchen splash back with updated tile colour - it looks so very hot, and new cabinetry hardware! Wow - with these changes it looks like a new contemporary -sophisticated- family friendly home... by seeing these parts of the project implemented it really helps me feel like I [Verandah H&G LS] has been able to contribute positively to this client & her family's life - aesthetically & practically. Hopefully in the next couple of months I will have some photos of this project that I can share with you on Palatial Living & Verandah H& LS...

So if you have some Halloween plans for Saturday I hope that you have a ghoulishly good time! If not I am sure you'll have a fabulous time over the weekend... Here in Sydney it's supposed to be amazing weather which I am very grateful for all my 'outdoor' Birthday plans!

Here's to your weekend - thanks for stopping by again this week at Palatial Living...Enjoy & Take Care. S xxx

Images from Country Living & Southern Living.

Sweet Spooky Treats...

HALLOWEEN COOKIES - Cookie sandwiches built to look like witch hats are a hit with kids. Purchase or bake chocolate cookies wide enough to hold a chocolate ice-cream cone.

HOMEMADE GHOSTS - A treat for little fingers, these pudgy meringue ghosts aren’t at all tricky to make. Using a pastry bag, squeeze dollops of homemade meringue onto a cookie sheet. After baking them, use a small paintbrush to add eyes with black paste icing. Then pile the ghosts high on a vintage tin cake stand that’s dressed for the holiday with glued-on black grosgrain ribbon and orange and black jelly beans. Get the recipe for a pumpkin spice cake with a jack-o’-lantern stencil.

Pumpkin Spice and Pecan Cake
The secret to this cake's perfect form? A fluted, dome-shaped pan. The pumpkin shape is actually two dome cakes fitted together. Recipe: Pumpkin Spice and Pecan Cake

Spiderweb Cupcakes Super-easy white-chocolate toppers appear to float, Houdini-like, over chocolate cupcakes.

Spider Cake - All you need to create this dazzling cake is boxed cake mix, store-bought frosting, and black sanding sugar. Recipe: Along Came a Spider Cake

I had to share these with you... My mouth is watering with all these sweet spooky cute deserts & treats... with a tight colour palette & a specific theme it's amazing what you can come up with even the humble vanilla or chocolate cake can be iced with webbing or a howling black cat! All the recipes are linked to the captions - maybe you could try 1 or 2 recipes this weekend... hmmm yum!

Images from Sunset, Cuontry Home, Southern Living & Country Living

A Sophisticated Halloweeen - Gilded Gourds...

If you're not into the typical Autumnal / Harvest colours of Halloween - why not try something a little different and go metallic! Spraying your pumpkins & gourds in black, with pewter, bronze, gold & silver can add a sophisticated air to a table setting, a hanging ornament or a door step vignette... You could almost keep them on for Christmas if they didn't collapse!

Images from Country Living.

Colours of Halloween...

Although I know it's not Autumn [Fall] here in the Southern hemisphere, and we are in beautiful Spring - not to mention - just about to embrace a gorgeous sunny & hot Summer... I can't help but share these Autumnal shades of Halloween - these colours just naturally go with this fun festive time mostly due to their Northern Hemisphere & Harvest time origins, all the same they can't be ignore. So warm, rich, cosy, fun & friendly...here's a palette you can incorporate into your Halloween decorations & settings.

Images from Southern Living

Halloween... Pumpkin Door Wreath

I stumbled across this great idea for a stylish pumpkin door wreath on Southern Living - here's the 'How-To ' so you can get cracking on it...

Pick up mini pumpkins from the grocery store, and put them to good use. With these simple steps, it’s easy to do.
Here's a great use for those miniature pumpkins that you see in grocery stores and at produce stands this time of year. For a Halloween decoration that will bring seasonal color to your front door, attach some miniature pumpkins to a plastic foam wreath. It's easy to do: Just wire the tiny pumpkins to the wreath form, and use sheet moss to fill in the spaces between them. Then cap the wreath with a big black bow, and hang it on the front door.
Get out a bowl of goodies, put on your witch hat, and you're all set to welcome a bevy of eager trick-or-treaters.

Step 1: Use the end of heavy-gauge florist wire to make a hole near the bottom of a miniature pumpkin. Run wire through pumpkin and out the opposite side. You could also use a nail or ice pick to make a hole on either side of the pumpkin, and then insert florist wire.

Step 2: Place the miniature pumpkin on the form; on underside of wreath, twist wire ends together to hold the pumpkin in place. Continue threading and attaching pumpkins with wire until wreath form is completely covered.

Step 3: Cover exposed areas of wreath form with pieces of sheet moss, securing with florist pins.

Step 4: Twist a piece of florist wire around the top of the wreath to make a loop for hanging. Make a large bow from wide black ribbon, and attach it near the wire loop. Hang the wreath by the wire loop from a nail or hook inserted in the front door.

MATERIALS You Will Need:

• heavy-gauge florist wire
• nail or ice pick (optional)
• miniature pumpkins
• plastic foam wreath form
• sheet moss
• florist pins
• wide black ribbon

"Wreath of Pumpkins" is from the October 2004 issue of Southern Living.

Image & Article from Southern Living

Birthday Wishes for Bec x

It's definitely Birthday season in our family this month... we have over 6 birthdays in the last 2 weeks of October & 1st week of November!

And today is no exception... it's my darling cousin, Rebecca's birthday! So here's to my gorgeous cousin, Bec - for your birthday we wish you 'oodles of love, fun, & all the things that you can hope for in the year ahead... We Love You - Happy Birthday ! Hope you have a wonderful time today. S xxx

Image from vi.sualize.us / Hostess Blog

Halloween On Our Doorstep...

With Halloween on Saturday 31st October, it's literally just around the corner... I found this great image that shows that not all decorations have to be inside, especially if your worried about forgetting those pumpkins on your living room carpet! Here you can show your Halloween spirit from your verandah doorstep - by greeting passers-by and guests with a warm pumpkin welcome by carving your house number into the pumpkins & lighting them up. What a lovely & stylish way to illuminate your house number in approaching dusky evenings...

Image from Sunset Living

It's Coming Up Pumpkins... Halloween Lead Up.

Halloween - Although it's not as big in Australia as it is in the States & Europe (maybe that southern & northern hemisphere climate thing has something to do with it!). So this week I wanted to celebrate all the fabulous decorating ideas that come with 2 (maybe 3) of my favourite times of the year - Halloween, Autumn [Fall] - even though it's Spring here in Oz, and my Birthday [it falls on Halloween!]...

Here are some amazing pumpkin stencil & carving designs that are a little less traditional, stylish and quirky. Using the pumpkin skin colour as a positive space and the black stencil as the negative space - simplicity reigns when achieving maximum impact for these decorative pieces. Here in Sydney you can find some fantastic stencils at the Stencil Gallery, Glebe to try out on a butternut pumpkin! Enjoy x

Image from Country Living

Happy Birthday, best friend!

Wishing my best-dearest & one of my oldest friends, Alisa - a very Special Happy Birthday today!

Here's to a year full of fun, love & happiness for you. Thank you for being such a truly wonderful person & friend... Much love, S xxx

Image from Mille Motts / vi.sualize.us

It's Friday & Happy Weekend!

It's Friday & the Weekend is upon us... yay - finally! It's been one of those 'funny 'ole weeks' but needless to say I am always happy to welcome the weekend! I have a few things to put together for my lovely client, for Verandah H+G LS , this weekend - finishing touches to a styling project, which I am sure she will be very pleased with; and we are off visiting my super wonderful Grandma [I was named after her] who lives in the Blue Mountains and has a truly amazing & gorgeous expansive garden - will try and take some pics to share with you. We are also entertaining some friends & their 5 Children on Saturday evening at our home, in the back yard, which is one of the reasons I love the image for today's post - a colourful & festive gathering outside over yummy food! It's such a great time of the year (in Sydney Australia) to start entertaining outside whilst we have daylight savings and dusk seems just that bit longer & beautiful...

Thank you for stopping by this week at Palatial Living - it's been lovely again to share with you. So whatever your plans this weekend - make the most of it & Enjoy! S. xxx

Image from Southern Living

House Snoop...Queenslander Love at Camp Hill.

In my regular Palatial Living 'House snoops' I came across this gorgeous & lovingly restored Queenslander located in Camp Hill - just outside Brisbane [Queensland]. I am particularly fond of this home because of what appears to be a successful marriage of the old & the new - with all the contemporary living convenience we're used combined with the style & elegance of this building era.

The majestic elegance of "Fairfield" has been enhanced by a marvellous restoration of the original house, and a spacious brand new extension. Just completed, this residence is now a warm and inviting home, perfectly positioned on a superbly elevated 797 square metre block of North east facing land
Beautiful open wide verandahs - essential for cooling down & Australian living.

Leading to a resort style pool, water feature and a great pool deck for relaxing afternoons!

The brand new family living area boasts Bi-fold doors, opening to a fully covered and sheltered Al fresco kitchen and dining deck, featuring integrated BBQ and lots of storage.

Designed to provide luxury and great access to the dining terrace, Stone has been used on the benchtops, splashbacks and on the huge island bench. Joinery is fresh white Two Pac with plenty of storage and "Ilve" appliances, made in Italy, providing the Gourmet Entertainer's paradise.

Wide, polished timber floors feature throughout the home, and great care has been taken to blend the original with the new.

The original part of the home features a pair of magnificent stained glass front doors and original. Chandelier entry way in a dining space leads to a huge, stylish and contemporary kitchen.

"Fairfield" also boasts City and district views , and is only 5 kilometres from Brisbane's CBD. Camp Hill is a lovely leafy pocket of Brisbane [in Queensland Australia].

Details & Images from RealEstate.com

Surprise....Top 50 Rooms - Australian House & Garden November '09 Issue

After several weeks away overseas I came back to a pile of my favourite interior mags, that I subscribe to, and had the pleasure of last week going through them all & getting reacquainted with what's happening in our wonderful Australian design scene...

And Wow what did I find but a little something from Anna [Spiro].... A BIG Congratulations to Anna [Spiro] of Black + Spiro, who is also our beloved design [community] blogger of 'Absolutely Beautiful Things' for making it into the Collector's Issue of 'Australian House & Garden's Top 50 Rooms' - November 09 issue! We had been treated to seeing this room previously on Anna's blog & website portfolio, and none of us doubt why this elegant & contemporary dining room was chosen to make it into the Top 50! It is so wonderful & encouraging to see a fellow designer being recognised & honoured with gracing the pages of Australian House & Garden, in what would be a highly competitive spread. Congratulations Anna - you continue to inspire us and show us what is possible...

Images from Australian House & Garden November 2009 Issue

Beautiful Bathrooms...

I just love a good bath! And here [from my image files] I have found no exception... seems I have a common theme here - light filled, window framing, white, & [some stand alone] oblique baths, with an accent of timber or blue here and there... Do you have a favourite bathroom style?

Images from Country Living & Elle Decor

Snazzy Home Office...

What a snappy, snazzy home office... a great way to make use of a corner wall by creating a 'floating' desk with oversize black [desk] panels in a u-shape supported by white brackets that make for a great visual illusion of 'floating'. Keeping the space under the desk tidy and clear of cords and folders allows the space to still seem open and large. The cohesive tight colour palette of Black, White, & Fuchsia makes for a sharp statement, and by limiting the colour choice in print / pattern to only black & white it doesn't fight with the other colours - creating a visual texture. Leaving us with a bright, modern & inviting place to work - from home!

Could this be something you could do at home in a corner you hadn't considered before!

Image from Country Living

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday... it's the Weekend! It's time to hang up the work week to pop on the hat & sandals! In Sydney - it's looking to be a beautiful Spring weekend...

Tomorrow I am sourcing some furniture & decor pieces for a lovely client and for the rest of this weekend I will spend with my wonderful husband, Matthew & adorable puppy dogs, Lucy & Zach - all mostly in our garden with some odd jobs! So wherever you are & whatever you're up to, I hope you have a relaxing & fabulous weekend. Enjoy! S xxx

Image from Country Living

Print & Pattern Adoration....

I was drawn to this image because I do 'love' these typographical pillow slips combined with a oversize botanical print upholstered onto the headboard. It's whimisical & fun... a cute way to be greeted when going to bed!

Image from Point Click Home

Signature Cushions...

No telling why I love this Cushion... now I just need a 'V' for Verity & Verandah - voila!

Image from BHG

House Snoop...Queen Anne Colonial Charm.

I came across this lovely home, 'Karinya', Turramurra located on Sydney's North Shore - I particularly love the master bedrooom windows, and the swim spa with the outdoor dining...when can I move in!

'Everywhere you look and from every angle of this property there is a picture worth painting. Named 'Karinya' meaning 'peaceful home', charm, character, style and space keynote this expansive double brick executive residence that has all the modern convenience and freshness you would expect in a 9 years young house.'

'Feelings of openness and prosperity have been achieved through a harmonious blend of historical elements. Enjoy the wide Colonial wraparound verandah, the Queen Anne bay window, rosettas and pendant lighting, decorative fireplace, a light and large country kitchen, beautiful Brushbox timber floorboards and good old fashioned 9ft (2.7m) high ceilings.

The home has 5 spacious bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and is positioned on a 1126sqm approx corner block to allow wide tracts of light and airy green space around it. High calibre S/S appliances in the open plan kitchen include an Ilve 900mm oven, rangehood, 5 burner gas cooktop and an Asko dishwasher. There are plenty of cupboards and drawers to store all your precious crockery, glassware and cookwear, and to create gastronomic sensations on the timber island and granite benches. A place of great relaxation, the massive 28sqm approx BBQ pavilion, with plantation shutters, accommodates a 5m approx long bench with cupboards, drawers, a hutch for a bar fridge and a Grand Turbo Jetmaster BBQ with 6 burners and Rotisserie. The master bedroom looks out to a perfumed parterre garden, winding pathway and bird fountain where lorikeets, doves, magpies, cockatoos, galahs and kookaburras visit.

A total of 346sqm approx of accommodation include a 35sqm SLUG and workshop and a triple carport. The garaging adjoins the Swim Spa pool and enormous family room, which together provide extensive partying space.The 125sqm approx downstairs incorporates a large home theatre/family room, home office area, sewing room, queen bedroom, walk-in-robe, home gym/cellar, 2 services/storage rooms, huge laundry and a bathroom. Included are the data projector and surround sound system, two separate Foxtel lines, gas heating and air conditioner cooling ducted throughout the house and 4 large water tanks to water the garden.

The Swim Spa (jetstream resistance lap pool) uses an ozone system rather than chlorine. In a great location, it’s only minutes to either St Ives or Turramurra shopping villages, and to Bobbin Head for watersports, bushwalking and picnics. This property offers all the pleasures of resort living with the ambience of a warm and comfortable family home, near quality private schools and with an oval, play park, 2 tennis courts and bus stops at the end of the street.'

Blurb & Images from Real Estate.com.au