August - Hi There!

Oh My It's August already!!

Australian Country Style - brings August to life - I feel like

I am already at home here - featuring Sara Slim's home & yard
in Bowral - Southern Highlands NSW. Sara is a former ISCD

student and stylist /business partner with Megan Morton



Hi There! Yes it me - Sarah from Palatial Living! Some very lovely & kind Palatial Living fans emailed me over the past several weeks to see if I was still alive and keeping Palatial Living going... the answer is YES, and YES!

I have been away for a bit due to a number of what felt like massive life moments going on! Some of you know that my gorgeous, handsome wonderful grandfather 'Pa' passed away towards the end of June, then I set off for a work sourcing & development trip to China & Hong Kong. And of course whilst in the midst of all of this we found and bought new 'lovely older' home! So whilst my grandfather's funeral occurred we were in negotiations for the house, then when I was away for work we were in the settlement process and when I got back we had settled and had to pack up in 2.5weeks and get out previous home tenant ready! Whoa - what a ride the past 4-6weeks have been - hence why I have not been around to be able to give you inspiration, decorating projects and tips n'tricks!

But what is exciting is our lovely new old home located on Sydney's Upper North Shore [one of my all time fave spots you will know form Palatial's Mid Week House Snoops!] - and all the things I am going to get to do to it to rejuvenate it and make it ours.... We have a coveted Northerly Aspect - with Sun from the east over the north to the north-west all day - a perfect aspect for Sydney siders. This also helped inform of the paint colour choices I made. We have already started with painting [in 2 days might I add with a handful of family & family friends along]. We managed to paint 2-3coats on the double brick cement rendered walls - the hall way & entr7y way and also the Dining/ Lounge room in 'Buff It' full tint [Dulux], the Kitchen, Family / Casual Living space in 'Hog Bristle' 1/2 tint [Dulux], our little girl's room in 'Tea Party' 1/4 tint [Dulux] which looks like a gorgeous soft pink marshmallow hue, perfect for a little girl! Then we tackled the master bedroom and it came up beautifully with 'Grand Piano' full tint [Dulux] and in the Office we have a fabulous feature wall with tongue & groove timber panelling that I painted in 'Linseed' 1/2 tint [Dulux] and it all take advantage of the variations of light through the day and compliments our furniture & soft furnishings.

Interior Paint Colours

Master Bed

     

     Bathrooms 1 & 2 - with white tile

      

    Entry-Hall Way & Lounge Dining Room

   

Bed 2 - Isabelle's Room

  

Office Feature Wall - Tongue n'Groove Panel

   

Trims | Doors - Ceiling & Cornices

Exterior Colour Scheme

Guttering | Part Driveway & Side Gates| Accent Trim Verandah & Front| Yard Fence

Accent Trim on Drive Way |Side Gates & Front Fence

Facier| Eaves | Window Trims & Frames - Highlight Gates & Fencing

Not to mention what a difference a coat of white paint can make where we have almost finished changing the mid tone timber stained skirts and apricot cream doors, door frames, window frames and other trims - wow what an amazing difference! A few new knobs & door handles here & there in brushed chrome & voila such an 'instant' change already without even going to the floors! That's next on the list! So stay tuned I will be updating you on my home renovation projects as they get done.... but at the moment we're still unpacking a few boxes too!



Our beautiful park like back yard - untouched - full of 40+ year olf camellias,
azaleas, agapanthas, clivias, a few spotted gums, turpentines & Japanese maples.
I have big plans for this gorgeous light filled yard - to
create lots of garden rooms with mass plantings.

So now my life seems to be a little bit more on track - I promise to be back online posting on Palatial Living - oh how I have missed you all!

Enjoy,

images via [1] Australian Country Style August 2011 issue [2] Sarah Verity - Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions

Mid-Week House Snoop... The Southern Highlands 'Kurkulla'.

'Kurkulla'

After my husband completed the 'Bay Run 2010' event on Sunday morning, we had the afternoon free and it was turning out to be a beautiful sunny day [it's been raining from the past week or so here in Sydney] so we took full advantage of it & decided to take a lovely 'Sunday' drive down to the Southern Highlands... We had a great late lunch and perused the main drag in Bowral dotting in & out of shops [with Isabelle tucked snugly into her pram - it was about 11degrees by 3pm!] and also got to do one of my favourite things - look in ALL the real estate windows! I grabbed the 'Southern Highlands Property Guide' [Mum you will receive this in the post in the next few days!] and marked out all the homes , with 'post-its' with I think my parents should look at! Here's one I found that I love - but don't think they have this kind of pocket change for the retiring 'tree-change' whenever there's a price listing of EOI [Expressions of Interest] you know you that's trouble! Enjoy x

Agent's Blurb - Ian Rayner Real Estate

"KURKULLA" - This magnificent country estate, dating back to 1880, was originally built as a boarding school for boys and then later purchased by Ada Evans (the first woman to qualify for admission to the Bar in NSW) in 1909.

"Kurkulla" has been renovated and extended under the strict guidance of arguably Australia's leading heritage architect, Howard Tanner, resulting in the creation of a glorious family home. Some of the outstanding features include 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, study, library, formal living room, a large open plan sitting and dining room, separate rumpus room, and a wonderful state of the art kitchen.

The house is surrounded by almost 14 acres of park-like gardens including a self-contained studio, a fully renovated 3 bedroom cottage, an inground pool, and a floodlit tennis court.

A rare opportunity to secure a property that offers grandeur and history.Property ID: 2008457310

Images via Domain.com.au