day~dreraming

After nearly a month away from Palatial Living it feels like I have been in a daydream away - but no I have been madly decorating & renovating our 'new' old home we bought and moved into in mid July this year! How time flies - whilst paint dries, leaf litter is moved, mulch is laid, curtains hung and furniture moved around! Now I feel like I need at least a few weeks away from the paint brush! But I must say it feels like an addiction - I might have one or two nights off from doing something and then I get restless again and get back into it or much to my supportive loving husband's dread - start another project on the house! Ha ha!

This weekend is my last full weekend home before I jet off again for a week away in Hong Kong & China visiting trad fairs and sourcing new products - but for fashion accessories, jewellery, hats, scarves, bags and footwear for my [day-time gig] as a Group Brand Product Developer/ Designer for a fashion company here in Sydney! So I am planning to get into the garden with my husband who is leading the way - I drew up a garden design & landscaping plan for all the 'room zones' we want to create... very exciting. 

So as I get some more time I will post pics of all the different things we have - so far - accomplished at the house, including my bathroom refurbishment - that blew me away!

So for now I will enjoy a little daydream with a coffee and see you soon. 

images via pretty stuff, ys voice, crush culdesac 

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

Pops of Colour - Without The Paint!

Panels that Pop - See your windows in a whole new light. Window treatments provide a striking swath of color without the use of paint and create a focal point for your room. Mount curtain panels on the wall, near the ceiling, with the bottoms brushing the floor for a dramatic, colorful look. Experiment with different patterns, color combinations, and treatment styles to find which style works best with your windows

------------------------------------

Thinking about adding some colour to your home and don't want to have to get the paint & brush out! Well here's a few little ideas I found through a few newsletters I subscribe to and though you might them too!
Some great ideas for mini projects that you could even do over the weekend!

Have Fun & Enjoy,

Mix It Up - Throw pillows are a simple way to add a splash of color and comfort to any room. Mix and match patterns and solids to create a dynamic contrast. Combining colors that are direct opposites on the color wheel intensifies their impact

Picture Perfect - Add color and flair to a lackluster wall with mirror and picture frames. For a simple project, spray-paint a collection of mismatched frames. Choose all one shade or hang a variety of hues together. Add a colorful mat to your photo frames for an extra flash of color. Combine an assortment of sizes and shapes in an arrangement that spices up your wall space

 

Shades of Light - Give your room personality with a colorful lampshade. A bold base can add a shapely design element, while dressing up a dull lampshade is an easy project that gives a big burst of color

Accent with Nature - Flowers are a fun way to bring color and life into a room. Fresh blossoms provide a space with color, texture, and scent. Refresh your arrangements by regularly pairing fresh blooms with shapely vases

 

Refresh with Vibrant Furnishings - Change a room from blah to bold by adding lively furnishings. Neutral walls serve as a background for vibrant colored chairs. But limit the number of bright furnishings to maximize the color's impact in the space

Add Personality and Pattern - Add a punch of color with a wing chair upholstered in a playful stripe. The pattern adds visual freshness and vitality to the room's décor

 

Color Central - Kick up the color in your room with an area rug. A large, vivid rug acts as an anchor for the room's furniture arrangement. Integrate hues with other elements in the room, such as accent pillows, furniture, or artwork

images & text via bhg.com, elle decor, house beautiful

home love...

 I Love my Home... Do you?

Or do you need me to help you love it more?

Visit my website to find out how I can help you, fall in love

all over again with your home!

image via visualize.us

A Cosy Spot...

A cosy spot is what I am putting myself in today...I am a little under the weather, I think the past 8 or so weeks have caught up with me & new motherhood and seem to have a nasty cold-chest infection. I suspect that a combination of early morning feeds and realising I probably can't try to fit it all in within a single sleep time - like trying to finish my 'Verandah Home+Garden Living Solutions' website [will let you know when it's ready - stay tuned!]; redesigning a home office area; securing a new client; & like when I painted a back yard fence the other day 1 whole coat in under a 1 x 3hr sleep time - hmmm, a bit much maybe!

So this brings me to 'cosy spots' in our homes. I think 'cosy spots' in any home are super important and incredibly necessary - for peace of mind and healing after a long day or week. And with a few simple items you can have your own 'cosy spot' by incorporating a soft throw blanket, maybe a small side table to rest a cup of tea or coffee, or cool drink; and a lamp for reading - by adding some soft cushions to your chair or lounge, and a rug for floor warmth  - by a window - these small things make a space more personal, more 'homely' and instantly comforting. I know that my two poochies - Lucy,  our 5yr old King Charles Cavalier & Zach our 4 yr old Cavoodle, can find a cosy, snoozey spot anywhere! Where's your 'cosy' spot at home? Do you need to think about creating one for you?

My posts might be sweet & brief whilst I tackle this bug... please bear with me! Stay cosy [and warm - here in Sydney it's been a tad chilly & breezy over the past several days] & Take Care. Thank You - S x

Image from Country Living

Home Is Where The Heart Is...

[click on image to enlarge]
[click on image to enlarge]

I'm home now with our precious baby girl, Isabelle, and I am sure glad to be out of hospital, in the surrounds & comfort of my own home [not to mention bigger laptop & interior mags]! It is truly amazing the emotional & physical pull that our homes have on us... the comfort of familiar smells, touch, and visual recognition can make all the difference to our sense of well being. It is with these ever so important sensory levels that by changing, updating, and styling our homes [living spaces] to a genuinely pleasing aesthetic that can make all the difference to how we function, and connect with who we live with...What are some of the things you have done to add to or make your house a more personal space - a home, your home?

Enjoy your Home, Love your Home! S x

Images from Australian Country Style May 2010 issue - 'Decorating - Pale & Pretty' pg 84

Glad to Be Back Home...

Well I have missed you all to say the least... and it's so lovely to be back home!

I had limited access to the Internet & very limited time whilst I was travelling through Europe to be able to blog... so I do hope that you will join me again at Palatial Living. I saw some amazing & beautiful places and things throughout Europe, & having studied art, history & architectural styles it was such a treat be a part of it all and be able to place it all into scale & perspective. So in the next few weeks as I gather together my couple of [thousand] photos I will post & share with you what I found and saw through my travels....I know you will love what I found

Coming back home it seems that Spring has definitely sprung, and in Sydney, as with much of the east coast of Australia, my garden suffered from the red dust storms and I am desperately trying to resuscitate a few plants that have been 'suffocated' with the dust's oxidisation! So with that I want to 'channel' healthy - happy outdoor & garden spaces in the positive view that with some TLC, Seasol and Garden Gold we'll get there! Thanks again for coming back to Palatial Living I know we'll share some gorgeous images & fabulous ideas over these Spring Summer festive months.. Enjoy! S xxx

Image from Country Living

Happy Weekend... helping move & organise over 50 years of Living

I'm spending a good part of the weekend helping to organise & style my lovely Grandmother-in-law, Elaine's home & garden to get ready for sale & for the estate agents to organise viewings... Elaine has loved in her home for over 50 years now so there will be a lot to do and lot connected with sentimental moments with this house - her home. The good news is that she has found a lovely new home that is both smaller & much more manageable with a 2 bedroom villa in a fantastic village that will service all her needs for many more years to come...
Have you recently helped someone right-size and move home ?
Happy Weekend - Enjoy! S x

Image from BHG

HHH - Hagan's Hamptons Home Pt II.

Following the previous images I posted on Victoria Hagan's Hampton's Home... here are the final images of her expansive stylish 'weekend summer' home... wish it were mine, check - one more for the wish list!

The well-manicured homes and sparkling beaches of the Hamptons make it the summer community of choice for many New York City dwellers. It's also where Victoria Hagan met her husband, Michael Berman. Soon after their wedding, they began looking for a house, preferably an old one, to buy. "Then we came across this piece of land with beautiful farm views," says Victoria. They decided to build a new house in the style of the traditional saltboxes that Victoria has always loved, but "to make the interiors a little more open and light," she says. The house reflects Victoria's talent for mixing an intriguing range of furnishings, from antique finds to clean-lined pieces of her own design, and conjuring the oft-desired but hard-to-achieve effect of relaxed elegance and sophistication that is still family welcoming. "Soon after we moved in, I found out I was having twins," she recalls (sons Harry and Alex are now 10), "so this house is very special to us because I've watched my boys grow up here."
photo credit: Don Freeman

Landscape designer Lisa Bynon created a dentil-edged bluestone walk from the back door.

"We sited the house very carefully to capture the light. We see the most beautiful sunsets from the family room and the back terrace."

"We designed the family room to look like an addition to the 'old' house, with a peaked ceiling framed in antique beams," says Victoria. "It's our favorite part of the house." Unadorned windows welcome in light and views of the surrounding fields. Sea-grass matting, a linen-slipcovered sofa, and a coffee table of Victoria's own design have stood the test of toddlers and time.

Vases and a faux-shagreen lamp are from Victoria Hagan's "Perfect Pieces" launch collection for Target; her line changes seasonally.

Hints of pale pink and lilac bring "the colors of twilight" into the master bedroom. Victoria's fabric designs -- "Four Seasons" on the pillows and "Halex" on the slipper chairs -- bring a touch of femininity to the dark woods of a carved tester bed and side tables. A flat-weave wool carpet and painted floors keep the effect soft and light.

Images & Article from Country Living.

HHH - Hampton's Home Love... Victoria Hagan Pt I.

I am a big admirer of Victoria Hagan's work... here in part 1of this post - the article [and images] we see her beautiful home in the Hampton's mixed with pieces from different ends of the price spectrum from her bespoke design firm's items then effortlessly coupled with her range for Target - successful because of it's seamless thoughtful considered approach, authentic design, colouration & style...

The dining room is lit by candlelight from a silver fixture that probably once hung in a church and an antique carriage lantern. "This isn't a large room, so it feels intimate, but we can still squeeze in 12 for dinner," says Victoria. "I like upholstered chairs for dining," she notes, and these old bobbin-turned chairs covered in wool felt set up an intriguing contrast with the cross-braced Porter dining table of her own design

"When you begin a project," says Victoria, "I believe the most important thing is to look outside to the views, then echo what you see outside in the palette you use inside."


"The living room, which incorporates creamy fabrics and is painted in Pratt & Lambert's Ancestral, has a very golden feel when the sun hits the fields. And the bedroom, which is painted a very subtle lavender-gray -- Pratt & Lambert's Arrowroot -- has the feel of twilight. I also sometimes use a historic color, such as a sage, on the ceiling, to add warmth. If you pick the right shade, it seems to 'lift' the ceiling," says Victoria. For more, visit victoriahagan.com.

"When you begin a project," says Victoria, "I believe the most important thing is to look outside to the views, then echo what you see outside in the palette you use inside."

An excerpt from Victoria Hagan's website allows us a small insight into her background up to her current work....

Soon after Victoria began her career in 1985, The New York Times described her work as "the most cerebral, the one bound to be influential," and the continues to be a major force is the design community. She is continually featured in such publications as Architectural Digest, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Elle Decor, Vogue, W, Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar and House Beautiful. Vogue exclaimed that she defies the old school implications of the term "lady decorator".In December 2004, Victoria Hagan was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. In addition, she has been awarded many of the country's top design honors, including Architectural Digest's "Top 100" and New York Magazine's "Hottest Interior Designers".A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Victoria Hagan currently serves on the school's Board of Governors. She is a frequent guest speaker on design issues through the country, and is featured in a number of international design books.

Images from Country Living

[Home] Office Organisation...

I have been rearranging some rooms in my home around an office space and stumbled across these great images that inspired me and may help you get your home office space just right!

Here [above] a linen press cupboard was transformed into a hideaway media office space. The main shelves were taken out of the cupboard leaving 2 only and a desk platform added with a keyboard return that slide back into the desk... clever! The bamboo style chair painted white is used as the desk chair and when not in use can be used as extra seating or an occasional chair in the lounge room. When you've finished working just close the doors - no need to hurriedly tidy up your ongoing work space! Ta daaa!

One of the best ways to create a cohesive and uncluttered look in a book shelf for your lounge room or home office is to arrange the book spines by colour. By doing this you create colour blocks which the eye prefers & allows you to visually gently move fluidly through the shades creating a harmonious look instead of haphazard colour dotting here there and everywhere. Another trick is to also allow for 'white space' this means space in a book shelf not used with books but an object such as a vase, or a box, or a statue - something of personal interest or memory. By creating the white space you also create an area of visual relief. See what you can do with your book shelf.... Have fun!

Images from PointClick