Just Because...

Just because... thought this 'Oodle' was so cute! Not sure if 'he' is a Cavoodle - like my Zach, or a Spoodle.

All the same it made me happy! A Palatial Poochie!

via patterson maker

Off & Away... for a bit.

Just a quick note to say that yes I am still alive & around! Although you may not know it from my lack thereof of shared inspiration, mid week house snoops, colour design tips & tricks, fab decorating projects - need I go on for what I have been depriving you of!

The saying ' when it rains it pours' that is my life for the past little bit for both family and work life!

So as I write this post - my lovely 1st fur baby Lucy, my Cavalier King Charles, lovingly sits on my lap her head hung over my typing arm... she knows something is going on! And she's right - I am off tomorrow on a plane for a work sourcing & development trip to Hong Kong & many China based cities, with 10 fuelled days of meetings, showroom & factory visits and several flights to throw into the choatic mix... It's a great opportunity & one I have been working towards for a number of years now - so like most things that present themselves to me - I grabbed it with both hands!

So over this time away, I will have limited access to emails let alone ability to post blogs on Palatial Living...

So it is here that I bid you adieu for now til my return when I really really hope that things start to settle down for at least a week or two til my next big project that I am DYING to tell you all about... but stay tuned!

Take care & please join me again at Palatial Living towards the end of June when I am back home in Sydney!

images via oatterson maker, pretty stuff via ysvoice: Flower Boat - Dal Lake, Kashmir, India 1996

by Steve McCurry, mary kate steinmiller bracelts via coveted

Lost in a Sea...

Please forgive me for my absence from Palatial Living this past week, we received some sad news early Tuesday morning, my grandfather, my 'Pa' - George R Scott  [whom I often think of as the original silver fox - a real Cary Grant - suave, charming, handsome and slicked back coiffed silver hair] passed away close to midnight on Monday night. His passing is bittersweet but naturally for the best.

This week my inspiration has been lacking, I'm sure you can appreciate why, and I must say I have felt overwhelmed & almost lost in this sensation of mixed emotions - much like floating in this massive sea, I think that's why this image spoke to me. Peaceful but something else all together.

I was ever to grateful to have been able to spend this past Sunday afternoon with my Pa, holding his hand and taking the opportunity to thank him for being such a wonderful man & grandfather - the best a granddaughter could ever hope for.

 I have the chance to honour him tomorrow at his funeral service by reading and speaking part of his eulogy alongside my mum, my aunts, my cousin & my grandmother. .. this time next week I will be in China - timing in our lives is such a bizarre thing. The Ancient Greek philosopher Seneca said  [in not so many words] '...expect the unexpected - then we will not be surprised...'

Thank you for your patience - I am sure inspiration will find me again in an unusual way... it just might take a a short while so to share with you again.
So make sure you tell those you hold dearly - that you love them & tell them now - don't let the moment pass. The moment is what we have.

image via note to sarah, via patterson maker

Go Get It!

Love this.

I believe in doing. I believe in doing what you say that you're going to do. I believe that if you put 'it' out there - 'it' will come back to you... both positive & negative.

But sometimes you have to reach out for 'it' too!

This weekend go beyond your comfort zone - try it, go for it, do it!

I think one of the worst things to do is to regret. If you ask the question or give it a go - you may never wonder 'what if'!

Go get it! Swim out to your 'ship'. And make sure you have fun getting there!

image via patterson maker, bippity boppity boo.

Happy Weekend! x

Happy Weekend!

Thank you so very much for bearing with me over the past few weeks!

It's been a little bit of a 'flood' of events over the past week or so hence not being able to get onto my love, Palatial Living, so to share all the inspires me - and a few great projects along the way!

A lot has been happening in both work and family life... I am preparing to head off to China week after next for nearly 2 weeks on a sourcing & development trip - which is very exciting but will be a lot of hard work - meeting suppliers and visiting their showrooms, with at least 4 internal flights and an express train trip to boot! All in the name of style & product!

My super - wonderful -lovely students for my Cert IV Design Monday night class at ISCD will have to do without me for 1 week -  I will miss them... I love teaching at ISCD, if you're thinking about learning more about colour & design be sure to check out ISCD's website for on campus & distance learning through their iDE [international distance education] program. Which leads me to my fabulous & very resourceful iDE Cert IV Design students - who continue to blow me away over the month of may I had over 8 students submit their work - and you cannot believe the creative pieces they turn out! Am simply continually amazed!

On the home front - we've been cleaning out, throwing out and working out the 'what to do next' phase! Recently our new bed & side tables arrived [thank goodness - the bed was dying!}and our existing tall boy and blanket box no longer matched  in colouration to the new pieces... I love the 'old' pieces so was thinking of way to keep them and to not spend more money, & of how I could best re-purpose them...

Solution - I sanded and repainted them - Voila! The last coat of paint on the drawers is drying as we speak! So I plan to post pics of the before and after paint project for you - I am so pleased with the outcome and can't wait to add the crystal drawer knobs, I purchased in my fave home wares store Port Douglas last March whilst on our baby moon, onto the drawers! Stay tuned...

So a little more garage cleaning tomorrow and a trip to the local tip... and definitely a glass of wine!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend & a very Palatial time doing it!

See you soon...



images via patterson maker, matchbook mag, pretty stuff, crush cul desac

Needle in a Haystack...

Love it... I would make a big effort to find this little 'needle in a haystack'!

Gorgeous!

image via everly true, jose villa, pretty stuff

Swimmingly....

Someone asked me how I was going the other week...

I replied 'swimmingly - thank you'; even though I had a tonne of things to do and felt pushed to the endth - seems like a wave of things have happened at once for me [all positive but not enough time in the day - hence my MIA Palatial Living posts - more on that later]! My grandmother always told me that there is nothing more boring that someone hearing about how you 'really are'... and  nothing says it better than than this lovely image of a red pink fantail gold fish! Just swimming on by trying to look like it's ever so effortless floating away.... And I also love gold fish too!

image via falloneelizabeth, via dusicnddilddil, via grazes, via pretty stuff

Serene Colour...

Loving these blue- pinks, teamed with blue kelly greens and shell skin-pink neutrals... so pretty, so inspirational.

 

images pretty stuff, violette oasis, oneilldill, everly true, burda style & tumblr



Very Pretty Princess...

I know the Royal Wedding of William & Catherine, the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge - has come & gone, their honeymoon has been taken and they have landed back into reality - but I simply couldn't resist revisiting the very pretty lovely images of now & a few of those from yesteryear. Both very very pretty 'princesses'.

images patterson maker, pretty stuff, tumblr

Bright Happy Colour, Pattern & Print...

I fell in love with these brightly coloured, patterned & printed images... I am feeling so inspired by all things Suzani - the reduced colour, the rhythm of the pattern & how I could use it through my living spaces. Hmmmm where do I begin! How uber cute are these geopuzzles - print poster form or in puzzle form!Oh and love love love the idea of painting inside the bookshelves walls and hanging favourite art pieces or prints from book shelve beading.

What colours, prints or patterns are inspiring you right now?

images via kate lewis painting, geopuzzles, paterson maker, pretty stuff, ma belle vie.

Perfect Palatial Paper Pieces...

Sheet Music Paper Rose -

via Etsy from Cosy Corner Crafts

Lately I've noticed a trend of paper 'crafts'  art becoming more visible and more commercial through the likes of 'Hard to Find', 'Hand Made' and 'Etsy'. Back at Christmas time on Palatial Living I looked at a Brisbane based paper artist with her stunning decorations simply made from paper - but achieving such a delicate, modern & intricate look. I also love the works of UK Surface Designer [Paper] Artist - Rob Ryan, and could do a bit of damage in his online store aptly name 'Ryantown' via etsy. 

Paper art is something that shouldn't be overlooked - beautiful, clean, fresh, and sometime fragile delicate also vintage looks that can be achieved using paper [pieces] is surprising. By thinking about using paper you don't always need to think about using 'new' fresh paper - think about repurposing an old book, left over paper from your computer printer, newspaper etc... this is also a way to think 'green'!

Take a look,

Creative Curtains

Create confetti curtains for your windows from cut paper. Cut out squares from different weights of paper with a die-cut punch (available at scrapbooking stores) or scissors. Sew the squares together, spacing regularly, to make a string as long as your window frame; tie knots at the top of each square and at the bottom of each string to secure. Hang each on a tension rod from curtain clips. These curtains are a great way to decorate a boring window without blocking out natural light. Get creative and use different colors for your garland depending on your room's color scheme or the season

 

Pretty Tissue Flowers

These delicate petals create an elegant centerpiece whether scattered down the center of a table or piled on a platter. To create, cut a flower shape or 3-inch circles from eight layers of tissue paper. Place in a stack. Next, poke a hole through the stack with a pin. Pull the paper off the tip of a twist tie and insert the exposed wire through the paper layers. Twist the wire to create the flower center. Make the flower bloom by gently pulling up one layer at a time.

Get Rolling

Quilling is a simple yet elegant way to embellish home accessories, such as a white picture frame. To create, cut paper into 1/8-inch-wide strips with a ruler and crafts knife; vary the lengths of the strips. Load a strip onto a slotted quilling tool (find tools and kits at quilledcreations.com). Twist the tool to coil the paper tightly. Once coiled, pull the paper off the tool and release slowly to uncoil slightly to your desired size. When finished, the quills can be glued to objects, such as a picture frame, to add a beautiful decoration to an otherwise plain frame.

images & sub text via bhg, house beautiful, country living, coastal living

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday - Welcome Weekend!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned ahead...

Do you have any projects on the horizon? Are you entertaining, or visiting family & friends? Or just hoping to be a home-body for the weekend?

Whatever you're up to I hope you have a lovely time!

Thank you for joining me this week at Palatial Living... See you again soon.

image via tumblr, love this life

A Manly House Snoop...with a Sublime Palatial Touch.

Now I'm not really that interested in cooking, so if it takes more than 20mins prep-time I'm out of there so sometime that rules out a lot. So it's a good thing that my husband prefers to cook in our household - his way of relaxing! But let me tell you that if I had the view that this kitchen has, in this incredible home perched up on Bower St Manly - I'd probably start a catering business! It's that good!

Here's an amazing home I found whilst snooping around this week, located metres walk from one of the most desired beach coves in Sydney, Shelley Beach and perched up on Eastern Hill - this Palatial home boasts generous accommodation & a sublime lifestyle...

Take a look, Enjoy

Agent's Blurb... Belle Property Manly NSW

Lifestyle - Designed to embrace a sweeping northerly ocean and coastal landscape, this exclusive retreat is the ultimate indoor/outdoor family entertainer. A lifestyle of peace, privacy and convenience beckons in a sublime setting just above Shelly Beach and adjoining National Parkland.

Accommodation - Generous living space, formal and casual dining spaces flow to sweeping sunlit seaside terrace, upstairs family entertainment room with wet bar, two ensuite bedrooms, study/studio, granite kitchen with European appliances and Travertine tiled bathrooms.

Features - Set on 697sqm in a premier Eastern Hill setting, it is only metres from Shelly Beach and a short stroll from Manly Beach and village. It comes complete with a sparkling pool, half-size tennis court, bi-fold doors opening to multiple terraces plus a tandem garage.

Property ID: 12P1374

images & sub text via domain.com.au & belle property