One of the Sweetest Days x

Wishing you a very sweet day today for Valentine's Day...

Everything you do today can be a gift from the heart - making a cup of coffee, a handwritten little note of affection, wearing a favourite perfume for someone, or just taking time out of the day to tell that someone how much they mean to you. And you don't have to keep this all to just one day of the year - try something sweet each day - all year 'round!

Much Love,

images [in no particular order] via pretty stuff, crush cul de sac, ys voice, what she wanted, modern hepburn, cioa avcado

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday to You! Next week I'm super excited to be going to a breakfast morning hosted by DIA [my professional industry association] held at the Art Gallery NSW 'All About Design & Colour' where speakers Greg Natale, Interior Designer & George Freedman of PTW Architects, will be sharing their creative & professional insights. 

I cannot believe this [working] week is nearly to an end... I have been on the ISCD campus on a couple of weeknights helping out with the Certificate IV Design class and the Diploma of Surface Design - as a get a few prac teaching classes in, and writing lesson plans for a whole new group of students. It's all very exciting! In the mean time I am also gearing up for work and more work.... and am proud to say I have finally finished a few long awaited assigments too! So I feel like I have really accomplished a lot this week.... now I just have to tend to tidying & cleaning my house! It's a bit of a wreck at the moment - Ahhhhh!

The weekend starts tonight with a few games of tennis with my husband's family whikst we continue to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday [from Wednesday]....then a lovely mix of acticivies - Isabelle's swimming classes, and having my cousin & her partner over for a summer lunch, then more eating with brunch with friends on Sunday... I love this kind of weekend!

Thank you for joining me this week at Palatial Living... Can't wait to See you next week!

Don't forget Monday is Valentine's Day - it doesn't mean you have to buy something why not make someone a special sandwich, or prepare a lovely dinner, or get cracking on your own card!

Have a Palatially great weekend - Enjoy,



images via east atlanta . snippet & ink

LOvE It! LiVE It!

Just love all these images & a little quote all together...They make me feel happy, excited, playful, youthful, creative, calm, wistful, serene and fresh. What people, things, places or images make you feel these things?

Our surroundings can have an enormous effect on our moods and well being, as does colour & aesthetics. Have a little think....

Enjoy,

images [in no order] via mad grace, mary elziabeth, sex before bed, ys voice, vanessa jackman, coastal living, east altanta

House Snoop....Fusion with Integrity.

A stunning Palatial House Snoop find this week lands us in Balmain located in Sydney's Inner West on an 'arm' of land jutting into the beginnings of the Sydney Harbour and a stone's throw from the CBD. This home is a fabulous example & execution of fusing contemporary and period architecture & design with integrity & style. Not to mention how much I love the pool, deck and seamless glass fencing and the use of the original period arches in the main living spaces.

So gorgeous... Take a look!

Enjoy,

Agent's Blurb.... Belle Property- Annadale
Property located on Darling Street Balamin
Lifestyle- Superbly positioned in the heart of Balmain village, "Riverview" is a stately freestanding two level c 1890 residence that has been fully renovated and restored with passion and without compromise. Privately set amongst established gardens on an expansive 500sqm and boasting sweeping Parramatta River views from the upper level, this very special property is moments to Darling Street's vibrant cafes and boutiques and convenient to city buses, ferry, harbour foreshore walks, parks and the central business district.

Accommodation - Period charm blending seamlessly with ultra-contemporary design is the hallmark of the home's spacious interiors. It offers a selection of flexible living spaces including formal lounge with fireplace, formal sitting room, formal dining, casual dining overlooking the pool, generous family room opening to rear timber deck and pergola and a sleek Miele kitchen with marble bench tops and stringy bark flooring. There are four amply sized bedrooms and two bathrooms with underfloor heating including master suite with water views.

Features - Designed by highly regarded heritage architects Clive Lucas, Stapleton and Partners in conjunction with the property's heritage builder owner, "Riverview" has been built with an emphasis on sympathetic and accurate restoration, while the use of recycled materials including bricks and iron balustrade reflect eco-sustainable building practices. Other key features include stone floor with under floor heating in family room and casual dining, gas heated in ground swimming pool with rain water collecting water bladders, magnificent off form cast internal concrete pillars, security intercom and a/c throughout. There is rear lane access and secure garage parking for three cars with turntable in addition to substantial attic storage.

images & sub text via domain.com.au

Happy Happy Birthday!

Sending loads of Birthday love & wishes to my fabulous sister-in-law, Kylie, today! Although she'd rather some hot chips with a candle, I know she still has a penchant for a cupcake or two only if they're really, really good!

It's an exciting year ahead for Kylie and her fiance, James - with their upcoming engagement party soon & loads of wedding planning ahead! Happy Happy Birthday!

Much Love,

image via ever after photography blog

Gorgeous Graphic Hampton's Look.

I love the bold, striking, contemporary, sophisticated yet simple lines & palette of these Hampton's inspired rooms. Just goes to show you how a refined palette doesn't have to mean beige or boring!

And if this isn't enough for you colour wise - then it's certainly a great foundation to start adding high chroma colours into the accessory mix. Then if you want to create a different mood again, all you have to do is change up the cushions, some artwork & the cha-chi's! Voila another look!

Enjoy,

image 1] via coastal living; 2] & 3] [australia] belle magazine feb/mar 2011 decorating issue.

Vote for Verandah on StartLocal*

Please send me some Palatial love and help vote for my small business 'Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions' on StartLocal [HERE]...it can be a public or personal recommendation!

Thank you so much.

Enjoy,

Happy Weekend...

Hope you have a fun & fabulous weekend! It looks to be another 'stinker' here in Sydney so we'll be aiming to make it to a shoreline somewhere over the weekend to cool down and let our 'fur kids' a chance to swim around too!

Thank you for joining me this week - I am starting a couple of exciting new routines in the upcoming weeks so please bear with me as I try to post through the week. I promise it's worth 'hanging' in there for!

All the Best & Enjoy,

image via coastal living

My Office Chair Cushions...

The Print & Colour soft decor unites! A fun & stylish
cohesion of print & colour that is simple & effective function.

S is for Super Sarah!

M is for Marvelous  Matthew

So I have finished up our personalised [home] office chair cushions - with our initials 'S' for Sarah and 'M' for Matthew... We needed these cushions since our 'office' chairs are not the typical ergonomic style - more a 'comfy' meeting classic tub chair. But I love them and their self jacquard geo design upholstered in French Navy, so they had to stay I just had to come up with a design solution to make them comfy & functional, and stylish to tie back with the overall office colour & decor scheme.

So in keeping with my last 'afternoon' office project - of covering a boring pin board and making a few 'floor' scatter cushions - here I have used the vibrant Hot Candy Pink stripe fabric on the front of the cushion with a plain white backing - and appliqued onto the front of the cushion [strip side] is our first name initial in a 'collegic' style font in a Blue Black woven sateen, I traced from our wooden letters on our shelves.
I also used a thin layer of wadding I had left over from the Christmas stockings that I used as a stabiliser when satin stitching around the letters to sew them on. I do need a couple of new feather inserts for them -  but have made do with a few inserts from the 'spare' room at home & will have to 'make do' for the time being.

The official 'office' poochies - Zach, the Cavoodle &
Lucy the Cavalier King Charles - also like to 'test'
out the floor cushions and our office chairs
from time to time!

 So what do you think?

I love them and think they give an instant lift to what could be quite plain office chairs, plus they provide much needed back support - and tie the print & colour scheme of the soft/ decor for the office in together quite nicely!

Enjoy,

These cushions are doing the right job.
Isabelle - the official product tester for Verandah's floor
scatter/ cushions for our home office!

 

Images by Sarah Verity - Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions

Take Me There...

Dreaming of a sublime little Lake House with direct water front, a private pontoon and 'boat' to go with! Pimms anyone?

Enjoy,

image via house & home

Design by Correspondence...iDE*

Have you ever wanted to learn more about colour and design, but didn't want the hassle's of classes, or couldn't make it to classes because of your hectic work/ family schedule, or simply lived too far from a reputable design school?

Well do I have the answer for you...

Have you looked into The International School of Colour & Design [ISCD], at North Sydney? ISCD are a private design college with nationally recognised courses, and are one of the top colour, design & interior schools in Australia. They offer several fabulous courses that will help you get your 'feet wet' into the wonderful world of colour - taking you through extensive practical & theoretical assignments that you can  fit into your schedule. Be it a change in direction, a career change, formalising experience or qualifications or something creative you want to do... then this is it for you! 

ISCD's distance program is called 'iDE' International Distance Education. I am fortunate enough to be one of the ISCD iDE Certificate IV Design -Educators - so I know first hand how it all works and what you can gain from it. Having studied other courses via correspondence I can appreciate the lengths &efforts that ISCD put into their iDE program, and know that I would only ever associate myself with the best of the best. We have students from all walks of life, and who are located through out Australia and parts of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia!

So why not make a New Year learning goal and enrol into an iDE course at ISCD today! Click HERE for info on iDE program details, and Cick HERE for ISCD Courses.

Maybe I will receiving your next assignment!

Think about it - Enjoy,

images via ISCD

Where I'd Rather Be...

Today with Sydney's searing & soaring 40C plus weather - this is definitely somewhere I'd rather be, back in these amazing waters out of our little over water bungalow at Kani, Maldives - our honeymoon spot! Even my poor little lap top is too hot!

How about you? Stay cool, Enjoy

image via flickr

Drab to Fab...Gorgeous Office Pinboard*

The finished 'Fab-ric Pinboard' - no more boring drab here!

I recently purchased an over sized cork board/ pin board for our [home] office....when looking to hang it on one of our office walls it looked terribly boring & plain. So I decided to spruce it up with some colourful bird & foliage printed fabric and black / white ribbon that I had in my fabric stash, and also made some coordinating floor cushions [for my little girl Isabelle to play when she's in the office] too!  I have just a few finishing touches on our accompanying personalised desk chair cushions to do - so will post pics shortly once I finish a little applique!

So take a look at this little afternoon project - all in the name of colour & design!

Choose colourful printed fabric in stripes, checks, geometric, paisley or a botanical design from your local fabric store [Spotlight or Ikea in Australia are great places to visit] with an inexpensive ready made cork/ pin board from your local variety or craft store [such as the Reject Store, or Hot Dollar discount stores in Australia].

May be you'd like to spruce up a boring old pin board into something gorgeous?

Enjoy,



1. Choosing fabrics, layout & ribbon combinations....playing with your
fabric & trims is important so that you can work out & feel good
about your colour combination choice.

2. Use polyester wadding to create a soft layer between the cork side/ pin board
 & the fabric, this also acts as a stabiliser and creates a better cushion for
 the pins when putting something up. Cut the wadding a little larger than the
board size - this will allow you to fold & stretch back around
 the board with fabric



3. Apply craft glue or adhesive spray onto the cork side - and lay the wadding on top
of this glue and press lightly down so wadding is attached

4. Cut fabric to the same size as your wadding.  I have used an over locker to finish
 & trim my fabric edges to keep it a bit neater as I go.Check that if you are using a
print and it is not multi directional  that the 'direction' is going the correct way.
You don't want to look at your pin board print upside down or across ways!

5. Layer fabric on top of wadding - matching up the cut sides - now staple!

6. Using a heavy duty staple gun, or a cordless staple gun - take the longest sides first
and stretch to pull over and secure the first 2 sides with a couple of staples. then stretch
to pull the two bottom ends and staple to secure. Once this is done you can go
 back over the 'gaps' on all four sides ensuring to stretch taut as you go to
staple the fabric edges. If you want cover the back of the pin board with some
black or white card - to cover the edges.

7. Using a combination of black & white ribbon I staple the
ribbon ends to the back of the board and begin a lattice effect  - with
 equidistant space between each one - with weaving alternate ribbons under
 & over. this will allow me to also place notes and cards onto the
 pin board without tacking them on.

Nearly finished weaving - worth the effort - it gives
the fabric another graphic dimension and is functional!
Once done I pin pearl pins into the centre of each 'X'



Coordinating floor cushions make for a fun, colourful & softer play area
 in the office space for my baby Isabelle.

I just love this print & the coordinating hot candy pink stripe I used.
Definitely my new favourite cushions.

New favourite colour print & stripe combination!

One things is for sure I never like to be 'under cushioned' my office
 & home are always filled with cushion that suit the room or the seasons!

Images by Sarah Verity - Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions