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

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

On My Desk & On My Walls...

I love my letters - I have always loved typography
 now in 3D.'V'& 'S' - Very Special!
Or for Verandah & Sarah...

A bit tidier than usual... frames hung on
'my side' of the office. Wall colour in Dulux
'Linseed' full tint - one of my fave hues to use.

Hope you had a Palatial weekend! Welcome back to Monday at Palatial Living.... I had an awe inspiring day today at the ISCD campus [located in North Sydney] it was great to be [trying to be] a fly on the wall to see what happens through educator's eyes to a class of adult learners on a creative design path within the Surface Design diploma. Even more so it was lovely that the students seemed to ingratiate themselves to me and their fabulous educator [and my new mentor] Sharon Gage be so gracious as to have me sit in, and pass on her tips & tricks. 

'My side' & the 'top shelf' of the home office!

So now I am back at my [design] desk finishing off a flyer & proposal [very exciting - will share with you when it's all concrete], which got me to think 'What's On my Desk right now...'! You might remember I mentioned a little while ago that I have recently updated our home office space - that my husband & I share, here's a sneak snoop of my desk & boards! Sometimes I feel the urge to style it other times it's just a pile of to-do's and get-through's!

I have a collection of photos, swing tags, art gallery postcards & invites, a photo of my darling baby girl Isabelle, a few pics of Babushkas, the Vogue Milano '10 trend show cd and some wallpaper swatches from Signature Prints, and and a T2 French Earl Grey tea bag I keep meaning to drink! Oh and here's a fun wooden letter' &' and an over sized black wooden peg I just bought at fab store 'Typo' - definitely worth a look.

Promise to post more pics when I have finished labelling the folders and hung the frames on my husbands' side of the office wall! Enjoy!

One of my absolute favourite Australian artists,
Sidney Nolan and his 'Ned Kelly' series.
This particular painting 'Ned Kelly' 1946 is my favourite.

Uber cute Babushka card I bought today for my
mood board from Typo.

images by Sarah Verity - Verandah Home+Garden Living Solutions

Check out these fab office design books from Amazon...

More Home Office Ideas...

Just got some finishing touches to do to the home office and a little bit of labelling left! Yes - it feels like it has been going on for a while - this redo of the home office, normally pre-baby it would have been done & dusted by now! But drilling & hammering, and shuffling [next to our baby's room] do don't seem to go with sleep times! Still it's amazing how you really do pack everything in 'a sleep time' - we'll get there! In the mean time I love this home office re-do from MyHome Ideas. The wall colour is very similar to the shade I have used Dulux's 'Linseed' Full tint. Take a look. Enjoy x

images via my home ideas

 

Just Boards...

image via house beautiful

I have been consumed with coming up with the right size, colour, maybe fabric covered & maybe not pinboard that will be my new mood- inspiration board area above my desk in our [shared - with my husband] home office. It has so much to deliver - ughhh the pressure to get it right - it needs to be stylish, and therefor coordinate with the colour scheme - accent any highlight colours, and of course functional - fulfilling the job of being my source of conglomerated inspiration & creativity! That's a hefty job description! So here are some images I have collected for ideas along the way, as well as a great set of instructions on the 'how to make one' from 'Real Living' magazine if you'd like to make your own inspiration board/s Enjoy.S x 

image via martha stewart living

image via martha stewart living

image via martha stewart living

image via martha stewart living

image via martha stewart living

image via real living magazine sept '10 issue

How to make a funky pinboard - from Real Living

The snazzy fabric pinboard in Shawn and Natalie Godwin's Brisbane home office (September real living issue - out now, page 97) has inspired our design guru Sarah de Lancelle. Here's how to make one.

1. The easy way - Cover an existing cork pinboard — you can pick one up for around $5-10 at Kmart, bargain stores and stationers. Make sure it has a stable backing you can staple the fabric onto. If it has a frame, see whether you can remove the cork section — you can wrap the fabric over the cork and slip it back into the frame.

When wrapping the fabric over the board, use a staple gun and secure it tightly at the back with lots of staples, as the fabric will be pulled whenever you "pin". If the pinboard does not have a stable backing, use a strong fabric glue to prevent movement. You can paint or stain the frame to suit your dé cor — but do this before you put the fabric on!

2. Do it from scratch!Cut a piece of MDF to size as backing (from hardware stores). Use a layer of either cork or rubber for the front. Cork tiles (from hardware stores, Kmart, Big W) come in packs and are easy to mount. If you opt for rubber, test it with pins before you buy to find one that suits. Polystyrene is another option, but it doesn't "spring back" the way cork or rubber does. If you are pinning a lot, it may lose its hold. Glue your chosen surface to the backing. Test first — some glue will eat away at rubber or polystyrene. Wrap your fabric as above.

Fabric choices

You may have a fabric in mind that's perfect for your colour scheme. But remember, a loose-weave fabric copes best with board pins. If you've fallen in love with a tight-weave fabric, buy some extra so you can re-cover the board when it starts to look shabby.

One final tip!Spray a fabric protector (eg. Scotchgard) on your pinboard before you use it — who wants dirty hands on their "work of art"?

 

Images via Martha Stewart Living, Real Living Magazine, & House Beautiful

Home Office Inspiration...

As you know I have been working on a home office decorating project - at my own at home! With both my husband & I working from home at various times, the previous home office furniture & layout did not cater for two people potentially working from home at the same time! It was getting cramped, we couldn't find things and filing was really backing up [urghhhh!], not to mention that it really wasn't very inspirational for either of us!

Here I have found some images that inspired me whilst I finish setting up and filing - it's clean but still soft & 'home-orientated' that could suit us... I particularly like the 'reused look' here too that is still contemporary which is very important for my home. Although I don't have the floorboards here [carpet instead] these painted boards are really appealing especially if there were more than 2 of you and are much easier to keep clean...maybe in the next home office - the stand alone back-yard cabin I have my eye on next time round!

[image above] My 'dream' next home office cabin, see Back Yard Cabins

Images via BHG & Back Yard Cabins

Glam Little Office Nook..

It doesn't take much to glam up your work space at home - take this fab small space for instance - by using accents of red with highlights of gold leaf, resin & crystal, a great chair and a simple writing desk. You've got it! The trick - playing with mixing a couple of styles up and using a limited palette [such as here].  Have you got an old desk or table that you could paint or revamp to help make an a new office nook? You're best bet to find furniture pieces with character that you can revamp is looking through the opportunity second hand stores, or furniture auctions. Have fun xxx

Image from Elle Decor.

Colour, Books & BookShelf Love...

[image 1] Betsy Morgan's colour blocked book stacks and objects make for beautiful vignettes within the shelf.

click on image to enlarge
[image 2] Australian Vogue Living March /April 2010 - book suggestions. Check out Amazon.com to add them to your wish list, or to buy!
click on image to enlarge



[image 3] Betsy Morgan's home office & living area - shows these white shelves are not only for storage but colourful display too!
click on image to enlarge

I love books, always have, but what else do I love that goes with books is housing & shelving books! Here - I love these White book shelves with painted [bitter mocha] wall colour behind, appears to frame the books and objects within the shelf. And the darker shade used makes for an illusion-ary depth. Taken from Betsey Morgan's family home in Chelsea New York - from Vogue Living March/ April 2010 issue, I especially love all books sorted and stacked by spine/ cover colour - I have all my books presented like this in my shelves at home - it helps to create a clean, organised & colour blocked presentation that is much easier on the eye to follow through the space...

Images from Australian Vogue Living March/ April 2010 issue.

Garden Cottages for Play or Work...

Owners of this old shed saw huge potential and converted it into a master external bath house - a retreat to bathe and relax in.

With some TLC an old garden shed becomes a cottage haven for potting plants, reading & relaxing. A cosy home office in a revamped garden tool shed.

A converted pigeon house is now a bright, friendly undercover play space.

'My next house.. .' Backyard Cabin.

Many of us have this thought - 'In my next house I will have...'

Here are some wonderful examples of a garden cottage or shed that has another purpose than housing just the tools and the lawn mower! From an external bath house, to a home office & studio, to a converted pigeon house into a children's play room ! So many uses and options that you could change the space to your growing family & professional needs.

And I would have to say I am no exception, being involved in helping my client's interior & exterior colour & style ides come to fruition isn't only normal that many of my ideas continue to ripen before I can harvest them!! And one of them is - 'In my next house...' I would love to have a yard space large enough to house a little off site home office w/ en suite - complete with a small verandah (very in keeping) where I can dream, design, paint & sew, as well as invite clients to chat with them about their ideas and how we can bring them to life... Hmmm, I particular love the 'Backyard Cabin' [last image] by an Australian company 'Back yard Cabins' who are located in Sydney's northern beaches, Avalon. I think this design would be just perfect for so many reasons... So hope you are reading my post today Darling [husband]!

Images from Backyard Cabins & Sunset Backyard Living