Stop to smell the roses........

    A few days ago , I glanced out the window & saw my (neglected of late) standard roses had a lovely display of roses on them , off I went with my basket & scissors to pick an amazing arrangement to bring inside . Sadly as gorgeous as they looked as soon as they were touched the petals fell to the ground.
   Except this one beauty , so perfect , the scent so sweet , the petals, perfection. It made me think how all week I had been rushing around & hadnt noticed the rose buds or when they had opened. What else are we missing out on in this crazy busy world ?
  I am giving you permission this weekend to take some time out, slow down & 'stop to smell the roses'

                                                               Happy Weekend
                                                                   Karyn x



                                                            

Kitchen re-model- Canadian house & home

Gorgeous marble tops , mirrored Mooi pendant lighting , low back chairs not interfering with the line of site , open shelves , artwork ........ what more could a girl want !

Glass doors to clearly see beautiful servingware

Practical slide out shelves for ease when cooking  (next time !)

Customised stainless steel farmhouse sink , great for hiding all those dishes during a dinner party.

Marble bench space great multi purpose for elegant dining

 Simple but stylish workspace

Loving the glass panel doors that give a view of the courtyard & gives a lovely open feeling to the kitchen.  I am starting to love dark doors with white walls , what do you think ?

                                                                Karyn x

                                                  Images Canadian House & Home

Laundry Sneak Peek....

Due to the long wait for tradesmen , the finished laundry unveil will  not be happening today :(

So I decided to do a little sneak peek update instead.

The stone benches & sink went in yesterday , the electrician is coming on Tuesday , no day from the plumber as yet on his arrival aahhhh. 

The idea was to have a laundry that was white with bursts of colour my favourite blue. I want to create a fresh & fun feel.

So this is where we are up to..... 

Old dryer will be replaced with a  new shiny white ( hubby dosent understand why I need to replace the dryer we have had for 18 years & very rarely use ) call me vain but the reason is it just looks dreadful with all the new shiny things & its a good excuse to give it to a lady I know who dosent have one & is having trouble hanging her sheets & towells on the line due to arthritis.
 Cupboard door still to go on & handles to be choosen & I am painting the walls white & the door a lovely glossy white .The tap is just sitting there , waiting for me to decide if I am happy with it. I keep saying its just the laundry you dont need the tap that you love at 4 times the price of this one. I was going to put overhead cupboards up but I am now thinking a nice thick white shelf.
Then there is the splashback , It will be 600mm high & I cant decide weather to end it at the bench or continue it behind the washing machine  ? I think it will make the laundry look longer along the wall if I continue it along. But then where do I end the overhead shelf ? Opinions on that issue would be greatly appreciated.
I have had all kinds of ideas from white subway tiles with a bevelled edge to wallpaper with a sheet of glass over it (been advised against this) or have a laser print like a floral design in blue to attach behind glass , beadboard painted milk blue or white ( I do have another small bench in the laundry that I think I will add the beadboard too.

So I quickly popped into The Tile Mart  this morning as Jnr son just wanted to go home !  But I did manage to get a few samples. Did I mention I have decided I am going to attempt tiling the splashback myself , how difficult could it be ??? she says with nervous trepidation. The white tiles  just seemed a bit bland with the white bench top , even though I love white.

I keep going past the laundry today & every time I look in these glass tiles get me excited. Not sure if its
because it is the only colour in there or because I just love them. I always go the safe route , but Im feeling a little cheeky today........

                                                      Enjoy your weekend
                                                              Karyn x

Quote of the week

Be grateful for the home you have,

knowing at this moment,

all you have

is all you need.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Renovating -Look what I found

I came across this  blog this morning , and since a lot of you seem to be renovating in some form

I thought you might get some helpful information from it , and its Australian ! It is written by Alex Brooks 

author of Planning Your Perfect Home Renovation. (I will now have to purchase a copy)

It has inside & outside planning , eco planning, quotes , a website & so much more. But my favourite article is titled 'Outdoor Kids' getting kids off the couch & active in the great outdoors , which is something I strive towards with a 7 & 3 year old. I feel sometimes I am frowned upon by other mothers by my 'TV limits' , so it was lovely to read an article that reinforced MY beliefs . 

www.renovationplanning.com.au

Thankyou Alex you are going to be a big help in my renovating process.

Organising catch up

I havent gone awol , just trying to get some organisation back into my life. So much going on at the moment with renovating , buisness tax returns , kids  activities etc etc . I just needed to take a little breather.
                     Breathe in , Breathe out , Breathe in , Breath out..........

       Hopefully the laundry renovation will be finished by the end of next week. Bench top is being made while we speak, basin arrived yesterday , going to buy tapware & power points tommorow , fingers crossed all the tradies are available . And I am deciding for the splashback whether to tile in white or my favourite blue or I read on a blog how to paint the back of glass for a splash back. ( I cant remember where I read this, so if anyone else has read about this technique could you let me know please. I remember them saying you had to be careful not to scratch the paint during installation) I also thought of maybe using wall paper & putting a sheet of glass over it , that way I can change my look if I tire of it. I think I would like to finish the laundry with a splash of colour because I cant find the right blue in accesories . What are your thoughts ?
I finally got my new camera yesterday after a month without one , I have felt utterly lost like I had my right arm cut off. I even bought a disposable one on Sunday just to get some mothers day photos. Tommorow I am taking some time out in the morning to test it out. I am going to one of my favourite spots for relaxing with my Home Beautiful to finally read A-Ms article. I took a sneak peek at the pics .....I will post tommorow my shots with the new camera. See you then.
Karyn  x
Image Pottery Barn

Happy Mothers Day

Hope your day starts like this........

or this.....

or maybe..... 

  

& you get some of these .....

& a thoughtful gift ......

lots of hugs from the kids......

this would be my wish this year.....

maybe you could relax on this......

while someone is 

  baking you this......

 & finish the day with this......

Happy Mothers Day to all the 

wonderful mums 

around the

world.

(to many to name you all individually) 

Karyn x

Images from Martha Stewart & Kikki K