A rough little gem gets some shine

In a swish Sydney suburb on a desirable street, stands one luxurious development after another.  Amongst all the new and exclusive 

buildings, a humble bungalow quietly reflects the time before the developers moved in....

When Jules and Rob first inspected this house, Rob took some 

convincing. In Jules' words it was a "bloody dump" and Rob was 

not interested at all. 

But Jules knew that grubby wallpaper, broken cupboards, filthy floors

and nasty smells could be dealt with. 

And it was sunny and spacious and well...the rent was cheap.

Some people just have the knack of working with what they've got.  

Jules had carried a swatch of colour called 'Carmen Miranda' around for ages 
waiting for the right walls, a willing landlord and a bout of braveness to use it.  

Opulent and rich, it's the perfect backdrop for a collection of gold framed art, 

travel mementos and a beautifully weathered sofa.  Jules found the picture

frames at a garage sale in Bellevue Hill and her friend Ruth loved the frames

and felt the need to fill them with her work for Jules. Beautiful!

A collection of op-shop furniture on the verandah creates a whole other living room.

The single seater is covered by fabric from Cloth and is Jules' first (very successful) foray into giving one of her bargain finds 

a makeover by doing her own upholstering. See www.clothfabric.com

for gorgeous handprinted fabrics.

Pretty opp-shop glasses capture the light.

Rob's mum bought this fabulous dinner set from Germany in the 1950s. Jules isn't a believer in keeping the good stuff shut away and uses it all the time.

 A little reflection of Jules' homeland.

The kitchen had blue floral wallpaper when the family moved in. And not in a good 
way!

Jules claims her style is a product of being skint. As most of this family's home is 

furnished via the opp shop and council throw out day, Jules refers to it as "budget bohemian". 

We suspect that even with a big budget, Jules couldn't resist rifling through

those kerbside piles of thrown out goodies!

Houses like these are always in developers sights. Jules and Rob know that one 

day they'll probably get the letter giving them notice. 

And its always sad when a family loses its home and when a house is lost.

Eyecandy in Birchgrove

If you’re anything like us (and we suspect you are), you'd be real estate snoops.
We have noticed in our snooping that so many houses for sale have been styled to appeal to a broad group and that often seems to translate to…beige (and open cookbooks on those cookbook stands).
Justine recently took photos of this new terrace for the architect before it went up for sale and we thought it was lovely.  And the beige-free styling has just the right combination of minimalism and personality.

Wouldn't it be nice to move straight into an architect designed house
with all the trimmings?
This house is shiny and new but has a lovely warmth about it. 
Designer Milenko Mijuskovic of Design+Format in Surry Hills Sydney
has created a really nice space.



Love this staircase balustrading! It's such a gorgeous feature.

If you love what you see and have...ahem...oh around 2,700,000 dollars spare, this house can be yours.
See McGrath estate agents Edgecliff Sydney to do the deal.

Justine and Rachel are on summer holidays.
We wish all our readers and followers a very happy New Year
and we look forward to bringing you more wonderful, inspiring homes in 2011.

A slice of Europe (in Potts Point)

Jeanette Budak admits she gets distracted when watching Baz Luhrmann's films. We can't blame her though. Catherine Martin's gorgeous sets get the eyes wandering and the imagination firing.  We're not sure if this is a good or a bad thing for Baz's movies but Catherine's designs are certainly a wonderful inspiration for home styling. 

This art deco apartment is very much decorated with Jeanette's own signature style but amongst the antiques, cherubs, ornaments and art there are some nods to the Luhrmann-Martin collaboration in rather surprising ways....



We have to admit we found ourselves distracted from cake and conversation

by Jeanette's glamorous and fun take on home decoration. 

There is so much to look at in this richly embellished apartment!

 

The iconic Trash 'n' Treasure market in Canberra really does throw up some gems sometimes. Treasure hunters need plenty of dedication to unearth finds like this fabulous chandelier candelabra.

 

Biber loves his spot on the antique French dining table. Jeanette found the 1950s
dining setting from Canberra based dealer Fox Antiques.

See http://www.foxantiques.com.au/

 

You can barely see yourself in this large panelled acrylic mirror.

But we love the hazy weathered effect. And we love that it's from the actual set of Moulin Rouge!  Bought at auction for a mere $30, it's the perfect backdrop for Jeanette's opulent style.



Richly coloured velvets and Baroque influenced furnishings give Jeanette's

living room a luxuriously theatrical feel -  not unlike a set for a slightly quirky
period piece.



Several pieces in this room were featured on the set of Luhrmann's 'Australia'. 
The wardrobe and dressing table were used in the bedroom at Faraway Downs.
Jeanette even found a framed 'family portrait' of Nicole and Hugh in the dressing
table drawer. 



Despite some of it's furniture's origins, there's nothing cattle station about this
room. Jeanette has such a flair for evoking a sense of European romance.  




Overnight guests are treated to a French bed and Italian patterned chenille coverlet. The gorgeous shield cushion features the coat of arms for Florence. Pure romance!



 


 





We love a good foyer.
Potts Point, Sydney. 1929.

 Thanks so much to Jeanette and Biber for inviting us in!