Thunder and burnt orange

We've only made one change to the house since we moved in. The previous owners had built a garage extension behind the single garage, a 3.5 x 8 metre room. The only access to it was from the patio so we had a double doorway cut through from the existing dining area, gyprock and plastering around the walls, and the old steps pulled up and a new single step put in the width of both doors. It's nearly finished (just needs the old stove removed and carpet put down) so I'm trying to decide how I will decorate it.

We already have some furniture that we intend to move into the room which limits the colours I can use. The colour of the lounges is called 'Storm', which is a dark bluey-green. We will also use our oak coffee table, side tables and entertainment unit.

I want the room to feel warm and cosy so I'd like to incorporate some 'warm' accents. I found a few pictures along those lines. I was originally planning to use red splashes but I think this look is a bit more unique.

Modern Hamptons?

My husbands favourite colour is blue. Since I have already decided on other colours for the living space, and I don't like 'cool' colour bathrooms, I think I'd like to decorate our bedroom in blue and white. I'm thinking Hamptons meets modern chic. Is that even a style? Nevermind. I'm not hugely into the country look but I don't want it to look stark so what I have in mind will hopefully work.

Here are a couple of pictures to start with.






Our bedroom isn't very big. It fits a queen bed, two bedside tables and a tallboy (just) in the bay window. If my renovation dreams come true, we will glean a tiny bit more space by removing the existing wardrobe (and taking over part of the adjoining bedroom as a walk-in-robe). The room will still be small but I think once the dresser is moved away from the window and we have that little bit extra space where the wardrobe was, it will make a big difference.


My only hurdle is that our furniture is a dark timber... which doesn't exactly fit with the white or blue part. They were a gift from my in-laws so we certainly wouldn't dispose of them. I would love to sand all the pieces back and paint them white but would that be offensive? Ideas? Advice?

We already re-painted the room when we moved in because it was an appalling dark purple suede effects job (gag) but I think an all-white paint job will be in order this time. We also have timber trim so that's going to have to go as well.

That's about as far as I've got in my thought process. Have you got any good ideas?

Bosley the Beagle

I thought I'd just post a pic of our littlest family member, Bosley, our (nearly) two year old Beagle x Cocker Spaniel. He has a lovely personality - he loves playing fetch, cuddles and chewing things!

Garden Studio

I am keen to get our backyard looking nice but it's going to be a long process and we need to decide exactly what we want to do first.

The garden has a lot of potential but it's a bit out of control! We have a good undercover patio area but the rest is grass and garden beds. At the moment it's green because we've had a lot of rain but in the hot weather it's a large expanse to keep watered. There's also a 6 x 4 metre shed in the back corner which is a bit of an eyesore.

One of my ideas is to pull down the shed in the corner (that will probably only happen if someone wanted to take it off our hands) and build a smaller, modern garden studio somewhere along the back fence.

Here is a photo looking out from the patio to the back corner as it is.


This is the kind of structure I have in mind. The front windows would face north so it would be a beautifully sunny room. I think it would be great for guests to stay in if we run out of room in the house or as an office.


Thoughts? Have you got any favourite gardens that might inspire me?