Updated Moroccan room with fake weathered flooring

Back in August 11 I posted about my Moroccan Palm Room – aka the little sunroom connecting the loungeroom to the balcony.

Well, 18 months and two dogs later and the carpet’s dishevelled and the flooring in need of a major overhaul. Thanks god for Bunnings!

I decided to go for a vinyl floor in a  weathered driftwood type woodtone. I much prefer the aged greyish look to the golden tone you see in much timber flooring. Keeping the moroccan feel, I took out a few palms and put in a comfy chair in which to sit, read and soak up the sun. Check it out:

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my glamorous new dressing room

If you were reading my blog in August last year, you’d have seen my post “Glam New Dressing Room with Shoe Storage“.  (If not, check it out now!)

Glam dressing room

I thought it was about time I unveiled the newish configuration of my dressing room/study. What’s changed? I’ve purchased a drop-dead-gorgeous set of wardrobes from Brescia Furniture that are far more sleek and streamlined, not to mention taller and wider.  I can fit so much more in them! My ceilings are so high that I can still fit storage options on top of them, which I have done with some black felt baskets.

I also now have a beautiful rug (from DecoRug) that is zebra patterned, yet the design also looks a bit like a spine. It is very plush, alternating high pile in the off-white, with a tight low pile in black, for contrast of both colour and texture. My little doggie loves it!

Add to the equation a very sleek white desk and sexy ‘z’ chair in black faux-alligator, and the room is looking a whole lot more luxe. These were both from UFO Furniture at Euston Road, Alexandria. The desk has a glass panel on top, so I can put wallpaper, say, underneath the glass and totally change the look of the desk.

I discovered that if I turned my bookcase shelving on to its side, I could fit more shoes in each slot – bonus! Now I can fit 4 shoes, or 2 pairs, in each box instead of just 3. The shelving is lower and wider this way, meaning I could put another one on top. Now that I may just do…..

But on to the photos.

Let’s start the tour off with the amazing wall of shoes that lie opposite the windows. This is the bookcase that I turned sideways. On top I added two Ikea hutches that I found in the bargain clearance section. They don’t look too out of place, and allow me to add another row of boots. On top of the lot are some of my hats from my millinery days, and two very burlesque peacock feather fans.

I tried to keep the shoes colour-coded, with the black and white platforms together, the coloureds, the leopard print shoes, and so on.

The wall of shoes is on your left as you enter the room; on your right is the upright bookcase with the majority of my boots (and hats and wigs) displayed.  Next to that is the desk area, which is lovely and sunny, being next to the windows.

dressing room desk

 

The window luckily has a wide ledge so I can put these slimline TRONE Ikea storage boxes on it…

…with jewellery and other decor on top of those:

  

The 2 fabulous coloured deer heads are from Miho,  while the large plainer one is a Beyond the Page MDF deer head from Midwest Scrapbook on ebay.

Back to the wardrobes, or closets as some like to call them; they are directly in front of you as you enter the room.

And here’s a peak at the insides:

        

Dresses and skirts are in the first section of the closet, with bags underneath; jackets are in the second section with drawers underneath for scanties, socks and tights; and tops and pants are in the third section, with belts in the shallow drawers beneath (and corsets laid on top, for now).  No, I’m not the tidiest or most organised, by any means.

The only thing missing now is the floors, so here is the rug…and Fritz enjoying it. His tail is blurry cos he’s wagging it…awwww!

 Miniature pinscher

Obviously the walls need some decoration. I do have some beautiful aqua wallpaper that I may use behind the desk area, and a large teal bamileke feather headdress to attach to a wall too. I am also on the lookout for the right padded pouffe or other glam dressing room chair to sit on while putting on my shoes. The desk may well be moved upstairs and a French style ornate dressing table take its place, along with a large ornate mirror…but if I waited til it was finished, I’d never post.

What about you – do you have a system you’re happy with? Have great ideas but not the room (or money?) Do you have any tips you’d like to share? Any ideas from here that you’ll take away? I have to say that pinterest is a great source of inspiration for me, and I’ve gathered my faves in “Amazing dressing rooms/studies/home offices“.  If you’re on there,  come find me – http://pinterest.com/trashtastika/.

DIY wallpaper project

I wanted to brighten up a chimney wall that’s in my kitchen/dining area. So I decided to try my hand for the first time at wallpapering.

It’s not that easy…first of all it wasn’t sticking  enough so I re-pasted the wall (some papers you paste the paper, others you paste the wall).  Then there was the effort of smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles. And before that was the measuring and marking on the wall to make sure it would hang straight. Oh, and removing the picture hook that the clock was hanging on and replacing it afterwards.

Anyway, here’s the before and after (complete with minpin):

 

The wallpaper is byEijffinger, which is a Dutch brand and quite expensive. But I bought a half-roll from an interiors shop that was closing down…it’s well worth checking out shops that are moving in case you can score bargains! Overall I’m pleased; the yellow-green echoes the colour of other walls in the dining area, even though the chimney breast is more coffee-coloured. And it has certainly injected a pop of vibrancy to the area!

I think next time I’ll pay a professional paper hanger though…especially when doing whole walls.  My skull wallpaper has just arrived (remember this post about gothic wallpaper)? so it’s next on the hit list. I’ll be sure to post the results. Have you ever tried your hand at wallpapering?

Gothic wallpaper – skulls

It is now a done deal – I bought a house!!

Hence my pre-occupation recently with interior style as opposed to fashion. However, the two are often interlinked; we can indeed let our personal style influence our surroundings – especially if we own our place or have a friendly landlord. Today I’d like to bring  you some of my favourite gothic wallpapers, in skull patterns.

A Store Called Worth

Canadian fashionistas will already be aware of this store, which is dramatically fitted out with black ceiling with octagon smoked mirrors, a replica 17th Century Baroque chair in black lacquer and vinyl crocodile, a life size alabaster white reindeer, and grey and black damask wallpaper.

Carl Abad is owner and visionary of Worth, one of Canada’s first lifestyle shops specializing in “the next big thing” in art, fashion and design. Abad is well known in fashion circles from Calgary to Chelsea. While living in the UK, he was an assistant for the Terri Tanaka Agency, working under leading UK stylist Tassos. His assisting and styling work appeared in British Vogue, The Face and Wonderland. Worth is the result of Abad’s obsession with fashion and design and his desire to introduce Canadians to a diverse mix of international design.

Let’s get to the amazing wallpaper.

Isn’t it divine?

As Rollout states:

Worth Paper mashes together punk rock, granny, and brothel themes into a beautifully eerie statement on voyeurism and vanity. From a distance, the decorative filigree draws the viewer into the gaze of a wall filled with x-ray human skulls. These “mirror mirrors” reflect the impending decay that will one day wither our beauty and strip away our youth once and for all. 

(Crikey!)

Its ominous call challenges us to live, work and party hard.

Erm, quite.  For those who may prefer a more restrained, demure colour palette, see the wallpaper in cream:

Can’t you just see this in your granny’s parlour? You’d barely notice that it has skulls on it.

Worth has a facebook page and a blog, or you can follow Worth on twitter!

A few more designs from Rollout show how to incorporate skulls and tattoo motifs into wallpaper, first from Mark Ecko:

And Hell Pizza:

Beware The Moon

From Beware the Moon comes this awesome bronze flocked skull wallpaper.  As they describe it: reflective bronze, deep-pile velvet Skull motif on an incredible light-catching, iridescent base which changes colour as you walk past it through reds, greens, blacks and golds – like an oil slick in a dirty puddle.

Close-ups show the various hues reflected under different light conditions:

 

Definitely one for use in small doses only, methinks. It is available in various different colourways from Beware The Moon.

From Designer Wallcoverings come these skulltastic wallpapers:

What do you think? I’ve seen other skull wallpapers, but not ones that have incorporated the skulls so successfully. Some are just goddang ugly. Have you seen any that you’d like to share here?

A Very Modern Terrace

Oh my, has it really been 6 days since I last wrote? I have to confess to a bit of ‘cocooning’ due in no small part to the fact that I am buying a house. Yes! An honest to goodness, actual, with-a-small-courtyard-type of house. As opposed to the apartments I’ve been living in for the last umpteen years. There are still a few kinks to be worked out, but nothing we can’t manage, and so I thought you guys might like to see (well, those who haven’t already through my twitter links).

It is uber modern, with lots of skylights and glass, which will make for amazing outfit shots in great natural light (if I learn to work my DSLR better!) I’m also terribly excited to finally have an entire room just for my walk-in wardrobe and studio.  At last I can organise/arrange my considerable collection of garments and accessories, and have proper space for my millinery blocks, hats and DIY materials.

Finally, I’m chuffed to bits that at last we can get a pet, and am currently making enquiries about miniature pinscher puppies. Our current aquarium will also be joined by a marine one…oh so many plans!

Onto the pics though. The first floor is where the living room is located, along with the main bedroom and bathroom, a bar for entertaining, the balcony and a glass-roofed atrium for a mini-greenhouse.

I know some people would be put off by the bar, but as my man does his own brewing, it will come in mighty handy for bottling and storage of the many bottles invariably littering our home. For the past few years he has taken over our ensuite shower as his beer-storing space, complete with shelving, so it will be a relief to have a dedicated space for the grog AND be able to use  the second shower.  Not to mention, how fab it will be for entertaining!

Downstairs are 2 other bedrooms, another bathroom, and the main kitchen and dining area which opens up onto decking and the back courtyard:

The front has a jet black door and an almost oriental looking black framed window. Perhaps because the seller is Japanese?

The plans show how it all fits together:

So, I have totally been immersed in many interiors magazines, watching home decor shows on foxtel, and making plans to personalise the space (say, how about a black feature wall?)

If you have any particular interiors blogs or posts you think I’d like, feel free to link. I would LOVE especially to see any pics of walk-in wardrobes (or closets, for my US readers), and rooms where clothes/shoes have been stored in well organised and stylish ways.  Thoughts?