Honey I shrunk the furniture!

More to the point, Honey I made the furniture disappear!

At this stage in our relationship, my husband has learnt to block out background noise quite effectively. So much so that when I recently told him that I had put our living room furniture up for sale on Craigslist, I think the only words he heard was living room and left it at that. He most likely thought I was discussing a new color scheme, so you can imagine his surprise when he came home one night after work to an empty living room.

Last night the final piece of furniture was picked up, the boys looked on in amazement and wasted no time trying out their new obstacle free wrestling ring. Meanwhile their dad looked lost and confused, most likely pondering how he was going to watch sports on TV standing up! I wasted no time getting started on a mood board designing a whole new look, well why not?

Coco Chanel, one of the  most iconic women in the 20th century held the strong  belief that fashion is in everything, she is also quoted as saying that “fashion was made to become unfashionable”. My husband will probably quote me as saying “the furniture was no longer meeting our families needs” that was my argument as I figured quoting Coco Chanel to him may not play to his practical nature.

When we moved into our apartment 6 years ago, I had 4 and 2 year old boys. Those little boys took up very little space, so when I was dreaming about my glass and marble tables, whilst I may have been put off my grubby fingerprints, I never once envisaged the wrestling that now takes place. My kids also went to bed earlier and we didn’t all watch TV at the same time, something that has recently changed as we find ourselves all jostling for the best seat in the house for our weekly movie night. The furniture had become outdated for our family or some may say unfashionable. Time for a change.

Maybe operation clear out was a little drastic or as my husband asked ‘could you not have waited until after Super bowl Sunday?’ He does not understand that creativity waits for no one. I’m looking forward to redesigning and sharing with you my new fashionable living room for our family and needless to say a pretty space. Follow me for updates on the new space.

Before Operation Clear Out

After Operation Clear out

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Let it shine

Growing up in Sydney, warm sunny days were the norm more than not. They were never absent long enough to be missed. Moving to England in my early twenties I learnt that warm sunny days were a rare gift from the Gods. Now living across the Atlantic in Boston warm sunny days are something I look forward to. Here the seasons are marked by extreme changes that are hard to miss and after each winter I get that longing feeling for Spring. Its that same anticipation you felt as a child waiting for Christmas or your birthday to roll around again, knowing it would come but just not quick enough. This week (Tuesday to be precise) was when Boston began to shine again. The trees are green,  the flowers are blooming (along with my allergies), the boats are back in the water, al-fresco dining is back on the menu along with a clean crisp glass of Rosé and more importantly people are shining once again.

It was with this renewed gusto that I set about transforming my 50 square foot balcony space into a serene oasis suitable for enjoying long lazy morning coffees, sipping cocktails with girlfriends, enjoying long family dinners amidst the warm sea breeze, loosing myself in a good book, it was to be my place to shine. But who was I kidding? this was not so much about my longing for the impossible (I mean we all conjure up this space in our minds, right?) but more my chance to hide from sight the boys skis, sleds, lacrosse sticks, tennis rackets, baseball bats, cricket bats, basketballs, soccer balls, endless array of water guns, beach toys and any other contraptions that a 7 and 9 year old boy requires which had taken over the balcony like a plague. Drawing inspiration from visions seen long ago in my travels  but not forgotten and with a budget worthy of IKEA, Walmart and TJ-MAXX only, I had my work cut out. Ultimately I wanted a space that was aesthetically pleasing whilst also functional, a constant battle when designing spaces in the city with limited square footage, kids and a measly budget.

Overall I think it turned out well, my boys love it, they insist on eating every meal outside which in turn I love as it means the inside stays clean and we can grill every night. My husband even went as far as saying ‘why didn’t you think of doing this sooner’ which I quickly took as a compliment. I no longer have to stare at the plethora of sports equipment through the window and whilst its shining outside I can drink my coffee and sip my Rosé.  So girlfriends come on over and shine with me. xxxx