Monday 2 August 2010

A Sneak Peak!

It's been a while now since I did a reno update. Things are basically done - more plans for "eventually" but for now no more money! Still have an empty corner in our dining-room so for now have "filled" it with my tripod - tired of continually getting it out of a cupboard.

Oregon pine flooring - very popular here - all older homes have it. Too "orange" for my liking - would prefer pale laminate throughout.

A corner of our dining-room. Brave of me to show those "messy" albums I know, but I also know that one day I am going to be able to afford to upgrade them all to beautiful WRMK albums {currently I only have 4 of those}. My current albums are spineless because if I keep the spines on then the albums are too thin & don't hold enough pages {22 is my standard} - I could make wider spines but I haven't yet.

Remnants of my decade long ethnic phase (no choice in Zim - could only buy from local craftsmen). So over it but not practical to throw it all out here so replacing bit by bit. Still need to drill up those pics.

Love this little shelf I bought locally. Has an eclectic assortment of items on it. A couple of vintage egg coddlers, my childhood Beswick mug, a Brownie camera, Days with my Father by Phillip Toledano, an empty brie cheese box {beautiful packaging} & DH's contribution, a mini Hullett's sugar a) relevant to our life here - sugar cane fields abound & the Hullett's factory is a major industry contributor & b) 'cos he loves miniatures.

Our bookshelf in the lounge. Metal words from "Home, etc" My diet & travel book selection. Love buying books on other countries. So over buying diet books!

Our collection of Bibles & Christian books.

Mainly recipe & craft books, with a few on M!gabe thrown in...can't give him his own section that's for sure...

One of our new lamps. Love it. Ordered it specially. Nothing like it on offer in the stores here...

Bought the fabric myself & took it to the factory. Has tropical leaves & hibiscus flowers on it - all indigenous to Durban where we live. Love the organic shapes of both bases.

Part of our DVD collection {the rest is on another shelf}. The "LOVE" letters were bought from Checkers Hyper as snack bowls ;-D

We needed a place to hang the TV & the shelving unit was too narrow so I boarded up the shelves with a piece of chipboard, edged it & painted it "rooibos" to match the dining room.

My Shona dolls, marquetry candle-stands & the balance of the DVDs.

The boring stuff. Added in those chipboard shelves & left them au naturel as they kinda matched the walls as is. Couldn't handle all the necessary equipment with only 2 deep shelves.

I had this cupboard custom-made to fit under the stairs. Don't know how we would have coped without it - holds sporting equipment & board games.

Looking into the kitchen from the lounge {there's a waist high counter}. Quite like this photo...

Blah, blah, blah...

Livened up a dull corner with some stainless steel cannisters & a gorgeous vase from Boardmans. That green is my favourite decor colour right now.

My new fruit-bowls. Appeals to the "sorter" in me...

Dinner ingredients - {minus the meat} - DH just bought a pressure cooker & is enjoying making hearty meals in it. He loves making a mess in the kitchen & I love cleaning it all up so works for us...



10 comments:

Stefanie said...

Love it!
Thanks for the detailed update, I really enjoy seeing inside other people's homes and how they decorate and such.
Those lamps are amazing.
LOVE the fruit bowls. Where were those from?

topkatnz said...

Looking very neat and super organised there:)

tania said...

this is nice helen:) i have one fruit bowl like that, now i also want more;)
your home is defnitely where your heart is:)

Ella Swan said...

Thanks girls...fruit bowls also from Home etc...not sure if it is a national chain. Never get the same things in twice though so you need to buy as many as you need all in one go!

Pearl said...

a very gorgeous home you've got there now , Helen !!! awesome details !! love the lamps too !

thanks for letting me know about the mail - I'll see how long it takes from you to me - from us to Sth Africa I would have expected 10 days - 3 weeks sounds too long ! lol

Shayne said...

Looking good Helen. You must be loving being in your own space and being able to decorate as you wish. You certainly have an excellent eye. Well done.

Jessy Christopher said...

Oh wow!! You have a beautiful house & thank you for allowing us to "visit" each room & corner. I love ur selections & the colors around the hse is FAB!!

Stefanie said...

Home etc is nationwide, at least we have in CT.
Anita and I are going to Mr Price Home today, the biggest one in our area, gonna have some fun I think.

Lynette Jacobs said...

Thanks for the tour of your home...it is so obvious that you are a wonderful home maker!

Diana said...

I also adore that colour green these days. If and when I repaint my living room it'll be that colour. It's "pale avocado" in Benjamin Moore.
Love the fruit bowls too.