Home Tour - Craft Room

When we were building our house, one of the things I was really looking forward to was my child free craft room! I had planned to set it up to give me ample space for my scrapbooking and card making and just a general area that was mine.  Just mine.

It's only a small space between the master bedroom and the ensuite, and being at the back corner of the house, it's far enough away from the kids' rooms so at least I can feel like I'm having time out when I hide there!

What has been happening however, is that my room seems to be the dumping ground for anything without a home.  Boxes of books, old files, school paperwork or old football boots have found their way into my private oasis.  You know, all of the crap that probably needs to be sorted out and thrown out!

A few weeks ago after tripping on yet enough pile of something, I decided to have a clean out/sort out/THROW out, and take ownership of my craft room again! I had wanted to update the room for a while and chose mint and black as a colour scheme.  I'd actually been doing a display at work with mint and black towels and I think that helped me decide on the colours I wanted.

Here is the room before the change, complete with dodgy photo watermark!

And here it is now!  I love it! I had bought the table for $10 from an op shop, and although it's small, it fits perfectly in the space.  The framed photo of Elvis was a gift and I love it!

I bought black containers from KMart and sorted my craft bits and pieces, including my paints and glues, photos, buttons and ribbons.

I was so excited to find this little mint coloured table at Big W!

The photo memory board looks better hung on the wall above my cardstock and patterned papers.

The gorgeous little mint stool is from Pillow Talk, and the kids think it's hysterical and say it looks like a Dalek from Doctor Who or a CrabPot that you throw in the river!  How dare they!!

I love it, and as it's my child free craft room, it's staying!

I hope you enjoyed my craft room tour!  Do you have a special place that you love?

Farmers Wifey xo

My Favourite Room

Do you have a favourite room in your house? I do. Actually I have many!  It could be my child free craftroom, or my kitchen that I adore, or my laundry just kidding.

My theatre room is a place that I love.  As my friends know, I watch alot of movies, I'm a film buff.  I love settling in for the night with a blockbuster, or a scary movie, watched with the lights off of course!

Our theatre room is at the front of our house.  We have bifold doors and dark window lourves so we can make the room completely dark and enclosed, all the better for that movie experience.

We have a big screen tv, and until recently the tv sat on the kids toybox, which was on a huge piece of carpet.  It was dodgy and unattractive, and was driving me nuts so we went out last week and purchased a timber tv unit, which fits the room perfectly.

Our bookcase is also in this room and along with movies to watch, it's a lovely space to sit and read, a quiet area to reflect. The kids can choose a story book and we sit and read and it's very relaxing.

I'm still decorating this room and I'm on the look out some new cushions, a throw rug and some wall art.  The walls are painted sage green so this room is very calming.

It's a nice place to be.

Do you have a favourite room in your house?

Organise My Mud Room

You may remember my recent post about the one word I've chosen to represent this year.

Organise.

A shiny new word with endless possibilities!  I'm happy to say that I'm already embracing the word and I'm feeling quite excited about it!

Over the weekend I dusted off the old computer desk and dragged it from the shed to the house, and it fitted perfectly in our mud room.  What's a mud room you ask?

Many Suburban American houses have a mud room, a casual, generally secondary entryway intended as an area to remove and store footwear, outerwear, and wet clothing before entering the main house. As well as providing storage space, a mud room serves to increase the cleanliness of a house proper.

A house proper!  I like it!


Our mud room is a small room we have at the top of the stairs, leading from our garage.  At one end of the room is the laundry and at the other end is a doorway, which doesn't actually have a door, rather some country fretwork, leading into the dining room and the main area of the house.

This room is perfect for our computer desk and work station, for a notice board to hold our calendars, school reminders, bills to be paid, invitations, sporting notes and general crap, that until now, sat in disarray on a bench in the pantry.

Opposite the computer desk we will have an area with hooks and space for school bags, coats and hats and boots, and each child (and grown up!) will have their own place to store bits and pieces to stay organised!

I love this room, and it's starting to take shape.  Now to find some wall hooks......

Our House Update

It's been a long time between posts! I'm blaming my lack of time and our dodgy  inadequate internet connection! 

Did I mention that my three kids found the wi fi password and have spent the last month happily playing Minecraft and Tiny Tower, oblivious to the fact that they have sent me into dial up speed hell?

I'm back though and happy to share some photos of our house, 12 months on from moving in.  I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't completely unpacked, and I still have some empty kitchen cupboards and boxes needing attention in storage.

There are still little things to be done, and we are taking our time, just enjoying the space and the colour and the newness of it all!

If you are new to my blog, here are some stats:-

- The house took four years to owner build, and we lived in a shed on our farm while the build took place.
- The Money Pit, as we like to call it, reflects the attributes of a modern Queenslander, utilising breezeways, louvre windows, high ceilings and wrap around verandahs to provide uninterrupted air flow.
- The floors are a mixture of Blue Gum and Spotted Gum, and the timber was cut from our property.
- Chair and picture rails, vj wall panelling and ceiling roses keep the Queenslander style.

Here she is, enjoy!

 

 

Hidden Treasures

Last Tuesday I decided to start unpacking some of my hidden treasures, lovingly wrapped in newspaper and tucked away in big plastic boxes four long years ago.

It was like Christmas all over again! I had forgotten I even had some of these vintage pretties, and I couldn't wait to find new homes for them in our new house!  Of course I took some pics to prove I have excellent taste, but ordinary photography skills.

I use my IPhone for everything but I would really like to improve the images I share on my blog.   Perhaps with better lighting and focus, or maybe just being able to set a scene and be creative.

I suppose I'll need a new camera and possibly some lessons on how to drive it but that's fine, because as you know, I'm going to BlogHer'13 in Chicago and there are some photo and video sessions that I will be sure to attend.

What do YOU use to capture the perfect image on your blog?

House Update

It's been a while since I've posted a House Update, but I can assure you things are just wonderful!

We have settled in very nicely and the house is as amazing as we had hoped for!  We still can't actually believe, after so many years we are finally living in our dream home!

Of course, there is still lots to be done - we have no mirrors, door stops or landscaping, but these will come.  At the moment we are just breathing in the newness, exploring every corner, and appreciating what we now have.

My house smells so new. I don't know how to describe what "new" smells like, but it just does! 

Everything is so fresh and uncluttered, and we have so many built in cupboards!!  We have yet to even unpack everything we have in storage, as we have been taking our time and just enjoying the moment.  I think once the kids are back at school, I can focus on getting everything in order.

The kids love having their own rooms.  The transition from five of us sleeping in one room to the kids having their own space was really easy.  I was concerned that Miss T (aged 7) wouldn't settle, because she was only 3 when we moved to the farm and before that, she shared a room with her big brother!

But I shouldn't have worried!  She loves her pretty room and her new bed! 

In fact, everyone loves everything!

Mega Christmas Roundup!

 

Merry Christmas Lovelies!

What a wonderful time of year this has been.  I hope you have had some relaxation, some reflection and some thoughts to the future, as I have done so.

It's always such a rush during the week or so leading up to The Day. Last minute gifts, Christmas parties, the buying of The Ham, and having the kids home from school can certainly raise the stress levels!

But we all do it, because we love it!

And I even have to plan for two birthdays during Christmas week - two of my children have their special day 2 days either side of Christmas Day, so you can imagine what this Farmers Wifey has to do to stay organised!

It's not only a special day for them, but a celebration for me, remembering the most amazing time of my life, when my babies were born.  I usually feel quite emotional and reflective during this week, and as much as it is busy and stressful and tiring, I wouldn't change it...I just love it!

We spent Christmas Day at our new house.  I refused to go anywhere as I've waited for over four years to have The Day here.  It was grand!  So very relaxing, with the kids swimming, and enjoying their new gifts, while I actually went back to bed at 2pm, after cooking a delicious lunch that was enjoyed by all!

I went back to bed, and I got right in! I snuggled underneath the cool sheet under the fan and had an afternoon siesta. With nowhere to be, and nothing to do, it was bliss!

And I set the table on Christmas Eve, and I must say it looked beautiful!

Boxing Day saw us at the beach, where the kids threw sand at me and I scowled at them because I just don't like sand in my hair!  So much beach and so much sand and they have to play right.in.front.of.me.  When they are in the water it's a different matter, however, as I expect them to stay in my line of sight!

We also welcomed 13 brand new guinea babies on Christmas Day.  The best.present.ever.

Well I'll check in on you later.  I'm off to make some new years resolutions that I will break.  As you do!