currently coveting

 1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6.

Image: The Design Chaser

 1. Hay Tray Table from Designcraft.
I've been spying these little occasional tables featured in a multitude of homes on many favourite blogs. I think they'd be perfect for the family room here. Luckily these Danish design pieces are available in Australia from several retailers. Hay has many covetable pieces; I'm also drooling over their strap mirror and marble trays!

Image: West Elm USA

2. Eduardo Garza Crystal Box from West Elm.
 While West Elm may now have a retail outlet here, the best stuff remains frustratingly confined to the US stores. This handmade box was created in collaboration with New York sculptor Eduardo Garza. and is made from soapstone, brass and crystal.

Image: Moth Design

  

3. Kate Spade Rose Scented Candle from Nordstrom.

One of my favourite blogs is Erica Cook's Moth Design. I spied this little Kate Spade black and white candle in an image of her recently revamped bedroom, as seen above. Love. I haven't been able to track a stockist here but Nordstrom sell and ship internationally. The candle comes in a few different colourways / designs including a gold spot one. *Drool*!

Image: HOFP

 4. Chunk Candlestick by Menu.

Another all-time-favourite blog is The House of Philia or HOFP. Every area of her home is beautifully curated and I'm always spying beautiful, classic homewares to covet! The Menu Chunk Candlesticks (marble / copper) are one such example. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate a local stockist nor an international site for these so they may stay an unattainable dream. A bit like the Georg Jensen Thermos. Again spied on HOFP's blog, in an image of her swish bar cart. Readily available worldwide, this is a real luxury priced item though, and may stay on the wish list for some time to come!

Image: HOFP

 5. Georg Jensen Bernadotte Thermo from Georg Jensen.
 

6. Ceramic Jewelry Tray from J. Crew.

A recent post on The Zhush, alerted me to this cute little jewelery tray in my favourite combination of black and white. Available through J.Crew with international shipping, this baby is winging her way to me now! Yippee!

x KL

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balustrades and handrails

We are extremely fortunate here to have some outstanding views from both the front and rear of our property. The ocean views from the street facade are visible from two of the three levels, whist the rear aspect provides views of Copacabana's beach and valley from the top level.

When designing the house, the external balustrade composition was integral to how the house looked and how we looked out, from it! Consideration was needed on many levels; our and neighbour's privacy, maximising the view and abiding by council regulations for safety. Oh, and budget. LOL.

Ground floor                                                                   Upper floor

 With neighbours to the left and right, we wanted to ensure their and our privacy. Without a viewto the left, we had no deck areas there. To the right however, was an existing large two storey home with lots of windows so we decided on a combination of full (orange lines above) and half height (noted in red) solid, rendered balustrades. To the front ocean view, we have selected frameless glass. Frameless glass will also be used for the pool fence.

 The above image illustrates what we have chosen. The frameless glass panels sit into a channel that is hidden into the travertine tiled deck. Neat. Minimal. Safety regulations dictate that a top handrail is mandatory so we'll be having a slim stainless steel top, an example of which is below.

The pool fence will be the same set up but sans top rail. Something similar in look to the image above. The mix of solid and glass styles has also balanced out the expenditure for the extensive railing. Yay!

Inside, we're going with a similar mix. The stairs between levels are contained within walls and only the stair entry point from the top level requires a barrier. I switched from solid to frameless glass for this to keep the feel open in this area and so that hallway art can be viewed uninterrupted from the lounge room. (rough rendering below)

The final decision is hand rails for the two sets of internal stairs. I want minimal clean lines and am drawn to these inspirational pictures:

Unfortunately the built within-the-wall hand rails are no longer possible here. Should've incorporated them at framing stage! Damn! But the sleek steel ones are next on my wish - list. I'll get them custom made and beg Davey to hide the wall fixings within the plaster like this:

Here's more of what I'm thinking:

I can't wait to see these last selections in place. 

All the years of planning, choosing and toiling are finally coming together.

x KL

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Luxe for Less!

Following on from yesterdays Mega-Post, I thought I'd share some more serendipitous news regarding the mirrored cushions that I tracked down. As I mentioned previously, the first time I laid eyes on these, I was smitten....

Those seen in the images above are Sheesha Pillows from US retailer Jayson Home. They start at $350 USD for the smallest pillow and are made from a silk fabric.

Locally, I found that AuraHome makes a version. Theirs is available in Natural Jute or Grape colourways. One tenth of the price but the fabric weave and colours seem to lessen the glam-factor.

 Bandhini Homewear Design also do a very luxe version. Above is their Dotted Mirror Lumbar cushion made from linen. Stunning, Australian and was on my far-fetched wish list at $339 AUD.

Then of course I found MINE!!!!

 I purchased them direct from the manufacturer in New Delhi, India via eBay but I've since discovered they are selling on Etsy too. They are beautifully white and the canvas cotton adds a soft texture whilst offering durability. They have even custom made me two lumbar cushions! The prices were comparable to the Aura ones but were sold sans insert. Eeeek! I was prepared to get some custom made...and here's the really serendipitous bit...

West Elm sell Down / Feather pillow inserts in all the sizes I needed. 

16 " x 16", 18" x 18", 12" x 18" and 14" x 36"!!!! 

Un-bloody-believable!!!! And...they were ON SALE!!!

Now, my previous record with West Elm has been abysmal. But, I'm thrilled to say, the stars continued to align and third time lucky, my order arrived perfectly within 48 hours!

 Luxe for Less! And all from the comfort of home! Yippee!

x KL

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Shopping, House Progress and other important thoughts...

 A few weekends ago, David completed the construction of a small deck on the middle level at our place. It provides a link between the large entertaining space and stairs, to a wee rear courtyard and a clothes drying area. It also allows access to the external pool W.C and a secondary access to the laundry / lower kitchenette. The Merbau timber still needs to be sealed, the stairs stained to match and a privacy screen added but its another thing to cross off that list! Yay!

In MAJOR NEWS...the lounge room is ready for sanding! We had a professional plasterer here last week and once we trim the windows (goodbye weekend) we'll be all systems go for sealant and paint! The main bedroom en suite ceilings still need a top coat and then they'll be ready to paint too, after which waterproofing can begin! Hallelujah!!!

Post Christmas, my love of Gold has continued unabated...this sweet gold cushion from Castle adds a dash of glitz and comfort to the dining chair I use at the laptop. Whilst I was shopping there (online of course!) I added these pillowslips to my cart for J's bed.

Styled bed (Left) via The Design Files

The bench I ordered has arrived; it's the perfect length for the end of our King sized bed. It will remain in the guest room when we move into the main bedroom though for seating and as a luggage drop zone for guests. It's white linen so until the plaster dust is finito it's staying under packaging wraps!

 Today I bought this cute hand made silver ring by Von Treskow. I have several pieces of their exquisite jewelry and love that this 6 pence ring mixes rose-gold and silver together! I was extra lucky to find it heavily discounted in a one-day sale at a local store.

 I finally tracked down (yes; like a super sleuth! Ha ha!) a gorgeous, leather wrapped round mirror as lusted after HERE. This pic is of it in brown but mine is black. And I got is below cost! 

*happy, happy, happy dance*

I'm thinking of featuring it either in the entry or above the fireplace. ?

I pinned the below, left image, when I first laid eyes on it. It is Olivia Palermo's living room and I coveted both the Hermes tray and the mirror encrusted cushions. I've pinned many more images featuring these two items on my Pinterest boards but now happily own them too. Mine are those pictured below, right!

After my long winded post HERE regarding my newly completed shoe cupboard, I found some US sourced plastic boxes on eBay that fitted all the requirements I needed. I made an initial purchase of ten and am happy with them so have ordered twenty more. Will show you the cupboard again when sorted! I think the Ikea office boxes would have worked equally well but I was swayed by the convenience of online shopping / home delivery again! (I was house-bound with the plasterer all week and awfully impatient, LOL!) Would LOVE Ikea to sell online! *sigh*

Have you noticed the new-season ranges are being released ATM? I'm thrilled to see that leather pants / jeggings are still fashionable (I invested in a pair two winters ago) but would like a new feminine tunic or shirt to go with them. All the items below are from Country Road. I bought this dress and blazer but the blazer was tiny...so unfortunately, back it went. Looking forward to seeing these tops when they're available!

 Country Road has one of their eagerly awaited spend-n'-save promotions on currently too. I made use of it to buy the dress above, the pretty pink tea towel (Yup, a concurring colour addiction as posted HERE) and the beige / black pillowcases seen below, for J. They haven't been delivered yet, (there is no local CR Homewares store so I'm buying online again) but I'm hoping they will go with J's Pony Rider quilt which I bought eons ago (read about it HERE) which needs some pillowcases to go with it. Fingers crossed that at 30 % off, these work!

And I'm toying with this little fox pillow for him too. It's sooo god-damn cute!

Loving the idea of leopard / ocelot print slip-ons for winter. They look super comfy and casual. Now I just need to narrow down the choice!

Just like the decision to buy a new wallet. I'm definitely heading into the need rather than want category for this. A good wallet is usually a long term commitment for me. Any recommendations?

Ceasarstone will soon be releasing their latest range of composite stone surfaces. I am very excited about the Calacatta Classic due for release in July. There could be a new contender for the kitchen island!

 Decisions! Decisions!

Stayed tuned! Exciting times ahead!

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback! 

 If you enjoy my ramblings, perhaps consider following by Email, Bloglovin' or Google+. 

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Happy Valentines Day!

Do you celebrate Valentines Day? Or do you consider it to be just another Hallmark occasion?

I usually pop a little choc treat and note into the lunch boxes and buy David a card. Other than that it's just another day round here.

What do you get up to?

Thank you for stopping by my blog. 

 You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback! 

If you enjoy my ramblings, perhaps consider following by Email, Bloglovin' or Google+.

 Join this site via Google Friend's Connect so I can follow you too!