Gorgeous Nursery…

As most of my friends will know, I am not the type of girl who goes gooey over babies…(but I adore and love my nieces, nephew and my godchildren)I do, however, love children’s decor, particularly stylish children’s decor….let’s face it, kids’rooms can go horribly wrong in the decor department sometimes,particularly when the use of primary colours gets a bit out of hand!

I recently discovered a lovely new blog(new for me, that is) called  Fleurishing. written by Susan Hutchinson, a happily married mother of twins….she posted these images of her nursery on her blog and I have to say that I LOVE it…a gorgeous , neutral space packed with lovely details and personal touches.

all images via Fleurishing blog

The neutral background is so gentle and soothing, and she adds pops of colour and texture with the little books, toys and artwork…these babies will definitely be lulled to sleep in such lovely surroundings…

What a great idea-the precious little knitted sweater in the frame…….

As I mentioned, Susan is a mother of twins (and  a cute little Yorkie)..a little girl and a little boy and they are even more beautiful than their nursery! The talented blogger also posts photos of the babies ,which she also takes herself…is there no end to her talents? Her home is as delightful and tasteful as the nursery and can be viewed here.

Do take a look…this is one very talented and stylish lady!

South African Home Tour Part 3…

Welcome to part 3 of the Home Tour of my talented South African friend’s  lovely home…this post focuses on the master bathroom, family bathrooms , family bedrooms and the Media or Family room which are all situated on the second floor of the home.

Just off the glamorous master bedroom is an equally decadent master bathroom, complete with free-standing tub and his and hers basins…these magnificent mirrors are from France.

A view of the tub and a vignette of antique glass orbs and jars.

I adore art in the bathroom, and something bold like this magnificent piece above the toilet and bidet, is perfect for the space-once again , there are no curtains, but shutters, which filter the wonderful light.

Directly off the master bedroom landing is the media room ,where the family spend time  on the computer. and watching TV or playing TV games. It is a comfortable room with plush sofas and cushions and shelves filled with books and objets.

 The media room is full of all kinds of lovely details like the bowl of ostrich eggs-simple ,yet effective. The wing chairs are wonderful and I love the art on the walls.

The shelves with books and interesting pieces-I love the ginger jars on the top shelf.

The ties on the back of the wing-back chairs are great details and break  up the expanse of the chair back .

An interesting little desk and chair just as you enter the media room.

This is the son’s bathroom , decorated with masculine yet chic charcoal striped wallpaper and charcoal accessories.

The charcoal, grey and white  colour combination  is carried through to the son’s bedroom…the bed is once again dressed beautifully  with over sized cushions and luxurious bedding.  (This is my room when I visit! I can speak from experience and confirm that it is very comfortable..)

I think the colour choices for this room were perfect for a young guy at university-masculine and yet not overtly so,to  also accommodate  any guests who may visit.

The daughter’s room is particularly pretty and feminine, with floral wallpaper, a gorgeous tufted and buttoned headboard and matching linens and cushions.

A lovely vintage painting .

All images taken by Colleen Shaw

The daughter’s en suite bathroom is a  girly dream come true…I love the chandelier against the pink stripes! Imagine a long soak in that fabulous tub!

Update: I heard today that my friend D is about to refurbish her existing kitchen (which I shall feature on the next post) so we will be able to follow the progress as they demolish the existing kitchen and start work on the new and improved version!

Watch this space..

The final post on this lovely home will follow soon.

South African Home Tour Part 2…..

In a recent post I shared the exterior of a wonderful home in Durban, South Africa and I will share the interior images today.

This is the living room viewed from the entrance hall…my clever and talented friend D  used a gorgeous grasscloth wallpaper on the  feature wall in the living room. It adds warmth and creates a contrast with the stained  floors.

An image of the artfully arranged vignette featuring a botanical painting of an aloe, a native plant of South Africa.

Looking across the living room from the enclosed veranda, this image shows the sofas slipcovered in white cotton and a selection of scatter cushions. On almost every surface, there is a plant or flowers….a lovely addition to every room.

A view of the ottoman in the centre of the living room , showing a collection of books, Chinese calligraphy brushes , boxes and some glamorous silver urns.

A slightly different angle looking towards the windows….every room has been fitted with shutters, an extremely practical choice, considering the climate and also the security issues face by homeowners in South Africa! They certainly add to the overtly Colonial style of this home…

This is the landing on the staircase leading up to the bedrooms and media room. The circular window is a lovely touch and it looks out on to the tropical trees planted along the driveway leading to the garage.

This vignette is situated in the master bedroom as you walk in from the landing…Antique perfume bottles, silver cigarette cases and various urns and frames create a fascinating spot to pause and discover more about the owner of this home. She is a voracious collector and has an eye for exceptional pieces, as you can see!

The magnificent headboard in the master bedroom is wonderful against the grasscloth.

This shows another angle of the table and chairs , looking from the walk-in dressing room to the door off the landing. (apologies for the slightly blurry quality of the image)

A view across the room from the window….another vignette at the foot of the bed features a gorgeous duck-egg blue ginger jar….heavenly with the roses, which I am sure are all from the garden!

Part 3 to follow in a future post!