Rug Love

I have been obsessed with this Matthew Williamson rug from The Rug Company for a little while. I would love one of these for our new house but I think it will definitely be way out of our price range. The colours used are divine and I just love the pattern. Doesn't it look beautiful with that pink sofa and I especially like it placed on the white painted timber floors!

Set of Vintage Plates

A pretty set of plates are available on Vintage by Lou Lou's Ebay store as above. Don't they look wonderful hung on that aqua wall?!

Christie Brinkley's Dining Room

I adore this image {above} of Christie Brinkley's dining room as styled by Kim Ficaro. In particular I am in-love with the April Gornik painting hanging in the background with those gorgeous silver vases filled with peonies on the dining table. Such a beautiful composition!

Love the fabric on her sofa too!!

Happenings

Life as I know it just doesn't seem to be getting any slower or less hectic. Sometimes I crave a more subdued life but I suppose that's just not me. I am one who loves things happening and if I wasn't complaining about how hectic everything is then I would be complaining about how boring and uninteresting everything is.

You see, I am juggling a few large balls in the air at the moment along with being pregnant with our second child, due to arrive early May {thought it was about time to disclose this information as clients have been looking at me in a strange way too scared to say "have you put on weight or are you pregnant?"}, we are renovating the shop which is very, very exciting. After being there for 10 years now, it is time for a freshen up and as the business has grown we are desperate for more space.

We have taken over more floor space in the upstairs section of our building which will accommodate a large client meeting room, my new office which I will share with Kelly who project manages all our work, and a large fabric sample room. This will enable the shop downstairs to extend through to the back of the building where my office and client meeting room is currently. With the arrival of our beautiful Stuart Membery pieces of furniture due late April/early May this extra shop space is going to be wonderful!

Here's a sneak peek above of upstairs. I took this photo on Friday. The painters are almost finished. The floors are still to be sanded and painted {white gloss} and lighting installed. We should be up-and-running upstairs sometime within the next month. I can't wait to have a special room to meet clients in. Downstairs has become so crazy and jam packed...an obvious sign that it was time to expand upstairs.

Not only are we renovating the shop, with the arrival of a newborn on the horizon, we have bought a new house which is larger than our current cottage with more land as well. Although I will be so sad to say good-bye to our little house {and the fact that I didn't really get to finish it off the way I wanted to} it just won't accommodate our needs with our growing family. The new house, which is actually a very old house and was built in 1887, is going to be a wonderful project which I will keep you all updated on as we move forward.

So, with all that is going on it was nice to spend some time pottering around the cottage this weekend. I was inspired by the vignette I posted on Friday to move a few of my things around. I purchased some orchids and clustered them on our entry table on a silver tray my mother gave me. Whilst I pottered around, Ned just couldn't help but bring lots of mud into the house on the white floors. So many people ask me how I feel about our white floors. I must say they are so hard to keep clean with a big Golden Retriever bouncing in and out of the house but I do love them and continue to put up with having to have them cleaned 3-4 times per week.

Anyway, that's it from me for now. There are a few more very exciting things in the pipeline but those things are for another day. I just thought I would bring you up-to-speed with what's been happening in my world lately.

xx

Anna

all images - anna spiro

Pretty Table Vignette

I love a good table vignette and this one by Kim Ficaro certainly ticks all the boxes for me. So pretty! Have a great weekend. See you next week.

Image - Kim Ficaro Stylist via Aubrey Road

Working On

Here's a little scheme I put together today for a client who lives in the country. She is wanting a simple, classic look. She loves blue and white and natural but wanted me to inject some colour to liven the look a little. These are the fabrics I selected for her for some new cushions, curtains, blinds, recovering of 2 chairs. Her room is all-white and she has timber floors....a perfect backdrop. We are going to use a sisal rug on the floor in the lounge area and some colourful accessories mixed with piles of books in the new built-in bookcase.

Betsy's Office

I know everybody has probably seen this but I just had to post it. I absolutely ADORE Betsy Burnham's office as featured in this month's Lonny. It is very much in tune with the look I love.