Our office space/studio apartment reveal.

For the last 5 months or so we have been working on building a studio apartment/office space on top of our detached garage at the front of our home.

During all of the changes that have happened in the first 6 months of 2020 with the bushfires, floods and COVID 19 this has been our constant. It has been great in a way to have a project to focus on in uncertain times. Simon was front and centre and did a lot of the design and construction himself.

We also employed a lot of friends and utilised their trades and skills which made it a pleasant and smooth process. It was nice to have familiar faces on the job.

We wanted to utilise the space (about 58 square mtrs) to maximise every possible inch and corner.

We wanted to fit in an entry way, laundry space, bathroom, kitchen, office and living area and lots of storage. We wanted it to feel light and airy and a nice place to be.

Spiral staircases helped us get to the next levels with only a small amount of space taken up. 

White walls, floors and minimal furnishings with a neutral palette kept the space feeling bright and spacious. 

We added hints of brass, rattan and plants to bring in colour, texture and add interest.

For the forseeable future it will be our Real Estate's office space and eventually it will be a space for our boy's when they want to move out. At the moment the boy's are enjoying using the space for study (Finn has his HSC this year) after hours. 

Now that we have the t.v, wifi and Foxtel hooked up I can imagine they will love it as a place to hang out and catch up with friends as well!

I've popped up a few photos of the interiors and details below. I will do a bigger post on the whole build once we complete the landscaping at the front of the house.

The Entry Way

We kept the slab downstairs and painted it with Dulux Luxafloor in Vivid White.

This is what we did with the floors in our house so we knew it would look great and be low maintenance.

We made the console table to fit the space and hung the kombi artwork to identify it as an office space. The citrine crystal signifies wealth and prosperity, the apples add freshness and a pop of colour and the forever flowers were made from bits n pieces from Barefoot Gypsy Homewares and Feathers.

Spiral Staircase - Spiralworks

Lounge Area

Upstairs we kept the palette neutral and calming. The use of white paint, floors and furnishings really opens up the space and creates an airy feel. Plants were a must!

I've tried to keep the space very simple and pared back.

Again we signified the room as a work space with the surfboard with The Beaches Real Estate on it.

An old surfboard painted white with craft letters stuck on. It's hung on the wall with 3M picture strips. The company logo is repeated on the t.v with the kombi.

Walls - Dulux Vivid White - Wash n Wear

Floors - 130mm cypress pine painted in 2 x coats of Feast Watson proof seal and 5 x coats of Feast Watson flooring paint in white.

Mirror - West Elm

Sofa - Ikea

Coffee Table - Freedom

Rug - Miss Amara Loves

Floor Lamp - Beacon Lighting

Side Table - Hope and May

Fiddle Leaf - Foley's Nursery

Pot - Bunnings

We wanted lots of storage for office supplies and eventually when someone lives in the space.

We replicated what we have in our home with a wall of storage and shelves.

I styled these with home and interior books and bits n bobs in the same tones. 

Again plants were used for colour and life. I love a trailing plant on a shelf!

Bookcases - Billy Bookcases - IKEA. 

We also used the IKEA Oxberg doors and extender pieces. 

We had our carpenter build them in with a kickboard and pelmet to finish them off nicely.

Decorating items were a mix from Target, Adairs, Kmart and Typo.

The desk space fit nicely in the corner and the rattan cupboard holds the printer, paper and other office supplies.

Table - IKEA

Chairs - Temple and Webster

Rug - Miss Amara Loves

Cabinet - Freedom

Cushions - Target

Kitchen

For the kitchen we chose a Kaboodle kitchen carcass, doors and kickboards from Bunnings.

We chose the Alpine profile in Macaroon.

The kitchen is about 5 metres long. At the moment we have kept it simple with just a sink and fridge space.  The other appliances will be added at a later date once it is utilised as a living space.

Sink - Hardware + General - A Blanco undermount sink

Tap - Phoenix tap in brushed gold

Cupboard handles - IKEA

Bench top - Quantum Quartz in Michaelangelo - Set in Stone, Brookvale

Shutters - Plantation Shutters - I Seek Blinds

Forever flowers - a mix from Feathers + Barefoot Gypsy Homewares

Vase - Adairs

Kombi - Riot Art Shop

Rainbow - Target

Coffee machine - Breville Oracle Touch

Bathroom

Glass shower screens to come...

Tiles - 600 x 600 - Beaumont Tiles

Toilet - Hardware + General - Parisi in wall toilet

Tapware/Shower head - Phoenix

Vanity - Hardware + General - Marquis

Other items throughout the space...

LED downlights

Daikin ducted reverse cycle air conditioning

Windows - Bradnam Signature Series. Double Glazed

Frameless Glass balustrade - Hardware + General

Below is a peek of the exterior in progress. 

I will share more of the build in another post once the exterior and landscaping is complete.

I hope that answers any questions you have regarding the interior of our studio apartment and office space. Thank you for following along!

I've kept some videos of the finished space on my Instagram under my saved stories.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like answered x

House Tour - Lauren Conrad's California Home

I loved these photos of Lauren Conrad's California home. 

It looks light and airy filled with cool furniture and pretty touches. I especially love the flowers, books + crystal vignettes around the place. All of my favourite things! 

The house is gorgeous and styled beautifully but also feels warm and lived in. 

How amazing is her glass bottle collection?!

I've popped a few photos down below but pop over here to read all the details........

What do you think? Is it your style?

I could move in tomorrow! So many things I love about it!

All photos via My Domaine

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My favourite 'Pins' this week.

I always love a quick browse on Pinterest and thought I'd share with you some of my favourite pins this week.....

How beautiful is this cake?!

 I love the restraint in the decorating, the kids and I just usually use sprinkles over the top of ours ;)

My love of typography is going nowhere, I still swoon over a huge gallery wall like this one.

With Spring here my mind is turning to the outdoors and sprucing up the garden. Love this look.

How cool are these rainbow ice blocks? They look super healthy too!

I love the simplicity of this nursery. All calm, neutral and oh so cute.

As the boys get older it is hard to have the control over how their rooms look as toys and their own style come into play. Oh well it was nice while it lasted ;)

Cheers! I love finding inspiration for photos and documenting an occasion in a different way. 

Love this one.

I'm always on the look out for new salad ideas. 

This roasted cauliflower, potato, lemon and dill salad looks delicious.

I'm wanting to give our lounge room a bit of a shake up. 

Do you ever get the urge to change everything around once a new season arrives? I've been looking for a new rug for the longest time but just haven't found "the one" yet.

Love the layered rugs in this photo.

Plants, plants and more plants. 

I'd love to have them everywhere but I do try to be a little practical ;)

Do you love a good "pin" session? What's your favourite category to pin?

I always pin recipes I know I'll never make but it's comforting to have them there, just in case! ;)

Our Outdoor Space - Plants, Festoon Lighting + Outdoor Furniture

As summer comes to an end I thought I would show you the space where we spent most of our days and entertained when family and friends came over.

Just before summer started we decided to put a bit of effort into our indoor space and give it a bit of a spruce up for the warmer months ahead.  We were influenced by restaurants The Grounds and Coogee Pavilion with their cool and inviting outdoor spaces. To get the same feel we knew we needed plants (lots of them) and festoon lighting.

We have had our outdoor furniture for about 5 years now (maybe more!) and although it was an investment at the time it has really paid for itself with it's comfort and durability. It is the Bubble Club range from Kartell and is made from a molded plastic and is easily cleaned and can handle being out in all the elements. The only thing missing from the range was a large coffee table so Simon made our one himself. We love the size of the table as there is plenty of room for platters and drinks when entertaining.

We've loved the look of festoon lighting for years but had never found the right set at the right price. We decided to create our own festoon lighting and bought the bulbs, festoon lamp holders and black heavy duty garden lighting cable from Bunnings. This was great as we could space it out to our own specifications and get the correct length needed for the space.  It was attached to the roof by stainless steel hooks at either end, which allowed the cable to drape as we zig zagged it across the under side of the roof. We terminated it to a switch inside the house which was a little technical so best to get an electrician in to do this. The number of bulbs makes the light output very bright so we installed a commercial grade dimmer to control the lighting depending on the time of night and occasion.

Next step was to fill the space with plants but still keep it practical. We wanted to still be able to move around the area easily and there still be free space for the boys to play and the dog to roam.

For the roof we decided on a mixture of hanging plants which we purchased from a local nursery. We knew we wanted different greens, a variety of textures and plants that would spill over their pots and create a lush feel. We made sure we spoke to someone at the nursery and described their position and how much sun each plant would get as we wanted to make sure we got the right ones. All hanging pots and chains were from Bunnings. We made sure they had an enclosed drainage system so they wouldn't spill over once they were watered. The pots were hung from the roof using stainless steel eyelets, making sure they went directly into the timber batons in the roof to ensure they could hold the weight of the pots. They can get quite heavy once the soil and the plants are in. We also wanted them sturdy so they wouldn't get blown down in heavy wind. 6 months on and we haven't had any problems with them.

On the ground we grouped different pots of palms and succulents and placed a pot of ivy on the bench as we wanted it to drape down to the ground. We rotated the ivy weekly to get an even growth.

All the black pots were a Bunnings find. So great to be able to get everything in one place!

The outdoor mat is marine carpet also from Bunnings. We chose this material as it is hardy, can handle the rain or a quick hose down and we also could choose the size we needed.

We water the plants every second day in summer and will stretch it out to once a week once it cools down. All of the plants are flourishing and looking so healthy. It is our own tropical oasis!

I purchased the outdoor cushions from Target. The material is great and handles the weather well.

The whole outdoor area is hosed down weekly and everything is built to handle the water and be wiped down. It's very low maintenance which is what we were after. Also as our grass is artificial we really have no other garden that has to be taken care of!

We have really loved having this space as an extra room and it was great to give it a refresh and make it an inviting place to relax and hang out with family and friends.

Do you have an outdoor space at home you love? Or are you ready to do a bit of a refresh?

I'd love to hear your plans!

Teen Bedroom - Finn's Room Makeover + Pallet Bed

We made over Finn's bedroom in the holidays. We wanted to give it a freshen and a more mature vibe. We wanted to give him a bigger bed (as he was outgrowing his single bed ) and also incorporate a comfy space to chill out. 

The layout of the room stayed the same as his shelving and skateboard racks are bolted to the walls and I didn't want to have to remove them. Also his desk fits well underneath the window.

I had seen lots of pallet beds on IG and Pinterest and loved the relaxed look of them. It was also a low cost option instead of having to buy a new bed frame. We just had to buy a double mattress.

I've shown how we decided on the size and readied the pallets at the bottom of the post.

I found so many amazing pieces for his room at such great prices. Kmart was a treasure trove!

I am also using bits of our linen in his room as our queen size quilt covers sit well. 

I've listed below the suppliers and items I've used.

Here is how his room looks now.......

How we assembled his bed.......

We bought 4 old pallets for $50 from a local building materials recycler. 

Due to our space constraint we wanted to leave enough room for a double mattress and about 40cm around the edges to use as a little side table/ledge. 

Simon cut approximately a third off 2 of the pallets (these went closest to the wall) this gave us the dimensions we wanted.  He then used the pressure hose to clean them. They were then given a light sand to get rid of any splinters and rough edges. I'm the ideas girl, Simon is the handyman ;)

We were just using up some white paint we had left over from other projects. We used 2 coats of Taubmans Endure low sheen in white. We found a paint brush was better than a roller as it worked the paint into the grooves in the timber. We weren't overly precious with the application as I knew the texture and imperfections would add to the overall look. We started to run out of paint so decided to skip the middle bit that the mattress would be covering!

A new mattress was purchased and then the fun bit began........ the styling!

It really was a team effort as Finn had quite strong ideas on how he wanted his room to look.  

We're all really happy with the result!

Jasper loved it so much he now wants his own single bed version. We'll see........

Did you do any room makeovers over the holidays? What is it about the start of the year that makes you want to change things around?

Suppliers List

(Note - I bought all of the products myself. None gifted or sponsored. Just things I truly loved)

Pallets - $50 from a local supplier

Lamp - Kmart

Plants - Palm from Bunnings, Fern from a local nursery, Fakes from Kmart and Freedom

Rug - Kmart

Side table - Kmart

Desk - Officeworks

Peace sign - Typo

Skateboard racks - Ebay

Wooden surboard (Alaia)- Simon shaped it himself from Paulownia wood

Tall white lockers - Kmart

Bookcases - Ikea

Roam Free banner - Pony Rider

Baskets - Freedom

Quilt cover - Kip and Co 

Throw and Cushions - Adairs