Ottoman Mania

When the boys are away, the girls like to play.... arts and crafts! Steve was away on a sailing trip this weekend so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to hunt down that coffee table/telephone table I have been searching for to turn into an ottoman for the end of our bed. And I was successful!

I hit up a Salvos store I hadn't been to before in Red Hill that was great. It had a huge selection of second hand furniture, chairs, dining room settings and hiding in the back was this perfect little coffee table.

And for a whole $10 how could I say no! I'd seen on Pinterest a couple of ideas on what I wanted the end product to look like, maybe this or a little something like this? So I went in search of some supplies:

1) Material
2) Paint
3) Glue
4) Tacks
5) Tuft Buttons
6) Foam

Now the first 5 items were easy enough to source. I hit up Spotlight for material and buttons, the local hardware store for paint, glue and tacks but the foam was a little harder to come by.

So many to choose from!

I narrowed it down to two!

Sadly Spotlight only sold foam in pre-cut cushion size sections. After a little googling I found Clark Rubber not only supplied a range of foam but actually cut it into any size you want! Huzzah!

I had initially picked a black enamel paint but when I got everything home, the wooden frame actually matched perfectly with our bedside tables so I decided all I needed was a little sanding and a re-stain. Fortunately I also had some left over stain at home, so no need to hit up the shops again.

Because I wanted to add tufted buttons I needed to learn how to use the electric drill. After a quick tutorial by David, my mum's partner, I was able to make four holes in the top of the table, and another matching four in the foam.

I had to glue the foam down to the table top before I could begin tacking down the material. Now that was the trickier part. I had ended up picking the black and white stripped material so I needed to ensure that ended up being straight, while pulling it taut. Thankfully by the time I was up to this step, Steve had returned from his weekend on the water. Four hands are better than two!

To get neat corners it was as easy as wrapping a present 

Adding the tufted buttons was a little tricky as I had to thread a needle through the material, foam and wood and fasten it to a washer at the back. After a weekend learning to sail I left the knot tying to Steve!

While he was on a roll I got him to re-fasten the base

So after a couple of hours the project was done and I'm so happy with the result! Not just functional, but oh so pretty too! And all up it cost under $50!

Pintastic!

With barely 10 days until Steve and I reach our first $10K saving milestone, I've been finding myself getting more and more excited about owning our first renovator home. And thanks to the wonderful invention of Pinterest I can spend almost all day dreaming and designing. I've been slowly adding to my Future House pin board with bits and pieces from bathroom inspiration, to home decor accessories even my dream of having a hidden bookshelf entrance into a study. I'm hoping that by the time we have the keys to our new home I'll have honed in on our style and the types of rooms we want to create. And maybe, just maybe, my dreams will become reality.


I love the timber underneath the kithen island



I really like the grey and yellow colour scheme



I love the colour of the walls

Loving the grey, large sqaure tiles in bathrooms

I would love to create this outdoor space. Incredible before and after pic!



I love the use of brick and I think it's a workable design for a small kitchen

DIY home research

So over the weekend Steve and I embarked on our first bit of DIY home research by visiting the HIA Renovation and Build Expo at the Convention Centre. A giant room filled with just about everything you need to consider when renovating.

There were kitchens and bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, outdoor areas and just about everything in between. Choices of timber, marble, tiles, concrete, polished concrete and endless possibilities for tools.

As much as it was about getting ideas about our future home, it was about getting a clearer idea of what each other wanted to see in our future house.

We grabbed more than our fair share of brochures and business cards and will now house them in a shoe box until well- will have a house to house them in!

Blog Debut

"Write what you know"- well after changing careers 9 months ago and 'throwing' away my career as a television reporter, these days I'm not too sure what I know. But at 25 call it a quarter-life crisis, I'm more determined than ever to figure out what I want and why. 

I've moved back home with my mother and carted my incredibly patient boyfriend with me in the hopes of saving money and buying a house. We've given ourselves 12 months to save like crazy people, with an exit strategy at Christmas after 8 months if the plan doesn't go- well, according to plan. 

We want to buy our first house together- a massive step for a moral minded me who knows too well what can happen if things go pear shaped without a pear-shape cut diamond as security. We're aiming to buy a renovator- DIY with a touch of TLC- within 10kms of the CBD- to flip within 5 years to buy another, and then another. 

And with that in mind- I've been feverishly researching and investigation locations, reading up on all the hot places and how to renovate to make a profit in the hopes when we're ready in 12 months I'll be a renovating genius. 

I'll share my thoughts, plans, dreams and projects along the way- and maybe, just maybe you'll learn a thing or two as well.