Job well done!

Finally the wallpaper is up and looking fabulous. And my lovely Luke got through it without any hiccups. Clever boy he is.

Loving the metallic, it reflects beautifully and gives our living room just the pretty feel I wanted. Gorgeous!!

Have a fabulous weekend! Kellie xx

Photos by Kellie Collis for Ada & Darcy

Job well done!

Finally the wallpaper is up and looking fabulous. And my lovely Luke got through it without any hiccups. Clever boy he is.Loving the metallic, it reflects beautifully and gives our living room just the pretty feel I wanted. Gorgeous!!Have a fabulous weekend! Kellie xxPhotos by Kellie Collis for Ada & Darcy

Nearly there....

Here is a quick snapshot of the wallpaper, lots more was done last night although I didn't have a chance to take any more. It looks fabulous! Kellie xx

Nearly there....

Here is a quick snapshot of the wallpaper, lots more was done last night although I didn't have a chance to take any more. It looks fabulous! Kellie xx

All the tools of the trade...

So we now have all the equipment to put up the wallpaper. Stay tuned for more before and after pictures!! Kellie xx

Photos by Kellie Collis for Ada & Darcy

All the tools of the trade...

So we now have all the equipment to put up the wallpaper. Stay tuned for more before and after pictures!! Kellie xxPhotos by Kellie Collis for Ada & Darcy

Sharing your tips with me! Please?!

Luke is getting himself organised to hang this wallpaper. I received some fabulous advice from Mel's Rose Place ; "One thing i found with the glue is that it stays wet for a LONG time so there is no rush in getting it all up quickly. Think that is where i went a bit wrong in that i tried to rush it believing that the glue was about to dry. Mine was a powder that you mixed up into a glue , like a cake mix!! I also found it was easier to trim once it was all dry and now being day 2 mine looks 100% better than it did yesterday."

This lovely advice made me realise, there are so many clever people out there, surely I can use your knowledge to help Luke along? I would love to hear from you if you have hung wallpaper, read anything about hanging wallpaper or perhaps you just have well something good or bad to say about it! Thank you from me and a BIG thank you from Luke in advance. Kellie xx

Sharing your tips with me! Please?!

Luke is getting himself organised to hang this wallpaper. I received some fabulous advice from Mel's Rose Place ; "One thing i found with the glue is that it stays wet for a LONG time so there is no rush in getting it all up quickly. Think that is where i went a bit wrong in that i tried to rush it believing that the glue was about to dry. Mine was a powder that you mixed up into a glue , like a

Pattern Inspiration - DIY Damask

For some reason, damask wasn't on my Pattern Inspiration list. That is until I saw these two fabulous DIY projects! Now I'm thinking I may have to pull another Pattern Inspiration post together in the future with more damask inspiration. Today I just wanted to highlight these two projects.

Have you seen the way Wendy at The Shabby Nest "wallpapered" her wall with this damask print wrapping paper? I absolutely love the way it turned out! See how she did it here.

Ashley at Lil Boo Blue screen printed and sewed these damask print window treatments. Here's some of what she said in her post: "I wanted drapes that were simple and elegant but also that fit our informal living style. I love how they "pool" on the floor.....adds a little drama to our everyday living space."

Didn't she do a great job? SO pretty... Complete tutorial and damask pattern here.

Hope you're having an awesome day!

Pattern Inspiration - DIY Damask

For some reason, damask wasn't on my Pattern Inspiration list. That is until I saw these two fabulous DIY projects! Now I'm thinking I may have to pull another Pattern Inspiration post together in the future with more damask inspiration. Today I just wanted to highlight these two projects.Have you seen the way Wendy at The Shabby Nest "wallpapered" her wall with this damask print wrapping paper?

Inspiration 1.21

From the home of the very talented and very lovely Lauren of Pure Style Home. P.S. that amazing faint spring green wallpaper, is not actually wallpaper. It was done with stencils. See how Lauren and her husband got the look here.

Inspiration 1.21

From the home of the very talented and very lovely Lauren of Pure Style Home. P.S. that amazing faint spring green wallpaper, is not actually wallpaper. It was done with stencils. See how Lauren and her husband got the look here.

A circus themed little boys room...

Some people despise themed rooms but I actually don't mind them. Inspired by the new range of wallpaper and rugs by designer extraordinaire Catherine Martin, introduced to me by Shannon Fricke and Home Beautiful magazine, I have become so smitten with her Circus Silhouette range I couldn't help but put a virtual inspiration board together for a proposal to my sister. My pregnant sister and her husband already have one 2 yr old son - Zach!, and we all just found out last night at a family dinner they are expecting a second son! *YAY*

Unfortunately my own son is now 11 so I doubt I could convince him to allow me to attack his room with my new found love lol. If I were to design a circus themed boys room this is how I'd do it -

Example one: I would paper one wall with either the red or the blue CM circus design and paint the remaining walls white.

Example two: Like the images, I'd paper all the walls the CM circus design and corresponding stripes design.

Example one: I would use a stripe design fabric for the window treatments such as the Alvine Smal fabric from Ikea or another along the lines of this stripes fabric from Pottery Barn kids.

Example two: I'd use a plain primary coloured fabric.

This absolutely GORGEOUS circus silhoulette design rug also by Catherine Martin to coordinate with the wallpapers, sourced through Designer Rugs would go in both example rooms.

(realestate.com)

For both example one and two the bedding would be a very similar pattern to the window coverings and I would choose perhaps a black iron or timber bed.

It's at this point I get to show off the AMAZING work of Kris Langenburg of Mystico Designs.

Kris is yet another extremely talented artist and fellow francophile who specializes in wall murals and handpainted wall hangings. I was blown away as I toured around her site at all her stunning whimsical designs and I was thrilled to see she even had a circus themed wall hanging you can have custom named. This would make such a wonderfully personal feature in my circus room. Check out her new blog as she takes us on a journey of her life, loves and work through her storybook eyes :)

For both example one and two I love this Hensvik bookcase from Ikea and I would probably attempt to paper the back with again either the circus silhouette or stripes design, however opposite colours to the walls. I would then fill it with with some must have accents such as...

A carousel...

A jack in the box...

And of course what childs circus room would be complete without Dumbo!

Finally, one last detail I thought would make a great addition would be a rocking lion as opposed to the traditional horse. I can just picture the little tacker riding away and roaring his lungs out lol.

Now as I am only a student I welcome constructive criticism. What do you all think of my virtual boys circus inspired room? Yay or Nay? lol

I am head over heels in LOVE!

Today I took myself off to my local designer curtain and upholstery store to search for fabrics and to my complete surprise and sheer delight I found out they also stock wallpaper. Now I know I'm 2 years late but I almost squealed when I discovered this breathtaking fabric & wallpaper called birdcage walk by Nina Campbell. I remember seeing the image below online through the Osbourne and Little website thanks to the wonderful Shannon Fricke :), but I couldn't imagine how stunning it actually is until I saw a large sample. The fabric is even more beautiful. I ordered some samples and I CAN'T WAIT till they arrive and I add them to my inspiration board. I absolutely HAVE to make something with this fabric, it's just too gorgeous to ignore.

Now I have a problem though. I originally wanted a subtle wallpaper to give a little pattern and texture to the wall and layer it by hanging some beautiful artwork over my bed. Now I'm so in love with this birdcage wallpaper I'm thinking about using this as my feature wall which means I will be unable to hang my artwork. I took a large sample of the paint I'm also using and it matched perfectly. Oh what to do?!

Here are some other samples I have ordered. I have a feeling the top one will be too green.

This paper is called Alyssa and it is a favourite. I just hope it comes in a duck egg colour.

I haven't ordered a sample of this one but I think it's gorgeous.



This paper is a little more on the contemporary side but I'm broadening my horizons a little lol.

(Sophia wallpaper http://www.sandersonfabrics.co.uk/acatalog/Monsoon.html)

I also had to show this image of another stunning wallpaper I found. I don't want my little girl to grow up too fast but this is the kind of pattern and colouring I would love her teenage room to look like , and it even bears her name! hehe :) I love the mix of rose pink, gold, cream and the silvery paper. So classically feminine, traditional and yet still you could encorporate some contemporary pieces.

Requesting Help...

(image from Ballard Designs)

If anyone knows of any Australian stockists of classic damask or trellis wallpaper, similar to the pic above, for purchase, I'd be forever grateful :) I've exhausted all the avenues I knew of as I am not yet working in the industry, and I can't find what I'm looking for.

I've tried Laura Ashley, Designers Guild, Anna French, and Florence Broadhurst. All of their designs are spectacular but still not quite what I'm looking for and Florence Broadhurst is just out of my league lol. I'm looking for a more subtle design yet still traditional. Two tones of pale blue and cream or silvery creams. I'm using it as a feature wall and I want to layer it with a large floral painting therefore I don't want it to be too busy and take the focus away from the art.

Perhaps I'm just being too fussy ;)

New friends :)

Bloglandia is just full of surprises everyday. I have been so fortunate to have been introduced to some incredibly beautiful blogs over the last few days and I'm so excited about them I had to spread the word.

The House That A-M built is a wonderful blog by a Queensland mum and online boutique owner who takes us on a journey as her family builds their dream home. I am proud to say I even unexpectedly offered some inspiration for this endeavour :)

Her inspiration pics and ideas are absolutely beautiful and....well....quite inspirational really lol :)

The image above came from A-M's blog, originally from a furniture store in London comically called 'And so to bed'. I am in awe of it's beauty, including the bedding. I just wish I could somehow enlarge the picture to screen size.

http://thehousethata-mbuilt.blogspot.com/

http://www.armchairtrader.com.au/index.php

(A-M's online boutique, a visual feast of girly goodness)

http://www.andsotobed.co.uk/

Lily-G is another brilliant Australian designer and I've now decided my new mentor lol :)

Again based in Queensland (All my favourite designing women and their boutiques are in QLD...I seriously need to move! lol), Judy has a wonderful wonderful french country inspired furniture and homewares store and her blog showcasing her wares as well as pics and subjects that inspire her is a place to marvel and in my case, be educated on the beautiful world of design.

After months and months of searching for the perfect wallpaper for my bedroom feature wall I found this stunning duck egg blue damask paper by Anna French at Lily-G's. Like I said, the blog world is full of surprises.

http://lily-gonline.blogspot.com/

http://www.lily-g.com.au/

(Judy's website is positively too die for, definately have a peek)

http://www.annafrench.co.uk/index.shtml

Last but not least I'm sure almost everyone from Australia would know who Shannon Fricke is due to her outstanding work as leading interior designer on the lifestyle channel.

I have only recently discovered her blog thanks to Anna Spiro and I LOVE IT!

Again perfectly inspirational and educational, Shannon posts about the latest and greatest products and ideas and definately keeps you well informed about what's new and hot in the design world.

I especially wanted to make mention of a post Shannon featured on this new up and coming childrens clothing label called Paperwings.

The extremely talented people behind this label are graduated set designers from NIDA (National Institue of Dramatic Art) and the sets these children are featured in on their website are stunning. I am smitten with the frame swing!

Unfortunately the sizing range looks to be too small for my children borderlining teenagehood so I hope they do broaden their demographic. Their website and collections are simply adorable and incredibly alluring.

http://shannonfricke.blogspot.com/

http://www.paperwings.com.au/