There is definitely hope for my 1970s home...

Be still my (wonky) beating heart. If this home can go from this (above) to this (below) I can do it, too. May just need a spare million...but it's possible. Enjoy the pics...

Curtains almost decided on...

We are such the slow-pokes when it comes to making decisions. Any decisions. Not necessarily life decisions, but definitely purchasing decisions. What colour paint for the exterior? Do we render or not? Do we rip out front garden or not? What colour do we paint the boys' rooms?

I have decided on white paint for the boys rooms as they are only a medium size room - the walls will be a lovely Dulux antique white and I am thinking of a slightly paler shade for the ceilings and the huge window that dominates one wall in each room. I have been toying with ideas for window covers - Roman, blinds, curtains blah blah. But I really like the idea of ceiling to floor sheer curtains across the entire wall and then a pale blind (to match the external brick colour) for night. I have finally come across sheers I love. They are by Spacecraft and they are called the Amsterdam curtain. I think they are part of an entire series - linen etc - but I am just going with the large 240cm drop sheers at the moment. Can't wait! So relieved to finally find something that a) impresses me b) makes me think constantly about it and c) gets me all excited. I was sick of looking at curtains and blinds :)

Patterns in our front garden

A large part of rejuvenating our 1970s house is freshening up the front without losing the 70s aesthetic. We are slowly putting all of the jigsaw pieces together - fencing, paving etc. But what to do with our front garden?

We didn't want to do the rock and grass garden so popular at the moment. I adore design - lots of structure and symmetry. While Googling garden design I came across the magnificent Red Sand Garden at the Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Victoria. The photo took my breath away.

I knew I had to know what those gorgeous little 'pods' were - so I called the Gardens today and were told they were a native everlasting daisy - the Dargan Hill Monarch.



I had decided by garden design would be only green with red highlights - but I am willing to consider this lovely yellow flower. I want lines of them in the front garden.



Apart from stripping the front garden and working on garden design we had our first family Monopoly night last night. Star Wars monopoly, of course. Lots of yummy milky Sago, hot drinks, laughter and serious teaching of Monopoly rules later...the six-year-old won. Yes, he won. Beat us...with a little bit of help...:). It was such a wonderful weekend - after being sick so long I really am stopping to smell the roses. I love life. I adore my family. I love days filled with delicious family time. I am so very thankful for it all...

Stonehenge vegetable patch

We have been moving and shaking our front and backyards and a side courtyard over recent months - we're renovating the inside as well as the outside! As you know we always try and be as sustainable as possible - reuse and recycle is our personal motto. What faces most people with an early 70s house is usually faux volcanic rocks - huge in the 70s, oh so not liked in 2009 :). What to do with so many of these? Give them away? Well, yes, we could. Or we could create a line of large vegetable patches at the rear of our back yard and reuse them in a meaningful way. The above shot was taken today (gorgeous day) - lots progressed after the shot, but we basically have one patch ready to fill with yummy compost, soil and mulch...two more coming tomorrow, hopefully.

At the front of our backyard is my all time favourite tree. A gorgeous magnolia. Every year I take photos of her when she blooms. The one below was taken today...I hope you like her :)

Floor to ceiling window coverings...

We're renovating. Very slowly. Very. Slowly. I am taking my time making some choices and some hard decisions and J is taking his time doing it all. Mine in brain drain his is muscle strain. Oh well. Boys rooms shall be neautral colourway with one wall (which has their main windows) completely covered with floor to ceiling curtains. Windows shall have a neutral blind for night privacy. Very romantic to me - to boys? Not that wall - but hopefully the other walls and fab open wardrobes will be!

Sigh...I want atomic light fixtures

We have basically decided to renovate with a 50s ethic in mind - even though it's a 70s home. So we doing the boys rooms and adding a little zing here and there. Floor to ceiling curtains. Seriously thinking of overhauling wardrobe cavity and covering those walls with wall to ceiling curtains, too. Or a blind, for effect, like I found in a 50s mag today. And I want atomic glass light fixtures. I do. Like what's on the fabric pictures. Atomic pendants. Ohhhh...sublime.

Modernist design - 50s and now

When you have a 70s house and you're looking for ideas to renovate and improve most people would turn to modern homes and the usual display homes. We haven't done that. For lots of reasons - mostly, because we like quirky or unusual design.


I am starting to think if you like the gorgeous old 50s homes and their modernist outlook then perhaps the natual leaning is the clean style of upmarket architecture of today. I say upmarket as these homes have obviously taken a dollar or so so to design and build - but I would think you could do something like these on a smaller 'budget' scale.

I love clean lines. I love modernist - not modern - but modernist. Clean, basic...almost emotionless. I love the photo below - the house is just so of the element, isn't it? I also love the one above - basic colourway, different materials (well, for me, anyway) and the basic design of yard/pool and abode.

One side of me thinks so the normal and reno our house with affordable tools and affordable materials etc...and then the other half says no! - break out to unusual ground and do something you can afford, but something that's quirky, eye-catching and simple.

Problem is - can you make a kitsch 70s double brick house something you'll never forget?

All of these images are from Steven Holl's website. Take a look and prepare to have your breath sucked right out of you.