The February Giveaway

It is the first day of February & time for the monthly giveaway. 

I am super excited about this one!!!!!!

I mentioned back in November 2010 that I was lusting over a Gold bowl that was featured in Lonny magazine, you are very lucky as I have one bowl to give away to a Black Velvet Chair follower.

The beautiful bowl is white and copper and is made of paper mache, it comes from Etsy seller etco and measures 3 1/2 inches wide & 1 3/4 inches tall, this would make a perfect catch for your rings or jewelry.

(Note: not designed to hold food or liquid)

How to enter the giveaway

1. Be a follower of Black velvet chair.

2. Leave a Comment on this post - Tell me where you would put this bowl or what you would put in it?

As usual the winner will be calculated by random.org.

Entry is open to all Black Velvet Chair followers- I will post worldwide.

Entries close and the winner will be announced midday Friday the 18th February 2011.

My very first art purchase

As soon as I saw this stunning painting on my blog roll I knew it had to be mine, for those of you who read Sketch 42 you might remember seeing this painting? Well someone named "Samantha" snatched it up within a few hours.....That was me!!!!

So last Friday I was full of giddy happiness when the DHL man dropped off a large flat box to my office. On a side note- next time the construction crew ask to see your new painting don't show them- I had men asking if I would like to buy their children's artwork. Ummmm OK your child's painting is great but it does not compare to this piece of art.

The real test was on Sunday when hubby returned from a trip away, I was nervous what would he think as he always tells the truth.... Consensus? He loves it "Great colours, good choice hun" (what can I say my man knows good style).

I have placed it in the dining room & coordinated a few bits and pieces on the sideboard to compliment the colours, I feel so lucky that I get to gaze at it when I am in the kitchen as it makes me feel so happy.

I am thinking of a thin silver metal frame to compliment the silver bottom of the Eiffel tower chairs- what do you think?. 

Via Nicole Cohens- Etsy store here

I am now pondering what the *stylish* men in the construction crew have on their walls at home?

DIY- Pom pom dandelions

After seeing this image from countryliving via Lauren Lane Decor I was smitten with the idea and had to give it a go myself!

I got creative with a ball of wool (I used crimped wool) a pom pom maker, plastic flower stem and craft glue. The pom pom maker was $2.95 from Spotlight and was surprisingly easy to use, you cut a long length of wool (1-2m) and wrap it around the outside (through the middle) until it is totally covered. You then use a sharp pair of scissors and cut the wool around the outside and tie it off with another piece of wool. I will make some more pom poms and post pictures if my gibberish explanation has confused you more?.

This is what I came up with (looks a little rustic as I used crimped wool).

Dreaming of Louis chairs- Josh & Louis

Loving these Louis chairs By designers Josh & Louis... so fresh and modern with the super glossy paintwork and nail head trim. If there was any more room at our house I know two of the black and white checkerboard collection chairs would be coming home with me... or maybe a Marais yellow, or Miss snow white?.

 
Or - a budget friendly version by Ezibuy for $199.95 Here

Of - This zebra print Louis armchair on ebay (currently $299) Here

Our house- The handbag and shoe wardrobe

After a successful trip to Ikea last Thursday night (with mum) I ended up spending all day Sunday on the floor with a drill and hammer putting together the billy bookcase to house/ display my pretties.

I feel strange about posting about my closet as it is very personal - I am a bit of a shoe and handbag freak (as most Lady's are) so I suppose there is no shame in posting?.....

I think Fendi vanity's are the best looking handbag ever made!. A little bit about these babies - the white clutch was used on our wedding day & the dusty pink clutch my sister and I both have (I gave one to her as a maid of honour gift- one of the bonuses of only having a MOH- you get to spoil her!).

 Best purchase ever- Vintage Dior from Ebay

 

This is the Ikea bookcase "Billy" (In white). I found it super easy to assemble & it was only $208.

Cheap customised photo albums

I created these with some cheap $7 photo albums from the dollar store.....Beautiful black and white covered  photo albums - I think they are good enough to display on the dining room buffet- for the time being anyway (Yes - I am soooo 1990's I still use a CD player & like to develop all of my photos).

Here is a little guide to how they were made.
Step 1: Lay material out & cut to size (about 2cm bigger than album/ 1 inch). Use craft glue to stick the edges & cover the album.

 Step 2: Cut coloured card to size (I used black) to cover the inside of the album (craft glue again).

Step 3: Insert the massive pile of photos into the pockets.

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend.

Inspired by this space...The Ivy bar Sydney

I love the fresh and modern decor of the The Ivy bar here in Sydney, it is full of modern colourfull decor inspiration from the velvet and bamboo chairs to the mirrors, lamps and greenery. 

Check out the chairs in the photo above (coloured versions of my very own black velvet chairs).

Ivy bar

Our dining room & the new chairs

After posting last month and declaring my love for the Eames chair and a cowhide rug I was smitten. My beautiful mother in law was obliging and took the old chairs off our hands - thus giving me the green light to go ahead and order 4 replica Eames Eiffel tower chairs.

If you have not tried out these chairs you must - they are by far the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in - please take a seat in our dining room:

They are way less bulky than the previous chairs and suits our small space well.

Here is the shocking "before and after". 

The "before" photo is another from 5 years ago....*eeepppp I suppose it shows how far we have come. Hubby hung the lampshade as a surprise when I was on vacation with my parents - yes it was upside down & very difficult to clean.

I used sheers for the room to let the light in, I had a track made to suit the length of the room, I hung the track in front of the cornice and used pre-made/ gathered top sheers from spotlight (the type you can purchase by the m). Hubby and I have gradually painted all of the walls in our house Dulux plain white.

PS: I just purchased a very special painting that will hopefully be placed in this room, if you follow her very popular blog you might know what painting I am talking about?....it should arrive from America soon.

Getting organised...Take away menus

Working long hours means we order take away a little more than we would like, the third drawer (you know the one) has been stuffed to the brim with menus - prominent placing given to Thai and Pizza.

Over the weekend I decided to tackle the disheveled drawer and file the menu's. I took inspiration from hotel compendiums that usually feature a few of the areas take away menu's.

I visited my local stationary supply store and picked up the following:

• 1 x white pearliest snake skin binder
• 20 x clear plastic sleeves
• 1 x pack of white stickers. 

File the menu's into categories - ours consisted of Thai, Mexican, Italian,Chinese, Indian, Other (Customise to suit your taste). Open the menu's and place individually into plastic sleeves so you can see both sides of the menu. I used stickers folded in 1/2 and stuck to the plastic sleeve of the first menu of each food categories. I then used my best messy handwriting on each sticker, it would look nicer if I had a label maker (wow that would be organised if I had a label maker).

Happy with how it turned out - a little bit of organisation when we are hungry for late night Thai food.

In the photos you might be able to spot our new dining room chairs.... inspired by my previous post  Eames chair and a cowhide rug (I will post dining room photos soon).

Ahhhhh - the mess before: