Sofa shopping at Dansk Vintage

This afternoon I ventured into Dansk Vintage's store room to view their fabulous range of Danish mid-century modern furniture. Jason and I saw a vintage sofa on their website that we both liked, which is a rare occurrence given our vastly different aesthetic sensibilities...my mission was to investigate further.

Wow, wow, wow! I felt like a kid in a sweet shop, surrounded by so much vintage Danish goodness!

So, the sofa in question is actually a Hans Wegner designed daybed made by Getama. It is in an unrestored state but it is still such a lovely piece of furniture. It also converts into a decent sized bed as the back rest lifts up to provide more mattress area.

The owners of Dansk Vintage are very nice people with such a wealth of knowledge of Danish design. And as you know, we like nice and knowledgeable!

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Latest op-shop finds

It's been slim pickings on the old op-shop scouring treadmill...but I have managed to find a few things which I thought were very cool and worthy of bringing into the Sow's Ear.

Like this 1960s Ellis Ceramics dish which for all the world looks like a hospital kidney tray. It is all kinds of awesome and for the past little while it has been filled with Lego body parts.

I also picked up a nice little set of Orrefors crystal candle holders at the children's school trash and treasure. I think they are called Stella. And as some of my buddies have informed me, the Sow's Ear is the place to be during a black-out with the amount of candle holders we own!

I have also been saying yes to Glomesh. Yes, yes, yes!

I am becoming someone's 93-year-old great aunt Myrtle. Sensible shoes and a Senior's Card shall be next on the agenda. Actually, I have sensible shoes, so it's just a Senior's Card that I need...Anyway, I am loving having such a sparkly coin purse to whip out of my handbag when doing the groceries.

This blingy clutch is not a Glomesh branded handbag. It is called Sterling Mesh and is made in Australia. For some reason the purse looks silver in this photograph but it is really gold. It will be getting an outing next weekend at the MAD functions and is also very discotheque-worthy!

The little Figgjo Market milk jug was found at an op-shop by my friend Melissa . She very kindly gave it to me, after I twisted her arm and made her cry...She's so lovely! It goes very nicely with my slow growing collection of this china pattern.

See it is a perfect match to the Figgjo Market teapot and plates I found at the Salvo's last year.

Have you had any good finds lately or picked up a great bargain? I'd love to hear what you've found. 

Revisiting the boys' bedroom makeover

It's been about eight months since we renovated the boys' bedroom (read here) and I thought it was timely to revisit what we did and show you how the room has fared with its two energetic occupants.

Too often one just reads the before and afters in blogs or magazines, but you never really hear how the 'afters' cope with day-to-day living. So, here is my review of what worked well and what didn't...

It would be safe to assume that there are still lots of toys which make its way under both the boys' beds. I was fooling myself to think their Lego stuff could be contained in little wicker baskets...it can't...especially with a mum like me who does not possess a 'picking-up-after-the-kids' mentality.

I just have to get on their back and tell them to move their toys to the playroom under the Sow's Ear. They don't need to bring so much into their room. It is however better than it was.

The white on white colour palette is standing up well. It is still fresh and bright and has given the room a great lift.

The white painted frames which we bought for the vintage Cuban movie prints are looking good and we are really happy with them.

The reality of our children's toys under the bed situation...

The pale wool rug in their room has been okay. It is still shedding wool after all these months which is quite a pain... The rug does adds some extra warmth to the room and stops some of those winter draughts coming through the cracks in the floorboards. One day it will be fur ball free...I hope.

rug fur balls

The block-out blinds we purchased, on the other hand, have been fantastic. They cut out the morning glare and have probably bought us an extra 15 minutes of sleep time in the morning. Those boys are such early risers! The blinds are in great condition despite the heavy-handedness of the boys.

We love a floating shelf but sadly this particular brand of floating shelves has not worked out. They do not sit flush to the wall and have a noticeable lean to them...and that was even when there was nothing on the shelves. Shelving fail! We will probably remove them and buy something that is better designed.

floating shelves in the boys room

Shelving fail when they have a severe lean to them.
The bag hooks we bought for near the bedroom door have also worked out well

All in all, the room is still a lovely space...when it is tidy. If I could find a tidy potion to feed the kids, I would...and then I'd take some myself!

Have you discovered things which don't work out after you've renovated or bought something too? Tell me all...

I Will Week

It is a little known fact that most Australian home owners do not possess a will.

Apparently there's a whopping 36 per cent of first home-owners who are walking around without a will. Yikes!

Considering our homes are one of our biggest assets, it seems reckless not to leave clear instructions for what to do with our estates after we're gone.

Who wants to rely on intestacy rules if your dodgy cousin Barry could possibly inherit the lot? It just seems like you would be leaving a lot of extra confusion and administration for your loved ones if you don't have a legally prepared will.

And scrawling a note on the back of a napkin as your will is just not going to cut it in a law court, so I've been told...

Jason and I had our wills drawn up when we bought our first home together and have updated it after each child was born to make sure that our children are provided for... if the worse should ever happen to us.

Preparing a will is something that is really easy to procrastinate about, but it's a good feeling when important things like that are organised.

Still haven't decided which one of the boys will get the mid-century furniture...

It is a relatively simple process to get a will. You can either use your family solicitor, if you have one, or contact your relevant state or public trustee who can advise your best course of action.

Have you got a will? Did you cut anyone out? And what did you leave me? Ha!

p.s This week marks I Will Week in Victoria with State Trustees encouraging Victorians to prepare their wills. If you live in Victoria, you can find out more information here.

Dinky window reveal

That dinky little window in the bathroom is now finished. I probably shouldn't keep calling it that, because it doesn't look dinky at all now it has been primed and has a couple of coats of gloss white.

Single-pane casement window with chrome casement stays and handle

It's a major improvement to what was there.

The old window which was just odd bits of louvre glass which could not open or close.

Dirty little window

Having the window custom made was a good experience for us, especially as we have mostly worked with salvaged joinery. It is so much easier fitting something new than the old stuff according to Jason. It just slotted into position, as it should.

The little window cost $135 not including the fittings. And it is another small project we can tick off our list.