Hopscotch window installed

Jason was his regular busy-bee self on the weekend. He successfully replaced one of the casement windows in his man cave/gimp room which is located under the house. He'll be replacing the other one next weekend.

Have a looksy.

 The new but old windows on the right are salvaged windows from an old Queenslander. The single light windows on the left will be advertised for sale along with the other windows we have lying around.  

We've been changing all the single light casement windows and steadily replacing them with windows in the hopscotch style to make the Sow's Ear more consistent.  The single light windows are a consequence of previous renovations and changes to the Sow's Ear over its life. 

Most restoration purists would say that we should leave them, as it forms the fabric or story of the house...Jason likes his windows to be all the same though...at least in terms of profile style. On this side of the house we have a quirky colour combination of the original amber glass, plus windows which have green or clear glass. This is the colourful eclectic side of the house which is not visible from the street.

Anyway, it actually didn't take Jason that long to install the windows. The most time consuming part was taking out the old windows, ensuring they didn't crack.

As you can see in the image below, the new old windows are hinged. We'll add brass casement stays and handles to fasten the windows shut after they are completely painted.

Planing  the casement windows slightly to make them fit.
Jason is sporting his winter work clothes... on a chilly-for-sub-tropical-Brisbane day.

I'll show you the final result when it's all done and dusted.

Indesign Brisbane style

I had my design hit for 2012 with Brisbane Indesign yesterday. It's an event held every few years to showcase and celebrate good design whether it be products, interiors, architecture or creative arts.

This is the third time I've been to Brisbane Indesign and I use the event as research for our renovation. Although Internet research is quick and convenient, nothing can beat seeing products in real life, particularly if you want to purchase the big ticket items.

The event is also free, with shuttle buses taking you from one location to the next. I left Jason at home with the kids and tagged along with some of my design junkie friends - a design tour group of 10!

Our first stop was the Ilve showroom in Coorparoo for breakfast. This is one of the places to go if you want to get serious about your kitchen appliances. From ovens to dishwashers to inbuilt coffee machines. I could wax lyrical about this place because we are very happy Ilve oven owners...

My friend Susan enjoying the lovely breakfast in the ilve showroom.

From there we took the shuttle bus into the Valley to hit the other places on our itinerary. We spent the rest of the day visiting displays at Living Edge, Coco Republic, Innerspace, Argent, Milano Furniture and Space Furniture...amongst other designer type places.  It was a lot of fun, especially as most of the stores had hospitality catered for Brisbane Indesign visitors. It was bubbles and hors d'oeuvres central in the Valley yesterday!

I hadn't seen a real Eames Hang-it-all up close.
The round timber balls have a smooth matte finish. This is at Living Edge

There was a vending machine at Living Edge which dispensed propaganda badges for the Authentic Design Alliance which champions original design. I got a badge which said "Keep it Real".

The line of the day goes to our friend Kelvie who on dispensing her badge said, "Great! I'll display it on my fake Noguchi coffee table. Mahahahaha!" She has no shame.

A lighting installation at Living Edge

Re-issued Featherston Contour chairs found at innerspace
Our friend Chris who has a number of originals said that these are more compact than his.
He also said the footstool is not as nice as the original.

The retro range of SMEG appliances found in the Coco Republic space. This is the dishwasher.
Completely adorable in real life. I would be so tempted to buy something like this if we were ever to do another kitchen.

Mr and Mrs Kelly. I was so happy to see these letterboxes at Eco. I'm still sold on Mrs Kelly, I'm waiting until we have the spare cash to splurge on this whimsy....

We had the most fabulous day sightseeing the very best of what Brisbane has to offer in terms of design. Apparently there will be an Indesign Saturday in Melbourne sometime in August. If you are looking for some design inspiration or even just some information for your interior design, it's a fun way to do it in one big hit.

Car trouble... encore!

Yep. The Peugeot is giving poor old Jason grief again.

The familiar screen of death flashed up on Jason's dashboard this afternoon.

"Engine fault. Repair needed."

And then the Peugeot shuddered and conked out on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf Street in the City. This is the third warranty repair and it doesn't include a factory recall when he first purchased the car.

I feel a double cab ute could be on the cards for our next vehicle. The Peugeot's days are numbered.

So I dedicate this Peugeot song to Jason. Seriously hilarious. I suspect it will be Jason's theme song. Click here.

(many thanks to Nick at Stop the 70s! for tipping me off about this audio clip)

Bedroom side of the house

There's still so much painting to do on the Sow's Ear. It's ridiculous. We think we are Dulux's best domestic customer in Australia because we just finished another 15 litre drum of exterior gloss this weekend.

Jason spent a few hours on Saturday and Sunday painting the new weatherboards on the bedroom side of the little pigster.

Jason painting the window sills.
(You know that there's a chill in the air when Jason's wearing a shirt.)

Jason has big plans to change the single-pane casement windows that are in his gimp room under the house (windows on the left in the image above). He wants to swap them for windows in the hopscotch profile to make it consistent to the rest of the Sow's Ear. We already have the windows from when we bought a stash of windows from our mate Will (you can read here about it here).

Jason must've been feeling super-energetic because he also painted the joists on the underside of the bay window. If we stood still enough, I reckon Jason would paint me and the kids too.

Painted joists under the bay window. You can also see one of the original hopscotch windows of the Sow's Ear here

And this last shot is for the hard-core Jason fans. There's the faintest hint of man flesh there for huge fans like the lovely F from The White House. No need to thank me...

Look at the painting stance and technique...
This is Jason's new-work-around-the-house uniform.
My Mum kept my brother's old shirts from when he was a teenager in the 80s and often gives Jason first dibs. Ha!

  

Orange blanket

It's getting quite chilly in Brisbane as winter approaches. This usually means another wool blanket on the bed.

I found this orange blanket at the local op-shop. I bought it purely for it's 'orangeiness' and also in honour of the 2012 Pantone colour of the year: Tangerine Tango. 

Some would be appalled at buying second-hand bedding (ie Jason), but I try not to use my imagination when it comes to such things. I focus on the benefits of sleeping with wool. A wash and an airing does wonders too.

I bought a new wool blanket a couple of years ago from Target and it is not as well-made as this old blanket. The weave is looser and the quality is inferior when compared with the old one. 

So, the op-shop one is a winner - cheap as chips and in a colour that suits my aesthetic.

Vintage orange blanket
As you can see, I fail in ironing pillow slips...

Orange blanket