Casement Windows Hopscotch Style

Doors and windows are an expensive yet necessary part of any renovation.

Down the track we plan to replace the windows in the master bedroom where we have a bay window. The windows we have currently are clear single-pane timber casement windows. They are the only windows on the left-hand side of the house which do not match the hopscotch profile that is consistent throughout.

No doubt they were a later addition when modifications were done to that room some years ago.

Yesterday afternoon, while it was raining I picked up the classified section of the newspaper to browse for retro furniture (as you do) and stumbled upon the "building materials for sale" column. I never really look in that section but I thought I'd see what was on offer in terms of casement windows.

Bingo! Right quantity, right size, right profile and when Jason called, they were still available.

A boot load of timber casement windows

The couple selling the windows were modernising their Queenslander...and the windows were no longer required. (I shudder when I hear modernise and Queenslander uttered in the same breath, which is ironic really since I have modernist leanings....)

To purchase 10 new custom built casements for our bedroom, we had a conservative estimate of $3,500. For a very tiny fraction of that, we are now in the window replacement business.

The windows are in good condition. The glass pattern is not a perfect match but we are not that concerned because our bay window is not original to the house anyway. It will give us more privacy than the clear glass we have at the moment and in the long run, it will be more sympathetic to the house.

Jason will sand and re-paint the windows before he fits them into our bedroom - it won't happen overnight, but it will happen. It's always good to have a project.

Jason's work never ends

Anodised saucer bullet planter

The anodised saucer shaped planter arrived early this week. I've been looking for an atomic shaped one like this for simply ages. This type is very hard to find in reasonable undinted condition and particularly for the paltry sum of $5.00.

Happiness is an unexpected bargain.

The pot which is a soft under-stated metallic green sits snugly on a black plastic coated metallic tripod stand.

Planters, jarnidieres and bullet planters are like the holy grail in my second-hand shopping endeavours. They are just so expensive, usually, and they are never quite right. My new find is a crowning moment.

image courtesy of mid century modernist

I ideally wanted something like the bullet planter but they don't seem to be available in Australia. These bullet planters are made of a fibre-glass construction and come in a variety of colours. They are very cute but also expensive if you include cartage to the Antipodes.

Now that I've got my anodised version, I think I like it better. It is so quintessentially Australian - just about everyone knew somebody whose groovy parent's had the anodised saucer living on the back patio (my parents weren't groovy).

image courtesy calyx flower

The big question is what should I plant in it? I spoke to my hard-core modernist friend, Susan, and she said a Spider plant (chlorophytum comosum) is the way to go because it would suit the saucer shape of the pot and it's a very hardy indoor plant.

What do you think? Or should I plant something else?

David Trubridge Coral Pendant Light

It is here. I have in my possession the pendant light which will soon hang in our lounge room.

I was able to buy the 600 mm Coral Light kitset when I was in the Valley yesterday. For an extra $50 you can have it fully assembled but I'm cheap and Jason is handy, so that wasn't an option. The instruction sheet said it would take approximately 40 to 60 minutes to build.

Sixty bamboo plywood pieces to be attached with rivets in a repeating pattern.

Holy Mother of Impossible Jigsaw Puzzles! Thankfully, Jason has a spatial brain and can read instructions.

Keeping up our liquids was an essential element of the assembly process.

It is such a simple concept which makes this good design  - why couldn't I have been blessed with such ingenuity? David Trubridge is a New Zealand designer who uses only natural materials in his designs to leave behind a more delicate footprint. The Coral design was released in 2004.

Anyway, the instructions lied. It took well over an hour for us to assemble the Coral Light...but, nonetheless a moment to be truly proud. Now we need to call the electrician to wire it in.

I'll keep you posted.

New pot

child and adult butterfly chair with new pot in the front entry

I re-potted my sansevieria (mother-in-law's tongue plant) on the weekend. I bought a glazed pot which has a retro lava feel from Katherine at theoldboathouse (thanks Katherine!). It will now keep company with mother and baby butterfly chair.

Katherine said she didn't think it was vintage, but it certainly has the right mid century look which I was after. It's hard to find this type of planter. Everything is either too darned square or pretty. Where has all the ugly pottery gone?

glazed pottery planter

I also scored a lime green anodised planter on a black metal tripod stand. It is on its way to me from bustling Bundaberg (four hours north of Brisbane). I'm unsure about its condition but my expectations are always kept low and I like the odd surprise...

Secret Austen tragic

I made my very first Etsy purchase. Purely on a whim. Sadly, it is pretty tame - a tea towel. But it makes me laugh.

And if I had a well-read daughter getting married, I would buy her this:

Too funny and it is all from here.

*Images courtesy of Brookish