Max Turns 2

Our entire weekend has been about our beautiful baby boy's 2nd Birthday.  Lots of cake, lots of lollies, lots of balloons and lots of fun.  Thanks for the fab train cake mum.  You're the best.

xx
Anna

More Pics

Here are a few more pictures of my wallpaper's in-situ at Black & Spiro.  Hope you're not getting too bored of seeing these pictures!!  If you live in Willoughby NSW and want to see some of my wallpapers, the Porters store there has just installed a beautiful window display around my new collection!!  Very exciting!

xx

Anna

Round & Round The Garden

Here's another ad which shows my favourite wallpaper design Round & Round the Garden.  This ad hasn't yet been published in any magazine so this is a big sneak peek!!  You might also notice the lovely weiss bar painting by Pip Boydell hanging on the wall.  Pip painted us a few pieces especially for the photo shoot a few weeks back.

This design is available in blue and white and taupe and white and here it is in our bedroom display at Black & Spiro in the blue and white colourway.

The pattern was inspired by my days as a little girl running around mum's pretty garden beds in our old family home which I posted a picture of last week.

Talking about flowers look at these beautiful fresh Chrysanthemum's we had for sale at Black & Spiro yesterday for mother's day.  They actually remind me very much of the flowers my mum used to grow in her garden all those years ago.

Hope Everyone had a wonderful, happy Mother's Day.

xx

Anna



For all enquiries on our wallpaper contact us at Black & Spiro or any Porters Paints showroom.

First Ad Out

So excited to see the very first ad for my wallpaper collection with Porters Paints in Real Living magazine this month which has just hit the shelves today.  Also, if you are heading to Designex in the next few days then you will be able to see the entire range of my wallpapers at the Porters Paints stand.  Over the next couple of days I will post some more pictures of the fabulous ads which will start to appear in other magazines over the coming months.

xx

Anna

Mantra

I love this quote.  I live by this quote.  This is my mantra.
xx
Anna

via - pretty stuff

New at Black & Spiro

This beautiful blue and white dinner set stops me in my tracks when I see it because my grandmother has had this as her dinner set for ever.  I have eaten off this pretty blue and white pattern since I was a very little girl at family dinners, lunches and the like.  So what better reason than to sell this in my store.  We now stock this range at Black & Spiro so if you are in need of a pretty dinner set or tea set or even just a bowl or a jug then this classic, timeless pattern could be perfect.  Could even be a good idea for a mother's day gift!!xx

Here's a note from English Novelist and Playright, JB Priestley about the collection;

"Out of original Victorian buildings, the clay is moulded, shaped and decorated to produce works of art...cups and saucers and plates and teapots rush like magic out of the clay.  May the ovens never grow cold, may Stoke-on-Trent, the pottery town, still continue to be the heart of British craftmanship."

xx
Anna

Memories

Today, on one of my long, soul-cleansing walks, I walked past our old family home and snapped this picture of it.  I believe it was here at this lovely old house that I began to learn everything I know today about creating a beautiful home. 

I remember endless days spent as a young girl playing in mum's pretty cottage garden which was at the back of the house.  She grew sweat peas, daisies, roses and all sorts of beautiful flowering things in that magical garden.  Much to my mother's dismay, I would often set up a flower stall right there on the front footpath with my friend from next door.  We would do a roaring trade selling mum's flowers.  These days I can hardly believe that I would have done such a thing. 

The house hasn't really changed since we lived there, even the colour is the same.  Every time I drive or walk past it I am flooded with happy memories of those wonderful, carefree days.

I am thrilled to say that my wallpaper collection for Porters Paints, which we are launching at Black & Spiro in a couple of weeks time, was inspired by my days playing in the garden as a little girl at this lovely old house.  I feel so lucky to have lived in such a pretty house with that wonderful garden.  I know that my time there has inspired so many thing in my life. 

xx
Anna

This & That

I have been spotting these pretty flowering trees all-over Brisbane these past few weeks.  Thanks to a couple of my Instagram followers I now know that this pretty tree is called Rose of Sharon or Yesterday Today & Tomorrow as it apparently changes colour over a number of days.  I will definitely be planting one of these beauties at home as I just love them!  I snapped this photo as I was leaving a client's house in Clayfield earlier this week. 

Today was install day at a charming old house in Coorparoo which we have been working on since January.  We re-wallpapered all of the formal rooms in the house including the main bedroom and we recovered upholstery and installed new curtains, lampshades, cushions, bed heads and bedspreads.  It turned out so beautifully and so true to it's heritage which is exactly how B wanted it.  {PS - Thanks Pete - you always do such a fab job!!}

It's always such a relief when a big install like this one goes to plan.  Phew, I can sleep tonight!

xx
Anna

Happy Weekend



I'm hoping it's cool enough this weekend to light our first fire for the season.  I'm imagining cups of homemade tomato soup with toast and maybe some toasted marshmallows for H&M.  Fingers crossed!  Happy Weekend!

xx

Anna

image - via a well traveled woman via note to sarah

Lovely Morning

What a beautiful morning it is!  So cool and so fresh.  As I walked down the hallway into the back of the store this morning the girls had opened up all the windows.  It was so pretty seeing the sun streaming in and so fresh feeling the cool air filling the rooms instead of the awful humid air we've been used to these past few months!!

xx

Anna

Home Again

With all of my energy and thoughts being put into work these past few months, our house seems to have gone to rack-and-ruin.  I can't stand it when my home isn't in order.  It really gets to me because my home is my heaven-on-earth and when it's a mess, I'm a mess.  Today's Anzac Day public holiday gave me the perfect opportunity to spend some time getting the house in order and what better way to celebrate a fresh, tidy house than a bunch of flowers which I bought at our local supermarket.   I feel so much better because our house is looking like home again.

xx
Anna

Favourite Corner

I think this corner is my favourite little spot in the shop at the moment.  The vivid green and white floral patterned curtains sit so beautifully on my blue and white Higgledy Piggledy Stripe wallpaper.  I can't tell you how versatile this little wallpaper is and it tends to shine even more when it is layered on top with pictures and paintings and bits and bobs.

xx

Anna

PS - The wallpaper collection is launching in a few weeks time.  Sampling can be seen at all Porters Paints outlets and also at Black & Spiro from mid-May.  Orders can be placed through us at Black & Spiro or through Porters or through Designers Australia-wide.  For international and remote customers, the sampling will be available to order online at Porter's website and also orders can be placed online through Porter's as well.  The website is - http://www.porterspaints.com/

Pink Garden Wall



How could you not love Bougainvillia?  Look at this amazing pink wall against the white timber house in the background?  So vibrant and pretty!!

image via - miss flower wall

Open

I'm thrilled to let you know that our back rooms at Black & Spiro re-opened late this afternoon with our new display of beautiful things.  All of the walls have been wallpapered in 3 of my new wallpaper designs for Porters and if you want to be one of the first to seem them then make sure you pop into the shop. 

We've had wonderful feedback so far and I can't wait to show you all through our new rooms.  They are truly beautiful and probably the most spectacular spaces we have ever created at the store!!

xx
Anna

Much Ado About Blue

I grew up surrounded by blue and white and not just a bit here and there.  I am the daughter of a serious blue and white addict.  She has it everywhere. 

When I was in my early twenties I vowed and declared I wouldn't do the blue and white thing like my mother.  I tried to escape it because I wanted to have my own thing.  I wanted to be me, not my mother.  But there seems to be this innate sense which I can't seem to escape.  No matter which way I turn I seem to include a little bit of blue and white.  It's almost like I feel instantly at home when I see it. But I do like to think that I do blue and white differently to my mother.  She's more of a classic blue and white girl whereas I tend to be more this and that and a bit of something else thrown in. 

Over the weekend I photographed this little collection of things which were sitting on my mother's dressing table.  That old blue and white picture frame which houses a photo of my Harry as a baby has been sitting on tables in her house my entire life.  And yet it's only now that I want to sneak it into my handbag whilst she's not looking!! 

Here are a few other blue and white things which caught my eye this week...

Whilst out and about the other day I came across this beautiful pair of antique blue and white garden stools.  I can't begin to tell you how divine they are but unfortunately they are completely out of my price range.

I also stumbled upon this beautiful Antique stool with it's old cornflower coloured upholstery.  I wouldn't change a thing about this beautiful thing.  It would slip into my house with it's age worn style so perfectly!!

And look at this fabulous set of blue and white vintage canisters which we currently have at Black & Spiro.  A perfect complement to any blue and white addicts kitchen!

Inky blue and white batik notebooks and ginger jar also at Black & Spiro.

Blue & white quilts just arrived in last week from our New York buying trip earlier in the year.

And last but certainly not least, these very beautiful hand-painted blue and white lamp bases are too beautiful for words and pictures.  You must come and see them...that's if you can beat my mother to them!!xx

xx
Anna

This & That

If you've been following me on Instagram then you will have seen these pictures before but if not, I thought I'd post them here on the blog.  Over the past few weeks we've been redecorating Black & Spiro.  If you've dropped into the store you may have noticed our new additions. 

Today our fabulous old Library table arrived.  We' are just waiting on the new handles to be delivered for the drawers....nothing happens on cue or as planned does it!!  They have been held up...what's new!!  In the background you might just be able to see a little snippet of the new cabinetry we've had installed which is now filled to the brim with lots of new bits and pieces and also some very special vintage one-off items as well.

These new hobnail candles in navy, pink, sea foam and cream are definitely a new favourite and let me tell you, they smell amazing!!!!!

And this rug which I am standing on with my leopards is to-die-for. 

Next week we will be shooting the photos for the sample book and advertising of my new wallpaper collection for Porters at the store.  And next Friday we will be re-opening our back rooms which we have completely redecorated with my new wallpaper collection.  If you would like to be one of the first to see the wallpaper insitu then make sure you drop in next Friday.  Our official launch party won't be until early May so you will get to see the papers before they are properly launched!!  You are in for a treat...I promise. 

Also, I have a little announcement to make about the online store.  After much deliberation, I have decided to put the online store on hold for the time being.  I am working on a number of large decorating projects and with running our bricks and mortar store, looking after my clients, launching my wallpaper range for Porters, working on another very exciting thing which I am unfortunately unable to announce at this stage and being a mother and wife, I just can't do it all and as a result something has to go.  Please don't be upset or cranky.  I will bring it back in some way, shape or form but for the moment it is just too much.  I am not wonder woman and I just need to remove something otherwise I will end up a complete mental case!!xx

I will make sure that I continue to post lots of fabulous images of new things at Black & Spiro here on the blog and please if you see anything at all which you would like pricing on then just call us or email us - info@blackandspiro.com.au.  

If you are in Brisbane though, do drop into the store as we have a bit of a new look and lots of fabulous new things to inspire and excite.

xx
Anna

Bits & Bobs



Just a few bits and bobs to delight and inspire.
xx
Anna


image 1 - via pinterest, image 2 - via moodboard blog, image 3 - charles mellersh via charlotte minty blog, image 4 - via habitiually chic, image 5 - via habitually chic

My Little Adventure

I will admit that I am a scaredy-cat.  I have never broken a bone which is an obvious sign that I don't take many risks.  I worry about things and I usually sit, wait, ponder and think about every single for and against before I embark upon anything.  Some would say that it's good to be well-informed before making a decision or embarking on an adventure.  Others would say stop procrastinating and JUST DO IT. 

Well, this year I have been trying to do more things which I am scared of without too much thought and procrastination.  One such off-the-cuff adventure I embarked upon over the weekend was walking from our cottage at Point Lookout all the way along Flinders Beach to my parent's cottage at Amity Point.  This may not be such a big thing for some but I have always thought it was such a long distance and yesterday without any thought what-so-ever I did it. 

It took me just under 2 hours of fast-paced walking {with a couple of climbs up the head-height sandbank because of the high tide} and let me tell you it was fabulous.  It was such a beautiful day and I loved every single minute of it.  I can't wait to do it again and actually I think I will walk back again next time.

It really is amazing how great you feel when you do JUST DO IT.  I didn't think I would make it and  in the past I always said to myself that it is too far.  But in actual fact it's not too far at all.  It was just that I kept on making excuses.

My little adventure is proof that you can do anything if you just get out of your safe place and take the first step!! 

xx
Anna 

PS - This was not meant to sound like an ad for NIKE!!  I just wanted to share this positive story with you for the start of the working week!!xx

image - via pretty stuff tumblr

Lazy Days

It's hard to believe it's Easter already.  Where did those months go?  I'm certainly looking forward to a few days filled with rest, chatter, cuddles, walks, lounging, easter egg hunting, reading and sleeping.  With the weather starting to change it will be our last chance to catch some warm days at the beach.  I can't wait.

Happy Easter.  See you soon.

xx
Anna

image 1 - deborah needleman's home via gardendesign.com via stylecourt, image 2 - irene suchoki photographer

A Neutral Breeze

Mum's things on her fireplace mantel @ Straddie.

Happy Ned having the best time on the beach.

Not another person on the beach.  Just me & Ned...pure bliss.

Neutral chair, ethnic cushion, antique mirror and natural rug @ Black & Spiro

There seems to be a neutral breeze in the air for me at the moment.  Maybe it's because there is just so much colour happening out there and I usually prefer to move against the current.  Not sure but it seems as though a dash of neutral is like a breath of fresh air for me right now.  Note, I said a 'dash of neutral'.  Don't worry I won't be going all beige but I really am enjoying a mix of neutral with colour. 

On the weekend I went to my parent's beach cottage which sits on the most beautiful, quiet beach at Straddie and it was a perfect breath of fresh air for me.  I can't believe that Ned and I were the only people {well Ned is a dog not a person} on the beach on Sunday morning.  We walked for over an hour and we didn't pass 1 person except for the man in his surf ski.  It was quite extraordinary and just so refreshing.  It's amazing what a bit of fresh sea air and time on your own can do for your head and soul!!  It definitely gets rid of the cobwebs. 

xx
Anna