Understatement

I just love that understated architectural style that was mid century design in the sixties.  Detail and decoration were nestled in a distinct coma, in between curvy lines in the fifties, and seventies look-at-me chic.   Sixties buildings can look a bit nothing and shabby now, but when you see a good solid example you just know it needs to be appreciated.   This house is also good example.

I'm still trying to find out the date of this school sports pavilion, but I'm guessing it was mid sixties.  I just love its cool pale materials and elegant lines.    Hey, this is the second post I've written about sport-associated buildings.  That's weird.  But they are interesting, because they are often buildings that are not heavily invested in, so it is interesting to see how 'cheap' structures were designed in years gone by. 

On a sunny winter afternoon, even I could be convinced to sit here through a rugby game.

If this ever gets demolished god forbid, I'm first in line for the clock.

Perfectly positioned to face East away from the afternoon sun.

I'd say that sign is original, love that font.

Back int the days when your station meant something, a prime parking spot.  The old sign writing, I wonder why the newer plaques were removed?

There was a lot of this.

That bench sure ain't going anywhere.  

That's Glassy

Ho hum.  Ever feel a bit like that?   I find a spot of op-shopping always perks me up and restores my will to leave the house, so off I set. Yesterday I got me to Anglicare with a mission, to find a nice big glass vessel of some sort to make a table centrepiece incorporating candles, shells and sand.  Again, not original, but a lovely afternoon spent at the beach chilling in the winter sun on Sunday inspired me.

My mother has a ceramic 'vase' like this which she uses to display flowers like camellias that don't have stems.  It was three bucks, fits the bill and I love it already.  Tick.

But wait, what is this I spy?

A lovely set of six tumblers.

I need more glasses like a hole in the head.

Sixties, seventies?

Fifty cents each, how could I not?!



















They are lovely and fine, which tumblers are often not.

One even has the label still affixed.  I'll bet they were stowed in a glass fronted cabinet and kept for best for the best part of forty years.

I was curious to know about 'Panzerglas - Made in Spain'...

I was expecting to find a glass factory, but no, results delivered pictures of glass used in German WWII Panzer Tanks.  WTF?   Panzerglas make industrial strength, indeed bulletproof glass.  To this day.  I did find one site that looks like a kind of Spanish eBay which has similar glasses to mine for sale.  But they don't look very bulletproof.

Sometimes a peripheral pleasure in collecting old domestic junk can be found by delving into its provenance.  Gives my op-shopping therapy a bit more meaning anyway, which is good enough for me.

Bits and Pieces

Some strange blog gremlin deleted this post which I was positive I posted.  So tedious rewriting, but rewrite I must.

When we dug up the back yard to build the garage studio, I collected up all the old china and glass that surfaced.  Such was the common practice, to bury your rubbish in the garden in times gone by.  I was going to plug some of into the concrete floor when it was poured, but somehow it did not feel like the right thing to do.  So I thought I'd create something to hang on the wall instead.

This is what I started off with.  The hardest thing was working out how to get it all to stick hard enough to be hung and not slide off.  

A good half hour cruising the adhesives isle of the hardware shop and I came home with a tube of silicone.  Which worked a treat.

I'd love to say this was all my original creative genius at work but alas, I shamelessly pilfered the idea from this wonderful exhibition I went to a few weeks back, with beautiful artworks all around the theme of flowers, using a huge range of materials.  Here is the link to the project, Fingers and Petals.  Aren't they stunning.

I think it came together pretty well.

Some friends dropped in for a cuppa and tried to press upon me some of their own broken crockery, but I politely declined.  All elements MUST be sourced from our little plot.  It is a bit like keeping a record of  the DNA of our home.

I had this box frame for another abandoned art project (what, you mean you don't have any of those?) which is perfect for it.

Easyjet Orange

I'm on a bit of an orange jag at the moment.  I think my mother-in-law nailed it when she arrived from England and took one look at our new rubber orange flooring in the studio and deemed it to be a particular shade, being 'Easyjet Orange'.   I know where she is coming from, but I'm not sure if this suggestion is entirely complimentary.

We are now at the fun part of the build (trust me, there's been a lot of non-fun bits) which is decorating, accessoring etc.  I saw this ash try in my local second hand shop yesterday and had to have it.  

Not that I know anyone who smokes any more, but it just looks so right on the coffee table.  

I almost feel compelled to spark up a St Moritz to give it some purpose.   Or maybe I'll just find a little pot plant to place within.

As you can see we've really grabbed the orange horns with our new studio and invested fairly heavily in this hue.  

Not least of all with the rubber flooring in the kitchen area.

The electrician made us replace the rubber coil on this vintage Thorn light fitting before he would install it.  When we went to order said coil, what do you know, it comes in a range of colours, including orange.

I think it is now time to show a red light to the orange.  As much as I love it, you can have too much of a good thing.   Remind me of that, next time some classic 70's plasticware in easyjet orange crosses my path.

Going Native

If you've been following my blog you will know we are now completing the build on our garage/studio.  I'm yet to post pics of the whole thing as there are still some finishing off jobs to do.  But in the meantime, the garden.

When I say garden, I'm talking about the two strips of dirt on the laneway at the rear and side.  Er, when I say dirt, I mean the muddle of builder's rubble, concrete and sand.  But rest assured, weeds will grow anywhere at this time of year, even in that unforgiving earth so something had to be done.   Having lived with reticulation to water the verges in our last house, and having spent every other weekend repairing it, for this place we vowed NO MORE RETIC and are totally wed to the idea of natives and succulents that can survive our harsh Perth climate without regular water.

There is a wonderful organisation called APACE not far from me who provide native tubestock at a fantastic price for ratepayers, to encourage the planting of indigenous native plants that don't require precious water and will survive the most gormless of gardeners.   I selected a bunch of stuff that I've seen growing in sand dunes, so it should survive our lane way.    Saltbush, grasses, that sort of thing.

Do you like the pole?  Supposed to stop lorries knocking the corners off fences.  It belongs to the Council I believe, but we decided it would look better painted like a packet of lifesavers.   I did concede and get a trailer load of decent soil to get it all going.  But I must say I do wince at paying for dirt, call me tight.

This is the other laneway side.  My plants look pretty puny at the moment, but I'm confident that they will grow fast and fill the lane with beautiful native shrubs, requiring no watering and stopping the weeds.

I'll put some succulent ground cover I've got out the front in soon too that I am propagating myself.  Ooh I do love a  cutting.















And as some inspiration, look at this beautiful succulent garden tucked away on a University campus nearby.  So sculptural, so drought tolerant.  It's growing in sand dear Watson.

But best of all was the sense of excitement planting all these and thinking about how it will all look in 12 months, which must surely be one of the best of many great things about gardening, that sense of looking forward to the future and wonder of nature doing its thing.   I just need to work on my patience now.

Retro Corner, or three

The lovely Lucy Violet Vintage and her posse have come up with the brilliant idea of getting people to post a pic of their favourite vintage home corner.    

After nearly three years of spending  most of our time in a sloping enclosed verandah, are we soon to be demolishing the back, and extending the original cottage.   So I thought I'd put in this corner, or rather three corners (clever huh) of the shotgun shack's dining room.  I say dining room, it is more a gap between the kitchen and bathroom.   We had some fun putting up random art to make it a bit interesting. 

Some days, but with decreasing frequency now, I feel sad to think that this space will soon cease to exist.  I do know that I will miss our original kitchen wallpaper you can see reflected.   What I won't miss, which if you look closely at the top of the dresser you can see,  is that the floor slopes at a good 10 degree angle.   Happy days.

Borderline

We decided we needed a quick fix solution to some seating down in the new garage/chill out lounge.  Have haemorrhaged money for the past six months, 'budget' was the theme of the day when we went out looking.   There is a great Vinnies depot tucked away in an industrial area that I often pop into, so headed there, where we found this three piece suite.  It is in brilliant condition, teak, solid as with lovely mid century lines.  However someone in their wisdom decided to recover it not that long ago in this fairly ghastly fabric.  Which is a shame, and I did dither somewhat over it - can I look past the fabric? It was one of those borderline decisions.  But do you know what, for $90 for the lot, I reckon I can.   At least it is nice and clean.

If there was a 'most comfortable chair' parade, this would win hands down.

See, I told you it was ugly.

 We bought it home on top of the car and it is now our favourite new spot to hang.  I can't tell you how comfortable those chairs are, I park myself in one of those to watch the sunset and completely forget about all my chores.  Dinner did you say?