A not-so-welcome visitor

Those of you who follow me on Facebook will already know this, but my plans for today's post have been thrown into disarray by a unexpected and totally unwelcome visitor. Last week, we met for what I hoped to be the first and last time, but alas - that wasn't the case. Here in Brisbane, particularly in acreage areas like ours, snakes are an unfortunate part of life. I have a healthy respect for them, and in fact, I've saved many from drowning in our pool. We've snakes of all shapes and sizes, including one huge carpet python, but up until recently I hadn't had the pleasure of a visitor like this:

Eastern Brown Snake 

Coastal Taipan

Notice the smaller than usual pics - I didn't want to scare you too much :)

Australia boasts nine out of ten of the world's most venomous snakes, and these guys are numbers two and three on that list. From the Queensland Museum's website:

The Coastal Taipan is Australia's most dangerous land snake.
Photograph by Angus Emmott.

Danger:

This is a dangerously venomous species with strongly neurotoxic venom.  It possesses the third most toxic land snake venom known.  Many human deaths have resulted from bites by this species.  If bitten, apply first aid and seek urgent medical attention.  First aid procedure for any snakebite from the Australian Venom Research Unit.

I was on the phone to mum yesterday, when I saw our pooch Darcy (who would have to be the world's most cowardly dog, or so I thought) frantically chasing something under our barbeque.Expecting it to be nothing more than a cane toad (yuk, I know!) you can imagine my shock when one of these fellas came shooting out, with the dog in hot pursuit. I had to risk life and limb to rescue both dog and snake, and after locking the dog inside, I called the snake catcher. He proceeded to tell me that unless I knew where it went, it was no use him coming out, and all I could do was lock the dog in and keep an eye out. He also thought it would be a good idea to let the snake take cover in our laundry so that we could contain it until he arrived with a nice big carpet snake, which would apparently fix the problem. Of course, why didn't I think of that?????? 

I'm still unsure whether it was a taipan or a brown snake, but neither option is particularly appealing. My daughter called this morning to say it was back again, so the time for fun and games are over! No more Mrs Nice Guy, I'm calling in the big guns - Steve's Wildlife Warriors are my next point of call. I'll let you know how I get on, so wish me luck!

Hamptons Style Mark II

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I thought you might like a little addition to the debate. This house is another Hamptons-inspired take on Queensland living, so let's take a tour and see what you think.

realestate.com.au

Now, for those eagle-eyed readers out there (Jenny!) you've probably realised this home bears a remarkable similarity to the one I featured yesterday - and that's because they share the same designer. Yesterday's post sparked quite a debate on furnishing styles, and which, if either, best suited the house. Personally, neither style is what I'd choose, and although I absolutely love the bones of both houses, the furnishings seemed a little heavy. So, tomorrow I'll put together a post of the pieces I'd like to see in this style of home, and I'd love you to pop in, take a look, and discuss!

A big thank you to Anne from Annechovie

I'd like to send a big thank you to the lovely Anne, from one of my favourite blogs, Annechovie. Anne was kind enough to include me in her 'Artist's Portrait' series last week, and she is not only a wonderful artist, but is also a real sweetheart. Anne is an extremely talented artist, and I'm a huge fan of her work - which was featured in none other than the latest Nancy Meyers film, 'It's Complicated':

available here

yep, there's Anne's chair in the infamous bathroom scene!

and how gorgeous is her new holiday card?

Thank you Anne for the feature, and for those of you who haven't already paid Anne's blog a visit, run don't walk! (phrase completely stolen from Jenny btw). Oh, and please say hello from me :)

Hamptons style comes to Brisbane

I've had this house saved in my files for a while now, and it's a lovely example of what you get when you combine Hamptons style with traditional Queenslander architecture.

 love the outdoor living area

Now, it just so happens that this home is on the market again. The new owners' style is quite a bit different to that of the original owners:

So, what's the verdict - do you like the original decorative scheme (the original owner is an interior designer btw) or do you prefer the new owners' style? I'd love to know what you think!

Drumroll please....

And the winner of my giveaway....

'Sea Coral in Turquoise'

 (just thought I'd show you this new one!)

is...

...the lovely Liz, from Shorely Chic!

'Ming in Indigo'

Liz has a gorgeous blog called Shorely Chic, and has just become engaged! Congratulations Liz, drop me a line and I'll organise getting your new painting out to you. 

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, tweeted, posted, side bar mentioned....you're the best. And I had such a great time with this giveaway, I'm planning my next one already!

Have a great day,

Plantation Shutters - the solution to my design dilemma?

Morning stylemeisters, I have a favour to ask - I need some unbiased and honest feedback from you! I have a little dilemma that I've been mulling over for quite a while now, and I think I've come up with a solution, but you guys have so many fabulous ideas I want to run it by you first.

On the back wall of my kitchen, the previous owners have left a cutout between it and the formal living area. Take a look:

It's actually shown best in this 'stunning' before shot :) For those of you not familiar my kitchen makeover, you can pop over here and here for all the deets.

So - my dilemma is this: the cutout is great for the following reasons:

• It opens up the kitchen to the rest of the house
• Keeping an eye on the goings on of the teenagers - v.important 
• Excellent for looking over the shoulder of said teenagers while they chat on their laptops (but don't tell them) 
• Air flow and ventilation, especially in summer
• Keeping an eye on the tv while cooking dinner

The problem? Well, it does limit the options as far as separating the formal areas from the kitchen/family area, it's not great for heating in winter, as the warmth from the open fireplace is lost up into the cathedral ceilings. And from a purely aesthetic point of view, it makes the formal living room a horror to decorate! So what else is there to do when you need some inspiration but scour the net for stylish examples, and this is what I found:

courtesy Mabley Handler

Stunning right? This is the only image I've ever found of a cutout wall between the kitchen and formal living area - all the others have opened to either a dining or family room. But this ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned - the opening is now a stylish feature in itself, and doesn't detract from the design of the living room at all. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the living area is gorgeous in its own right, but you get my drift. Here are a couple of similar pics...

source unkown

and hey - Cam and Mitchell have one too! From one of the best tv shows ever, Modern Family. 

Courtesy recklessbliss.blogspot.com

via here

So - over to you, what do you think? I'm thinking I'll add bifold plantation shutters, so I have the option of closing the room off in winter, when I'd like a little separation from the formal areas, but maybe you have another solution? Or you have a photo stashed away in your files of just the thing? All suggestions will be gratefully received, so fire away!

NEW - Sea Fan in Ruby

Before I show you my latest paintings, just a reminder - if you'd like to be in the running for an original painting of your choice, make sure you enter my giveaway. But hurry - it closes midnight on Wednesday, 10th November, so hop to it! The winner will be announced on Friday, so good luck everyone :)

Ok, I've just finished a commission for a lovely client and thought I'd share them with you before I post them away to their new home. The brief was for custom-designed Sea Fan paintings in a rich red, and this is the result:

'Sea Coral in Ruby'

'Sea Fan in Ruby'

I've also been working on something very exciting, and although I can't share the details just yet, if all goes to plan I'll be giving you the scoop very soon. Fingers crossed!

Enjoy your day everyone,

Shopping for my studio...and a giveaway update

Morning all,

Firstly, I just want to clarify a few details on my big giveaway. As I'm running the giveaway alongside my 20% off sale until 21st December, I wanted to let you know that, if the winner has also bought artwork through my Etsy or MadeIt store during the giveaway period, they can either:

• Choose another painting of their choice, or
• Have the price of their original purchase refunded to them, whichever they'd prefer.

I've had a few emails asking me about this, so I'm more than happy to offer the winner whichever option they'd like. So don't forget to leave me a comment here to enter if you haven't already, but hurry, you only have until Wednesday!

Now the housekeeping is out of the way, on to some studio shopping! As I've mentioned before, I'm far from neat when I'm working in the studio. I've tried to keep things under control, believe me, but when I'm in the middle of a new painting, the place is a shambles. So I'm thinking some new furniture might help the situation (at least that's how I justify it anyway!). Two things are on my list at the moment - some vintage architect drawers, and a chalkboard. For the drawers, I was thinking something like this:

ok, not drawers, but this might have to be added to the list as well :) 

All gorgeous, right? But then I saw this:

...and I'm in love! Vintage, a little chippy, and in my fave colour to boot. Now I just need to find it...:) 

Oh, and before I forget - it just so happens that I do have a chalkboard stashed in my shed (I know you're not surprised!) so that just needs a clean up and re-paint. It's an antique school board, and came complete with the easel I use daily in my studio - you know the one:

I'll share all the pics once I manage to get it out and cleaned up. 

Enjoy your day everyone,