Masters

Aussie retailer Woolworths has joined forces with US hardware giant Lowe's to bring us Masters.  It is a large format DIY/hardware concept to take on Bunnings.  Their second store in Australia opened in Tingalpa this morning.  My daughter goes to school just down the road, so I popped in this morning to have a look.  I have to say - it's really good.

The main things I noticed were how clean and well presented the store is.  Their visual merchandising and displays are excellent.  The staff were friendly and helpful - perhaps overly so but it was day one and the store had only been open an hour or so - let's just say they were enthusiastic!

The product range is also very good.  I felt the range was much more aimed at the home owner DIY enthusiast and was a little more 'posh' than Bunnings.  Here are some photos I snapped this morning with my phone.

Nice chair

pretty bird houses

Cute - You'd never see this at Bunnings

Garden lanterns and ornaments

More garden decor

Clever kitchen storage ideas

Canvas storage

DIY lighting range

Chandeliers

A much better selection of doors, but their range of door  and cabinet handles was a little disappointing for a romantic/vintage/French/Hamptons/Shabby girl like me.

Laura Ashley wallpaper - BIG tick of approval

A good selection of mirrors

and artwork

A row of rugs

and a good selection of carpet, tiles and timber flooring.

I loved this bath spout

and a good range of electrical including the designer range from IXL (see a bit more upmarket)

Taps galore

and even the kitchen sink

Bathroom accessories.

There were all the normal hardware things such as paint, electrical, timber mouldings and tools.  There was a kitchen design centre which was great as long as you like modern kitchens and rows of appliances such as fridges and washers.

All in all Masters appears to be very good, and if you live in Brisbane's eastern suburbs, it's definitely worth a look.

People from the US would wonder what all the fuss is about, but here in Oz, we can be a little starved for product range, so it's nice to have more choice.  Masters had no involvement with this post - that's why the photos are so bad.  I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take photos.  I just wanted to share it with you as I've been eagerly awaiting the opening.



Updating Basic Sliding Doors

Our home is a standard Henley builder's house, so there is very little architectural interest.  Upstairs next to the bathroom is a very basic and boring little linen cupboard with basic, plain sliding doors.

There's nothing wrong with them - they are just boring.  To add some interest, I cut strips of timber the same width as the doors and glued them on.  I had to use 4mm thick timber as the doors would not slide behind each other if I used thick moulding.

This looked good but it was still a little plain.  I have seen some pretty vinyl bird decals and I thought one of these might add some interest, but I couldn't find one I liked and then I remembered seeing Cottage Hill's pretty bird pie safe and I thought I could use the same idea on my linen cupboard.

So with a picture of a bird on a branch as my guide, I free hand painted a tree branch using Jo Sonia's burnt umber acrylic paint.  I only painted inside one section of the door as I wanted this to be a small feature.

Then I used mod podge to add two birds from The Graphics Fairy and some pink blossom clip art.  I chose to use the red robin graphic as the first ever follower I had on this blog (other than my mum) was Robynne from Robynne's Nest.  This way whenever I see it I think of all the friendships and inspiration that comes from reading blogs.

So my linen cupboard has gone from this

to this

At first I was worried that the birds were a bit much, but now I really like it.

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A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesdays

The Lolly Shop Party

My daughter turned 10 last week.  I thought I'd share some photos of her party.  Firstly, we set up a table with pink noodle boxes and decorations.  Each girl decorated their noddle (lolly/sweets) box.

We made flowers from crepe paper following Martha Stewart's instructions.

We also bought some craft butterflies and foam stickers. 

Once the girls had finished decorating their boxes they went on a treasure hunt outside to find gold coins. (My sister's great idea)  I found the gold coins in the party section of Choice discount shop, and my son hid them around the garden.

When all the coins were found the girls came inside to 'The Lolly Shop'  They were able to buy sweets and lollies with their coins and this became their take home party favour box.  The girls loved being able to pick and choose which lollies to buy.  I really wanted to make some paper bunting and a sign for the Lolly shop table but I just ran out of time.

All the lollies had a price on them.

The lolly bracelets and sherbets were the most popular.

We set up the table and made tissue paper pom poms to hang from the chandelier.

You can find instructions on how to make these pom poms at Martha Stewart.

We also made a rainbow cake complete with fairy floss (cotton candy) clouds.

Everybody really enjoyed the party.  It's probably one of the last girly pink parties I'll be able to give her. 

They grow up so fast.

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Shoe Shine Time

The kids went back to school this week.  The only time we seem to remember to polish the school shoes is at the beginning of term.  When we polished the shoes the other day, I decided to give the shoe shine box a quick makeover.

I bought this old wooden shoe shine box from a charity shop many years ago (like more than 15 years ago).

I like the rusty hinges.

I organised all the polish and brushes.

Then added a shoe polish graphic I found on the web.

I think it looks great.  Now I really need to polish some of my shoes.

Sharing at - Home Stories A to Z

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

My little baby girl has just turned 10.  Where does the time go?  She has grown into such a beautiful girl, even when she's being a pre-teen drama queen.

The other day I found these photos.

This is my daughter when we visited my son's kingergarten for the day.  She was about 3 years old.

This is me at my kindergarten at about the same age.

I wonder how she will grow up? 

Will she be like me? 

What experiences will be the same and what will be different? 

What will she like?

Where will life take her?

I guess only time will tell.

I am grateful for every minute we share together. 

The Guest Bedroom is Ready For Visitors

Today is very exciting for me.  My sister and her 3 children arrive in a few hours.  I can't wait to pick them up from the airport.  It's also exciting because I have finally finished painting the guest bedroom and have the room all ready for her stay.

When I started blogging in May, I set myself the task of completing the guest bedroom for my sister's visit.  I may have only finished painting yesterday, but it's done and I feel such a sense of achievement.

It's so lovely to walk into a room and appreciate how all my individual efforts have come together to produce what I think is a pretty and peaceful room.

I put some pretty white roses in the recycled vase I made.

I added a gardenia and tea-died muslin ribbon to a vintage book my mother gave me.  It's a book on Donald Bradman (famous Australian cricketer).  It still has the hand written library code sticker on the spine.

I like that I have homemade things in the room like my heart button tissue cover

and the crystal beads I added to the curtain tie-backs.

I think even my vintage Rome pictures look better on a freshly painted wall.

The colours in this cheap Target print work so well with the rest of the room.

I still love my hydrangea lampshades

and my Pottery Barn inspired valance (bed skirt)

I'm so glad I painted the French Bed head

 and bedside tables (nightstands)

and call me silly, but seeing a freshly painted ceiling fan instead of a dirty old one, makes me feel better too.

So after all this hard work, I am spending the next 7 days sitting by the pool with my sister having a quiet champagne or two, while the kids and the dog play together madly and wear themselves out.

To all my Australian friends, enjoy the September school holidays.  We only have 9 weeks of school left for the year!!!!

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