by Catherine on February 20, 2013
I realised that I haven’t done any home decor posts since moving back to The Spring Cottage so I thought it high time to let you all see how things have been shaping up. We’ve scrounged a couple of lovely new old things for the summer room (yes, there’s a winter room too, and there’ll be more on that later!) which I’m particularly keen to show you round. I’ve had a run of good antique-centre-luck in coming up with the vintage polka-dot enamel jug and scored an old hospital I.V. stand from the tip that I’ve re-purposed into a reading lamp. However the real coup de grace is the coffee table made from the beautiful wooden trunk Mr. Spring’s great grandfather built to carry his tools to a job on the railway. I designed the simple base and had it custom welded and then attached it with a few small screws for stability. I don’t mean to take too much of the credit, but I’ve never had a piece of furniture that made me quite so happy every time I see it.
by Catherine on September 25, 2012
Finding bargain basement decorating solutions for tiny apartments with crumbly plaster walls that you don’t dare pierce with a nail for fear of losing your security deposit… that can be tough. Enter my latest Ikea hack. Using a wall shelf and two table legs I’ve fashioned the perfect console table for setting framed pictures, a reading lamp and flowers (plus the tv remote and empty mugs of tea… not pictured). Beyond the console’s functionality I’m really happy with how it’s added visual interest to the big unadorned white wall behind the couch. I still feel like when you hang pictures on the wall, that’s when a house becomes your own home… but for now, having a place to lean up my favourite prints will do just nicely.
by Catherine on May 30, 2012
Although our fireplace isn’t working, it’s still my favourite feature of our apartment and the decorative heart of our home. It’s an area with no purpose other than to be pretty, and I kind of love that about it. A good mantle piece vignette is an exercise in editing – my favourite way to style mine right now is clean and fresh with just few favourite framed artworks, casual cut flowers in vintage bottles, (I’m crazy about giving and receiving a bunch a sweetpeas as a hostess gift), some bushy greenery on the side for softness, and enough candles to make the whole space glow when the sun goes down.
by Catherine on April 10, 2012
I’ve had a couple requests for more photos of our bijoux apartment so I thought I’d share a little peek at the entryway… and by entryway I do mean the corner gap between the door and couch. To keep a small space uncluttered every piece of furniture has to do double (at least) duty. Take, for example, the Ikea step-ladder. Sure, we use it to reach the high places, but it’s also a plant stand, side table, tea trolley, and the place by the door from which carefully set keys, phones, and wallets (almost) never go missing. It also looks cool next to my wellies which, incidentally, make fantastic umbrella stands.
by Catherine on March 14, 2012
Yesterday I woke up to the sound of skype ringing. It was my oldest, bestest friend calling from London to say she’s getting married. My face still hurts from smiling! We were 10 when we vowed to be each other’s bridesmaids, and 26 when we promised to definitely let the other pick her own dress. She’ll wear purple, I’ll be in black. And I will be there, in London, in October. No matter what.
For those of you who don’t know, in the real world I’m a PhD student with a thesis that just isn’t finishing itself. I write about the role of Caribbean intellectuals in bringing about meaningful cultural and material independence in the decades since decolonisation, and I promise you it’s a fascinating subject! I loved travelling in the region, researching, and being part of a community of really smart students in graduate school. What I’m not so great at is sitting in a room by myself, month after month, quietly writing away. Blogging has been a way to reach out from this solitude and find my feet in my first year in Australia, but now it’s time to reassess. Just a little bit. When I return to England in October, I desperately want to have a completed doctoral thesis in hand. It feels like now it’s do or die. And the only way t’s all going to work out is if I slow down now and focus. I love writing The Spring too much to abandon it, but I will be cutting down the frequency of my posts to three times a week. I want to thank my regular readers for their loyalty and support. I’ll still be all over twitter, facebook, and my tumblr… so I’ll be seeing you here… and there!
by Catherine on March 6, 2012
What a difference some hessian and a hot glue gun makes! Necessity (and a well and truly blown furniture budget) being the mother of invention, I made these patio seats by gluing burlap covers taught around ‘found’ milk crates and topping them with simple cream cushions. I’m thrilled with the tailored-yet-rustic effect (and lets be honest, there was a some risk that the combination of hessian and milk crates would not come out looking chic) plus they’ve turned out to be super versatile. These cubes are pulling a lot of design weight around our places as side tables, footstools in front of the couch and as extra chairs around the large dining table. But mostly they’re out on the little sun-trap of our balcony set around the bistro table brought from the Spring Cottage garden. Which is exactly where the new baby herbs and I are hoping my notorious black thumb has been left behind.
by Catherine on February 7, 2012
This week I learned that seven nights (or one, for that matter) of sleeping on bunk-beds in a King’s Cross backpackers to keep interstate moving costs down is always a better idea in your head that in it’s feral lived reality. But today the plan to find our new home has finally borne sweet fruit… an apartment with period features. So welcome to the first photo of the first thing in our new city pad! It’s a sliced crystal tealight holder from Sydney designer Fleur Wood‘s boutique, and it feels like pretty much the most well deserved house-warming gift ever.
by Catherine on January 11, 2012
Christmas morning at The Spring Cottage could easily have been mistaken for a kitchen tea, except for all the snowman themed wrapping paper scattered about. I was thrilled that Santa stuck so faithfully to my wishlist, because in the past few years cooking has become one of my favourite creative outlets. I think what I love about cooking – besides the very obvious pleasurable comfort of eating nice food – is the practical sense of satisfaction that comes from making something decent to lay on the table. Plus hungry people are so appreciative, and who doesn’t love a little lauding now and then? A well equipped kitchen makes it all so much easier, and I wouldn’t want to contemplate life between the fridge and stove without my food processor, mezza luna, small coil wisk, oil bottle with slow-pour spout, and a set of simple kitchen scales to take all the guesswork and conversions out of baking. Which utensils couldn’t you do without?
by Catherine on December 9, 2011
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at The Spring Cottage! We haven’t tackled the tree or lights yet, but the kitchen has been transformed into a baking haven where wooden spoons, jars of flour and sugar, pretty cake tins and cookie cutters both decorate and inspire. For me, home-made treats that comfort and delight are what this time of year is all about. I think sharing what I’ve baked from recipes collected over the years is such a lovely way to spread love to family and friends while connecting with the traditions of Christmases past. Moreover, in the many chaotic moments this season is destined to throw up, my festive kitchen always feels like the perfect island of calm, ever-ready to yield up another batch of pure, sweet bliss.
Which sweet treats make it feel like Christmas to you? Now that I’ve bought these cookie cutters (for $4 at the kitchen store in my Brisbane Holiday Shopping Guide, I need biscuit recipes to try them out on – so please pass on your favourites!
by Catherine on September 30, 2011
This week’s vacation from university teaching meant five straight days at home working on the thesis. Uninterrupted stretches in the Cottage are great for writing and give me time for things I’ve been meaning to do, like craft projects, catching up with Breaking Bad while organising papers in our new {used} periwinkle filing cabinet, and popping out to the market for the freshest ingredients for lovely suppers. It’s been nice, but also a little isolating (I suspect writing a thesis is bit like having a new born!) and I’m sooo ready for our weekend excursions and getting back to a slightly more hectic schedule next week.
