Ideas For Decorating The Entrance Wall

My house has a small entrance wall as you walk in the front door that really needs to be decorated and I've been putting it off as I wasn't sure what to do with it

This is the wall in question

If you turn right you walk into the Living Room

If you turn left you head down the Hallway

On the back of the entrance wall is my shoe and linen cupboards that I have wallpapered

So I was trawling through Pinterest (where else!) looking for ideas on how to decorate and I want it to make a statement when you walk in but to still blend with the other areas .... so here's what I've come up with

I was thinking about adding some metal wall art to the wall something with copper tones to match the art in the Living Room

Otherwise I was thinking of painting stripes on the wall as I absolutely love stripes to the point of being obsessed, but yet I haven't painted any yet (I have a lot of striped clothes though!). But I'm worried stripes will clash with the pretty patterned wallpaper around the corner and the bright colours in the Living Room

So then I had the brainiac idea of doing both - I could paint just one thick stripe to set off some wall art. It won't be as in your face when you walk in as a complete wall of all stripes might be and small wall art would make a statement without being dominating as you walk in the front door

I really like the thick stripe idea and would most likely use the same paint as I used on the media wall which is a deep charcoal grey

That way I'm getting my stripe obsession taken care of in one big thick go!

How is your entrance wall decorated?
Is it painted? Does it have art?

I'd love to hear about it!


[First 5 house images my own 
All other images via my Pinterest and can be found here  Metal art 1 and Metal art 2  - Multi stripe 1 and Multi stripe 2 - Stripe wall 1 and Stripe wall 2]

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Book Club: The Garden Of Eden By Ernest Hemingway

My July Book Club read was The Garden Of Eden By Ernest Hemingway

Our book club like to mix up the old classic books and new modern books so it was refreshing to have this book to read by the renowned writer Ernest Hemingway

This book is about a happily married couple on their honeymoon and the wife turns into a bit of a nutter and invites another woman into their lives. It is as disturbing as it sounds and you know it is going to end badly. Three is always a crowd!

I found the writing in this book very description and other times very vague, I never felt a connection with any of the characters as I didn't feel they gave enough away about themselves to get to know them.

I have read Hemingways The Old Man And The Sea in High School and know he is a brilliant writer but this book? I'm sorry it's a shocker! I dare say this one may never have made it to print if Hemingway was alive at the time it was published - this book was put together from his notes, cut down dramatically, and published some years after his death.

I would recommend this book to Hemingway lovers to see the other side of his writing style. I give this book 2 stars.

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read 


[Image via Booktopia]

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The Liebster Blog Award Goes To ...

I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by the sweet Allie of This Yellow House (formerly called The Inspired Momma) thanks so much Allie! While we share a love of home design and DIY, Allie also juggles a young family and has identical twin boys!

Liebster is German for "dearest." The purpose of the Liebster Award is to help "newbie" blogs with less that 200 followers get noticed with a sort of sweet "Shout Out" of attention, and likewise, a sort of "Pay It Forward" is included, to help other blogs get due notice and attention.

How it works:

To receive the award, the following is in order:

(1)Make a Post about your win putting the award button in your post.

(2)Link back to (& follow)the blogger who nominated you the award.

(3)Pick five blogs with less than 200 followers that you feel deserving of the Liebster Award, and leave them a comment on their blog to let them know you've nominated them.

(4) Tell the 5 blogs you've chosen to 'Pay It Forward' and 'Share some Blog Love' by following the instructions for 5 more newbie blogs.

(5) Share five random facts about ourselves.

So here are 5 random facts about yours truly ...

1.  I am really scared of heights, especially if I'm up high and surrounded by glass windows, I can't look down because I'm petrified that I'm going to fall

2.  When I was 18 I asked my boss for 6 months unpaid leave so I could travel around the world with my parents and my brother ... and she said yes ... and off travelling I went!

3.  I am allergic to fluffy furry animals - cats, rabbits, guinea pigs - so while everyone else can cuddle their soft little pets I have to stand back and try not to sneeze!

4.  I love garlic so much that when I was a kid I use to eat a clove raw each night before bed to keep me healthy. Of course now I stick to the garlic tablets, bit more conscious of the garlic breathe nowadays!

5.  I own about 20 pairs of jeans and my newest pair are mint green skinny leg jeans ... the perfect colour for Spring

Here are 5 awesome blogs that I'm nominating for the Liebster Blog Award, please show them some support and go and say g'day ...

1.  Shabby Sweet Tea - Elyse from across the globe in North Carolina is a crafty cowgirl boot lover who is as sweet as the tea she drinks!

2.    IE Love - Christie is a fellow Aussie renovator who is not afraid of hard work and whom has just welcomed a little baby boy into her family

3.  In The Night Sky - Natalie has a home in trendy Melbourne that she is busy renovating and decorating in her awesome style

4.  Sassying It Up - Sarah's blog is full of recipes and family life and her posts are guaranteed to make you laugh and make you hungry!

5.  Where The Wind Blows Me - Jacqui's blog has delicious recipes and honest reviews of places to eat in Perth and surrounds

Congratulations ladies!

I hope you'll share the love and nominate 5 newbie bloggers and keep this Liebster Blog Award going. If you do be sure to let me know so I can check out your favourite newbie blogs  :)

[Image 1 and 3 icons via This Yellow House - Photograph my own]
 
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Planning The Front House Design

Following on with the garage extension project and now the garage is built we need to plan the rest of the front house design

We know we need to put in retaining walls and a new fence between our house and the neighbors. Once its retained we can then lay a new driveway. We know we want to build a brick and timber fence all the way around the front of the house to make a courtyard with a garden and somewhere to sit and relax and watch the sunset

BUT

There are lots of questions about what we'll do ourselves and what we'll get the tradies in to do. Not to mention we have to figure out the design, style, colours, materials, etc  so it all comes together like the garden of my dreams ... here's the list so far

• what the pathway to the front door will be made of and should it be the same as the driveway ?
• what the driveway will be made of - plain concrete and painted ? exposed aggregate ?
• what type of fence between the neighbors and our driveway - steel ? colour ?
• what type of steps heading down to the courtyard area - concrete ? timber ?
• should there be lawn - or artificial lawn ?
• staggered paving and pebbles ?
• timber decking or timber tiles ?
• an ornamental feature - either a water feature or modern sculpture ?
• space in the centre for a small outdoor setting with table and chairs
• water wise hardy plants that love a beating from the sun as it gets full sunshine from lunchtime until the sunsets
• feature pots near the front door and front windows
• paint the front door - green? blue? red? black?

I've been sitting at home with my magazines tearing out pages of gardens I like the look of and scouring Pinterest for inspiration

I don't want to miss this opportunity to create the garden of my dreams but at the same time it all needs to work well together and be practical and adaptable to our rugged West Australian climate

One step at a time!

[Images from my Pinterest Bike Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Image 7 Image 8]

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Fridays Letters - Dear Autocorrect

Thank god it's Friday! I have had a full on week at work and I'm so glad I can let off some steam with my Dear Friday letters thanks to linky party over at Adventures of Newlyweds

I am imagining I'm writing this weeks letters at this fresh light and bright home office I'll be tapping away at the keyboard and staring out the window at that pretty view

Dear Autocorrect - I'd rather my one word be spelt wrong than your totally unrelated word added to my sentence.

Dear Bad Day - I'm glad I found this quote don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life it's so true but sometimes hard to take in when you're having a bitch of a day!  

Dear Friends - I need to find time to see you more ... dinners, movies and quiz nights are high on my priority list with you next month.

Dear Exterior Paint Stuff Up - I felt like a right git painting the house lime green instead of limestone and I'm now $190 worse off. Note to self - don't make those amateur mistakes again and don't listen to the paint chick when picking colours!

Dear Interior Design Dreams - I'm following my love of interior design and just enrolled in a 6 week, 1 night a week Interior Design Course. I'm really exiting about it and hope I learn a lot to turn my lil ole house into an amazing home.

 

[Image via my Pinterest source Chezlarsson.com]

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You Found What? Where!

So tell me, what do you think these objects have in common?

A truck

Man figurine

Toy screwdriver

Yep it's a bunch of kids toys

Now guess where they were found?

In this drain

Which had been blocked

For months and months and months

There's no kids living here so the toys have most likely been there for years!

I'm just glad when I flush the toilet now it actually flushes!

There's never a dull moment around the Jarrah Jungle I tell ya :)

What strange things have you found in your home?
C'mon I'm sure there's something!

 

[All images my own]

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Today Was One Of Those Days

I had a bitch of a day today

Something tells me I'm in need of a glass of wine

And a holiday!

Let's hope tomorrow is better than today

[Images via my Pinterest - Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4]

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