Cozy Days

As the weather starts to heat up here in Doha, I start to dream about winters at my parents place. They live about 2 hours south of Sydney in a beautiful village that gets so bitterly cold in Winter and I absolutely love it. The place my parents call home could not be any more different to life in Doha. A small village where everyone nods and says hello, open green spaces, frost covering the grass each morning and an open fire that is lit first thing in the morning and the embers burning right through the night. It is without doubt my favourite place to be and I can't wait to go home in July.

The way my Mum has decorated her home is truly  beautiful, even down to the way she stores her fire wood beside the open fire.

It got me thinking of other ways people store their fire wood to make a mundane chore into a design feature.

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A Trip to the Plant Souk

I have what's known as a black thumb, which is the EXACT opposite of a green thumb. I love gardens, I love flowers, I love greenery, my problem is that I tend to kill any kind of nature that comes my way.

When we bought our house in Melbourne, the garden was the perfect blank canvas for me to cultivate and make into a beautiful oasis. My Mother in Law who is an amazing gardener, came down for the weekend to help me de-weed and get the garden ready. Matt and I then went off on a plant buying extravaganza, we bought roses, hydrangeas, I think even a lemon tree. We got home, planted everything (well Matt planted and I watched) and honestly I think I just loved my new garden a little too much and ended up killing my hydrangeas within a week. Matt then banned me from any type of gardening from then on.

So over the weekend when I realized that my bougainvillea out the front of the villa had flourished and was looking so alive and well I decided it was time to banish my black thumb once and for all and head to the plant souk.

Sadie had a blast at the plant souk, she absolutely loves nature and when we go home to my parents house each year she spends hours wandering around the gardens with her Poppy. So Sadie was in charge yesterday of picking out the most glorious, colourful flowers for the front of the house. I think she did a fab job, and I'm just hoping that my black thumb is banished! If all else fails, at least we have a team of gardeners in the compound that can come to my rescue!

Breakfast Nooks

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That being the case, breakfast would certainly become my favourite meal if I was able to enjoy it sitting in one of these divine breakfast nooks. Large or small, breakfast nooks are the perfect way to make use of that extra space in your kitchen area.

Image sourced here

Image sourced here

Image sourced here

Image sourced here

Image sourced here

Kitchen Bliss - Marble and Steel

I love mixing old and new together. I love a home that has a traditional feel with contemporary elements, that's my perfect combination.

It's so hard living as an expat where you rent homes rather than owning them, it's hard to add my own touch to a kitchen I use constantly but that isn't really me. I miss my kitchen in Melbourne, we bought the house mainly because we loved the kitchen so much. I think about my kitchen in Melbourne all the time...is that weird? I know that if we do move back to that house, I'll definitely keep the layout the same but I might change the cabinetry and hardware.

Steel and marble used together in kitchens is a great way of mixing the old and the new, the traditional with the contemporary. Have you seen the movie "It's Complicated"? Meryl Streeps kitchen in that movie is TO DIE FOR! The marble and steel island bench in that kitchen gives it both a traditional country feel but also an industrial feel. Both even each other out.

Here is some more marble and steel inspiration.

Image from Pinterest

Image from Design Milk

Image from Luxe Interiors

Image from Pinterest