A Study in the Classics

Remember when I posted a photo of this beautiful house, and some of you pointed out that it is actually in Rockhampton. As I've said many times, I grew up in Rockhampton. It's a town that usually makes the news for all the wrong reasons, but it actually has some ridiculously beautiful old Queenslanders, so many in fact that some of them are sitting in a state of decay.
This one however, Cooloola, is quite the opposite. It is the picture of perfection, and I've now had permission of the owner to show you the inside.

Let's skirt around the outside a tad more first.

This house is a perfect example of why some bits and pieces are considered classic. They just work, they're beauitful and they don't go out of fashion. Take that timber planter box at the front door,for example. That style of planter is at the front door of many a fancy address on Park Avenue in New York.

I recently bought a white Didier Parakian dress. Five minutes after I put it on, I had spilt make up on the front of it. I could never live in a house like this, but I take great delight in looking upon it.

It's all in the details.....

There's a young lady in the house. This is her quarters.

What more can you wish for than a pink bath tub?

A study in blue.

This is what life in the tropical north should look like.

Rhythm and symmetry. So reassuring.

Excuse me. Pineapples.

In case you're wondering, and I'm positively sure you are, this is the lady responsible for this big pile of wonderful.
Frances Russell, wife, mother of three, interior decorator, designer. I imageine Frances' home is a tomato sauce/soy sauce/red wine free zone.

If you're needing any decorator services, go to www.francesfussellinteriors.com.au
You can also read Frances' blog at www.beautifulinteriorsand18thcenturystyle.blogspot.com

Thanks again Frances!

Get Green

If you want to spruce up the joint, and you don't have a wad of cash, you can make an amazing difference just by installing some greenery. Plants indoors look fresh and crisp, and apparently, as an added bonus they will also make the air cleaner and cooler.
Potted palms and Queenslanders are a classicly handsome pair. You cannot go wrong with a verandah and a palm. Either fork out 20 clams at your local nursery for a living tree or, in the dead of night, snip off some fronds from your neighbour's garden. I'll leave the details up to you.

India Hicks is all over it, of course.

Ferns, like potted palms, are another classic, either indoors or on the verandah, hanging or sitting. They are delightful and more hearty than they look.

Ivy, Sydney, below.

Name another plant that can bend itself around in a circle like this.

If you can't garden, never fear, the succulents are here. I'm telling you, you cannot kill these things. They are survivors. They're also tres pretty.

Succulents come in all shapes and colours, you can plant them in just about anything, they only need watering every so often, and they're cheap to buy. What's not to love?

Plus, your husband will just love spending one of his rare and precious mornings off drilling holes in a fragile old teacup.

Indoor plants give you the perfect opportunity to break out your best macrame. Notice who has been entrusted to hang in these?

Orchids are beautiful indoors, and although I don't have much first-hand experience with them, I'm told they're not as high maintenance as we're led to believe.

Indoor plants can go in and out of fashion. Monsteria leaves and fiddlewood figs are very much loved at the moment. Cycads, stretlitzias (bird of paradise plants), staghorns and anything topiaried, will always be in style.

See, just a few fronds can make the world of difference.

I think ivy deserves a mention here too.

Herbs are pretty and useful, a double whammy.

You know, you don't have to limit the greenery to actual plants.

So if you can't quite manage something like this....

...or this vertical installation...

....or even this....

....maybe something like this will make a good start....