Ikea, you finally got me...

via sfgirlbybay

via thedecorpad

Well, it looks like I am now one of those 25% of people in the world who owns one of the top four Ikea items - Expedit shelving. Petit's room, while gorgeous in colour and style, is a storage nightmare. Being slightly time poor (I know, who isn't, right?!), I haven't been able to get to any of my favourite places to find something unique. So, after many months of cringing everytime I went near that bedroom, I caved, drove the few short miles to Ikea (with a man friend to get the thing in the back of the car - yes, I caved there too...) picked up the Expedit shelving and look forward to setting it up - quickly.


Before and after shots to be taken....I keep promising, but they'll happen, I swear. x

Home Sweet Home

image; chez trbuhovich...just ignore the computer bag, teensy bowl of lemons & petit's toys at back door; shelley t

Love walking in and looking around at all the bits and pieces that make up my life....and I finally had another chance to do that late on Thursday night after hooning it down that highway between Sydney and Melbourne.

While I was away - and had space in my brain to actually do some thinking - I worked out the next things to get started on at Chez Trbuhovich....kissing these hideous orange coloured floorboards goodbye & saying hello to high gloss white ones; putting a slim shelf above the Penfolds mirror to complete the dining room wall, and painting the entire exterior (Dulux Whisper White, Dulux Domino for part trim & Fire Engine Red Door - colour to be found) in time for Christmas. And see those bentwood chairs ($100.00 for five at NYC flea market!), I am in the process of painting 4 black and 1 yellow....will look amazing once the floors are done.

Spring Cleaning

image; arts menagers roses, francis bernard, c 1950's; michelle belle for galerie montmartre

Oh yes, that would be me; Femme de M to the rescue, saving the ensuite (that's master bath for my American beauties) from becoming another storage space, saving under the sink from becoming a mass of unused products and saving the bathroom from the clutter of out of date moisturisers and make up that hasn't seen the light of day since the 90's.

I am a woman on a mission, people - dusting, wiping, lifting, sorting, disposing, reusing. This mood doesn't strike often, but when it does, no one is safe; even vacuumed the fluff off Petit-Petit's knees this morning...

Walk Right Into This Mess

images; shelley t and stephan t

-pls note, the letters m-e-s-s are the first letters of our names...i love that it spells the word 'mess', cause that's life to a 't', wouldn't you say?!

If there's one thing that L'Homme is brilliant at, it is returning from trips away (whether it be a day one or an overseas extravaganza) with gifts for all. This particular Paris trip - yes, the poor doll....off to Paris every single year in search of beautiful paper goodness (!) - he was soooo excited to bring these pedestrian lights home. L'Homme thinks that the French pedestrian lights have attitude! As I can't take them to his current digs ie. rehab ward, I thought he'd want us to enjoy them at home, so I put them in our living room along with some other sentimental bits.

It was only as I was downloading the photos I'd taken (not particularly well, I might add, still getting used to the new i-phone, another gift from L'Homme; btw, he has intimated that he'd like to have his with him at hospital, despite not yet having the ability to say or text much!) that I discovered some photos he had taken back in 2006 of the French pedestrian lights to show me how cool he thought they were. Uncanny...

The little vignette needed some colour, so I grabbed one of my fave vintage vases which hold some vintage fabric flowers handmade made by the wonderful Pene Durston (I pass by her beautiful store every day on my way to and from the rehab unit) and given to me by a very dear friend when we were in the throes of 'will-l'Homme-make-it-through?' mode back in June.

Here's a little close-up so you can see how clever Pen is, I love her creativity. I love that these live in Chez Trbuhovich and remind me of a significant life event for our family.

And here am I trying to get artistic with my photography and failing miserably...

It should be noted that the little green 'go-bloke' was leaning on the wall temporarily, cause he is a bit unsteady on his feet...which is tempting for a 2 year old Petit...but I actually like him being back there, so that's where he'll stay. In other words, he's not going anywhere - boom, boom!

Chez Trbuhovich Facelift - Ice, Ice Baby

There's a very strong possibility L'Homme will be living back at Chez Trbuhovich in about eight weeks - his rehabilitation after 'the incident' is going better than expected. All of a sudden I have a deadline, and quite frankly I feel no different than I did in the final weeks of pregnancy with that overwhelming feeling that if I don't get some things done around the house soon, they may not get done for a long time. So I am pressing ahead with some of the ideas that L'Homme and I talked about before June 22nd.
The bedroom, however, was never something on our 'facelift' agenda. You could say this is happening on a whim - how I make most decisions in my life!

My love for ice blue began back when I moved Petit out of the nursery and into his own room with the imminent arrival of Petit-Petit. I was as surprised as anyone when I chose a stroller for my then-toddler in that very colour. And then I wanted his bedroom wall colour to look like a clear blue day - that awesome blue that happens in Northern CA nine months of the year and here in Melbourne in Spring. Well folks, let me tell you - I nailed it! And everytime I go into that room, I never get tired of that decision.

The colour I had chosen for our bedroom, however, was starting to get a little old. The feeling of change has been sneaking up on me. It was also out of sync with the rest of the house. Then I saw it...

....right there in the circles of our gorgeous roman blind, which will remain, because I chose the Jane Churchill fabric on a yet another whim and it cost an arm and a leg!! So, I ran down to Porter's paints with my swatch and said, "that colour, right there - the ice blue" can you custom make that, but a shade paler?" Then I called Dave the handyman and booked him in.

And he is painting as I blog.

So I nearly fell off my chair when flipping through the latest Inside Out - with a glorious front cover, I might add - and found this page dedicated to ice blue tones. I thought, "Femme, you might have lots going on in your life right now, but boy do you have your finger on the decorating pulse...." OK, maybe my self-talk wasn't that grandiose, but I did give myself a teensy pat on the back!

Our bed has always been the biggest disappointment in our room. It's hideous. I held onto this picture as an inspiration with every intention of having our friend, Gordon (who happens to be the uber-talented partner of this gorgeous girl) custom-make a white one in the future....along with some other bits of furniture.

Then in the June Living Etc mag I noticed this bed, so - you guessed it - I ran down to Ikea and ordered it as an alternative to the ugly excuse for a bed we currently have.

I am so excited by this development, it is a budget-friendly, efficient facelift which fits into my life right at this minute. L'Homme will spend many weeks recovering in this little room, so I want to ensure it is somewhere worth hanging out.

Of course, there will be before and after shots a-plenty next week, can hardly wait!

images; 1 & 2. chez trbuhovich by lucy feagins;

3 lovingly scanned by my good self!

4. inside out mag, styling by vanessa colyer tay;

5. unknown - sorry;

6. living etc mag

Pink Magic vs Farty Pants

image by shelley t; a teensy corner of petit-petit's room, where 'pink magic' resides

I am a major Christina Gordon fan, her cutesy Blythe-like art gets me everytime. I walk by her artwork most days, so it seemed an obvious choice when I was creating a nursery for Petit to get him a little something. Petit has since moved rooms, the little portrait has gone with him, they seem quite happy.

In the meantime I found one for my bedroom, which I love, she makes me very happy. So of course, it was only fair that when Petit-Petit came along, he got a little something special. I chose an artwork that wasn't too frou-frou.

image by shelley t; close up of 'pink magic'

Here she is, she is beautiful and looks great in the space. I am extremely happy and so was Petit-Petit....right up until about three months ago. Suddenly he was calling me and asking me - in 2 year old language - to remove the 'scary girl'. So, she has sat on the floor of my bedroom. Every now and again I sneak her back, but the little bloke notices every single time!

image by christina gordon; farty pants

So I am thinking of a permanent replacement....a little while ago Christina created this latest work for her partner, cutely entitled 'Farty Pants'. I know he is wearing a mask as well, but surely if I explained 'Farty Pants' to Petit-Petit he would be more welcome than the little dark angel 'Pink Magic'. I mean, you know boys....they are all about bodily functions, making smells and laughing at each other's, right? Maybe he would see the funny side and decide the rude little boy could stay? I might have to buy him and find out...

Undressed and Gorgeous!

'undress' by kat macleod; turquoise beaded detail, red lace; pink cellophane hair; flash not included...

a feminine piece deserves some feminine framing; note the gorgeous detail in the matt? oh how i love it; framed to perfection by creative framing in burwood, victoria

i was sure you were enjoying the flash as much as i was....



'undress' at home; la chambre, chez trbuhovich, february 2010

She has arrived! Just look at her, that adorable, irresistable young thing glancing at me over her bead-enhanced shoulder everytime I walk into my bedroom. Look how comfortable she has made herself amongst my bedside bits. Just gorgeous, thank-you so much, Kat Macleod for that gorgeous show which means I can own a little of what you do. I love it!

Love in Bloom 2010

valentine's day dinner party flowers at chez trbuhovich

i love turquoise and orange....was patting myself on the back all night over this combination!

the morning after, all dishes were cleared - except for the dessert plates - and you don't have to look too closely to see the grubby fingermarks all over the almosyt empty carafe; which speaks of a 'successful' dinner party to me!! all images; shelley t

We hosted some gorgeous friends on February 14th. It just so happened that Valentine's Day was the time we could all get together. So, what to choose flower-wise? I knew that I wanted roses, but not necessarily red ones and I also knew that I wanted to fill one of our French champagne buckets with a little floral number; so hydrangeas with a contrasting orange hued rose was what I chose. I had fun putting them together.

I always think I'd love a house full of flowers, but the reality is, I spend the 'kitty' on magazines instead. So on the odd occasion when there is bouquets at every turn in Chez Trbuhovich, I feel extra happy.

My Place and Your's - Through the Front Door

image; shelley t

This is what it is to walk through the front door of Chez Trbuhovich, probably not that remarkable to anyone else, but to me it is heaven.
All my favourite things are in this picture; the grey of the hallway, vintage posters - the first we ever bought many moons ago, a new delivery for Galmont(can you see the tiny glimpse of a tube in the bottom right foreground?), family photos and art work on the shelves to the right, vintage tram scroll, my gorgeous green (chartreuse, I mean!) Eames rocker - a family gift when Petit was born, a tiny little table and chairs and baskets and pots of crafty goodness for the Petits, a fabulous 1950's French enamel sign sitting in the window by a favourite poster artist, the beautiful lemon tree in the very background and the adorable Petit-Petit doing what he does best, lurching around in a very wobbly fashion!

Thanks again, Pip, for asking me to be Theme Queen. Hurrah! (That was my impersonation of you!!) I am really looking forward to seeing what the others have done. There's still time to join in, you have until Saturday - wanna play? Go here...

My Place and Your's - Theme Queen Decides!

image of front door -which sadly is not mine - found here

Hello! If you're anything like me, regardless of how good a time you've had or where you've been, you love coming home. Am I right? Do you?! Sure, there's plenty of work to be done, not sure how much longer our kitchen floor will last, for example, but it's my sanctuary and the people I live with are superb little (and big) beings!

So, my choice as honoured (and honourable?!!) Theme Queen for this week is - Through the Front Door. What is it you see when you enter your home? And how do you feel? Whatever happens when you walk through your front door, we want to know about it!

If you wanna play Pip's meme, then pop over here and add your name to the list, we'd love you to join us!

Blog Headquarters - My Place and Your's

Here it is, blog headquarters....I sit like Queen Muck on my throne (I bought this Phillipe Starck Louis Ghost chair at the last Space furniture sale - I have a thing for chairs in the way that many women have about shoes) and blog away...and sometimes Petit joins me while Petit-Petit has a nap. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by things that make us smile, our beloved vintage posters, the lamp was given to us by a second-hand dealing friend as a housewarming gift (soon to be stripped and painted gloss black, wabi-sabi style!), my magazines and coffee table books and our vintage radios and barware....and our featherstone. Is it me, or are they not the sexiest chair, ever?!

These memes are such fun, this theme was chosen by Ninon who makes gorgeous softies...

My Place and Your's - Bedside

yes, they're my slippers underneath, always kept in the same place...I have winter ones and summer ones, both gifts from rellies who know how much I adore them, i'd wear them to galmont if i could.

it's imperative i have a neat and tidy bedside, waking up to a bedside mess puts me in a cranky mood. the tivoli clock radio was my gift to l'homme for an extra special birthday, which has sat on my side since petit-petit arrived.

a close up of my 'shelley' dish, part of a wider collection and my love for miscellaneous colourful vases - all ebay finds - continues, the rest of her little friends are on a sideboard in the same room
all images; shelley t

Ooo, this is a bit intimate, don't you think?! The latest theme for Pip's meme chosen by lovely Lexi over at Potty Mouth Mama. So here's mine, the usual mish-mash of books, lamp, clock radio and little dish full of change and lip balm. I looked for a side table for about seven years, the perfect wooden cube (I really wanted one on wheels) and it was Ikea that came through for only $40.00 - gotta love that!

On the Shelf - My place and Your's

petit-petit's shelf with my some of my original enid blyton's and 'toot-toot' (owl softie)

this shelf is actually twice as long as what is shown, it came out of a hardware store, perfect for petit-petit's bits and pieces. Here's a close up of top shelves incl. artwork (i drew the bird pic as a 3yr old, my mum saved it and gave it to me as a gift); family photos (that's l'homme front left and me front right), the little dolls top left were also mine, the spools were found at a flea market and have graced many shelves!

close up of petit's shelf, we have the full collection of miffy books (a first bday gift) which were in fabulous condition until petit-petit came along and decided that book bindings were part of his diet; football cards still yet to be sorted; that's a container of shells under the bird finger puppets

we paid $20 for this shelf in nyc 26th st flea markets a gazillion years ago, the woman couldn't believe someone was actually buying it, we couldn't believe we'd found a cute shelf with l'homme's name emblazoned across the top! i think it's called a win-win. this shelf has lived all around the place, but has found it's final resting place in petit's room.

I think I am about to break a promise here. You see, I've been doing a bit of - in the words of styling guru, Megan Morton - 'house-whispering' lately. I decided that the shelves that were in the Garcon's rooms needed shifting around. A simple, but very affective decision, I must say, both the little guys have noticed and are loving it. Petit is able to curate his current obsessions (ie. his personal art work, shells and AFL (footy) cards - we do live in Melbourne after all, that damn game never seems to go away!!) and Petit-Petit can reach the things he loves the most (ie. wooden animals and books - neither seen in these photos).

So then Pip comes up with an idea that we all have some blogging fun by becoming part of the meme series 'My place and your's'. The first topic - 'On the Shelf' - which is where the broken promise bit comes in, cause I'm sure a few posts back I promised to never harp about Chez Trbuhovich again....please forgive me. I really should never say never!

PS. If you want to join in the fun, then go here.

PPS. Speaking of On the Shelf, Thursday's post is extremely fitting, cannot wait to share it!!

Monday's Mail

images; shelley t for galmont - how cool is the typography on the dubonnet advertisement? how pretty are the tea towels, although have just noticed the political incorrectness of one of them - no doubt a sign of the times they were printed in? how cute are the stamps?

I love a mail delivery, especially when it is from France and especially when it is this pretty! I mean, even the stamps are gorgeous - so gorgeous, in fact that I grabbed the nearest camera and took some pics for you lovely people.

I cannot wait to do my dishes with these glorious little tea towels. Really!

"I love everything about my room...."

images; lucy feagins for the design files

....words spoken by 3 yr old Petit to L'Homme; like music to this Mama's ears!

If you you are yet to see the pics Lucy took of Petit's room and Chez Trbuhovich, you can find them here.

Chez Trbuhovich on The Design Files

images lucy feagins at the design files

Well, what do you know? Someone actually deems your humble abode worthy of photographing and putting on their blog. Not just anyone, but someone with an eye for design! I think Lucy's done an awesome job, after following her around for the first ten mins of the shoot asking her if she needed me to move this or that, I relaxed, left her to it and simply said 'surprise me' and she really has.

It's interesting to see the place that you live in, play in, relax in, argue in (!) through the eyes of someone else. It's amazing how many details just pass you by as you go about daily life and you're focussing on the next project that needs doing.....I'm glad we weren't doing a story on that!!

I love what Lucy has done, I'm looking at Chez Trbuhovich with new eyes, you can see that people actually live there (eg. the toys on the floor of Petit-Petit Garcon's room are just as he left them that morning (!!)) - which is exactly why you can't get to every little project as you'd like - and I'm really grateful for that new insight.

Thanks to The Design Files; that Lucy's so clever, which is why I am her no. 1 'cheerleader'!

Go across to her site and check it out.

Aerin Lauder's Vintage Poster...

shabbily scanned image (sorry, can't seem to improve it) from elle decor july/august 2009, photograph by Simon Upton

....there it is. See it? It's grainy, I know, but you can still make him out - Peter Pan flying high in Ms Lauder's Son's room.

I'm actually loving the vintage poster on the wallpaper....something I've never thought of before. So, the new thing I learnt today; vintage poster plus wallpaper equals a wonderfully vibrant combination that works!

House and Garden and Wine and Vintage Posters

image; Soufre Gre by Leon Dupin, 1933 (above sideboard)

i'm fairly sure the office chair is a delicious eames, definitely on the galmont wish-list

this cushion is calling me, it says 'bonne nuit les petits', perfect wine-red on linen

This home belongs to Veronica Webster, and her partner, David, who together run the wine consultancy By The Dozen. As Veronica has said to me in the past there is definite synergy between art and wine.....which is why vintage posters feature in her home, along with some beautiful reminders of France.

Check out 'House and Garden' August 2009 to see this beautifully renovated deco apartment, styled beautifully by Megan Morton and photographed by Jason Busch.....and vintage poster from Galerie Montmartre.

Paris in my Bedroom

image; Paris by Raymond Savignac (my all-time favourite poster artist), 1951, photographed on a very dark day by shelley t

I couldn't wait to show you this. Yes, the photo is dodgy; yes, the colours aren't quite right, yes, the styling is non-existent, but you get the idea, yes?! Finally Chez Trbuhovich is getting it's poster-art act together and here is a small look at one of the pieces that we now live with. In fact, tomorrow morning, I'll wake to it.

A quick explanation, you know how you hear about the plumber whose taps always drip or the mechanic with the broken automobile or, (I personally know) a naturopath who fails to remember to take her vitamins on a regular basis? Well, let's just say that these two avid vintage poster collectors have had empty walls for far too long. So, we (ie. L'Homme et Moi) have slowly been framing our collection and today our beautiful picture hanger, Jessica, came around and worked her magic.

Already I am feeling better - and the best part? We still have walls to fill!!

'Vogue Living' the Dream in Daylesford

images; mikkel vang, photographer and helen redmond, styling - vogue living australia july/august 2009

This story may take a minute, there is a point, so please bare with me!!

I was fortunate to spend time in the gorgeous country town of Daylesford with my family over the weekend. We've been regular visitors to this part of the world since returning back from living overseas, it reminds me of so many European places, yet only an hour and a quarter from home and we're there. Actually, someone described it as 'Brunswick St. in the country' yesterday.....they have a point - maybe that's the attraction!

I think that I make the comment "I'd love to have a house here..." at least a few times a day everytime I am there and it is very high on my wish list.....so then I get home and open the latest 'Vogue Living' July/August 2009 to see Lyn Gardener standing in a room, which I didn't recognise as being her city home. It is her new place - in Daylesford! I laughed aloud.

See, Lyn Gardener wouldn't know me if I fell in front of her, yet we share many things in common - our neighbourhood for a start, we're often shopping at the same supermarket, or sipping coffee in the same cafe. It seems we also share a love for banged up bits and bobs around the house, owning something made for one purpose but using it in another way, we love industrial vintage furniture, sometimes form over function (ask L'Homme de Montmartre about that one!) and judging by the pics in this latest chapter of her home style; we are in sync with a love of industrial lighting and fans, naked oversized bulbs hanging around, black and white with a bit of red for fun, walls full of books and great big armchairs, cushions made of flags and coffee sacks - but that's where the similarities end, cause Lyn Gardener is actually living it....whereas my ideas are drawings in sketch books, dreams floating in my head, a box of oversized bulbs still sitting in the attic waiting for an electrician to do something with them or a filing cabinet full of tearsheets from magazines!

So that's why I laughed, a 'good for you' laugh with a smidge of envy tossed in....I think it's great - congrats on living my dream, Ms Gardner!