Playing house

The wet weather we have been experiencing in Brisbane for the past few months has been almost unrelenting, and as a result, there has been minimal activity in the garden. Instead I turned my mind to consider the interior here at Casa Bella. A few big changes are afoot, and I thought you might be interested to see how some of the purchases I made while I was working in Indonesia have settled into their new home.

This is painting I picked up in Bali after a conference in June. I blogged about the gardens here

She looked right at home with the other artwork along the staircase.

One of the table runners I bought at the antique markets in Jakarta looks great on my dining table.

I love the painted wooden couple that I bought at Pasaraya in Jakarta

In front of them are these two mother-of-pearl inlaid painted bowls from  Lombok.  I so wish I had bought  more/bigger ones of these...(maybe next time!)

Detail of the painting

This handsome pair of puppets in antique batik fabrik are from an earlier trip to Bali.

I was a bit obsessed with cushions during my travels as I had already chosen a brightly striped fabric to recover my sofa. It had previously been covered with the cream and taupe buffalo check in the side table cloths.  Finding something to coordinate with it, without opting for too safe an option was going to be a challenge. I thought about using wider versions of the same Timorese weavings as the table runner.

I toyed with a few cushion covers I had bought in Hua Hin in Thailand.

But my favorite, also from Thailand, was this - one of a pair I had been given as a given as gift before I ever contemplated a pink sofa. (Note to self - must buy insert for its partner!)

It tied in with a couple of local Brisbane purchases - well, maybe not all on the sofa at the same time - but within the general vicinity.

So this is what the almost 'done' lounge room was starting to look like.

However, just like the garden, the inside of the house is in a state of perpetual change.

Of course, there are those who like to continually modify their surroundings to suit themselves.

Last week there were big changes with the arrival of the painters. As much as I enjoyed the pink wall, it was to remedy water stains from a leaking roof in last year's rainy season. It didn't work leaving the bottom half of the wall on the other side of the staircase out of the equation although that's all that was covered by insurance. 

But that was all so last year! Now I'm starting with a clean slate.

We are going for a lighter, brighter look here at Casa Bella. I'll keep you posted with developments!