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!

Work in progress

Even though most of my posts are garden orientated, when it comes to the blogs I follow, my taste is very diverse. I love reading about cooking, lifestyle, art, poetry, fashion, and that's just for starters. Sometimes I am just swept away by the beauty of the photography, or I become absorbed in the daily rhythm of life in a different corner of the globe, like the wonderful Turquoise Diaries.

Last week I was reading one of my favourites, Slim Paley, writing about celebrating summer. I completely identified with her love of tasteful neutrals - I have a huge file of clippings from home decorating magazines in that vein - but she was advocating the introduction of colour and light into the house for summer. 

Let's face it, Brisbane is virtually summer all year round. Maybe that's why I also love flicking through books like Taschen's Mexico Style or Moroccan Style or Indian Interiors (and some of the great Indian blogs like An Indian Summer) for colour inspiration. Maybe too, that's why Brisbane's own Anna Spiro's blog Absolutely Beautiful Things is so popular worldwide. Is there a growing movement of beige fatigue?

While I certainly don't include myself in the illustrious company of the stylish bloggers I have named, I have been having a bit of fun with colours lately at Casa Bella. Firstly, I got the couch recovered and recushioned (Bella and Onslow had eaten the previous ones!).  I had picked out a really 'tasteful' stripe from Barefoot/Barbara Sansoni, who I discovered when I visited Sri Lanka in 2005, but when the design I was after wasn't readily available here in Australia, I threw caution to the wind and opted for Tarala Flowers... so here is your sneak peak.

The recovered sofa

Remember the table runners I bought at the antique markets in Jakarta in May? I grabbed a couple more in pinky tones just before I left and had a bit of a play draping them over existing cushions on the sofa. I'm not too sure how colourfast they are, but I am thinking they could make great cushion covers, if not on the sofa itself, then mixed in with some of the others from my collection on the cream covered cane chairs I have.

Then there were those great Indian vases I bought at one of the big department stores in Jakarta. And now, in the past week, I have taken another big step towards being well and truly in the pink.

I had the painter here last Wednesday to repaint my cream wall, water stained after heavy rain earlier in the year. I had even picked out the colour, deciding to change from cream to Antique White - after all I haven't been saving those magazine clippings on tasteful neutral interiors for nothing. But the night before, I had grabbed a handful of paint colour cards at Bunnings, and when I spoke to him I found myself telling him we were opting for 'Velvet Orchid'. (He looked a bit traumatised, but I think he's come around). The photo doesn't really do it justice, but you can get a bit of an idea from this snap featuring the gorgeous new painting I nabbed in Bali just before I headed home.

I thought the painting and the colours of the table runners/cushions will tie in with my existing blue and white china collection. 

However, there's been another domestic crisis this week as my hot water system has ruptured, and so I have reluctantly turned my attention to replacing that, repainting and re-tiling the laundry. Both the repainted walls and the tiles are in neutrals, I'm almost ashamed to admit.

Next month I am back to Jakarta to finish off the remainder of my contract, but, on my return, it will be full steam ahead, and maybe in time for the big reveal by Christmas. I've got a couple of great suzanis packed away upstairs that might tie in, and who knows what new treasures I will discover on my travels to work into the mix.

Packing for home

Can you believe it? I finish my first stint here in Jakarta on Friday. Time has absolutely flown by. I have  rarely had the chance to revisit a favourite spot (like those great antique markets or Bogor's botanic gardens) despite the best of intentions. Thank heavens, I get to do it all again in a few months' time.

Still, many would say the best is yet to come, as I head to Bali on Tuesday, albeit for a conference. I have a whole day to myself after it finishes, and I'm sure there will be lots to share. Then, on Sunday, I am heading to Jogyakarta in Central Java. Everyone who has been there tells me that it is just wonderful and the cultural heart of Java, so I am really excited.

In the meantime, there is lots to do here (apart from writing conference papers!). I have started to pack because it will be a mad flurry getting back for just Saturday night and then heading off again the next day. I will stay on at the airport when I fly back from Jogya on Wednesday as my return flight to Australia leaves later that night. Luckily, I can store some of my stuff with my friend Adri and collect it in August on my return.

So, on my breaks from writing over the weekend, I have been packing. I am taking home the 'souvenirs' I have gathered up to now, so there is more room for new additions next visit. I think I have been fairly restrained (for me), but then a few things I really loved were way too expensive or too big and/or challenging to contemplate, for this visit anyway. And I saw another absolutely brilliant blue and white antique umbrella stand that wasn't that expensive, but I recalled the fate of my last (non-antique) one. It stood in pride of place just inside the front door until, in the usual frantic melee of setting out for the morning walk with the dogs, someone's lead looped the hook of an umbrella. Imagine if history repeated itself with a beautiful antique version that would be a nightmare to get home. I think it is just not meant to be!

Far safer to think of plants. Of course, I can't actually take anything from here home with me, but there are some great plants I have spotted that I definitely think could be worth a try in my Brisbane garden. The only problem with these beauties that I am sharing today is that I don't know their names. Any ideas?

This is Number One on my list. If I can track this down, I think I have the perfect spot. My dwarf poinciana  Caesalpinia pulcherrima recently expired, and I made arrangements to have it cut down and removed while I am away.

I can't even think of another small tropical tree with blue flowers. I am sure from the flowers that this is a member of of the genus Solanum. I knew there were annuals and perennials, but Wiki tells me the genus includes small trees, and here's the proof.  I'd love to find out the name and try my luck with this beauty.

Postscript: I'm home and reunited with my trusty "Tropical Garden Plants" by  William Warren, and  I now know that this is Solanum macranthum (S. wrightii), known as the Potato Tree.  I'm still thinking I could have a spot for this in the garden.

Here it is in situ behind the clipped shrubs.

Great fig-like leaves and round fruit.

I don't think I have a spot for this tall shrub with tubular orange flowers, but I would love to know what it's called.

This is another small tree with a lovely golden flower. It is really widely used in street plantings throughout Jakarta. The yellow flowers (sorry they're out of focus) remind me a little of the marmalade bush Streptosolen jamesonii, which I know as browallia in Brisbane, but coincidentally is also a member of Solanum family.

Below is the only half-decent photo that I managed to snap inside an exclusive precinct near me before I was given my marching orders by over-zealous (clearly non-gardening) staff.

I have seen a lot of the pale pink flower in the foreground and, more frequently, the blue version, which is a little further back in the centre of the garden bed, but I had no idea what it was. Thanks to lotus leaf at garden tropics, I now know that it a ruellia. It seems it can be very invasive, but it is so pretty and is everywhere here in Jakarta.

Finally on the floral front for now, and growing in the same garden bed along with coleus, was this pretty little cream and yellow flower. Any suggestions what it could be? (Thanks to Bernie from My Dry Tropics Garden, I now know this is Tunera sublata)

So, here are some of my tangible reminders of my first visit to Jakarta: those brilliant table runners that I picked up at the antique markets. A single one also looks brilliant across the bed.

I picked up this handsome carved wooden couple at Pasaraya department store, which has two whole floors dedicated to batik and handicrafts. I have had them on display since I got them on one of the runners, on top of the sideboard.

Also at Pasaraya, I fell in love with these packets of batik table napkins. I thought the blue and white ones would make great easy-to-pack gifts to take back with me. I love them so much that I ducked back on Saturday and picked up a couple of different designs.

Finally, these were my latest addition. Until now, I haven't had much pink in the house, but my lounge room sofa is being recovered in a very vibrant stripe while I am here. I thought these little Indian vases would pick up the colour and look pretty as table centrepieces on the new dining table. Most unfortunately, the bag they were in rolled off the chair I had put them on within about 5 minutes of my return home, and two now sport tiny chips. Ah well, they had a slightly rustic finish to begin with, which is now accentuated.  Perhaps there is a message here for my dreams of expensive antique purchases!

Weekend ramblings

It's a slightly scary thought that in about 12 hours I will off on my way to work.  What happened to the weekend?  It started peacefully enough, taking the pups for a walk at Minnippi parklands.

The pups had a snooze on our return, but there is no rest for the weary gardener...

This zinnia bud

had morphed into this beautiful flower.

While I have had plenty of summer colour from the dwarf zinnia 'Summer Brilliance', this and another slightly shaggy bloom were the first from my 'big' zinnias. I thought I would celebrate by trying a tiny arrangement with dahlia 'Marie Antoinette'. (The little jug was my grandmother's, the blue and white china two recent thrifty purchases - the box was $2 at Mount Gravatt flea market and the vase 50 cents at Lifeline!)

And speaking of thrifty finds, I picked up this table base at a kerbside throw-out...

I'm going through a bit of a 'home beautiful' phase at the moment. Although in my case this generally means everything gets a whole lot worse for a while before the transformation is completed. Case in point, my sofa...
The puppies have found it necessary to modify this to suit themselves.

Sometimes they like the one cushion option.

And sometimes the no cushion option.

They always prefer to remove the protective throw, and have eaten the cushion they don't like, so it seems a recover is in order.  I found the perfect fabric. It was subtle, elegant - and had lots of white - so we aren't having that, and have opted for a more vibrant selection. The fabric was delivered last week and looks wonderful.  It is still on the roll, but hopefully will be off to the upholsterer in the next few weeks.

With the new sofa in mind, I rearranged the paintings on the stairway and swapped a few around with others downstairs.

I think the lady with flowers by Aavik from the Eumundi markets is much better here than on the stairway. She is like a little sister to Jane Creenaune's Girl in Chinese Dress

Unfortunately the recent rain resulted in a roof leak that had water running down the wall where many of my paintings are hung, so I have removed a few and propped them against a wall until I can get someone out to repair it.

But one project keeps leading to the next. In the interim, I tried out my Turkish rug, which had been relegated to the safety of an upstairs bedroom after the pups took to nibbling its fringes, with the new colour scheme and decided it desperately needed a wash and repair. So it was off to Taringa to deliver it into the hands of the experts, and I had a bit of a wander on the way home. Firstly I ducked into the Cat and Fiddle deli for a quick lunch, and then detoured through some of my favourite streets round Toowong and Auchenflower.

Typically hilly terrain and treelined streets with beautiful classic Queenslander homes.

Pretty as a picture...

but it was the blue ginger Dichorisandra thrysiflora that caught my eye.

Here is another example.  Doesn't it look gorgeous against the green wall?




Speaking of green walls, while many Queenslanders are painted in pastel tones, I love the stronger colours.  Doesn' t this bright pink work beautifully with the green of the bamboo (and what about pink for a sofa - do you think it will frighten the pups into behaving?)

After all that gadding about yesterday and grocery shopping this morning, I spent the rest of the day in the garden, bulb planting and green ant dodging in the front, followed by serious weeding and mosquito swatting in the backyard until it got too dark. Still it was all worthwhile, I will sleep the sleep of the just: I have finally made a start to the back garden, which has been hanging over my head, and I added another handful of leopard lily seed pods to my collection.  And next weekend, I'll do it all over again, but changes are afoot.  Stay tuned...