Letterbox 88 house tour (Living room)

This room is a good example of my rearranging addiction. It looked like this a few weeks ago when I took these photos but now the armchair is different, the coffee table is kaput and there's a big old table in there. So I already need to do a living room update. But for now, let's carry on and pretend it still looks like this.

The living room is at the back of the house at the end of the hallway and leads onto the verandah. Originally, we had the TV and all the couches in this room and a big table and chairs in the formal dining room (through the brown glass doors to the left of the picture above). This was the most obvious set up, but as we got to know the house we decided it wasn't the best one.

For a start, we were using the dining room very infrequently. It's quite a walk from the kitchen and apart from the odd occasion we were eating all our meals in the kitchen, or on our laps on the couch. In the flat dwelling days of my twenties I used to dream of separate dining rooms, but as it turns out, having an entire room in the centre of the house that was 90% thoroughfare really annoyed me.

The other thing I didn't love was having all my comfy, conversation chairs faced around the TV. I worked from home even before I had Baby and it meant I spent all my couch laptop time loomed over by a big blank screen.

So, about six months ago I convinced J to shift the dining table into the kitchen and made the old dining room into a TV room with an old leather lounge we were handed down.

This left the living room for library and conversation only. I still don't feel like I've got the flow this room quite right (hence the ongoing changes) but we are definitely using the pair of rooms at the centre of our house as a more combined living space.

J and I are both hoarders of books we find here and there. One day I'd like to build a floor to ceiling bookcase along this entire wall. With a ladder.

I used to spend ages making little tablescapes on this coffee table with teapots and funny breakable things, but now that Baby has started pulling himself up on the furniture and looking for treasure it's all over. My latest concession is this child-friendly collection of things I don't mind if he knocks down and eats.

Letterbox 88 house tour (Hall)

I have a bit of a reputation in my family for my love of rearranging the house. Let's call it a hobby. When people come to visit things rarely look the same and if I could manage all the heavy furniture shifting on my own I'd probably do it even more often. But J hates it when I come to him with 'scheme face' so I try to limit myself.

I've been meaning for ages to do some posts about rooms in the house, but have been waiting till I'm DONE and things are finished. When seriously, what was I thinking? Finished is a town I'm only ever going to drive through with the windows up, on my way to the next thing. So let's just forge ahead.

To offer some context, Letterbox 88 is a Queenslander from the early 1900s, She's not originally from here, having been uprooted and dragged about 250km on the back of a trailer in 2006.

Renovated Queenslanders sometimes have so many things done to them it's insane. Although they might look original from the outside the interiors can end up being so changed and modernised that once you walk through the door you could be anywhere. I think this is so sad because they are such lovely, creaky, breezy, spider cornered, character filled buildings.

I do realise not everyone wants creaks and breezes and spiders though.

Our old girl has had few changes over the years but she's still very creaky and pretty true to period (with lots of spiders). When I look at floor plans of houses in design magazines I know this house may not be the most practical for the way we live in 2012, but she is full of quirk and so charming I forgive her anything.

Typical of many Queenslanders, the hall runs down the spine of the house with three rooms off each side and a kitchen out the back.

Because the hall is gloriously wide it can accommodate quite a bit and I'm always plotting ways to make things more functional. I'm thinking of maybe swapping out the blanket box for a little couch. I'd also like to change the runner but I find rugs the hardest thing in the world to choose. Is that just me?

Akubra hat, Drizabone coat, Oroton handbag. Could we be any more Aus? I think this says everything about J and I really. The hooks are from Anthropologie and the neglectfully full letter rack is op shop.

The mirror cluster is a work in progress. It moves slowly these days because I imposed a price limit on what I would pay when I started collecting and they are becoming increasingly tricky to find for a bargain. Even op shops have started taking the piss.

Hat corner. So handy for grabbing on the way out the door or lending to visitors.

This writing desk belonged to my Grandma who was given it when she graduated high school. It's just about my favourite thing in the house.

Letterbox 88 - Nursery tour

Here are some photos of Baby's nursery just before he was born. It is more cluttered with toys now but it hasn't changed too much.

The cot and chest of drawers are both from Ikea. I upholstered the front of the malm drawers with fabric.

This project was posted recently on Ikea Hackers here. Do you love reading Ikea Hackers? I do.

We keep all his clothes and blankets in here and use the top as a change table.

Rug, also Ikea. Cushions from Spotlight. I ran up the bunting over the windows with leftover fabric from the drawers.

I thrifted this rocking nursing chair and footstool and made new cushion covers. The Fisher Price record player was mine when I was a wee babe. It still works a treat.

The little yellow owl cushion and the Sweet Dreams letterpress print are both from Etsy. The owl is by Manic Muffin Totes and the print is from Roll and Tumble Press. I have a few more Roll and Tumble Press prints around the house and they are fab.

I made this with an old frame from the oppie and some chicken wire from the local hardware store. The man at the hardware store looked at me very strangely when I tried to describe what I wanted it for. I should have just told him I was mending a fence. The mirror is vintage.

Made these little prints. The big print with the missing picture has Baby's name in it now. We didn't know if Baby would be a he or a she beforehand so at this point his name was still an enigma.