we heart oz

We hope you all had a great australia day!

In the spirit of Oz we thought we'd show you these amazing photographs

by a young aussie who goes by the name Elgarbo.

He says his work is

'home decor for beach bums, surf lovers and more'

Check out the rest of his work here

:: vintage road trip!

Our road trip was so successful we can't wait to

start revamping all of our amazing finds!

Suzani's... patchwork... armchairs. Oh my!

We would like to introduce you to...

bokja

Let it be known, we are completely infatuated with these designs.

Bokja pieces are created with artisans in Beirut, Lebanon

by creative duo, Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri.

Bokja is a Turkish word that describes the elaborate

and detailed fabric created to cover a bride's dowry.

Embroidered by the bride's relatives, this fabulously worked

textile is meant to be a reminder of her past to be treasured in her new life as a married woman.

By marrying vintage furniture with

vintage Middle Eastern and Central Asian textiles fabrics-

this Lebanese duo are creating pieces that combine their love for

vintage furniture, antiques, vintage textiles and tapestries...

Artisans are often enlisted with a mind to help women,

with female prisoners and widowers who are being given an opportunity to support their families

in an otherwise desperate situation.

We really need at least one of these pieces in our home asap!

Anyone willing to help us cart them over from Beirut?

images via

: ARTIST OF THE WEEK :: Claire Desjardins

Claire Desjardins is passionate about contemporary abstract art--in particular,

the relationship between colour and form. Her work can be found in both private and

corporate collections, in North America, Europe and North Africa.

Claire comes from a long line of artists in her family, and embraces the multi-cultural experience,

traveling whenever she is able to. Much of her art-oriented family is spread out across Europe and in Quebec.

She grew up speaking both English and French and her personal mantra is that each of us is the maker of our

own destiny, and her bold, colourful work exudes this energy.

We are so in love with her bold acrylic artworks!

She has also recently been scouted

by anthropologie.com... very cool.

Follow Claire on Facebook here

And check out her blog here

Urban Blue

In the City

City Lights

Restored chair :: DIY love!

DIY time!

... Chairs are so fun to DIY ...

A bit of sandpaper, cream paint, reupholstery, natural coloured twine and...

voilà!

French Country Chic!

:: { cozy corner } ::

Cushions are one of the small luxuries of life. They add warmth and inspiration

to any home and are a great way to introduce colour into a neutral room.

Whether they are grouped together or used as individual highlights,

cushions make your living room so much more inviting.

Interior decorators LOVE using cushion because they have

the ability to instantly change the look of a room. We have a seriously

unhealthy obsession with cushions too, our homes are filled with them....

and we still want more! In a practical sense our back aches without one,

really.... it's true, we NEED cushions!!!!

Our favourtie right now is without a doubt the crochet cushion!

It adds texture and accentuates furniture throughout your home...

you have to have one if in the kid's room!

COMING SOON TO SKY PARLOUR!

We are completely obsessed with these amazing

aztec inspired towels and we couldn't resist giving you a sneak peek!

Produced by a tight-knit family of artisans with many years of experience

in the craftsmanship of fine textiles,

these oversize turkish beach towels have been developed

with the intention of offering unparalleled quality and one-of-a-kind

designs for the customer possesing a sharp eye for luxury goods.

The highest quality of cotton and dyes are used during the production process.

Made with 100% long staple Turkish cotton,

all the products are pre-washed and pre-shrunk,

ensuring the towels plush demeanor and ease of use.

Put them on the wish list... we will let you know when they arrive!

... COMING SOON TO SKY PARLOUR ....

hello yellow!

HELLO YELLOW!

We've always loved using yellow pieces in our interiors...

which is why we produced our yellow coffee table!

(shown in the first pic)

Yellow creates such a nice bold contrast to any room.

We're starting to see it being used in interior

decorating a lot more and we think it is genius!

Yellow is the kind of colour that can be used with any neutral palette;

either with colder neutrals like white's and greys ....

or it also works amazingly well with

warmer neutrals such as beige and mushroom.

We especially love yellow pieces when used

in contrast with timber floorboards and furniture!

The only thing we will warn you about?

Be careful not to mix it with too many bold colours,

Yellow is a colour that is strong enough to lift a room

on it's own... so keep it quite neutral!

In saying that we think everyone should have

at least one piece of yellow in their home this season!

It's just so fun!

before & after!

- M A K E O V E R -

The word makes us think of bad reality tv shows and we admit...

it is a little cringe worthy!

BUT once you see these 'makeovers' we think you'll

start to appreciate this little word!

: it all starts with a vintage school desk :

Turn the desk upside down, add a drawer and a planter box

and it ends up being a stand for

beautiful little succulents and other gardening tools!

SO CUTE!

We have a few more of these up our sleeves and they get even better!

Make sure you follow us on blogspot and like us on facebook

so you can be kept up to date with these cute little

'makeovers'

xx

Ladder Love: Recycle and repurpose!

We love recycling ideas because it's environment conscious,

it gives the best rustic aesthetic and it's oh so cheap...

TRIPLE SCORE!!!

Here are some interesting ways to convert an

old humble ladder into an interesting piece of furniture...

It's actually a really ideal way to hang your pots and pans,

laundry and even pretty hurricane lamps to jazz up

your outdoor setting! So smitten and in love!

So if you need a new shelf or hanging feature in your home,

get your creative juices cracking, look for a shabby weathered ladder

and give it a new lease of life... you may already have one in your attic!

::like a deer caught in the headlights/

We love different lighting features especially

ones we can attempt to create ourselves!

So our obsession?

* * A N T L E R L I G H T S * *

Since antlers aren't so easy to come by where we live,

we are attempting to recreate these out of tree branches

as shown in the first pic...

Seems easy enough and we love that they can double

as an amazing table feature pieces!

We'll keep you posted on the outcome!

yes we were very spoilt!

Before the celebrations are well and truly over for another year

we thought we'd show off some of our amazing christmas

presents from our KK that have just arrived from Anthropologie...

we just can't get enough of their product range!

Our favourite piece is the Amazon Dreams pincher... so beautiful!

:: it finally feels like summer ☼

A very Happy New Year to you all!

Hope everyone loved their holidays as much as we did....

Although we don't want this break to be over,

we are really excited to put all our plans into action

and lap up all the opportunities 2012 holds for us at Sky Parlour!

Wishing you guys a happy, healthy and successful year!