I must say this corner has been the bane of my life for oh such a very long time…you see this funny little corner is in the Sitting Room, it’s a very hard to fit stuff in room…small, with two doors and a window all across the front…which makes furniture placement tricky…
I have had all manner of things here and nothing really has stuck…
This then I am hoping will work better…a seat just for me for when I plonk down at the end of the day with a pile of cooking books and a drink…
It seems to look really, really really white at the moment…there is not a single sign of life, a child, a pet or anything on it…YET…for sure in this old place that won’t last long…no doubt before long there will be pen, chocolate, sticky finger marks, any manner of drink spilled on it, biscuit crumbs…and that’s before I untie the kids from the tree out the front (thank you Kasey for that parenting tip, it’s working so well in helping to keep everything white)
I can’t resist slip covered white furniture and so looking for this has been very easy, really I couldn’t even consider anything else, though I did look at, fleetingly, a gingham grey, which if I had a bigger room for another chair or two I would definitely add…
So before I went to IKEA to buy the rug, I had looked at quite a lot of other slip-covered white chairs and not many of them really floated my boat…most stuff at the moment is too sleek and modern for me with very plain lines…but this Ektorp is a little more traditional, bit more classic, at least that’s how I see it..you may well thing that it just looks old-fashioned..
My criteria were
puffiness
whiteness
comfiness
washableness
and this met them in one fell swoop
plus it was seriously more budget friendly than any of the others that I looked at…
Now considering there are three male brains in this house and one very impatient female one it is surprising that it took as long as it did to get it put together…yeah yeah I could have done it myself, but you know what, I like to let those men think they are in charge, they are the superior ones…when really we all know who wears the trousers
I had to promise a few things though…it seems the partaking in the watching of sport in the weekday evenings is the fore runner to the partaking in sport at the weekend for those three…and not much else gets done…
There was quite a lot of mumbling and eyebrows about the chair…
…and I hadn’t yet mentioned the clock-putting-up…(no purrrlease I’d rather you didn’t email me about the ease of usage of the power tool..right now that is one boy thing I don’t want or need to learn…that may well change in the future but for now, leaving it to the boys for me is kewl)
but ladies in the DIY-Clock-Putting-Up-Department and as you will know if you have been in BC Land for very long I had a very good card up my sleeve…do I need to tell you which one I played
I am assuming that if you too are an IKEA aficionado you too will have lusted over this clock….
I don’t know how long they have been carrying it, but I am pretty sure I was giving it the eye back in England…I love it…rather more over-sized when I got it home that I thought it was…it was ear-marked for the Breakfast Room but didn’t quite fit in there once I got it out of the packaging…so it ended up in the Sitting Room for now, which really is not perfect because I want to be able to see this when I am running late, and tucked in here that won’t happen…
I did enjoy putting all this together…and taking photos of it…sometimes it’s a great thing to have this blog…’cos this sure won’t look quite like this by the end of a weekend in this place…
I imagine that you wouldn’t have wanted me to wait until Sunday night to show you when this corner, will more than likely, have about it’s person the addition of at least two sport bags, possibly one or more pairs of soccer boots, the odd AFL jersey thrown around for good measure, and just the general clutter from a family of 5…
I thought you’d prefer to see it like this
Most of these bits are from vintage treasure hunting…the crochet you already know about, same with the unit which is an old meat safe I painted white and is absolutely rammed right now with books and stuff…I really need to have a clear out…
I love layering up mirrors…these have been with me for ages now….
and I love hooks and pegs and the like…I am going to make some book bags and hang them on here…
The greenery is Australian Gum/eucalyptus…LOVE LOVE LOVE…if you can get your hands on this stuff, do, you won’t be disappointed…it smells divine…I love having this in this old cottage….talk about knock your socks off…wowza, the fragrance is da bomb
..I used all the bottom leaves too to float in little glass bowls and popped them here and there….
…and you know about the Wellies…Hunter’s
I guess then that is it from my new little corner, I hope you like it…
think of me this evening…when it’s chilly Down Under and I will be curled up here, no doubt there will be soccer or sport being played somewhere in the depths of this place, but I will be here…with a cookery book, perhaps a Limoncello, definitely a Curly Wurly and ready with a bottle of bleach…
Sarah dear,
I love the ektorp couches and chairs!
I adore this one and this little corner and what you’ve done with it…what a cozy spot.
My dream is for a 3 seater or a loveseat the same as this with removable cushion covers of course!
I am so glad to hear how comfy they are!
Love your style, and the ecalyptus must smell fabulous!!
Loved your post..you are so refreshing!!
have a great weekend!!
I love what you have done with your corner..I love my ektorp sofa! and yes..it has kitty and puppy prints all over it right now..I really like that clock..i was just saying to myself…we need a big schoolhouse looking clock in our kitchen…we just moved and there are no clocks anywhere except the TV…I never know what time it is when I put something in the oven. How big is your guy? I wonder if I have room….great corner…so soothing..
LOVE LOVE LOVE is right. Is the coat hook from Ikea too? I missed where that came from. The closest store I have is over by San Francisco in a town called Emmeryville. It’s the town right before you cross the Bay Bridge to go into the city. San Francisco is about 1 1/2 hours from my home. I need to take a drive over there. So many people are sharing some really, really cool buys from Ikea lately!
Stunning corner. Such a shame the kids will soon be taking it over. You need a “secret reading room” like Layla’s with a big sign at the entrance saying “NO KIDS ALLOWED”!
You are just fabulous! I love your blog!!! I just recently did a post on visiting IKEA here in Italy while we’re living here this year. I got the exact same pitcher you have in the background of these pics!!! (and some other white lovelies!)
Hugs/have an awesome day/I can’t believe it’s fall there around the world,
Lana In Italy
This looks like the absolute perfect corner to sit and have a drink and a flick through a book or two. Any chance you can pop over Stateside and work your magic here in this old place??? Lx
Love your new corner Sarah, especially the photo with you in the mirror…looks really cool….however, the moving photo, although very clever and quite fascinating…is doin my head in…it’s Saturday night and I’ve had a couple of champas (after, I might add, helping at the village church fair all day)….love ektorp…great value and washable!!! Robx
p.s. I think I spied some blue gum at a local florist recently…my Mum hated getting an arrangement of flowers with blue gum in it…her generation just doesn’t get the idea of gum leaves in their floral arrangements!!
Now that looks quite cozy! I love my big comfy white chair in my master~paris hotel suite…I want another for my den and one for my studio!!
Armchair love…yeah…I have it too!!!
Hi Sarah, I have loved the ektorp too and contemplated it for our family room but I have a french styled couch with thin cushions needing a revamp to thicker and squishier cushions but I dont know where to start. Your corner looks great and I hope you can enjoy it as per your plan. Have a great weekend, Fiona
I so love Ektorp too! It is what I hope to have one day soon in our family room. Just love your little corner. what fun you must have had putting that together!
soooooo cute!
gotta love the hooks – I don’t know why, but I really love hooks!!
I just found your blog – I’m a Canadian with kids getting education down-under.
Love your site!
I LOVE IT! My house is white, white and more white! I sometimes argue the “linen” “cotton” and “sand” labels, but it is what it is- white. Our family room (aka the mancave) is the one spot that has a cowhide rug, dark tables and gasp! a big screen tv! Eeew, is it ugly. but it keeps the menfolk busy while I bask in the sea of white!
Thanks for sharing!
Kerry at housetalkn.blogspot.com
hey been thinking about getting a 3 seater ektorp for yonks!! loved all the reviews about it….australian gum/eculyptus is divine!! We do all our cleaning with eculyptus oil…smells gorgeous!! Your corner looks insanely comfortable….so jealous
love that striped grey scarf you have on the hook too! ;o)
i have a question for you while i am here…have your ever posted a floorplan of your house? if not, would you? could you? i love navigating my way through spaces and a floorplan makes it easy to visualize!
love from winnipeg, manitoba canada where summer is here and the temps are rising – you all think it’s cold in canada but you are all very sadly mistaken – sure, minus 30 degrees celsius in winter from november to february but we’re plus 30 degrees celsius in summer.
seriously gorgeous……. just pop that chair in the post for me lovey… that’s the girl
I have two seriously divine chairs from France that are a scrumptious duck egg blue…… my small boys have completely trashed the fabric and my heart is broken….. but your story has made me think I could get them seriously steam cleaned and then have some slip covers made for them during this dreadful phase of incessant sticky fingers
I do love the chair and everything about your corner spot, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around using white chairs. One day with my grandson eating chocolate donuts or my pets deciding to take a nap on a such an inviting chair …well, I’d be covering all that white up. I guess some people do cover up the fabric until company comes by and that’s their answer. Don’t you worry about getting all that white dirty beyond cleaning just a spot or two?
I love the Ektorp chair and it looks just like it belongs in your little corner! Enjoy! Looks like a great place for Sunday morning tea and reading too…:0
Seriously the Ektorp covers wash up like brand new everytime and become much softer with age as they crease and wear and look shabby all the more. Love mine, I have two x 2 seaters in white with Kids and pets and never had a problem in the last 6 years or so. Have two sets of covers, one in the wash and one on the sofas and change them about every 6 weeks or so depending on when they are no longer white looking. Some basic food rules apply but nothing more and everyone is happy! I hope you love your armchair as much as I love my sofas Sarah, gorgeously stunning corner. Love it!
Ah Sarah, you have lifted my spirits again. Feeling a little down today and what do I do, see what your blog and you of course has been up to. Love what you have done. Keep up the good work! Hugs
What a heavenly and white corner! You do such soft colors and white is my fav.,specially by the beach in “Australia”!! Thanks for your visit and lovely comment! I love that I visit thru blog friendship, with great ladies, such as you, from a far away land!!… it keeps my spirit in life uppity!! Lots of hugs. FABBY
I love love love your style. Are you a trained stylist or merchandiser? It looks like it because I love the way you can make ikea things look good! How do you pick things out on there, all I see is bright colors and loud prints???????????
Thanks for playing along Sarah. I’ve admired your blog and home sor sometime now. This is a perfect little corner for you to get inspired in the evenings:-0
Lovely sarah, could you tell me when your shop is re-opening? I bought one of your runners and it has pride of place on my table, I would love the pillows to go with it. Your shop was only open for a week or so, wondering why .
I absolutely LOVE your little sitting area!! I have a mostly white home out here in sunny Southern California and I love to see what other people have done with theirs. I’m really pretty new to blogging and I find it so exciting that after a couple of clicks I could end up in someones home on the other side of the world. Thanks so much for sharing. I guess I should post pics of my place too :0)
A few years back, we went to Ikea to look (did you read “look”) at some furniture, and came home with $2500 worth of the stuff. In our living room, we have the Ektorp sectional and ottoman, and in “my” room (part stitching room, part retreat), I have an Ektorp chair, just like yours, but not in white. We have a large german shepherd dog, which sheds everywhere, so I’m not sure that a white slipcover would work, but your room looks so gorgeous, that when I buy new slipcovers, I might have to buy the white ones.
Hi Sara I have been admiring your blog for a while now and love it . I’m new to the blog world… don’t have one of my own but love visiting all the great ones out there. Yours was the first I found after googling beach cottage styled rooms and the one I come back to
the most. Your’e a funny lady and I always have to smile when I visit you. The one that made me lol tho was when you talked about
stashing your findsunder the house and all over the place and bringing ‘em out a few at a time. Reminds me of me. Your corner is
I love the style. I just found a chair like that for sale on a local ad website for 40.00 US dollars. It is fluffy and comfy, my requirements.
I have shopped Ikea and enjoy it once or twice a year for kitchen items and decorating. I like the hook sequence you have over the chair,
a great place to put a tote bag or sweater Am going to search my local Goodwill for a similar shell glass holder to incorporate my large shell collection into for display. My Mom collected shells since the 30′s and I have oodles of glass jars full of beauitful different shells from beaches all over the USA. .
I to was a sport widow we call it here in the states, is when your husband chooses sports. Here is hoping you enjoy your quiet corner while the noisy games are on elsewhere.
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Beach Cottage ladies, we have some vintage linen and some wood/twig washed up on the beach today here in Beach Cottage Land….don’t say I don’t keep you entertained now will you . Come on in. So, yep I have posted about colanders on this blog, about things sourced from the side of the road, about [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
Sarah dear,
I love the ektorp couches and chairs!
I adore this one and this little corner and what you’ve done with it…what a cozy spot.
My dream is for a 3 seater or a loveseat the same as this with removable cushion covers of course!
I am so glad to hear how comfy they are!
Love your style, and the ecalyptus must smell fabulous!!
Loved your post..you are so refreshing!!
have a great weekend!!
Deborah xoxo
I love what you have done with your corner..I love my ektorp sofa! and yes..it has kitty and puppy prints all over it right now..I really like that clock..i was just saying to myself…we need a big schoolhouse looking clock in our kitchen…we just moved and there are no clocks anywhere except the TV…I never know what time it is when I put something in the oven. How big is your guy? I wonder if I have room….great corner…so soothing..
Sarah
I love your style and your sense of fun with making your home a special place.
My husband thinks I’m crazy when I arrange and rearrange furniture and ornaments. I find it so satisfying and soothing. It brings me such joy.
I continue to be surprised at how many things you and I both like.
very cute, love the chair & also love that eucalyptus smell….mmmmm
have a great weekend Sarah!
LOVE LOVE LOVE is right. Is the coat hook from Ikea too? I missed where that came from. The closest store I have is over by San Francisco in a town called Emmeryville. It’s the town right before you cross the Bay Bridge to go into the city. San Francisco is about 1 1/2 hours from my home. I need to take a drive over there. So many people are sharing some really, really cool buys from Ikea lately!
Hi Sarah, one word – DIVINE!x
Stunning corner. Such a shame the kids will soon be taking it over. You need a “secret reading room” like Layla’s with a big sign at the entrance saying “NO KIDS ALLOWED”!
ps – found how to animate the pics
Love it!
And yep, been eyeing off that clock for a while now!
Lovely corner…everyone needs one even if a day later things are thrown every which way.
The crner looks great with this chair! The chair looks like you could just curl up in it with a cup of tea and a good book! Have a wonderful day!
You are just fabulous! I love your blog!!! I just recently did a post on visiting IKEA here in Italy while we’re living here this year. I got the exact same pitcher you have in the background of these pics!!! (and some other white lovelies!)
Hugs/have an awesome day/I can’t believe it’s fall there around the world,
Lana In Italy
This looks like the absolute perfect corner to sit and have a drink and a flick through a book or two. Any chance you can pop over Stateside and work your magic here in this old place??? Lx
Love your new corner Sarah, especially the photo with you in the mirror…looks really cool….however, the moving photo, although very clever and quite fascinating…is doin my head in…it’s Saturday night and I’ve had a couple of champas (after, I might add, helping at the village church fair all day)….love ektorp…great value and washable!!! Robx
p.s. I think I spied some blue gum at a local florist recently…my Mum hated getting an arrangement of flowers with blue gum in it…her generation just doesn’t get the idea of gum leaves in their floral arrangements!!
Now that looks quite cozy! I love my big comfy white chair in my master~paris hotel suite…I want another for my den and one for my studio!!
Armchair love…yeah…I have it too!!!
yum yum……..no need to say anything more
Hi Sarah, I have loved the ektorp too and contemplated it for our family room but I have a french styled couch with thin cushions needing a revamp to thicker and squishier cushions but I dont know where to start. Your corner looks great and I hope you can enjoy it as per your plan. Have a great weekend, Fiona
Beautiful Sarah!! That ektorp looks amazing, with all your other fab finds!! Very Very cozy!!
I so love Ektorp too! It is what I hope to have one day soon in our family room. Just love your little corner. what fun you must have had putting that together!
soooooo cute!
gotta love the hooks – I don’t know why, but I really love hooks!!
I just found your blog – I’m a Canadian with kids getting education down-under.
Love your site!
I LOVE IT! My house is white, white and more white! I sometimes argue the “linen” “cotton” and “sand” labels, but it is what it is- white. Our family room (aka the mancave) is the one spot that has a cowhide rug, dark tables and gasp! a big screen tv! Eeew, is it ugly. but it keeps the menfolk busy while I bask in the sea of white!
Thanks for sharing!
Kerry at housetalkn.blogspot.com
hey been thinking about getting a 3 seater ektorp for yonks!! loved all the reviews about it….australian gum/eculyptus is divine!! We do all our cleaning with eculyptus oil…smells gorgeous!! Your corner looks insanely comfortable….so jealous
ektorp = squishy!
love ektorp!!!
love that striped grey scarf you have on the hook too! ;o)
i have a question for you while i am here…have your ever posted a floorplan of your house? if not, would you? could you? i love navigating my way through spaces and a floorplan makes it easy to visualize!
love from winnipeg, manitoba canada where summer is here and the temps are rising – you all think it’s cold in canada but you are all very sadly mistaken – sure, minus 30 degrees celsius in winter from november to february but we’re plus 30 degrees celsius in summer.
teres
)
Looks great and when reality strikes and it becomes kiddoed you will always have these gorgeous pics.
seriously gorgeous……. just pop that chair in the post for me lovey… that’s the girl
I have two seriously divine chairs from France that are a scrumptious duck egg blue…… my small boys have completely trashed the fabric and my heart is broken….. but your story has made me think I could get them seriously steam cleaned and then have some slip covers made for them during this dreadful phase of incessant sticky fingers
thanks xx
I do love the chair and everything about your corner spot, but I can’t seem to wrap my head around using white chairs. One day with my grandson eating chocolate donuts or my pets deciding to take a nap on a such an inviting chair …well, I’d be covering all that white up. I guess some people do cover up the fabric until company comes by and that’s their answer. Don’t you worry about getting all that white dirty beyond cleaning just a spot or two?
Ooh, that chair looks so cozy! And I love the hooks. Ok, I’m off to browse the Ikea website.
I love the Ektorp chair and it looks just like it belongs in your little corner! Enjoy! Looks like a great place for Sunday morning tea and reading too…:0
Seriously the Ektorp covers wash up like brand new everytime and become much softer with age as they crease and wear and look shabby all the more. Love mine, I have two x 2 seaters in white with Kids and pets and never had a problem in the last 6 years or so. Have two sets of covers, one in the wash and one on the sofas and change them about every 6 weeks or so depending on when they are no longer white looking. Some basic food rules apply but nothing more and everyone is happy! I hope you love your armchair as much as I love my sofas Sarah, gorgeously stunning corner. Love it!
LOVE that style from IKEA! I recently bought the white slipcover for the couch and it just happened to fit my old junker! I blogged about it here- http://postroadvintage.com/2011/02/my-living-room-ikea-country-style.html LOVE that corner of your home Sarah!
That corner is such a perfect replica of heaven! Makes me want to grab a book and a mug of hot cocoa
Really pretty!!! 
Ah Sarah, you have lifted my spirits again. Feeling a little down today and what do I do, see what your blog and you of course has been up to. Love what you have done. Keep up the good work! Hugs
What a heavenly and white corner! You do such soft colors and white is my fav.,specially by the beach in “Australia”!! Thanks for your visit and lovely comment! I love that I visit thru blog friendship, with great ladies, such as you, from a far away land!!… it keeps my spirit in life uppity!! Lots of hugs. FABBY
I love love love your style. Are you a trained stylist or merchandiser? It looks like it because I love the way you can make ikea things look good! How do you pick things out on there, all I see is bright colors and loud prints???????????
Also if you don’t mind how did you do the floors?
Thanks sarah
Thanks for playing along Sarah. I’ve admired your blog and home sor sometime now. This is a perfect little corner for you to get inspired in the evenings:-0
xoxo
Kathleen
What a lovely little corner. You’ve got me thinking about that Ikea clock now!
Lovely sarah, could you tell me when your shop is re-opening? I bought one of your runners and it has pride of place on my table, I would love the pillows to go with it. Your shop was only open for a week or so, wondering why
.
Couches and chairs are very beautiful! They are comfortable and stylish. Thanks for sharing really very nice post.
I absolutely LOVE your little sitting area!! I have a mostly white home out here in sunny Southern California and I love to see what other people have done with theirs. I’m really pretty new to blogging and I find it so exciting that after a couple of clicks I could end up in someones home on the other side of the world. Thanks so much for sharing. I guess I should post pics of my place too :0)
Wow! The sitting room looks great. I love your use of accent items.
A few years back, we went to Ikea to look (did you read “look”) at some furniture, and came home with $2500 worth of the stuff. In our living room, we have the Ektorp sectional and ottoman, and in “my” room (part stitching room, part retreat), I have an Ektorp chair, just like yours, but not in white. We have a large german shepherd dog, which sheds everywhere, so I’m not sure that a white slipcover would work, but your room looks so gorgeous, that when I buy new slipcovers, I might have to buy the white ones.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Sara I have been admiring your blog for a while now and love it . I’m new to the blog world… don’t have one of my own but love visiting all the great ones out there. Yours was the first I found after googling beach cottage styled rooms and the one I come back to
the most. Your’e a funny lady and I always have to smile when I visit you. The one that made me lol tho was when you talked about
stashing your findsunder the house and all over the place and bringing ‘em out a few at a time. Reminds me of me. Your corner is
adorable, like the rest of your cottage.
I love the style. I just found a chair like that for sale on a local ad website for 40.00 US dollars. It is fluffy and comfy, my requirements.
I have shopped Ikea and enjoy it once or twice a year for kitchen items and decorating. I like the hook sequence you have over the chair,
a great place to put a tote bag or sweater Am going to search my local Goodwill for a similar shell glass holder to incorporate my large shell collection into for display. My Mom collected shells since the 30′s and I have oodles of glass jars full of beauitful different shells from beaches all over the USA. .
I to was a sport widow we call it here in the states, is when your husband chooses sports. Here is hoping you enjoy your quiet corner while the noisy games are on elsewhere.