Home is where the Heart is

It's been a while since I've taken you on a house tour, and I think you'll like this one.You already know that I love homes filled with warmth and personality, but also 'real' homes - ones that look lived in, not too perfect, not too precious. And this one fits the bill...

It belongs to Raya Carlisle and her family in Southern California. Raya is a wedding and lifestyle photographer and author of the blog the paper pony. This first room is what captured my attention initially. I love the rug, the gorgeous curve of the sofa, and those cool lockers for storing the kids' toys. Raya picked them up for $20, and her husband, Forest, painted the doors.

Raya has been experimenting with bold colours, and loves the effect of the fuchsia slip colours she had made for these chairs, after the dog chewed the original upholstery. The colour acts like a neutral, where anything you put with it looks good.

The acrylic coffee table doesn't take up any visual space in the narrow living room. Although the baby often pulls the books off, Raya doesn't mind piling them back up - she'd rather spend a few minutes doing this and have things she really loves in her home, versus opting for something else.

Raya fell in love with these portraits of 1960's actresses at an antique shop. She loves the colours, and the gold frames are so bad, she loves them! They make her smile.

Turning the original dining room into a playroom for the kids, Raya and Forest now opt for informal dining in this gorgeous nook off the kitchen.

The kind of detail I love. If you don't have room for a bar cart, how about a bar tray!

The playroom filled with flea market treasures and an Ikea shelf.

In the children's room, a much-loved family wardrobe sits next to an Eames rocker gifted to Raya by her husband's family when she was pregnant.

An accordion peg rack is perfect for holding all the coats and bags - not just practical, it looks great too.

via design sponge

Genbyg Design

Many of us are embracing the art of upcycling. Upcycling is taking something that would otherwise be thrown out and finding a way to make it into something better. Not only are you helping our planet, but do it right, and you're creating something really cool.


Genbyg Design are doing it right. A Danish company, they specialise in creating amazing furniture out of used building materials. They process the materials contained in their joinery workshop and collaborate with other designers to develop products that are both beautiful to look at and to pay for.

This desk is made from old filing drawers

Old window frames turned into a room divider

A bookcase made of rolling scaffolding and varnished floor boards

Gorgeous stool - the base is made from old doors, and the padding is a used leather jacket

A mosaic of old floorboards create a unique wall decoration

A desk of varnished floorboards

The story behind the name

Cush & Nooks are my beautiful grandparents. 
I have very fond memories of long, hot summers spent with them, and my family, in Gisborne. 

Cush, or Cushla Mary, shared my love of pretty things and floral fabrics - I'll always remember her beautiful floral lounge suite. She introduced me to nail polish and charm bracelets, and was a wonderful mother and grandmother. 

My grandfather's name was Daniel, but everyone knew him as Nookie, or Nux (Nooks). Nookie was a keen, and very talented, photographer, who rolled his own films and then developed them in his own dark room. He would spend hours photographing all his grandchildren - I would spend hours reading all his Norman Rockwell books.

xxx