Monday 14 January 2013

Shabby Chic Meets Boho


           Welcome back to a brand new year of 
FRENCH BLUE AND PEACHY PINK

There have been some big changes to blogland since I've been gone. Blogger has changed and today I find my brand new blog layout completely all messed up because of having to change my browser with the new changes. Please bare with me until I can fix it all up again)
My time away from the computer has seen lots of wonderful times with my family.  Christmas was absolutely beautiful and I could almost put my feet up on the day because the celebrations weren't at our home.
My beautiful daughter Ruby turned 17 years old and I must admit that I felt a tad sad at the thought that she will be leaving the nest in the next couple of years and will be starting a brand new life of her own.
I decided to surprise her on her birthday with a mini room makeover while she was enjoying herself at the beach.  
I paid a visit to my local florist and bought an armload of flowers to decorate her bedroom and thought long and hard about the style I would chose. Ruby is not a shabby chic kind of girl. She is more Bohemian in style and not overly frilly fru fru.  She had been asking for goldfish for the past couple of months, so off I trotted to the pet store for some fish.
In keeping with her style, I teamed up her adored Boho Indian cushions on her bed with a simple antique Marcela quilt and simple white pillow cases. (Ok I have to be honest....I snuck in a frill or two with the pillow cases !)

I sorted through my endless antique greeting card collection and found some pretty Happy Birthday cards and pegged them to a white painted length of Tortured Willow that I also bought from the florist.
Ruby loves the white painted look of shabby chic and also the natural patina of wood and natural elements such as shells so I tried to include these things in her room.
As most teenagers spend lots of time in their bedrooms it is so important for them to love their space.
Her floor was freshly painted recently and a fresh coat of sea foam green was applied to her floor to bring in her love of the beach.

After primping and preening her bedroom for most of the day and organising big vases of flowers and float bowls to display around her room there was only one thing left to do.
She didn't know it at the time but her best friend was coming over to stay so I set them up a little tea party for two. Rose tea and a beautiful box of Laduree macaroons that I bought the day before.
It all looked as pretty as a picture !

She came home with a huge smile on her pretty face  and loved her beautiful space.
As typical teenagers do, in no time at all there were cushions on the floor and clothes strewn all over the bed. Sandy toes left their mark all over the floor but for a small moment in time her room was immaculate.  


Tea for 2 !

A box of Laduree macaroons would make anybody smile :-)



and Nemo and Dory love their new digs !


and Miss Martha our cat quite fancies Nemo and Dory too ! She has been sitting by their tank ever since they moved in.  Yes we have a lid on the top of the tank but I'm certain that if she could, Martha would be licking her lips after a feed of fresh fish........


and the piece to resistance.......the flowers.
I chose bright pink and red blooms to continue the Boho feel and I completely encrusted the floral foam ball that I had wanting to use with flowers. I will share that story with you this week for Thursday Flowers.  I was amazed at how many flowers were needed to fill the floral foam. I sat the ball of flowers on top of a round glass bowl, floated more flowers inside the bowl and set the bowl down right next to her bed on a little white iron table.
They were very happy flowers and their bright blooms flowered on and on despite the very hot weather we were having at the time.
The white candle holder (below left) was a birthday gift from someone special. It's white iron tendrils of flowers dance around the room when the candle is lit. It is beautiful !
and a new birthday dress lies in wait for the birthday girl to arrive home.
Ruby loves her Indian cushions so I stacked them up on the end of her bed so that they made an impact. The bright colours against the plain white quilt cover made the colours pop !
(above) Some pretty Ginger scented perfume and some bright new nail polishes would warm any teenagers heart.
I found this old ric rac in her favourite colour green so I wrapped her birthday gifts up in it and there is still tonnes left on the roll for other projects.

and the dream catcher (bottom right) will ensure that my girl has sweet dreams.

and all together the room looks so Boho pretty and has managed to incorporate both of our tastes.
Wow it feels so good to be back blogging.
I have lots more to share with you all over the coming days and weeks.  I have found so many amazing flea market and antique shop treasures that I am longing to show you all.

Lots of love and blessings to you all !





5 comments:

  1. Oh, Melanie, your sweet daughter must have been delighted!!! What a wonderful mom you are to prepare so many nice surprises for her! :-) I really admire the way you combined boho and shabby together, it looks fabulous! The waiting was really worth it, this post is full of beauty and I will have to go through it again later in the day ;-) Thank you so much and welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an incredible birthday gift you created for your daughter. It's wonderful when a plan comes together and you can have such a perfect result.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SO pretty, Melanie!!

    Head on over to Rose Chintz Cottage to share this at Sandi's Tea Party Tuesday!

    I love that metal bed. I had my Mini Cooper the other day and found a headboard like that at a used vintage place for only $25 - why I didn't just pay for it then, grrrr - drove home and traded cars for our huge workhorse van....got there and a lady in line in front of me bought it.

    I have been pouting ever since. SO upset.

    Anyway, love this post!

    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful-LOVE the tea cup!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fabulous birthday surprise! Lucky Ruby! Many Happy returns to her! I found you via Sandra at Maison de Pleasance, following you now. Maybe visit me if you have a moment? I love your style!

    ReplyDelete