A day in the life: 14.12.11

The renovation update: So, today is a biiiig day at Casa Tonic as our new balustrade is being installed! Mr Tonic took much delight in disassembling ripping down the current wire and timber number, despite the fact that it took 5 times longer than he anticipated and resulted in him using "every bloody tool in my tool shed!":

(below) No balustrade! I could get used to this...

The hat stand: Yes it's true! Table Tonic Moroccan Leather Pouffes (shown in Caramel) make a nifty side table-slash-hat stand!

The salad dressing: Thee salad dressing, actually. And I never, ever use bottle salad dressing, but the only ingredients in this little beauty are olive oil, vinegar, sugar, onion, mustard, poppy seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper. The lovely Rich Glen Olive Oil people were kind enough to send me their "Poppy's Salad Dressing" and some beautiful oils, and my goodness it's delicious! And a little bit sweet, which I love in a dressing... Hooked. PS I've had it all of a week and look - it's half empty!

The C-bomb: The green smoothies are still going strong, as is my new Vitamix (beg, borrow and steal Tonic-ettes) and these days, I'm fortunate enough to be enjoying them with a carton of C Coconut Water thrown in (it's "Australia's first 100% pure organic coconut water"). I normally buy mine from Thomas Dux, but...

... (enter blogging perk number 2) A case of C Cononut Water arrived last week and I've been downing it like there's no tomorrow! Hot tip: It sounds obvious, but drink it ice cold. Refreshing and rehydrating (something about electrolytes) on a grand scale.

The bedroom makeover: See the inspiration behind the makeover and get the deets here!

(above) I bought the cotton blanket on our bed from Anna Spiro's very first Black + Spiro "vignette". I absolutely adore it. Way punchy.

The Tonic's tree: Mr Tonic spent the better part of Saturday morning yelling obscenities after the local servo sold out of trees by 9am. A trip to the next suburb proved fruitful and I, in turn, spent the remainder of the day yelling obscenitites. The tree was big and our existing decorations were measly. Off to the local $2 shop I went and $34.50 later, it started to resemble a Christmas tree. One that drops needles and baubles and requires sugar water every freaking day. But damn they smell good!

The instant updater: We're having 21 (or was it 22?) for Christmas lunch and I was delighted with the Christmas-y effect a couple of these Table Tonic "Marlon" buntings had on our dining room! It's instantly 110% more festive, and to be honest, I may just keep them up permanently (I just used pinboard pins, pressed into the top of the timber panels)!

Happy Wednesday Tonic-ettes! Only 11 more sleeps!

Back in stock: Table Tonic Ikat cushions!

As of rightnow, all of our beautiful Table Tonic handwoven Ikat cushions are officially back in stock and ready to ship! The most popular style/colour by far lately? These! They really do breathe life into any space or room, whether it's a kid's bedroom or a formal living area.

All orders placed on Table Tonic are dispatched within 24 hours of payment clearing (plenty of time for Chrissie orders!). Delivery within NSW takes around 1-2 working days, SA, VIC and QLD around 3-4 working days, and up to 10 working days for other areas. Contact me if you have any questions, and click to shop Table Tonic cushions!

TT onine store update: Colour your world!

A bunch of table Tonic Moroccan Leather Pouffes are now back in stock! Red, Turquoise, Bright Yellow... Even the popular Dark Turquoise pouffes are back! Colour your world and click to shop! PS Have you seen the newest colour? It's the prettiest lavender/mauve colour I've ever seen... Here she is (click to buy):

Happy weekend Hotties!

Stylish Homes: Maria & Eduardo Villa

When your name is Maria Villa, your background is in Interior Design and Fine Art, and your husband is an Architect, chances are, you're going to live in a pretty swoony, impeccably decorated house. Know what I'm saying? Maria and Eduardo are the Villas behind Sydney based design firm Villa + Villa, "a team of progressive Architects, Interior and graphic designers" and today we're going to sit nicely and look at some pictures of their beautiful Lower North Shore home. No fidgeting. And keep your questions until the end.

(above and below) Maria is thrilled with her Table Tonic Juju Hat! You can't beat an off white Juju on a dark wall - So dramatic isn't it?

Photography by Ross Coffey and Lucy Feagins.

Thank you so much for the extra photos Maria! PS You must, must, MUST take the full tour of Maria Villa's Sydney home on The Design Files. It really is one of the loveliest I've ever seen. 

JUST IN! Multicolour Mexican Suzanis at Table Tonic!

The beautiful Multicolour Mexican Suzanis are back in stock right now at tabletonic.com.au! Not only that, but for a short time only, grab one for 25% off the marked price (simply enter coupon code NOVEMBER at final checkout stage)! That's $366.75 (rrp $489). Whether you choose to hang it on the wall (like this TT customer) or throw it over your bed is up to you! Click to buy.

PS I'm often asked if the Mexican Suzanis come in a larger size (for a King Size bed). Unfortunately, they are almost all embroidered onto a (roughly) 180 x 180cm piece of base cloth BUT did you see this beautiful Mexican Suzani in the November issue of Real Living? Genius! Simply have a border in the fabric of your choice stitched onto it, transforming it from a beautiful Suzani, into a bedspread of grand proportions:

And remember, you can order a Table Tonic Mexican Suzani in virtually any colour you can dream of (click for more info). Happy Hump Day Tonic-ettes!

Table Tonic 20% off storewide sale CONTINUES!

CLICK TO SHOP!

Friday Fab Five: Swoony things for your style-radar

1. THE LABEL: I'm quite loving ANU's "luxurious yet relaxed" (my fashion mantra!) new-season collection. Think featherweight silk and cotton maxi dresses/skirts, batwing kaftans, hand-dyed and ruched oriental kaftans, backless jumpsuits, single-sleeve and off-the-shoulder dresses, as well as "palazzo pants". PS Oprah (Goddess) wore an ANU Zebra Print oversized shirt during her visit to Australia!! But it's this dress (below) that I'm really swooning over. My weekends undoubtedly be merrier with this on my back! Dear Santa...

2. THE PANTS: So the Nudie Jeans Khaki range is killing me! I bought mine - that's them below - (Tight, in "deep soil") online from General Pants (who offer free next-day delivery when you spend over $70. Awesome!). They have a tiny bit of stretch too, which normally I hate, but these are perfection. Did I just buy more from the Nudie Khaki range on We Love Jeans? Why yes I did, thanks for asking. Nudies are the only jeans/pants that suit my (2-children-later) body, so heck, when you're onto a good thing you tend to stick to it! Oh, and the nice Nudie webstore people ship worldwide too - free when you spend over $230.

3. THE NEW EARRING ALERT! Those dingin' clever bohemian poppets over at Spell have just added these ridiculously heavenly angel wing earrings to their collection (click to buy). I also have the Little Jupiter wings necklace, a mother's day gift from earlier this year. I think I am officially an angel with all these wings flying around!

4. THE BEAUTIFYING SUPERFOODS: If you like your beauty with a side of "yum!", you're going to adore the SUPER by Nicholas Perricone range. "World renowned healthy aging expert" Nicholas Perricone is best known as pioneer of the concept that what you feed your skin can up your beauty quotient. Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan. I'm in. SUPER by Nicholas Perricone is exclusive to Kit Cosmetics in Australia. Check out the ingredients(!):

(above) I use the Hyper Hydrator with Coconut Water - a drink for your skin! SO good. Buy it here. PS You must check out the SUPER by Nicholas Perricone website - It's gorgeous!

5. THE NEW LOOT: Without giving too much away just yet, there are some beautiful new goodies coming soon to the Table Tonic online store... Watch this space!

And hey - Don't forget to shop the Table Tonic 20% off storewide sale! Ends midnight Sunday!

Take 20% off EVERYTHING at tabletonic.com.au

Ikat cushions $63.20  { SHOP }

Moroccan Leather Pouffes $159.20  { SHOP }

Metallic Moroccan Leather Pouffes $176  { SHOP }

Juju Hats $319.20 - $520  { SHOP } 

Multicolour Juju Hats $600  { SHOP }

Mexican Suzani Throws $359.20   { SHOP }

Multicolour Mexican Suzani Throws $391.20  { SHOP }

Moroccan Wedding Blankets $368 - $632  { SHOP }

:: CLICK TO SHOP ::

Table talk with Louise Bell: "Inside my colourful world"

As you know by now (because I posted about it here), the birthday issue of Ivy and Piper went live a few days back. The I & P girls, Melanie and Elizabeth were kind enough to have me as a contributor this past year, and it's been a mega-blast. So here's this issue's thang: "Inside my Colourful World" (click to read Ivy and Piper, and find me on pages 102-107). That reminds me - There is a lovely quote in the current issue of House Beautiful, along the lines of: "Don't be afraid of colour - You'll be surprised how good it makes you feel". Amen to that!

:: click to read Ivy and Piper 
:: click to shop tabletonic.com.au
 

Room of the day: Pink & Orange girl's bedroom

I think I just found Anoushka's next bedroom....

Isn't it fun? It's by Andrika King Design - Click here to see the rest of the room. Oh, and you must visit Andrika's beautiful blog - you may have heard of it - Nursery Notations. PS In case you were wondering, this is what Noushie's room looks like now. It's a natural progression... Don't you think? PPS Loving the Raspberry Juju Hat!!! PPPS Big thanks to Table Tonic reader Juli, who emailed me to say: "Hi Louise, Love your blog and go to it nearly every day! Saw this picture of the Juju Hat used in a nursery from the blog Nursery Notations. Thought you'd like it, if you haven't seen it already. Regards, Juli". You were right, Juli - I adore it!

Table Tonic in the Howard's Storage World catalogue!

Remember this picture of Anoushka-Tonic's newly decorated room? 

Well! Much to my delight, the folks over at Howard's Storage World were so enamored with my use/styling of their "Tubtrugs", that they gave me a shout out in their newest catalogue (I know!!!!!), which hit all HSW stores last Monday, and will be in stores for a year(!).

Ironically, I picked up the new catalogue when I was in Howard's Storage World buying even more "Tubtrugs" for the TV room! I call them a very easy solution to kid's toys strewn throughout the entire house (they have handles, people!). And yes, I'm addicted.
Click to view the Howard's Storage World catalogue online.

Isn't the cover great? So, what's your star buy at Howards Storage World? Tell me!
 

Table Tonic reader photo: My TT Mexican Suzani

I always loved the idea of stretching a Mexican Suzani over a canvas. They're so graphic in their design, and up close, thousands of tiny hand embroidered stitches make up scenes of birds, flowers, rabbits and other creatures. One of my (very clever) customers recently sent me this photo of her Suzani, proudly hanging in her hallway, stretched on a canvas. Doesn't it look amazing?! I suggested she give it a good spray with a waterproofer like scotchguard prior to hanging it up, and dust it regularly to avoid build up of dirt. PS The multicolour suzanis always fly out the door, but we have one new piece arriving in the next few weeks - click here to pre-order it!

Click to shop Mexican Suzanis on tabletonic.com.au, and if there is ever a colour you need that isn't in stock, click here to send us an email and we'll do our best to get one in for you at no extra cost. Happy "Hump Day" Tonic-ettes!

Table Tonic Ikat cushions at Magnolia Square

Magnolia Square was held at Melbourne's Ivanhoe on the weekend (did you go?), and if you haven't already, check out Heather Nette King's Magnolia Square post as well as Salvation Jane's (aka Neighbors starlet Jane Hall!) Magnolia Square post here (just quietly, those are 2 blogs you're going to want to bookmark). Enormous thanks to the uber-talented pair who borrowed a bunch of Table Tonic Ikat cushions for one of their brilliant displays (below).

GET THE LOOK AT HOME:

(below) Green Chevron Ikat cushion (45cm) CLICK TO BUY

(below) Turquoise Spot Ikat cushion (45cm) CLICK TO BUY

Heather and Jane, you are superstars - thank you so much for showing them a good time! PS Happy Tuesday Tonic-ettes!

New! Happy-hued Mexican Suzanis coming to TT!

Exciting times at TT HQ! We've just ordered a handful of beautiful new hand embroidered Mexican Suzani throws for the Table Tonic online store! And they're all available for pre-order now (for delivery early/mid September)! Choose from:

(above) Watermelon*, $449 (click for details)
* Only 1 available

(above) Aqua*, $449 (click for details)
* Only 1 available

(above) Sunshine*, $449 (click for details)
* Only 1 available

(above) Mauve*, $449 (click for details)
* Only 1 available

 (above) Multicolour*, $489 (click for details)
* 3 available

I've had customers do everything from using them as bedspreads, to stretching them over a giant canvas, to re-upholstering their favourite chair. Yes, Mexican Suzanis are (still) the decor flavour of the minute!

- To view a recent Apartment Therapy post on Mexican Suzanis, click here. 

- To view Design Sponge's Grace Bonney upholstering her headboard with a Mexican Suzani, click here. PS Grace's first book, Design Sponge at Home will be released in Australia in September, and I'll be reviewing it for you soon!

- To view super-talented textile designer/illustrator Lena Corwin's Suzani Stencil drawers, click here.

- To view the full range of rainbow-bright Suzanis available at Table Tonic, click here.