My Dream Beach House - Found

I stumbled upon this gorgeous article about a modern beach house in St Barth - and I fell in love with it straight away.

What can I say, it's perfect in every way. The article is written in Spanish (I think) so all I can do is drool over the pictures to gleam as much info as possible. If anyone can translate the article please let me know, I've included the text - would love to absolutely know more about this stunning property.

I know you'll all just love it too, so please enjoy the gorgeous house tour and have an adorable Tuesday.

My little girl would adore the pink golf cart.

On a hot sticky day, this place would cool you down for sure.

I'm loving the contrast of crisp white and dark timbers.

The blue and white really bring the place to life - love it.

The sheer simplicity gives so much peace and calm - very serene.

I could work from here.

 

Lovely shower.

Happy Island Styling.

(all images courtesy of Marie Claire Maison)

Pretty Birds all in a Row - Gorgeous Tropical Bird Antique Illustrations

I love antique botanics and bird illustrations. They are amazingly beautiful and fascinating to look at. This was how many a botanist or zoologist captured what they had observed on travels and expeditions.

Here are a few gorgeous Australian tropical birds illustrated by John Gould in the 19th century.

The Rosella is a beautiful tropical bird, we had 2 Crimson Rosella's in our garden in NSW, they were always happily greeted each day as they paraded up and down the fence together.

Apparently these lovely birds are now extinct in Australia, they were native to NSW.

This is a yellow Rosella, interesting because it looks like a cross between a Budgie and a Rosella.

Western Rosella's.

India Hicks bedroom with antique bird prints on the wall.

And now meet Cyril, isn't he sweet.

He's such a cute vintage inspired ceramic parrot - similar to the kind Catherine Martin used in the film Australia. Catherine loves Australiana and sparked a huge interest in Australian flora and fauna especially in its modern stylistic representations.

You can find the gorgeous Cyril at coastalhome.com.au

Happy Island Styling.

My Nice Surprise - Thanks Squeezed Daily

Catching up yesterday on my favourite blogs I had a lovely surprise.

Sarah at Squeezed Daily has ranked Oceania Island Living in her top 5 blog picks for 2011. Sarah's also got a beautiful fun blog celebrating tropical lifestyle at squeezeddaily.blogspot.com

I'm so honoured with this and it's lovely to have my work appreciated. What you may not know is that behind the scenes of Oceania, I lead a very busy life working professionally full time in the interiors industry as a designer, I'm also mum to an energetic 7 year old and with that a house to run too, I do not have a nanny or staff to help out just my lovely hubby who's very supportive.

So the hours I do have free I pour into Oceania because I just love it. Oceania is my passion and it's steadily growing, so I do appreciate all your wonderful support.

The most exciting part has to be all the wonderful comments I get particularly when people discover Oceania for the first time. I do feel I make a positive and inspiring impact and will absolutely endeavour to keep on delivering beautiful posts to you all in 2012, with your support that is. So do spread the word on Oceania with your friends, family & associates, it'll keep this multi-plate spinning coastal loving lady a chance to keep bringing you more of what you love.

Happy Island Styling

Happy Australia Day

It's the 26th January 2012 a special day for all Australians as we celebrate Australia and what it means to be an Australian.

I became an Australian citizen 9 years ago, on the day after my wedding - talk about a huge weekend. After such an amazing series of celebrations my husband & I headed to Hamilton Island for our honeymoon.

Hamilton Island is in the Whitsundays, home to the Great Barrier Reef. An amazing magical place I'll never forget and will continue to visit for many years to come.

This has to be nature at its most spectacular best.

The vivid greens, blues, turquoises and aquas are all a heavenly mix to me.

And so it was a simple decision when I chose my engagement ring a year before I was married.

Australian Opal.

A magical and delicate stone.

One that captures all the colours of a lagoon.

When we visited the prestigious opal jeweller Guillians the very hardest thing was to choose the opal.

How do you choose just one of these very special stones? The jeweller's answer was, 'let the opal chose you'. And so it did, 10 years on it still resonates with me, I love it. Through the opal I will always have these beautiful lagoons at my very fingers tips.

I love Australia, it is a magical and wonderful place, it inspired me to create Oceania Island Living, and this I will keep bringing to you, a little slice of inspiration to share with you all.

Happy Australia Day.

Happy Island Styling.

(all iamges Pinterest)

My South Pacific Beach Style Wedding Revealed

Today, 9 years ago I tied the knot with my beautiful husband Richard with a South Pacific style beach wedding on beautiful Shelley beach in Manly, Sydney Australia.

The traditional call to ceremony in the South Pacific, plus some eye candy for the girls!

Not a bad start to a beach wedding.

Demure or nervous? Actually I was quite relaxed.

Newly married at the gates of the Tourism College in Manly.

Time together on North Head, Sydney.

Here we are on Manly's boardwalk just before heading into reception for a well deserved Champers.

I think Rich is giving his best Zoolander look.

Lets get the party started!

These guys where fabulous, a lovely island family who actually stole the show, great fun.

Instead of the traditional bridal waltz, we broke the ice with these guys. No-one knew this was going to happen. Dessert was served and then the beating of drums echoed through the reception followed by the best looking coconut girls and buff boys - dessert was put on hold.

After their dancing we all got up and partied under the Manly stars, great day, fabulous night.

Happy Anniversary darling xxx

Happy Island Styling.

(All images Zoe Milburn)

Destination Celebration - Travel Art

There are some ingenious ideas out there to creatively celebrate your specials travels, particularly with your loved one.

Destination art can be personalised as a gift for that special celebration or just as a memory keep sake.

A special memento for a wedding anniversary.

Betsy Benn

Great for kids.

The Little Boys Room

I like these coordinates - very cryptic.

Bear Graphics

Such a simple idea, you can easily replicate this at home.

The Little Boys Room

Cute for a hubby.

Evy Designs

Happy Island styling.