Come inside our city home

Come inside our city home

Lounge and TV on wooden stand

A home away from home.

Even though we love the beach house we return to our city home most weekends. To visit family, to attend church, to stock up on groceries and to get a small dose of what’s happening around town.

Marion Bay is quite isolated, so it is quite nice to return to our very comfortable city house and connect with family and friends.

We built a tiny farmhouse type dwelling. It is black on the exterior and white on the interior and meant to faintly resemble a Norwegian style chalet. However lately I have been a bit captivated by the French style, so each Saturday if we are in the city I head to our local Brocante place and see if I can find some old vintage treasures.

Some of the images are a little dark but I left them like that as the morning sun had just peeped through and everything became so bright in its contrast.

We are surrounded by enormous gum trees so the bird life is quite spectacular. The sounds, sights, and endless chatter, very noisy and colourful.

Black house with VW parked in front
Dining room and candelabra
Coffee shelves and red coffee cups

A special spot designated for coffee, life just isn’t the same without coffee!!

Kitchen with wooden cupboards

The kitchen. Very workable with solid wooden cupboards and draws.

Bathroom with some feathers in old bottles

Feathers we have collected get put into old bottles in the bathroom.

Coffee table wooden in lounge
Bedroom with mauve duvet covers
Very dark but sun shining on coffee table
Kitchen with red vase and calosh
Kitchen wooden spoons
Pink bedroom and hanging light
Grey bed in spare room

Spare room where the Grandies sleepover.

Coffee and croissant

I’ve gone a little French lately I have been watching a programme on Utube, called, “A  French country diary.”  I have added the link, if that does not connect, her name is Audry Fitzjohn. I simply love the lifestyle and her house and find the programme quite relaxing.

Study with wooden table and computer

My study with an old vintage wooden table

Statue and two black and white prints
Lounge and coffee table in the bright morning sun
Black house on a foggy day
Black house and shingle with olive trees

Out doors on a foggy morning.

Out doors, black house and wooden front door

I am constantly arranging and rearranging. So I will try to keep posting new brocante finds and new furniture arrangements.

(All images are taken by Wendy Philip. No AI generated images.)

My web site is ad free, a peaceful and relaxing experience.

Photographing interiors at the beach house

Photographing interiors at the beach house

White paper ball lamp shade and wooden walls

Photographing our interiors with wooden walls proved to be quite the task?

Designing, creating changing and rearranging of our beach shack and city home is something I really enjoy. Others may think this activity absurd but I keep fussing and jostling regardless! But now its time to take some photographs of my creative busyness. The wooden walls do not bounce light around in the same way white walls do. I had to do some experimenting with my camera dials and in post processing.

To photograph interiors is quite different from landscapes.

Angles, walls, and roof lines become very important and need to be straight. Lightroom has a tool which enables the image to improve the perspective and lines, but it is still very necessary to get it right from the onset. You will need a good tripod and a horizon line in your camera. The horizon line must be straight both sideways and forwards and backwards.

The image should be shot at around waist height and either straight on or directly into a corner is often best.

Hence my journey with photography continues taking photographs of interiors has been a very new and difficult challenge. The wooden walls present a whole new dimension, too dark and they look so very orange, too light and they look a white nasty orange. The white balance plays a huge role in getting the right hue. Even then it is a real struggle for me to get the exact colour of our wooden walls. At the moment it seems best to have the white balance on daytime, not cloudy. This gives a better look overall, then I adjust the colour a bit more with the temperature sliders.

 

Here are some links that are helpful in taking interior photographs. I hope these help, I’m still learning, so value the advice of others.

Interior photography

Interior Photography tips

 

Lounge with couch and wooden walls

Lounge with wooden walls and paper ball lamp shades

Kitchen black cupboards and wooden walls
I have coffee cups for every occasion, sunny Im in yellow, cold my coffee is in a blue cup, green cup and Im headed for the garden!

Yellow coffee cup for sunny days. 

Single bed and yellow duvet cover, interiors
Yellow print and wooden walls lounge room

Canola fields are numerous in South Australia, and make an eye catching sight on a wooden wall.

Bedroom corner cane lampshade and wooden walls
View towards the trees, interiors
Shelves and wooden walls, interiors
Antique tray and spoons vintage
Cane chair sitting and reading
Queen bed and wooden walls interiors
Bed in guest house interiors
Cane chair and magazine
pink bedroom and wooden walls interiors
Blue saroong and lemons on the beach
Sun chair at our local beach Marion Bay

The beach is one minute away.

I just could not help myself after a somewhat frustrating photoshoot indoors I had to head to the beach and take some easy peasy outdoor shots. However with so many beaches right on our doorstep, interiors and exteriors are all inclusive over here at Marion Bay.

I will certainly keep trying my hand at interiors, photography is always evolving and I love trying new things.

All photographs are taken by Wendy Philip. No AI generated images.

Building a house by the sea. Part 3

Building a house by the sea. Part 3

Garden chairs

Building a small beach house by the sea…part 3.

 

My very first initial blog post on this web site was simple, short and about a dream that we had to build a BEACH HOUSE at Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula. It has taken approx one year to complete this project and another year to furnish, live in it and start a garden. My husband being a builder of sorts did most of the work. I would try and help, getting scuffed and scratched and blowing a few of my foofer valves along the way.

However we built a strong, very small, two bedroomed beach house and a large shed. I mention the word strong, because it is forever windy on this peninsula and salt spray is generally covering most things. Building materials have to be hardy and able to last the distance. Also we rely completely on rain water and consequently we are reluctant to hose anything down too much.

We have planted a garden:

I have many herbs, mainly chilli plants, sage, dill, rosemary and parsley. Also tomatoes, silver beet and spring onions are doing well. Once again we rely on rain water for our garden. So its wise to plant hardy perenials over here.

All other decorative plants around the house are native plants taken from the surrounding bushes as this is only the type of thing that will grow in this harsh environment.

You may ask what we do in a day…

I hope my photos are an answer to that question. Our days seem full to overflowing. Upkeep with weeds and insects and the effects of the constant wind and salt spray is never ending. In between this we do find ample time for walking, swimming, boating, fishing, photographing, biking, exploring and surfing.

We swim almost every day winter and summer. Our love for the ocean never subsides. Each year we count the number of swims we have in the winter. Very very refreshing indeed.

The fishing is a favorite pastime but how it blows on this peninsula. So a fishing day is a valuable day and the opportunity is grabbed with both hands!

Has the dream been all we had thought about and planned?

 

Absolutely, we are very thankful to have this place, far from the madding crowds and close to the waters edge. Many places to explore, adventures seem to repeatedly materialise from the landscape and seascape. What an amazing world we live in!

A blessing which I thank God for in every way.

collection of vintage bottles
Vintage bottles
Collecting coal along the beach
Photographic walks along the beach

Outdoor walks and strolls, feeding the birds and watching the waves.

Wood panelling and vase
Lounge and couch
Cosy bedroom

Above. Indoors, wood panelling, vases, cushions and pictures hung for cosiness. Easy to live in and provides a warm feeling.

Emu
Emus crossing the road
Emus in the evening wandering in dry grass

Always the adorable emus.

Pelicans Marion bay

And let’s not forget the pelicans.

Two kangaroos

And a kangaroo or two.

Yacht sails around Cape Spencer
Photographic walks along the beach

Always the yachts which I chase around the peninsula, photographing as I go. Sooo beautiful.

Fishing boat

Always  a day or two fishing and relaxing on the blue cool ocean.

Sun umbrella
Sun umbrella at the beach

Always the beaches, armed with sun umbrella and fly screen over my hat. These glossy beaches are incredible. Isolated and clear.

Sun umbrella
Surfer

Always the surf and surfers. Spectacular and powerful.

Coffee outdoors
Drinks and chairs
Drinks and chairs

And of course always the coffee and snacks….. and then drinks at sunset. Let us not forget that the beach house is for every kind of activity!

Yorke Peninsula (especially Innes National Park at the southern tip of the Peninsula) is a unique and interesting spot. Some friends we had visit us, described it as an “eerie place.” I guess I could agree, it has a certain quality that makes your heart trip over, and a feeling of sheer exhileration takes hold.

Building a house by the sea, part 2.

Building a house by the sea, part 2.

Black chair at the beach house

Progress on the beach house has been slow over the winter.

 

Heaps of rain so the water tanks are over flowing. However we have been able to work on the inside as most of the outside is finished.

I have made a tiny garden of local plants. All the same type of grasses for a unified, coherent kind of effect. The ground is very sandy and it is certainly best to choose local plants as not much grows in this area.

We still have plenty to do, but at least we can sleep in the beach house and not in a caravan any longer.

I chose wood for the walls due to its warm feel and the natural vibe it adds to any home.

I’ve made a path out the front from some old left over slate and put white rocks along the front. These limestone rocks are everywhere here. I don’t think I’ve seen one beach shack without these limestone rocks.

It is such a lovely place so peaceful and relaxing. Nature at its finest.

 

Emus walking past the beach house

Our emu friends stroll past our house.

Sun hats hang up at the holiday house
Bathroom
bedroom in holiday home
Empty room with wooden walls

Growth of plants is slow and keeping bugs away is a constant chore. We are trying to be as natural as possible but some of the insects are so resistent I have resorted to getting the spray can out and trying to slaughter them this way. White vinegar was just not working.

Soon we will put in more furniture and add some homely touches. Our car is always packed full on our trips back and forth to the city.

Living here is very peaceful as most of the holiday homes are vacant year round. They soon fill up around Christmas and Easter, dogs, kids, bikes, music, but its only for such a short period and it becomes quite exciting seeing all the tourists come and go.

All images have been taken personally by Wendy Philip, no AI is used.