A Lazy Sunday In Bowral

What better way to spend a drizzly Sunday than to take a drive to the Southern Highlands .

Bowral is a leisurely 1 1/2 hours drive south west of Sydney. It is a mecca for cafes, homewares , book shops and boutiques.

One such place is a divine French inspired shop so named 'So French'.

Linda and Pauline, a very talented Mother and Daughter team are the owners and their combined talent make this shop a worthwhile visit.

They are both extremely welcoming and are willing to share their knowledge and aspirations, but best of all there are many wonderful items to tempt one . How could you walk past these wonderful doors, they just beckon you inside.

This bike just takes my mind to the country lanes of Provence, in a country where bike riding is a foremost mode of transport.

Open those doors and this is the greeting, a real feast for the eyes.

Its hard to know where to begin, unfortunately these shutters had already been sold

but this old French grape crushing bath, with pourer is still available for sale, it is truly divine and would look wonderful with an array of buxus plants and some white cosmos, what do you think ?

no matter which way you turn there is something to tempt open the purse strings

really different pieces of furniture with lovely paint patina's

Room fragrances and candles adorn the shelves.

All displays put together with thought and imagination. Can't go past a box plant wrapped in hessian.

as I said previously the girls love to share their future aspirations, and they have some amazing plans for this area. I think I can reveal this is going to end up an amazing courtyard that you will want to spend some time in. (Watch this space further down the track)

another corner of the same courtyard

In case you are wondering, yes we did manage to come home with some goodies.

I love nice soap and I also love anything to do with script, how could I leave this behind.

I enjoy just having these lying about the house , they not only look interesting, they smell lovely.

and yes we purchased this.

You are probably wondering why anyone would purchase an old paint peeling window frame.

Well we have plans for this trust me, I will reveal in a later post. ( Mr L&R has some work to do first)

Just a close up to show you the detail of peeling paint. Such character that only comes with age.

Just around the corner from So French is another wonderful shop called 'My Place'.

Lynne Wilson, the owner of this shop is another very talented lady who knows exactly how to put together an enticing store.

Lynne used to own 'Berrima Patchwork' Berrima is another wonderful destination a further twenty minutes down the road.

This time Lynne has decided rather than a straight patchwork shop she wanted to do something a little different. This is the place to be inspired to make things for the home as well as clothing and bags. Sure you can still buy gorgeous fabric to make quilts (She has great taste in fabric).

Why don't you come inside and have a look around.

That's if you can bear to leave this lovely courtyard

after you have have stepped inside the gate

there is plenty to tempt the purse strings open in here also, notions, patterns, homewares , stamps,etc etc.
It is almost impossible to walk past this display of the 'French General' fabrics without a sampling to take home and add to the stash.

Some inspiration to use these gorgeous fabrics

Shelves of fresh funky fabric just waiting to be made into something wonderfulA simple throw draped over a chair with the fabrics displayed along side .or how about some of this fresh and crisp looking fabric to make this gorgeous bag.

The vibrancy of these braids and trims are hard to walk past,perhaps a book or two could find their way to the counter for purchase.

Right next door is an Interior Designers store, I was enamoured by the front path.

not to mention what was displayed in the window.and in the window on this side an old dough table caught my eye. (sorry about the bad reflections in these windows, the shop was not open) Whilst we were peering in the windows, the most amazing fragrance was in the air ,I looked around

and realised the plantings were Rosemary and these gorgeous silver curry plants. What a fantastic idea , the colours so suited that gorgeous path.
at the side of the shop was this stunning garden. Designed by renowned landscape architect, Peter Fudge.

How I would love it to be our garden.

That's how we spent our Sunday. Lovely.

I hope you enjoy this tour Bowral.

Until next time happy creating

j