Interview with Sarah- A beach cottage girl

Hello girls!

Today I'm having a special

Guest of Honour

Most of you surely

already know

Sarah

A very talented woman
An extraordinary home decorator
A funny writer
A surprising photographer

Sarah lives in a renovated cottage by the sea

Her adventures always make me dream

Of a brand new life

In a foreign country

She speaks about

her passions

decorating

living by the sea

Thank you Sarah

for letting me interview you!

Where are you from?

I live in Sydney Australia in an old cottage in a town on the beaches...we emmigrated here from London a few years ago, originally both me and my hubby are from Kent on the south easter tip of England.

What made you decide to move to Australia with your family?

After a Christmas holiday to Florida and flying back into London and getting stuck in an air traffic queue before we even hit the tarmac we decided that we needed a new life without commuting and that involved living by the ocean....it had taken longer for us to get home after flying into UK air than it had to fly across the ocean to the States.....so having loved the seaside we were looking for a new life by the sea for our family life...we wanted a laid-back lifestyle, less stress and simple living.

How has your English background influenced your life style and your home decorating?

Actually I think there are more English influences in the accessories than the actual decorating...I love old English china and fervently hunt it out at any given opportunity and luckily with the big English influence in Australia it is actually more commonplace than you might think. In practicalities of living the English influence had changed...here in a warm climate we can easily live with cool stripped floorboards and open screen doors and the vivid Aussie colours mean that neutrals are a natural backdrop...

How would you describe your style?

Hmm, my style had been described by others as Coastal Chic and I hesitate, to be very honest, in lamenting that I have a 'style'....for me it is much more fly-by-night...I go with what I fancy at any given moment....and right now that means lots of white, stacks of weathered old furniture, linen, stripes, bit old white slip-covered sofas, a tonne of flowers in bright colours, a little bit of Frenchy accessories and next up I am loving a tad of industrial chic...

What inspires you in your daily life and in your home furnishing?

My new life by the sea inspires me every single day...I am still more than over-awed that I live here and feel very lucky that Australia has taken us in. In home furnishing I have to say blogs inspire me the most...I absolutely love blogs that show real girl decorating and real homes...in fact I was inspired to start my blog because of a blog that documented a gal's journey decorating her rented apartment as a single mum on a shoestring budget while she worked full-time....blogs show me that yep it can be done with budgets and kids and husbands and pets and women come up with amazing places to live their busy lives day to day....

I used to buy *lots of home magazines, but now because of what I follow in Blogland I find magazines more and more unreal and more importantly not attainable for someone like me...on a budget, with three kiddos and a busy lifestyle...

Is there any interior designer you love and you refer to for your home decorating?

I can't say there is particularly any one...in fact I abhor the term 'interior designer'...I find that whole world very tight and closed...for me home decorating is about making a comfortable, loved home, about getting your painting clothes on, shopping flea markets, fitting it in with your family and finding a look that works with your budget...it's not about 'designing'.....I haven't seen many interior designers that get that.

Do you remember when you first “met” your home? How did you know it was the right one?

I remember exactly when I first met our home...and I remember as I got out of the car the Real Estate Agent instructing me to 'brace myself' as 'this is bad'...this old cottage for sure was not and still is not a stunner but more importantly the price was good and it meant we could still keep our house in England, it had a big garden with an old fig tree, it had vintage details, wood floors, in a quiet road and not too far from the beach...

What do you like most about living by the sea?

I love how being by the sea has integrated into our everyday lives....in Australia this is just part of it for many people...our kids like to be in the water, we have coffee on the beach and we can spend a whole day just being outside lazing around with sun and sand...

You have a wonderful blog.
How did you start this experience and what do you like most about it?

I started my blog to keep me focused on updating the cottage and to document the makeovers I was doing on old furniture we had picked up from flea markets for pennies...it was all very low-key and I never thought anyone would be remotely interested in it...it's moved on a bit but at the end of the day I just love the little bit of me that sits down at the end of the day, with a beer, and blogs what's been going on in this tatty old cottage...

You are a talented writer and a brilliant photographer. What camera and lenses do you use? {this is my personal curiosity due to my photography passion ;) }

I mainly use a point and shoot Canon G10...but many of the photos on my blog were with an old Canon Powershot...I like to point and shoot...it's what works for me....I recently was very lucky enough to get a new Camera and went for a Canon 50D with a couple of lenses...it's great and I love it...but everyday in my pocket is my G10...it rocks!

I think taking pictures is about passion and not what camera you use...I have found that if love something the photo just comes...I would never be so bold as to say I am a photographer but for sure I would, some day, love to be...

If you should pack your entire life again and move to some other place, which one would you like to live in?

Oh for sure I would live in Australia...though I think the reason I love it so much is cos I appreciate it...it is one amazing and lucky country. England though now I am not there is fantastic too...just a shame it doesn't have a tiny little bit more sun!

I think that many of us would like to start a brand new life in a brand new continent. Which suggestions would you give about moving and start it all over?

There are many things to take into account and it is not in any shape or form easy... I think I could write a book on this but bottom line don't waste another second...

{all pictures taken from Sarah-used under permission}

If you still don't know her wonderful blog

You will take a second to fall for it

Just a glance and you'll be overwhelmed

By all the charming of a life near the sea

And the breeze against your cheeks

A beach cottage