Stylish modern house - Beaconsfield Pde St Kilda

There is a strip of Beaconsfield Parade that has the homes of my dreams. I first saw these houses on a clear winter's evening when I first came to Melbourne. The dusk was turning to night and the lights in these houses were coming on and lighting them up like magic. The drapes weren't drawn and the houses looked stunning and I wished to join those people living in those spectacular illuminated rooms.

Since then a number of the houses have had a make-over. This one was recently finished and I walk this way often and Im delighted with the result from the road. It is as if I had some choice in what happened to it, I want it to look spectacular and it still fits in with the houses on either side of it - the original magic is still there.

Roses are blooming in St Kilda

This beautiful old fashioned rose was giving pleasure to the passers-by in Fawkner Street, St Kilda. The roses are beautiful around Melbourne this year.

Turkey Cock in St Kilda

This turkey is filling a window in Barkly Street, near the corner of Acland Street, St Kilda. As you pass the turkey jumps into view. I wondered if I was looking at a sporting goods shop. But, no! This is a barber shop of the old kind - not your modern unisex hairdresser. Why a turkey? I couldn't see the connection.

WikiAnswers (here) tell me that the male turkey is called a 'tom'. This bird is definately a male with all his plumage on display. Then I looked in 'The New Collins Concise English Dictionary' and they told me that the male of the species is known as a 'turkey cock'. I knew then that the barber shop is the right place for this handsome and puffed-up turkey to find a home .

St Kilda is always fun and the streets full of surprises

I passed by a block of apartments in Robe Street and thought someone was waiting to open the gate. A few steps on and "What the??"exploded in my mind and I retraced my steps. A statue waiting to open the gate?!

It's an amusing statue - a bit of fun that brings a smile on a cold grey day. He looks rather like the people who cover themselves entirely silver and then stand perfectly still in Bourke Street.

This 'person' is entirely covered in white plaster.

He is so clean I am guessing that he has just arrived and got into position.

St Kilda is never Dull!!

Results of painting Cork Tiles

I have been cleaning my house and I washed the painted cork tiles in my foyer. I thought I should write an update-post on the success of the venture as my original site is getting a lot of traffic. See here

It hasn't been the success I wanted although the effect is exactly what I was looking for.

The paving paint gives the surface a slight texture - not quite smoothe. It feels good with bare feet.

We put a sealer on for the first coat - recommended sealer from the local paint shop in Prahran 'ESP Easy Surface Prep' it says it is a product made from penetrol. My original choice was a Resene sealer but it was too hard to find in Melbourne.

The blurb on the ESP says that it avoids chipping and there is no need to de-gloss or sand before you paint. It took ages to dry far longer than it said on the can.

I have now given the floor 4 coats of paving paint ( I thought paving paint would be harder and wear better under foot). After the first 2 coats I found it chipped so I darkened the colour a little and gave it two more. The darker colour was because I thought the original colour too stark and glaring. Now it seems more durable but then I am more careful and treat it delicately.

I still have the old worn cork tiles in the kitchen which is a much larger space and I would like to paint them but I need a method that can withstand heavy duty traffic. If you know of anything or have painted cork tiles yourself, please let me know how it went. Any info would be helpful.

Passing by a house where I lived once and was happy.

I lived in this terraced house a few years ago. It was a sunny house with good vibes and it is sad to see it run down and in want of repair. It is a rental property and while I was there they renewed the roof which showed that they took some interest in the place. They didn't bother with the guttering in the front at that time and looking at it now that was a mistake. Green slimy mould is growing on the wooden veranda below where the rain pours through the large rust holes. The veranda may improve when it is summer and we have the expected months of dry sunny weather. The house faces south and it is a nice place to sit and sip a beer or a wine at the end of a hot day.

I was tempted to 'rose-nap' the standard rose when I left. You can see in the picture that it has fallen over by the front steps. I pruned the rose and nurtured it and it rewarded me by blooming every year - small pale pink flowers clustered around the top. It looks as if it is bravely producing leaves. If it flowers it may get someone's attention.

To give it a friend I planted a yellow rose in the centre of the garden. I took this with me. The standard was there when I arrived and I believed that by removing it I would be in breach of my tenancy contract and the cost of a replacement would be taken from my bond. When I look at it now I wonder if anyone would have noticed.

In the other corner there was a beauiful blue hydrangea. I pruned that every year, too and it produced an abundance of blue flowers. There was variegated ground cover and some blue bells that came up in spring.

At the rear of the house is a very useable back yard (yard rather than courtyard I think) where I grew tomatoes, rhubarb, silver beat and climbing beans. One of the delights of the back yard was its privacy which prevents me from seeing in and checking it out.

It was a pretty house then; old and in need of a paint but now it looks derelict as if no one loves it.

St Kilda History - Christ Church

A feature of Acland Street, St Kilda is this old church. It was consecrated in 1863 making it almost 150 years old.

The beautiful warm sandstone comes from Point King and Sorrento. The architectural style which is so striking against today's architecture, or for that matter the architecture of the 1970s (there is a lot of that in St Kilda), is the Gothic revival style that was so popular in the mid 19th century.

The side door of the church has had so many notices attached to it, it is covered with tacks, pins and blue tack. There are no notices at the moment which may mean that no one has any instructions to pass on.

Gargoyle is such a wonderful word and I have always wondered how such a delicate decoration could be made out of stone - however soft it is.