Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Bianca's Tasmanian Bungalow: An Adorable Artist's Abode Full of Thrifted Finds


Bianca's an artist, mommy, wife, and cat lover. She runs the adorable blog Goodnight Little Spoon. An Avid thrifter in Tasmania, when I saw glimpses of her colorful home on her website I had to ask for a full tour!

Occupants: Myself, my husband Cam, my infant son Theodore and our 4 cats.

Professions: I am a student and work part time at a supermarket and my husband is living his dream of being a stay at home dad. Location: Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. Square Feet: About 1080 square feet Space Type: House Years Occupied: 6 months.



Please tell us a little about yourself: I'm Bianca. I'm in my mid twenties and I live in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia with my little family of three. I am about to finish my Contemporary Art degree and do my Masters of Teaching, before I'll be a primary school teacher. I like to be creative, go opshopping (Australian for thrifting) and ride my bike.



House (or Apartment) History: Our home is owned by family members but hopefully in the next couple of years we'll be in a position to buy it from them. We moved in at the start of the year and although it is compact, it is the perfect size for our family and encourages me to be less of a hoarder. It is a sweet federation cottage in a sweet neighbourhood [sic] close to lots of amenities and a short walk into the city.

Define Your Style: Opshop Eclectic. 



Favorite Thrifted Home Find: All of the items in my son's room, especially the lockers. Our bright orange dining chairs (there are four, but I've stolen one for my studio).

Favorite Home Feature? The whole house has lovely polished boards and four of the rooms have skylights which really brighten up what could have been very dark rooms. I wish there was more of the lovely exposed brick! I also love our very compact but practical kitchen (8ft x 10ft) - I cook so much more in it than I did in our previous home's enormous (13ft x 13ft) kitchen.



What was your biggest challenge with your home? All of the houses in our suburb are prone to moving slightly depending on the weather as it was originally quite a swampy area. As a result, the house is full of little cracks - just aesthetic ones, nothing structural - sometimes it also means that the back door won't open for me after it's been raining for a while!



Visitor's Reactions: They always love the skylights, the polished boards and our sweet garden.

Biggest Embarrassment: Nothing much really. I'm not a big fan of our big red couch (though it is very practical - comfy and easy to clean) and I really should put more effort into gardening.



Proudest DIY: When we own our home we'd love to make a couple of DIYs and mini-renovation projects happen, mostly just licks of paint. I fixed up the green lockers in my son's room after finding them at a second hand shop in pretty bad shape.



Biggest Indulgence: None, we're pretty thrifty!

Best Money-Saving Move: LED lightbulbs & ducted air circulation system (we put on a heater in one room and it shares the warmth amongst all of the rooms - a godsend in a Tasmanian Winter!).



Best Advice: I rarely see things I like in retail stores for my home, but I always find things I like while thrifting and I spend a portion of the price. When I decide I need something in particular I look on Gumtree (like Craigslist), eBay, antique stores, upshops and salvage stores until I find one I really like.  I also try to go to all of the opshops in my city in one day, twice a month (there are thirteen). My best advice would probably be don't keep something in your home unless it is either functional and/or beautiful. 



Thanks so much for showing us around your beautiful home, Bianca! What's your favorite piece in her house? That glass front credenza above! I Want! Badly! 
Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

22 comments:

  1. Pretty sweet digs! I like the credenza too; I stopped scrolling as soon as I saw it and stared. ;) I don't know why she doesn't like the red couch... I love it!

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    1. I'd love to own the red couch myself, beautiful!

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  2. Such a cute place!! I love her vanity!

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    1. Yeah that's an incredible piece, thought the same about it.

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  3. Very charming home! I love the purple vanity. Also, that's a great idea about hanging up the different potholders. Need to keep that in mind!

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    1. Vintage minds make great artsy displays. :D

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  4. I like that low vanity too and the green lockers. Nice tour!

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    1. I desperately want some lockers for attractive shipping storage, love her find there. Inspires me to go back to hunting. A little.

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  5. Lovely! They have a beautiful space.

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  6. Oh boy can I move to this dreamy house right now? I can babysit, cook, clean, whatever!! :D Cozy, beautiful, full of history. All pics here will go directly to my pinterest account.

    Van I'm so sad that my internet went down when I posted a comment yesterday to your fantastic lessons, now I don't feel motivated to write it again but wanna say that is one of your best posts ever! You rule girl!

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    1. Aw, glad you liked the post Marta :D And yes, all that brick and history, gorgeous old home.

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  7. I've been following Bianca for quite some time now and I really loved seeing this article about her house.AriadnefromGreece!

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  8. I love her style! so much retro goodness! thanks for sharing :-)

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  9. Ugh. I completely hate that they claim they have no indulgences. OF COURSE THEY DO! They have beautiful colors in their home, so they painted things. They have comfortable furniture, so they indulge in comfort. They have art hanging on the walls. If they had no indulgences, then they'd be in a very small, spare space with mats on the floor. Something is an indulgence to them, even if they find it for cheap. Such a crap answer.

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    1. I find your comment unnecessarily abrasive. Obviously, by your standards many things in my home are 'indulgences' and I do feel very lucky to live in a house with lots of things that I like. There are lots of people who don't get to have 'indulgences' or even serve their basic needs, so I understand where you're coming from. But I've never spent more than a hundred dollars on an item of furniture and have rarely bought an item of furniture new, because I typically can't afford to. I am not well off, so I don't 'indulge' in things that I can't afford - I try to be smart about the things I buy. Nothing I own costs very much, so that is why I don't see myself as having 'indulgences' - there is no one thing I've lashed out on. My TV is borrowed, my couch was paid off over a long time, many items were gifts or very cheap finds. Thrifting itself is an indulgence.

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    2. I agree, no need to be abrasive. I consider an indulgence, in the context of this question, anything you bought that was on the high-side of your budget or the most expensive thing you bought in the house. In your case since the couch was in payments, it seems like it was your couch? Mine is the same. In my personal life I buy so little anything I buy that's not a necessity I consider an indulgence. Thrifted stuff is like an indulgence for me, too :D Hell for me even buying shampoo/conditioner (organic/all-natural/cheap) is an indulgence since I -could- make do with baking soda alone or even just rinsing with water. That's an interesting discussion, what "indulging" means to different people.

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I love reading your comments. Thank you for adding to the discussion! I always reply to any and all questions.

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