Charcoal Interiors...A Day In The Life...

Charcoal Interiors: Our First Video

Cocktail Friday!..Margaritas, Cathies Apartment and Dali....

My fiancee (Pete) has some facial growth at the moment, that quite frankly Dali would be envious of.  Pete is Greek, and in his own words, admits that his hair grows like grass...filmed on one of those time lapse cameras!  He can be completely clean-shaven, and then wake up the next morning sporting a goatee, complete with beading a'la Jack Sparrow!  

Anyway, this brings me back to Salvador Dali.  Did you know that the man only slept one hour  a day?  He slept sitting upright in a chair, holding a spoon with a strategically placed saucepan underneath the line of the spoon.  When he finally fell deeply asleep, the spoon would release from his now relaxed grip, and hit the pan...waking him up.  The man floated somewhere between genuis and madness.  My all time favourite Dali quote is: "The problem with the youth of today' is that one is no longer part of it".  Salvador Dali was a true, uniquely magnificent artist in every sense of he word.  We love the fact that he expressed himself in his own special and independent way...a bit like us at Charcoal Interiors.  We pride ourselves on stepping out of that square, and creating sumptuous, eclectic spaces.

Anyway...back to the subject of sleep...here is one of his most famous works...aptly titled...'sleep'.  Of which, he was not much of an expert on really :-)

 

In the coming weeks, we have a real treat for everyone.  Cathie, our Head Designer and all-round spunk-a-licious fashionista around town (I know this will embarass her when she reads this...but hey..its just part of my job description..) will be starting the refurbishments of her brand new 'digs' at Hamilton.  The first step to the project is the beautiful 'sun room' with views to the Brisbane River.  Stay tuned for next weeks entry.  You are sure to see a major transformation in the coming weeks.  All completely achievable by us 'mere mortals' with just a bit of guidance from the experienced design team here at Charcoal.

Sshhhhhh....its a secret...we have 2 completely gorgeous French Reclaimed Oak Dining Tables on special.  One in the round style and the other in the rectangle.  We are able to let these go at a discounted price for a limited time only.  Contact either Jen, Cathie or Colette for all the details and payment options.

Cocktail Friday....Woo...Hoo...we are going up the coast...Bring on the Margaritas!

Everyone knows the Margarita, that refreshing drink that can be made in so many ways, take on many personalities and the must have summer cocktail. The Margarita is one of the most popular cocktails and shows no sign of slowing down....here 'tis...enjoy!  Treat yourself to one tonight and think of me and Pete sipping ours at the Cotton Tree Boat Shed tonight overlooking the water.....aaaaaahhhhh..smell that sea air.....Cheers to you all from us...the Charcoal Girls...Colette, Cathie and Jen!...til next week xxx

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz tequila
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• dash of lemon or lime juice
• 3 oz sour mix
• lime wedge for garnish
• salt or sugar to rim the glass (optional)

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
2. Shake well.
3. If desired, salt the rim of a chilled margarita glass.
4. Pour contents, with ice, into the glass.
5. Garnish with the lime wedge.

Friday...Its Here! Cocktails and our super busy Friday with lots of pics.

Well, its been a fun Friday folks!..in fact...a Friday with all the other days of the week rolled into it!  

 Cathie and Martin

Thanks to Martin at the Flower Trap for his absolutely gorgeous floral arrangements in our beautiful Rinaldi urns which packed quite a presence on the main stage at the Brisbane Powerhouse.  We popped in for a sneak peak today, and were gobsmacked at his work.    He truly is just so talented, and cheers to a successful 11th Queer Film Festival.

Centre Stage at the Powerhouse

Girls can do everything!  We had a very heavy French Provincial table made from original French barge planks and an iron base sourced from a French Cafe dated back nearly 100 years to crane out today.  It was quite heavy, but as usual the girl power banded together as a force to be reckoned with and voila!...as they say...table assembled and sold to a particularly lovely lady who is going to position it in her courtyard where we are sure it will look amazing.

 Girl Power! Craning out our gorgeous Parisian Cafe Antique Table

And being complete gluttons for punishment, we then went on to the next 'SuperGirl Power Challenge' craning in a masive pair of iron feature doors, fit for a palace.  We actually stopped the traffic on Doggett Street with this operation.  But with Cathie in her heels and forever gorgeous, there were absolutely no complaints from commuters. 

    Top Truckie and Crane Operator Guy Pete Prepares the Doors for Lifting by Crane

Jen moves the doors into position....Skill!

And finally a place in their new home at Charcoal Interiors.....and now for a drink...its all very thirsty work you know!

Cocktail Friday

 The Low-Cal...but sooooo 'out there'...Pink Flamingo!

Hands up who has been naughty over the Easter break with too many chocolates and not enough exercise??....I know my hand is up, and counting by all the others we seem to have a problem here of mammoth proportions, so this called for an emergency meeting in respect to the Cocktail Friday dilemma.  So, we decided today on the 'Pink Flamingo' in keeping with the Queer Film Festival theme...and it also fits in with the Low Calorie requirements necessary for at least the next few days.

Here 'tis!!....enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz cranberry juice
• orange peel for garnish

Preparation:

1. Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with an orange peel.

Optionally, use citron vodka in place of unflavored vodka for a fruitier taste.

 

Have a GREAT weekend with love from the Charcoal Girls...Colette, Cathie and Jen xxx

Charcoal Interiors - Style in the City: Easter Holiday Home Makeover Tips FREE! From Our Design Team....

Charcoal Interiors - Style in the City: Easter Holiday Home Makeover Tips FREE! From Our Design Team....

Cocktail Friday...Cats Ouzo-Tini!...and Jericho, here we come!

C

Happy Friday....Cats 'Ouzo'Tini'

Readers, we find our cocktail Friday is becoming quite a hit....which is great, because it gives us an excuse to research extensively a new sexy little concoction every week.  Keeping to the Greek theme, we have discovered our new 'fave'.....Cath in particular just loves this one....so we have named it Cats 'Ouzo-Tini'.....meeeeeeyowwwww!

Ingredients - serves two.

• 4 ounces orange juice
• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• 2 ounces ouzo
• 2 ounces vodka
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 2 lime slices, for garnish
• ice

Directions

1. In a martini shaker, combine all ingredients with 1/2 cup of ice.
2. Shake and strain into 2 chilled martini glasses.
3. Serve in a sugar rimmed martini glass and Garnish with a slice of lime.

 OPA!!

Jericho Bound!.....Today we farewelled one of our oldest tables on the floor...a table worthy of royalty.  It was a 3 man job just to move the table top!  It is now on its way to an outback station 600 kilometres west of Emerald....a little place called 'Jericho'.  We love that our table has gone to a good home....a grand family who appreciate its beauty and history.....

 Thanks as always to our wonderful delivery team of Phil and Michael.  It took them 2 hours just to wrap the table for transportation.  They have one very long trip ahead of them, but we like to know that our furniture arrives safely.....and these guys are wonderful not only to us, but the customers too!  Check out the pic on the left....the 'Rose' between the two thorns!  Thanks again guys....Jen, Cathie and Colette....

And last.....but not least...meet our own little Greek God....'Ouzo'...the latest addition to the Charcoal Family.....until next week!....Antio sas! (goodbye) from the Charcoal Girls!

Kali Mera!...our Greek Experience...Haloumi, Kardamyli and more....

                                                        'Kardamyli'

The celebrated travel writer Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor has led an eventful life...a traveler and during world War II, a highly distinguised solder...he walked across Europe at the age of nineteen and saw himself portrayed on screen in 1957 by Dirk Bogarde, who enacted his part in the abduction of a Nazi general in occupied Crete.  And so, it seems only natural, that Leigh Fermor would have desired a peaceful respite.  In the early 1960's he moved to what was then a largely untouched area of Greece...seduced by a painterly vista of scrubby green islands and glittering aquamarine sea.  His wife Joan, then designed this magnificent rambling peasant home.

An unpretentious hodgepodge of furniture old and new is arranged on gray stone floors.

Proscuitto Wrapped Haloumi.....Nostimos!

OK....we DID promise it...and here it is..our fave Greek haloumi recipe!  AND..its just so...soooo..simple.  Recently my partner Pete and I were finalists in the My Kitchen Rules TV show on channel 7 here in Australia.  This dish clinched our finalist spot....it took just minutes to prepare, but boy is it delicious and impressive.
Firstly, cut a slice of Haloumi from the block...around 3cms in width.  Wrap it with some quality proscuitto and then secure with a toothpick.  You can pop a basi leaf in between the haloumi and proscuitto...or mint works too!  We prefer to cook ours on the bbq....just a few minutes either side, until the proscuitto and haloumi start browning slightly.  Plate it up with a squeeze of lemon....a drizzle of quality olive oil (my brother produces his own from an olive grove in Sth Australia...but thats for another blog heee hee....) and a toss of cracked pepper.....as the greeks would say....Nostimos!! (delicious!)...  We would just love to hear of your success with this dish...until Friday....Cocktail Friday!....yours in design, creativity and style....Colette, Cathie and Jen!

Charcoal Interiors - Style in the City: Charcoal Interiors - Style in the City: Romance, Relaxation and Serenity...In Blue and White

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