Real Living -Leah's Inside Story

Are you enjoying your break? I hope you are. I'm spending some time with family and friends and hoping the phone doesn't ring ...

I love to do stories in my local area to share what I love about it with the rest of the world.

In this month's cracker issue of Real Living there is a story we did on Leah Atkins (check out her wonderful blog Leah-The Inside Story). I met Leah about five years ago when she and her mother started "Home At Last" in Milton, one of the best homewares stores on the South Coast.

Leah is an incurable creative with a well-honed stylist's vision. Every corner of her house is a beautiful still life. I first did a story on Leah and partner Dave about three years ago. Since then they moved away to a new house they were building and moved back in again and it was interesting to see how her style had evolved and what she changed now she had a chance to revisit.

The biggest change was the colour palette. She has taken most of the colour out and gone for a more neutral grey theme mixed with natural textures. The other big difference was that she has painted the floorboards all white to create a lighter backdrop. It has definitely worked a treat and gives the house a fresher, more unified look.

Leah is always working on a new project and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Luckily for Leah, Dave is a builder and talented cabinet maker so he can make just about anything she dreams up. His current project is Leah's garden "shed" but something tells me its going to be more than a colourbond lock-up!

Check out her blog - her recent posts showing her christmas decorations and "practice" christmas table are fabulous.