Monday, 21 May 2012 by Irene Hoofs

Hi...I’m Julz....I’m a 40+ girl with two kids Maddy 5 and Sam 3. While on maternity leave I indulged my passion for photography and created a series of art works for kids. Peachie Kids Art is a culmination of my life, a life filled with craft, art and anything creative. ...Stylish art for stylish families. I live in Sydney, near the beach and love it. I’m happy....I’m lucky and I’m trying to make the most of my life. I believe anything is possible...I believe you can achieve your dreams, you just need to know what you want to give up to get them... hhmmmnn sound cryptic??? No... someone told me this once and I believe them.. you just can’t have everything, well not all at once anyway.

What do you like best about living there?

Welcome to my home, it’s light, bright, and great for entertaining. We often entertain and I love cooking for people who enjoy good food. I think the best thing about our house is the space... there is room for everyone all the time. No room feels cramped.

Where do you look for inspiration?

Being a stylist also, I’m constantly out and about and on the look out for things, and I tend to get inspiration from each purchase rather than trying to achieve a look, so to speak. I find if I really love something and bring it home it tends to fit in.

Do you like to spend time decorating your home and your children’s rooms?

Yes, I have had many hours of joy decorating our house. I decorated the whole house with comfort and balance in mind, hoping to creative a house that makes sense of every room. By this I mean for example , a bedroom is for rest and rehabilitation so I used dark colors that are soothing and peaceful. My daughters room is painted in a dark plum color that should last her quiet a few years. The art work featured is called ‘Cream Camelia's’ 80cmx120cm canvas and I think perfectly displays the philosophy behind my art works ...which is to create art works that stand the test of time.

My son’s room is a bright and a little room so we grounded the walls by painting the bottom third a dark blue color. The art work featured here is ‘Aerial Acrobatics’ and is 45cmx45cm.

Our bedroom is large so we cosy’ed it up by painting it a calming blue. I love being in here, its relaxing and a whole world away from my busy life.

Our lounge room is my indulgence, it’s dark, calming and a great to entertain in winter months. I love having dinner parties in here, not many of late I have to admit sadly... just too busy.. We do however use this room to chill out and read. It’s not used that often by the kids as they tend to like being near us and the kitchen, and I secretly.. (don’t tell anyone)... I like having a room that doesn’t need tidying up to sit in and relax in..

The Kitchen has just been renovated and I love the tiles.. graphic, modern and defiantly a feature. The clocks are Ikea buys which I painted black and wrote Sydney in one London in the other, just so I don’t call the family at the wrong time. The chalk board door is our spelling list this week and shopping list another.. I need to write things down... I never remember things and just quietly...I’m not very organized!

The office is usually ( in my opinion) orderly chaos.!!. well orderly to me anyway... juggling 100 things at once it’s often the last place I feel like tidying.. so no photos here I’m afraid, just a close up of my creative sewing draws with art work ‘Love 145’ 20cm x20cm and ‘Poppies pink flowers’ above 60cm x90cm.

What is your idea of a perfect day with your children?

A perfect day with my kids would include loads of cuddles...... everyday they remind me how lucky I am. I do however, love being home with them, we try to make time to just be... everyone can choose to play together or just potter on their own.... Some top advice I received and am happy to share is... it’s good for kids to get bored at home..., it helps them use their imagination..and get creative, problem solving and thinking.I remember as a kid myself being happy at home. I was lucky enough that my parents let me make mess and try things for myself. I always cooked and made a dreadful mess and helped my Dad fix things... I think its why I’m always busy doing something, never bored or frustrated... well only that there isn’t enough time in the day for all the things I want to do.. like most parents these days!

Are you a crafter or DIY person?

Absolutely! 100%... I love spending time making things. It’s my bliss! Check out my website for examples!

What kind of DIY project do you like to do ?

I will try my hand at anything. I even pulled our kitchen out when we renovated it. It was great fun..my Dad helped and we had a blast smashing the tiles out... quiet liberating actually... I think its the making a mess side I liked!

What kind of projects do you like to do with your children?

We love cooking together, we love painting, drawing, gardening together. All kinds of projects. My daughter and I do lots of drawing and writing together and she is really good...my kids often paint with me in my studio space...its chaos!

How do you buy your books?

I do love a good book store, I never really liked choosing books online, I like to par-ooze through them first before purchasing. Books are popular in our house... action books, drawing books, home ware books, cooking books.. in fact I think we may need to get more book storage space.. I hate getting rid of books... Happy to get rid of most things but I like holding onto books... We do encourage reading as much as we can with the kids... most days they get as much as 1 hour a day worth of books...more than I get.... let me tell you!!

Do your children have friends over?

Yes I encourage play dates...It’s important to know your children’s friends and their parents I think. Some kids I would never have back again and some can stay as often and as long as they like, in fact many play dates have turned into mum picking them up then everyone staying for dinner...! I love that, it makes me happy to share the dinner activities with someone else who appreciates a night off.

What are some nice activities you can do with children in our area?

Reading time at the local library.. its great.. their is this amazing animated librarian who has the kids in the palm of her hand...... defiantly a lovely thing to do with young kids..

Where do you like to go on vacation?

Holidays are a must, just time to chill out and be together without distraction. We love camping, usually near a beach...I have loads of fond memories of camping as a child so would like to give that opportunity to my kids. No toys, no TV, no luxuries just us and our imagination. Plus.... of course some wine at dinner and just quietly...we don’t eat badly either.... you can still eat gourmet food while camping!