Rug with painted stripes

I loved this rug presented last night with white stripes painted by a classmate. She told us it was easy to do. She marked 20 cm stripes, used a long piece of wood to clearly mark the line instead of masking tape because it would not stick to the rug and spray painted the stripes in white.

The rug will need a protective coating so the paint doesn't rub off over time but I thought this was such an easy DIY idea and the results are very effective. I am tempted to give it a try.

(Please excuse the poor quality iPhone photos)

School project

Tonight we presented our final projects for school and I am kicking myself for not bringing a camera so these iPhone photos will have to do.

My group presented this school themed room. The old school desk was picked up from Reverse Garbage and was given a new veneer top. The stool was sanded back and re-covered in yellow fabric. The 'rug' is the pencil rug I wrote about here. The blind was sewed and, although difficult to see here, it looks like a page from a notebook with a red vertical line on the left side and lots of horizontal blue lines. I covered some tall glasses with rugby socks to use as pencil holders and we added a few accessories and an old vintage suitcase. It was nice to see it all come together.

I will show you a little more from the evening tomorrow.

PS. You may recognise the framed button badges from here.

(Top image taken by my classmate)

Nest Homewares

I am sometimes asked where I purchased Robert's cot sheets. They are from Nest Homewares however I haven't been able to point people to the direction of where to purchase them from. I suppose my googling skills aren't very good or perhaps the website is relatively new?

It was nice to see there is an online store as well. While I still can't seem to find the Albi elephant cot sheets, this is a step closer. There are single bed duvets listed in the store in the same red characters. Now if only they will release king single Albi sheets then I know what Robert will be sleeping in.

PS. I took apart Robert's cot last night and he spent his first night in his new bed. Before I know he'll be in high school...

(Top image taken by me. Other images Nest Homewares)

Fashion Friday: Librarian

I have never really been one to wear suits to the office. Perhaps it is because I like to mix and match or maybe I just haven't found a suit with the right fit.

So, this week I channeled the librarian look with a turtleneck, long vintage skirt and my hair up in a loose bun. I realised though that I can't eat a big lunch and sit down in this skirt. The waist is so tiny!

Hope you have a happy weekend.

Bright bedroom

I blinked and it was Thursday. How did that happen? How is your week going? It is madness here but I have much to write about and I promise to show you what I have been up to.

In the meantime this image has caught my eye and I wanted to share. I have been researching how to make a bed head for Robert and somehow in my travels I happened up this bedroom which I can imagine is for a teenager, perhaps?

What are your thoughts on this room?

Bed

A new bed has moved into Robert's room. I'm not used to seeing the room so.. full.

The cot is still in here because I still have a bit to do, including purchasing new sheets and making a headboard. I don't think he is ready to move into it just yet though. It is so big and he is so small and I'm worried about accidental falls. This is progress though..

Table Tonic

I accidentally clicked onto Louise Bell's store, Table Tonic and I accidentally put those cushions I was lusting over into my shopping trolley and I accidentally purchased them. Has a similar thing happened to you before?


Louise's home has been featured in the latest Real Living and she is on the cover looking all pretty. Love the duck egg blue coffee table and her (now ex) home is a delight.

Stripes

Look at me go, a fashion post after all. I have been sick these last few days. I have a stack of school work to do but I'm really not feeling up for it. My head is all cloudy.

I'll stop whinging though. Are you enjoying your weekend?

Dress: Portmans
Shoes (that you can barely see): Bitten

Jessie

I'm sorry for the lack of Fashion Friday post this week. I bring you this little girl instead. Am I forgiven?

PS. Peonies are back in season.. yessssss!

Kitchen stools and more

I am having a lot of fun, my friends over at lustable! I recently purchased a couple of kitchen stools and I really like the industrial edge they give to the kitchen. Just off to the left of the photo is the wallpapered cabinet so the kitchen still has a girly side to it as well.

For a handful of what else I have been up to:

• I have fallen for a pair of high-waisted EmersonMade jeans. These ones are a must have!
• I now have more cushions
• I going to try to rock these bright blue shorts this summer
  
• I have gone cuckoo for modern cuckoo clocks
• I wrote about ada & darcy, a new online boutique and a must visit

Bathroom inspiration

I came across this image over at Kirsten's blog Simply Grove and have been thinking about it today, wondering why the room has struck a cord with me. It is the combination of the old metal lockers, with the traditional style tan chair, the exposed brickwork and wide floorboards which are all unexpected features of a bathroom and work nicely with the white subway tiles.

The real feature of the room though is the bath in the very centre. Oh, to have the space!

(Image via Simply Grove)

School project

Who would have thought I would be spending my Sunday night gluing hundreds of pencils in rows all lined up like soldiers to make a rug?

That's exactly what happened. What a fascinating life I have, ha! I do like the result so far although it isn't finished.

This school project is to design a rug, a blind and to do up some old furniture to create a 'room'. We are working on a school theme. We have an old school desk that is about to get a new veneer top, a lamp which you can see above wrapped in pencils, a stool which has undergone a makeover and our pencil rug. We plan on injecting different colours to the room so it won't all be yellow and I'll show you the finished project once it is complete.

Working on the 'rug' got me thinking that if I made a very large one, using different coloured pencils that it would make an interesting headboard for a kid's bed...

Fashion Friday: Denim and coral

Hello weekend! I've been looking forward to you. This one will include dinner with friends, working on school projects and hunting for an outfit to wear to Nuffnang's Blue Hawaii Christmas Party. Blue Hawaii, hmmm.. any suggestions?

I have been wearing shorts quite a bit this season. These high waisted shorts would have looked cute with a belt and a long cardigan or a shirt tucked in. I'll have to try a few more looks.

Also a couple of things to note: 1. never cut your own fringe otherwise it will end up banana-shaped and your hairdresser will laugh find it hard to save it and 2. coral lipstick is the best idea ever.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Looking for a rug

The living area was one of the rooms in the house I never felt right about. I think it was the matchy-matchy furniture, the sin I committed of undercushioning (although I should probably add more cushions if I want to get that right) and the lack of colour.

These days I've added colour through cushions and artwork, mixed up the side table and coffee table / ottoman, that I wrote about over at lustable, so that they aren't matching, just little changes. The current rug has held up surprisingly well considering the food and eyeshadow that's been smooshed into it by a certain little person.

I'm looking for a new rug though, something not as warm as the current one for spring/summer. Do you do this? Swap rugs depending on the season? I don't usually but it does get really warm in my house and a lighter rug just seems to make sense.

Have you seen any great rugs out there? Do you think I should choose a sisal rug like I have in the other rooms i.e. the study or add more colour with a patterned rug? I still like this Akira rug by Designer Rugs but it might mean eating baked beans for a while to have it (should I?).

A few favourites

I've been in a world of make believe putting together a little collection of a few of my favourite pieces that I both own and wish I did own.

The sofa is pretty amazing isn't it? A statement piece that I think works well with traditional furniture such as the button chair and the shiny and industrial finish of the dining table with its classic turned legs.

Does anyone else do this? Put together a little moodboard of your favourite pieces to see how they look together?

(Furniture from Interiors Online, cushions and stool from ada & darcy. I already own the chevron cushion and stool)