Sample Sale Finds

I survived my first manic sample sale. It had to be on the hottest day of the year and crammed into the smallest room, but it was a success! I felt like I was on a game show as I fought over products with fellow shoppers as I tried to find things that I could picture in my house, or what I could repurpose!
The frames I love as is, they are beautifully worn, and the whitewashed one actually was attached to something else but broke in a scuffle, but it is beautiful as is.
The wall art in the back has a wonderful quote “live what you love” on a Proudly South African background of proteas and old stamps.
The clock, matches my kitchen decor of old French country kitchen, so that was a given.
Onto the bottles, yes bottles, my current obsession (see my post on decorating with Mason Jars) for these two as well as the host of other ones I have collected, I have a few ideas for, but I’m not set on one so I will post my final images of my bottles once they are looking beautiful!

Rule number one of going home shopping, always have an end use in mind and how you can repurpose objects rather than buying an item for their intended end use! It makes shopping more fun as you come up with ideas. For example, you come across a gorgeous wrought iron or galvanized iron wine rack, you don’t drink wine, but you could buy this gorgeous wine rack and use it as extra towel storage in your small guest bathroom.

Always think of an alternative ending!

Redo, Reuse, Restyle: Shutter love

In this post for RRR, I’ve come across some really amazing ways to use shutters in your home decorating.
I’ve always loved shutters ever since going to the south of France with one of my best friends over summer and staying in an old barn with this amazing shutters! Provence has some of the best looking shutters around and it’s always fab to bring a bit of France into your homes!
So lets look at how we can use shutters around the home.

This beautiful bed side table arrangement just looks so fresh and inviting, giving an almost Hamptons coastal vibe. I am loving the whitewashed shutter which can be used as a display for photographs and trinkets.

Tired of having your mail all over the place? Use shutters as a notes and mail holder to free up valuable counter space. The green might look a bit garish in my house so I’m thinking a more rustic approach would be more suitable with this one.

If I had the kitchen space I would most definitely do this! I practically live in the kitchen and I love making various concoctions for dinner, so having a prep island would be fab, as I would then free up the counters for plates etc, also utilizing it as a vegetable rack as well would definitely be handy!

Shutters are being used in small indie boutiques to display Jewellery, and smaller items. This type of visual merchandising is far more appealing than the standard way of displaying Jewellery

I definitely think I will be digging for some shutters and utilizing them as part of my organizing as a mail or note holder!
How will you use shutters in your home?

Redo, Reuse, Restyle: Using old windows

So I am thinking of making Redo, Reuse, Restyle a series as I am always coming across different ways to repurpose old unwanted items.
As I mentioned in my last RRR post, I love untreated raw wood and all the stories that go with it, therefore I shall carry on the theme of wood and show the awesome ways in which to repurpose old windows into decorative items for everyday use.
All images I found here

My favourite, which I have always wanted to do is use them as frames, I came across a store selling these for a staggering amount of money, I decided to do it myself! This will definitely create a wonderful display down the hallway!

A simple yet decorative display using an old shelf and four paned window! Can be used as a key holder, which is far more attractive than the one I have now!

I think I will be going scrap yard digging this weekend to find some hidden gems!
Don’t have a lot of room for a spectacular entrance hall? Create a simple effective display using a door and some old table legs! Add in some chalk board paint and you have a dual purpose entrance hall stand!

Old windows can also be used in Visual Merchandising, which is one trend I am seeing popping up more and more as brands want to embrace the whole ethical fashion wave that is sweeping the globe. I love it as it gives it an almost market vibe to it, which is far more attractive than a run of the mill store.

Addicted to: Chevron Stripes

I first became addicted to Chevron Stripes when I worked in a little boutique in a small town in the UK and this fabulous navy and white chevron stripe maxi skirt came into store. Needless to say I was floored at how flattering it was, however, being tall and the majority of the UK short, it was an odd length, not quite midi, not quite maxi, therefore it looked ridiculous.
But my love will forever remain strong and I will be making my own chevron maxi, as I’ve decided it is easier making dresses and skirts that are long enough for me!
Nowadays, you can find chevrons on almost everything, from fashion to Jewellery, to socks and scarves! My favourite chevron I’ve come across is on this fabulous blog where she does a simple tutorial on how to create a simple an elegant chevron stripe rug.

Which is perfect for my lounge to cover any unsightly cords and create a centerpiece in my lounge!

Below are a few of my favourite chevron striped products which will be coming into my home very soon!

Similar to the maxi that started my love affair with chevrons

Why have average frosting on a cake…..spice things up with chevron buttercream and ribbons!

These fantastic stripes can form the basis of your favourite quote as decorative wall art!

Redo, Reuse, Restyle

Eco fashion, sustainability and salvaging hidden gems is becoming a trend in interiors, there is just so much someone can do with what they have and what they find!
It just calls you to go junk yard hunting or go to that little unknown charity/thrift shop and find some fantastically cheap items which you can restyle into something that looks like it is worth hundreds of dollars!

I am a fan of raw wood, untreated, gritty looking wood! There is just so much character to it and it always seems to speak a thousand more words than the treated modern day pieces of furniture you can buy in your local store.

 

I think the use of crates is a fantastic way to display wine and wine glasses! Create a focal point if space is the issue and you don’t have enough space to have a bar. I’m not much of a wine drinker but I would gladly buy loads of wine or even just empty wine bottles to create this look!

 

If you have makeup everywhere and not nearly enough space to store it, why don’t you create a classy display, using three silver platters (obviously not real silver…faux definitely) and three cheap glass candlestick holders, using a hot glue gun, glue all pieces together to create and almost period looking piece that holds all your important bits and pieces!

 

I’ve actually seen these baskets at my local Mr Price Home, but this is definitely a new way to use them. This is especially great in small bathrooms. Just use three varying shape baskets and get cheap rustic rope and tie them all together and then hang from the ceiling or wall (depending on how high you want them displayed) this is great for storing extra toilet rolls, cleaning products and towels.

I think I will definitely be doing some of these projects over the weekend as a creative way to redo, reuse and restyle…

Best Blog Award

Thank you so much to Ariel Rose Suares who has nominated me for the BEST BLOG AWARD 🙂 

Here are a few of my favourite blogs of the moment:

The Great Zambini

What We Wear

The Selvedge Yard

Homestyle Diary

The Girl By The Window

To B, who is.

Natalie Pagnucco

L&N

Sam’s Thing A Day

Humperdinkblog

These little gems are the ones that inspire me and make me laugh 🙂

Enjoy!

(To receive this award you must…

  Name the blog who gave you the award and thank him/her

    Give the award to 10 other blogs with less than 200 followers

Follow the blog that gave you the award

    Inform blogs that you give the prize)

 

Quirky Home Decorations

So following on from my previous post and storage solutions, I thought I would comment on the plethora of fantastic ideas for home decorations, especially around how to display frames.
From a keen photographer (Check out my work here) I have so many images that I need to print off and frame, but there are so many amazing ways to create your own personal gallery of memories.

 

 

Another fantastic way of displaying images and perhaps even persuading you to save for and map your most ultimate road trip is displaying maps of different countries.

Everything about this is amazing! I might hang a massive map of South Africa and plot my next road trip, I’m thinking the Wine Route! Drinks anyone?