summer bedroom refresh

I just love blue ticking fabric, don't you? It's feels so summer coastal cottage - I can smell the strawberries and feel the warm breeze now. So when I spotted the iconic pattern in a cotton duvet cover at IKEA, I grabbed it. I decided that I would use it to lighten up my bedroom for summer - by reupholstering my bed frame. I put together DIY and natural elements to create this mood board to keep me on track, and then got going.

My frame is a platform bed covered in ugly brown 'pleather', but it's easy to re-cover using just a staple gun. One duvet cover was more than enough to cover the headboard, sideboards and footboard, plus I get to use the two pillow shams as well.

I found an amazing vintage industrial light cage and an antique bracket to hang a bedside pendant lamp.

Lavender, white crisp sheets and a textured white blanket make for a sensual and soothing retreat.

Add some DIY art in a repurposed old frame, plants and a few vintage industrial pieces and my coast summer bedroom is complete, for a total of $80 (duvet cover, light cage and bracket).

Are you lightening up your bedroom for summer?

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5 budget ways to refresh your bathroom

Oh bathrooms - such small rooms that cause such big headaches for a lot of homeowners. Bathrooms need to function well so that day-day is made easy, and ideally be beautiful at the same time. But to be both practical and stylish means making a lot of decisions on finishes, storage and lighting, and many times people just don't know where to start so don't start at all.

I'm here to say that bathroom updates can be made easy and effective - even on a small budget. Here are just five easy ways you can refresh your bathroom without it becoming a huge renovation.

1. Update your lighting and mirror so that your tasks of shaving or putting on makeup are easier.

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Lighting should not be over a mirror, as it casts shadows and makes you look older. Remove your above-mirror light bar in favour of sconces at eye-level on each side of the mirror. That means that most likely you'll need to replace the frame-less builder mirror that runs the full length of your vanity with a smaller mirror, allowing you to make a big update in style as well. These two things can be refreshed for relatively little money but will make a huge impact. Hint: look for a vintage frame at a garage sale and have a mirror put in it.

2. Update your hardware. A new faucet and vanity handles make a huge impact. There are lovely hardware options that are reasonably priced at local hardware stores. I've shopped at Rona more than once and know that they have a great selection.

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3. Choose a standout tile. Fortunately, bathrooms have small square footage and therefore tile is usually pretty affordable. If you did one thing, choosing a standout tile for your floor would make a huge difference to your bathroom. Or create a feature wall with tile instead.

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4. Get creative with storage. Add rustic shelves, hooks and even vintage racks to the walls.

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5. Add a colourful or patterned shower curtain. Just this one thing can brighten the whole room.

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Refreshed Designs

Disclaimer: this post was sponsored by Rona, but is my own commentary based on my opinions and experience, and not influenced in any way.

my plant gang (or how to organize your plants)

Have you visited Urban Jungle Bloggers yet? It's a wonderful site with lots of inspiring images of plants in homes around the world. It's quite amazing to see how plants have been embraced as a decorative and healthy addition to homes small and large.

This month the Urban Jungle Bloggers challenge is to "Show your Plant Gang." So I've gathered up my nine little green friends to hang out altogether on my favourite old bench near the patio door that gets lots of sun. This little exercise turned out to be a great way to organize my urban jungle - I needed to re-pot a couple and decide which ones to take outside to the patio for the summer. After a little sweet talking to each of them they got sorted out and everyone feels better after the adjustment. Mental note: talk more to humans as well as my plants.

If you're looking for natural ways to cover old cans to use as planters, I showed you some options in this post. Take a peek.

Do you have plants in your home? Have you ever taken stalk and 'spring cleaned' and organized them? It's a worthwhile exercise. Hope to see you join Urban Jungle Bloggers this month with #plantgang.

easy organizing: top ways to use vessels

Is the stuff in your home overflowing and preventing you from having a serene, joyful and stress-free home? Invest in vessels.

A vessel, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is any hollow container. One of my favourite vessels for storage is a recycled glass jar - I use them for practically everything from food to tea to craft supplies to buttons to laundry detergent to soaps to office supplies. They're great because you can easily see what's in them and when you need to stock up again. And they're easy to come by  - just recycle them from soup or sauces, or pick a few up at the local flea market.

Baskets and crates of course are another good idea for organized storage. Natural fiber baskets and vintage wire varieties work well, as do antique wooden crates.

Trays, dishes, cans and bowls are also very useful and stylish for rounding things up and keeping them neat and tidy.

I hope these inspire you to gather and organize using budget supplies you can recycle and reuse - it's easy and cheap and makes your day-to-day life at home some much more functional, stylish and peaceful. Happy organizing!