green home styling

In honour of St. Patrick's day, I thought I'd share a couple shots of the green shamrocks I recently brought home, along with a few vintage favourites. I have so much fun vintage-seeking and adding unique touches to my home with antique and natural items. Old crates and boxes and baskets are both organically appealing to the eye and are functional in corralling items in the entry, kitchen, bathroom, or really anywhere.

Vintage kitchen tools are lovely too;  they're both useful and decorative. This old peeler is from my Mom. Reclaiming and re-using items from the past is a fun and green way to style and finish our homes, don't you think?

Happy St. Paddy's Day all, and I wish you a green Spring.

top 15 ways to repurpose maps as wall art

Since I love repurposing and love maps, this is a natural fit for me. Finding inspiration for the best ways to use maps, especially vintage ones, has been a feast for the eyes. I've been seeing some nice old maps at my local antique markets lately...I'm getting very tempted. Here are my top 15 picks for repurposing maps as a beautiful way to decorate your walls.

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creating a cosy green bedroom for winter

Brrr....winter has definitely arrived in Canada! We had our first real snow this week; I love how pretty it makes everything, but it sure does make me want to stay inside and curl up. So, what better time to redecorate my bedroom to make it cosy, and of course, green, for winter?

I was inspired by Urban Jungle Bloggers and their challenge to make your bedroom green with plants this winter. Not only do plants in the bedroom keep the air fresh, they also make it feel bright and warm (at least to me).

I'm really lucky to have big south-west facing windows that let lots of natural light into my bedroom. So I've filled it with plants. And pretty vintage vessels. And DIY art. And reclaimed wood. I spent no new money on this bedroom refresh - other than purchasing two new plants at half price! The big spider plant was a steal - and it's one of the best for air quality.

New plants needed new containers - so I took a soup cans and wrapped yarn and jute around them. No cost there.

Books are kept close at hand and neat in a vintage bike rack, and a nature-inspired pottery plate holds bedside stuff.

The nightstand was thrifted and refreshed with paint and wallpaper scraps - tutorial here.  And the bed frame was reupholstered myself - instructions here.

I made DIY lightbulb terrariums to hang by rope - instructions here.

One of my favourite things of all time is the glass cabinet my brother made for me out of old antique windows from a building that was torn down. I keep bracelets and watches in it - isn't it spectacular?

More vintage vessels hold the rest of my jewellery.

I simply changed out the knobs on an IKEA dresser for a more glamorous look. Necklaces are hung on the wall as ready-made art and organized storage. Faux sheep rugs add texture and keep things looking cosy for winter.

So...are you inspired to refresh your bedroom with plants and all things cosy? No need to spend- just look around your home for things you already have. Good luck!

DIY plant shelf

You know by now that I love plants, both outdoors and in. They have the ability to instantly pick up my mood and make me feel like I'm surrounded by nature. Plus of course they are great for indoor air quality. This weekend I rearranged my condo (yes, again) to optimize the sunlight and space for my indoor plants. I'm very lucky to have a bright white condo facing southwest, so I wanted to take advantage by creating a plant shelf in addition to the antique bench I have in front of the patio doors.

As with most of my DIY's, I wanted to accomplish it with reclaimed materials and without spending much money. Enter an old weathered plank and vintage shelf brackets. My parents visited in September and brought with them some old boards that were outside on their country property. Planks left outside for years = perfectly weathered rustsic shelves. I picked up some rusted shelf brackets on the cheap last weekend at the Aberfoyle Antique Market, aka heaven.

Have you checked out Urban Jungle Bloggers yet? It's a fabulous blog that celebrates bringing greenery indoors. My kind of site. Head over and see all the great inspiration that will make you head to your local nursery ASAP. Their plant shelfie month inspired my rustic plant shelf - it was a fun project!

trend to try: mixing design styles

Gone are the days of matchy-matchy decorating and perfect, on-trend spaces. Seems like homeowners and designers alike have embraced the eclectic look of making a home comfortable by mixing styles and furnishings. This is great news for those who care about sustainability while decorating - it means that vintage decor, repurposed and re-painted furniture, wood plank walls, and glam accessories can easily fit together to create a lovely and homey space that is "on trend."

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While layering different styles makes a home interesting and can save big bucks in the decorating budget, do keep in mind just a few simple tips:

First, have a common element - like colour or scale of furnishings. For example, if you have lots of colourful items in the room, think about using white as your backdrop. (You know I'm always going to advocate for white walls, right?) 

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Second, make sure to spread the styles around, hence the word "mix"! Don't have only one room in the house, or worse, only one half of a room, completely traditional and the rest completely modern. Seems obvious but make sure to step back and survey the space to make sure you've weaved the elements together.  

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And finally, mix with balance and harmony; the room should feel naturally and organically pulled together. So that means you don't have to have an equal mix of different styles. Perhaps you have only two traditional chairs in an otherwise rustic room- but they are not situated together- they are in different spots and therefore provide continuity, not uneasiess. 

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What do you think - do you embrace the loveliness of imperfection and mixing styles?

organic week and antique weekend

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. I certainly did - and made a good start to Organic Week by visiting a local Saturday market that hosts some wonderful organic farm stands. I stocked up on greens to kickstart a Fall of boosted nutrition and goodness. I couldn't resist picking up some local flowers too - these irises were calling out...

My breakfast on Sunday was chia seeds, organic oats, raisins and vanilla soaked in almond milk overnight. I added slivered almonds and some cinnamon in the morning and it simply delicious.

I also attended the Aberfoyle Antique Market for its Fall show, and it did not disappoint! There were so many great vendors and good buys, I had a tough time not over-consuming. In the end I stuck to what I wanted to find - an old enamel measuring cup which I now use to hold my wooden kitchen spoons and antique soup spoons and a serving fork. Oh, and an adorable small bottle (perhaps an old ink bottle?) that works perfectly as a bud vase.

What a super way to spend the last weekend of summer. I noticed on my evening walk last night that the leaves are beginning to turn. Let Autumn's splendour begin.

natural home: old schoolhouse apartment

This home, spotted on Architectural Digest, is so lovely it made me stop and be still for a moment.

It has such lovely old brick bones, and living spaces that connect to the outdoors, which I think is so important for the soul. Inside, the painted white brick, multitude of sunlight, and lots of living green plants (check out that climber!) creates a peaceful home in which to relax and breathe deeply. The books and interesting objects displayed on built-in shelving throughout the home add a personal element that is interesting and makes the uncluttered space feel warm and inviting.

All of this serene beauty wrapped into sustainable principles through reclaiming an old schoolhouse instead of building new.

Worth a pause, don't you agree? More photos over at AD.

DIY comic book coasters

This was a fun little project. I wanted to make something for my brother for his birthday, and came up with a way to combine his love for comic books and coffee: coasters covered in vintage comics! This was an extremely easy and cost-effective project using cork coasters (found at Target or IKEA) and Modge Podge. What do you think?