Casa Friday Confession: I'm a rug hater.

Hello lovely readers,

What do you think about rugs? Love them? Hate them? Don't know how to clean them? As you can tell by the title, I'm a hater. We never had rugs around growing up. This is probably because when I was about 3 or 4 I slipped on one and smacked my head on my metal bed frame. I imagine all the rugs in our home went to rug heaven after that little accident. Or it could have been because we had 2 cats and trying to keep rugs clean when you have cats is a big old waste of time.

I had one white shaggy rug in university between mine & Sono's bed. It got absolutely covered in hair and ended up looking more beige than white. Nasty, I know. Why am I even telling you this? Unnecessary details. Anyhow, I've started thinking about maybe having a rug in the living room to make it feel more cozy, since we do have hardwood. I'm thinking I'd like a more natural material, possibly jute or linen. Do rugs even come in linen? I don't know what I'm talking about. I basically want something that is very flat and vaccuum-able, so no shag, but that brings a bit of life to this box we call an apartment.

I like these ones:

Fun rug that's still neutral from West Elm

Natural jute rug from Home Decorators

From Sears, $1000. Yikes!

I gotta wrap this up because I have a date tonight! Teehee. I'll try to post for Steppin Out Saturday on Sunday with a travel outfit or two. Until then, have a great weekend!

xx Janelle

Casa Friday: Wood You Try This?

If you read my reclaimed wood table post, then you know I go crazy for projects that use old, beat-up wood. Well, clearly I am not the only one. Many people have made it their mission to find a new use for pallet wood, which is treated or sometimes untreated wood used to make a flatbed for shipping large items.

By searching pallet on Pinterest (a site to help keep track of stuff that you love on the www), 4611 projects, crafts and homey things came up. There's everything from plate racks to planters to coffee tables... I'm  amazed by the things you can do with a recycled pallet.

Today I have 3 beautiful projects from the blogosphere that I want to share. All of them are--or can be--made with pallet wood or any other good-quality natural wood. No veneered wood. Ick. So check these out:

From PB&J Stories

Pamela of PB&J Stories tried to make this out of pallet wood first. She ended up using some new wood instead, but look how well it turned out! It's beautiful. I like that the low headboard is very subtle and understated, even though I would prefer to extend it higher for a dramatic effect. And the deep stain she put on it is delicious. Metaphorically, of course. She also has an easy-to-follow tutorial, so follow the link above if you want to check it out and for cute pictures of her little helper.

From Under the Sycamore

Ashley Ann from Under the Sycamore shared how she made this cozy little daybed for the nursery. Don't you just wanna cuddle up here with a good book & a tea or even better a snuggly man-friend? I like how she made a makeshift headboard with an old door and a cluster of frames above. And I may or may not be crushing on the collection of poufs & paper lanterns on the ceiling. If only I had a place to put them... Hmm.

From Bower Power

And finally Katie from Bower Power (with some handy-man help from her hubs) put up this intricate wood accent wall made with pallet wood. Same idea as the headboard above but on a larger scale. I absolutely adore this wall! I think I actually let out a yelp when I saw it. How perfect is it for a woodsy themed nursery? I also think it would look cool in a cozy family room or a large bathroom with a cottage feel. The mis-matched colors were intentionally spread out to make it look balanced. You can see a detailed step-by-step here.

As you can probably tell, I tend to lean toward recycled or up-cycled DIY projects. I'm hoping to bring more of this to my blog by trying to focus on projects that use things I would otherwise throw away. It's becoming more important to me as I get older to be mindful of how much I waste. I'm really starting to make an effort to recycle and to limit my spending on "stuff". I'm turning more toward thrifting, too. What about you guys? What do you think of these projects? Would you try these at home?

I'll be back on Sunday or Monday with a Steppin' Out Saturday post with my traveling outfit. I'm going home to New Brunswick for the weekend for a family reunion thingie. Hope you all have a great weekend!

xo Janelle

Casa Fridays: Simple Clothesline Art

Happy weekend! Today I want to keep with the theme of bedrooms and share a quick art idea. I would love to have beautiful art hanging above my bed, but I don't. I stared at the blank wall above it for months before deciding to do something anything to make it look a little less empty.

Well hello there!

So while I wait for the right piece of art to come along, or the inspiration hits to make my own art, I've set up a little art clothesline. This is not by any means an original idea. I've seen other clotheslines all over the internet, but I thought I'd share because it's such an easy project that you can adapt to suit different rooms and styles. Here's what mine looks like at the moment:

It only takes about 2 minutes to set up. All you need is a piece of ribbon or cotton twine, a handful of clothespins and a couple of push pins. To start, push a pin into the wall where you would like one end to be. Tie a bit of twine around the pin and pull the string over to where you want the opposite end to be. Push the other pin in and tie the string around it. Cut the end and you're done. 

The fun part is choosing what to hang on it. I cut out a couple of pictures from 7 Mondays (Mount A's photo/poetry journal) and put a greeting card from Nanase in the middle. It looks a little empty in the photo, but I'm looking to switch it up in the next week or so. I'll update you when I do! Another great part about this project is that it's so easy to switch up. You can hang objects, shapes or art prints. You can use colored clothespins or plain ones.

Here are a few cute clothesline ideas:

From Danielle Thompson's blog.

From Apartment Therapy's gallery

Wouldn't it be nice to have an inspiration clothesline above a work desk? I can sure use a little pick-me-up to keep me motivated...

From Dollar Store Cratfts

I think this would look cute in a baby's room. And this next one would be perfect for a kid's room too because you could switch out the flash cards with homemade art.

From YoungHouseLove

And, what a perfect way to display Christmas or Birthday cards. You wouldn't even need clothespins because you could just fold the cards over the string. I even made one of these for my co-workers birthday and just made 3 small signs saying 'Happy', 'Birthday' & 'Abby'. It was simple, but still looked a lot better than a paper sign sticky tacked to the wall. So, if you've got a spare wall that's in need of some art but you don't want to make nail holes or bother to pick out the perfect art piece, you should try clothesline art.

Have a great weekend,

xo Janelle

Casa Fridays: Duvet Covers

I hope you all had a great day today! I had a special day today but now I'm lying in bed with no pants on (shhh- I have a long top!) and I'm just about ready to catch some sleep. But I figured since I was cuddled up--alone--I would do a quick post on bedding.

One of my favorite things about moving to a new place, or upgrading to a bigger bed size is buying a new duvet cover. Yes, I had a twin bed up until I moved to Halifax 9 months ago... fine for one person, dangerous for two.

When I "inherited" a double bed in this apartment my parents decided to buy me a simple brown duvet cover they found for quite a steal ($20). It's a good, solid color and it held up fairly well until I noticed some fading on one side from the sun. So, I flipped it. And now it's probably fading this side.... The point is that eventually I will have to buy a new one and I've been thinking about what color/style to go with. 

Want to see some of my favorites?

I love the subtle grey tones in this organic cotton one by Amenity.

Aren't the cheery yellow tones in this one from Pottery Barn energizing? I think it would look beautiful in a room that gets a lot of sun in the morning.

If I had my own room I'd go for this luxurious, soft, feminine duvet cover in my favorite color from Anthropologie. The more I look at it though, those knobs are starting to look like the buns on Sumo wrestlers' heads. 

No? Oh my. What is wrong with me?

Although some people find white bedding too stuffy or "hospital-like", I disagree. Because white linens remind me of spas and hotels, I find white bedding to be very relaxing and inviting. To keep the cover from looking boring, I look for some sort of visual interest whether it's a ruffle on the hem, a waffle-weave texture (for a casual, cabin vibe) or a light strip like the Bed Bath & Beyond one in the pic.

You're going to think I'm completely obsessed with bedding after this next confession, but I'll tell you anyway. The bedding from the set of PS I Love You is awesome. It's a brown duvet cover with an almost-celtic design in white or vice versa. It's very cute, you should look for it the next time you're watching it.

As you can tell from my pics, I like a little bit of everything, but I'm not crazy on a ton of print and color on the same blanket.  

What are your favorite bedding styles? Bright colors or darks? Prints or solids? 

Goodnight, 

xo Janelle