I Rue You

I was so excited to stumble across a new online magazine "Rue". Not only is it totally gorgeous and available online for free, it's first issue features the home of one of my favourite bloggers - Victoria from sfgirlbybay.

Here are some images of her amazing home. I just adore how she uses the blank canvas of black and white walls to frame her ever-changing collections.

*Sigh* - I think I just died and went to interior design heaven reading Rue.

As a side note, does anyone happen to know where that bedspread with the birds on it is from? I'm in love and think I need to have it.

Welcome and not so welcome

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. It's so lovely to have such a warm welcome back to the world of blogging.

On not so welcome news, I just received the first unpleasant comment on my blog to date. I chose to reject the comment, as I was taken aback at first, but decided to bring the issue to the forefront. It was posted by an anonymous poster (no surprises there) in relation to my cow hide rug and stated:

"Next time I need to induce vomiting, I will look at this page."

Charming, right?

Now I don't expect that every single person in the world is going to love cow hide rugs or want one in their home. But honestly, what kind of a troll goes through blogs to post comments like that?

It's a plain and simple fact that cow hide rugs are a natural by-product of the meat industry. Now I'm not sure what issue the person takes with the rug because their comment wasn't particularly expansive. At the end of the day - the cows are not killed for their skin, a cow hide rug is not a fur coat.

Now I'm not here to enter into a big ethical debate, but I think ultimately there are far bigger issues in the world to deal with than the beef industry.

Before and Afters - Living room

I'm not sure if I have any readers left, after being on a blog hiatus for so long! If anyone is left out there - hello and please accept my apologies.

Before I entered into my hiatus, I know I promised that I would post some official before and after shots. I'm not one to re neg on my promises, so here is a little taste to wet your appetite... my living room, then and now!

Before:

Here is a photo looking from my kitchen to my dining and living rooms.

You can see at the end of the picture, there is an area separated from the living area by a half-height wall. I'm not sure what the intended purpose of this space was, but the half-wall rendered it pretty useless. I had considered opening it up into the living room, but this would have made for an unusual space. Instead, I converted the space into a third bedroom.

Here is another picture of the living room, with a view of what is now the third bedroom and into my hallway.

You can see in the third bedroom, there was once a large space with a desk (far left of the photo). This ended up being the perfect size to install a built in wardrobe.


During:

Here is a picture from a similar position as the first image. As you can see, at this point in time the area has been separated off to create the third bedroom and the flooring has been laid.


Here is a picture of the wardrobe in the third bedroom.

And just another shot of the newly created room. I don't have any "official" afters as the room is now occupied by by housemate. (I can only guess that it's probably messy!)

Afters:

Ta-da - the finished room!


The Barcelona chairs are a new addition to my home, as of this weekend! I manged to pick the pair up for a bargain price.

PS - do you spy my target mirror in the back? I only just got around to hanging it.


My vintage sideboard and collection of amber glassware.


Here's a close up of my display. Don't you just love the ram's head? We won't talk about the issues I went through in hanging that baby!


I hope you guys enjoy the photos. I'll be sure to include some pics of my kitchen soon (it needs a bit of a clean!)

Magazine Inspiration - Part 4

I thought it was time I posted some more pretty pictures I've had stashed away and used as inspiration for my house. Here is a lovely house that was featured in RealLiving magazine:

Where do I start? Well firstly I am jealous by the collection of sideboards that the owner of this place has. Secondly - the framed posters and artwork. I love how they have a vintage feel and still work so well mixed in with modern pieces.

I think the collection of yellow glass is possibly my favourite feature of this house.

As a final note, there are no words to express how in love I am with that yellow cow hide rug. If anyone has one they want to give to me, I'll happily take it off your hands.

It's a running joke among my friends about how much I love anything and everything that is mustard yellow in colour... apparently it's a "weird shade".

Getting there...

Slowly but surely my place is turning from what was just a house, or a reno job, to a home. I spent a couple of hours there tonight sorting out my homewares and dropping some more furniture off. I thought I'd post a few photos of my latest progress and purchases.

Here is yet another attempt of my to sort out my plates etc to find an appropriate spot in my kitchen:

I wish I could say that's all I have, but unfortunately I would be lying!

This door mat is one of my latest purchases - I think it's almost too pretty for people to wipe their feet on. Looking at this picture, I think I need to turn it the other way.

I finally managed to bring my sideboard over to my property. The photo was taken at night, which is why it's so dark.

I've finally taken the plastic cover off my couch... and did you notice - my cowhide rug arrived!

Despite my flip-flopping, I'm really happy with my chair and table choices.

Quick update - cow hide rug

After all my obsessing, I decided to bite the bullet and finally buy a cow hide rug.

I had found a few options in person, however most of these were way out of my price range. From my experience, the going rate at homewares stores is between $800 and $1,200 depending on the size and quality. Ikea offers good value with their offering the Koldby which retails for $499 (in Perth).

Driven by the bargain price and range of colour choices I purchased this gorgeous rug from eBay:

Image from naturalmadehides' ebay store.

I think I ended up paying about $280 (AUD) including posting so this rug represents an absolute bargain. Now it's just a matter of playing the waiting game. I really hope it's as beautiful in person.

Latest obsession - cow hide rugs

I'm not quite sure how this started - but I just love cow hide rugs. I really want, nay, NEED one in my home.

Set off the alarm - my obsession has reached pandemic levels!

Jokes aside, I love how they can bring a little bit of warmth into a room.

Image from m2matiz ° o .

Image from Living Etc. January 2005 via tallulahblue's photostream.

Image from alexinteriors.

The major dilema I face is what colour would suit my place? Overall I have a fairly neautral colour scheme - white walls, mid-brown tone floorboards, white couch, teak table.

I really like the look of this rug with the beautiful tan and white components.

However, I'm not sure if I would be safer choosing something like this rug which has more grey tones in it.

Both images from naturalmadehide's ebay store.

Once I decide on a colour I think the difficulty is going to be finding an affordable option!