A rug to warm the baby's room

I love the internet but sometimes it opens up ideas and possibilities that are hard to attain. Similarly, I love this country but sometimes it is so hard to find products here that we see so frequently on the web. Rugs are one such item. Australia is only just catching onto the bright, modern rug trend, with chevron, moroccan tile/trellis and other geometric patterns. For the baby's room, I almost felt like the only option was a black and white rug in a stripe or chevron, but I kept delaying buying one because I worried the room would be too grown up with the newly dark floorboards and charcoal paint strip. As much as I want a room that fits our home's style for all of us to enjoy, I also want it to be a fun room that will stimulate a child's imagination. I'm so glad I held out.

About three weeks ago, at almost 38 weeks pregnant, a darling friend text me about some fantastic rugs that had just come up on the members-only online shopping site, Temple and Webster.  I was logged in and admiring them on my phone within moments. Suddenly waiting in the hospital for an appointment became exciting! Within half an hour, I'd text the colour and pattern options to the Mister, made a decision and ordered the rug pictured above and below.

It's called a Hiranmayi Indian Dhurrie Rug from The Weaves Collection and is hand woven in pure wool. At 280 x 190cm, it also covers a lot of floor space and makes the room feel so much cosier. I'm in love with it! Especially the pattern. So glad I didn't have to settle. 

The colour is described as 'Gold'. Four weeks ago I ordered a wingback armchair and a footstool in a Warwick fabric called Mystere Honey. It's also a dull yellow so I am crossing my fingers that they work well together. The empty corner in the left of the room is where I plan to place the armchair. I'll post more about that soon.

As Temple and Webster is a sale site, this rug is no longer available there and I can't find it anywhere else online. However, I did spend a lot of time seeking out rugs so I'm going to pass on details of others available in Australia that I considered.

I was excited by the chevron rugs at Jolie Interiors  but the 12 week lead time and the limited colour choice of pink, grey or navy held me back.

Jolie Interiors  

Gilles and Franck had something similar with more colour options but they appear to just be starting in the business and operate through Facebook. Without a fully functioning online store, it seemed too hard and uncertain for me.

Gilles and Franck

I'm really impressed with a new range of rugs from Freedom and checked them out several times in store (always so nice to be able to view before purchase). At $249 they are also very affordable. Unfortunately, they are quite gender specific (and we don't know what we are having) or black and white.

 Freedom symmetric floor rug in teal 

 Freedom symmetric floor rug in raspberry

 Freedom chevron floor rug

My back up plan was the trusty Ikea Stockholm rug. Certainly not a unique choice but very versatile and affordable. It comes in two sizes but neither seemed right for our room - one being too small, the other perhaps too big! And of course, it is black and white - a colour combo I love but would prefer in, say, our dining room. 

Ikea Stockholm rug

So, slowly we are getting a few more design choices closer to home. My choice of rug arrived in just over a week and has made my heart sing ever since. I can't wait to add a floor cushion or two and spend some quality time on it with our little friend. Just gotta entice him or her to come out into the big, wide world!

Hall stand: before and after

 

Here's a closer look at the hall stand makeover as promised in yesterday's post on the painting of our entry hall. Yes, it's Dulux Domino again! I have not tired of this colour. It can look black, charcoal and navy depending on the light and I'm happy with all shades.  I also like it against the new Taubmans Mink Scorpio walls.

After sanding, applying 3 coats of paint and spraying with a lacquer, I replaced the knob on the little drawer with a black and white striped one from Provincial Living, just as I had used on the lamp table in the living room. These pieces can both been seen from the entry so it ties the spaces together nicely.

The hall table is another eBay bargain that I picked up for about $40 when we moved in last year. It needed to be narrow to fit the small space, and while the rounded corners are a little daggy in a country furniture kinda way, they are ever so helpful in avoiding bruises from sharp edges when stumbling to the toilet in the middle of the night! You have to consider these things! The mirror is great for checking that you are properly clothed as you dash out the door and the little drawer is handy for keys and little odds and end that otherwise get strewn near the front door. This leaves the surface clear for little cheerful displays to greet us and our guests as we enter. Here I've used a yellow orchid from The Flower Shed in the shade that makes my heart sing the most - yellow!

 

Linking to:

Mod Vintage Life

Crafty Confessions

Thrifty Decor Chick
A Beach Cottage

Loving the dark side

It will come as no surprise to astrologers that I like a bit of the dark side from time to time. I'm an Aquarian, you see. We are individual, free-spirited types with some rebellious tendancies (never fear, we are also rational, open-minded, honest and loyal) so you can only imagine how happy I am to have finished painting the dining and kitchen area BLACK. Since this look has come up again and again in interior mags recently, I hadn't thought of this as a bold move until people's eyes would widen when I revealed my plans and they'd call me "brave". I'm not joining a bikie gang just yet people. See, look, it's nice...

Much better than BEFORE:

The only brave part about it was painting all the black against white. Plenty of near-disasters and a lot of touching up with a little artists brush! If the rest of my house becomes white on white you know why.

This is the kitchen at the opposite end of the room - painted Whisper White.

We painted a strip of Domino over the purple that was on the tiles. The purple may be covering a row of ducks in baskets or similar. How do I know this? Because I stood there gleefully one day with a paint scalpel hoping to get rid of the strip altogether for a clean, white look and with one small scratch I could see a hideous print so I downed my knife and patted that paint back into place with a new appreciation for purple.

Excuse the blind hooks above the window. I'm yet to return the venetian blind because I've decided it ruins the look!

So only two walls are Dulux Domino, the others are Dulux Whisper White. As described in my previous post on black inspiration, this is called a colour wrap. The trims around the windows and doorways are also Whisper White but in a gloss finish. The French doors leading outside (not pictured) are still a natural timber similar to the floorboards. When I have time, I'll remove them to sand and paint white also. This leaves only the floorboards. I'm tempted to stain them dark or whitewash them but after the mess of painting, it sounds chaotic. Plus they match the floorboards at the front of our house so I that gives me an excuse to leave them (for now!).

The real finishing touch is going to be a feature light shade above the dining table. Perhaps a white chandelier, a cluster of bare light bulbs dangling from the roof or even a big, industrial light shade. If I was a true Aquarian, I would get something yellow. That should make the oldies eyes pop! What would you do? Do you like the safe-route or do you prefer the road less travelled? Do you listen to the experts or do you get swayed by the unqualified opinion of family and friends? I'd love to hear...

And happy new year! Here's to finding comfort in your own skin and enjoying the journey in 2011.

Got any blacker? Dining in the dark

After eleven months of other priorities and deliberating over paint or wallpaper, a decision has been made on the colour for our kitchen and dining area. We are sticking with the colour wrap (painting 2 walls in one colour and the other two in another - white in our case) but gleefully saying good riddance to our inherited eggplant/deep purple walls. Loving how the sample turned out on the wall and sooo excited to finally be doing it. Here are my inspiration pics for this room:

Image: Decor Pad

Image: Decor Pad

Image: Bettsy Kingston

 

Image:Sofiaa Interiors

 And some general black inspiration...

 A bathroom belonging to Gwenyth and Chris

Birdgage wallstickers from interiorinstyle.com.au

Black is not always associated with happiness but my heart sure sings when I peep at the area I've started. This is one black hole I can't wait to spend some time in. 

Update: Click here to see the finished black and white kitchen/dining paint job.