MODERN HOUSE AUSTRALIAN STYLE

Hey Everyone!  Hope all is well.  I came across this amazing home that is located in the land 'down under".
It really is an amazing home.  To me it feels like a modern interpretation of a really cool contemporary Beach House.  Enjoy:

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I love the use of wood, white and griege in this space.  It is so calming.  I know that Contemporary isn't for everyone, however, in this case this home is inviting and not cold at all.  Kinda makes you want to head on down south to the other side of the world.
This great home was created by Capital Building in Australia.  Gotta love talent!!

Have an awesome day everyone.
Megan

ZIGGITY ZAGGITY SCARF-FINALLY!

Hey everyone, hope all is well in your world.  No I have not returned the T-shirt, hoping to get that one done today.
I wanted to share with you all my newest creation...... Ziggity Zaggity Scarf.

I really had fun creating this one.  It is such a departure for me.  But I saw this yarn in one of my usual spots.... Spun and I couldn't resist.  I have said in the past that for me Noro is lovely, however, at times it seems that it leaves me wanting.  So many times I have bought a skein and somewhere in all that colourful loveliness will be a colour or two I really don't like.  Thus, it kind of ruins it for me.  Well not this time.  I love all the colours in this lovely little ball.
And what a lovely little ball it is.  The pattern I created is a "one ball wonder".  Which for Noro is awesome as it can be a little on the pricey side.  The yarn I used was Noro Silk Garden Sock.  It cost $19.95 for one ball.  The size of the scarf that I got out of the ball was 9"x54".  Just enough I think.  Although one could easily purchase another ball and make it longer.  I also added pom poms as a fun little addition.  It was knit on size 4.5mm needles.  I have to say that this particular pattern was by far my most involved I have EVER done.  There is both written and charted instructions.  I also included a tutorial on making baby pom poms.  You do not need any special equipment to make them....just a fork!!
So there you have it the latest in my scarf arsenal.... The pattern can be found at Ravelry.  And as always if you have any comments or questions please feel free to drop me a line.
Just a little side note.  This pattern would make an amazing runner for a dining room table.  It would make such a statement in the dining room.  You would probably need a little more yarn than the one ball called for here.....just a thought.
I am of course already thinking about the next project or two........I just can't stop.

Have an awesome day everyone
Megan

HOLES IN T-SHIRTS!!

Hey Everyone!!  So I am going to go on a bit of a rant today........  A few days ago I was at the local mall and thought I might stop in at Banana Republic to see what they had on the sale rack.  Lets just say that I felt pretty chuffed (happy) when I left.  I left said store with 5 shirts-1 cotton shirt and 4 T-Shirt type tops.  All 5 were purchased with tax for about $52.00!!  That is pretty awesome since some of the T-Shirts were $75.00 regular price.  Now.....I wore one of the t-shirts on the weekend.  This morning I was doing Laundry.....it never ends people!!!!!  Anyways..... I always hang my clothes.  ALWAYS.  The only things that I will dry are undies, towels, sheets, etc.... but NEVER Adult clothing.  The dryer can be your worst enemy when it comes to fibres.  It is a destroyer of textiles....... Anyways........I pulled my BR T-Shirt out to hang and a little something caught my eye!  A TINY HOLE....  up high on the back right shoulder area- in the fabric, not the seam.  To say that I was ticked off was an understatement.  It goes along with what I have been saying for years now......... Clothes and T-Shirts in particular are taking a nose dive in quality.  I can remember owning T-Shirts for years and they NEVER got holes in them.  Now, I know that there is a lot of chatter on the net about holes in shirts and in particularly with regard to the belly button region. And there is theory after theory about how these little holes form.  They talk about rubbing against counters, acids from your belly button, belt buckles..... I could go on and on.  And some of these theories may be true in part for the belly button region,  however, I am talking about the holes you find everywhere else on a T-Shirt.   I find that any T-shirts that I buy from Old Navy, The Gap or even BR (as an example) all end up with these mysterious holes.  The Textiles Major in me is theorizing that it has EVERYTHING to do with inferior threads.  Simple as that.  These companies have a bottom line and they all want to increase their profit margins.  How do they do that??  Buy purchasing fabric that is a lower quality yet charging a lot for it.  Now a lot of you out there will say....but when I purchase that shirt from the store it feels great.  Well of course it does, as that INFERIOR thread they have made that t-shirt with has been processed to feel "nice".  Use an inferior thread and beef it up with chemicals to make it feel good.  However, after washing a few times that chemical is gone and poof- CRAPPY T-SHIRT!!!!  Also if the threads that make up that T-Shirt are made with really tiny staple fibres they just won't hold up.
Think about it......... When they spin a thread to make up a piece of fabric,in a perfect world  they should use lovely long or good quality staple cotton fibres. When that thread is under attack by wearing, washing, pulling, drying etc......the longer, better quality fibres will last way longer than a cheap, shorter, staple fibre.  If they make up fabric with cheap, weak and short threads then those threads when under "attack", easily break and rub away, thus creating a hole in the fabric.
I can't tell you how many times I see "fine" shirt fabric and think to myself...."well that won't last long".  Very few manufacturers are using a high quality thread and fabric.  It is the cost of doing business.  Only the end result is a throw away society.  Like I said.  I remember having T-Shirts that would last for years.  However, when you think about it, having long lasting products really impacts the "companies" bottom line.  They think if they make a T-shirt to last  "just long" enough then people won't go too ballistic!!  And you will of course have to buy more.  Well this is one girl that is tired of this built in redundancy.  I mean come on.... I washed the T-Shirt once!!!!   I am only hoping that I can find the bill.....However, it was Recycle day on Mon!!!!  I hope I didn't recycle it!
So what am I trying to say here.......Do your best to educate yourself.  Don't buy crap and expect it to last.  That $5.00 T-shirt from Joe Fresh probably won't last too long and in fact will probably loose it's shape after a wash or two....that is just a fact....And it has happened to me!!  You cannot expect high quality from a $5.00 T-Shirt.  However, when  a T-Shirt that originally would have cost $75.00......well that is where I get really ticked off!!  If I can't find the bill I am going to have to try and mend that little hole somehow.
I wish I had the solution!  I wish I had the power to stop the madness.  Goodness forbid a companies mandate is to have a conscience and be successful too.  Money drives the machine and all that!!   I have no problem with companies making money.  Where I do have an issue is when they try to sell crap and make major profits from it.

So I invite anyone out there from any company that sells T-Shirts or other Garments to offer up an explanation as to why their Garments just can't seem to hold up to every day life.  Like I said, we have T-shirts that we bought years ago and guess what??? NO holes. Yet, the ones that I have bought in the last little while just don't seem to be a able to hold a candle to those from long ago.....Explanations anyone??

There you have it my RANT!!!
Have an awesome day everyone.
Megan

P.S..... Sorry for the lack of pics today..... I just had to have my say!!!

P.P.S..... I found my receipt and will be going over to Banana Republic.... will let you know how it goes!

RED WHITE AND BLUE

Hey Everyone!!  As you may know by now I LOVE Red White and Blue.  In fact I would have to say I am "slightly" obsessed by it!  I came across this pic and had to share...... now if only we had a store like this near my house.  Heck I would love it if it were in the same province never mind it being over 2000 miles away!!

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Nearly lost my mind over this one!!  Maison Au Natural can be found here.  Or if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area................

Have a great day everyone.
Megan

DECORATING AROUND THE TV

Hey Everyone!!  Hope all is well.  We all have one, well most of us anyways.  A large TV that can be hard to decorate around.  I mean don't get me wrong....looking at a large TV to watch your favourite program or sporting event can be awesome.  But lets face it.....TV's can be really ugly.  And when not watching they can be an eye sore.  So what to do?  This same question came up when I was discussing with "the Man" what he wanted in terms of paint colour for the board room.  On one wall they have a 50" TV.  It is the first thing I saw when I would walk in that room.  Which is fine if you are using it for multi media purposes in an office setting.  However, when it is not being used it can be quite ugly.  So I suggested that we paint out that wall a very dark gray.  In fact we ended up using Benjamin Moore Gray:

Gray 2121-10 Benjamin Moore

I am hoping to take pics of the space real soon to show you.  It is nothing overly fancy or anything but boy did that room need a coat of paint.  Although the name of the gray that we used...... Gray 2121-10 isn't too exciting or fancy, the colour turned out to be perfect for the space.

Painting out the area around the TV in a very dark colour is probably the cheapest way to "decorate" around  a large TV.  Here are some other ways to decorate around one of our favourite "toys":

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Even if you have a smallish budget, going to Ikea and buying "Billy" shelves and other units will go along way to decorating around the TV.  The only thing differently I may have done here is either paint the cabinet directly behind the TV a very dark gray or paint a board that is the same size as the open cabinet area where the TV is and pop it in.  That way you don't affect the cabinet itself.

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Even if one could not afford to buy a whole unit as in the pic above you could still buy chunky shelves from somewhere-like Ikea and have a longer unit underneath and still paint a great accent colour around the TV as if to "frame it".  I really love the Corally Red that was chosen here...it looks awesome with the light wood that was chosen.

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Again....one wouldn't have to spend a fortune to recreate something like above.  You could buy great plywood at Home Depot and stain and varnish it.  Then mount it on the wall and mount the TV on the Wood.

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Here the designer has used Leather attached to the wall as an accent to help hide the TV.  This would look awesome in a contemporary setting as in the pic above.

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The above pic shows how just a can of paint can make a great impact.  This is one of those instances when not spending a fortune really looks awesome.  And it is a look that any budget can handle.  Paint always goes on sale.  The colour used on the TV wall is Admiral Blue by Dunn Edwards.

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Want to add a little glam to your space....then all you will need is some Wood, fabric and or leather, some batting, and some LED lighting.  This may not be everyone's cup of tea....but it is unique and really frames out the TV.

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Again the use of dark paint around the TV really helps to disguise it.

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Here the designer has used a low console and stacked stone to make a statement.  I really love the use of stone, it is so effective here.  It also helps to have the budget to use stone, however, it isn't an overly large space and if one were to get the stone on sale for instance this would really make a great statement wall.

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I love the use of wood in this contemporary space.  I love how well the TV blends in with the clean lines of the "built in" area.  GORGEOUS!!

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Decorating around a TV isn't just for those the love Contemporary design......  Just look at the beachy bedroom above.  I love how they have used a wooden frame to frame out the TV. What makes this work so well is that the wood tones blend really well with the room and they have also decorated the wall in a gallery style with the pictures.  LOVE THIS!!

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Now....most of us could not possible afford an amazing built in like the one above...however, if you are lucky enough to have a built in already, paint the whole thing out black and Voila!!  This room is beyond gorgeous.

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If stone is in your budget and you love Cottage/Traditional style then this may be just for you.  Add an antique bench below like the pic above and your TV will thank you!!!  If stone isn't in the budget then paint the whole wall the same colour as the rest of the room and then using a darker version of the colour, paint a large box around the TV. then add a bench.

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Gotta love mini barn doors!!!  So cute!!

So there you have it.  Help disguising the TV.  

Have a great day everyone!!

Megan

SMALL BUT MIGHTY!!

Hey Everyone!!  I just love a design that doesn't really on huge towering ceilings or massive sized rooms.  In fact I really admire when a design pacts a whole lot of punch into a small space.  Case in point the small little gem I came across.  ENJOY!!  I know I did;

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The flooring is a porcelain tile made to look like hardwood.  How awesome is that??  So perfect for a cottage.

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 Who doesn't love a banquette.  I LOVE A BANQUETTE!!

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The contractor used gray grout to highlight the subway and hex tile.  And let me tell you from experience.....if you ever have hex tile on a main bathroom floor...use gray.  It will save you a ton of headaches...just sayin'.
From the looks of it the counters in the bathroom and the kitchen are dark coloured concrete.

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Isn't this just the sweetest little gem.  I love the simplicity of it.  Makes me want to simplify my own life and home.
This little lovely was created by 12th Ave Homes.  They are located in Seattle, Washington.

Have a great day everyone.
Megan