bright whites

While I was wandering around Chapters (www.chapters.indigo.ca) last week, I noticed some fabulous new accessories that I wanted to tell you about.

Think white. Bright white. At first blush, you might think these accessories seem a bit bland. Boring, even.

But imagine solid white items in a sea of color. They stand out. They can be bold. They can be chic. They can offer a clean, crisp, fresh vibe to a room.

They can also add a touch of fun, silliness and whimsy.

And they go with EVERYTHING because, well, they are white. They can stand the test of time and find a place in your décor for a long, long time.

As much as I love black, I have an almost equal love affair with adding touches of white to every décor.

But remember, as with just about everything, moderation is key!

So, think white next time you are looking to freshen up your space…

In the meantime…Happy Halloween. Hope yours is spooky and safe!

 

For more about rouge, visit www.littlered.ca or check out past blogs at www.justalittlerouge/blogspot.com

monkey around

So, I don’t usually write much about kid’s stuff, but this is just too adorable to pass up.

The Monkey Show is a great little Halifax-based company (located at 1569 Dresden Row) where…you guessed it….you can make your own sock monkeys!

These guys are awesome…you can get your own sock monkey kit for $15 and have tons of choices to make sure your creation is totally unique. They also have Make your own Sock Bunny kits, and Make your own sock Monster kits.

They do birthday parties and other groups as well. What a fun way to celebrate a baby shower!

Whether you go as a group, pick up a kit to make your own great gift, or even to give a kit to someone else and let them make it, this is a fun and lovely gift to give.

Not to mention, anything that can be custom made can also be stylish! Put some extra thought into it when you chose colors and accessories…and a sock monkey that matches the décor, or is used as a jumping off point for a room, is bound to stick around for a long time!

Check them out at www.themonkeyshow.ca, at their Dresden Row location, or visit them at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market on the weekends.

Now, who doesn’t like a sock monkey?!?

Even my kitty, Jimmy, has a sock monkey (aptly named monkey) that was given to him just after he came to live with me…and he loves it. He carries it from room to room, so I find it in lots of surprising places all around the house...and it makes me smile each and every time!

For more about rouge, visit www.littlered.ca or check out past blogs at www.justalittlerouge/blogspot.com

diy lampshade -- upcycle it!

Sorry about last week, faithful just a little rouge readers… I must have been in a turkey coma and forgot to post a blog!

This week is a little upcycling project that comes courtesy of my very smart and crafty friend, Brie. She had such wonderful results with her project, I decided to try it out for myself!

This is a simple and low cost way to upcycle a paper lamp shade. Paper lamp shades were/are quite popular and low cost. If you are starting to get a bit tired of the look, here’s a way to breathe some new life into it…

What you need:

• Paper lamp shade

• Plain white paper (8 ½ x 11 is fine)

• Paper cutter

• Glue gun & extra glue sticks

Cut a bazillion strips of paper approx 4 inches wide with the paper cutter. Ok…maybe not really a bazillion, but you’ll need a lot.

It’s important to use a paper cutter to make sure all of your strips are the same length and width. (And who would want to do that by hand anyway??) I used plain white paper, so my strips were 8 ½ x 4.

Warm up the glue gun, and run a bead of glue along the outside of the paper shade, following the wire rim. Quickly stick the strips of paper to the shade (I say quickly, because glue from the hot glue gun dries fast!), slightly overlapping the next strip on the last as you go along.

Starting from the bottom, work your way all around the entire shade, making your way up to the top of the shade.

A good tip here is the find a place to hang the shade, so you can easily access all sides of it, turning as you go. I learned early on in this project that it’s hard to hold the shade, glue it, place the strips of paper, and turn it with only two hands!

Finally, I got smart and hung the shade from a piece of string from my overhead pot rack in the kitchen…worked like a charm!

Be patient…it’s going to take you a few hours to do this, but it’s worth it in the end.

Now my old paper shade is hanging in my bedroom and offers a very soft, interesting, mood light. If you didn’t actually touch it, my guess would be that you wouldn’t know it was paper. It looks like a more expensive, trendy light fixture now.

Shortly after my friend shared this gem of a DIY project, I saw something very similar on a home décor show….they started with a huge paper shade and glued cone-shaped coffee filters all the way around instead of paper strips. The finished product looked fabulous!


The entire project easily cost less than $10…so what have you got to lose? Give it a try…








For more about rouge, visit www.littlered.ca or check out past blogs at www.justalittlerouge/blogspot.com

mur*mur appliance decals

Have your appliances seen better days? Are these eyesores ruining your décor?



Now, even your refrigerator or dishwasher can now become a design statement, with Mur Mur appliance decals, which just hit Rona’s shelves (www.rona.ca) within the last few weeks.


These easy to apply decals are safe on your appliances -- MUR*MUR adds personality to your refrigerator or dishwasher. Gone are the appliances you wish you could hide. And since they’re economical and come in a variety of styles, you can change them up anytime you want to transform the entire room in minutes.


They are only available at RONA, where you’ll find these appliqués in a wide variety of styles and unique patterns, ranging from a field of poppies to a scene of Times Square in New York. They start at about $40 for a dishwasher and $70 for a refrigerator.


Personally, I like a more clean, crisp and sleek design, so if I was decorating with an unlimited budget, I probably wouldn’t make this part of my design. But, if I was attempting a more “artsy” look and feel…these would certainly make a bold design statement.


Regardless, I think this a very smart, fun, and cost efficient way to hide or update older appliances that you don’t like the look of anymore. And I think this product would be very effective for staging purposes to help breathe new life into a kitchen.


Just goes to show...absolutely anything can become a piece of art!






For more about rouge, visit www.littlered.ca or check out past blogs at www.justalittlerouge/blogspot.com