How to Choose Blinds that Look Good | GUEST POST

Danielle Mcann is a copywriter working with the Melbourne Blind Company. When Danielle’s not writing content she enjoys swimming, shopping and taking her Golden Retriever dogs for a walk 🙂 She has given us a great post on using blinds in your home – something that’s often overlooked when we’re checking out curtains and rods – why not use blinds? From kiddies bedrooms to bathrooms & dining rooms – this is the blind guide 🙂

Blinds are underrated. No beautiful room is complete without windows to connect it to the outside world, and let in natural light, the most beautiful kind of light there is. They can be a real home décor inspiration. The light that is let in or kept out is controlled by blinds or curtains. Curtains and blinds are also the perfect way to add a highlight, or tie the colour scheme together in a room. Here is a list of different kinds of blinds that can be used to different effects within your home.

Roller blinds

Roller blinds might not be the prettiest or most rustic-looking window shades, but they sure are effective at light filtering and heat controlling. They are usually aluminium, and can be matched with other sorts of blind.

Roller Blind | source Pinterest

Romans

Cloth blind, controlled by a pulling system in which clean horizontal folds stack neatly on top of one another. Great for children’s rooms, and you can choose any colour that you want for the cloth covering.

Roman Blind | source Melbourne Blind Company

Venetians

Venetians are an old favourite. They can be made from any coloured stained timber, and they still look modern, even when they’re vintage.

Venetian Blind | source Enrimur

Sunscreens

Sunscreens, or blackout blinds, are really useful in rooms that are prone to a lot of sun, especially if you want to keep cool in summer, they could save you a lot in air conditioning bills!

Sunscreen Blind | source Melbourne Blind Company

Shutters

Shutters go beautifully in the kitchen or bathroom, or a country house or a window that looks out onto a garden. They’re iconic of rural France and can be painted any colour. You can adjust them to let light in, or open them all the way.

Shutters | source Hadley Designs

* I love guest posts! If you would like to share your knowledge or expertise on any design, decor, fashion or style trends, please email me on theggguide[at]gmail.com. All posts and included links undergo a review before publishing

Into the Karoo | Style Inspiration Moodboard

I’m off to my favourite Western Cape reserve this weekend – Sanbona Private Game Reserve – for a MUCH-ANTICIPATED time of being with good friends, eating great food, drinking red wine and hanging out under the Karoo stars – my favourite.

What I love about being out in the Karoo is the incredible sense of space; the sky is bigger here (I can imagine Montana similarly), and the horizons blur out in the distance. The quaint farmhouses dot the desert scrub and herds of sheep skitter along the slopes; it’s farmland out here, and it’s so peaceful.

I’ve always loved visiting Karoo farmhouses or side-of-the-road farmstalls, as there’s always something to look at, buy or get interested in, as well as fascinating people to talk to. One of the things I enjoy the most is the style of a farmhouse; I always say I want a Karoo kitchen, and hopefully one day I can make that happen!

From white-washed walls to simple ceramics, wooden floors and textured  pieces of furniture, the style is always unique and custom-made. I’ve put together a Karoo moodboard today – just for a little bit of inspiration on an entire style of living… for more great Karoo pics, check out this great Pinterest board.

How to Group Frames Together | At Home DIY

One very easy way of changing up a space is rearranging the way in which you hang photos, pictures, art, mementos and anything else artistic that can be be put in a frame. This includes postcards, decorative paper and even vintage newspaper.

A great way of working out what you’re going to hang, how you’re going to hang, and what effect you want, is to place your frames (sometimes it’s nice to have the same or similar frames, but it can be just as effective having different frames) on newspaper, cut out around them and then stick up the newspaper on your walls in different formations – this’ll enable you to get a good idea of how you want to hang before you drill the first hole!

Frames can be grouped together as a focus wall, as a balance to a room (like a staircase), in symmetrical groups of 3 x 3 in identical frames, or as a hodge podge of unique frames that feature a different piece of artwork or picture in each. It’s really what fits with your overall decor scheme that will give you direction as to how to work out your frame grouping idea.

Here’s some ideas for laying out your frames, as well as some great inspiration I’ve found on the web. Have an inspired Sunday! x

Ideas for Hanging Frames | source – Pinterest

Peaceful Desk Inspiration | source ffffound.com

Dress Your Hallway | source House Dressing

Frames as an Accent Wall | source Steph Modo

Horizontal Picture Frames | source Steph Modo

Eclectic Grouping of Frames | source Steph Modo

Using Small & Big Frames | source High Fashion Home

Framing Scrapbooking Paper | source Casa Sugar

 

Ankle Boots to Love this Winter

For many years, I thought ankle boots belonged to old biddies doing their Saturday morning grocery shopping, or middle aged working women who tended to wear them with long (but not long enough) skirts with knee-highs. Clunky, with thick heavy soles and unattractive heels, ankle boots were a NO NO. In caps.

But now, take one look up a busy street and you’ll see women of all ages, races, sizes and ages wearing ANKLE BOOTS. And these are sexy. In a variety of colours & textures. Pointed, stillettoed, capped and cowboyed. Ruffles, tassels, zips & buttons. Studs & leather. “I LIKE”. The clear emphasis is on showing them off, although they do look good when worn under a good pair of jeans. I’ve found that leggings with a jersey dress or similar works really well with ankle boots, as do black tights with tailored shorts. I eventually found my pair at a place in Wynberg for a bargain (I’m not saying they will last me forever, but since I already have a pair of expensive leather riding boots, I decided I could skimp on these for the season).

I’ve found some really stunning pairs here, all pulled off fashion or retail websites, some off pinterest. Quite a few of them I’d probably be a bit hesitant to wear because the heels are rather intimidating, but they just look so good! Anyway, enjoy the fashion candy ladies. Good girls look good in Good Boots.

boot 1 | boot 2 | boot 3 | boot 4 | boot 5 | boot 6 | boot 7 | boot 8

Succulents & Cacti – Rad Ideas for Your Own Indoor Gardens

One of the things I’m most excited about when it comes to moving into our new home (NEXT MONTH!) is that we have a garden that is essentially ‘bare bones’. It’s got great grass, a few beds, some plants and one or two trees – but most of all, a lot of opportunity to put our own personal stamp on things.

I’m very into indigenous plants, particularly fynbos and wildflowers, however one thing I also really like is succulents and cacti. Not to go overboard or anything, but an indoor or outdoor garden of succulents is a pretty cool thing – very low maintenance and can look really great. Instead of showing a huge cacti garden though, I’ve decided to show a couple of great ideas that you can do on your own with a sandbox, pot, crate or anything you can line with black plastic and then fill with gravel, stones and soil.

For some cool ideas – check out this post on how to plant a cactus container garden – featuring cute plastic cowboys and Indians – and how to create a desert bowl – really pretty way of arranging your cacti in one dish. If you’ve got some cool ideas to share on gardening or creating cute ‘mini’ gardens, please share! Have a super Monday Good Girls (and boys) x

Cactus in a Cup | source VivaTerra

Pot of Succulents | source Pinterest

Pretty Plants in the Bathroom | source obaz.com

Cowboys & Indians | source Pure Inspiration

Cactus Garden in Blue & Green | source W5Ran

A Cactus Collection | source The Brick House

Handmade Pottery Cactus Garden | source Pinterest