Painted Red

one of the great benefits of wood, is that you can paint it, strip it, repaint, sand it down, varnish it, stain it ... you get it, don't you?

here are three great examples of how a coat of red, in this instance has totally livened up

the individual spaces....

how awesome is this staircase - so much more interesting in a vibrant red!!!

and a gorgeous old wooden seat for the patio .....

tea anyone???

Images: Country Living

View more Ruby posts here

Gena

A Bunch of Yellow Roses

on the back of a recent post - "Flower Market: Floral is in" here's another floral beauty to savor

this is also an example of repurposing and using what you have to great effect.

Image: Country Living

Gena

Chalked Labels

What an awesome concept! chalkboard painted cupboard with chalked labels .. such fun!?

Makes me wish I had the home to do this kind of thing in ...

Image from Home Life.com Australia

Happy Blue Monday everyone!

See more Blue Monday posts here

Gena

A great way to use your glassware

this image has to be one off my all time favorites ... a lovely way

to use your glassware - here, a collection of red vases and

glasses placed on a pewter tray and a variety of flowers.

How gorgeous is this???

You could use any colour really and any type of tray - the

options are endless ....

Image from: Sarie magazine (a South African magazine)

view more inspirational pictures from Sarie

at Inspired Living Spaces - here

Tomorrow is time for French Friday, so be sure to pop by ....

Apples anyone?

Those  of you who visit more often, will know by now that I love anything that can be multipurposed or repurposed, coupled with that I love flowers -

this image truly appeals to me for those two reasons ....

a oven dish re-used for a table display with crisp apples and other plants/ greenery - it this gorgeous or what?!?!?!

Have a great ruby day everyone - see more Ruby posts here

Image credit : My Home Ideas

Vintage Shopping : The Lamp Post

Loving vintage things and finds, means that I (obviously) LOVE vintage shopping!      Well in my hunt for great places for vintage finds, I have uncovered a few "hiddden gems" so to speak, and will be posting these as and when.

 

a wonderful array of vintage brooches

 For the first post on vintage shopping, I've chosen a little store in Norwood (Johannesburg) called The Lamp Post - it's small, quaint, neat, clean, the decor is often rearranged, to keep it fresh.  The best part is that there is always a huge variety of iems to be found, from vintage clothes, vintage brooches, beautiful gloves, to old crockery and cutlery, vintage furniture items, garden utensils, the odd art piece .... the list goes on ....

a unique art piece made with traditonal african fabric, seshweshwe (previously featured on Vintage Rose Studio)

 

A wonderful collection of lether gloves ....

The Lamp Post has apparently been featured in the Oprah magazine (altho I have not seen the article myself) and can be found on the corner of William and Grant Avenue in Norwood.  Tel: +27117286388. (sadly no website)

For previous entry on (traditional african fabric)  Seshweshwe, click here.

Picture Credits:  Gena D Photgraphy & Imsges taken on location at The Lamp Post.

Displays using everyday items

1. A glass vase with a single protea

I just absolutely love the simplicity of using things we already have and repurposing them, and/ or adding to that an everyday common item, such as a single flower, fruit, nuts, shells, etc. or even just simply gathering a number of same or similar items together and creating a display. Either way, this is easy to accomplish and always make a great imapct - take a look at these examples....

2. Ceramic bowl with bird's eggs

3. Metal basket with freshly picked lemons

4. Pewter vessel and red apples

5. Pears arranged on a simple white plate

Picture Credits: 1, 3, 4 Gena D Phtography

Picture Credits: 2, 5 Country Living magazine

The old Barn

This picture was recently taken on the ground of the Sammy Marks Museum. This old barn is still standing and used as a growing and potting shed. I love how the garden area near it has been enhanced with stone and rock and this area in particular is used as a herb garden....



The remainder of the garden has plants which are generally quite hardy and/or waterwise and look amazing against this backdrop of rough stone, rocks and wild grasses.

Picture Credits: Gena D Photography

Vintage Blues (1)

Vintage Blues - pictures taken out of old editions of Vogue Living magazine. Just small examples of how easy it is to make something (attractive) out of very little, in this case by grouping items with shades or patterns of blue in them ......

Picture Credits : Vogue Living Australia

A Vintage Revamp

These pics were scanned in from Vogue Living (Australia) magazine, dated Oct- Nov 2002. It represents an old home which has been lovingly revamped and restyled into a modern vintage look with clean simple lines and a calm "neutral scheme".

Picture Credits: Vogue Living (Australia) Oct-Nov 2002

Art in the form of recycled cooldrink tins

These statues were spotted on my recent trip to Cullinan. They are in actual fact 'art' made from recycled materials, mostly cooldrinks tins. Note the amazing detail - and each one is different.

Beautiful Storage

Most of us are short on storage and often what is available, is not really very appealing. This picture courtesy of Pointclickhome.com and (Salvage Studio - book) shows what could be an entrance hall, or even corner in a bedroom - where a pile of old suitaceses, evidently used as storage, become part of the overall decor theme .... this to me is just perfect mutli purposing - better still - a great example or repurposing at work!!

Picture credit : Pointclickhome blog and Salvage Studio - Book available thru Amazon

For more decor trips and tricks see our archives and labels and also go to Naturally Inspired blog.

A tired old bicycle put to good use

Such a great idea !!! This picture speaks for itself...

Picture taken on location in one of the Melville Antique and Vintage Stores by Gena D Photography

Old Tool Display

I love this collection of old tools, used to great effect on an empty garden wall. If your garden is the perfect style for this kind of display, then why not - again, great repurposing, and recyling at work.

For more posts on how to use spaces in your garden to great effect, you may want to read:

Wondering what to do with a wall space that's begging for attention (Naturally Inspired on blogspot): click here

An uninspiring garden shed (Vintage Rose Studio): click here

For more garden related articles, see Naturally Inspired blog

and go to our website: www.naturallyinspired.co.za

Ideas for old baskets

Generally when we have old baskets lying around, especially if they are starting to look worse for wear, short of throwing them out, we are at a loss on what to do with them.

I took these pics in and around gardens in Johannesburg, purposefully because I love the fact that regardless of their age or appearance, these baskets were still put to good use, even if after a season of sun and/ or rain they are definitely ready to be thrown away - but for now they look elegant and have pride of place .....

Pictures: Gena D Photography
PS. Evidently if you are going to put pots into baskets, make sure they are lined with plastic, or place the pots into deep drip trays (always check not to overwater!).

For more gardening ideas see : Naturally Inspired

More creative inspiration : Cullinan, South Africa

Creative Signpost or Words of Wisdom??? you decide ....

For the other post on Creative Inspiration: click here

Photograph: Gena D Photography, taken in Cullinan, South Africa

Put to good use ....

This picture was taken on my recent trip to Cullinan, the historical diamond mining "town" which is abundant with things vintage and artists alike. An amazing example of repurposing at work. These old zinc basins were suspended against the fencing and nasturtiums set to grow abundantly around them - creating an interesting contrast of texture, materials and colours. Somehow everthing seems to "look at home".

A novel use for Seshweshwe?

Shwe what? you ask! Seshweshwe (se-shwe-shwe) of just shweshwe (shwe-shwe), a "traditional" South African geometrically printed cloth/ fabric, which has an extremely rich history and background. In her article, Cottoning onto Shweshwe chic written for the website South Africa Info, Claire Fulton describes shweshwe as: "the ethnic print 'indigo cloth' synonymous with traditional black South African dress - (and) has slaves, German settlers, Basutho King Moshoeshoe and the catwalks of New York, woven into it's story."

Shweshwe has been extensively used over many, many years for making traditional African clothing, but has also recently taken on a trendy edge, possibly because of the amazingly intricate patterns, hard wearing cotton fabric and bright colour - most often in red, blue and brown, so it's now also used in shoes, and in a vast number of interior decor or home items.

I came across these vintage chairs recently, whose chair pads have been upholstered in the blue/indigo form of shweshwe fabric - suddenly, what would be considered a normal, simple vintage chair has taken on the air of a chic, African item and yet still has an edge of vintage quirkiness. Of course the room was put together very well, which truly does justice to the shweshwe fabric chair pads. Note the overall blue and white scheme, but in particular the "weathered" blue stained floorboards and the blue items on the table - all in all a fun dining area. Anyone for lunch?

G

For more info on shweshwe at South Africa Info, click here or at SA Fabrics Info, click here .

Photography taken by Gena at Rust in White, Cullinan, South Africa.

Creative Inspiration : Cullinan, South Africa

Cullinan is a little historical, diamond mining village just outside Pretoria East, South Africa. It's quite a creative outpost, and walking around the quaint streets and old stores is not only fascinating, but truly inspiring. This picture was taken in the garden of one of the "vintage stores" - a metal basin treated as a canvas on which to express oneself!

For further info on Cullinan click here

The Old Jug

A novel way to use old kitchen utensils, an old enamel jug "suspended" under the vines! Is this recycling or repurposing?