The Interior DIYer
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Viridian is in

I have a love / hate relationship with colour. I’m forever envious of people’s homes that are full of colour, character and are beautifully cheery. I’ve tried colour. And I can’t do it. I fully appreciate and admire brave colour palettes, but I just can’t do them. I get really uncomfortable when there are wild colours in my own space. I’ve tried to figure it out. I fought it for a long time, but I’ve learned to accept that I’m a colour-phobe and embrace it. 

I do have colours other than maroon / burgundy that I appreciate [I know, I didn’t think it were possible either]. Case in point – teal or turquoise viridian*.

I wrote about my new colour crush back in September, but it kinda fell by the wayside. Until last week. I casually dropped into TK Maxx [the most dangerous kind of visit] and what did my eyes see? Only the most luscious pair of turquoise viridian velvet pillows. I actually closely resembled Gollum while I plucked them from the shelf; looking over my shoulder in case I’d be found out and my find would soon be compromised. 

I crammed them in my bike basket on Friday and cycled home. And so far, they’re not driving me crazy! They’re such a deep turquoise viridian and I think that’s what works. Plus, they’re velvet. But don’t expect to see loads more teal all up in here. Just little punches. 

I think this dark shade goes really well with the plum accents as well as some of the dainty pink here and there in our home. So what about you? Do you have an unusual colour crush? Or is there one you can’t stand? Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s this picky with colours …

*EDIT: we were discussing teal vs. turquoise over dinner tonight [I know, we’re so wild] when husband pipped up, “so turquoise and teal are like viridian then?”. There’s a reason I married that man. Viridian, for those of you who may not be as into Beetlejuice as I am, viridian is mentioned by Otho as a perfect blue-green colour for Delia’s bedroom. Is it starting to make sense now? Black and white stripes? Viridian? A serious aha moment.
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Nearly new challenge – #EarthDay2015

As today is none other than #EarthDay2015, I thought it no better day than to write about a new [and sort of not so new idea] that’s been rolling around in my head for some time – a Nearly New Challenge.

Back in November I wrote about my Nearly New Wood Challenge which was inspired by Sophie Amoruso’s #GirlBoss book coupled with my panache for reducing, reusing and recycling. Since publishing that blog post I realized quite quickly that I apply this ‘nearly new’ challenge on a daily basis, but with all kinds of items; not just wooden. Therefore, my new Nearly New Challenge came about!

In the most simple form, this is what it’s all about; in stead of buying new the next time you need something, take a look around and see if you can repurpose something you already have, think outside the box and head to a local charity shop and see if you can find what you need there, or head online and see if someone’s selling what you need second hand [ie – Craigslist,  Freecycle, Adverts.ie etc]. 

I’m not perfect. Yes, I still buy new things, for that I am guilty. But if I’m looking for a non-specific item, I will consciously try to find a repurposed or second hand item first ahead in favour of buying something new. To play Caption Obvious for a moment, I acknowledge there are some things we have to buy new, that it inevitable. But there’s an awful lot we don’t need to buy new.  

I grew up with thrifty and creative parents so it’s all I know to be honest. By buying Nearly New, you’re not only contributing less to the demand to produce new products, you’re preventing another item from ending up in a landfill. You’re also getting something that’s bespoke [should you repurpose it] and you’ll be getting a unique item not available on the high street.

So what do you think? Are you up for the Nearly New Challenge? Will you opt for nearly new the next time you need something? If you do, I’d love to hear about it! And if you share it online, use the hashtag …

#NearlyNewChallenge!

GRAB THE BADGE FOR YOUR SIDEBAR: only if you wanna.

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New dainty pink living room rug!

I’ve had a bumpy relationship with rugs in recent years. Well, really just one rug in particular. We bought an IKEA Stockholm rug 2 years ago and I thought my life was complete. It was luscious black and white stripes and I hearted it big time. 

But then life happened and that rug went completely to shit, so I repaired it, sold it last November, and had been on the lookout for a second hand low pile rug since [check out this post as to why I went with low pile. You especially should read it if you have kitties]. 

Months passed. I found a couple of rugs on Adverts.ie but for one reason or another the sales fell through or the sellers ended up being awkward and I didn’t want nothing to do with their rugs. 

I was patient. I wanted the right rug and I waited. Perched on my laptop, looking for scraps. Then one day I found this beautiful, geometric, dainty, dusty pink rug, and I found it 19 pages deep on Adverts. And it was priced at 15 euro. 
FIF. TEEN. EURO.

Yes, it needed a serious clean, but I saw its Christine Dovey fangirl potential. I arranged to meet the seller on O’Connell Street at 20:00 that night. It was pouring rain and I was frozen, but I lugged that baby home, invested in some heavy duty carpet cleaner [I typically buy eco friendly everything, but I set my beliefs aside to go chemical warfare on a rug. We’re going to have our feet / cats directly on it afterall], cleaned that baby and laid it down good with a fine wine in front of the TV. 

I count myself very lucky that I spied this rug and was able to get my hands on it. It’s not technically the correct shape or size for our room, but I am partial to a bit of asymmetry and as we’re not in the position to make an investment in a larger rug at the moment, it fits the bill.

It doesn’t have any labels on it, so I have no idea what brand – if any – it is from. All I know is it’s pink, fabulously fabulous and ties in wonderfully with our Bill above the TV. 

“That rug really tied the room together, did it not?”

 – Walter Sobchak 

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Walter.