New cat structure

I had been bugging my husband for months to make our cats a new climbing/scratching/hangout structure and it's finally done! It's basically a plywood box with a cedar post and a threaded steel rod. The box has a shelf inside, and the outside wall has hinges so it can open for cleaning. We stained it a black wood stain - LOVE! We went to The Home Depot looking for carpet tiles to find out they haven't carried them in 2 years, but some carpet underpadding caught our eye so we decided to use that instead - it's got a funky speckled pattern and is nice and cushiony. I hope it becomes their favourite hangout so they stay off my furniture. :) (I have to stain the post you can see inside the box - it stands out too much unstained) 

*** A big thanks to The Home Depot for sending me a $50 gift card that helped pay for this little project!

(Mimin loves sharpening her claws on the rope section)

a couple of new shops in the family

My husband and my younger sister Jen's husband started up an Etsy shop recently and I wanted to share it with you all because their products are really cool (IMHO). They scour Ottawa and surrounding 'hoods looking for vintage radios, clean them up, gut them and put in all new high-end components. So you get the cool vintage feel with something that actually works really well! It's called Daff Design.

We've got a couple around the house (like the large one in this photo) and I freaking love them - especially with bluetooth because I don't have to get up out of my chair and can control the music through my phone (without wires!). Here is a sample of the ones they've got in the shop right now (the fourth one is my favourite).

And because my taste in clothes has changed pretty drastically over the last several months, I have decided to sell a bunch of stuff from my closet. You can find all of the items in this Flickr set, and the set description has details for anyone interested in a purchase. Here are a few things I've got up for grabs, but would really hate to see them go...

P.S. Once fall hits and the good weather is gone I'll start up a similar shop for décor goods. :)

a mag feature of my living room!

Check out the Fall 2013 issue of Well Styled Home's Flea Market Décor - there's a 6 page feature on my living room! It's funny how I don't do much re-decorating these days but the living room has changed so much from these pics the mag folks selected. I have to say that I am a bit bummed they got our URL wrong :(

in my living room

P.S. You can find me on Instagram here. 

artKRAFT

LOVE these photos by artKRAFT... We found that towards the industrial style furniture which can be used in the garden and also on the terraces, there is a growing interest. Those who fell in love in the industrial style can furnish not only their apartment with these character pieces. For them we collected some ideas that look good in the garden, terrace or even in the balcony.